Questions
Straight answers to the questions people ask before they call.
The things owners and office managers ask us on the first call, answered the way we would answer them across a desk. No pricing, no pitch, and we say when the answer is no.
AI advisory
Choosing AI tools, policy, training and custom builds
Which AI tools are our employees using right now?
Almost certainly more than leadership thinks. Between a staff survey, what is switched on by default in your tenant, and what your industry software…
AI advisoryWhy are our technology costs going up if we are not using AI?
Because the security floor rose permanently, AI data centre demand is pushing up hardware, cloud and software pricing across the industry, and…
AI advisoryWhat is AI advisory, and what do we actually get?
An assessment of where AI fits your business, which platforms are safe for your data, a written policy, training, and software when you need it. It…
AI advisoryWhich AI tool should our company use?
It depends on where your data is allowed to go, what you already pay for, and what you want it to do. For most offices already in Microsoft 365, the…
AI advisoryWill our data be used to train the AI?
On a consumer account, often yes, and you frequently cannot tell. On a business or enterprise agreement, usually no, and the vendor commits to it in…
AI advisoryIs AI actually worth it for a business our size?
For most businesses of thirty to two hundred people, the first year of value is drafting, summarising and finding things: real, but unglamorous.…
AI advisoryWho trains our staff to actually use it?
We do, on the tools you approved and with examples from your own work. Twenty minutes of real training changes adoption more than anything else in the…
Service
Helpdesk, response and support
Do you train our staff, or do we call you for everything?
Both. We train at least one internal administrator on the routine tasks so a new phone on a Saturday is not a ticket, and we give them material to…
ServiceWho actually does the work, and how experienced are they?
The people who answer your tickets are employees here, in Pell Lake. Our level one technicians work to a standard most firms would call level two, and…
ServiceHow fast do you respond?
Our average response to a new ticket is 20 to 25 minutes, against a two-hour response commitment written into every plan. Every request becomes a…
ServiceDo you answer the phone after hours?
The helpdesk is staffed until 8 p.m. After that, for emergencies, the after-hours option on the main number reaches the on-call technician. Routine…
ServiceDo you support Macs?
We are a Windows shop, and most of our clients are too. We will support a Mac for basic issues and tell you honestly when a specialist is a better use…
ServiceWhy tickets for everything?
Because a ticket has an owner, a date and a record. A verbal promise has none of those. You can see exactly what has been done and what is next.
ServiceWhat does a managed IT company actually do for a small business?
Everything an internal IT department would: a helpdesk your staff call when something breaks, monitoring and patching so fewer things break, backups…
ServiceWhy does turnover at an IT company matter to me?
Because the person who fixed your problem last year is the one who knows your setup this year. Two service employees have left Midwest IT in 21 years,…
Plans and switching
The two plans, onboarding and leaving your current provider
What is the difference between the onsite plan and the cloud plan?
The cloud plan is helpdesk, monitoring, Microsoft 365, backup and security delivered to you without an on-premises server. It suits smaller businesses…
Plans and switchingIs account management extra?
No. Every client has a named account manager and scheduled reviews as part of the plan. It is the part of the service that keeps the rest from…
Plans and switchingHow long does onboarding take?
Sixty days from signed contract to the onboarding check-in, on a written timeline. Hardware is built in our shop before it ships, discovery happens…
Plans and switchingCan you support us if we are not near Wisconsin?
Yes. The cloud plan was designed for exactly that: remote helpdesk, monitoring, Microsoft 365, backup and security, with hardware shipped ready to…
Plans and switchingWhat if we are under contract with someone else?
We will read it with you. Often the notice period is the only real constraint, and we can start the assessment before it ends.
Plans and switchingWhat if our current provider will not cooperate?
It happens. We recover access without them more often than we would like. You do not have to referee.
Plans and switchingWill there be downtime?
Setup happens on days you choose. The tools we install run alongside what is there; nothing is switched off until its replacement is working.
Plans and switchingWhat is actually different about Midwest IT?
The same experienced team from the first conversation onward, two service employees lost in 21 years, an account manager who learns how you make…
Partnership
Planning, vendors, software and acquisitions
How do you decide what hardware and software to recommend?
By what fits the problem and the budget, not by what we happen to know best. We have changed vendors more often than most firms do, always for a…
PartnershipWhat happens when you get something wrong?
We tell you, quickly and plainly, and then we run an after-action: what happened, how it happened, and what changes so it does not repeat. Hiding a…
PartnershipWhat does a technology roadmap actually contain?
What changes, in what order, over what years, and what each year costs. It is reviewed with the owner and adjusted as the business changes.
PartnershipWhat does holding a vendor accountable actually involve?
Putting the question in writing, copying the client, and asking for the answer in writing too. Most vendors are reasonable once the conversation is on…
PartnershipWill you tell us not to buy something?
Yes, and we have. A recently purchased backup server is a sunk cost worth a conversation before anyone throws it out.
PartnershipIs it ever fine to run business software on a desktop PC?
For one person's spreadsheet, sure. For the system your orders and payroll depend on, no. The question to ask is what happens on the day it dies, and…
PartnershipOur software vendor is forcing a cloud move. Can we push back?
On the timing, often yes. On the move itself, rarely. The useful move is to get ahead of it: understand the cost, pick your window, and avoid the…
PartnershipWhen should we call IT about an acquisition?
Before the letter of intent, if you can. Later is fine; earlier is cheaper.
PartnershipDo you know how we make money?
We make a point of it. Your account manager learns what you sell, who pays you, where the margin is and why you run the business, so every…
Protection
Backup, security, insurance and AI
How warm is too warm for our server room?
Equipment is designed for roughly 18 to 27 degrees Celsius, 64 to 81 Fahrenheit, measured at the front where it draws air in. The number that matters…
ProtectionWhere should our server actually live?
In a space with airflow, stable power, no water above it and a door that locks. Heat is the most common environmental killer of business equipment,…
ProtectionWhat is a server room reorganization, and is it worth paying for?
It is making the room possible to reason about: inventory, cable management, labelling at both ends, documentation, power and airflow. It turns a…
ProtectionEvery IT company says they are proactive. What does it actually mean?
Work that gets done while nothing is wrong, funded on an argument rather than an emergency. In 2019 we replaced open remote access with VPNs across…
ProtectionHow often should a backup be tested?
Something monthly, a full server quarterly, the whole plan yearly. Written down every time, and any failure notice reaches a person whose job is to…
ProtectionDoes Microsoft 365 back itself up?
Not in the way most people assume. Deleted items eventually disappear and a compromised account can destroy data. A separate backup of email and files…
ProtectionWe have a backup. Is that not enough?
A backup is necessary and not sufficient. Ask how long a full recovery takes and when it was last rehearsed. If the answers are unknown, you have a…
ProtectionA customer sent us a cybersecurity questionnaire. Now what?
Send it to us. Most of what they ask for is the basics done properly and written down, and we will tell you honestly which answers are already yes and…
ProtectionCan you help with our cyber insurance renewal?
Yes. The questionnaire is usually the first time a business discovers what it does not have, and we would rather find that together than have the…
ProtectionWhat is conditional access, in plain terms?
Rules that decide whether a login is allowed based on more than the password: which device, is it managed and healthy, where from, was multi-factor…
ProtectionCan our staff use ChatGPT?
With an enterprise account and a written policy, often yes. On a personal account with client data, no, and the policy should say so in plain words.
ProtectionDo we need a policy if we are not regulated?
Yes. The risk is client data leaving the building; regulation only changes who asks about it afterwards.
ProtectionHow do you pick security products?
By the gap, not the price. We vet the vendor on certifications, hiring and ownership, work out where each product falls short, and choose the next…
Office moves
Relocations, circuits, servers and phones
How far ahead should we involve IT in an office move?
Ninety days is comfortable. Sixty is workable. Thirty means overnight shipping and overtime.
Office movesShould the server move with us?
If it has years of life left, yes, carefully. If it is due for replacement, replace it into the new building rather than moving it twice. We will tell…
Office movesWho orders the internet at the new building?
We do, in your name, the week the lease is signed. Carriers take six to twelve weeks and the order is the most common thing to fall through the…
Office movesCan our phones keep the same numbers?
Almost always. Porting takes planning; we schedule it so the old office stops ringing on the right day.
Office movesWhat is the most common thing that goes wrong?
The internet circuit is not ready. Order it the week the lease is signed.
Have a question that is not here?
Ask it. A partner will call you back the same business day with a straight answer.