There comes a day when you may be extremely frustrated with your company’s IT support provider. Changing your IT support provider is usually a last resort; however, it is tempting to stay with a provider that even provides unsatisfactory service. The problem is changing providers can lead to significant disruptions in business operations, which is something most companies are unable to afford.

However, having an unprofessional service provider can cause more harm. Poor service can leave your company open to cyberattacks of all kinds and other problems. These can cost your company revenue or even clients.

So, how do you know which IT support problems are worth breaking up with your IT support provider? In this article, we’ve put together some signs that let you know it’s time to find better IT support.

Doesn’t Seem to Take Security Seriously

Cyberattacks are only growing in number, as well as becoming more serious. When a company’s data isn’t secure, valuable business data is put in jeopardy, along with customer data.

No matter what industry your company’s in, it’s crucial to have high levels of security in place. For this reason, your IT support provider should be taking security seriously. Their security plan should take into count a plan that fits your company and industry needs.

If you feel the IT support provider isn’t taking your company security seriously, or if they seem to lack the knowledge, experience, and technology to keep your business safe, then it’s probably time to search for a new support provider.

Measurable Results

A reliable IT support service provider should be able to deliver measurable results. While they may tell you that they’ve improved your uptime and availability or that they’ll get to the problem as soon as possible, this isn’t enough. Your IT support provider should present information that clearly shows how much value you’re getting from their services.

Providing measurable results is more than a necessity—it’s crucial for making important decisions for your business. If the service provided doesn’t provide reports on metrics, then they’re only providing the technology without taking into consideration the success of your business goals.

Recurring Issues

This is another sign that it’s time to switch IT, support providers. If your business operations are disrupted on a regular basis, it’s impossible to function. If the issues can’t be helped, the then service provider should be able to deal with issues when they occur. This means they need to have the ability to find and fix any problems quickly to get you back up and running again.

If you’re constantly dealing with hardware issues, then the provider’s inability to fix the problem may indicate they don’t have the skills, knowledge, or technology to do so.

This is a major sign that it’s time to switch to a new IT support service provider.

Poor Communication & Slow Responses

Communication is essential in all aspects of business, which includes working with your IT support provider. However, if the provider has poor communication skills and slow responses, this is a bad sign.

Many IT support providers have set up dedicated contacts for each of their IT clients. This way, each company has a contact person who gets to know them and their network. When a problem comes up, the client contacts their dedicated person to get issues sorted out. Plus, the contact person may follow up with their IT client to make sure everything’s running well or if there are any issues that need to be addressed.

There’s a problem if you contact your IT service provider, only to be handed off to the first available representative. It may even be the rep doesn’t get back to you very quickly. These are bad signs.

If you’re constantly dealing with this type of communication issue, then it’s time to consider switching to a new IT service provider.

Won’t Take Responsibility

Here, again, communication is essential. What happens if your IT support provider gives you guidance and advice on standards to follow? Do they oversee the implementation and then provide support when you need it? What happens when something goes wrong? Does your support provider blame you without taking responsibility? If so, this is another bad sign.

The problem is if your company does follow the guidance and implementation instructions, and something does wrong. The IT support provider should be able to let you know why things didn’t work and how to fix the problem. When they refuse to take responsibility for their role in the issue, then you lose confidence and trust in the provider.

If the relationship with your IT support provider has failed in this way, then it’s time to change to a new IT support provider.

Lack of Confidence in their Disaster Relief Plan

This another serious issue that can plague the relationship with your IT support provider. Disasters happen, and it’s important to be prepared for them. Disasters come in all shapes and sizes; even a small fire can wreak havoc for your company.

For this reason, it’s crucial to have a disaster relief plan in place. This not only helps your business, but it also helps the support provider. When something goes wrong, then they need to be alerted in order to minimise damage and get your business back up and running. This means your company needs to have confidence and trust in the IT support provider that they will come through in an emergency.

If your IT support provider hasn’t provided a disaster relief plan or if it seems to be lacking, then it’s time to look for a new provider.

Summing It Up

Now, it’s important to mention that you shouldn’t quite an IT support provider at the first sign of a problem. It’s better to first try to talk through things and see if the situation can be managed.

However, if your business is constantly experiencing major issues, such as those in this article, then it’s time to consider making a switch. Keep in mind you may need to wait until the end of the service contract to make the switch. Even so, you can still start the search for a new IT support provider. Then you’ll be ready to make the change to a new IT support provider that has what it takes to support your company and its goals.