Choosing a managed IT provider is a bit like choosing a business partner — because that’s exactly what it is. The right provider becomes part of how your business runs. Here’s how to tell them apart.
Start with the technical essentials
- Monitoring. Do they proactively watch your systems, or only react when you call? If they don’t monitor, you don’t have managed IT — you have a call-out service.
- Patching and security. Who keeps your software updated, and how do they prove it? Ask to see a patching report, not a promise.
- Backups. Are they managed, off-site and tested? The word “tested” is the one that matters.
- Cybersecurity. Can they support you through Cyber Essentials, and do they run their own Security Operations Centre?
Then the business essentials
- Response times. Get a commitment in writing. “We’re always available” means nothing; a 15-minute response SLA means something.
- Local presence. Can they actually visit your office? For most SMEs, a provider you can meet matters far more than a vendor’s global marketing team.
- Plain English. If their sales pitch is full of acronyms, imagine what the invoices will be like.
- Clear pricing. Per-user, per-month, everything included — or a menu of extras that mysteriously grows?
Ask the awkward questions
The best providers welcome scrutiny. Ask them:
- “Show me a tested backup restore from a client in your portfolio.”
- “What does an actual month of invoices look like?”
- “What happens if you disappear — is my data actually mine?”
The answers tell you more than any brochure.
The Northgate approach
We’re not going to pretend we’re the only good option — but we’ll happily put our own checklist on the table. A free IT audit is our way of showing our work before you commit to anything, and our pricing is per user, per month, all in.
Compare us properly. Book a free IT audit and bring your questions — we’ll answer every one of them.
Oscar Edwards
Head of Service Delivery
