Is the 'One Man Band' IT Guy Right for Your Business?

By Matthew Crist

It's unlikely that the words “IT support” are ever likely to generate too much excitement – especially if you consider that they usually mean something has gone wrong . . . or is about to.

Glamorous it may not be, but IT support is one of those services that is simply essential for every businesses in this modern, connected world.

Such is the unpredictability of technology; you never know when you might find yourself in a critical IT-related situation, and if you haven’t got a trusty technician on hand to call on, you will be kicking yourself for not paying closer attention to the possible risks when things were going a little more smoothly.

So, if you’re relying on your best mate to look after all your technical needs, or even worse, a friend of a friend, just to save a bit of cash, here are a few questions you might want to consider before proclaiming, “I don’t need professional IT support.”

1. Are they qualified?

You may believe them when it comes to spinning a few yarns on a night out, but you need to ask yourself: is the person you rely on for your IT support as qualified as they would have you believe?  IT support is a highly specialized area, and if someone you know is happy to give this knowledge and know-how away for nothing, maybe you should ask yourself why?

2. Are they fully committed?

If they have put in a full day of IT help and advice as part of their regular job – do they really want some extra work on the side? Okay, maybe they do, but will this affect the service they are offering you? With something as important as IT support, you need a dedicated and committed team that you can rely on.

3. Are they moonlighting?

Is this person solely dedicated to your company’s needs? If the answer is no, then they may get swamped with requests from other friends and contacts without telling you they are overstretching themselves. Working with friends can be great when everything is going well, but that relationship can become strained when things start to go wrong.

4. Are they being proactive?

Great IT support isn’t just about waiting for things to go wrong, it’s about being proactive to ensure things have less chance of going wrong in the first place. It’s not just a case of them standing by and waiting for your call; any decent IT specialist will regularly monitor and maintain your systems to prevent any potential problems before they happen.

5. Can they respond quickly when you need them?

Is the person who currently provides your IT support available when you need them? One person can’t be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – what happens when they are ill, go on holiday, or are busy with other customers? A team of engineers can manage their workload much more effectively to ensure they are always there for you.

6. Are they trustworthy?

Pirated software poses a threat to you and your business. Not only from a legal perspective, but it also means it can’t be updated - so it is vulnerable to virus and malware attacks. So you need to ask yourself, is the software your friendly IT guy has installed legitimate and 100 percent genuine? Sometimes things are cheap for a reason.