November Remote IT support puts the world at your fingertips:

Transcription

1 : An introduction to how remote support with IT Lab can help you achieve your IT ambitions November

2 Abstract abstract In today s business world access to effective IT support services is businesscritical. Growing reliance on IT, limitations on in-house resources and the opportunity for significant cost savings are leading many businesses to look externally for IT expertise through outsourcing. What many businesses might not realise, however, is that the search for a reliable IT services provider does not have to be limited to the region in which they are based. Doing so puts them at risk of overspending and missing out on partnering with an IT provider who may be perfectly suited to helping achieve specific IT ambitions. This short white paper provides a detailed introduction to the benefits of remote IT support and explains how today s leading IT services providers, such as IT Lab, can make a transformational impact on your business from anywhere in the world. We also provide a breakdown of our remote IT support services and explain how they can improve your operations, productivity and security - helping you make the best long-term use of IT for your business future. Who is IT Lab? In short? We are IT specialists. Our challenge is to make sure businesses get the best from their IT and we stand among the top ten providers of managed IT services in Europe¹. 400 organisations (and counting) depend on our advice, helpdesk support and procurement services available Ranked in the world top 50 and European top 10 lists of managed IT services providers ¹ Panettieri, J : MSPmentor 50 Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) MSP Mentor content from MSPmentor. [online] Available at: [Accessed: 13 Sep 2013].

3 Contents contents 1-2. Part I: An Introduction to Remote IT Support - Why choose remote IT support? - 6 benefits of remote IT support 3-6. Part II: Remote IT support with IT Lab - 8 promises about our remote IT support - How do we provide remote IT support? - Revolutionising IT support through Kaseya and Autotask 7-8. Part III: The IT Lab Difference - Not just another faceless IT support company...

4 Part I: An introduction to remote IT support PART I: AN INTRODUCTION TO REMOTE IT SUPPORT Why choose remote IT support? Access to reliable IT support is increasingly business critical. But what if you lack the time, resource or necessary technical knowledge to provision your own in-house IT functions? Partnering with a specialist provider alleviates strain on your internal resources while helping you achieve your business goals through the application of new technologies. This approach to IT is rapidly growing in popularity with businesses across the UK who are keen to make their operations more cost-effective, more competitive and more efficient. Here is a rundown of some additional advantages of remote IT support. 6 benefits of remote IT support 1. You are in the hands of industry specialists If your business is serious about capitalising on IT and prospering in the digital age then access to IT experts is a must. Partner with a high-grade managed services provider (MSP) and you can be confident that your IT support will be administered by specialists with considerable IT knowledge - fully qualified to answer support queries, resolve IT errors, improve operational efficiency, train your staff and fill in-house knowledge gaps. It s very important to remember that an MSP gives you access to not just one expert, but a whole team of IT specialists and the pool of high-grade knowledge they provide. To put it another way, your business benefits from the cumulative expertise of the entire support company. 2. Your costs are predictable As with many contractual services, the cost of remote IT support varies with the supplier and the type of package you access. A number of suppliers, however, offer fixed monthly costs for their support services, allowing you to accurately forecast your IT spend and budget accordingly. 3. Available whenever you need it IT faults stifle productivity and, in some cases, strangle cashflow. Many MSPs offer an on-demand support helpdesk to resolve your IT errors and limit downtime. Some providers will even advertise 24/7 support, though the veracity of this claim should be carefully scrutinised while you are comparing MSPs. More on that shortly. 1.

5 Part I: An introduction to remote IT support PART I: AN INTRODUCTION TO REMOTE IT SUPPORT 4. Save time, save resources Taking responsibility for all of your IT functions in-house is incredibly labour-intensive. The IT world spins quickly and staying in touch with the latest technological developments, equipment and best practice protocols demands hefty reserves of time, energy and resource. Precious commodities for any business. Then there is helpdesk support, patch management, security and myriad other functions to consider. A good MSP will be able to scrupulously execute your IT demands on your behalf, liberating your business to focus on what you do best. 5. You can use as few or as many services as you need There are no hard and fast rules regarding the depth of service you should access from an MSP. If you are keen to retain in-house responsibility for provisioning key IT functions - security or connectivity, for example - most reputable MSPs will allow you to select the services you require them to perform to augment your existing in-house team. 6. New software, hardware and IT services at preferential prices New technologies can dramatically improve your operational efficiency. But they can also be very expensive. MSPs with strong links to leading technology providers may be able to procure new software, hardware and services for prices that are much lower than would normally be available to you. At IT Lab we can even supply technologies that would otherwise be unavailable to end users. 2.

6 Part II: Remote IT support with IT Lab PART II: REMOTE IT SUPPORT WITH IT LAB It s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that your search for reliable IT support must be limited to the town, city or region in which you are based. That really does not, and should not, be the case. Today s best MSPs can provide a broad range of IT services from anywhere in the world. Restricting yourself to local suppliers can be the difference between mediocre and market-leading IT support. IT Lab has offices in London, Birmingham and Cape Town. But the nuances of our support software mean that your business can benefit from our consultancy and world class helpdesk support no matter where you are based. Day in, day out we work with clients across the UK and beyond. And, unlike other MSPs, we haven t given up on the personal touch. In this section we introduce our remote IT services and explain how we can help you realise your IT ambitions and hit your wider business goals. 8 promises about our remote IT support 1. 90% of support tickets solved remotely We resolve around 90% of our clients support tickets remotely. Specialist software gives our engineers remote access to your servers, workstations and routers, meaning we can remedy issues with your entire IT infrastructure from our offices. It dramatically reduces strain on your internal IT resource, without the inconvenience of waiting for an engineer to resolve the issue at your premises. And in the unlikely event that we cannot fix your case remotely we commit to having a qualified engineer at your site the following business day. 2. When we say 24/7 support, we mean 24/7 support Many MSPs advertise their support helpdesk as being available 24/7. In reality this may not always be the case. Rather than the provision of around-the-clock IT engineers, some providers hand over to an automated helpline or virtual reception service outside normal business hours. Less than ideal if you are trying to log an urgent support case. At IT Lab we provide direct access to fully qualified engineers 24/7/365. And when you phone our support line, you will always speak to a real person. No automated telecoms. 3. We will begin working on your support case within 30 minutes Any MSP you are using for on-demand IT support should provide you with guarantees regarding the length of time it will take for an engineer to respond to your ticket once it has been raised. At IT Lab we guarantee that a qualified engineer will begin working on your case within 30 minutes of you contacting us. That is slashed to 10 minutes if your case is urgent and one or more people are being prevented from working. It gives you an assurance that your IT incidents will be tended to quickly to mitigate business disruption. 3.

7 Part II: Remote IT support with IT Lab PART II: REMOTE IT SUPPORT WITH IT LAB 4. We build strong, accountable relationships with your team The best IT support goes beyond merely repairing IT faults, critical though that function may be. Depending on your service package with IT Lab you can expect regular visits from one of our engineers to meet your workforce at your premises. The purpose is to conduct minor maintenance tasks, field queries from your staff and provide training on new software or administrative protocols. Building meaningful and proactive client relationships is something that we take very seriously. 5. Our support is based exclusively on your business goals Even the most innovative IT setup is of limited worth without a good understanding of the business context in which it will be used. One of the core philosophies at IT Lab is to make sure our clients IT helps them achieve their wider business goals. This is not done arbitrarily but by liaising with you to build an IT strategy and conducting ongoing audits of your IT performance that make it clear where improvements can be made. 7. We will repair faults with minimum disruption Traditional remote IT support depends on taking over your device when it comes to repairs, effectively rendering it unusable while an IT engineer examines and repairs a fault. At IT Lab we do not need desktop access to gather information and make certain system repairs, meaning you can continue working disruptionfree while an engineer is remotely observing your machine. 8. You will never be in the dark Supporting your IT estate is a responsibility that we do not take lightly. IT Lab clients get full disclosure on the performance and security of their IT infrastructure in the form of monthly or quarterly reports detailing exactly what we have fixed, how long it has taken and how each part of the IT estate is functioning. In short: you will always be fully informed on what we are doing to keep your IT running smoothly. 6. Your support will grow as you grow Support with IT Lab is fully scalable. As your business grows, our support will react accordingly. In a practical sense this might mean the provision of additional server space, the monitoring of additional workstations or a redraft of your ongoing IT strategy. This flexibility means that your IT support will always be highly relevant to your business, driven by your real-time operational realities. 4.

8 Part II: Remote IT support with IT Lab PART II: REMOTE IT SUPPORT WITH IT LAB How do we provide remote IT support? IT Lab provides a depth of IT services that few other MSPs can match. In effect we can give you everything a high-grade internal IT department could give you, at a fraction of the cost: consulting, resolving and liaising with third party suppliers while you focus on the business functions that make you who you are. How do we do it? This, in no small measure, comes down to the unique way we use our technical platform. The technical platform is a core part of any MSP and can loosely be defined as the specialist software used to provide support to clients. It dictates which services can be offered and how effectively they can be executed. At IT Lab we employ two pieces of technical software called Kaseya and Autotask. Here s a quick introduction to how we use each of them to issue support, improve IT performance and streamline daily operations for our clients. a short introduction to a short introduction to Kaseya is software that gives our engineers remote access to your IT setup. Install it on one of your computers or laptops and we can monitor, manage, upgrade and repair that device remotely. Multiply that across your entire IT infrastructure and from a single location we can provide antivirus, security, patch management, image deployment and more, right across your business. It allows us to protect, update and make rapid repairs to any part of your IT estate. This powerful incident management, project management and customer relationship management software acts as our nerve centre and ensures our support services are administered smoothly. We use Autotask for everything from processing incoming support tickets to scheduling engineers diaries. 5.

9 Part II: Remote IT support with IT Lab A technical backdrop for IT success PART II: REMOTE IT SUPPORT WITH IT LAB Revolutionising IT support Through Kaseya and Autotask A bright idea... Data means nothing unless it is easy to interpret. Our extensive work with software called BrightGauge brings clients beautiful graphical representations of their IT performance using data from Kaseya and Autotask. Reports - available for a range of parameters - are automatically delivered to your inbox at weekly, monthly or quarterly intervals. We are currently the only MSP in the world performing such pioneering work with BrightGauge. An in-depth breakdown of your IT world We can pass on one off reports on parameters such as case history to operations directors, illustrating precisely how, why and how often your business is accessing IT support. This is a vital aid for budget forecasting and procurement decisions and can also identify problem areas where staff may need additional training. Industry-leading IT support via your in-house IT department Taskfire is an Autotask extension that helps you retain an in-house IT helpdesk. The crucial difference is that all tickets are escalated to our expert support engineers. It gives you more control of your IT estate and a visible inhouse resource for all staff, backed by industry-leading technical expertise. When we say we will be there, we mean it Many MSPs face difficulties when it comes to managing engineers schedules. IT Lab is not one of them. Autotask syncs with every engineer s calendar and collates their itineraries on a single screen. It means each engineer is clear on their tasks and can focus on providing great service, while our account management teams can arrange site visits without the risk of double-booking engineers and inconveniencing clients. Logging a support ticket with IT Lab IT problems can be highly complex. Asking for support with them should not be. Logging a support ticket with IT Lab is fast, simple and effective. You will receive a response from a qualified engineer within 30 minutes of raising a case. By phone Call our support helpline and you will talk to someone ready to help you disclose the specifics of your case, which will then be raised immediately in Autotask. No automated telecoms. By Put the details of your IT problem into an and send it to our support team. Incoming support s automatically raise a ticket in Autotask and you will immediately receive confirmation that your case has been logged successfully. By browser You can also raise a case through our website, which will guide you through case logging based on the type of errors you are receiving. This automated, step-by-step process is excellent if you lack the terminology required to accurately describe your case - and it gives our engineers the information they need to diagnose your problem. 6.

10 Part III: The IT Lab Difference PART III: THE IT LAB DIFFERENCE Not just another faceless IT support company... Remote IT support can often be perceived among businesses to be a faceless industry. We believe in challenging that. And, as we explain in this concluding section, great service begins with our people - a philosophy that informs everything from the way we answer the phone to the way we recruit. Great people, great working environment, great service Our people matter to us. A fundamental principle of the Harvard Service-Value Chain², one of the most highly respected business management frameworks around, asserts that happy and engaged employees are highly motivated to deliver great service. This is an economy that we take extremely seriously. We hire the best, give them the best tools for their jobs and get them engaged as human beings. They pass on this respect to our clients in the form of great service. This is much more than a phantom philosophy. Our long-term commitment to providing our employees with a positive, motivating and enjoyable environment to work in has led to us being named in the annual Sunday Times Best Companies To Work For awards for four consecutive years, receiving the highest possible three-star accolade in What it means for our clients When you pay for outsourced IT support you are entitled to expect a good level of service. But, for us, the very best service is intrinsically linked to a strong client relationship. You have to really understand the business you support - inside and out. That s why a key part of our philosophy is to forge strong, open and genuinely friendly bonds with our clients. This approach is made manifest in several different ways. Each one of our clients is assigned a dedicated client advocate and IT manager, who fastidiously work to understand the nuances of your business. We also try to assign the same IT engineer to all of your support tickets. And when you call us you will always talk to someone polite who understands that IT faults are extremely frustrating and will help you to log your case and provision support as quickly as possible. Our challenge is to be as familiar to you as an internal hire, backed by market-leading IT engineers who are motivated, skilled and ready to deliver the very best service. ² Hbr.org Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work. [online] Available at: [Accessed: 26 Sep 2013]. 7.

11 Part III: The IT Lab Difference PART III: THE IT LAB DIFFERENCE Service is our obsession We have a trademark commitment to Service Obsession. Not just an empty slogan but the revolutionary approach that has turned our offices into hives of resourceful, sharp and synchronised experts. We measure Service Obsession using something called Net Promoter and we are the first IT business to rank as highly as companies such as Apple, Amazon and Virgin Atlantic in terms of customer satisfaction. We continue to hire the best We are extremely proud of the range and depth of technical IT expertise that we can provide. But glowing IT acumen is not enough to get you hired at IT Lab. We only hire candidates that fit perfectly with our philosophy, our culture and our clients. The result is a unified, happy environment where everyone is engaged and motivated to provide service excellence. It s a difference that our clients notice and it s what separates IT Lab from the rest. it lab in numbers 391 SUPPORT TICKETS CRUNCHED EVERY DAY X 20 10KM OF STORAGE IS AVAILABLE ON IT LAB SERVERS. ENOUGH FOR 8.

12 Want to know more about how remote IT support with IT Lab can transform your business? For more information on remote IT support or to discuss how IT Lab can help your business make more of IT, call +44 (0) or Sign up to receive the next white paper in our series at itlab.com London, UK IT Lab Big Studios 1 East Poultry Avenue London EC1A 9PT Birmingham, UK IT Lab Midlands Management Office 191 Fazeley Street Digbeth Birmingham B5 5SE Cape Town, SA IT Lab South Africa The Harbour Bridge Roggebaai Canal Lower Long Street Cape Town