Choosing a partner to look after your hosted IT solutions and business critical information can be a daunting task and is a major business decision. Things to think about when choosing a hosting partner include aspects such as quality and reliability of service, credibility and reputation in delivering hosting solutions and demonstrating value to business users. You also want a partner that’s well connected, that you can enjoy a good working relationship with and that can help you develop and expand your business with ongoing training and support. Because of all these factors, Dalycom with our partners Outsourcery have put together our top considerations when selecting your hosting partner.
1. MAKE SURE YOUR PARTNER CAN OFFER ALL OF THE SERVICES YOU REQUIRE, NOT JUST NOW BUT IN THE FUTURE TOO.
It’s important to think about the services that you want to offer your customers, and the services that your customers actually need now and in the future. Selecting a provider that can serve all of your current and future communications and hosted IT requirements means you won’t need to look around for other partners in the future and have the hassle of managing lots of business relationships.
2. CHOOSE A PARTNER WITH AN ESTABLISHED, PROVEN TRACK RECORD.
It’s essential that you choose a hosting partner that is established and stable, so you can depend on them in the years to come. Find out how long they have been established, their scale and accessibility as an organisation and what experience they have in delivering the services that you want to sell. The last thing you want is your hosting partner going out of business, leaving you having to find a new partner and your customers without their critical business systems. It really isn’t worth it!
3. FIND OUT IF THEY HAVE ANY SERVICE LEVELS GUARANTEES
If you are going to be using hosted IT services in your business, you need to be sure that your hosting partner is reliable and will provide a professional business-class service. You need to know that email, document management and customer management systems will always be available as downtime can be extremely costly. Look for providers that offer guaranteed service levels.
However, bear in mind that whilst a 99% availability SLA may seem high, in reality it means that the service could be unavailable for as much as 7 hours per month. The higher the SLA guarantee, the less downtime you can expect.
4. MAKE SURE YOUR HOSTING PARTNER HAS FULL SECURITY PROCEDURES IN PLACE TO PROTECT YOUR CUSTOMERS’ DATA.
If you are going to put your customers’ data in the hands of a hosting partner, you need to know that it’s going to be secure. Therefore your potential partner should be able to provide you with full details about their data centre and network security procedures to give you peace of mind that information is always protected.
5. COMPARE PRICES ACROSS A RANGE OF HOSTED IT SERVICES AND PROVIDERS.
Although your choice of hosting provider will not be solely based on price, it will no doubt have some bearing. After all, in the current economic climate, it’s important to get the best return for you and your customers wherever possible.
6. ENSURE YOU ARE CLEAR ON THE LEVEL OF TECHNICAL SUPPORT YOUR HOSTING PARTNER PROVIDES.
Technical Support is vital should you or your customers have any issues with your hosted IT service. The level of support provided can vary quite considerably from one provider to another, so it’s important you are clear from the beginning what is included and what isn’t.
7. CHOOSE A PARTNER THAT HAS A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH MICROSOFT.
Choosing a hosting partner that is a member of the Microsoft Partner Programme means they are more likely to be experts in their particular area with access to specialist Microsoft resources and information. The better relationship your hosting partner has with Microsoft and the higher their level within the Microsoft Partner Programme, the more focused they are likely to be in delivering hosted IT solutions.
8. ENSURE YOU GET THE BEST TRAINING AND SUPPORT AVAILABLE
Without the necessary knowledge, expertise and ongoing support for your hosted IT services, business growth and success could be limited. That’s why training, development and support are key factors in choosing the right partner not to mention the ongoing operational support requirements.
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