How can your services benefit my firm? What specifically do you offer
We provide an outsourced IT department solution to more than 65 businesses nationwide. Our in depth knowledge of the technical needs of a variety of industries allows us to maximize the value of our clients’ investment in IT. Our services include: IT systems monitoring, server management, maintenance and updates, a thorough disaster recovery plan including unlimited online backup, unlimited onsite and remote support, guaranteed response times, and fixed monthly fees.
Do you offer remote monitoring? How does monitoring benefit me?
We provide constant monitoring of the majority of your network components and infrastructure. All of the data is sent to our monitoring system, where our technicians are notified in real time for immediate problem resolution. With remote monitoring we are able to prevent the majority of crashes, outages, slowdowns, and security threats.
How do I reach you when I have a computer problem? Do you have a help desk?
We have a help desk support staff waiting to help you with all of your technical support needs. Our help desk is available from 5am to 5pm, Pacific time. If you’re experiencing an urgent computer problem, give us a call. If your problem is less urgent, just drop us an email and let us know when you want it fixed.
Does your plan include unlimited onsite and remote service? Are my branch offices included in the price? What if I need a technician onsite?
Every service plan from Advantage Microsystems includes unlimited remote technical support and telephone support. You can optionally elect to purchase unlimited onsite support for any of your locations, or if you have already have an internal technician we can work together.
Beyond keeping my computers running, how do you plan on improving the use of technology within our firm? Is there an additional charge for adding additional capabilities and upgrades?
We provide our clients with new capabilities on a continuous basis – this is where you receive a return on investment through additional staff efficiency and productivity. Upgrades to your covered computers and software are included within your flat monthly fee. If you’d like to discuss new products that can help you solve a particular business challenge, your Outsourced CTO is a phone call away. Please keep in mind that any large changes to your network as a result of a new technology that was not covered by your contract will require a separate project.
We’ve changed IT service providers in the past. It was a troublesome process and we incurred downtime during our service provider’s “learning curve”. How can you ensure that a move to your organization wouldn’t cause similar difficulties?
Having been in business for 12 years, we have developed a very specific process of bringing on new accounts and making the transition completely seamless to your staff. Of course this is an excellent question to ask any of our clients (feel free to ask us for references).
Do you offer an online backup service? If so, how much would it be to backup all of our data? What happens if our computers are stolen or a disaster occurs?
We include unlimited online backup of your company’s data at no additional cost. In the event of a disaster, we will rebuild your servers in a virtualized environment within our data center and give you remote access to your information as you recover from your disaster.
What happens in a few years time when my computers and servers need to be replaced, do you charge for that?
There is no additional charge. Once on our service plan, all of your computers are considered covered components. If a covered component needs to be replaced due to age, there is no additional charge to do so. Moreover, the service on software upgrades is also provided at no additional charge. Please be advised, any work that takes place after normal business hours will be charged for on a time and materials basis, but this is a rare exception.
Will you be marking up the computer equipment and software we need, or will you arrange our direct orders through vendors like Dell or HP?
As your outsourced IT department, we provide “purchasing assistance”. We will gather competitive quotes from vendors for any equipment or software needed for your organization. We have great purchasing-power through Dell given the large number of orders we place through them on behalf of all of our clients, which means more discounts for you. As your trusted technology advisors, we feel it is unethical to mark up equipment and software.
Once on your plan, do I still call the software company that makes my core business application for support, or do I call you? What about when our internet service goes out?
As a one-stop-shop, we take care of everything IT related. Instead of calling a software company for support, please hand the issue to us and we will resolve it for you. We keep all of your account information and contact info for your software vendors, internet providers, etc on file, so that when an issue occurs we can resolve it right away.
Under what situations would we pay more than our monthly service fee?
The only conditions that triggers an additional fee is when your network grows and you add additional computers, servers, and branch offices, or require service on a non-covered component, or require after-hours service. Under these circumstances, we will charge a project fee and adjust your service plan to cover the additions.
How can I view the status of an open technical support issue?
You can log directly into our client portal and see the real-time status of your issues and the resolution that our engineers are taking to resolve your problem. You are also welcome to call into our 877 number at any point for a status check.
How do you update my software, and at what interval?
We are able to validate and deploy patches to your network as soon as they are released. We will also install the latest updates to your critical business applications as they are released and tested.
Do you track availability of important services like E-mail, CRM, Accounting Software, and my Backups?
In order to make the most sense out of complex IT Infrastructure, Advantage Micro is able to group different technical components into higher level business services. This means you get reports like E-mail and CRM availability. This allows you to manage IT for what it is, an investment in your company.
What pro-active steps will you take to ensure operation of my key business functions?
As a Microsoft Certified Partner, we have the knowledge to perform the recommended checks and verifications of your business services, ensuring the highest availability. As your time is money, a solution provider needs to be as proactive as possible.
What do you suggest we do about our spam and email virus problems?
Email Anti-Spam and Email Anti-Virus services are part of our service plan and are provided to you at no additional cost.
How do you price your services?
Our pricing is initially based on the number of workstations, servers, and locations your company has. Over the initial 6-month period we use this figure as a starting point and benchmark it against the volume of services your company needs. After the initial period the pricing may be adjusted if too much or too little service was provided.