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Choosing the right IT support partner is one of the most important decisions you’ll make to ensure your business operations run smoothly and your employees can work uninterupted.
Your IT provider not only helps keep systems running, but also plays a key role in security, scalability, and long‑term business success.
At Syn‑Star, we’ve seen first-hand what happens when businesses choose an IT provider that is not right for their business but we’re here to guide you with making the right decision for your business.
Here are the most important criteria to compare when choosing an IT support provider. Use these as your checklist.
You need coverage of everything your business uses: hardware, software, cloud, cybersecurity, backup/disaster recovery, remote vs on‑site, telecoms, etc. If the provider lacks some services, you’ll probably end up juggling multiple vendors.
For example, our fully managed support package can be built to include backup & disaster recovery, cloud computing, cyber security & compliance, business phones, broadband.
When things go wrong, you want fast resolution. A slow response can cost your business money and reputation. Some issues can be fixed remotely while others require on‑site visits.
Also, working hours matter, especially for businesses operating outside 9‑5.
What is the emergency SLA?
How quickly do they respond to less critical issues?
Do they offer 24/7 support or only weekdays?
Do they support hybrid / remote working?
For example we provide:
- 2‑hour emergency response SLA
- 90‑day guarantee
- Remote & on‑site support for hybrid/remote workforces.
- 24/7 support although this is an optional extra ith our support
As your business grows or changes, your IT demands will too so your provider should be able to scale with you and adapt your support and security level to match your growth.
Can you increase/decrease service easily without charge?
Are there flexible packages to best suit your needs?
For example, as part of our sales process we complete two initial meetings with you to fully understand first of all what you are looking for and if our businesses align well.
The second meeting is held at your site where we complete a full IT assessment and build a tailored proposal specific to your business needs.
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Cyber threats are everywhere. Ensuring your provider takes proactive steps in cybersecurity, risk assessment, backups, and compliance is essential.
Do they offer penetration testing?
Do they offer Cybersecurity training?
Do they offer dark web scans? Do they support with compliance?
For example, our packages include:
- Risk identification
- Dark web scanning
- Cybersecurity
All included as part of your fully managed IT support package.
Hidden fees, confusing contracts, or unclear pricing can lead to unexpected costs. You want predictable, fair pricing.
What is included in the base price?
Are there per‑device or per‑user fees?
Contract length and cancellation policy?
Our initial fully managed IT support contract is 12 months and then switches to a 3 month rolling contract there after.
Unlike other IT Support providers, our monthly price includes everything you need with no hidden charges.
It’s always a good idea to look at:
– Customer reviews
– Case studies & testimonials
From this you can get a strong signal of reliability and quality.
What do their clients saying?
Do they have any case studies?
Syn‑Star shows client success stories and has decades of experience (since 2002) across many sectors including case studies and google reviews.
Switching providers can be disruptive.
A good provider makes the transition as smooth as possible, to give you peace of mind they may have documented an outline of their onboarding process to ensure you can plan ahead and minimise disruption during each step.
What is their onboarding process?
Do they handle migrations, audits, asset tags, etc?
We have a 4‑step onboarding process which outlines our tried and tested onboarding for new clients.
Click below to view our documented 4 -step process.
Read our streamlined 4-step onboarding process for taking on new monthly fully managed support clients.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us via the contact us page or on our live chat between 8:00 – 17:00.
Here’s a method you can apply when you’re getting quotes from several providers to be sure you’re making the right choice:
Make a list of all the systems, devices, software, and future plans for growth, remote work, compliance that you have. This establishes what baseline services you must have.
Ask each provider for a breakdown of their offerings in their initial proposal to compare with what you need, this should include their SLA, pricing, contract terms, onboarding process, and how they handle emergencies/downtime.
Ask for recent clients, case studies, actual metrics like average uptime and response times.
See if they have proof of meeting SLAs, cybersecurity credentials or audits.
Look for flexibility if can you scale up/down users and services easily.
Clarity what is included/excluded within your contract to ensure you don’t see any added costs later.
Review the cancellation policy and ask if they have any guarantees.
How quickly do they respond to your initial enquiries?
Are they clear in language (non‑technical where needed)?
Do they assign account managers or single points of contact?
Good communication is often as important as technical capability.
Do they offer proactive security?
(including penetration testing, dark web scans, regular updates & compliance advice/ support)
How much work is needed from your side?
How will data be migrated or systems audited?
What support is given during the switch over?
The cheapest provider may cost you more through downtime or poor service.
Your need to balance price with reliability, support hours, guarantees, and coverage.
Contracts vary, many providers require 12 months, then move to rolling terms.
It’s important to check the cancellation or exit policy.
For example, our contracts are 12 months initially then 3‑month rolling. They also offer a 90‑day happiness guarantee, meaning you can leave within the first 90 days if unhappy
Faster is better. Ideally within a few hours: 1‑2 hours is strong. If downtime costs you money, having a guaranteed emergency response SLA is essential. Syn‑Star offers a 2‑hour emergency response SLA.
Always check. Many businesses now have employees working off‑site or hybrid.
The provider should be able to support devices remotely securely, conduct updates/patching across locations, and provide cloud/remote access solutions.
Syn‑Star supports remote & hybrid working, and offers remote IT support.
Costs vary widely based on scope for businesses you can expect anywhere dependant on size and complexity from £2,000 for a small external test to £15,000+ for full infrastructure and web application testing.
Ask what tools they use, whether they do proactive monitoring, and how they handle breaches or incidents.
there are not many IT Support providers that have the capacity to offer full scope penetration testing as one example, so if you require these types of services annually due to compliance with cyber insurance this is worth enquiring about from the start and will massively help to narrow down your options.
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Anne-Marie Blazdell is a Marketing & Communications Manager with expertise in digital marketing, content creation, and IT solutions. With a strong foundation in graphic design, she trained at Farnborough College of Technology and Southampton Solent University before advancing into marketing and business IT support.
Since joining Syn-Star in 2022, Anne-Marie has specialised in crafting SEO-optimised website content, managing social media, and helping businesses navigate the complexities of IT. Her work bridges the gap between technology and business, making IT more accessible and effective.
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Partnerships
Team Productivity:
You and your team are able to see where they are using their time and how productive they are actually being. Also they are able to clock in and out, so really good for flexi-working.
Team Monitoring:
If you would like to know what your team is doing and how productive they are being, we are able to monitor them and create screenshots of what they are working on. This can be run in normal or stealth mode.
Book a FREE fact finding session to discuss the different options.
We proactively seek opportunities to support good causes for our community.
From sponsoring local community football teams, to engaging with charity fundraiser days, we believe it’s important to continually strive to do good for the better of others.
We have members who volunteer with youth organisations, are engaged with the Round Table, run marathons and volunteer at events where we may be needed. Every charity receives a discounted IT and Telecoms service too.
Protecting your digital data is crucial for every business and this can start with the industry-leading security we offer. The Syn-Star specialists can help with identifying any vulnerabilities within your IT systems and act accordingly to ensure cyber-attacks and data breaches are mitigated.
Your business will never fall behind with its technology when you work with Syn-Star.
We understand IT and Telecoms for your business is an investment, but it’s important to use the best resources available to enable the growth of your business. Our IT Consultancy and Virtual IT Director Services are available to support you with how you use your business technology for years to come.
Syn-Star can conduct quick and easy phishing exercises to identify people within your team who need to improve on their knowledge around fraudulent emails and how they can be alerted to these threats.
At Syn-Star, our experts can proactively work to understand exactly what software you need to support with the business operations. Whether you need a listening ear on what software to choose, or would like to seek some specialist knowledge, we’re here to help where we can.
At Syn-Star, we keep Telecoms simple. There’s so much available to help UK companies with their communications. VoIP systems, fixed landline, cloud phone systems, SIP trunking and more. Contact us for further details.
Desk phones, cordless phones or conference phones, Syn-Star can provide you with whatever you need.
From conference calling facilities to the headsets which work best for your team, we’re able to provide all the equipment you need and complete any telecoms job from start to finish.
There is no need to be in the office to make and receive phone calls from your company’s number. Our market-leading Telecoms platform gives you the flexibility of desk phones, soft phones and mobile apps as standard.
Whether your team works remotely, or perhaps staff are on a business trip anywhere in the world, calls can still be made, and people are reachable via phone wherever they go.
With a range of products, our team can support you by installing exactly what you need for internet connectivity. We work with the very best products to provide speedy bandwidths which play a part in the increased productivity of your team.
