Choosing the Right Computer Service Company

Knowledge: This is the single most important criteria when choosing a computer service company. Having experienced consultants onsite makes all the difference in the world if you happen to experience a server crash or are having a hard to track down network issue. Inexperienced consultants may take hours, days, or weeks to solve your problem. While an experienced consultant may have you back up and running in no time.

Years in Business: The nature of computer service companies is kind of come and go. One day they are offering you top-notch service and the next day they don not pick up the phone. You should always ask how long the company has been in business, this will give you a good idea of what tomorrow will bring.

Responsiveness: Be sure the company answers the phone when you call and has technicians available during business hours and even after hours if necessary. Give them a dry run before you hire them to make sure that when you call you don not have to leave a message and get a call back the next day. This could be a tragedy if you were calling with an emergency support need.

Engineers: Always know exactly how many techs are on staff and how many have training or knowledge of whatever main system you have. If a company has 100 technicians but only 1 is experienced with your platform, if that guy goes on vacation you are in trouble.

Hourly: The hourly rate will vary drastically from one consultant to the next. After you go through several interviews it should be clear what the going rate is and you should also have a good grasp of the different knowledge levels. You may have no trouble at all paying a higher rate for a consultant that is more experienced.

Liability: Service companies should have insurance to protect their workers and themselves from lawsuits. If a technician destroys your infrastructure, you will have a very difficult time recovering your losses from a small business. However, your chances increase when they have the appropriate insurance.

Location: Hiring an emergency service company that has offices 5 hours away is not a good idea. When possible choose a local company that has some chance of being onsite quickly if you need them. When having someone there next-day is not acceptable, choose the local company.

Certifications and Partnerships: I would not spend too much time worrying about this. Most of the top-notch consultants I know don not really hold certifications nor do they have much weight with them. Although, some companies have prestigious partnerships that can certainly weigh in their favor. Just from the perspective that they have been in business a while and meet whatever requirements the partnership requires.

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