When setting up a business in Cyprus or elsewhere, it is important to equip the office with an efficient computer system and to create a reliable network infrastructure. The IT infrastructure whether you are running a small or a large business should be managed and developed according to the changing needs of the company.
Many companies consider outsourcing either specific areas of company’s technological needs or the whole IT system. Much has been written about the advantages and disadvantages of IT outsourcing in comparison to maintaining an in-house IT specialist or even an IT department. Nevertheless, it is obvious that IT outsourcing can be an extremely efficient way of IT infrastructure management.
Strategic planning is the first step to success when setting up any business, but strategic thinking when planning a communication system in your offices is even more important. This is what we need to keep in mind when making a choice between IT business partners in Cyprus. It is crucial to select a partner who can utilize all intellectual and physical abilities to improve their client’s existing infrastructure or build a new and improved one. An inexperienced IT partner could ruin your entire infrastructure and make it unviable.
What things should be taken into consideration when choosing an IT outsourcing partner in Cyprus?
Check your outsourcing partner’s infrastructure and technology
When you have an office in Cyprus and one or more branches elsewhere in the world, it is obvious that your outsourcing partner should use best-of-breed infrastructure and high-end technology to handle the tasks.
Check if the outsourcing IT team has the right qualifications to perform IT tasks for your company and to reach all of your goals.
Ask for references and check the proven track records
Find out if your offshore partner has experience in delivering the required services at the scale of your business needs. You wouldn’t want the IT company to get its first experience in IT outsourcing when working for you. References are there so you can find out more about the quality of service, timely deliveries and customer support services. You can also check company’s profile on Microsoft Pinpoint, in Cyprus section. Look for Gold and Silver competencies. Don’t forget to check the feedback section.
Check if the IT partner provides a full IT service pack
Sometimes your company may face various IT problems and then it is always good to be able to contact your outsourcing partner as the team there will see the whole picture and you will not need to explain your ideas all over again.
Check language and cultural compatibility
Your IT partner should understand your employees well to ensure effective and quick troubleshooting. Also your IT partner should be aware of your organizational structure and cultural peculiarities.
Let’s see how HardPoint fits into the picture and why it could be your ideal European IT partner helping you to reach your communication goals and save on IT expenses.
We specialize in IT outsourcing and outsourcing is our main activity category. Moreover we offer all kinds of outsourcing: project outsourcing (outsourcing of various projects: for example, renovation of a telephone exchange, replacement of routers, migration to new software, installation of a new service), outsourcing of one system (only a part of a system is outsourced, for example, MS Exchange Server, MS Share Point, net infrastructure, server hardware, etc.) and full outsourcing (we take full responsibility for the whole IT infrastructure of our clients).
HardPoint is Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and employs certified specialists with substantial experience in the field of Microsoft technologies, as well other vendors such as Cisco and Avaya. HardPoint is the largest Microsoft partner in Cyprus, Limassol.
Currently our company employs Microsoft certified specialists: Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP); Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Configuration specialist (MCTS); Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS); Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA); Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE); Microsoft Enterprise Administrator (MCITP); Microsoft Enterprise Messaging Administrator (MCITP); Microsoft Certified System Administrator (MCSA). Also Avaya certified specialists (Avaya Certified Specialist), Cisco certified specialists (Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), Cisco Certified Network Associate) and Linux certified specialists (LPI Certified Engineer).
We have been providing large corporate clients with outsourcing services and we have proven ourselves to be a trusted partner in Limassol and throughout Cyprus. We respect the wishes of our potential customers to have references before signing a contract with us, so we provide them upon the first request. We also respect the explicit requirement of some of our clients to remain anonymous.
We value the relationship with our clients and their business goals become our goals. At the primary stage of each project we take time to understand your requirements, and tailor a delivery model that is specifically designed to bring a solid value for your business. Each client has a dedicated IT manager who controls the amount and quality of services provided.
We speak several European languages fluently: Greek, English, German and Russian. HardPoint has European service centers, we do not close on state holidays in Cyprus or other countries, so your IT system will be safe and stable even when you are not in the office.
Let’s have a quick glance at how your Cyprus business could benefit with our help:
Reduction of expenses
- Professionals in IT outsourcing optimize the work process and do not waste time in finding the best possible solution;
- Our head office is located in Limassol, Cyprus, but our main staff base is located in the Ukraine and Russia allowing us to use highly qualified human resources for the fraction of the cost in comparison to Europe;
- Our clients are free to choose only the services that they really need;
- Dynamic and comprehensive set of services (saves you expense for paying salary to a specialist whose services will rarely be required);
- Substantial work experience in IT outsourcing in Cyprus and Europe, personal contact with telecom operators allow us to greatly optimize your expenses on external connection channels, Internet connection and price of calls;
- Direct contact with large vendors and suppliers of equipment allows our clients to purchase various items at reduced prices;
- No expenses on bonuses, social packages, substitutes of employees while they are on sick or holiday leaves;
- Simplification of accounting/budgeting for IT.
Security
- All our employees sign a strict and legally binding information security agreement;
- Reduction of social hacking exposure. A potential fraudster who is willing to buy some sort of intellectual property of your company will have more difficulty finding an employee working for an outsourcing company and making contact with him/her, compared to an in-house IT specialist;
- Any attempt to retrieve confidential information by an employee working for an outsourcing company will be noted and dealt with;
- We bear financial responsibility for the above said.
No human factor impact on client’s business
- We offer IT outsourcing services 7/365;
- There are always a few specialists that take care of a client, thus they are always interchangeable;
- All IT works are performed according to the standards and are documented.
Transparency of our services to clients
- The whole IT infrastructure of each client is accurately documented;
- All configurations have backup files;
- All solutions used are standardized;
- The procedure of transferring IT infrastructure to another outsourcer or IT department is described in the agreement.
It is very important to find a Cyprus IT outsourcing partner whom you could entrust your company’s IT infrastructure to, because outsourcing should not be seen as a short-term solution to a problem or need. When handing a part of business process or functions to HardPoint, our clients are sure that we will be a true part of their work team and will keep up to their corporate ethics and standards. Our system is a scalable solution suitable for small, medium and large-sized companies. It takes us only a week to implement it in your company and to make it an integral component of your daily business routine.