merit event - do you need help managing your it
DESCRIPTION
A recent British Chambers of Commerce survey indicated that many small and medium sized businesses have become increasingly dependent on IT. Although organisations have witnessed positive results from such investment many reported that they would benefit from impartial IT advice and guidance. Equally important was cost effective and immediate resolutions to IT related faults and problems. In an effort to meet this need the Chamber has, with the ICT support group MERIT, been investigating the possibility of developing an IT Helpdesk facility. If operational the Helpdesk would provide a full range of IT support services, including: • Telephone fault repair service desk: Proving a full telephone support service dealing with issues as minor as “How do I mail merge” through to “My email system has just crashed and I can’t get it back” • Remote access fault repair service: A facility by which a trained engineer will remotely access your systems to diagnose and resolve problems. The customer controls access and permissions, • Regular maintenance visits: To ensure your systems are optimised, using the ‘Prevention rather than Cure’ philosophy, and to provide impartial guidance on future IT investments. It is envisaged that this service would be particulars relevant to organisations who: • Do not have an internal or dedicated IT recourse; or • An organisation who has an internal IT recourse but who would like to provide additional support to this function. It should be noted that this service would not replace any relationships with existing suppliers, it will instead act as a Virtual IT Department for the organisation, managing and taking ownership of problems until they are fully resolved. This will remove the headache of supporting your IT and let you concentrate on running your business. After spending many months developing this service model we are now in a position where we would like to share our thoughts with interested parties from the local businesses community. With this in mind we would like to invite you to attend a lunchtime meeting at 12.30 p.m. – 2.00 p.m. on Wednesday 25th September 2002, in the Council Meeting Room, One Old Hall Street, Liverpool. The purpose of this meeting will be to explain the model and seek feedback and guidance on whether this service would be of value to your organisation. We do hope you can attend this FREE event, wine and sandwiches will be provided. As a further incentive we are offering delegates the chance to win 6 months free IT Support. If you would like to attend the event please complete and return the booking form or contact Ian Bulmer on 0151 285 1400.TRANSCRIPT
Number One Old Hall StreetLiverpoolL3 9HG
Tel. 0870 0140 194Fax. 0870 0140 195Web. www.merit.org.uk
Life is full of mysteries, new technology doesn’t have to be one of them
Virtual IT DepartmentWednesday 25th September
Introduction
Stephen ConnollyCEO MERIT
BCC IT SurveyOut of the 2500 responses from Chamber members the following statistics were gathered:
97% of the companies use e-mail
57% of firms experienced a virus attack last year
42% of companies with 1-49 Employees have either an ADSL or an ISDN connection
40% of companies with 1-49 Employees received no IT training in the last 2 years
80% of the SME respondents said that IT problems made their days more stressful
84% cited IT failures as having a negative effect on productivity
47% of North West businesses surveyed said they had no dedicated IT staff.
In Summary
Companies have an increasing dependence on ICT
There is an increased complexity with ICT(Leading to more training and system support requirements)
Limited Internal support
The Proposed Service Explained
Stage One - The Audit
•IT Equipment audited with configuration item number.
•A Network Diagram created.
•The audit transferred to a support system.
•The history of support is created
•Audit recommendations
Network Diagram
Hub/Switch
ISDN/ADSL/Lease Line/Modem
Internet
CI: 80492001 CI: 80492004CI: 80492002
CI: 80492003
CI: 80492006
CI: 80492005
CI: 80494004
CI: 80493002
CI: 80491001
PrinterCI: 80493001
CI No: 80492001Operating System Windows 98 SE Processor a 866 megahertz Intel Pentium III32 kilobyte primary memory cache256 kilobyte secondary memory cache Drives 6.47 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity5.86 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free SpaceSAMSUNG CD-ROM SC-152CGeneric floppy disk drive (3.5")Generic IDE hard disk drive (6.47 GB) -- drive 0 Controllers Standard Floppy Disk ControllerPrimary IDE controller (dual fifo)Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller Bus Adapters VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host ControllerVIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller Communications NETGEAR FA311 Fast Ethernet PCI AdapterNetwork Card MAC Address: 00:02:E3:12:79:E2
Software VersionsMicrosoft Corporation - Clip Gallery 3.0 for Windows Version 3.0Microsoft Corporation - DirectShow Version 6.01.05.0130Microsoft Corporation - Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 5. Microsoft Corporation - Windows® NetMeeting® Version 3.0Microsoft Excel Version 8.0e
Main Circuit BoardBoard: ASUSTeK Computer INC. TUV4X REV 1.xxBus Clock: 133 megahertzBIOS: Award Software, Inc. ASUS TUV4X ACPI BIOS Revision 1002 07/20/2001Memory Modules128 Megabytes Installed Memory128 Megabyte Module Size - 1 Installed3 Memory Sockets are EmptyLocal Drive Volumesc: (on drive 0)Network Drives
PrintersHP LaserJet 2100 Series PCL 6DisplayS3 Inc. Savage4 (Engineering BitFlip) [Display adapter]Samsung SyncMaster 700(M)s (CGE7507*) [Monitor]MultimediaNone detectedOther DevicesStandard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural KeyboardUSB Root HubUSB Root Hub
Microsoft Map Version 8.00.00.01621*Microsoft Office Version 8.0*Microsoft Outlook Version 8.04* *Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows Version 8.0b*Microsoft® Access Version 8.0.5903*Microsoft® Schedule+ for Windows 95(TM) Version 7.5*Microsoft® Word for Windows® 97 Version 8.0b*Norman Virus Control Version 5*Norman ZANDA * Microsoft Photo Editor Version 3.0
Telephone fault repair service desk
A call comes into the support desk and an incidentis logged under the CI Number.
15 mins is spent diagnosing and trying to resolve the problem.
If unresolved we will ring you back within 45 mins with solutions to the problem. This minimises the interuption to your business.
The next step is to provide you with a ‘workaround’ and then escalate the incident to the problem management team. This may result in either e-
support or an on-site visit being required.
Remote Access fault repair service
E-Support is delivered through one or more of the following ways:
•Remote Access Dial Up via Modem and Telephone line (ISDN or Analogue) •Remote Access via the Internet (requires a fixed public IP address and a permanent link to the Internet e.g. ADSL)
In both the above cases we use either NetMeeting or pcAnywhere to remotely control the systems.
E-Support helps solve problems that might otherwise have to be solved on-site. This saves the customer the unnecessary expense of having a technician out on-site.
Regular Maintenance Visits
The healthchecks are the key to providing a proactive service and
helps prevent problems from happening in the first place.
Items that might be included in these maintenance visits include:
•Event Logs•Anti-Virus Updates•Backups•Updates - Service Packs•E-Mail & Exchange - size of files etc•Performance Monitor - processor usage, disk space etc.•Network Connectivity - condition of cables etc •Printers - print quality, toner levels and stocks etc •Hubs/switches/routers - run diagnostic software on routers etc.•UPS check for errors on management software. •PCs & Laptops – run scandisks, clear temporary files, check % hard disk defragmentation.
•Procurement Management – Recommending the right solution from quotes supplied by local IT suppliers
•Project Management – Upgrades, new equipment etc.
•Strategy – Business planning for future development.
•On-Site Support – Qualified technicians
•Monthly report – details support by equipment type and person
‘The Virtual IT Department’
We want to try and develop a service which will:
• Manage and take ownership of your ICT problems until they are fully resolved
• Take away the headache of supporting your ICT and let you concentrate on running your business.
• Provide you with the performance and reliability that you want from your ICT Systems.
• Generate work for local suppliers
Likely Costings
Phone Support (unlimited) £100.00 per monthE-Support (unlimited) £75.00 per monthHealth Check £80.00 per monthAdditional Services (banked hours*) £50.00 per hour
•Monthly payment – no contract
•Flex to meet company budget
•Costs determined by degree of interest
Thank you for participating and we welcome your comments and ideas