IT Service and Support

On: April, 9th 2018 | Under: Manage Services

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Changing role of IT Service and Support

The role of IT Service and Support is changing with the increased reliance on technology in small to medium businesses today. It has shifted from being one of repair and fix to one of being an enabler and an advisor.

A business not adopting this approach will find that in the long term that, it will be always reactive, missing opportunities and end up with an IT infrastructure, tools and processes that are out of date and costing an arm and a leg. This can be avoided where the role of IT service and support is broadened to one of prevention and strategic advice.

How to tell, how your business approaches IT service and support?

Entering an organization and talking with the staff is a good indicator for understanding how an organization is viewing the role of IT service and support. Frustration and low confidence in being able to rely on the IT infrastructure in performing their roles will give a good guidance on the approach being taken.

If it’s letting them down they will talk amongst themselves and comments like, I just cannot complete my work efficiently thanks to the speed of the internet. Or maybe something along the lines of we missed the deadline for that customer proposal the other day thanks to the slowness of my computer will be prevalent throughout the organization.

Yes, poor morale in an organization and frustration with IT technology being able to support staff in the performance of their day to day duties is an indicator of adopting a traditional break and fix approach.

The support and service team will be focused on fixing the network that breaks constantly, performing maintenance regularly across machines are slow, do not have the latest software patches, removing tools introduced by staff that are not part of the standard operating system.

The consequence is that the discussion on IT is always about fixing issues rather than on working out how IT can add value to your business through increases in productivity, adding to the customer experience, delivering increased profitability.

How to cope with the fast evolution of technology?

Technology continues to evolve and change at a rapid pace and with this change comes the increased opportunity for small to medium businesses. Once the technology was really the domain of big business that is not the case today and for many small to medium business owners the question is how to take advantage of these technologies, so they can compete more aggressively and deliver on their promises.

This changes the nature of what a small business s looking for in terms of service and support. Not only do you want the technical knowledge, but they want an IT Service provider that can be a strategic partner by adding value to the business.

 

Do you have control over your Data?

It does not matter what size the business is, nearly all employees are bringing their own devices to work and using these devices within the Businesses network and infrastructure. This spells danger and means that as a business it is very hard to know what devices are being used to access company data.

Without a proactive support plan where you have a provider monitoring and implementing and activating policies that protect your organization from unauthorized access then you are increasing the risk of data loss and the associated impact.

Who maintains and controls the access to your systems when an employee leaves?

The support provided to a business today is more than just fixing computers, repairing networks, and installing software. Managing the movement of people into the business and from the business is a key activity of support today this includes enabling, maintaining and removing email accounts, monitoring and enforcing the password policy across the businesses network infrastructure. All with the aim that a business can act with confidence that their data is safe and secure.

What are the support and services solutions for a business today?

Each Business will have their own needs and views so there is no one solution that fits all businesses. In some instances, it is better for a small business to take small steps in transitioning to a more proactive approach. This enables them to gain confidence with a more proactive approach and monitor the impact on the business before fully committing to a fully-fledged managed services model.

Approach 1 – Purchase a block of Hours

This is where the customer commits to pre-purchase a block of support hours from a Computer troubleshooter and when these hours have consumed another block of hours is purchased. Because you are paying upfront the hourly rate is likely to be at a better value than if just a normal break-fix hourly rate.

At Computer Troubleshooters the services provided for that block of hours will be defined for you what is not covered. You will be able to discuss add-ons for the services not covered.

Approach 2 – A subscription plan

This is where the customer decided to pay a monthly fee for a range of services provided by the IT Service Business. This in effect is a Managed Services solution.

At Computer Troubleshooters we offer a range of subscription plans covering various aspects of your situation. For instance, we have a Total Protection Plan that is focused on ensuring you have an anti-virus solution, some backup and a little bit of system maintenance. Your plan might be focused around Microsoft office 365, hosted email, password management and user access.

You may be looking for a much broader plan which covers a lot more monitoring and maintenance activities supported by IT strategy reviews which are known as our BEST managed services plan.

For further information Call 1300-28-28 78 or www.computertroubleshooters.com.au

 

 

 

VOIP Reshaping Business Communications

On: April, 9th 2018 | Under: Uncategorized

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Voice communications over the Internet Protocol (VOIP) delivers a range of benefits to businesses when looking at the challenge of Business communications. The key benefits that have driven the growth of VOIP are cost-savings, efficiency flexibility, and scalability.

Francisco Soliano JR Managing Director of Computer Troubleshooters East Perth sees “the biggest factor for clients in deciding to implement a VOIP system is cost-effectiveness and the speed with which a system can be deployed minimizing disruption to the business.”

A solution for communication needs to cover smartphones, landline communications and video conferencing, hence the term Unified Communications is often used when discussing a solution.

What are some of the trends impacting communications?

The introduction of modern technologies continually changes the way society acts, expectations and behavior. Think how the introduction of email has disrupted traditional mail, the introduction of the mobile phone and wireless technologies have all impacted on the way we communicate and act.

Some of these changes are:

• The need to be constantly and immediately available, when we call somebody we expect an immediate response. Expectations are you can be reached anytime, anyplace from anywhere.
• Technology is constantly developing and becoming increasingly available at a value that most businesses can afford. What this means is that more and more functionality and sophistication is available to smaller and medium-sized businesses.
• The cloud enables people to be able to access their data (work-related files) and applications wherever they are. This increases productivity and flexibility within organizations it also allows organizations to unify all their hardware and software.
• The usage of chat and messaging tools is becoming more prominent in businesses. These tools are underpinning how organizations think of the customer experience with the aim to be more customer focused. What is important though that these tools become integrated as part of the communication systems and the data is kept for reference. Quicker and easier than email means less time spent on communications equals an increase in productivity
• Voicemail is not quick enough and often you repeat yourself when the person calls you back. In a lot of cases, they have not even listened to the message. Repeating yourself. Often this is where messaging somebody can be more effective.
• Communication capabilities can be integrated rather than having disparate solutions. If it’s integrated using a simple package, then you can move seamlessly from application to another without loss of time.
• The price and capability of the technology continue to come down meaning it is a viable option no matter what your business size is.
• Improved quality of picture and audio when undertaking virtual conferencing means that more and more meetings across all areas of a business operation are being held. This delivers real and significant savings to an organization in today’s competitive landscape.

 

 

 

What does this mean for a business today?

 

It means that if you have not at least assessed the area of VOIP and Unified communications then you may be limiting the capacity and viability of your business to compete against your competitors.

 

The starting point is to have a discussion with your IT provider about Unified communications and understand what your options are. One consideration in the discussion is the whole issue of security of your networks. Why? Because if using a VoIP then the solution sends the calls through the same path your network used for internet and other traffic.  This naturally increases risk hence the conversation needs to cover security.

 

How can Computer Troubleshooters assist?

 

The local computer troubleshooter can consult with you about your requirements and then assist you in selecting a provider and then assist in the changeover.  Computer Troubleshooters East Perth Managing Director Francisco Soliano Jr recommends the Fonality solution because of the ease and speed of deploying the Fonality system. Effectively the handsets are pre-configured and in effect, it’s a plug and play system. The costs are clear and the flat fee model of Fonality makes it easy to understand the costs and the returns.

 

Call 1300 28 28 78 to locate your nearest Computer Troubleshooter for a discussion on your needs.