Without asking the right questions, you don ’t know if you ’ re putting your trust – and the security of your business data – in the hands of a reputable, honest company… or someone working alone out of a bedroom in their parents ’ house. A bedroom warrior as I like to call those guys.

Now don ’t get me wrong, there ’ s nothing wrong with bedroom warriors. Everyone must start somewhere, and if you ’ re a one-man band with minimal IT requirements, that could be the most cost-effective solution for you.

However, if you own or manage an established, growing business, with staff and more than one computer, you ’ll need more than one person working from their bedroom can provide. So how do you avoid choosing the wrong IT support company?

Firstly, look for solidity. You need to check they have the right qualifications, accreditation, and experience. Remember, it’ s an unregulated industry, so you really need to do the research if you want to end up with the best IT partner. Next, ask them some difficult questions. You don’t want to see your potential new IT partner squirm. But you do want to make sure that they are going to deliver what you need. And asking difficult questions is the only way to be sure that you’re making the right choice.

Obviously, this will depend on the scale of the problem, but you need to know time frames based on severity. How long will it take your proposed IT support partner to acknowledge your issue in the first place? How long do they expect it’ll take to get someone working on the problem?

Look at different scenarios. If you can ’t access your software, how long should it take to get you logged in? How long could it take to get your business up and running if you suffer a ransomware attack?

You also need to understand the approach your potential new partner will take.

Do they have processes and procedures they stick to when issues arise, or are they winging it? Can they tell you about the worst problem they’ve encountered and how they dealt with it?

Remember, it’ s not the problem that you ’ re judging them on, but how they responded to it. This can tell you a lot about their professionalism, knowledge, and ability to remain calm in a crisis.

Downtime is a business killer.

You ’ll have seen it for yourself at some point, either in your own business or one you were working for. The internet goes down, for example, and people can ’t access the software they need to do their jobs.

The office descends into chaos. Even those who aren ’t reliant on the internet stop doing what they ’ re doing. The coffee machine goes into overdrive. Everyone forgets about their job for a while and makes the most of an unofficial break.

But then when things are up and running again, people don ’t immediately get back to business. Conversations are finished, systems are rebooted, everyone needs to regain their focus. And that often takes more time. What should have been a 15 minute interruption loses you 90 minutes of work. And that’s if it’ s a minor problem.

So, what can your IT support partner do to minimize this downtime? Will they be working away in the background, making the necessary checks to ensure that most of these little blips don ’t arise? Can they assure you that most updates and maintenance will be done outside of working hours?

Do they have any other solutions that will mean your business maintains productivity while essential work is taking place?

Though it’ s an important question, many businesses overlook this side of things when it comes to working with a partner.

It’ s good to know about the people you ’ll be working with.

How does your proposed IT support partner assign your account manager, for example? Do account managers have an area of sector expertise? Do they match you on how your personalities may work together? Or do you simply get assigned to the person with the smallest current workload?

Will you always be speaking to the same person? What happens if that person is on vacation or sick? Who will be doing your strategic IT reviews and building your technology roadmap? Who do you talk to if you’re not happy?

This question is a great way for you to get to know more about the company ’ you re hoping to work with. But it’ s also a great way for you to figure out if their people are the right match for yours.

With this question, I’ m not suggesting that you try to learn the ins and outs of building an IT infrastructure from the ground up. Instead, it demonstrates your potential IT support partner’s ability to explain things to you in simple terms, not tech-speak.

Can they explain a really complicated, technical process to you in a way that you can understand? Do they get frustrated if you ask too many questions? Do they brush you off with ‘you don’t need to know the technicalities of that’? If you are partnering with someone, it’s vital that you can communicate with each other clearly, without any confusion or breakdown.

It also demonstrates their ability to educate you about the things that matter.

It’s no secret that successful businesses deal with a lot of change. From adding new staff members, to tweaking the product or service you offer, it’s likely that your business is forever changing things.

It’s the way we grow. In fact, your business probably looks very different now to how it looked 12 months ago. So how will your proposed IT support partner cope with that? How much do they need to know about these changes? Will it affect what they’re doing for you?

It should. Remember, you’re looking for a partner here, not just another supplier. It’ s part of their role to be able to make recommendations based on how you ’ re working. To suggest better software to use, a smoother network, more appropriate security.

If they can ’t keep track of how many people are working for you, or the ways you deliver your service, how can they suggest ways to grow, improve – and especially, stay secure?

Look for a new partner who takes an active interest in the changes happening within your business. Perhaps even arrange regular catch-up sessions to ensure they ’ re on top of everything that’ s going on.