Salient IT Support › IT Support Yuba
Managed IT services and IT support are now the two pillars of the IT services industry and are indispensable to many SMBs. With that in mind, here is some guidance on how to pick the right IT support partner in Yuba City.
Be clear about what help you need
The big difference between managed IT services and IT support is that managed IT services deals with regular, day-to-day tasks, whereas IT support provides short-term support for specific needs. The phrase “short-term” can, however, be a bit misleading. For practical purposes, it basically means “ad hoc”, typically when you have a project to implement or a break/fix issue to resolve. Many SMBs want to form a long-term partnership with their IT support vendors, albeit one which will generally be sporadic in nature.
These days, IT support services companies tend to focus mostly on project work (as an effective managed IT services partner will minimize break/fix issues). This can and should be planned (and budgeted) in advance. Ideally, you’ll look at least five years in advance (essentially the longer the better but more than five years ahead may be too much for the average SMB). This can help to ensure that you choose an IT support partner in Yuba City who can fulfill your needs over the long term and save you having to find someone else sooner than you’d like.
Break/fix work, by its very nature, is reactive, but you could look at your past history to see what issues you’ve encountered previously and you could also think about any times of the year when you’re especially vulnerable. For example, if you know you regularly run big promotions for Black Friday, then your IT infrastructure will be under particular strain and hence most liable to breakages (and potentially cyberattacks).
Remember that remote support has its limits
If you look for an IT support partner in Yuba City by doing an internet search on the term, then the chances are that some of your results will be for IT support companies located in Yuba City (or at least near Yuba City) and some will be for IT support companies which offer services in Yuba City, but which are actually located elsewhere.
This may not make much (if any) difference for remote support, but remember that remote support has its limits. Sometimes it can be very helpful to have a technician physically on-site. IT support partners in Yuba City (or in the locality of Yuba City) will be able to reach your site quickly in an emergency if necessary. IT support partners from further afield will not. They may not offer on-site support at all and if they do then they will take longer to reach you.
Be aware that contracts are usually written under the vendor’s local law
A contract for services will generally say that the parties agree to be bound by the law in the vendor’s location and to place any disputes under the jurisdiction of the local courts where the vendor is based. If you choose an IT support partner in Yuba City (or the surrounding area) then the vendor’s local laws and courts will also be your local laws and courts, so everyone is on the same legal page. If, however, you go with an IT support company from further afield, then you will have to work with their rules and courts and this could be a challenge for you.
Recognize the importance of the human element
Most of the selection process will look at objective, factual criteria such as the services offered, the actual support model (it’s very important to check this thoroughly) and the pricing model (and payment terms). This is all perfectly reasonable, but if you’re looking at making an IT support partner in Yuba City a key stakeholder in your organization, then you need to recognize the importance of the human element.
These days, high-quality IT services providers in Yuba City understand that long-term success in the modern IT services industry requires both IT skills and customer-service skills. They will, therefore, be happy to treat all their customers as valuable assets, rather than seeing smaller ones, such as the average SMB, as just a way to keep money coming in while they work on winning corporate clients.
The best way to get a feel for a company’s culture and their attitude towards smaller businesses is to have a personal meeting with at least one of their representatives and see what impression they give.
If you’d like to speak to a reputable and experienced IT support vendor in Yuba City, please click here now to contact Salient IT.
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