How to choose an IT provider for an SME in French-speaking Switzerland

Managed-IT retainer, or break-fix by the hour?

The first split is commercial, not technical. Break-fix sells an outage: you call, someone may visit, you pay the trip. Managed IT sells a run: a written scope, support in agreed hours, tracked incidents, updates. For a 5–50 seat SME the second model costs less over 12 months — and someone still knows the estate when it breaks.

If the provider’s site leads with “IT repair Geneva, 2-hour visit”, you are buying a queue, not a contract. Day-to-day SME support belongs in the retainer. A one-off mission is possible after scoping; it is not the hook.

Remote first, on site second

Most SME incidents (mail, access, a PC, backups) are handled remotely. Someone who knows your estate saves more time than a van in Geneva traffic. An on-site visit has a cost and a delay: it belongs in the contract, not in a marketing reflex.

Be wary of an invented shopfront. A correspondence address in Lausanne is not a walk-in store. What matters is a clear channel (form, WhatsApp, later a landline), a real area (Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel and nearby), and written rules for the day a visit is needed.

Data: nLPD, servers, Microsoft 365

A fiduciary, a practice, an industrial SME: files and mail are not a detail. Ask three questions. Where do proposed hosting servers run (Switzerland on the Romandy market)? What happens to your credentials and tickets (limited purpose, no resale)? Do you get a contract and a DPA, not only a purchase order?

Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace do not vanish because you hire a managed-IT firm. We start from what you have. Site and file hosting can stay in Switzerland; mail can stay with the vendor. The classic mistake is a big-bang “sovereign” migration without mapping what is already compliant.

What the quote must contain — no public price list

No serious amount is published before the audit: price follows seats, options (hosting, on-call) and the state of the estate. In French-speaking Switzerland, require quotes and invoices in CHF. A provider billing a Vaud SME in euros adds FX, paperwork, and a signal of distance.

A useful quote lists: scope (PCs, servers, mail, network), support hours, what is included, what is out of contract, billing rhythm, visit conditions. Not an hourly rate on a landing page. Not a “−50% this month” banner.

• Named scope (in / out)
• Support hours — on-call only if written
• Currency: CHF for a Swiss SME
• A named contact, not an anonymous ticket
• Response times by severity — not “15 minutes 24/7”

Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel — real proximity

A single “all of Switzerland” page tells an office manager in Carouge or a director in Pully nothing. Ask whether the provider has distinct copy for Geneva, Lausanne and Neuchâtel — not the same sheet with the city name swapped. The area should match real travel, not a 200 km Maps radius.

Correspondence in Lausanne (business centre) covers mail and appointments. It does not replace a clear contract. If you want a high-street PC shop, that is a different trade.

Questions to ask before you sign

• Is day-to-day support in the retainer, or billed per call?
• Do you start remotely? When do you come on site?
• Where are the sites and files you host?
• Quotes and invoices in CHF?
• Who answers when it breaks — a name, or a queue?
• What happens outside hours with no on-call?
• Can you start from Microsoft 365 / Google as they are?

If the answers are slogans (“we’re 24/7”, “we’re there in 2 hours”, “cheapest in Geneva”), look elsewhere. An audit with no commitment, a written reply within one business day, then a proposal: that is the pace of a provider who intends to stay.