IT

Your Guide to Choosing the Best IT Partner for Your Business 

The right IT service provider can not only improve cost efficiency and help you scale your business, but they can enhance security and ensure business continuity. They provide peace of mind while giving your teams the time and resources to focus on the business.  

Finding an IT consulting firm or managed service provider (MSP) that will understand and work seamlessly with your organization can seem daunting, but it’s crucial to business success. Here are some tips to help you know what to look for when considering providers.  

Look for experience and a range of services 

A good place to start is by checking the MSP’s experience and track record with businesses of similar size. Request references from clients the provider has worked with long term. Case studies and examples of successful projects will reveal how the firm works and the kinds of projects they handle.  

An MSP or managed security service provider (MSSP) should offer a comprehensive range of services that align with your business needs, such as network management, cybersecurity, cloud solutions, on-demand IT support, and IT strategy consulting. 

Extensive networking field experience is one of the strongest indicators that a provider has the right skills and capabilities. Since there’s a lot of turnover in the IT industry, longevity also demonstrates reliability.  

Evaluating compatibility 

Once you’ve established that the MSP has the right experience, consider whether they’re a good fit for your company. First, take a look at the MSP’s culture, values, and work styles to determine whether they align with those of your company. 

Compare collaboration practices and communication needs. Do they have an interview and onboarding process to learn about your company? Do their communication methods align with your preferences? It’s important that they understand your processes and business objectives, as well as describe their approach to working together.  

Next, consider the location. MSPs don’t necessarily have to be in your area since they can provide a lot of support remotely and often have established relationships to outsource on-site support. However, a significant difference in time zones or communication channels can become issues in some cases.  

Questions to ask prospective IT providers 

After you’ve reviewed their references and case studies, you can ask them more specific questions to evaluate how they’ll work with your teams.  
  • What experience, training, and technical certifications do your team members have? Is their training ongoing and kept current?  
  • How do you approach cybersecurity, data protection, and compliance for our industry?  
  • How will you continue to support our business as yours scales? Will you have enough resources?  
  • What communication channels do you use and what are your expected response times? What are your escalation procedures for resolving issues?  
  • How do you handle disaster recovery to protect our data and ensure business continuity?  
  • Do you have access to the people and tools you need as both of our companies grow? 

Measuring expectations and outcomes 

It’s a challenge to guarantee outcomes in IT, but the MSP should let you know what to expect and how they measure success. They may gauge their work in terms of user experience, system performance, reduced downtime, blocked threats, and the predictability of IT spending. They may share results with you via regular meetings or by providing KPI reports.  

Some details to look for in your contract include:  
  • Clearly defined service level goals (SLGs) around response times, uptime guarantees, and performance metrics 
  • A reasonable contract length, giving each party the opportunity to assess the relationship on an annual basis 
  • A termination clause detailing notice requirements and provisions for transitioning to another provider, if necessary 
     

Choosing the right MSP can result in an ongoing relationship that helps your business achieve success. In addition to protecting systems, they can be proactive in preventing issues and creating a long-term technology roadmap.   

If you ask the right questions upfront, you improve your chances of finding a qualified, reliable IT partner.  

At UTOT, we’ve worked with many of our clients for 10 to 20 years. Discover how we help businesses like yours with their IT and cybersecurity needs.  

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IT

22 IT Terms and Acronyms Every Executive Should Know    

If you work with an IT team, whether internal or external, you’ve likely heard them tossing around terms and acronyms that sound like alphabet soup. You may be familiar with some of them and may even use some without really knowing what they stand for.  

To better communicate with your IT teams about day-to-day system management, cyber insurance, regulatory requirements, and other technical topics that are sure to arise, it’s useful to understand common IT terms and acronyms.  
 

Here’s a 2-minute read defining some common IT acronyms that C-level executives should be familiar with.  

Terms around IT people and teams:  
  1. CTO (chief technology officer): The executive responsible for overseeing technology use and development within an organization. 
  2. CISO (chief information security officer): The executive in charge of developing and implementing an organization’s information security strategy and policies. 
  3. MSP (managed service provider): A company that offers outsourced IT services, including desktop support, infrastructure management, and general IT management.
  4. MSSP (managed security service provider): A company that provides managed security services, specifically focused on cybersecurity.  

General IT industry terms: 
  1. IT (information technology): The use of computers, networks, and other technologies to store, process, and manage data. 
  2. Endpoint: The devices that connect to a network, including PCs, Macs, tablets, smartphones, and servers.  
  3. ERP (enterprise resource planning): A platform that integrates digital business systems like HR, finance, or medical records.
  4. CRM (customer relationship management): The system used to manage and analyze the data and interactions of customers and prospects.
  5. VPN (virtual private network): A secure network connection that enables private access to data and resources and data remotely over the internet.
  6. SaaS (software as a service): A software model where applications are hosted and delivered by a third-party provider and accessed over the internet.
  7. BYOD (bring your own device): The practice of allowing employees to use their personal devices (laptop, tablet, smartphone) for work.        
  8. AI (artificial intelligence): Technologies that simulate human intelligence to perform tasks that require learning, decision-making, and problem-solving.
  9. ML (machine learning): A subset of AI that develops algorithms and statistical models that continuously learn and improve on tasks using data, without explicit programming.   

Cybersecurity and privacy-related terms:  
  1. MFA (multi-factor authentication): A security measure that requires users to provide two or more proofs of identity before they can access a system, application, or account. 
  2. GDPR (general data protection regulation): European Union privacy regulations designed to protect personal data for individuals within the EU and European Economic Area, though its reach impacts the U.S. and elsewhere. 
  3. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): U.S. legislation that sets the standards for protecting sensitive patient health information.
  4. PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard): Standards established for the secure transmission, processing, and storage of credit card information.  
  5. PHI (protected health information): The personal, identifiable information about a person’s health, healthcare, or payments that is created or maintained by a healthcare entity. 
  6. EMR (electronic medical records): Digital versions of patient health charts that contain medical history, diagnoses, prescriptions, treatments, test results, and more. 
  7. PII (personally identifiable information): Data that can be used to determine a person’s identity.  
  8. NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology): A non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce that supports innovation by developing standards and best practices for IT and other technology systems.  
  9. EDR (endpoint detection and response): A term for the next-generation class of antivirus software that includes additional response and remediation options.  

Good communication with your IT team is important, but it’s okay to leave the most technical aspects of your business to them. If you have questions about how to improve the management of your IT systems and cybersecurity, we’re happy to provide answers.  

Talk to a UTOT expert