There are two mistakes that are common to almost every account we take over from another IT company. The first mistake is customers getting the support/warranty for the devices they purchase in the name of the previous IT company, or worse, the name of an ex-employee. It is a common mistake with a common root cause- time. Companies don’t call for technical support when things are going well, they call when things are pretty much on the verge of being critical. In the flurry of activity to get an Internet connection back up or replace a firewall so the company can get back to work the pervasive feeling is “just get it done” and people don’t pay attention to the details, just the results. If you have to purchase equipment for your company ALWAYS make sure you have the following:
- · The product is registered in your companies name with multiple email contacts.
- · The support contract or warranty is in your companies name with multiple email contacts.
- · You have the original box and all documentation for the equipment.
As a bonus you may want to make sure the support company is not a reseller of the product they are suggesting. More often than not we go into a customer site and see a firewall, server or other hardware that is massive overkill for what the customer needed. Doing a little homework may save you thousands of dollars in the long run.
The second mistake we see is the customers thinking they have the usernames and passwords to all of their network assets only to find out that they don’t. A good IT company will not only give the customer the passwords for everything on the network they will also provide diagrams, network maps and a full inventory (which is required by HIPAA and HITECH). Just getting the passwords is not good enough. You need to go in and TEST the passwords. You need to go on your server and make sure you have administrative privileges. The same goes for the firewall, wireless access point and the multi-function printer you have behind the front desk.
If your IT company is not providing you with these services you may want to contact Bellcurve Technology!