Questions to ask
before you switch.

Good answer: A named person or small team, based in the UK, who already knows your setup. You get a clear line, someone working your hours, and a person who can come on site if it comes to that.

Good answer: Detail, not reassurance. To most people everything is urgent, so a good provider separates two kinds. Everyday urgent, like someone who can't work or a printer down before a deadline, goes through the helpdesk and is prioritised against agreed response times. Business-critical, like a disaster, a suspected hack or anything sensitive, skips the queue: you call or text a named senior person directly.

Good answer: A clear yes, with how far they travel, how quickly they can be there, and whether visits are included in the price.

Good answer: Responsibility stays with the company you signed with. If they bring in a specialist or a third party for part of a job, they still own the outcome and they're still the people you call to discuss it. You shouldn't be handed a stranger's number.

Good answer: Admin access and passwords handed to a named person at your company along with the documentation, then your information deleted from their systems and confirmed in writing.

Good answer: A clear list of what's backed up and whether it's in the price. Know the difference between file backup (getting back a deleted file or mailbox) and disaster recovery (getting the whole business running again after losing a server). Ask where the backups live: a local copy on site means fast restores, a cloud copy means you're covered if the office itself is lost, and ideally you have both. File restores should be checked routinely. A full disaster-recovery test is a bigger job and is normally charged separately, so ask what it costs and how often they'd recommend one.

Good answer: They'll point out licences and services you're paying for but not using, even when it makes their invoice smaller, and they'll know when each one can actually be changed. Many licences, Microsoft 365 included, are annual commitments billed monthly, so you can't simply drop one mid-term. A good provider keeps a list of every renewal date and reviews each licence before it rolls over.

Good answer: It's set out in the contract, not explained on the phone. As a general rule, monthly IT support covers managing your systems and fixing things that break, mostly remotely. New installations, projects, connecting equipment you've bought yourself and work outside business hours are normally charged separately. That's fair, as long as you know it before you sign. The details are normally agreed while the contract is put together, and that conversation tells you a lot about fit. An international business may genuinely need 24/7 cover. A local business working 9 to 5 shouldn't be paying extra for it. Also ask whether there are any per-ticket charges.

Good answer: One team for IT, phones, mobiles and broadband, so when something stops working there's one number to ring.

Good answer: Clear terms up front. A fixed first year is reasonable when there's real setup work involved, but after that you shouldn't be locked in, and the exit should be clean.