Choosing a great IT support contract is not a difficult task, but is not entirely straightforward either. All it takes is careful research and analysis of your company’s requirements, what do you need versus what you don´t need. Most IT support services range from telephone-based, online and round-the-clock onsite service.
Here are some tips to narrow down and buy a great IT support contract.
1. Find out the age of your PCs
The two major factors that determine whether PCs are worth covering in a support contract are their age and critical nature of jobs they perform. Providing support for PC´s that are old may not be worth the investment, however, if they are legacy systems performing critical operations then you may want to include them in a support contract.
2. Evaluate the skills of your in-house support team
Almost every company has an in-house support team with skilled professionals. Having system administrators with certifications will help you cut down cost on external support services. However, a few grey areas require specialized support from IT support companies. Therefore, accessing your in-house support resources against your needs will help you make a prudent decision.
3. Determine the type of support needed
At this stage you will have a clear idea of the nature of support service your company needs. If the support service is purely about upgrades or software related then you can save time by choosing online technical support companies. If your company has demand for long-term ongoing support it is better to go for flat fixed rate support.
4. Period of contract with termination terms
The single most essential component that should stand out clearly in any support contract is the period of contract with start date and end date. Either party can terminate a contract on mutual consent before the contract expires. In such cases you need to evaluate whether there are terms and conditions for refunds. Take into consideration the process of resolving existing faults, misuse of equipments and accidental damages and make sure the terms are agreed by both the parties.
5. Number of hours of support
The crux of the entire contract is to get the right support at the right time. Once you analyze your requirements you should have a clear idea of the number hours of support needed as many support companies have a fixed number of hours of support at fixed time in a week.
6. Range of equipment coverage
A support contract should clearly state the range of equipments that would be covered. This step should elaborate support coverage based on the age of equipments, ownership, types of equipments including keyboard or mice, types of software like network software, antivirus, etc.
7. Details about tasks
Another major point in a support contract is to have details about the tasks a support provider would perform. Details like cleaning infected systems, software installation, network management, disaster recovery, type of support should be elaborated in a support contract.
8. Contract
What is a great support contract differs from one company to another. A support contract that can meet your needs and can be flexible enough to accommodate your future demands is a great IT support contract. Try Cheeky Munkey for all your IT support needs.
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