Outsourcing and managed services provider, Hibernia Evros Technology Group has developed a list of 20 questions all SMEs should ask their outsourcing partner. “Most organisations these days cannot work if their email goes down so SMEs need to know the response times agreed in their contract and what happens in an emergency,” commented John Kennedy(pictured), sales and marketing director, Hibernia Evros Technology Group.

HiberniaEvros is an IT Managed Services specialist providing a range of outsourcing, support and data centre services and has offices in Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Kildare.

Kennedy went on saying there are a lot of organisations providing IT support to SMEs and the 20 question guide would help firms identify the right partner. “It’s too late to be scrambling through the fine print when your server goes down and you cannot communicate with customers,” he added.

Questions that SMEs should ask their outsourcing partner should include: How long are you tied in for? Is there a named contact responsible for managing your account? What are the hours of coverage of the service? Are there any arrangements for out of hours contact in the case of emergency? Is there online access for you to view progress of any outstanding service calls?

Are the conditions clearly defined? Is what is NOT covered, also clearly defined?

The company outlined 20 mandatory questions to be asked before an official agreement is made. These can be downloaded directly from their website at www.hetg.ie