Choosing IT support in South Africa is less about a logo wall and more about whether the company will still answer in month six. Use this checklist. It is the same bar we apply to ourselves on about and contact.
1. The address must be a real address
Ask for the street, not “we serve all major metros”. IT Guy Solutions lists two: Louis Trichardt / Makhado and Sandton. Service areas (Polokwane, Johannesburg) are labelled as service areas. If a site shows offices in Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria without staff photos, hours, and matching Google listings, treat it as advertising.
2. NAP must match everywhere
Name, address and phone should be identical on the website, Google Business Profile, and the quote. Two listings are correct when there are two branches — they should not be merged into one pin in the wrong city. Phone for us is 087 550 1813; WhatsApp is 065 866 3103. If a provider’s click-to-call number changes on every landing page, keep walking.
3. Demand a written SLA
“We’ll look after you” is not a priority. You want P1–P4 language, contracted hours, and what happens after hours. Ours is published on the SLA page and in the agreement. The agreement wins if they ever disagree. A portal that shows ticket status is useful; a live countdown widget is not a substitute for the contract.
4. Separate projects from retainers
A Wi-Fi rebuild is not a helpdesk ticket. See managed IT vs break-fix. If the quote hides a full office move inside “unlimited support”, you will pay for it as overtime or as a surprise.
5. Security and POPIA without theatre
Ask what happens if a laptop is stolen, who has Global Admin, whether MFA is enforced, and when backups were last restored. A provider who offers a “POPIA certificate” as a product is selling paperwork. Technology controls can support your programme; they do not replace an Information Officer. Our stance is on the cybersecurity page.
6. You must be able to leave
Admin passwords, domain registrar, Microsoft 365, firewalls and backup consoles should live in a vault you own. A takeover should be possible. If you are already stuck, use an IT provider takeover assessment rather than cutting access overnight.
7. Industry fit is a constraint, not a slogan
A school lab at 07:45 is not a law firm at month-end. Ask for a relevant case study or a walkthrough of a similar site. We publish photographs from jobs we actually did — towers, lodges, retail tills, office racks — not stock server rooms.
FAQ
Should we pick the cheapest per-user quote?
Only after you know what is excluded: on-site, after-hours, Microsoft 365 backup, and projects. A cheap line that invoices every visit is not cheap.
Do reviews and awards on a website prove quality?
Only if they are real and match what you can see in Google Business Profile. Invented star ratings in schema are a warning sign. We do not publish fake reviews.
When you want the conversation to become a number, get an IT assessment.