Full Time IT Staff?

Any business using IT Systems of any kind needs to be able to use those systems. The key question is whether the business needs to maintain those systems as well.

In the 1970's many UK companies provided support services on site, employing many staff to provide ancillary support. By the late 1980's this was seen as a false economy. Companies slimmed down as they concentrated on their core businesses. Today, most companies do not consider maintaining their own vehicles, canteens, medical facilities, heating engineers or building maintenance. Why then do people employ their own IT staff?

The answer is that many myths prevail:

"The business can be "time" critical. Response times

from Outsourcing are too slow"

There are still support companies who cannot guarantee a site visit within 24 hours, but they are not the norm - and they will not survive. Search around for your Outsource company. Talk to their clients. Make sure they deliver what they say. Good companies can offer on-site staff.

Favio Ltd offers:

· 10 minute remote connection response

· 2 hour on-site response

· 90% fix within 4 hours

“My business is large enough to support full-time

work for a trained IT person"

So is Akzo Nobel’s business - but they Outsource. Is this financial good sense or empire building? Yes, it may be "justifiable" to employ, but is it good management? The company incurs overheads and needs to spend on training. More importantly, it is rare that that there is a need for a full-time IT staff position.

If your IT staff are regularly de-fraging machines or building yet another server or trying to buy the latest gadgets/software then you may consider that they may not be 100% utilised. The bottom-line is:

 "What will a Full Managed Service Contract cost?".

Remember, Service contracts can cover 52 weeks of the year; employees have holidays and can be ill.

Favio Ltd retain at least 2 members of staff who will be fully conversant with your system. In addition, they keep full documentation and support software both on-site and off-site.

"It's expensive"

Not necessarily. If the IT Support Company is worth it salt, it will discuss all your options and try to accommodate your budget. An outsourced contract does not have to ensure full coverage. Risk analysis is important in deciding what you need.

Favio Ltd will offer to go through all your options. Initial consultation is free and there is no obligation. Call us on 01256 760732.

"It's the extras that they don't tell you about"

Now this is the one nearest the truth. Beware of the Support Companies that reserve the right to charge you for almost any time outside hours or each time you "need" a "Consultant". Clearly no Support Company can offer extra work for "free", but talk to their clients. Find out how much more they paid for their services. Was it justified? Did the Finance Director feel short changed? Does the Support Company offer some leeway for out of hours work?

Favio actively tries to avoid making any charges to Managed Service clients for

out of hours working. Additional charges are only made when the client is in full agreement that the work is a separate project.

"Someone still has to do the admin"

Only the budgets (if you have a good Outsourcing Company).

Favio Ltd keep records of all your software licenses, your hardware serial numbers and renewal dates. Finance Director's receive a monthly report of system maintenance and a quarterly report reviewing all support calls. These reports highlight any areas for consideration in bullet-point format and understandable English.

If big companies have fully Outsourced their IT, shouldn't you consider it?

Questions to ask the Support Company

Can I speak to your clients?	What is your guaranteed response time?
What software and hardware do you support?	What are your charges for additional work?
What is not covered by the contract?	Do you cover the paperwork and administration?
If I decide to go elsewhere, will I be able to find everything on my system after you have gone?	What happens if the current engineer goes sick?
Do you have replacement hardware?

So many IT Support Companies rely on the fact that you do not have the knowledge or the understanding. Find someone who does.

You can retain Favio for assessment of your current IT Support Company's suggestions and proposals - we offer a service that gives you either a written or verbal assessment of any system/upgrade proposals that may be submitted to you.

Questions to ask the Support Company's Clients

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ADSL

ADSL (or Broadband) is the current best offering for connection to the Internet (based on service and cost). Once subscribed, the connection is permanent and there are no additional telephone costs. The speed of the connection is much faster than a modem connection; the cost much lest than a dedicated line. It allows full Internet access for all your users, it allows continual uploading of your email/anti-virus data/windows patches and it allows you to set up remote working for your staff or your IT Support Company.

There is, of course, one problem. Permanent connection to the Internet, means permanent susceptibility to crackers, viruses, spam and much more. DO NOT

subscribe to ADSL without a good firewall and a good anti-virus package.

(Favio install, configure and maintain ADSL networks for clients, including routers, firewalls and spam filters

Questions to ask

Software (Free)

There are many software packages being offered for Business use, but are you aware of the free packages that are available? There are many applications that have derived from Free BSD software. Some are very powerful and very useful.

(Favio supports Linux and Free BSD Software).

Questions to ask

Can I connect to my System from outside for free?	Can I detect Network traffic free of charge?
Is there a free Microsoft Office equivalent?	Do I have to use Backup Software?
Can I make free telephone calls?	Can I set up remote working free of charge?

IT Support Contracts

IT Support Contracts are agreements between a business and an external company, whereby the external company run, maintain and repair the business IT Systems. This can be a contract for individual items or a full blown Managed Service contract where the whole of the IT infrastructure is outsourced.

There are many advantages. There are no associated staff overheads, recruitment and selection of specialised staff is not an issue, costs are (usually) significantly lower - a good IT Support Company will be trying to drive your costs down year on year.

(Favio offers all types of IT Support Contracts)

Questions to ask

Should I outsource?	Do I need to upgrade?
Is my infrastructure about to expand?	Do I want/need to take on staff?
Do I have space for staff?	Can I save money?
Do I know anyone who is outsourcing?	Could I try it first?

Are you happy with the service?

What is response time you experience?

How good are they?

How quick are they?

How effective are they?

Do they cover the paperwork and administration?

How much were you charged for "extras" last year?

How do your staff feel about them?

How much downtime have you experienced?

What happened when the current engineer went sick?

Did you save money?

 Would you recommend them?

Do I need Internet access?

Why do my competitors think this is a good idea?

How much am I paying for my telephone calls to download email?

How long does it take for my mail to update?

Do I want my technical problems solved in minutes?

Does my IT Support Company offer secure log in?

Do I need/want VPN? (This can be too much for some machines?)

Why does no one go back to a modem after they have ADSL?