In an always-on, always-connected world, it is possible to carry out many activities online, without ever having to leave your desk. With the assistance of software to remotely control a computer, and phones, business Skype and online chat systems to provide instructions to callers, some IT support businesses are able to troubleshoot and resolve IT issues without ever visiting their customers’ offices.
But though this is a popular support method, it could be leaving your team at a disadvantage – here’s why you should consider onsite IT for your business.
Hidden costs of employee time
Remote IT support providers often extol potential cost-savings: the provider has lower overheads, so they can pass on those savings to their customers. And in many cases, the basic remote support contracts can be cheaper – on paper, anyway.
However, there are hidden costs: the reality is that remote support providers rely on your employees to do the legwork whenever a problem is encountered. IT problems are a notorious consumer of your employees’ time, but the efficiency losses are compounded when instead of switching to a profitable task, they are instead being talked through the process of troubleshooting and resolution. It is these secondary costs that are often overlooked when opting for a remote support contract.
An onsite IT support provider manages the whole process themselves, leading to far faster resolution of problems. Skilled engineers can perform all repairs themselves, far more quickly and efficiently than your own non-IT staff can. And these savings can often outweigh the headline difference between remote and onsite support contracts.
Onsite IT provides pro-active solutions and improvements
Remote providers are generally best at reactive support – when something breaks, they can fix it (with your help). An onsite IT provider takes a longer term view of support, factoring routine maintenance into their contracts that help keep systems running correctly, instead of patching them up when something goes wrong. They are also able to monitor your systems over a longer period to identify and resolve developing problems before they result in costly downtime.
And by working in your premises alongside your employees, onsite IT providers are able to observe your business processes in action. This gives them an opportunity to spot inefficiencies and suggest and implement solutions to help improve operations. Onsite IT support providers are effectively partners, committed to the success of your business by improving IT operations.
This kind of value-added service will repay any difference in contract costs, far outweighing the savings of a lower-priced remote support offering. To learn more about onsite IT support, give the Broadband Cloud Solutions team a call and we’ll be happy to talk you through the benefits your business can expect.
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