Your IT Company Sent a Quote. Who Checks It?

The Short Version

Your IT company sends a quote. The numbers look reasonable, and you approve it. You might be right to. Still, nobody on your side asked whether you need it now, what waiting would cost, or what it costs after the first year. Below are three questions worth asking before you approve any quote, plus a free call on November 19 where we work through five.

In late October, I sat in a room with leaders from small organizations. More than a few of them had nobody in a senior technology role. They had real questions about cyber insurance forms, vendor renewals, and AI, and nowhere obvious to take them.

Each of those questions ends in a decision. Someone outside the organization recommends something, and someone inside has to approve it. The version you probably see most often is an IT quote.

Why Quotes Get Approved

Your IT company knows the systems. Pushing back can feel like second-guessing an expert, so you sign.

Approving a quote is still a business decision, and your name goes on it. Your IT company knows what the systems need. You know where the organization is headed and what the budget can carry. A good decision needs both, and a quote only carries one of them.

I wrote about this gap in September. Fixing technology and owning technology are two different jobs. Your IT company does the fixing. Approving the work is part of owning it, and that part sits with you.

The $35,000 Quote I Approved

When I led IT at a regional sports network, a vendor quoted about $35,000 to move us to a new server platform before the old one's renewal came due. One of my engineers said he could do the work himself, and he could have.

We paid the vendor. They had done this kind of move before, and a failed cutover would be theirs to fix. My engineer stayed on the work only he could do instead of spending weeks inside a migration.

I wasn't deciding whether $35,000 was too much. I was deciding what saying no would cost us. Nobody outside the building was going to weigh that quote against pulling my engineer away for weeks, so I did.

Three Questions to Ask Before You Sign

You don't need a technical background to ask these. You need the answers before you approve.

What Happens If We Wait a Year?

Some work can't wait. A system that has lost vendor support or equipment that is starting to fail puts you at risk every week you hold off. Other work can wait, and the quote won't tell you which kind you're looking at. Ask, and ask what risk you carry in the meantime.

What Does This Cost Over Five Years?

A quote shows what you pay to start. Subscriptions, licenses, and support contracts renew every year after that. Ask for the yearly cost once the work is done, and add five years of renewals before you compare the total to your budget.

Who Supports It After It's Installed?

Someone has to update it, renew it, and answer the call when it breaks. Find out whether that's your IT company, the manufacturer, or nobody. Then find out whether this quote covers that support or it shows up later as a separate bill.

If the quote includes a renewal, ask one more: would we buy this again today? I asked that about every renewal I reviewed, and most passed. One was a video meeting tool we had largely replaced, so we cut our licenses way back instead of renewing on autopilot. The free Renewal Review template walks you through the same test.

Five Questions, Live on November 19

On Thursday, November 19, from 12:00 to 12:45 p.m. Eastern, I'm hosting a free Zoom call on five questions to ask before you approve your next IT quote. The three above are a start. On the call we go further, and you can ask about your own situation.

If you have a recent quote or invoice, bring it. You look it over privately on your own screen while we go, and nobody else sees it.

Save your seat: https://www.kenneththomas.com/founding-call

Where I Come In

On November 2, I opened Executive Technology Advisory for leaders like the ones in that room. It gives owners, executive directors, and operations leaders at organizations of 20 to 250 people a senior technology advisor for the deciding part, without the cost of a full-time hire. Your IT company keeps fixing things. Members bring the decision in front of them and get a written answer within two business days.

I take no vendor commissions or referral fees, so my advice has nothing riding on what you buy. Founding enrollment is limited to 10 members and closes November 30.

See how it works: https://www.kenneththomas.com/advisory