Now you’ve decided you need IT support (you took the Fun and Exciting Quiz, right?), should you invite those IT folks to set up camp in your stationary cupboard? Or should you plump for the remote heard-and-not-seen off-site option?

The answer, of course, is “it depends.”

It depends on whether you actually have a site. If you’re on the remote or teeny-bit-hybrid side, your IT support will be remote, too. Like, duh. But if you still have an office and people who work in it, on-site IT support can be surprisingly beneficial for your business. Here are our favorite benefits of grabbing yourself some sweet, sweet on-site IT support and what things to look for when choosing it.

P.S. By on-site IT support, we don’t mean people you hire as employees. We mean bought-in IT services from a fine company with a longstanding reputation for excellence.

You Mean There’ll Be Strangers In My Office Now?

Hold on there. On-site IT support doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have a posse of IT geeks clogging up your yerba mate machine. Flexibility is a thing and this means you can hire on-site IT support by the hour, day, month, forever, etc. Whether they drop in for an hour every month or whether you go ahead and marry them depends on variables such as what kind of business you’re in or the complexity of your IT ecosystem.

The Juicy Benefits of On-Site IT Support

Here are five of our favorite benefits of smokin’ on-site IT support:

Speedy Problem Solving

Uh-oh. Why is your screen doing that? Where’d those files go? Sweet, another reboot loop - just what you needed before that scary client presentation. Don’t panic because Chaz, your friendly neighborhood on-site IT person, is three seconds away. No need for a ticket or a lengthy phone hold, just yell, “CHAZ!” in a big voice and you’re sorted.

Early Problem Solving

Maybe you have a teeny glitch in your IT infrastructure that’s not causing any problems - not right now, anyhow. But that seemingly harmless hiccup might be a precursor to an all-you-can-eat systems failure that punts an eighteen-wheeler full of jello through your sales system and loses you a ton of Black Friday sales. But, luckily for you, on-site Geeky McGeekface has spotted and solved it before you can even say, “Wait, what?”

They Get You

Because your on-site people are living with you, they’ll get to know your business a whole lot more than remote support might. They’ll:

• Understand more about how you use your IT.
• Become super-familiar with your tech.
• Understand the level of IT smarts your team has.
• Get to know, and possibly love, your people.
• Learn about what’s important to your business.

This in-house knowledge will help any decent on-site IT person better tailor their support to you. It might mean suggesting optimal ways to configure your IT. It might mean taking more time to support the less IT-savvy, or faster troubleshooting. It can mean better, richer customer service in all kinds of flavors.

It’s Cheaper and Less Hassle Than Hiring, Usually

If you don’t have the time, budget, or willpower to hire and manage your own in-house IT person or team, buying on-site IT support can be the easier and probably more accountant-friendly option. Apart from the time you and your people will save on recruitment, induction, and HR management, you won’t need to think about wages and associated employee costs. There’ll be a flat fee per hour and, if your on-site person turns out to be not as described on the packet, they’ll be a whole lot funner to boot out.

Ideal For Special, One-Off Projects

Digital transformation isn’t for the easily startled and that’s why having someone on site while your business is turning into a digital butterfly or deploying some other special IT project is especially useful. On-site expertise with de-snagging and optimization in real-time can speed up those IT projects to completion.

OK, Sounds Good, But What Do I Look For?

Now you know that on-site IT support may complete you, how do you know good support when you see it?

They Fit Your Setup

If you’re an Applehead, hiring Windows people is a bit silly. If you’re cross-platform, you’re looking for someone who can do All the Platforms. Hire people who know their stuff about your stuff.

They’re Personable

“Oh, but this guy looked fun!” isn’t an excuse if your on-site IT support has pissed off your entire staff with horrible jokes. Remember, this person will be interacting with your beloved team. Play it safe by choosing self-aware, decent professionals with lashings of common human decency.

They Speak Human

IT has a reputation for being peopled with RPG enthusiasts who communicate only in Weird. We’re not saying this is true, hardly, but your team deserves IT support that can communicate clearly. The best on-site IT support is people-focused, and that means ditching the jargon in exchange for clarity and an exemplary deskside manner.

You Deserve On-Site IT Support That Doesn’t Suck

It’s not always easy to invite a total stranger into your office to fiddle with your wiring, so let us help you make the decision that’s right for your business. Maybe a couple of hours a week or month is all you need. Maybe a full-on get-sh*t-sorted month with weekly check-ins would power up your business in super quick time. Decent on-site IT support is flexible. The benefits of non-sucky on-site IT support can be yours this afternoon. Call us now.

Ignition is Silicon Valley’s best (and friendliest) IT security, compliance, and support team. Contact us today–chatting about IT support and cybersecurity is our favorite thing to do!