Why Experience Matters When Sourcing An IT Engineering Firm

The term IT is an abbreviation of Information technology. It pertains to all things concerning computing technologies. This may include software, hardware, networking, or the skilled labor behind such technologies.

Such a loose definition barely scratches the surface of the services one can expect from IT engineering firms. IT technologies experience significant leaps every 18 months or so.

Therefore, it’s challenging to find a one-stop IT engineering firm that will solve all your problems. Such firms usually specialize in specific aspects of IT. So, you need to know the type of services and the level of experience an IT firm has before outsourcing your IT services.

What is the Importance of an IT Engineering Firm’s Specialization?

Before you answer such a question, it’s essential to understand the distinction between on-site and data center related to IT engineering services.

• On-site services: In such cases, an IT engineer needs to have direct access to the end-users location. This allows them to provide breakdown/fix services for hardware or software related issues. It also gives them a chance to give systems maintenance or management services.
• Datacenter services: entail working on IT networking infrastructure. This includes all the hardware such as hard drives, routers and servers. For such IT engineers are on hand to troubleshoot for potential problems in your data center’s hardware and OS. It may also extend to the installation of applications and management of core data and other digital assets.
• Connectivity services: focus on technologies that connect your organization to end-users, cloud solutions, or applications. IT engineers access your premises to work on your connectivity OS and hardware issues to ensure they fix problems and optimize it to ensure against future issues.

But, there are even more areas an IT engineering firm can specialize in its service delivery.

Types of IT Engineering Services and Their Key Focus

Now let’s narrow down IT engineering services to specific types and tier levels.

Breakdown/Fix Services

In such an arrangement, IT engineers show up when hardware, software, or networking components breakdown. It’s ideal for companies that have IT departments but need specialized hands to address complex challenges. Or, to respond to issues outside the specialization of their in-house IT department.

IMACD Services

IMACD is an acronym for Install, move, add, change and disposal. As an on-demand service, an IT engineer performs such actions on your company’s digital and hardware assets. It falls under all three broad categories described in the previous section.

Operational Support

This on-demand service requires IT engineers to perform tasks that are not aligned with a particular skillset. Such responsibilities include cataloging hardware, cleaning, and testing equipment. A level 1 engineer can perform such tasks.

Dispatch Services

Sometimes clients need a specific service to help them keep up with the demands of their systems infrastructure. In such cases, they’ll call an IT firm and to request an IT engineer or team with the required skillset.

Managed IT

Managed IT is the most compressive services IT firms provide. They constantly monitor your company’s systems architecture and networking solutions to spot any problems. In most cases, they’ll solve any issues before you even notice them.

Experience Levels in IT Engineering

Now that you understand the particular services to expect for each specialization, it’s time to look at the criteria that determine the experience level IT engineers.

• Level 1 Are IT, technicians, with 3 to 5 years of hands-on experience for handling applications.
• Level 2 IT engineers come with 5-7 years of experience in troubleshooting and fixing hardware issues.
• Level 3 Are senior engineers who’ve handled complex OS, applications and hardware issues of over seven years.
• Level 4-5 IT engineers have more than a decade of experience. There’s no issue beyond their specialized skill set, so their services usually come at a premium price.

In Summary

As you can see, experience and specialization matters when it comes to IT engineering. Therefore, you should always ask the right questions so you can determine if an IT engineering firm is best placed to help you with your current problem.

We hope this brief article shows the right questions to ask so you can avoid any disappointments. Feel free to bookmark our site and follow us on social media for more insightful tips.