How to buy IT support – Part one: Have a strategy

Managing a business means you have multiple demands put on you. Your operational drivers will mean you have to respond quickly and be agile in your decision-making. Your long-term strategic goals will require time and investment to achieve. But one thing is for sure, that technology will underpin and help you deliver on both.

Choosing the right IT support partner is potentially, one of the biggest decisions you will make for your business. Get it right and the technology works for you. It can make your workforce more productive, and your processes smoother. It gives you greater security with less risk and ultimately can lead to better client service. Get it wrong and you end up with sleepless nights, frustrated staff, unhappy clients, and open to cyber threats.

James Tilbury, CEO of IT support company ILUX talks you through how to find the right partner in his latest blog series. It will cover what to look out for when talking to external IT suppliers, how you might integrate outsourcing with your in-house function, and find a partner (rather than just a supplier,) that is the perfect fit for you.

Part one: Have an IT strategy

Strategy sits at the heart of every business. Unless we have some kind of plan, how can we steer our company and staff to deliver our objectives? But you would be surprised at just how many of our clients don’t have a plan when they begin working with us.

Your IT strategy should be about how technology will help you achieve your business goals.

When choosing an IT support partner, ask them how they work with their clients to develop a strategy and how they monitor and report on the objectives.

It does take time, but it is well worth the investment for both parties.

• You have a collaborative approach to both your operational needs and any specific projects that you work on together.
• It allows you to look at the bigger picture and investigate new technologies that are being developed and how they might fit into your organisation. Read more on the next 10 years in tech here>>
• It will build resilience in your business, particularly around cyber security and risk analysis
• Your strategy will allow you to budget more effectively and give you a more predictable forecast of what investment is needed

The ILUX IT Six-Step Strategy process

1. Audit of existing infrastructure and how it aligns with business objectives and goals
2. Gather information from existing users about what works well, where the pain points are, and what needs to be changed
3. Look at the long-term objectives, analyse the needs
4. Define joint objectives and develop an IT roadmap
5. Work with you to establish management buy-in
6. Constant reporting based on an agreed set of metrics to monitor return on investment

Read Part two: 10 reasons why you should consider switching here>>

Want to know more? Download the IT Services Buyers Guide which will help you understand what questions to ask, what to look out for, and avoid a costly mistake.

Ready to talk? Get in touch or book a 15-minute call with James.