How to Find the Right Tech Professional
Why You Need Them
While it is possible for you to do some technical tasks yourself it may not the best use of your time. Is it better to pay a specialist for a few hours to do something right? Or is it better to attempt it yourself—distracting you from your core business for hours at a time—with unreliable results?
But, even if you do decide to turn technical decisions over to someone else, it is very important to know enough about technology that you are able to determine whether the cost/benefit of technical work makes sense for your business.
Sources for Technology Professional Help
There are two main sources for professional technical help for the small business:
-
1. Consultants, Contractors & Freelancers
These are typically small firms or individuals that focus on a certain area of technology or a certain industry or both. In many cases they will be partners with the hardware or software manufacturers whose products or services they sell, implement, offer training on or maintain. In some cases these professionals may also have some certifications based on the solutions they work with. Technical professionals may also provide services at your place of business, be a Managed Service Provider (MSP) or an Application Service Provider (ASP) where some technical aspect of your business is managed directly by them.
Consultants and contractors can also use titles like Value Added Resellers (VARs) and System Integrators (SIs).
A Value Added Reseller, or VAR, is a professional that adds additional services on top of a manufacturers product or service. For example, a VAR might provide services such as implementation, training or integration.
System Integrators, or SIs, may integrate or bundle hardware and software from a variety of vendors to present as a complete solution.
-
2. Staffing Firms
Staffing firms will match you up with skilled temporary employees. Firms use staffing when they know they need a technical resource for a certain project and know how to manage them. For example, a company may need a temporary employee to digitize its records or to perform certain duties, such as being a part-time network administrator.
Factors to Consider
Here are some key factors to keep in mind when evaluating a technical help:
-
Technology Focus
Know whether the consultant specializes in networking, web graphics, financial management applications, search engine optimization or VoIP? Be wary of very small technical solution provider firms that claim to be experts in a wide variety of services. It can be very difficult to remain current and experienced in several different technologies.
-
Services Offered
Does the consultant advise, design, install, develop, integrate, support, manage, repair or provide training for a technology solution? Does the consultant subcontract any of the work out to anyone else? If so, you will need to evaluate those companies as well.
Internet services are here to stay so find out whether the consultant focuses on implementing in-house solutions, Internet services or both.
-
Industry Focus
Does the consultant specialize in the products or services for your industry's unique needs?
-
Brand Focus
Does the consultant specialize in the products or services from just one manufacturer, such as Microsoft? Or, does the consultant support a variety of products and services?
-
Partnerships
Is the consultant affiliated with any hardware or software vendors? For example, if a consultant is Microsoft Certified, its is likely that their solutions emphasize Microsoft products and services.
Finding Your Technical Helper
-
Step 1: Determine the Key Features
Write down the key features you need for your business and if possible rank them.
-
Step 2: Determine Goals
Are you trying to reduce costs or increase sales? You are not spending money on technology for its' own sake, you are adding a tool that should help you increase sales, decrease costs, improve quality or handle more volume, etc. How will you be able to know whether the technology helped the business? What outcome will prove the technology has been valuable to your business?
-
Step 3: Read About Solutions
Scan the solution types to get some idea what type of solution may fit, for example, Internet backup vs. a local backup solution. To get a good idea what products and services are available, use our Research Helper tool
-
Step 4: Contact Technical Professionals
Make a list of potential tech professionals (ideally at least three) by searching TechShortcut.com and asking others in your industry.
- Discuss possible solution options with the technology professionals and get written cost estimates.
- Ask how many solutions like yours they have implemented in the past year.
- Compare solution features with the list you created in Step 1 to identify any gaps.
- Ask whether they will have appropriate staffing for your project.
-
Step 5: Check References
Ask for customer references. You can also check for a listing on the Better Business Bureau or reviews on Yahoo Local, Yelp.com or other business listing websites.
-
Step 6: The Contracting Agreement
It is best to ensure that the scope, schedule, cost and any follow-up support are all covered in a written agreement. Ensure that the professional will have adequate staffing to meet your schedule. Ask professionals how they manage projects and how often and in what ways they will communicate with you about status and cost to date.
Related Tips
- Tip 1: Trial Task
If you are concerned about the fit with the service provider, identify a smaller task that can be separated as a trial task. Think baby steps.
Related Guides
