Soltec SolCare IT Support Services

SolCare – network IT Support contract

Soltec's SolCare package is a comprehensive IT support contract designed to take the stress of maintaining and administering a modern IT network and supporting its users.

Telephone IT Support

The Soltec Client Support line is your help line for timely answers to your Microsoft and IT Solution and Collaborative technology related questions. The SCSL is comprised of professional, experienced people who understand the importance of IT to your business and are able to provide the service you deserve.

Whether it is a software query or a hardware issue, you only have to call our IT Support telephone line to speak to an accredited, experienced engineer who can provide the answers to your issues.

And when you need more than telephone IT Support, your Client support team member can schedule a site visit from field consultants or engineers who are already familiar with your company, your needs and your implementation.

User / Desktop

A user who encounters any IT-related issue whilst carrying out their day to day function can call the IT Support desk to receive timely assistance. This could range from a simple Office application query to reporting a full system failure. Our experts will assist the user to resolve issue, provide helpful instruction or recommend further training as appropriate.

Servers

Servers are at the heart of any network and are crucial to the smooth running of the business. Despite pro active maintenance and hardware redundancy, sometimes issues occur and need to be dealt with before they affect your business. At Soltec these issues are considered high priority, and will be escalated so that immediate action is taken to restore your systems to full operation.

Network

Many components are used to make up a network infrastructure. At any time any one of these components can fail resulting in loss of network connectivity. Our telephone IT Support engineers will diagnose and resolve the issue either remotely or by dispatching an engineer to site.

Email Support

Clients can email issues at any time to the IT Support desk in the knowledge that each email will be read and logged accordingly and the appropriate action taken to resolve the issue. Emails received outside of business hours will be addressed at the start of the next business day.

Network Administration

Network administration is the process by which everyday changes to network and server configuration are implemented. Soltec’s engineers are there to undertake the management of your network including:

• Adding new users (or removing ex users)
• Adding/removing printers and other network devices
• Creating shared file storage folders
• Setting up and amending security settings for user access to network resources
• Maintaining a comprehensive inventory of network components and devices
• Software license management

Network / Server monitoring using Microsoft System Centre Operations Manager

Microsoft System Centre Operations Manager is an application that monitors the activity of all key system components and provides alerts for any system issues or sub-optimal performance. Below is a list of the typical areas monitored:

Patch management

Microsoft and other system software vendors issue patches, updates and fixes to ensure their software is as robust and secure as possible. These patches are reviewed by our engineers and authorised for application to your systems.

Disk storage

Based on agreed criteria, storage space is monitored to ensure adequate capacity to support the Company’s operations and maintain optimal performance.

Service monitoring

Servers run applications such as Microsoft Exchange via ‘services’. Operations Manager monitors memory and processor utilisation of these services and ensures that they run optimally.

Anti virus / anti spam

Updates to antivirus and anti-spam are issued regularly by vendors. These are automatically installed on your PCs and servers. Anti-spam is also regularly monitored so for ‘false positives’ to ensure that emails are properly received by the intended user.

3rd party application monitoring

Some 3rd party applications are integrated into Operations Manager and are monitored accordingly. Non-supported server applications are also monitored manually to ensure optimal performance

Backup monitoring

Backing up data is a crucial process for the security of all businesses. Monitoring ensures that these processes are successfully completed and regular testing ensures that backup media is reliable.

Network security / internet access

Expertise is available to advise clients on security and access best practice. Monitoring of network access ensure that these policies are adhered to.

Hardware Maintenance

All of your system components are included under our standard support contract. In the case of hardware failure, the following process would be followed:

• Initial remote diagnosis
• If item is covered by manufacturer’s warranty (or is supported by 3rd party company) then our staff will report the issue and manage the repair/replacement process
• If no warranty is in place, a recommendation will be made as to whether repair is economically viable or replacement would be a better option

Hardware Extended Warranty

Soltec can offer extended warranty facilities via a 3rd party organisation. Quotes can be obtained on application.

Reporting and Review Process

As part of the standard IT Support contract, regular reports are provided to keep clients informed of the health and stability of their network systems and provide pro-active advice with regard to potential areas of risk and/or opportunities for enhancing performance and efficiency. Typically, a report is issued monthly and will form the basis for a quarterly review meeting with clients. The following issues are included:

• Summary of issues raised
• Server summary including availability statistics
• Data storage usage
• Memory usage
• License usage & inventory summary
• Hardware & software changes
• Areas of risk user training issues
• Opportunities for enhancements

Service Levels

Issue response:

We have implemented a 3-tier structure for support issues as follows:

• Level 1 – a business critical issue compromising the whole network system. A good example of this type of issue would be a failure of one of the main servers
• Level 2 – a user critical issue where a particular user is unable to work. An example would be failure to an individual PC or a particular localised software application
• Level 3 – the lowest category of issue where minimal disruption or inconvenience is suffered either to the organisation or an individual user. This may be where a user is having difficulty accessing a particular website or needs access to a particular folder on the network but where the requirement isn’t urgent. Most network administration services would fall into this category though circumstances may dictate that the urgency is such that the level is escalated.

Whilst it is always our policy to provide assistance as soon as possible (in most cases – about 80% - on initial contact). We would propose service level agreement to guarantee response to these levels as follows:

• Level 1 – with all urgency but guaranteed response within 1 hour
• Level 2 - guaranteed response within 2 hours
• Level 3 - Guaranteed response within 4 hours

In the situation where a site visit is required we would make every effort to visit site on the same day, we would guarantee to visit on the next business day.

Extensions to these service levels can be agreed at additional cost.

Next steps

• Contact Us to request more information or to speak with a Soltec representative.
• If you would like an informal chat about what we can do for you, give us a call on 08444 150 093.