Some IT Providers Still Exhibit Draconian Methods?

When most people think of IT providers, they think of kind, eager, technically-minded folk who want to help you set up your servers and hardware and keep you and your business on top of the game. What you might not be able to see is that not all IT service providers are like this, and some may even be downright toxic.

In this article, we'll go over the signs that your service providers could be using unnecessary force to control you, and how to resolve it.

Identifying The Signs

The biggest sign (and this is the most egregious), is when an IT provider isn't giving you the passwords for your servers and equipment. Whenever this happens, they're doing it for one of two reasons (or perhaps both):

•    They want full control over your tech, good intentions or bad
•    They want full control over you and your business relationship

Some of these providers may do this to force higher pay or more work from you and your employees, and since they're the only ones with access to all of your information, you're left completely helpless and are forced to comply. There's no legal recourse here, either -- you can't take them to court to force them to give you access unless it was in your contract, which it won't be in most cases.

While most IT support technicians are good people, not all of them are. Abusive tactics like these are unfortunately quite common in the IT industry -- if you've ever had to make a phone call just to get basic server information (like a username and password) and had that denied to you, you're dealing with a draconian IT provider.

Fixing The Problem

Fortunately, this issue isn't without a solution. Most issues you encounter in the world aren't, in fact! We've met with businesses that had to cancel meetings with us because they realized they were never getting access to their passwords, as well as cancelled network audit appointments.

The first step to take to break this cult-like control is to acknowledge it for what it is. Like they say, knowledge is power, and dealing with draconian individuals who're harming you and your business requires knowledge -- not just of what they're doing, but what you can do about it.

Unfortunately, if you can't force them to give you your information, you may find yourself at the negotiation table. If that doesn't go well, you'll have to start all over: but if you do have people with access to your information, you may want to get them to collect as much as possible before giving the provider any ideas that you plan on replacing them.

Once you've made those steps, it's time to start looking for new providers. Interview local IT service providers in your area, and ensure in the interview process that this won't repeat. For instance, you may want to ensure that they have full documentation of your network in your agreement that's shared with you and kept updated -- especially user logins and passwords. Some of these providers may even be able to find your user name and password so you can get your information back from the dragon's den.

How We Can Help

Let us know if you want to learn more about IT technology and support. If your business is in Oklahoma, EMSCO Solutions might be able to help you even more. Like other IT providers in Oklahoma, we operate our IT services for local businesses. Contact us for a consultation if that sounds good to you.