Today marks the conclusion of our exploration into the 6 Questions to Ask When Researching an IT Provider. Let's recap the questions we've already discussed:
- What Experience Do You Have in My Industry?
- What is Your Response Time?
- What Services are Actually Covered by the Provider?
- What Will the Transition from My Current IT Company Be Like?
- How Does Your Support Ticket Process Work?
With these questions addressed, we can now turn our attention to what could be the most crucial topic for your decision:
Question 6: What Security Measures are Available?
Learn about the security measures offered for:
- Your Network Infrastructure: Threat actors continually attempt to compromise business networks for financial gain. While some industries face higher risks than others, no industry can afford to operate without network protection. Consider the costs and productivity losses if your network goes down for an hour, a day, or longer. How will your IT provider monitor and protect your network?
- Your Connected Devices: Business networks include every connected device used for business functions, not just servers. Third-party vendors and employees can have permissions to access sensitive data and systems through remote workstations, personal laptops, or mobile devices. Remember, all these endpoints are vulnerable to attack. How does your IT support provider keep you safe? Do they offer monitoring and protection for every device on the network?
- Your Cloud Services: If your business uses the Cloud, you’re not alone. In 2022, 89% of businesses used multi-Cloud solutions (Flexera 2022 State of the Cloud Report). Beyond data accessibility, the ease of data backups is a significant reason for the Cloud's explosive adoption. Backups are a key part of a company’s successful Disaster Recovery Plan during a cyberattack, natural disaster, or server failure. What security measures does your IT provider offer to keep you safe in the Cloud?
By discussing the importance of security, you now have a more comprehensive set of questions to use as starting points in your search for the right Managed Services Provider. Keep in mind that many more questions will arise as you delve deeper into IT providers.
Don’t hesitate to ask questions! After all, you want to ensure that your business receives the services, experience, migration support, response time, and security it deserves and needs to thrive.
As you research, remember that PCS has you fully covered with friendly, trained professionals and the managed technology services required to ensure network reliability, data security, and 24/7 live support within 30 seconds. We welcome you to contact us with any questions you have.