What Services Can Be Expected From Managed IT Support?
Managed IT support can offer a lot of services for your business that you may or may not already be familiar with. Before signing any contract with a managed IT support company it is best to take a quick look at which services you could potentially get for your business and which are the most recommended.
To start with consider the size of your business operation. Are you a small business with an office that has less than ten people? Do you all use computers and laptops? How many computers, laptops, and printers does your business use? Do you have a server and do you use an internal email system such as Microsoft Exchange?
If you operate a small business with only a few computers that are in a Workgroup instead of a domain, it is worth looking at a simple Helpdesk and Remote Support contract with a managed IT support company. This level of support is perfect for business users that have issues with PC performance, failures, printer faults and failures, setting up new laptops and users, setting up data storage and backups.
If however, your business makes use of a network with a domain and is in the medium range (15 – 100 users) it is recommended to step up the level of support with a managed IT support company. Look for contracts and offers which include the following services to ensure that your business IT infrastructure is fully supported. Helpdesk & Remote Support is still required for all those software faults and user based issues, but because of the step up in network infrastructure a Hardware Maintenance Support contract is also recommended. This is for physical faults to IT equipment that are significantly more important than just an office printer, (although this is likely to be covered too) for instance, you may have a proxy server onsite which provides access to the internet for all of your office PCs, or you may have an exchange server which provides access to all your employees email. If either of these has a hardware fault, a hardware maintenance support contract is vital in order to resolve these issues and restore your business critical services as soon as possible.
Depending on the size of your business network and the importance you place on how reliable the network should be, you should definitely consider a Preventative Maintenance contract. This contract will allow engineers from a managed IT support company to remotely connect to the servers on your network and check hard disk levels and perform windows updates and antivirus updates. They can also perform disk defrags, checks and cleanups to ensure your server’s performance is as optimal as possible, perform remote backup checks to ensure your data is fully protected and to clear out your email exchange logs and manage your exchange information store size to ensure that every step is taken to prevent issues with your business email services.
Regardless of the size of your business, whether it is small or large, there will be a suitable managed IT support service that you can consider and adopt to ensure that your business is fully protected in the event of an IT failure. If you have the support in place (24/7) no matter how large or small the failure, you know that your business is covered and as prepared as possible to restore full functionality as quickly as possible.
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