March 20th, 2008

It’s human nature and smart business to look for the lowest bidder, but be careful about the questions you ask your bidders, the people you’re going to put in control of your most valuable business tool. Too often, the lowest bidder will rack up extra charges for a number of reasons, even if they are trustworthy. Here are a few questions and thoughts to bear in mind when looking for a network provider.

Hourly vs. Contract

A lot of low cost providers like to quote prices based on hourly service. The inherent problem with this approach is that it gets rid of the incentive to work quickly and entirely eliminates their benefit of doing the job right the first time.

Especially if your IT staff can troubleshoot remotely, which all of the good ones do with services like GoToAssist, you can’t really know how many hours they work compared to how many they bill, and low cost providers have to get the income up one way or another.

Companies willing to charge contract prices do so knowing they can get the job done more quickly and efficiently, so the need to charge by the hour may be reserved for training or meetings, when time will be fixed.

What’s Included, What Isn’t?

Many times a network manager will offer an affordable maintenance contract, but not mention which critical elements cost extra. Some companies will not include things like scheduled data backups, technical support, on-site service or even a local staff. Talk with them and ask what is included, but also be very sure to ask what is not included.

Got Certification?

There is no licensing requirement for network managers, so technically, your nephew can do the job if he knows enough to be dangerous. If you have a small network, you will require MCSE or MCSA certifications (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator, respectively.)

If you have a bigger network, or hold your IT staff to higher standards, you should look for more comprehensive certifications like Cisco. The Microsoft certifications are perfectly valid, but children as young as 9 years old have earned them, so take them with a grain of salt. The same can not be said of Cisco certifications, which require intense training and testing.

Check References

Since you’re going to be putting the entire company in the hands of these people, you need to know what their reputation is. It’s not enough that they seem like nice enough people; you need to look at other clients they have to make sure you’re not going to be their first customer, or their next victim. Have they managed a network as big as yours? Have they been thrown off of jobs before? Your business is too important to leave to chance, even if you do save $10 per hour.

Best Advice

Before hiring a network provider, make a list of every question you can think of and make sure you get the answers you need to make the best decision. If something is important, get it in writing. If you have any doubts, do more research. Look at their other clients, check out their certifications, and don’t be afraid to hurt anyone’s feelings. This could be the beginning of a long and successful relationship, or the most dangerous mistake you’ll ever make.

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