What Are IT Support Services?
Posted on: 26 March 2020
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When you run a business or an organization, it's common to run into issues with installing, maintaining, and upgrading software. Even at fairly large operations, it's rare to have a team of fully qualified professionals ready to address these problems. That's where working with a third-party IT support solutions provider can make a major difference. If you're thinking about contracting an IT support service, here are three things you should learn about.
How the Process Works
The vast majority of IT support companies now offer some combination of remote assistance and support over the telephone. When you sign up for services, the company will configure a secure environment on your systems that allows their technicians to see what's going on. They can then remotely log into individual machines to see what the system looks like and why certain things might be going wrong.
Suppose you had trouble getting Microsoft Excel to connect to a server that has data you need to fetch. The support technician can check for connectivity issues, how Excel is configured, and whether the target data source is responding correctly. They would then troubleshoot the problem until it was solved.
Ways to Pay
Most customers pay by one of two methods. First, companies with significant and ongoing needs may elect to pay for a monthly or an annual contract. This would allow their staff members to reach out to the IP support solutions vendor whenever they need assistance. An office that regularly has 150 machines running each weekday, for example, would be an ideal customer for this sort of arrangement.
Secondly, some companies prefer to have pay-as-you-go arrangements. This means they pay for help on a per-incident basis. If you have a ton of IT needs, that can get pretty expensive. However, it might be a cheaper option for a small operation, such as a towing company that only has one or two machines running at any given time.
Generally, the customers who seek out IT support solutions tend to have mission-critical applications. An accounting office that has to have its software up and running every business day, for example, is a lot more likely to contract these services.
Issues to Address
When you consult with an IT support services firm, make sure they have the capacity to support your systems. If you have mobile devices, talk with them about their ability to deal with what you're running. Some companies are even comfortable configuring support for bring-your-own-device operations and work-from-home businesses.