IT support companies tend to describe themselves in the same words: proactive, responsive, secure. The differences only show up when you ask specific questions. These twelve will tell you far more than any sales call.
Service and response
1. What are your support hours, and what happens outside them?
Get the exact hours in writing, and ask whether out-of-hours help is available, how it's arranged and what it costs.
2. How do you define response and resolution times?
Ask for their priority levels and targets, and whether the clock runs only in business hours. "We'll respond within an hour" can mean an automated email.
3. How are on-site visits handled?
Most problems are fixed remotely, but some need someone on site. Ask whether visits are included, how quickly they're arranged, and whether travel is charged.
4. What does a typical month look like?
Ask to see a sample monthly report. It shows whether the provider is really monitoring, patching and checking backups, or just answering tickets.
Security
5. Are you certified to a recognised security standard?
An IT provider holds the keys to your systems, so its own security matters. Cyber Essentials is the UK government-backed baseline. Ask whether the provider holds it, and whether it can help you get it.
6. How do you protect access to our systems?
The answer should include multi-factor authentication on the provider's own accounts, individual (not shared) logins, and access limited to what's needed.
7. How do you check our backups actually work?
"We monitor them" isn't enough. Ask how often they test a restore and how you'll see the results. Our guide to the 3-2-1 backup rule explains what good looks like.
Commercial
8. Exactly what's included, and what's extra?
Projects, hardware, out-of-hours work and third-party software are commonly excluded. Our managed IT services checklist lists what to look for.
9. How is the price worked out, and how does it change?
Ask how adding or removing users affects the bill, and whether prices rise during the contract.
10. What's the contract length and notice period?
Long minimum terms aren't necessarily bad, but you should know how to leave.
11. If we leave, what do we get back, and how fast?
Passwords, documentation and admin access to your Microsoft 365 tenant, domain and firewall should all be yours, and handed over promptly.
Fit
12. Which vendors do you work with?
Partnerships with the manufacturers you use (Microsoft, Dell, HPE, Cisco and so on) can mean better access to pricing, licensing and support. Ask what the partnership actually involves.
Warning signs
- They can't tell you what's excluded.
- They want admin accounts in their name rather than yours.
- No written response targets.
- Vague answers about backups.
- Pressure to sign before you've seen the contract.
IT support from Apaxon
Apaxon is Cyber Essentials certified and a partner of Microsoft, Dell, HPE and Cisco, among others. It provides managed IT services for businesses across the UK, with remote support and on-site visits, including in Bradford, Leeds, Halifax, Manchester, Sheffield and Liverpool. Ask Apaxon any of these twelve questions: get in touch.
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