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What to Look For in an IT Consulting Firm

By Juan Dimenio

Technology can make or break your business. A slew of IT problems can easily bog down your business operations. But if you're lucky enough to have chosen the right IT company, it might just save your day.

Too much precious money and time is wasted by not having the right IT support that handles your equipment in an efficient way. There are growing demands on each business's performance, and the last thing any business needs are IT problems that grind productivity to a halt. Technical problems can create stress and loss of employee work time.

Carelessness can be the cause of a number of problems. Critical data might not be backed up adequately. An endless, ever-growing army of viruses and spyware can create havoc on your computers without your knowledge. A good IT company can make sure your system is clean and protected, sufficiently backed up in case of a computer crash or accidental deletion, and will ensure your company's IT equipment will run smoothly and proficiently. The right IT company can save the day and make you more money by, simply, helping your business run smoothly without IT hiccups.

The wrong IT company, or IT management program, however, could skyrocket costs. Incompetency combined with waste, could leave you with an empty wallet and a dead IT system. With a top-notch IT management program, companies can monitor everything and control and manage IT assets, eliminate waste, and comply with government compliance regulations.

So, with that said, how do you choose an IT company that's right for your business? Whether it's Web design, maintenance, IT consulting, support of hardware and software, you will want proactive solutions and an IT company that's able to implement excellent services no matter the size of business.

Make sure the IT company you choose has on-site engineers with certifications from ITIL, Microsoft, Cisco, RedHat and Checkpoint. Some IT companies are resellers of the big manufacturers like Microsoft, DELL, IBM, AVG, Cisco and Sun Microsystems. That can often be a good sign. If they sell that equipment, then they likely have an on-call staff for IT consulting, technical and customer integration, cabling, a help desk and full product procurement. Also be sure your IT consulting firm is familiar with the local business and practices. For example, if you live in the Boston area, you would want to find a local Boston IT Consulting firm so they would be familiar with what you are dealing with.

IT problems will get complicated. It's just the way technology is. The fate of your company may hinge on making sure your IT system is running smooth. Can you trust your IT company with the fate of your technology? When talking to IT companies, you'll want to make sure they can handle a wide array of technical issues. Technology is broad, and the IT company you hire should be able to handle an equally broad range of problems. Here are a few topics they should be experts in:

*Server installation and support *Windows, Linux, MAC *Network design and maintenance *Proactive network security *Data backup and recovery *Hard drive shredding and computer recycling *Email archiving *Onsite services *Green friendly computing *Off-site spam filter *Computer optimization *Complimentary network assesment *Video surveillance *Web development *Voice over IP *Hardware, software *Remote managed services *Construction and maintenance *Marauder eradication *Computer de-clogging

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