Support contracts
IT Support from Annodata
A support contract with Annodata can help your organisation ensure its support function retains a high degree of efficiency, through either supporting or replacing internal staff.
We take a pro-active attitude to consulting so that you get a computer system that drives your business forward rather than just serving a current need.
We'll keep you up to date with the new technology so you don't have to divert resources away from your core business to keep pace.
We can advise the best ways to spend your money and tailor a network to your specific operational needs. And we can integrate your communication systems by linking your computer network with your telephone system.
Whatever you want your IT system to be, Annodata has the expertise, resources and dedication to deliver it.
Scheduled Visits
We can keep your network running at its best through arranging a regular schedule of visits. Frequently this is a lower cost than having a permanent member of staff with network skills and experience.
We will assign a senior consultant to your business, so they can develop an intimate understanding of your processes, computer system, previous problems and how they were resolved.
We can begin by quickly becoming familiar with your system. To do this we generally undertake a Review and provide you with a report on how to rectify current and potential problem areas, allowing you to make informed decisions.
Defined Service Level Agreements
Support contracts offer the customer a faster response time according to the level that has been purchased. We have a 3 tier program in place:
Level 1 - 4 hour response
Level 2 - 8 hour response
Level 3 - 12 hour response
The savings are substantial. Members of the tier program are charged for service and support on a yearly basis, this way you know what your fixed cost is every year for IT Support.
Members can also pre-book project work such as upgrades and complex installs. These can be completed after hours and on weekends when they will cause the least disruption to your business.
For customers that don't have a support contract with us, we can still undertake any support calls, however minimum call-out charges do apply.
Frequently Asked Questions about Annodata support
What is covered in your support contracts?
We provide support on the majority of equipment that you would typically see on a network. Areas of cover include servers, workstations, operating systems and applications, printers, routers, switches, hubs, network infrastructure, Internet connections, firewalls… a simple rule of thumb would be, if anything goes wrong on your network, we would be your first point of contact.
Do you provide hardware maintenance?
No. If we investigate a problem that turns out to be caused by faulty hardware, we will work with you and your hardware supplier to either claim on the warranty cover or order replacement parts and install them for you. Most companies will buy hardware with 3-year warranties, so for the most part it will already be covered.
So you don’t sell hardware?
We can supply any hardware, software or licenses you require, and are a retailer of all major brands. But if you prefer to buy your hardware from somewhere else and have us support it then of course we are very happy to undertake support for those purchases.
Which operating systems and applications are covered?
We cover all Microsoft operating systems and applications, all versions of Novell, and most other major applications such as Citrix.
Are third party applications covered?
A lot of our customers have specialist applications that are written and supported by another supplier. We usually work with the supplier to ensure that their applications function correctly, and to resolve issues if they arise. We accelerate the process of fixing problems by giving the supplier detailed information about the problem, and by helping them to implement a fix safely and quickly.
How do you charge for network support?
We charge an annual fee which entitles you to a certain number of hours of support or consultancy per month. If you need more support than your contract provides, we are happy to provide it and will agree charges on job or time basis with reduced costs.
Why do you charge an annual fee?
Providing effective network support requires us to know your systems inside out. We need to keep detailed records of how everything is configured so that we can respond quickly and safely when you have a problem. We have remote monitoring systems that can warn us in advance of problems before they become critical. And of course we have to provide sufficient resources so that we always have someone available to deal with your call. All of this costs us money, whether or not you have a problem at any given time. We try to keep the annual fee as low as we can without sacrificing quality or responsiveness.
Are you expensive?
We believe our mighty support contracts are extremely cost-effective. Rather than building expensive and difficult to change resources within an organisation we provide the flexibility to have expertise on tap. Many of our existing customers would assert that Annodata support contracts offer very good value for money.
We don’t have a budget for network support?
It’s simply unrealistic to expect your IT systems to run forever without having any problems, and since they are a crucial business asset it’s equally unrealistic not to have them adequately covered. Think of the annual charge as being insurance for one of your organisation’s most valuable assets.
How quickly can you respond to problems?
Depending on the type of support contract you take out with us, we guarantee response times as low as four hours. Note that these are contractual response times and so represent worst-case scenarios, we normally respond instantly to emergencies.
How do you respond to problems?
We set up remote links to the majority of customers’ sites where possible, either using a VPN or ISDN. This allows us to take control of servers and other critical network components within seconds, so that we can respond to problems immediately. A lot of problems can be fixed within minutes, but if we cannot resolve a problem remotely we will go onsite. We aim to be onsite within 4 hours of identifying a problem that cannot be fixed remotely.
What’s different about you?
No grey areas, no finger-pointing, and a pragmatic approach to problem-solving. We see many customers who have been suffering with some sort of problem for months because the hardware supplier says it's a software problem, and the software vendor says it's a hardware problem. We don't operate like that. In most cases our customers don't especially care where the problem lies; they just need it fixed. We operate on a "fix it first; discuss it later" basis and we try to avoid grey areas and finger-pointing at all costs.
Why choose you?
The things they want are honest, objective advice, reliability, effectiveness, value for money and accountability. These attributes are getting rarer in today's cut-throat, short-term, profit obsessed climate - and that's what makes us different. We still believe in the old principles of looking after customers, and building long term relationships.
