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IT SUPPORT DOES NOT GET BETTER

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How to choose a good IT Partner

  October 7, 2017 October 7, 2017   By:  0 Comments


IT systems have become such an important and integral part of our daily lives and everyday business that even the slightest problem can have a very lasting impact on business performance. It is therefore very important, that your IT systems are designed to run as stable and safely as possible and that if it does go wrong you have the confidence that they will be fixed ASAP and effectively.

Unfortunately, not all companies can afford in-house IT support managers and technicians. Having a reliable IT support company on your side that you know and is only a phone call away and will go into immediate action for you is not so much a luxury, but a necessity. But what exactly should an IT support company provide you?

  1. Well, for starters they should be there for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a weeks to come in and fix problems if they can’t be fixed remotely. There should be a single number to call by which you can ask questions, report errors or check the status of an item of equipment. There should also be a secure online system where you can make requests and check the status of work that is being carried out on your behalf.

  2. Their support should be flexible enough to resolve any problem rapidly and with as little disruption to the company as possible, from providing an emergency piece of hardware on a Sunday afternoon, to taking an employee through a software programme step by step over the telephone or remotely taking control of their PC and showing them.

  3. The support should include assistance with the operation of all peripherals, including printers, switches, hubs, routers, wireless hardware, Blackberries, I-Phones and Smart Phones.

  4. The IT Support should include support for all types of PC’s, Servers, PDA’s and laptops, whether they are Compaq, Dell, HP, IBM, Apple, Fujitsu or Intel. Equally software support should include all Microsoft products and operating systems, Exchequer, ACT, Sage, Salesforce, CRM and all telecommunications.

  1. It is also worth investigating the chain of command that any request you make goes through and how urgently the request is attended to, in other words the SLA (Service Level Agreement). Will you be put through to a support engineer who specialises in your problem immediately after making your request or just to someone who will take a message? Will that support engineer stick with the problem until it is resolved and you have tested the “fix”? If the issue cannot be fixed whilst you are on the telephone, will the details of the fault be noted down and escalated on to somebody specialising in your problem who will call you back as soon as they are free. How long will this to take?

  2. How proactive and involved will the IT Support company be to ensure your IT Systems stays up and running? For example, will an account manager from the IT Support company visit your office regularly and make recommendations about the various ways you can improve your IT Systems in respect of your business needs and suggest ways of cutting costs? Will this service be inclusive of their annual fee? Will they offer training for your staff on all the day to day software such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft PowerPoint?

  3. At which intervals will the IT Support company monitor your servers to do a complete health check on the performance of your system including the utilization of IT Hardware resources? Will this include maintenance tasks such as software updates, defragging hard disks and restoring deleted files, deleting old users, data backup, disaster recovery procedures, log monitoring, re-setting passwords, bug fixing and ensuring there is enough disk space?

Other potential issues that need to be monitored on an ongoing basis should include Internet and Network bandwidth status to avoid slowness and assist the efficient flow of data and security checks to ensure that there are none of the possible 68000 listening ports open in your firewall. Will this monitoring also identify future problems before they arise, and will it be performed remotely, without affecting your daily business operations?

  1. Does the IT Support company have the necessary and up to date vendor accreditations (Intel, Microsoft, Veritas, Fujitsu, Symantec, Compaq) to carry out work on your IT Systems and programmes without affecting the warranty?

  2. Be clear with your IT Support company to identify the areas of support they do not cover. For example, the support offered may not include laptops that are remote to the office or support to any software upgrades and new implementations you may be thinking of carrying out. Many IT Support companies will also not support any 3rd party software products.

  3. What about the different levels of support on offer? It may be that you just want a one-off network clear up visit or a quick clean up after a virus or hacker has infected your IT Systems. Maybe you have some level of in-house IT skills and only require the occasional help on an ad-hoc basis. What will the a charge structure be for each offering, alongside with packages that will give you the choice of paying annually, quarterly, monthly and will it be in advance or in arrears? When you are negotiate this, ensure that there are no additional charges for travel or hotel costs where reasonable and possible.

This article outlined a range of services that any prospective IT support company should be able to offer you, alongside the various grey areas and additional services it is worthwhile clarifying during contract negotiations. You will be then be able to make a more informed decision about the kind of IT Support company that is best suited to your particular business needs.




EVERY business needs the make same real and tangible return on its investment in IT

  October 7, 2017 October 7, 2017   By:  0 Comments



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Managed IT Services – Comprehensive IT Support and Peace of Mind


EVERY business needs the make same real and tangible return on its investment in IT

Higher productivity
Higher profitability
Higher security

At IFFW, we harness the power of technology to deliver phenomenal increases in productivity that drive improved profitability and give our clients complete peace of mind.

We understand that you need to be able to get on with the job and not have to worry about your IT system. So we make business life more efficient and cost-effective by providing flexible IT solutions tailored to your individual needs, backed up by highly-professional 24/7 support.

IFFW can meet your present business demands but also plan for your long-term future by providing IT solutions that grow as you grow. In this way your capital costs are phased in line with your business plan and you can be confident there are no hidden surprises linked to your development.

The solutions we will propose to you will be based on a thorough understanding of your long-term business strategy so we are able to guarantee that any software recommendations or changes made to your network will deliver exceptional long-term benefits.

We gauge our success by our clients` satisfaction and we`re proud of the strong and lasting relationships we have built up across the UK since 1993. We still work with our very first client in London and 60 per cent of our new business comes from referrals.

What sets IFFW apart from the competition? The crucial combination of customer satisfaction and sector expertise.

 











Green computing, Energy saving IT, Reduce Carbon Footprint on IT

  October 7, 2017 October 7, 2017   By:  0 Comments



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Green Computing – A real competitive advantage

 

The environment is a critical consideration to today’s business. Customers are often looking for solutions which not only meet their requirements but enable them to demonstrate that they are working with organisations which take environmental responsibility seriously.

 

IFFW offers clients the opportunity to use a range of IT systems specially designed to lower the carbon footprint of their operations. This enables clients the ability to demonstrate environmental awareness to their own clients and other key stakeholders in a very real and tangible way. The green computing technologies we select and deploy have been carefully chosen to ensure that system performance excellence is maintained at very stage.

 

IFFW will enable you to demonstrate in very real terms the directions your organization is taking to reduce your carbon footprint, we offer a range of solutions designed around cutting edge technologies from the world’s leading IT vendors.

 

We can help you demonstrate, implement and build upon:

 

–           Power optimization, dormancy and power saving

–           Energy efficiency and lower consumption

–           Advanced cooling technologies

–           Technology manufacturing efficiency

–           Server rationalisation

–           Thin client environments

–           Cloud computing

–           Virtualization techniques and technologies

–           Renewal and recycling policy

 

 

Call IFFW today to discover the advantage green computing can bring to your organisation.











Business Managed IT Service

  October 7, 2017 October 7, 2017   By:  0 Comments



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Business Managed IT Services – Certified Engineers and Technicians


IFFW for Comprehensive IT Support and Peace of Mind

NO matter how big or small your business is, you have basic IT needs that must be met. You want your computers to work, to be secure and to be an asset, not a drain on your time or money.

At IFFW we understand that how precious your resources are, and that you need to be able to get on with the job and not have to worry about your IT system. For SMEs, there is a critical need to achieve real and tangible returns from your IT investment:

Higher productivity
Higher profitability
Higher security

The benefit IFFW will provide for your business is in harnessing the power of technology to deliver phenomenal increases in productivity that drive improved profitability and give you complete peace of mind.

We make business life more efficient and cost-effective by providing flexible IT solutions tailored to your individual needs, backed up by the kind of highly-professional 24/7 support that enables you to sleep at night.

Not only can IFFW meet your present business demands, we can also provide IT solutions that grow as you grow. Because all costs are kept within your budget you can be sure there will be no hidden surprises.

Our solutions will be based on a thorough understanding of your long-term business strategy so we are able to guarantee that any software recommendations or changes we make will deliver tangible benefits.

To us, success is gauged by our clients’ satisfaction which is why we’re proud of the strong and lasting relationships we have built up across the UK since 1993. We still work with our very first client in London and 60 per cent of our new business comes from referrals.

As an SME, you’ll know how crucial it is to stand out from the crowd. What sets IFFW apart from the competition? The crucial combination of customer satisfaction and sector expertise. Look at the many ways in which we can help you save.

SAVE ON EQUIPMENT
No capital expenditure – rent a fully managed server from just £299 per month

SAVE ON STAFF
By outsourcing to IFFW you receive the support of the highest qualified staff available at a fraction of the cost of permanent staff, or even contractors, without the personnel issues.

SAVE TIME
No more recruiting, purchasing, accounting or managing – just sit back and read your automated weekly management reports

SAVE ON OFFICE RENT AND RATES
The hidden costs of supporting IT servers are:

  • Allocating valuable office space

  • Maintaining correct temperature levels

  • Uninterruptible power supply or back up generators

  • Installing and maintaining security cameras

When we do it all for you, you don’t have to worry about anything. How good does that sound?

SAVE MONEY
All of the above add up to a lot of unnecessary financial overheads and when you take into account the stress and aggravation of trying to run your own IT support, you’ll wonder why you never called IFFW before.