About this guide
Hiring an honest, competent, responsive and fairly priced IT services provider
Here’s an embarrassing (and little-known) fact about the IT industry: it is not regulated like many other professional service industries, which means ANYONE can claim they are a computer repair expert! Automotive repair shops, electricians, plumbers, lawyers, realtors, dentists, doctors, accountants, etc., are heavily regulated to protect the consumer from receiving substandard work or getting ripped off. This is why it’s so important for you to arm yourself with the information contained in this guide before handing off the management of your network to an IT service provider.
Anyone who can hang out a shingle can promote themselves as a computer expert. Even if they are honestly trying to do a good job for you, their inexperience can cost you dearly in your network’s speed and performance or in lost or corrupt data files. That is why we decided to offer this guide. The information in this guide is provided to help raise standards within the computer repair and support industry, and to give YOU useful information to help you guard against the lack of ethics or incompetence of some companies and technicians.
This guide includes 4 sections to help you navigate and select the best IT service provider from the hundreds of options in your area:
- Chapter 2: 21 Questions to ask
This chapter will focus primarily on the 21 questions you need to ask your computer service provider before hiring them to ensure they properly support and manage your infrastructure. - Chapter 3: 4 Misconceptions about computer maintenance and repair
Unfortunately, it is not possible to “set it and forget it” when it comes to properly managing and securing your network. This chapter will reveal the 4 biggest misconceptions that we have seen and heard in the last decade. - Chapter 4: 5 Mistakes to avoid when choosing an IT service provider
Some IT service providers may ask to lock you in to lengthy long term contracts that usually only benefits them. This chapter will focus on 5 specific items to confirm before finalizing your decision and signing on that dotted line. - Chapter 5: A final word…
If you are a business in Winnipeg or Manitoba and are equipped with all the information you need to select the right IT service provider – we can help! This chapter will focus primarily on what should be the next step to get you and your business technologies well taken care of.