The increasingly complex and demanding environment in which businesses operate means that support services must be tailored for each client. Determining the best way for us to support your ICT infrastructure is not simply about the technology! The decision about the type and level of support you require is a function of the importance of certain systems to your business and the cost of provision of the service. The latest remote management tools and technologies allow us to craft a variety of service delivery models to provide the support required.
‘Solutions’ often refer to a certain technology or groups of technologies when spoken of within the world of ICT experts. When it comes to support services clients tell us that a ‘solution’ is not defined by the hierarchy of the offering, (a single piece of technology or a complete suite of equipment, services and software), but as something that solves a real issue for them.
One thing is for sure, there has to be a need before there can be a solution - and without having established what the need is, there can be no solution!
The approach
This need can be down in the detail of a client’s business or way up there in the clouds. The approach we take establishes the most effective way to support and manage a client’s ICT system is based on three key activities:
- Formal assessment of your business needs before proposing the solution
- Selection of appropriate services using standard processes to create your custom service package
- Crafting the service delivery model to suit your specific situation
Management and support of your ICT involves provision of service via a combination of remote techniques and on-site intervention. This delivers rapid and effective resolution of issues as they occur, identification and circumvention of potentially damaging situations, at the same time keeping your costs in proportion to benefits.
How the service reaches you
Services are combined with others to form a unique and customised package to do what you need it to do. The customisation includes not only what service 'product' we deliver, but how the service is delivered to you.
This is decided by the dependency your business places on each component and combination of components within your infrastructure. The selected services are combined in a contract to form a managed service which delivers against whatever criteria we have agreed with you.
These 'measurement points' can be device oriented or as described above, in terms of the performance of specific business processes. All services are delivered with adherence to Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) principles and practices.
Selecting the ‘right’ partner
When you are looking for an outside company to deliver services to you, there are many factors which will impact your business if you don't pay them the attention they deserve. Experience shows that there are many reasons for ineffective service delivery. Here are some key reasons:
- Incomplete assessment of your needs
- Little or no due diligence with regard to service vendor abilities
- Selection carried out at arms length
- Little innovation in new service design leading to “standard” services being offered by the service vendor
- Inflexible contracts failing to recognise changes in your business
- Poor communication between your organisation and the service vendor
The result of these factors can have a devastating effect on your business. Organisations experience a whole series of issues as a result of paying too little attention to the process of assessing their requirements and sourcing the services. These are just some of the results clients have experienced:
- Substantially elevated service costs
- Poor or inconsistent service delivery
- Difficulty supporting outlying geographies, nationally or internationally
- High overhead needed to manage service partners
- Constant fire-fighting at an operational level
- Overly complex and/or inflexible contracts
- Difficulty in measuring service vendor performance
We can help you overcome these issues and give you the reassurance that the service we develop for you is right for your business and more importantly has the flexibility to change when your business does.