How To Pick an IT Company
(or How to Avoid Hiring The Wrong IT Company)

Our owner Rob, has 25 years experience working on computers and computer networks.  He has noticed that many business managers/owners have no idea how to choose an IT company for working on their computer network.   Because of that, this document was written to help businesses choose a qualified IT company.

Since the computer industry isn’t regulated like plumbers, realtors, electricians, etc., that makes is more difficult to choose a good IT company.  This means that many “unproven” IT technicians can open up shop, and practice on your business computer or network.   Even if a computer technician is honestly trying to do a good job for you, their lack of experience can cost your business dearly if mistakes are made.

Wrong ways a business might choose an IT company

1. Shopping price rather than value.  That is, they choose the IT Company that gives the lowest  up-front cost, not taking into account the much higher long-term costs (and performance aggravation), of making a poor up-front decision.  The client might get a low up-front cost, but receives poor long-term value.
2. Choosing a consultant who has many certifications, but not much “real-world experience”.
3. The IT company has flashy marketing methods.
4. Using a nephew or a friend of a friend who works on computers part-time.  The client may not realize that this nephew may not always be available when urgently needed.  Plus they may not have extensive real-world experience to properly advise a client…causing higher long-term costs then necessary.
5. They open up the yellow pages and call the first IT company that they happen to see.
6. They call the IT company that’s the shortest distance away.

Better ways to choose an IT company

1. Pick an IT Company with many years of real-world experience.  Nothing beats real-world experience. There are a lot of computer repair technicians out there that are new or just getting started.  Deal with computer companies that have longevity and a proven track record.  For example, our owner has been working with computers for 24 years and PC-TroniX has been incorporated since 1998.
2. Pick an IT Company that will help you minimize your long-term IT expenses.   In this economy, this is a service whose time has come.

We are the only IT company that we know of
That uses proprietarily-packaged software service* to help minimize a client’s IT expenses.
(*Virtual Workstation Maintenance & Managed Network Monitoring)
To learn more, go to www.pc-tronix.com and click on “network monitoring” & “automatic network maintenance”.

3. Don’t pick a “one-man band”.  You don’t want your “one-man-band” on vacation when you have a network emergency.   You want a shop with multiple technicians, so a technician is available to help you.

Another reason you want a shop with multiple technicians is because multiple technicians means multiple skill sets, which gives you a higher likelihood that your network problems will be resolved faster.

4. Use an IT company that will give you a project price (rather than an hourly rate) for jobs that are able to be made project oriented.  That way you are paying for value.  Inexperienced companies like to give hourly rates on project oriented jobs, because they don’t have the experience to know how long the project will take.  An experienced IT company is confident in their ability to quote project prices.  However, note that some jobs must be done on an hourly basis if there are unknown(s), such as when a client calls us to do a repair on an already existing network, which we have never worked on before.
5. Ask the IT company if they have experience in working for other companies like yours.
6. Choose an IT company that can respond quickly to emergencies.  We give priority response to companies that use our two managed services.
7. Find out if there are repair labor guarantees.  PC-TroniX guarantees its repair labor.  In the rare event that we make an incorrect diagnosis when working on a particular piece of equipment, we will return and make corrections, with no additional labor charges, on that specific piece of equipment.

5 Misconceptions when choosing an IT Company

1. If your computer or network is working fine now, it doesn’t need any preventative maintenance.
   This is a prevalent misconception that most businesses fall into.  Computer networks are like cars.  You need to change the oil, change filters, rotate tires, and do other preventative maintenance on your car.  If not, the car will eventually stop working, and cost you much more to repair in the long run.

There are certain preventative maintenance checks that need to be done such as:
Daily- virus updates, spam filtering, and daily on-site backups
Monthly or Quarterly- checking for security patches and  updates, disk defragging, spyware detection and removal, checking the UPS, integrity of the hard drive, etc.
Automatic updates of- Virus definitions,  spam filtering, and automatic offsite backups

Lack of preventative maintenance is the number one reason most businesses lose valuable files and incur heavy computer repair bills.  If your technician isn’t offering you these services, you need to find someone else to support your computer or network for two reasons:

1. Either they don’t know enough to make this recommendation, which is a sure sign they are inexperienced, OR
2. They recognize that they are profiting from your computer problems and don’t want to recommend steps towards preventing you from needing their help on an ongoing basis.

2. The maintenance tools provided in the Microsoft Operating System and software are all the maintenance you need.

Microsoft does NOT include all of the security features to protect your data from viruses, hackers, and data loss or prevent your PC from running slowly.

Microsoft and other software vendors are constantly providing patches and updates to their software to protect you from viruses and hackers.  But, if you don’t know to look for them or if you don’t know how to install them properly, you could easily end up getting burned.

3. My nephew or the neighbor kid or my brother-in-law knows computer stuff and can help me.

Unfortunately not all technicians are created equal.  Just because a person is good with computer applications (sometimes called a power user) does NOT mean they know how to install critical security patches, or detect and extract a deadly virus, or upgrade your machine.

Most people look for a part-time “guru” to help them save money, but this often comes back to haunt them.  We have had to repair computers and networks because a part-time “guru”, was trying to help and made some mistakes.

Technology advances at a very fast pace. It takes constant learning and practice to master it.  If your part-time computer helper is not working on networks daily, they probably know enough to be dangerous.

4. You can always get a better deal on computer software or equipment by shopping online.
   For instance, Dell makes very good computers and servers (that’s why we sell them) and they can be bought on-line or by phone.   But, what if you have a hard disk problem.  Dell only helps you get your computer back to the same condition as when you bought it.  Dell will not help you get your data back.  You need a company such as PC-TroniX to help you with your hard drive AND save your data.

As with anything in life, you get what you pay for.  You can always get a cheaper bargain on-line, but computer companies cannot afford to give you cheap prices AND champagne service.  Plus you may not even know how to specify the configuration of a new computer or server (to work with your network) if you order it.

Many of the big computer manufacturers use overseas support.  That is such a frustrating and time-wasting experience.  Many times it is incredibly frustrating when you are trying to communicate with their Help Desk representatives.

Do YOU really know how to install, configure and troubleshoot the new computer or server you ordered, so that it is compatible with your network?  Quite often, drivers and software can conflict and cause problems.  You need to know what to do, when those problems occur…otherwise it might be worth hiring a knowledgeable IT company to do it for you.

5. Some people think that all computer shops are created equal, so they look for the cheapest one.

This is another misconception that can cause long-term network problems for you.  Usually, a cheap price usually means a cheap job.  Good technicians do not work cheap.  The only technicians that will work cheap are those that are just starting out, and they are grossly inexperienced.  So…do you really want to entrust your irreplaceable business data to the cheapest technician?

PC-TroniX takes the view that most people want value for their money, and want the job done right.  We aren’t the cheapest, and we don’t apologize for that.  And we aren’t the most expensive.  We feel that we offer excellent service at a fair price. 

After a business client chooses an IT company that client might wonder:
“Are they REALLY fixing my network properly…or are they just putting a “Band-Aid” on it”.

To a large extent, that depends on the client.  If the client is very cost conscious, the IT company may be hesitant to recommend replacing hardware for fear of the client’s reaction (even if replacing it is best).  Many IT companies want to do the right thing, but are held back by the client’s desire to save money up-front. 

Out of a desire to save money up-front, we have even had a couple clients that developed network problems, which turned out to be much more expensive, then if they would have allowed us to do our recommended network updates and maintenance to begin with.  Other IT companies run into this also.  This happens in other business sectors also, such as with attorneys, doctors, or auto mechanics, where the client, patient, or customer may not do what is recommended, thus opening up the possibility of more expensive problems in the future.

If an IT client takes a long-term view, it’s easier for them to see that a long-term “fix” is usually best.  Better IT companies will take the time to learn about a client’s business so they are able to make the best recommendation.