Managed IT support
Support for the working day
An ongoing agreement for offices that want one accountable contact, a way for staff to ask for help, and a record of what changed. Response arrangements are written per client. A single published time is not used for every organisation.
What the agreement covers
Managed IT support is the ongoing care of systems an office already uses. It covers the faults that stop a person working, and the small changes a month usually brings: a joiner, a leaver, a shared mailbox, a printer, a line-of-business application you have named.
Larger pieces of work are written up before they start. A network replacement, an office move, a security review or a new backup design each have their own scope. If a request falls outside the agreement, the named contact says so before time is spent on it.
A working day
Staff are told how to ask for help. The route is a telephone number and, where the agreement includes it, a remote session the person can join from the desk. Staff ask for help on the telephone number named in the agreement.
A request is taken in the words the member of staff uses, then restated in a note. The note records what was asked, what was done, and what remains, so a manager who was not present can follow it. Calls that have stopped the office are marked as such. How those calls are handled is written in that client's agreement, because offices are not alike.
Interruption
Most help is given remotely, with the person at the desk able to see what is happening. A restart, a sign-out, or a change to a shared system is described first, including who it will affect.
A visit is booked with you. It is used when the fault is physical, when a remote session is not appropriate, or when the office asks for someone in the room. The visit is to your premises, at a time agreed with you.
Access, notes and accountability
Access is limited to the systems the work needs. It is agreed at the start, recorded against a named person, and removed when the agreement ends or when that person no longer works on the account. Members of staff type their own passwords. Passwords are not copied into notes.
Files are opened only to complete the request. Copies are not kept on personal devices. If a file has to be held so it can be returned, the note says where it is and when it will be removed. The named contact is accountable for the work and for the notes. Cover, when they are away, is named in writing rather than left for you to discover.
Questions
Do you publish a response time?
No standard response time is published. Urgent and routine arrangements are written into each agreement so they match that office.
What access do you need?
Access is limited to the systems the work needs, agreed at the start and removed when the agreement ends. Staff type their own passwords. Passwords are not written into notes.
Will people have to stop work?
Most requests are handled remotely while the person continues. On-site work, restarts and other interruptions are booked with the office and stated beforehand.
Who is accountable?
Each agreement names one contact. That person is accountable for progress and for the written notes. Cover, when they are away, is named in the notes.