A good IT service provider will understand the unique needs of your business and be able to help support its growth.
More than simply keeping your systems running, they will maintain security, drive the adoption of new technology, and monitor performance. They will also help you to keep your team engaged, and proactively recommend process and system improvements.
However, as your business grows, your needs will often change, potentially putting strain on a previously great relationship. As a result, you may need to switch IT providers to ensure your support requirements continue to be met.
You also need to watch out for the signs that your current arrangements are no longer working!
How do you know it’s time to switch IT providers?
As a general rule, if you’re asking whether it’s time to move on, you already know the answer.
Trust is crucial to an effective outsourcing arrangement so if you’re starting to question whether you can rely on your IT provider, it’s probably time to switch. And it’s best to be proactive about this decision, as the situation will usually only get worse the longer you leave it.
8 signs it’s time to switch
Here are the telltale signs that your current IT provider is no longer the right choice for your business.
- They don’t deliver
While timelines can change, you should be confident your IT provider will always meet their commitments. If they consistently fail to do this, it’s time to move on.
As you’re relying on them to keep your systems stable and secure, you need to be sure your IT provider is on top of things.
In particular, you should watch out for ongoing system outages, technical issues, and project delays. These can significantly impact your productivity and damage your business’s reputation and are clear signs your provider isn’t doing their job.
- They are hard to get hold of
IT issues are often time-sensitive, so it’s important that you can access the support you need, when you need it. If this is not the case, you should consider switching IT provider.
As you are the client, you shouldn’t have to chase your IT provider for progress updates and other important information. In fact, the best providers build regular check-ins into their service approach and ensure you always have a way to contact them.
In other words, you should feel like the prize!
Your provider should also commit to standard response times for both emergency and non-urgent requests as part of their Service Level Agreement.
- The value they provide is no longer obvious
One of the biggest advantages of managed IT services is that they should help maximise your return on investment. If you feel you aren’t getting your money’s worth from their service, it could be worth looking for a new provider.
Most IT support services will start strong, providing a raft of recommendations and making changes that have an immediate impact. However, once they pick all of the low-hanging fruit, some providers lose steam and shift focus to easier maintenance activities.
While these are important, if your provider is only managing daily tasks, they are not supporting your business’s ongoing growth.
- You keep having IT issues
Responding to unplanned outages, performance issues, data breaches, and other common problems, is the bread-and-butter of IT support services. If the same issues keep happening, your provider is clearly not doing enough to prevent them, and it’s time to switch.
When you experience a serious IT issue, the top priority is getting your business back up and running. Once this is done, your provider should assess the cause of the problem, and implement measures to stop it from recurring.
They should also monitor system performance and stability to help identify potential issues early, and proactively recommend ways to mitigate key risks.
By being capable of both reacting and preventing – you’ll know you have a good IT provider when IT problems are rare and easily dealt with.
- Their advice no longer suits your business
Your service provider should engage with you regularly, taking the time to understand how your business operates and how your requirements are evolving. If they don’t, their advice won’t reflect your actual needs, and you should start looking for a new IT partner.
IT solutions are not one-size-fits-all, and the right approach for you will depend on a range of factors. Your provider should consider all of these for you and recommend the best options for your specific situation.
If they keep pushing services that aren’t right for you, they either don’t understand your business or aren’t working in your best interest.
- They don’t share knowledge
Your team members play a crucial role in keeping your systems and data safe, and your IT provider should support their ongoing engagement and education. If they don’t, look for a service that will.
Regular training is required to ensure your team members understand and actively protect your business against potential cybersecurity attacks. Acknowledging how crucial this is, good IT providers will support the planning, and often delivery, of training activities. They will also provide updates on important cybersecurity trends and information on emerging threats.
- They keep pushing you to spend more
As your business grows, your provider may recommend additional support and new services, but this should be driven by your evolving requirements. If it’s not, and they are constantly trying to upsell you, it might be time to end their engagement.
Ongoing investment is required to keep your systems optimised and secure, and costs may increase over time. However, a good provider will help control your IT costs through targeted investment and strategic adoption of new technologies. They will not continually increase your fees or constantly recommend spending more on new systems and projects.
- You have outgrown them
Building on the above, as your business grows and your support needs increase, your provider should be able to easily scale their service to suit. If they can’t, you should switch to an IT provider who can.
The level of IT support your business requires will depend on the size and nature of your operations. For example, how small businesses approach cybersecurity will be different to the measures larger organisations need to have in place. As such, as your business grows, the support you need changes, and your provider should adjust their service accordingly.
Ready to make the switch IT providers?
Choosing to change providers can be difficult, particularly if you have worked together for a while. Beyond the awkward conversations that need to be had, technical changes may be required to transition to a new service. However, this short-term inconvenience is more than outweighed by the long-term benefits.
If you have decided that it’s time to switch IT provider, give OneCloud a call.
We are committed to delivering high-quality, reliable support and can tailor our service to suit your requirements. We also understand the transition process and can make it as smooth as possible, keeping downtime to a minimum.