When employing an IT service provider in Dubai it is imperative to understand what factors make up the cost. You are investing in a market where the price differences can be huge and it may not be clear why. In this blog, you will understand the different qualities that a provider can offer you and how this can affect the price and the quality of the service you receive.
Cost
The cost differences in this field can be expansive. Three major factors affect the cost of a supplier
- Staff costs
- Number of companies served
- Systems employed
Quite simply, the more staff a company has, the bigger their financial commitment. Also, with to the quality of the staff, the more experienced and able the employee, the larger the cost of employing them. This cost is shared with its clients.
The number of companies employing the provider will also affect the cost. If a provider has few staff and is serving many companies it will be able to offer a lower cost. However, you are at risk at poor delivery by the provider over committing itself. Vice versa, if you have many employees serving fewer companies, it will be more expensive.
The systems that a provider uses can play a huge part of the cost. Some providers use managed services systems that automate a large part of the service. These systems can detect and prevent problems, before they occur. This would mean that a provider could employ fewer people but still offer a good service, so long as the systems suffice in terms of delivering. These systems do come at a cost, but if the provider has a good balance of clients and staff, they should be able to deliver better results at competitive prices.
Personnel
Hiring one IT employee is difficult enough, how about if you have to hire multiple? An IT company will also have a massive range of skillsets to tackle the problems thrown at them, from simple hands on tasks through to virtualization tasks. The balance of the staff will affect the cost, if they are employing all top level staff then of course the cost will be more.
Check with your IT provider about their range of staff and the skillsets they possess. Also, ask them for client references to actually see what the experience of dealing with them is.
Managed services
Your IT provider should be employing a managed services approach to IT support. Managed services is the use of software to perform tasks that do not require manual input or could be tasks that are not actually possible by an individual. For instance, one service that can be offered is preventative maintenance. When something breaks, it doesn’t just break. There are normally a pattern of events that occur in the build up to this failure. The managed service software will be able to detect such events and will allow a potential problem to be flagged before it actually happens.
The cost can be affected by companies that employ this approach because the cost of buying these systems is high. However, the ability to prevent downtime of your business completely outweighs such costs.
Communication
Communication in the IT world is difficult enough with the various languages, anagrams, abbreviations etc. Don’t let the verbal and written communication further complicate matters.
Of course, a brilliantly spoken team will cost you more, but the time saving on having clear and open channels will save you time and from tearing your hair out.
Experience
Dubai, like most major cities, has its intricacies and this doesn’t escape the IT world. Having experience in a city like this is vitally important.
It is important to check the longevity of the service provider in this country. If they have survived financial crisis and influx/outflux of businesses then they must be doing something right.
Beyond the local experience, it is worth checking for signs of work in an international arena. If a company has a client book of a healthy mixture they may be slightly more expensive but the quality and experience will pay for itself.
