Whether you are in Mission, Abbotsford, Chilliwack or Langley, picking an IT provider is a trust decision. They will hold the keys to your email, files and finances. These are the questions worth asking before you sign anything, including with us.
1. Who actually answers when something breaks?
Ask how requests come in, by phone, email or a portal, and who handles them. A small business is usually best served when the person answering already knows your setup.
2. What are your hours, and what counts as an emergency?
Get the business hours in writing and ask what happens at 9pm on a Saturday when the server is down. Ours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm Pacific, with 24/7 emergency support.
3. Will you come on-site, and where?
Most problems are fixed remotely, but network installs, office moves and hardware failures need hands. Ask which towns they visit and how visits are scheduled. Fraser Valley geography matters: a provider based in downtown Vancouver may treat Chilliwack as a day trip.
4. How do you secure our accounts?
Listen for multi-factor sign-in on every account, encrypted laptops, tested backups and prompt removal of access when staff leave. If the whole answer is "antivirus", keep looking.
5. Where will our data live?
BC businesses have privacy obligations under PIPA, and many prefer their data stored in Canada. Ask where email, files and backups are stored, and who can reach them.
6. Who owns the passwords and admin accounts?
You should. Make sure admin credentials for your domain, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace and other key systems are documented and available to you, not locked inside the provider.
7. How is pricing structured?
Hourly, monthly flat-rate and project quotes can all work. What matters is knowing what is included before the invoice arrives. Ask for a written quote and what happens when something falls outside it.
8. What happens if we leave?
A good provider makes leaving easy: documentation, credentials and a clean handover. Ask now, while everyone is friendly.
How we answer them
Bitlogix is based in Mission and works on-site across the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland, with remote support anywhere in BC. Every relationship starts with a free 30-minute consultation, where you can ask us all eight. See where we work.
Useful references
- Baseline cyber security controls for small and medium organizations, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security: a good yardstick for question 4.
- Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia: guidance on PIPA for question 5.