One of the major challenges of starting your own business is finding the right IT support to give your venture a fighting chance to succeed. Though there are plenty of success stories, the stark statistic is that only one in ten start-ups make it through their first year.

Of course there are many different reasons why a business doesn’t succeed but insufficient or mismanaged technology and IT support is a major one. Most new company’s initial ‘start-up fund’ is limited and investing in the wrong services can sap resources quickly. So it’s essential to have a clear idea of what your business needs now, whilst anticipating growth.

Beyond high speed internet access, good computers and a website your new business will need other systems and procedures in place to give it a competitive edge. Following are necessary steps to ensure that your SME (small to medium enterprise) has everything it needs and nothing it doesn’t to thrive.

Carefully evaluate the needs of your business.
Determine what your particular needs are in way of IT Support, Hosting, Servers, Network Security (i.e. firewalls, etc.), Desktop support and Data Back-ups. Also, be aware of any government regulations that may apply to your industry.

Research products and vendors with care.
Once you have evaluated your needs, your next step is finding the right IT Company / Managed Service Provider to meet those needs.
Keep in mind that it’s quite a mixed bag when it comes to hardware and managed service companies, know what you are looking for and don’t compromise for a seemingly more affordable option, just as in anything – if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Implement and Review
When you have found the right IT provider for your business and everything is in place, a regular review is necessary to ensure that all is satisfactory.
Completing a Systems Audit regularly will help to make certain that all your computer systems and servers are up to date.

Further Reading:
Choosing a Managed Service Provider
Interview Questions to Ask IT Support Companies – Part 1
Interview Questions to Ask IT Support Companies – Part 2
The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Your IT Support

*Image courtesy of  Chaiwat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net