What to Look for in a Managed IT or Help Desk Provider

Most managed IT proposals look alike on page one: 24/7 support, proactive monitoring, a security stack. The differences sit lower down, in the small print about what counts as a response, who picks up the call and what happens when you want to leave.

Here is how to read a proposal, and the questions we would ask if we were the ones buying.

"Managed IT" can mean anything from a help desk email address to a full service covering monitoring, patching, network management and security. Ask for the list in writing, and ask just as firmly for what is excluded. Typical exclusions are on-site visits, new projects such as an office move, and anything outside normal hours.

A promise to respond within 30 minutes may mean an automatic email. What you care about is how long until the problem is fixed. Ask for both figures, by priority level, and ask how they are measured and reported.

• Will your staff reach a person, or a form?
• Which hours are staffed, and does that match your working week? In the UAE that may include Sunday.
• Does the team speak the language your staff are comfortable in?
• Is there one accountable contact who knows your setup, or does every call start from scratch?

Plenty of providers, including us, work with partners for parts of the service. That is not a problem in itself. What matters is that you are told. Ask which parts the provider does directly and which are delivered by others, who holds the contract with you, and who you call if the partner fails. With us, monitoring, remote help desk, patching and network management are delivered by our partners under our contract, and we handle escalation, reporting and your day-to-day contact. Anything that needs someone physically on site is arranged through vetted local partners.

A provider who looks after banks may not be set up for a 25-person trading firm, and the reverse is also true. We are a good fit for UAE small and mid-sized companies of roughly 20 to 200 people, often with a lean in-house IT team of one or two. We are not the right choice for regulated entities that need onshore, regulated delivery, and we would rather say that on the first call than put your compliance at risk.

• Read the exit clause first, not last.
• Ask for a reference you can call, or a description of a comparable client.
• Start with a short term or a defined onboarding period if you can.
• Make sure your data and your domain stay in your name.