Choosing an IT provider: 10 questions to ask

Handing your IT to a provider means giving them the keys to the business: accounts, data, network, backups. Offers often look alike on paper, and the differences mostly show up on the day something stops working.

The ten questions below help you compare proposals on concrete points. A good answer is precise and in writing; a vague answer deserves a follow-up.

Scope and support

• 1. What is included in the flat fee, and how is work outside it billed?
• 2. Which support hours and response times are written into the contract?
• 3. How do you submit a request: a single channel, a ticketing system, a phone number?
• 4. Who takes over your account when your usual contact is away, and how are they briefed?

Security and backups

• 5. Which security measures are included as standard: multi-factor authentication, endpoint protection (EDR), updates, e-mail filtering?
• 6. Where are backups stored, how long are they kept, is restoring from them tested, how often, and are these tests included or billed separately?

Documentation and exit terms

• 7. What documentation is kept up to date, and is it handed over to you on request?
• 8. Who holds the administrator access, the Microsoft 365 tenant and the domain name? The answer to expect: you do.
• 9. What happens when the contract ends: notice period, return of access, transfer of documentation?

Following up on the relationship

• 10. How does the provider report on its work: reports, periodic reviews, written recommendations?

Warning signs

• A refusal to document the environment or to hand over the documentation.
• Administrator access held exclusively by the provider.
• Absolute promises, such as 'zero downtime' or 'total security'.
• Unclear pricing for anything outside the flat fee.