What Every Business Owner Should Know About Hiring a Truthful, Capable, and Fairly Priced Computer And IT Consultant

Don’t Trust Your Company’s Critical Data To Just Anyone! 

This Advisory Guide Will Show You 11 Revealing Questions You Should Ask an IT Consultant Before Giving Them Access to Your Company’s Computer Network. Read This To Discover:

• The “secret” of the IT industry that most don’t know and will never be told by their IT guy (knowing these 11 questions to ask ALONE could save you untold aggravation and from wasting tons of money when choosing to outsource your IT support).
• 11 questions that, when asked, will help you instantly spot an incompetent computer technician quickly.
• 2 important misconceptions business owners have about required computer maintenance, one of which you’ll want to know about BEFORE picking up the phone.
• What you’ll want to know to protect yourself from viruses, worms, spyware and hackers.
• 3 major mistakes you’ll need to avoid when choosing a computer consultant.
• Why the “cheap” Managed Service Providers aren’t the bargain they appear to be.
• The one glaring sign that you should run – not walk – away from an IT firm.

Choosing an IT support company isn’t the easiest thing to do. There is never a shortage of horror stories about inept computer repair “gurus” causing MORE problems than they solve. Talk to anyone, and you will get an earful of the unfortunate experiences many have encountered.

Why is this? Because the computer repair and consulting industry is not regulated and requires no certification to call yourself a computer technician. So there is no way for you to determine whether the “technician” knows what they are doing or not. While there are some repair guys out to steal your money, more often, it’s simply because they lack the skills to do the job properly. Of course, they won’t tell you that up front, and we know this exists in abundance because of the multitude of customers that have come to us to clean up the disasters these “technicians” have caused.

Dentists, accountants, automotive repair shops, electricians, plumbers, lawyers, realtors, and doctors are all heavily regulated to protect consumers. However, the computer industry is mostly unregulated, and there aren’t any laws in place to protect consumers – which is why you’ll need to arm yourself with the information contained in this report.

Right now anyone can call themselves a computer technician. Most people are honestly trying to do a good job for you. However, their inexperience can cost you heavily in terms of your network’s speed, security, and reliability. That is why we wrote this report. We want to give YOU useful information to help you guard against the lack of competence of some companies and technicians.

11 Questions You Should Ask Your Next IT Company Before Hiring Them To Support Your Network

Q1: Are their phones answered live, or do you have to leave a voice mail and wait for a callback? 

Our Answer: Our phones are answered live from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. All clients get an emergency after-hours tech support number to call if they have a problem that can’t wait until normal business hours. Why? Many CEOs and executives find they are more productive after hours. If they can’t get logged in to the network and can’t get IT help, it’s seriously frustrating.

Q2: Do their technicians learn on your dime or do they maintain current vendor certifications and ongoing training?

Our Answer: Thrive is listed in CRN’s Tech Elite top 250 IT companies with the most industry certifications. Our technicians are required to stay certified in all the software and hardware we support, including Microsoft and Dell. 

Q3: Do they proactively look for ways to improve IT performance, or wait until you have a serious issue and only then make recommendations?

Our Answer: We are in contact with our clients on a regular basis to look for new ways to improve operations, increase productivity, lower costs, and solve problems that may arise. 

 Q4: Are detailed invoices provided that clearly show what you are paying for?

Our Answer: Our invoices show exactly what work has been done, when, and why, so you’ll never be guessing what you are paying for. Also, should you ever have a question about a bill, our accounting team is just a phone call away and can get you the answers you need. 

Q5: Are projects guaranteed on budget and on time?

Our Answer: All projects have a fixed priced. They are guaranteed to be completed on time and for the price agreed on. This is imperative as there are incompetent and even unethical IT companies that will only quote “time and materials,” which allows them to take as much time as they want on completing a project and forcing you to pay the bill.

Q6: Do they protect you by having workers’ compensation insurance?

Our Answer: If a technician gets hurt at your office, who pays? These days, you’ll need to make sure any company you hire is insured with both errors and omissions insurance AND workers’ compensation. Be sure to insist on seeing proof of insurance. 

Q7: Will your network be monitored 24-7-365, keeping critical security patches, virus definitions, and security patches up-to-date on your line-of-business applications, not just Windows. PREVENTING problems from turning into lost data and downtime?  

Our Answer: Thrive’s network monitoring system keeps a watchful eye over your network, continually looking for problems and security issues that could be developing, addressing them BEFORE they turn into more significant matters.

Q8: Will a monthly report that shows all security patches, updates, and the status of every single machine on your network be provided, so you’ll know for SURE that your systems have been patched and updated?

Our Answer: Each month, our clients receive a customized Thrive report showing patches, updates, and other important network information (like hard drive space, speed, and performance, etc.). This report not only shows us what computers have problems, but it also allows YOU to see how your money is spent and hold us accountable for our work!

Q9: Is an “all-inclusive” support plan offered? Is it TRULY all-inclusive, or are there hidden fees in the fine print? 

Our Answer: Our Thrive support plan is just that – all-inclusive. This is our most popular service plan. It includes all hardware with no upfront cost, saving you money upfront and in the long run. With other service providers, you’ll want to make sure you consider a few things:

• Will help desk support be included or is it extra?
• What about network upgrades?
• What about moving or adding users?
• Is hardware included?
• What about your line-of-business, 3rd-party software support (accounting package, Office, etc.)? 
• If you’re not happy with their services, how do you get out of the contract?
• Do they include off-site backups? Are they backing up the data only or the entire server? Can the server run in the cloud?
• If you have a disaster, do they charge you for restoring your network, or is it included in the service?
• Are on-site support calls included? 
• Are home PCs that can be used to access the company network included or are they extra?
• Are they scanning the Dark Web proactively to protect your credentials?
• Do they include all of the hardware you need to keep your company safe?

Q10: Do they have a US-based help desk or is it outsourced to a third-party overseas company?

Our Answer:  We provide our own in-house help desk support headquartered in Birmingham, AL, and make sure that our team is local, friendly, and helpful. We feel this one of our most important aspects of customer service, plus it’s important for keeping your data secure.

Q11: Do their technicians take the time to answer your questions, and explain what they are doing and in plain English (not geek-speak), or do they make you feel uncomfortable for asking basic questions?

Our Answer: Thrive technicians are trained to take time to answer your questions and explain everything in simple terms.