Nearly half of all employed Americans work for small businesses. But small businesses can meet a lot of things – everything from a one-person show to a 1500-person business! But as much as those businesses differ, they also have a few things in common, like the necessity of local IT service.
But even if you know you need IT service, that doesn’t mean you know how to select the right local IT company to provide it. So, let’s get into the qualities you should seek and the questions you should ask when choosing a local IT service to help your Roanoke small business.
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Are They Really Local?
You may wonder why, in this ever-connected world of ours, local IT service matters; we’ve written a blog to address this particular question before, so we encourage you to follow the link above, but suffice it to say there are benefits to having someone nearby who understands the area and your needs and can physically put their hands on your IT equipment.
So, assuming you’re already on the local business train, find out if the IT companies you’re considering are really local. There are a couple of levels of local to consider.
Firstly, do they have a local presence? You definitely want someone physically nearby who can help. But secondly, you may want to ensure it’s a company based locally rather than just having an employee in the area. RCI, for example, was founded in Roanoke in the 70s and has been here ever since.
Does the Local IT Service Company Service All the IT You Need?
In the term “IT,” those two little letters cover a lot of ground! It can mean anything from password recovery to hardware replacement. And that hardware can be in a telephone, computer, camera, or, these days, even a car!
Now, naturally, most of us go to specialists to service our vehicles, but for your business technology, you’ll need a local IT service company that can work on all of your technological equipment. So, what does your business use?
If you are primarily a one-person business, you may not use much more than a phone and computer. In that situation, you may get by with a storefront business where you bring your laptop or cell phone when it cracks a screen or the like.
On the other hand, if you have shared equipment like a server or phone systems, you’ll want a company that can come out to your business and service the equipment and ideally be available to work remotely when an in-person trip is overkill.
Other businesses have specialized equipment, such as medical-specific IT equipment or AV setups. A growing number of stores and factories are also using surveillance equipment. And even with the ubiquity of cell phones, overhead paging hasn’t gone away.
So, do you pick someone to service each item individually or find someone who can do it all? While there may be legitimate reasons to choose separate local IT service providers for your cabling, computer, business telephone, surveillance, and other IT needs, for most businesses, the simplicity of having one business to call for every one of their IT needs is a significant benefit.
So before you choose an IT company, check to see what they can do!
What Do Other Locals Think?
With Facebook and Google IT Service Reviews available, it’s never been easier to find out what other people think about local businesses. So, before you select your local IT service company to help your Roanoke small business, see what everybody else has to say!
Also, see how long they’ve been around and look at their online presence to assess if they’re a legitimate business.
Longevity
Ideally, when you choose a local IT service provider, you’ll be entering into a beneficial long-term relationship. So before you start, see how long the IT company has been in business.
Longevity does not automatically establish credibility, and neither does newness mean the inverse, but as businesses open and close every day, you don’t want to spend all the time establishing a relationship with someone who may not be around in a year. SO longevity is a plus.
What Is the Local IT Service Company’s Contract Options?
Finally, we all do business in different ways. So, ensure that the local IT company you are doing business with runs their business in a way compatible with yours.
If you want a monthly contract paying a set price, look for that. If you prefer a situation where you only have someone come out when needed that you can pay by the hour, check for that as well. If you need someone who will come to your location, don’t pick a company that only works out of their own.
We Hope You’ll Choose RCI for Your Local IT Service
We hope you’ll select RCI as your business’s local IT service provider. We’ve been in business here for over four decades, and we service telephone systems, computer networks, surveillance systems, sound and overhead paging, and more. Give us a call for any of your IT questions!
