What to ask an IT support company

Start with your business rather than a product list

Explain how many people work for you, where they work and which applications are essential. Mention local servers, specialist suppliers and any information that needs particular care. A sensible proposal should reflect those dependencies rather than assume every small company has the same setup.

Ask who will know the business and how staff should report an issue. A named contact is useful, but it should sit alongside a working support route rather than depend on one person's mobile being available all the time.

Read what unlimited actually covers

Unlimited remote support can remove the hesitation about raising a routine ticket. It still needs a defined scope. Ask about new installations, project work, site visits and applications supported by another vendor. Find out how extra work is quoted and who in your business can authorise it.

A monthly fee should be clear about licences and protection services as well. Independent Microsoft 365 backup is standard on Cloud Smart support agreements. It should be shown as included rather than added again as a second charge for the same cover.

Separate response from repair

A response target describes the first response to an incident. It is not the time by which every problem will be fixed. Ask how priorities are assigned and how the clock works during support hours. Find out what happens when the problem depends on Microsoft, an internet provider or replacement hardware.

Our standard hours are Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 17:30, excluding UK bank holidays. Targets are 30 minutes for Fatal, 45 for Severe, 60 for Medium and 180 for Minor incidents. Your written agreement defines coverage and responsibilities.

Ask who watches security alerts

Security monitoring and ordinary helpdesk cover are different services. Ask which accounts or devices are monitored, who reviews alerts and what action can be taken. An automated email to an unattended inbox is not the same as an analyst reviewing suspicious activity.

Cloud Smart's contracted out-of-hours account monitoring is delivered by our security partner's analysts. We do not present ourselves as a large in-house 24 hour team. The incident communication route and the people authorised to approve decisions should be agreed.

Check ownership before a future move

Your company should know who controls its domain, Microsoft tenant, subscriptions and important supplier accounts. Ask how access is secured and how a handover would work if either party ended the agreement. A clear exit process is useful even when the relationship is going well.

Review backup scope separately from service availability. Ask which data is included, what is outside the backup and how a recovery is requested. A provider should be able to explain what happens after a deletion or outage without promising that every possible task continues unaffected.

Get the proposal in writing

Cloud Smart remote support starts from £25 per user per month, plus VAT, on a 3 year term billed monthly. Shorter terms cost a little more. A full security audit and onboarding are free for clients committing to a contract. Ask for exact inclusions, total price, renewal arrangements and any separate project costs in the written quote.

Before you decide

Ask the proposed provider to explain its answer in ordinary language. If a technical term changes the scope or price, request a written definition. A useful proposal should let an owner identify what is included, what is excluded and which decisions remain with the business, without needing to guess.

Free tools to help you prepare

• Small business cyber security self-assessment
• Has this password appeared in a data breach?
• Can you spot a phishing email?