What To Look For When Outsourcing Server Management Services

What do you call a server that’s slow all the time, down few times every week and is prone to hacking?

A failure, of course.

However, providing your online presence an impeccable uptime, stability and security are rather complex that requires a big investment of money and time. And this might not necessarily be suitable for the majority of big and small companies out there.

After all, sidestepping the core business activities to focus on the technical end of server management doesn’t sound like a fascinating idea, does it?

Comes in a server management service providers.

The third-party solution provider, on the back of their advanced infrastructure, specialized team and vast experience, brings quality and reliability on the table. With their cutting-edge service administration, they help businesses stay at the top of their game by proactively maintaining, monitoring and managing your server to deliver higher security, optimization, and uptime. This, in turn, takes your company, on the digital sphere, to new heights, elevating your performance and productivity – writing a grand success story for your business.

So if you’re still debating whether you should outsource a server management service provider, stop and go for it. Not only a helping hand will bring to your business more stability but also save you your company’s vast resources that you would otherwise extravagantly invested in self-server management. Trust us, without the dedicated infrastructure, it’s costly and quite difficult.

Good, now you’ve decided. But here’s a catch though…

Outsourcing a server management provider isn’t easy. Given there are just so many of them today – and the majority of them claiming to be the “best” – identifying a good one is quite a challenge. And given the importance of a server manager in your business, it is imperative that you stay at your attentive-best to spot the right service provider, make effective communication with them and close the deal for a smooth and healthy journey ahead.

It’s a lot of effort, we understand. But the end reward is very much worth these efforts.

Let’s make this a slight bit easier now. Here are 7 things that you should look for when outsourcing server management services – 7 factors to help you identify one of the best server management service providers:

If they are really as great as their flying claims, they would likely have a list of many clients. In fact, this is the easiest way to identify if the service provider is really good or not.

Their own website is the first place you should head. Some of them may be direct in flaunting their past works upfront, others may not. You can ask them for references and about their past clients to get a better idea. Also, you can check the review websites to see if others trust this server management company or not.

Note: Don’t blindly follow this though. A new market player might not have many clients but its services might be just as good. So use this factor in sync with others mentioned below.

How good their server management service is largely depends on their infrastructure. What kind of facilities do they employ, what hardware do they use, what software are they using, is their system up to date, or are they still using the old machines. These are important questions that you must find the answers to. Ask them about these directly.

Always look for a company that stays in touch with the latest technology and practices in the server management world. Because the better is their infrastructure, the more efficient and cost-effective will be their services.

A simple rule here is that if it sounds too good to be true, it isn’t true at all.

So when looking for the best server management provider, look at all their claims and promises. Are they offering “best” service at “cheapest” fee? (It can’t be possible given the ever-existing trade-off between price and quality!)

Are they offering 24/7 support? Do they promise 100 percent uptime? Do they guarantee “full money back” in case you decide to leave?

Listen to these promises and then check how much of it is true.

How you’re going to check this? Read next…

By reading their user agreement.

Those small font, poor-style written agreements, which we “agree” to without even reading a word, are more important than you think. They highlight the truth beyond the hyped promises. So it is important, given it’s a long-term commitment, that you read such agreements to know everything from hidden fees to service cancellation terms before you make any decision.

This goes without saying. Of course, you must factor their fee. Depending on your requirement, choose a suitable plan. If you need a dedicated solution and intensive server management, the premium plans are better. However, if you have a small business with low dependence on digital platforms, the cheap plans are more than adequate.

One thing you should be careful of is not letting the price of server management sway your decision. Put your individual need for quality ahead of everything, even the expense.

Cyber-attacks are increasing every day. The industry is losing billions of dollars every year due to such attacks. So security of your server must of foremost concern for you.

Free from loopholes, your server must be protected from attacks and patched from vulnerabilities. It must be updated with the latest software to fight off the spamming and monitored by expert technicians to thwart off any potential threat. Because a simple mistake in this department can put the existence of your entire business in jeopardy.

You’re not an expert. What goes behind all those technical juggernauts is hard to understand. Plus, your business needs and requirements change with the changing times and goals. To ensure your server is well adept with the course of your business and your own understanding, you need an excellent customer support from your service provider.

You must be able to talk to them freely about your concerns and queries. And they must be friendly and empathetic enough, with a customer-centric approach, to resolve all your queries with swift adequacy.

These are 7 things you should be careful of when outsourcing server management services. Of course, pulling all the strings perfectly won’t be easy. You’re going to make mistakes and you will be frustrated. But if you do manage to pick a good server management company, your business can then take a grand flight to success.

It all depends on how you outsource a server management services provider.