What to Expect from Your First IT Consultation

Your First IT Consultation in Denver: No Jargon, No Pressure

If you've never worked with a managed IT provider before, walking into a first consultation can feel intimidating. Will they upsell you on services you don't need? Will they speak in acronyms and leave you more confused than when you arrived? Will it turn into a hard sell?

At Network Ninjas, our consultations don't work that way. This guide walks you through exactly what happens during an IT consultation in Denver with our team — step by step, with no surprises.

Before the Consultation: What to Gather

You don't need to have everything figured out before we meet. But having a few pieces of information on hand helps us make the most of the time together:

A rough count of devices: How many computers, servers, printers, and mobile devices does your team use?
Current IT setup: Do you have a server on-site? Are you using cloud storage like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?
Your biggest pain points: What's slowing your team down? What keeps breaking? What worries you most?
Recent IT incidents: Any data loss, outages, security scares, or compliance concerns in the past year?
Budget awareness: You don't need a number, but knowing whether you're looking for emergency help, an ongoing partner, or a one-time project helps us calibrate recommendations.

That's it. You don't need to be a technical expert — that's our job.

The Discovery Interview: We Listen First

The first thing we do is ask questions — not pitch products. A proper technology assessment starts with understanding your business, not your hardware.

We'll ask about:

What your business does and how it operates day-to-day
How your team uses technology (remote work, on-site, hybrid)
What software and line-of-business applications you depend on
How critical uptime is — can you afford two hours of downtime? Two days?
Whether you handle sensitive data: customer PII, financial records, medical information, or regulated data under HIPAA, PCI-DSS, or similar frameworks

This isn't small talk. Understanding your operations is what allows us to give you recommendations that actually fit your business — not a generic checklist.

Network Assessment and IT Audit

With your permission, we'll do a walkthrough of your environment. A proper IT audit for small business includes:

Infrastructure Review

Router, switches, and Wi-Fi equipment (age, configuration, firmware)
Server hardware if applicable (capacity, age, backup status)
Workstation inventory and OS versions
Internet connection type, speed, and redundancy

Software and Licensing Review

Operating system versions and patch status
Antivirus or endpoint protection in place
Cloud service subscriptions and user licensing
Line-of-business application versions and vendor support status

Backup Assessment

What's being backed up, how often, and where
When backups were last tested
Whether backups are protected from ransomware

Industry frameworks like the ITIL Service Management model inform how we structure these assessments — ensuring nothing critical gets overlooked.

Security Evaluation

Security is woven through every part of the assessment, not treated as a separate checklist item. We look at:

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adoption across accounts
Password hygiene and whether a password manager is in use
Email security — spam filtering, phishing protection, DMARC/DKIM configuration
Remote access methods — VPN, RDP exposure, or third-party remote tools
Physical security — server room access, workstation lock screens, clean desk practices
User offboarding — are departed employees' accounts disabled promptly?

You don't need to ace every category. The point is to understand where the real risks are so we can prioritize what to address first.

Identifying Pain Points: Your Problems Are Our Starting Point

Technology problems tend to cluster. A slow network often has multiple root causes. A recurring printer issue might point to a driver management gap. Frequent password lockouts might indicate a deeper account policy problem.

During the consultation, we actively map your pain points — the things that frustrate your team, interrupt your work, or keep you up at night — to their likely technical root causes. This is where our experience in IT consulting in Colorado pays off: we've seen these patterns across dozens of businesses and can often spot the cause before you finish describing the symptom.

Recommendations and Roadmap

After the assessment, we put together a prioritized set of recommendations. We separate these into three categories:

Critical / Address Now: Anything that poses immediate risk — unprotected data, no backups, an end-of-life server running your business
Important / Address Soon: Items that increase risk or limit efficiency but aren't emergencies
Strategic / Plan For: Longer-horizon investments like infrastructure upgrades, cloud migration, or compliance readiness

We don't dump a 40-page report on your desk and walk away. We walk through the recommendations together and explain the why behind each one in plain language — no jargon, no acronym soup.

Learn more about how we approach ongoing support on our services page.

Transparent Pricing Discussion

We believe in honest, upfront pricing conversations. Before leaving the consultation, we'll discuss:

What a managed services engagement would cost for your environment
Project-based pricing if you have specific one-time needs
What's included in our standard support agreements versus billed separately

Our technicians hold certifications recognized across the industry — including CompTIA A+ and related credentials — but we price for small and mid-size businesses, not enterprise contracts.

No surprises on your first invoice.

What Makes Network Ninjas Different

There are plenty of IT providers in Denver. Here's what sets our consultations apart:

We're local. Our team is based in Denver. When you need someone on-site, we're there — not dispatching a contractor from another state.
Fast response. We answer the phone. We respond to tickets. We don't disappear after the sale.
No-jargon communication. We explain things in terms that make sense for your business, not ours.
We prioritize your goals, not our product catalog. If you don't need something, we won't recommend it.
We document everything. After the consultation, you'll have a written summary of findings and recommendations — yours to keep, regardless of whether we work together.

Read more about our approach on our about page.

What Happens After the Consultation

At the end of the meeting, you'll have:

A clear picture of your current IT environment
A prioritized list of risks and recommendations
Honest pricing options
Zero pressure to make a decision on the spot

Most of our clients take a few days to review the recommendations internally before moving forward. That's completely normal and expected. Some clients hire us for a single project. Others start a managed services relationship. A few leave with a report and handle things internally — and that's fine too. Our goal is to give you real information, not to trap you in a contract.

Ready to See What's Actually Going on with Your IT?

Whether you're dealing with recurring problems, planning for growth, or just wondering if your current setup is as secure as it should be, a consultation is the fastest way to get clarity.

Network Ninjas offers a free initial IT consultation for Denver and Front Range businesses. No obligation, no sales pressure — just an honest look at your technology and what it would take to make it work better for you.

Book your free consultation today and see what a local IT partner that actually shows up looks like. For more information about what we do, visit our services page.