How to choose an IT company in Pontiac Michigan

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How to Choose the Best IT Company in Pontiac

 

The proud city of Pontiac is a suburb of Detroit in Oakland County.  Although ranking only 25th in Michigan cities by population, Pontiac has a strong business presence, fueled partly from the “Rise of the Phoenix” initiative that incentivised businesses to relocate to Pontiac’s downtown area.  The program was a success with over 52 new businesses moving into the area.  Along with this growth has come the need for information technology services.

 

How to Choose an IT Company in Pontiac comes down to a few criteria.  No matter the industry, all businesses have a few major technology components that must be covered.

 

Cybersecurity and Data Protection

 

In today’s world, everyone is vulnerable.  Not long ago, it was only large companies that were the targets of hackers being that small and mid-sized companies still conducted much of their business offline, out of the reach of cybercriminals.  But that has changed dramatically in recent years.  Even the smallest retail shop now does nearly all their accounting online and logs into online banking multiple times a week.  Businesses like these are easy targets as they sometimes operate without any cybersecurity at all.  Proper cybersecurity and data protection goes far beyond simply installing the right software, it also means backing up your data and a recovery strategy in case your business does get attacked.

 

Availability of IT Support Services

 

Is your IT company available 24/7?  IT support includes help desk services.  There is perhaps nothing more frustrating for a business owner than to have their system go down and be unable to get immediate support from the IT services they are paying for.  For many businesses, being down can cost thousands of dollars per hour between lost revenue, idle employees and lost opportunity.  Although nearly all IT companies will say they are available at a moment’s notice, only a few actually follow through.  Don’t accept a simple verbal commitment, ask your prospective IT company if they have an SLA (service level agreement) in the contract and what are the consequences if they fail to meet these standards.  Ask these questions for in-person support, email support and phone.  And keep in mind, if your IT company is too far outside Pontiac, they might find it difficult to get to you quickly.

 

Local Knowledge

 

Computer hardware and software might be the same from one city to the next, but local knowledge still plays a key role.  For example, your IT company should have experience working with the various internet providers in the area, or know which buildings are wired with fiber optics, or can’t handle modern IT infrastructure.  Many local IT companies, especially in the Pontiac area, have direct lines to various key players in the nearby telecommunications companies or know where to get the best deals on parts.  Ask the IT company who they know in Pontiac, what vendors they use and which telecom and internet providers have the best service.

 

These three criteria might seem overly simplistic, but if an IT company is not strong in all three, they are not a good fit.  And knowing what questions to ask ahead of time communicates to a potential IT company that you have done your research and they’ll need to bring their A game if they plan on signing you.