The\u00a0acid test\u00a0that separates the \u201cpretenders from the contenders\u201d.<\/p>\n
How to select best-in-class multi-vendor IT hardware support providers.\u00a0 Use the simple evaluation secret used by Fortune 1000 companies.<\/p>\n
Selecting an IT hardware service provider\u00a0can be\u00a0a daunting, time-consuming and stressful task.\u00a0 A bad decision can have significant ramifications to your IT estate\u2019s uptime, time-to-repair and quality, not to mention your own personal stress. Hardware is increasingly complex to support and\u00a0the availability of\u00a0quality replacement parts is problematic, especially for newer servers, storage and networking equipment.\u00a0 What to do?\u00a0 How do you select the best IT support companies?<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve already made the wise decision to free yourself from the OEM\u2019s\u00a0exorbitantly\u00a0priced \u201ccookie-cutter\u201d service offerings. Not to mention their constant pressure to sell you replacement hardware for your completely functional equipment. After all, OEMs are hardware vendors,\u00a0first and foremost,\u00a0and not service companies.\u00a0Now, how do you find the most capable independent service companies?<\/p>\n
Fortunately, there is an answer.\u00a0To mitigate your risk and instill confidence in your decision, learn what other seasoned IT professionals rely on when evaluating IT hardware support providers:\u00a0The service test call.\u00a0Yes!\u00a0 A test call will immediately frighten away lesser service providers, the pretenders.\u00a0The simple test call will exercise their entire service delivery process. It\u2019s a first hand vetting that will expose their true capabilities to you.\u00a0 You\u2019ll experience first-hand their Response Center, contract entitlement, engineering troubleshooting\u00a0expertise, parts availability and on-site performance. It\u2019s no wonder so few agree to a test call.<\/p>\n
Place your test service call on the off-hours, or on weekends.\u00a0 Rate your experience with their Response Center (was it truly 7x24x365?), were they able to quickly\u00a0locate\u00a0your contract entitlement details (company name, system type and serial number,\u00a0location\u00a0and service level) and were they able to quickly diagnosis your problem and create a remedial Action Plan?\u00a0 Did the on-site engineer arrive on time and with the correct parts?\u00a0 Was the on-site engineer knowledgeable on your hardware?\u00a0 Or were they just a \u201cfree-lancer\u201d, working a one-off service call?<\/p>\n
The simple test call will\u00a0reveal\u00a0all.\u00a0 It will allow you to better gauge your future service experiences.\u00a0Below is a step-by-step test call evaluation checklist.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 Setup \u2013 Simulate a real contract that\u2019s loaded into their service database.\u00a0 Provide the critical entitlement details:\u00a0 company name, system type and serial number,\u00a0location\u00a0and service level.\u00a0 Get a contract number.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0 Execute \u2013 Call their Response Center.\u00a0 Use your contract number or system serial number to open a service ticket.\u00a0 Explain your \u201cproblem\u201d.\u00a0 (You could use a previous real service event where you knew the resolution and the time it took to resolve the problem as a useful yardstick.)<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0 Evaluate:<\/p>\n
The test call \u2013 the\u00a0acid test\u00a0that separates the \u201cpretenders from the contenders\u201d.\u00a0Don\u2019t take unnecessary risks with your IT service provider.\u00a0Uptime of your IT assets is now\u00a0more important than\u00a0ever.\u00a0You have more important things to worry about these days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The\u00a0acid test\u00a0that separates the \u201cpretenders from the contenders\u201d. How to…