4 Questions to ask your IT Provider that-will-add directly to your Bottom Line

IT is an enabler, yet too many organisations spend time focusing on just keeping things running. Many even pay an IT provider on a monthly basis for services in which they may feel they see very little value. An IT Provider's job is to justify and demonstrate value and a return on investment; if they are not doing so they are (in my opinion) not doing their job.

For the purpose of this article, I am proposing we assume that your current IT Partner is not going to be as forthcoming with the justifcation of value, and thus you may have to start the discussion on their behalf. I am going to offer you 4 key questions to ask your provider which will deliver you $$ straight to your bottom line with no upfront costs....

1. Do you have SLA Rebates?
This may not be suitable for everyone, but if you are paying a monthly contract to your IT Partner to manage your network this is question that must be asked. SLA Rebates are basically a form of payment made TO YOU, in the event the deliverables stipulated in the contract are not met. These generally revolve around things like response times, system uptime etc. And rightly so! If the provider is not delivering on their end of the bargain, then there should be some compensation for the client. The truth is, this is an industry standard for many organisations and the IT companies that stand by their work will always be happy to back it up with some form of SLA Rebate. Rebates are often not tied to loss of income but a % of the monthly contract value, and generally range from 25%-100%.

2. Why are we not having Strategic IT Meetings?
I think one of the best decisions we ever made was to start a process of Quarterly Strategic IT Meetings with our clients. The reason? You cannot foster a spirit of partnership and truely understand a client's business if the only time you are in touch with them is to send them a monthly report and when you are out to sell them something. Our Strategic IT Meeting agenda is free for the client, and covers areas like any outstanding jobs, current IT concerns, forward IT planning and suggested IT improvements.

3. Can we extend our Warranty?
This tip in itself will deliver thousands of dollars to your bottom line. IT equipment has a life cycle like any asset, however most servers and workstations are sold with a 3 year warranty. What this means is someone will be knocking on your door to buy a new server at the end of this period. If you brought a name brand server, you can actually pay to extend your warranty up to 5 years, allowing you to spread the cost of your IT investment over a longer period. Of course this is subject to the relative capacity and performance of the system (you may have to replace earlier if you have outgrown it). Don't fall into the trap of being forced into a costly upgrade if your current systems are working well.

4. Tell me about the Cloud?
If your current IT Provider has not embraced the emergence of Cloud Computing, he may not be as forthcoming to tell you about the benefits. The Cloud can save an organistion thousands of dollars every year, by reducing the need for local IT support costs, and expensive capital equipment. There are a number of different options including the Telstra Cloud Product called "T-Suite". This is a hosted Exchange/Sharepoint cloud product which is almost impossible to beat in price by any cloud provider. If this has not been mentioned to you, you need to ask about it!

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