Whether you are aware of it or not, IT is the backbone of your business. With security practices, business continuity, and disaster recovery all playing a crucial role, a lot is at stake when it comes to business technology. You can’t afford to have tech support that doesn’t deliver or understand what your company needs.
As you start to think about if your IT service provider is fulfilling your needs, we have put together a list of 5 things you should ask your IT service provider for to ensure your business is being adequately supported and protected:
1. What is Our Backup Strategy?
Arguably the most important technology consideration for any business is data backups. Backups ensure continuity of business in case of accidental data deletion, viruses/malware, or natural disaster.
Ask the following questions regarding backups for your business:
- Where are the backups being stored?
- What are we backing up and how often?
- If a disaster occurs or our network is attacked how long would our technology be down?
2. When Was the Last Time Our Computers Were Updated?
The most important way to prevent a data breach is patch management — the process of applying updates to your computers and software programs. This ensures your software and systems are fully functional and secure. Patch management is a process that you or your IT service provider can do manually, but such an important task should be handled automatically.
Ask your IT Service Provider when the last time your computers were updated. They should be able to provide you with a report of what devices were updated and what exactly was updated on each.
3. What are We Using for Antivirus Protection?
While businesses of all sizes need to be protected, choosing the right antivirus that will protect you from the most recent viruses is of utmost importance. Ask your IT service provider if your antivirus protection is up-to-date, and the right fit for your company.
4 out of 5 small businesses report malware has evaded their antivirus.
See also: Best Antivirus of 2021 for Small Size Businesses
4. Inventory List of Every Computer
IT service providers should readily have a list of every computer at your office for reference. They should keep a record of things such as purchase date, warranty expiration, and updates made for each. This is important for employee turnover if your network is attacked, and for a record of your current IT infrastructure.
5. What is Our Disaster Recovery Plan?
Businesses of all sizes and industries should have a disaster recovery plan in place that can address any type of disaster, whether it be fire, water, or ransomware. The plan should be easy to follow and understand and be customized to meet the unique needs of the organization. Ask your IT service provider for a copy of your disaster recovery plan to ensure your business can get back up and running as soon as possible when disaster strikes.
See also: Data Backups & Recovery Strategy [Video]
This is by no means an exhaustive list of questions for your IT service provider, but it should start to make you think about quality service. For instance, if you call a plumber to fix your toilet, and they leave without the toilet being fixed, would you call that plumber again?
In today’s digital age, our businesses rely so heavily on technology that we must invest in quality support and services that meet our expectations. If you or someone you know is dissatisfied with their IT support for their business, tell them to reach out to Imagineering for a free consultation.
