How to choose an IT provider: a practical checklist
Every IT provider's website says roughly the same thing: fast, reliable, proactive, local. That makes it hard to actually compare options from the outside. This is a practical checklist of what to check before signing. These are the things that actually predict whether a provider will still be good to deal with in six months, well after the sales pitch.
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The short answer
Look past the marketing language and check for structure: are they a proper registered business with more than one person, insurance and documented processes? Do they commit to a specific response time in writing? Can they explain your setup back to you in plain English? And can you actually talk to a real person when something goes wrong? Providers that pass these checks are far more likely to hold up under pressure than ones that only sound good on a website.
What to actually check
Team depth, not one person
Ask what happens if your main contact is sick or on leave. A proper provider has coverage; a solo operator doesn't.
Written response-time commitments
'We'll get to it quickly' isn't a commitment. Ask for an actual response-time figure in writing, and what happens if they miss it.
References you can actually call
Any established provider should be comfortable connecting you with a couple of existing clients, rather than just quoting testimonials off their website.
Insurance and business registration
A real ABN and professional indemnity insurance protect you if something goes wrong. It's a reasonable, non-awkward question to ask directly.
Transparent scope, not vague bundles
Get exactly what's included and excluded in writing. A vague 'all-inclusive' package often has expensive exceptions buried in it.
How they explain things
A provider who can explain an issue in plain English, without jargon or condescension, is a good sign of how they'll treat you day to day.
Who this guide is for
- Business owners about to sign with an IT provider for the first time.
- Anyone unhappy with their current provider and comparing alternatives.
- Businesses that have been burned before by a provider that looked fine on paper.
- Owners who feel out of their depth judging IT quotes and sales pitches.
Questions to ask before you sign
- "What's your guaranteed response time, in writing?" A specific figure with consequences for missing it tells you far more than 'we're usually quick.'
- "Can I speak to two current clients?" A confident provider will connect you without hesitation. Reluctance here is worth noting.
- "What happens if my main contact is unavailable?" This surfaces whether you're dealing with a real team or a single point of failure wearing a company name.
- "What exactly is included in this price?" Get the inclusions and exclusions in writing before you compare price against any other quote.
- "How do you handle something outside your usual scope?" Their answer tells you whether they'll own a problem through to resolution, or just refer you elsewhere.
How WaTo can help
- A real team rather than a solo operator. If your main contact's away, someone else already knows your setup.
- We commit to response times in writing, not just in conversation.
- Happy to connect you with existing Adelaide clients who'll give you an honest read on what it's like working with us.
- Registered business, ABN and insurance: all the boring-but-important boxes, ticked.
- Since 2001, we've been the second call plenty of times for businesses who didn't check these things the first time round. If you are switching now, this is how we handle changing IT provider.
Related questions
Is it rude to ask an IT provider for references?
No, it's standard practice, and any established provider will expect the question. Hesitation to provide references is itself useful information.
What's a reasonable response-time commitment?
It depends on your needs, but it should be a specific figure (e.g. '4 business hours') rather than a vague promise. Faster guarantees usually cost more.
Should I be worried about a provider that's just one person?
Not automatically, but ask what happens if they're unavailable. A professional sole trader with a proper backup plan is very different from an informal one-person setup with no cover at all.
How many quotes should I get before deciding?
At least two or three, scoped the same way, so you're comparing like for like rather than just the headline number.
How WaTo can help with this
About to choose a provider?
Happy to be one of your comparisons. Ask us any of the questions above and we'll answer them straight, whether or not you end up going with us.
Mon to Fri, 8:30am to 5pm
