Every business knows they need IT help; but establishing that relationship with a third party vendor can be tough. It’s tricky to find an IT consulting company that is knowledgeable, affordable, and blends seamlessly with the rest of your business. In most cases, business leaders don’t know what they don’t know. They know they need help, but don’t have someone to guide them in the right direction.

So, what factors should your business consider when hiring an IT consulting firm?

Experience

Nothing beats real-world experience when it comes to managing IT related issues. Generally, the best IT consulting companies are the ones that have been around for awhile. While it’s tempting to hire someone fresh out of school to cut costs, they may not have the knowledge or skill set to handle the complexity of your businesses’ IT issues.

In most cases, the firm will have a portfolio on their website so you can dig into their experience. If not, it may be beneficial to contact the company and ask them to provide some reference sites.

Credibility

While experience should be a top priority in your research, it’s equally as important to make sure the IT consulting company is consistently working to improve their services. Are they up to date on the latest industry trends, trainings, and certifications? IT companies that are actively working to train and certify it’s consultants are the ones that will be able to provide high-quality, cutting edge services to its customers.

Reputation

While the firm’s experience should be your first priority, do some additional research to make sure the company has good sentiment. Do they have good online reviews? Are they active on social media and respond quickly to inquiries? Just like any other consumer products, we rely heavily on the opinions of our friends, family, coworkers, etc. This is no different!

Cost

Outsourcing an IT consulting company is a great money saver for businesses. In most cases, it’s cheaper to hire a consultant than bring on a full time employee. But despite hiring consultants to cut costs, businesses still try to cut corners. Although every business strives to keep its operating costs low, it might be beneficial to compromise when choosing an IT consultant.

In most cases, it can be beneficial to pay a higher rate for a company that will provide superior service, or that can help lower ongoing costs over time. Try to take a holistic approach. Consider the capabilities in relation to the services and products that you need. Although the service provider might seem more expensive on the surface, the quality and variety of their services make them a far better and cheaper option in the long run.

How can Thinline Technologies help?

Above all, the IT consulting firm you choose should be good personality fit with your business. After all, this will be an on-going relationship to maintain!

At Thinline Technologies, our goal is to implement the best products and services for each of our clients while also staying budget friendly. Most of our business has been built on referrals, and we pride ourselves on our long tenure with our clients. Many of our clients have been with us for over 10 years; in fact, several clients have been with us over 20 years!

Ready to get started? We’d love to help! We provide help in areas like cyber security, cloud solutions, business continuity and more. Give us a call at (410) 453-9300 or visit our services page for more info.