When choosing a Managed Service Provider, there are many questions that can arise when assessing your business needs. There’s the security aspect, the dependability front and of course pricing comes to mind. They are all important, but, one of the most important aspect that should be considered is your downtime tolerance. Based on that you have to consider, the time it takes to respond to your initial concern (Response Time) and the time it takes to resolve it (Resolution Time). These two can make or break a business depending on the severity of the situation. Having this knowledge allows business owners to make an informed decision and have a clear understanding of what to expect when something goes awry. Let’s delve a bit deeper into each of these to get a clearer or picture of how they are implemented.
Response Time:
Response Time refers to how quickly you will receive a response to a technical issue from your Managed Service Provider. This can be measured from the time that you create the support ticket, or pick up the phone and call to the time that same call is answered or the time frame from which an email is sent, to the time it is replied back to.
In the case of IT21st, the process begins the moment the phone rings or the first email (or support ticket) is received. In the case of incoming phone calls, once greeted, the issue at hand is assessed and troubleshooting is done either by call and/or a remote session to see if the fix is a minor one. Once that has been decided, a tech is assigned to take over and start troubleshooting. If the problem is not solved remotely, the problem can be fixed with an office visit. A technician is dispatched immediately.
Resolution Time:
Resolution time is the amount of time it takes from when the issue is announced to us to the time it is fully resolved. The following are the steps that CEO Computers take to lessen the resolution time:
- Taking preventative measures such as implementing our “RMM – Remote Monitoring and Management agent and Dashboard”. This will allow us to gauge the health of your network and its nodes and catch problems before they become serious and cause major downtime. In this step the remedies are applied remotely.
- When issues cannot be handled remotely and requiring an onsite visit, a technician is dispatched based on the level of emergency and the respond time indicated in the SLA. We assign the right engineer to handle the case, we order the right parts if they are not in the inventory, and contact other vendors if they are involved. If necessary loaners and other options are offered and finally communicate the progress to the clients at every step of the way.
Having been in the business for over 30 years, we have seen it all so once we are able to work on the issue it could be matter of moments to a few hours or days, again depending on the severity of the issue. Sometimes a part needs to be ordered, or additional work is added on top of the original service call. Stuff happens, but we do everything possible to ensure that the problem is handled in a timely manner, as you would expect it to be. We treat our clients like friends, and we have a reputation for doing right by them time and time again. This was the one thing that I believe.
For additional information or questions, feel free to contact IT21St at: 885-4IT21ST or visit our website www.IT21ST.com.
