How Do You Pick The Right IT Company in Calgary

How Do You Pick The Right IT Company in Calgary

There’s no denying it. Our world is moving towards a tech-dominated world. It’s faster, more efficient, and cheaper than the traditional way of doing business. So if you don’t want your business to get left behind, you need to make sure you ride the IT wave.

But that, in itself, is also a problem.

Understandably, many businesses in Calgary are very good at what they do but lack an understanding of how IT works and how it affects their business. A solution for these organizations is to hire a third-party IT team. This way, they can focus on running the company, and the IT team can support them from behind by providing IT solutions for their business.

But how will you know if you got the right IT company to work with? How can you be sure that the people you are talking to right now will be able to provide you with the IT support your business needs?

Well, you can start by asking them the right questions. With their answers, you will get a good idea of whether working with them is the right choice or not. Here are a couple of questions you can ask an IT company in Calgary to know if they are the right fit for your company.

Questions to Ask an IT Company in Calgary

Where are you based?

Nowadays, businesses can work with managed IT service companies, which means the majority of the solutions and support they provide are through the cloud. While this may work for some businesses, hiring somebody local can definitely help a company that needs IT help. This is because there will be times when onsite support is required.

For example, if your network has gone haywire and you need to replace a few networking devices, you need somebody who can go to your office and do the troubleshooting and replacement right away. If the company you hired is not based near your area, they might respond longer or even need to hire a third-party provider to fix the problem for them.

If your business is located in Calgary, you need to find a Calgary-based IT consulting group that can understand your business, provide you with the appropriate IT solutions, and be there for you when you need them.

How do you charge your clients?

Depending on the IT company you are talking to, they should provide you with choices in service levels to accommodate different budgets and requirements. They may give you the option of the following service levels.”

• Ad-hoc support or pay-as-you-go
• Break-fix support
• Managed service support

The IT company should be transparent in showing you their charges depending on the service type you will choose. This way, you can judge for yourself which one works best for you.

Do you have experience in my industry?

Different businesses from different industries have different needs. That goes to their IT needs as well. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for all industries. If the IT team you are talking to says otherwise, then you should be wary of them.

Working with an IT consultancy firm with experience in the industry you are in ensures that they have the experience and expertise to handle specific concerns to your industry. They will also be knowledgeable about the options you have in terms of tools and systems you can use for your business.

Ask them if they have had the chance to work with other businesses in your industry. Look for any awards or rankings they may have earned in your industry. If they can show you certifications in your industry’s technology, then that’s a big plus.

Can you support our current IT infrastructure?

One common problem of some businesses hiring IT companies without adequately vetting them is hiring people who can’t support their current IT infrastructure. The company needs to restructure everything and get new devices or different business solutions because their IT team does not know how to keep the old ones.

Remember that as your IT solutions provider, they should be able to support your current IT infrastructure. This is limited to the devices and hardware you use and the software and other systems you use for your business. The IT team is free to suggest solutions only if they are genuinely superior to the current setup.

How fast can you provide support?

Any good IT company has a Service Level Agreement or SLA that they can show you. The SLA or response time metrics can give you a good idea of their existing processes for supporting clients.

The SLA should include how fast they can respond to issues and how long it will take for a team to arrive onsite for support.

Don’t just believe them when they tell you they are fast. Ask for real numbers and proof that they can back it up.

Can you handle an organization of our size?

Does the IT provide have enough staff to support your needs? Do they have the right number or engineers or do they have the correct department sizes to handle your business? Ask them about their support process and determine whether your company’s size will be an issue for them.

Can you scale if needed?

The size of a business can change from time to time. There are times when it grows, and there are also lean years to lay low. Will the provider be able to adjust to these changes, especially in industries that can get erratic?

Asking these questions may mean having to spend more time interviewing candidates for your IT partners, but it will be worth it. After all, if you pick the right IT partner, you will be spending years with them by your side.

If you are looking for an IT consultation company based in Calgary, then CTech Consulting Group is perfect for you. With over 20 years of experience providing Calgary-based businesses, you can be sure Ctech has your success in mind. Schedule a call today and let Ctech’s expert team of IT engineers help your business solve all your IT-related business problems.

Written by Carl Fransen

posted on January 24, 2021

Carl Fransen

My passion is to make my mark on the world in a positive and lasting way. I want to set an example for my son that his father can compete with integrity in today’s world, be very successful, and leave the world a better place for him.

Combining my technical/business-based education with a long career steadily progressing up the corporate ladder, I decided to build a company that held true to my values. So, I founded and designed the next generation of IT support firm: CTECH Consulting Group Inc. We are a completely automated, cloud-based IT company designed to compete against any other IT firm without the overhead. We promote a lifestyle to all our staff where they can work anywhere, at any time, access any information on any device that is relevant to their job, and collaborate with anyone they want to.