Key Factors in Choosing the Right Small Business IT Support

Since most SMEs rely on online sales and advertising, email and telecom communications and platforms such as social media, IT support can be a hugely important service for small businesses.

IT support can be a hugely important service for small businesses, particularly since most SMEs rely on online sales and advertising, email and telecom communications, and platforms such as social media to connect with their demographics and respond to enquiries.

If you've ever had a sudden network crash, system failure or data loss, you will know how disastrous it can be when production or logistics grind to a halt – without any IT support to fix the problem quickly.

However, as an expert in business IT support solutions, Jera recognises that it can be tricky for owners to identify the assistance they need without breaking their budget or shelling out for support services they'll only need once or twice a year.

Let’s run through all the important information you need to make smart decisions, from picking the right support services to choosing an outsourced IT provider while keeping your costs affordable.

What IT Support Do Small Businesses Require?

The first step is to think about exactly what you need - and what you don't. For example, you may already have some IT expertise in your workforce and need IT consultancy services for large-scale projects, such as upgrading your server or replacing wired handsets.

Tech can be transformative and help small companies scale faster, but there isn't one solution that's right for all.

A thorough assessment can be helpful, where you take stock of the following:

• All the hardware, software, integrations, systems, networks and assets that are 100% essential for your company to function day to day.
• Areas where you are vulnerable – that might be IT security, reliable connections, storage capacity or simply a lack of know-how around troubleshooting during outages.
• Parts of your IT infrastructure you believe aren’t quite up to the task – systems that are slow, sluggish, and a constant source of frustration for your team.

IT support is important, but by taking a little time to think about where your needs are business-critical and where they aren't, you dodge the prospect of paying more than necessary for support you won't utilise or finding that you don't have the right assistance in an emergency.

Priorities When Choosing an IT Support Provider for Your Company

Once you have a decent idea of the support services that will positively impact your processes, workflows or continuity planning, the next step is to think about the right provider. This can be just as complex, with thousands of IT experts, from large agencies to small, localised experts, or even hiring someone full-time to work in-house.

Here are the elements we recommend clients consider before they sign a contract or pay anything upfront for an IT service.

Bespoke Recommendations and Consultations

Great IT support providers don't hard sell anything, and they're keen to consult with prospective clients to get to grips with their needs and requirements before suggesting an IT support package or service.

If a provider isn’t proactive about offering advice or giving you a hand when deciding which services are a good fit, they may not be the right choice.

Jera offers an extensive range of specialisms, from IT strategy development to cloud-based transitions, ongoing IT support and cybersecurity, so our focus is to find out what you need before we suggest those services or packages that align with your expectations and organisational needs.

IT Industry Expertise

The primary advantage of an IT support team, rather than one individual, is that you can access a broader range of knowledge, from technology advice to problem-solving and on-demand remote support if your systems crash.

Experienced engineers, technicians and consultants will be happy to share their know-how, so you can run through a few questions to gauge their skills, such as:

• How do you diagnose the root cause of a problem?
• How can you help us save time and money?
• What suggestions might you have to streamline our processes, help our small business scale quicker, or expand capacity?

Consultants aren't there to sell you a product but to unpick which aspects of your operations or IT framework require assistance and will deliver the biggest benefits.

Responsiveness to Crises

Remote help desks are the gold standard in responsiveness, where you can raise a support ticket 24/7 and trust that somebody will be in touch as quickly as possible.

Even an amazing software solution and hardware setup will only resolve issues if you can call for help if something goes wrong, so opportunities to access professional support on demand are essential.

Professional Accreditations or Certifications

The best IT support provider might depend on your sector or the technologies you use for core deliverables – so it's worth considering any specific requirements you have, such as:

• App development
• Cybersecurity improvements
• Remote workforce management

IT support providers can hold an array of certifications, so if you use a specific technology, software suite or hardware for baseline processes, ask your shortlisted providers what they know about them and whether they have the expertise to provide the level of support you need.

Cost-Effective Professional Business IT Support Options for SMEs

Finally, it's wise to remember that there isn't one way to structure IT support, and it's entirely up to you to pick the services you believe match your business requirements.

For example, you might decide to opt for:

• In-house expertise, where you hire an individual or team to cover all your IT-related requirements – there are several cost considerations, and in-house recruitment isn’t usually the cheapest option for small businesses, but it’s best to compare all the potential solutions.
• On-demand IT support can seem affordable since you only pay for your required assistance. However, if you don't have an IT support agreement, you might need to join a long waiting list to arrange an engineer’s visit or remote system access.
• Packaged or managed IT support is often ideal, where you decide on the assistance you need on an ongoing basis and can tap into that resource as and when you need to, with guaranteed response times and service delivery.

As always, the right option depends entirely on your objectives. However, making informed decisions can make a tangible difference to the outcomes if your systems begin to glitch or you find yourself with an outage during peak trading periods.

About Jera 

Jera provides fully managed IT support, cybersecurity services, telecoms systems, and IT strategy consultancy to businesses based in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and the surrounding areas.

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