24/7 - Taking IT Support to the Next Level
6th October 2011
We recently set a new benchmark in IT support with the announcement that all our new and existing IT support services contracts will include ‘true’ 24/7 cover – as standard. Excelling in IT support services has always been a key part of our business model and while we are well-versed in working collaboratively with in-house support teams to deliver seamless service for their system users, this new service takes it to another level.
In the 21st Century extended down time is not an option for any business. That is why we have opened dedicated 24/7 support for all our customers, invested in the appointment of further highly trained and experienced technical staff, whilst implementing a monitoring platform to detect and alert staff to potential issues which they can resolve in real time, regardless of whether it is day or night. The result is the ability to triage systems during non-operational hours, crucially enabling businesses to continue working, unhindered, during their core operational hours. The monitoring platform enables our staff to identify and rectify problems before the impact on a customer’s business throughout the day, which in itself is a huge benefit, while overnight issues can be recognised and dealt with, even before they are realised.
To put this into practice, Accent Group is one customer which has already benefited from our 24/ 7 service when their Remote Desktop service recently went down. Over an entire weekend our technical staff worked with speed and efficiency, applying the necessary changes to ensure it was back up and running before the problems were really felt. This without doubt, avoided any negative impact on their business and both Accent Group and ourselves see this dedicated around-the-clock support as an essential part of their IT contract.
But it’s not just Accent Group that required this support. This move to implement a 24/ 7 support service comes in response to a growing trend amongst many of our customers for out-of-hours working, whether as a result of home working, remote working, or smart phone utilisation, which enables employees to work at any time of the day or night.
It is alarming to think that in a growing 24/7 culture, many IT support companies still cover less than 25% of the real week, leaving over 75% of the week exposed! Our support services cover the full 168 hours of a full week, and not just the typical 40-hour working week. It is our experience that IT systems don’t care what time of day or night it is, or whether it is the weekend or not. If people are able to work around the clock, then it is plain that support has to be available around the clock. This is especially prudent at a time when businesses have had to cut IT teams, further heightening the need for dedicated, around-the-clock IT support services of this calibre. It’s also important for businesses to look closely at their IT support contracts and consider the real value of their package – whether they have ‘true’ proactive 24/7 support, or whether they have in reality signed up to a roster of people who are on call on their mobile phones.
Author, Jon