Maintenance Agreements

The purpose of this page is to identify the types of company that our support services are designed for. It is not possible to categorise by turnover or the number of staff, so if you already know that you need to outsource some part of your IT support function then please click here (this will take you to the managed services page with full details and pricing).  However, to find out where we could fit into your organisation please read on.

Larger enterprises will invariably have an IT department that has overall responsibility for the implementation and running of their IT however companies that do not have this will normally fall into one of the following categories:

• A business with a dedicated member of staff to deal with IT whose sole function is to look after the day to day running of the computer systems. read more...
• A business with a member of staff that has a keen interest in IT and is thus able to deal with many of the daily IT problems that arise but it is not their main job function read more...
• A business where the MD or other senior member of staff has through necessity muddled through and managed to install a system but they don't really have any IT knowledge. read more...
• A business with no internal IT resource that will rely on assistance from a Friend or family member or subcontract the work out 100% to an IT company that provides support services. read more...

Hands-On Computers are an ideal solution for any company that fits into the above categories as our managed support services can either complement your own in-house resources or provide you with a fully outsourced IT department.

For a better understanding of how we are able to work with each of the above types of company please read on.

Business's with a dedicated IT manager

For this sort of organisation our role is to take on functions that the in house IT manager is either not able to handle on their own or where it would be a waste of their valuable time to do so. The list below shows examples of where an IT manager may consider passing us the work:-

• Desktop hardware or software refresh across all users that needs to be done in a shorter period of time than one person can manage.
• Managed desktop and server software maintenance where we can charge by the computer per month to remove a large chunk of the mundane housekeeping that needs to be done by using our managed services automation software which takes a great deal of time and money to implement for a single company but we have already made the investment on a multi company platform
• Specific projects such as the implementation of a DR solution or the design and provision of a new mail server solution
• Someone to talk too; it is difficult to keep up with what is going on in the IT industry at the best of times but especially when you are busy doing your daily job and thus there are many times when it would be very useful to have an external source of information that you can speak to and bounce ideas off.

If this explanation matches’s your company and want to know more then click here

Businesses that use member of staff who's main job is not looking after IT

As with companies that have a dedicated IT manager we will often act as a backup to the person dealing with the IT but the need for outside assistance is much greater as understandably if IT is not that persons main job then they will not have the experience and depth of knowledge to handle every situation that arises.

This sort of scenario is very common to us and proves very successful for the customer as they are happy in the knowledge that they have someone onsite that can deal with the simple immediate issues that regularly crop up but also know that should their person be on holiday or off sick they already have backup cover in place.

Another plus of this scenario is that when project work comes up we will be happy to assist on these jobs thus making sure that the project is carried out as it should be and with the least amount of disruption, which (from experience) is unlikely to be the case if someone is learning how to do something for the first time on your live network./

Companies that fit this category may not feel that a fully managed service is required as a good deal of what is included is dealt with by your IT resource and thus in these situations we will provide elements of our managed service that will either enhance your IT or reduce the amount of time needed internally to carry out mundane tasks such as patch management, auditing, general system maintenance etc. which is not carried out regularly can lead to problems that could have been prevented and these problems will eventually lead to a major failure and downtime which is annoying for all within the company and generally expensive in terms of lost revenue and damage to credibility with customers.

With this sort of business an ideal scenario would be to have a labour only agreement plus the maintenance and auditing elements of our Managed Service.

If this explanation matches’ your company and want to know more then click here

Business's where the MD or another non IT staff member deals with IT problems

This sort of model is OK when you only have one or two PC's but beyond that it becomes increasingly difficult to balance IT and your day to day job. The point when we normally meet with this sort of company is when the work load of the person that is dealing with the IT is too great for them to be able handle the IT issues or when they have simply had enough and don't want the hassle and responsibility of the IT any more.

For this sort of company the main barrier for taking the plunge and signing up with a support company is the perceived cost but when you look at how much time you waste on IT that could be used elsewhere in your business you quickly realise that getting someone in that will sort the problem within an hour rather than spending 5 hours yourself and achieving nothing but a few more grey hairs is better for your business.
The ideal scenario for this type of company is a fully managed service as with this everything that is required to keep your IT fully functional and running efficiently is covered under a fixed monthly cost thus avoiding the possibility of a big IT bill arriving on your desk at the same time as the VAT being due!

If this explanation matches’ your company and want to know more then click here

Business's with no internal IT resource

If you don't have anyone in house who can (or wants to) deal with your IT issues then you have no choice but to rely upon outside resources. In the early stages of a company in this category the outside resource will generally be a friend who either works in IT or who has a keen interest and who is thus happy to help out because they enjoy it.

The above situation is OK for a time but will nearly always end up in one or more of the following situations:

• The friend looses interest or no longer has the time to help you out
• Your business grows and thus the IT requirement grows but your friend has a full time job and as much as they would like to get onsite within the next few hours it simply isn't possible.
• Your friend goes on holiday and you have a major IT disaster... enough said
• Your business grows but your friends technical knowledge is not good enough to plan and implement the appropriate technology so your business starts to suffer
• You fall out with your friend (often because of the above situations and the pressures this will put on a relationship) and no longer want to have a beer with them let alone call them for IT support!

Some of the above situations also apply when you have subcontracted your IT support out to a one man band with the main complaint being that you can never get hold of them as they are too busy with another customers problems and can only be in one place at a time.

The ideal scenario for this category of company is to take up a fully managed service however there are times when simply taking the IT away from your friend or the one man band that has done their best for you over the years may not be appropriate. Under these circumstances we would treat this situation the same as the second category (staff member with a keen interest in IT) by providing assistance and backup to your current IT supplier/Friend.  In some instances we have found that this situation has carried on for many years but generally there will be a natural decrease of the work done by the original provider which is often in line with further growth in your company and an understanding that the IT function has moved beyond what they can provide.

If this explanation matches’ your company and want to know more then click here