How to choose an IT service provider

What a good IT service provider should deliver

An IT service provider takes on the day-to-day running of your technology for a regular fee. At a minimum that means a service desk your staff can reach, management of laptops and accounts, security, backup, and someone to plan ahead with. Many providers also buy hardware and licences on your behalf and deal with your other technology suppliers.

The hard part of choosing one is that most proposals look alike. Everyone promises responsive support and strong security. The differences sit in the detail: how fast they respond and to what, what is excluded, how they make money, and what happens when you leave. This guide is about finding that detail.

Before you ask for quotes

Spend an hour writing down where you are now. Providers will give you better quotes, and you will be able to compare them.

• Headcount: how many people use a computer or a work email account, including part-timers.
• What you run: email and file storage, line-of-business software, phones, internet, and any equipment in the office.
• What hurts: the problems that keep coming back, and the last time work stopped.
• Obligations: security questionnaires from insurers or customers, and any contract terms that mention IT.
• Current costs: last year's IT invoices, including hardware, licences and any project fees.

Questions to ask any provider

Ask every provider the same questions, in writing, and compare the written answers.

1. What are your response targets, and what counts as urgent? A useful answer names a time for each level of impact and explains how a request is classified. "We aim to respond quickly" is not a target.
2. What hours does the service desk work, and what happens outside them? Find out whether security monitoring continues overnight and on weekends, and who looks at an alert at 2am.
3. What exactly does the monthly fee include? Ask for a list. Check that security, backup, device management and routine projects are on it, or priced clearly if they are not.
4. How do you charge for requests? Per ticket, by the hour, in prepaid blocks, or not at all. Each model creates different incentives.
5. Do you add a margin to hardware and licences? Many providers do. It is legitimate, but you should know the figure.
6. How is backup tested? Ask when the last restore test was done for a client of your size and how the result is recorded.
7. What documentation will we have? Ask what is recorded, how often it is updated, and whether you can have a copy at any time.
8. What is the contract term and the exit process? Ask for the notice period, any exit fee, and what is handed over when you leave.
9. Who will we deal with? Ask how your business will be looked after day to day and who you talk to when something is going wrong.
10. When would you tell us we don't need you? A provider that answers this honestly is more likely to give you straight advice later.

Red flags

None of these rules a provider out on its own, but each one deserves a clear explanation before you sign.

Long lock-in terms and exit fees

A three-year term with a fee for leaving early shifts all the risk onto you. If the service is good, a provider has little need to hold you in place. Look for short notice periods and no penalty for leaving.

Hidden margins on hardware and licences

A margin on every laptop and licence gives any provider a reason to recommend buying more. If a provider adds one, ask for the percentage and compare a sample laptop against a retail price.

Per-ticket or block-hour billing

When each request costs money, staff put off asking for help, small problems grow, and your monthly bill becomes hard to predict. Prepaid blocks that expire unused have the same effect. A fixed fee per user removes that hesitation.

Documentation held back

Some providers keep admin passwords and network details to themselves, which makes leaving slow and expensive. Your agreement should say that credentials, documentation and configuration records belong to you and are handed over on exit.

Vague service levels

Targets described as "best efforts" or "priority support" without a time attached cannot be checked. Ask for numbers.

Security as an optional extra

If basics such as enforced multi-factor authentication, endpoint protection and monitoring are only in a premium tier, ask what protection you would actually have on the base plan.

How to compare quotes per user

Quotes are built differently on purpose, which makes them hard to compare. Converting each one to a cost per user, per month puts them on the same footing.

1. List every line. Base fee, security, backup, after-hours rates, project fees, hardware and licence margins, and exit costs.
2. Convert recurring lines. Divide each monthly amount by your number of staff.
3. Estimate the variable lines. For per-ticket or hourly billing, use last year's invoices to estimate a normal month.
4. Spread the one-off costs. Divide expected project fees and any exit fee across the months of the term.
5. Add the margin. Multiply your yearly hardware and licence spend by the provider's margin, then divide by 12 and by your staff.
6. Total it. The sum is the real monthly cost per user. Put it next to each provider's written response targets.

The quote comparison helper on our pricing page sets these steps out as a table. As a reference point, Melbourne market rates for fully managed IT sit roughly between $110 and $220 per person a month, varying with what is bundled.

Making the decision

Once quotes are on the same footing, the cheapest is not always the best value. Weigh the per-user cost against the written response targets, what is included, and how easy it would be to leave. A provider with clear answers to all of these is usually a safer choice than one with a lower headline price and vague terms.

Ask for a short assessment before you commit. A good provider can review your setup without changing anything and give you the findings in writing. If they recommend you stay where you are, or tell you that a smaller arrangement would suit you better, take that as a good sign.