The choice of an IT service partner is a business decision that can have a powerful far-reaching impact.
For that reason, we’ve put together this step-by-step guide on how to find an IT support company that’s right for your business, with a focus on the German market.
1. Assess Your Company Technology Needs
Start by setting yourself a task of evaluating the state of your organization’s technology.
Changing the existing software systems or shifting from on-premises IT infrastructure to the cloud it’s a large-scale transformation that could leave you and your employees feeling exhausted and frustrated.
If this is the case with your organization, determine in advance how far back you need to go.
Here are some questions you should ask yourself to better understand the tech needs of your business:
- What are our pain points?
- Which new technology is going to touch the most employees and contribute to organizational and bottom-line improvements?
- How much investment can we make in the long and short terms?
Coming to the table prepared with your requirements (as best you can) and budget is a key to more efficient and time-saving communication with potential vendors.
(HINT: A reliable service provider is always ready to offer valuable advice regarding technology investments. They will also help you figure out immediate needs vs. things that can wait).
2. Seek Recommendations
Once you have a clear understanding of your requirements, you can begin your search. However, before you search the net for the best third-party IT service providers, that would be a smart move for you to ask your network for referrals.
Reach out to colleagues or industry peers (close to your size) who may have experience outsourcing their IT management. Word-of-mouth referrals can be invaluable in narrowing down your options, as you know exactly who they’re coming from.
3. Review Prior Experience
Although your friends can recommend a really honest and decent vendor who has the right certifications and a team of vetted professionals, you need to make sure that the vendor has prior experience and specialized knowledge in your industry or niche.
Industry experience is an important supplier selection criterion for some tech areas, particularly when it comes to cutting-edge technologies like AI.
Importance of industry expertise in vendor selection
Source: Ecosystm research
4. Initiate Discovery Calls to Make Sure They Are Cultural Fit
Narrow down your list to 4-5 companies that align with your values and objectives. Schedule discovery calls to discuss your business objectives, challenges, and priorities.
During these calls take note of how they make you feel. Do you like their communication style? Are you satisfied with their approach? Do they answer questions directly? Are they thorough in information gathering?
All these things will give you some idea of the provider’s cultural fit with your company.
5. Find Out Whether Security Is Their Top Priority
Data breaches that originate in a company’s supply chain are increasingly common. Based on the 2022 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, the supply chain accounted for 62% of system intrusion incidents.
That’s why it’s crucial to thoroughly analyze a vendor’s security posture before bringing them on board.
When vetting a potential vendor for security, rely on only one who is in the cybersecurity department for insights. This could be a member of your in-house team or an outside consultant.
The threat landscape for supply chain attacks
Source: The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity
6. Search For Simple And Flexible Plans
The timeless wisdom — the less clear your understanding of the contract terms, the greater the chance of vendor’s dishonesty.
Steer clear of technology service providers with complex subscription plans and contracts. Complex subscription plans often lead to unexpected costs and fees.
Also, seek clarity about how the cost of services changes when your business scales up or down.
7. Check If The Vendor Has Any Guaranteed Response Times
Your supplier partner should offer guaranteed response times for problem resolution. The actual response time may vary depending on the level of support you are willing to pay for and different priority levels may have different response times.
Still, the standard service/tech-support response times that are expected of an IT service vendor should not exceed 2 hours. In the case of a high-priority issue, the provider could ensure that you receive the initial response within 15 minutes.
Time to solution is based entirely on what the problem is and can range between minutes and days.
8. Clarify Whether They Provide 24/7 Support Or Business Hours
In some industries — like banking, healthcare, travel, etc — customers must have access to customer service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
So, if your business must ensure round-the-clock availability make sure the provider has the infrastructure and staffing in place to keep things up to snuff.
9. Evaluate Proposals Against Your Criteria
As you go out to get proposals for support from the companies on your list, carefully evaluate them against your objectives and priorities. Do your own words and ideas appear in the document? Do they offer appropriate solutions to your current problems? Or do you see something filled with abstract scenarios, technical jargon and acronyms you don’t understand at all? Look for a comprehensive understanding of your business in their proposals.
Also, take note of the look and feel of potential vendors’ proposals for there’s a clear link between appearance and effort. More specifically, a piece of tattered paper indicates a lower level of commitment in contrast to a neatly formatted, colorful document.
Beyond what decision-makers can find in the text of the proposal document, we advise also to look into how their potential IT vendor treats its own employees internally. A disrespectful attitude toward staff is the red flag that should have you running far, far away in the opposite direction.
10. Pay Close Attention to The Contract Terms And Details
When you get to the contract negotiation process your attorney should check thoroughly if the service agreements explicitly outline the responsibilities of the provider, ( i.e. what is in scope and what is outside the scope).
It’s also crucial that all the services you are expecting are included in the contract and not implied. Pay extra attention to clauses ensuring that a vendor will maintain their security and compliance posture.
Even if you’ve read a particular provision a hundred times, it wouldn’t hurt to read through it once more.
Overview of The Top 5 IT Service Companies in Germany
1. The Weather
The Weather is a group of creative professionals with diverse backgrounds, skills and experience that craft digital experiences for clients worldwide, catering to startups and global organizations alike.
The company claims to be an expert in web development, design & branding, and digital advisory. They also promise to help clients with digital marketing, graphic design, digital ad campaigns, SEO, social media, and copywriting.
Currently, The Weather has a team spread across Barcelona, Lisbon, Kyiv, Jerusalem, Buenos Aires and Cape Town.
2. Edvantis
Edvantis is an international software engineering company with over 400 skilled professionals working across Central & Eastern Europe and the USA.
Their tech expertise covers the following software engineering services:
- Cloud & DevOps
- Payment Integration & Development
- Data & Analytics
- Data Science
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and more.
The company’s website says that the Edvantis team always seeks to become a long-term technology partner, and is ready to adapt its service models to fit customers’ specific needs and priorities.
3. Molfar.io
Molfar.io came to the market to help people test digital business ideas in a smarter, more efficient, and cost-effective way.
The team behind molfar.io is globally known for their vast experience with startups. Their special services include:
- Idea validation strategy
- Market research
- Concept development
- Pitch deck
- Customer development
- Startup coach program
4. Mainmatter
The company’s team handles everything from brainstorming ideas to designing and engineering.
These guys have great experience developing with Ruby/Ruby on Rails, Ember, Elixir, Phoenix, Rust, and Svetle.
In addition to Digital Product Design & Development services, Mainmatter offers its customers Team Augmentation and Training and Tailored Workshops.
5. Elinext
We are a global leading full-service custom software development company with international offices spanning Germany, France, the USA, Ireland, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and multiple delivery centers around the world, including Vietnam, Poland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
Established in 1997, with 700+ vetted software developers on board and 300+ global clients, both small niche firms and Fortune 500 corporations, Elinext enriches multiple industries with unprecedented products and services.
We have an employee rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on 48 company reviews on Glassdoor, overwhelming evidence of our commitment to keep up with global operational standards. In 2024, we’ve also been recognized for our ability to deliver exceptional services by Clutch.
Importantly, our security focus includes adopting GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 13485:2016, PCI DSS, and PA DSS (including but not limited to), making us the solid partner you can lean on for safe and secure digital product development.
Think Elinext could be a match? Please leave us a quick message and we will get back to you shortly.
