What to look for in an outsourced IT support team

Outsourcing IT support – is it worth it?

Business ICT infrastructures are increasingly complex, even for small businesses.  At the basic level there are the endpoints and devices you do your daily work on. Then there’s all the software and apps you use, your phone system, point-of-sale and more …

This is a lot to keep a handle on, and then there’s the network that connects it all – along with the servers, switches and cabling bringing it all together. Even with an in-house IT team, it’s hard to manage all this. But if you don’t have a grip on it, you’re opening yourself up to poor performance, downtime, and security threats.

This is where third-party support can make all the difference. Of course you could recruit all this knowledge in-house, but that comes with its own complications and costs. If you outsource, you simply get what you need, when you need it.

So what should you be looking for? Here’s our 6-point checklist:

1. True expertise

This is what takes you beyond turning it off and on again! Naturally, if you’re paying for any service, you need a provider who really knows their stuff.

Here at Pure Cloud, we pride ourselves on our knowledge of IT and business tech. The combined experience of our leadership team alone is over 200 years. That knowledge is important to us. Quite simply, we wouldn’t offer a product or service unless we knew it inside out.

2. An understanding of your business

Technical IT knowledge matters. But you need someone with a broader understanding of your business too. This means what you do, what tech you use, and what your priorities are. Without that broader context, every query you have will take longer for you to explain, and for the support team to resolve.

Our approach really helps here. We conduct a thorough and free audit of our customers’ tech infrastructure. You can find out about that in detail . But the gist is this: once we’re working together, we’ll understand your business and the tech you use from top to bottom. This allows us to prioritise and resolve issues much more quickly, as well as identifying, highlighting and addressing any risks.

3. Flexibility

Really, the whole point of outsourcing services is flexibility. Every business is different – which means the amount and type of support you need are unique. And if you’re paying for a service, it should adapt to you, not the other way around.

That’s exactly how we do it at Pure Cloud. Another reason for our free audit is to get to know you, where you excel technologically, and where you need a hand. Then you get whatever level of support you need, when you need it – without paying for services you don’t use.

4. Security standards

Security is always a priority – and doubly so when you’re inviting a third party into your IT infrastructure. Naturally, you’ll want them to have good knowledge of cybersecurity. But you also need to know they’ve got their own house in order if you’re trusting them with passwords, confidential data, admin access and the rest.

At Pure Cloud we’ve got the credentials to prove we can be trusted. We have Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation to prove that our cybersecurity procedures are robust. In addition, we’ve got ISO 27001 and 9001 certification, which shows our ability to keep digital information safe. These credentials are assessed and issued by the British Standards Institution (BSI), which means we’ve been verified by independent experts.

You can find out more about ISO 27001 . But the point is pretty simple. We take our security and yours seriously, and our credentials show it.

5. Proactive, not reactive

So far, we’ve focused on how your support team reacts when things go wrong. That’s important, of course. Technology does go wrong, and you can’t avoid that altogether. But you can make it less likely.

If your support team is solely focused on solving problems, how can they address underlying causes? How can they nip potential problems in the bud before they become seriously disruptive.  

This is where monitoring comes in. At Pure Cloud, we can provide 24/7, proactive monitoring software. This assesses your performance around the clock, spotting patterns and potential performance issues, allowing us to keep downtime at bay.

6. Punctuality

We’ve covered what you need. How about when you need it? Let’s imagine your IT support partner is capable of solving any problem you throw at them. If they can’t do it when you need, it’s pretty much useless.

This is why we operate on SLAs that we agree with you in advance. It’s about trust and expectations. You’ll know what to expect from our support, and we’ll be accountable.  

Partnering with Pure Cloud

Outsourcing IT support offers so many benefits. It reduces the likelihood of downtime, system issues and security threats, along with the huge costs involved in fixing these.

In turn, you get piece of mind that your IT’s in good hands, protected from threats and fully optimised. Meanwhile, a fully functioning IT infrastructure makes you more productive, removing the technical faults that distract from your daily business.

You just need a partner who meets the standards we’ve discussed here, and that’s what we do. Whether or not you have an in-house IT team, we can offer the support you need to thrive. We care, we tailor, we simplify – from our first consultation on. To find out more, get in touch today.