Factors to take into account when hiring a new IT solution
Choosing an IT solution has been a concern for business managers in companies of all sizes. Information technology has a huge responsibility in this ever-evolving world where changes happen almost daily.
But what should one take into account when hiring an IT solution? In this post, we shall cover this issue by listing a few points that should be carefully observed when selecting a supplier. If you are in charge of the IT area, this content was made for you. Check out some tips!
Evaluating suppliers
Find out more about the bidders to the product or service. Check the Internet and contact your prospective supplier’s customers. See how long it has been in the market and its experience in needs similar to yours.
It is really important to make an inquiry into the quality of its support and availability. In some situations, there is a 24-hour, seven days a week support requirement. It is important to define the needs of your company before starting the process.
Agreement analysis
Carefully observe the agreement clauses, especially those related to validity, price and form of payments. Request legal advice for issues related to penalties. The minimum agreement time may cause some hassles. Despite the pay-as-you-go trend, many solutions, especially from large vendors, place minimum contract time. This ends up tying companies at the moment of exchanging solutions, especially in periods of cost reduction.
A very important topic that should be explicit in contracts refers to updating new versions when it comes to software. Guarantee of operation should also be an integral part of the negotiation.
Currently, a shutdown in systems means an interruption in all of the company’s activities. This can cause a standstill in the productive, commercial and financial flow, bringing risks to the continuity of the business. Because of this, be very aware of solution agreements that, when discontinued, can stop your business.
Transferring knowledge
The transfer of knowledge and training of your employees also needs to be evaluated in advance. The learning curve varies depending on the complexity of the system or equipment being purchased. The more complex the environment, the more time shall be required for qualification. It is up to the supplier to ensure that the operations shall be undertaken by its team.
In the evaluation, one must take into account the time necessary for the preparation of their employees. In the transition period, daily activities shall be neglected, as the staff shall be involved in absorbing the new features. Today there is a trend in making available online training, which allows company employees to have greater flexibility to learn how to operate new solutions.
Possibility of integration
Another important point concerns the integration of the solution that is being acquired to the existing technological environment. Ideally, there should be the smallest number of vendors and software involved, since nobody wants to run multiple pieces of software at the same time.
Strive to find a simple solution facilitating IT management and addressing your business without the need to develop specific interfaces. The greater the adaptability of your scenario to the standard product, the better for your company and the productivity of your staff.
One of the corporate demands is that the solutions acquired integrate with other existing solutions. In our industry, IT infrastructure monitoring, it is common to request to integrate the monitoring software with Service Desk tools for automatic opening of calls when failures occur. This integration is important, since it guarantees less need for processes executed by employees, streamlining management and automating repetitive processes.
Constant updating
The supplier of your IT solution must have a profile of constant technological updating. Find out about the new versions of their product, the frequency of its deployments and the adaptability to the new devices being produced. Mobility should be a feature of any solution currently available.
Risk of obsolescence
The opposite side of constant updating is the obsolescence of the product or service being offered. This risk should be considered, since current devices may have difficulties performing routines developed for an outdated technological environment.
Now that you’ve seen what to take into account when hiring an IT solution, we’re ready to introduce our solution for IT infrastructure monitoring and Dashboard visualization.
