What to consider when choosing an ICT partner

There are a number of factors to take into consideration when choosing an ICT partner. Looking to Technology Partners as subject matter experts helps enterprises match their strategy and goals with their digital transformation initiatives. A digital partnership that serves to enhance business operations and streamline processes.

Enterprises should look for technical competency alongside suitable products and services in their chosen ICT partner. Excellent customer service needs to be coupled with high quality ICT solutions. Let's unpack some of the key considerations when choosing an ICT partner.

An ICT partner that offers tailored solutions

While an out-of-the-box solution may work for start-ups or SMEs, most large enterprises already have extensive systems in place. As such, your ICT partner needs to be able to offer integrated solutions that can work with legacy systems, if necessary.

The growing shift towards the cloud has meant that businesses need to choose a suitable cloud migration and network strategy to evolve with the needs of a modern workforce.

Your chosen ICT partner should support your business, whether you decide to totally rebuild the system on the cloud, or adopt a “lift and shift” or “lift, tinker and shift” approach. Working with your IT department, your ICT partner should look to advise on the best approach for your business, given its requirements and budget. Whether a top down or bottom up approach is needed, the subject matter experts should support and guide your strategy.

An understanding of the local market

An ICT Partner that understands the local market is another important requirement to consider. This includes the comprehensive understanding of cyber threats that are targeted at local businesses. South African businesses, for example, have experienced a spike in online impersonations. In the aftermath of several large scale data breaches in the country, cyber fraud has become a major issue for local businesses.

For large enterprises, there is a strong business imperative to protect digital assets. Since the introduction of the Protection of Personal Information Act came into effect in South Africa, businesses are legally required to keep their data safe. It is essential that personally identifiable data from employees and customers is not manipulated or stolen.

Apart from these legal requirements, businesses need to protect data in order to prevent large scale attacks, such as a distributed denial of services (DDoS) attacks. A DDoS attack can cripple a business network, rendering it unusable for up to a few weeks at a time, while technicians scramble to get things up and running again. SEACOM Business has offered DDoS protection to South African businesses since 2020, in line with local cyber security trends.

Flexible and scalable solutions

There is a strong correlation between business growth and its capacity to expand its digital ecosystem. Experience and track record in providing scaling digital solutions is a good indicator of the right ICT partner. Being able to cater for surges in web traffic at certain times of the year, such as Black Friday, is an example of how an agile ITC solution can support digital business models.

When choosing an ICT partner, look for a provider that offers burstable capacity. This means that bandwidth can be rapidly scaled up to cater for sudden increases in demand. Also have a look out for providers that can provide solutions that scale as your company, staff count, and network grow - from internet to security.

Choose an ICT partner with an excellent track record

Looking at what their customers say about them is a great way to gain insight into the track record of a potential ICT partner. Reading testimonials will allow you to see which type of companies are working with the ICT provider. These reviews will indicate the type of services provided and highlight whether this is a suitable ICT partner for your enterprise.

Excellent customer service and industry-leading SLAs

Ensure that your ICT partner is consumer-centric. Should something arise needing support and service, you’ll need a reliable partner who is always available to get systems back online. Whether it be a result of a technical fault, a software issue or the result of a cyber security threat, businesses need to be always-on when it comes to digital.

SEACOM Business offers 24/7/365 customer support. Our technicians are always on hand to ensure that your business networks and ICT solutions are working optimally. Businesses face reputational costs if their online platforms stop working and customers may lose faith in the service and go elsewhere if they are unable to complete online transactions or access web portals.

At SEACOM Business, we understand the importance of true seamless connectivity. Our industry-leading SLAs guarantee 99% up time. For more information or to get a quote for our connectivity, cyber security or cloud solutions, email us at marketing@seacom.com or leave us a message.

SEACOM owns Africa’s most extensive network of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, including subsea cables and secure internet connections. We offer a diverse range of flexible, scalable and high-quality solutions for businesses that meet world-class standards for connectivity.

SEACOM is privately owned and operated, making it agile and adaptable to the needs of the customer. This makes us the preferred ICT and internet connectivity partner for African businesses and peripheral service providers. We can guarantee high-speed, low-latency and secure internet connections to corporates and small enterprises.

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