According to a recent survey carried out among small businesses 42% of small business owners rank technology failure as their biggest worry. 

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/06/03/230907/small-businesses-stressed-on-technology.htm

This is hardly surprising, most of us can “have a go” at resolving minor problems with our laptops for example, but few small businesses have dedicated support for their IT systems.  Type “IT support for small business” into Google and you’ll be inundated with responses, from big players like BT (I’d be interested to hear from anyone who’s had a good experience with their IT support package) to one man bands who cover local outfits.  With so much choice it can be tricky to choose the right person – how do you make an informed decision when you may know very little about the subject matter yourself? We asked the brilliant Ben Taylor of Responsive Computing, who deals with all our IT support.   He gave us the following tips:

-          Does the provider have experience and proven references from companies of a similar sector and size? A good provider will be happy to provide reference sites and case studies, and put you in touch with existing clients.

-          Is the provider specifically trained (and ideally certified) in IT for small businesses? Look out for Microsoft Small Business Specialist certification.

-          Try to find out how the provider will proactively monitor your systems for problems. A lot of IT companies just react to problems, a good provider will have systems in place so they often notify you of issues before you become aware of them yourself.

-          How many people are likely to be involved in supporting your system? Individuals or very small teams who have in depth knowledge of your infrastructure are invariably more effective than large call-centre helpdesks where you never get to speak to the same person twice.

-          Does the provider make efforts to find out about your business and the way you work? If not, there is a danger of being specified a system that tries to force square pegs into round holes.