Managed IT services is the handling, monitoring, and maintenance of key IT assets of a company by a third party for an agreed service free.
It is ideal for business that want to:
- focus their resources on their expertise;
- reduce expenses in capital expenditure and hiring full-time staff;
- scale the business easily;
- dedicate resources in preventing problems from happening;
Technology has become an integral part of every business. This makes it important for businesses have a solid and reliable IT support team.
While many businesses have their own in-house teams, it’s better to consider know some unique aspects of Managed IT Services.
Benefits of Managed IT Services
The benefit of managed IT services can be summed up in helping you run the business and make you feel less stressful. Here are the benefits of managed IT services:
1. Access to competent knowledge – managed IT allows you to gain integral technological skills to grow your business. This allows you to solve problems better and faster;
2. Diverse skillset – managed IT allows you to access diverse skillset that have been developed over the years. It expands your range of offers without investing heavily on training and retraining personnel.
3. Improves bottomline – managed IT makes you avoid buying huge capital expenses. Many inexperienced businesses overspend on servers and other devices with inferior specs. With managed IT, you don’t have to worry in making a wrong financial move.
4. Transformational experience – managed IT allows your business to improve in all aspects. The opposite of this is the transactional or break-fix set up which only focuses on repairs without looking beyond the core issues such as cultural, infrastructural, or organizational aspects of technology. Managed IT’s approach is holistic.
5. Cost-effective – managed IT allows organizations to avoid high upfront costs of purchasing and maintaining their own IT infrastructure. Instead, managed IT services allows you to scale up or down based on your current needs.
Services included in Managed IT Services
Managed IT services can be summed up by the term “Proactive Monitoring and Maintenance.” However, the suitability of these services are dependent on the client’s environment.
(a) Managed Network Services
Managed Network Services offer comprehensive solutions to ensure optimal network performance and reliability. Network monitoring capabilities are dependent on the client’s devices supporting SNMP or API integrations, allowing for effective monitoring of network availability, faults, and performance.
These services include robust Internet Service Provider (ISP) monitoring and reporting, with historical archiving to identify recurring issues. The network topology and connection overview features provide an interactive network topology and equipment performance visibility and statistics from a user-friendly management portal.
Proactive network alerts are a key component, with real-time monitoring and alerting capabilities. Proactive tickets can be created based on performance metrics, ensuring prompt addressal of potential issues. Additionally, wireless networks and access points are monitored and managed, offering real-time statistics and availability reporting. Centralized alerting for wireless environments and end-user statistics reporting, including Wi-Fi signal strength, ensure a seamless wireless experience.
Network performance reporting is customizable, offering necessary information for troubleshooting and capacity planning. Real-time network equipment information is available, and alerts are sent in real-time for immediate action in the event of an emergency.
By leveraging Managed Network Services, businesses can ensure a reliable and high-performing network infrastructure, essential for maintaining productivity and operational efficiency.
(b) Managed Computer Services
Managed Computer Services include comprehensive computer maintenance and monitoring to ensure optimal performance and security. This service encompasses several critical aspects aimed at maintaining the integrity and efficiency of computer systems.
Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware Software Management and Updating: Continuous management and updating of anti-virus and anti-malware software are essential to protect systems from emerging threats. This involves regular updates to ensure the latest virus definitions are in place, providing robust defense mechanisms against a wide array of malicious software.
Proactive Monitoring for Viruses, Spyware, and Malware: Proactive monitoring is implemented to detect and address threats before they can cause significant harm. By continuously scanning for viruses, spyware, and malware, potential issues can be identified and resolved promptly, minimizing the risk of data breaches and system disruptions.
Automated Proactive Removal of Certain Viruses, Spyware, and Malware: The service includes automated routines that identify and remove certain types of malicious software. This automated approach enhances the speed and efficiency of threat mitigation, ensuring that systems remain clean and secure without manual intervention.
Performance Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of key performance metrics, such as memory usage, hard drive health, and CPU performance, helps in maintaining the overall health of computer systems. By tracking these parameters, potential performance bottlenecks can be identified and addressed before they affect productivity.
Monitoring for Key Stopped or Failed Services: Ensuring that all critical services are running smoothly is a vital part of system maintenance. This involves monitoring for any stopped or failed services, which could indicate underlying issues that need immediate attention to prevent system downtime.
Uptime Monitoring: Regular uptime monitoring is conducted to ensure that systems remain operational and accessible. This helps in maintaining high availability and reliability of IT infrastructure, which is crucial for business continuity.
Automated Maintenance Routines: To keep systems running efficiently, automated maintenance routines are scheduled. These routines include tasks such as temporary file and cache clean-up, which help in freeing up system resources and improving performance.
Windows Updating: Keeping operating systems up to date is critical for security and performance. This service includes monitoring and applying Windows updates to ensure that systems benefit from the latest features, performance improvements, and security patches.
Monitor Failed Updates: Monitoring for failed updates is part of the service to ensure that all updates are successfully applied. This helps in identifying and resolving issues that may prevent updates from being installed, thus maintaining system security and performance.
By leveraging Managed Computer Services, businesses can ensure that their IT infrastructure is well-maintained, secure, and optimized for peak performance. This comprehensive approach to computer maintenance and monitoring not only enhances productivity but also reduces the risk of costly downtime and security incidents.
(c) Managed Server Maintenance
Managed Server Maintenance is a critical service that ensures the optimal performance, security, and reliability of servers within an IT infrastructure. This comprehensive service encompasses several key aspects of server management and maintenance designed to keep server environments running smoothly and securely.
Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware Software Management and Updating: Continuous management and updating of anti-virus and anti-malware software are fundamental to protecting servers from malicious threats. Regular updates ensure that servers have the latest defenses against a wide range of cyber threats.
Proactive Monitoring for Viruses, Spyware, and Malware: Proactive monitoring systems are in place to detect and address threats before they can cause significant harm. This involves continuous scanning for viruses, spyware, and malware, allowing for early identification and mitigation of potential issues.
Automated Proactive Removal of Certain Viruses, Spyware, and Malware: The service includes automated routines to identify and remove specific types of malicious software, enhancing the efficiency and speed of threat mitigation and ensuring that servers remain clean and secure.
Monitoring for Stopped or Failed Services: Regular monitoring ensures that all critical services are running smoothly. This involves detecting and addressing any stopped or failed services promptly to prevent disruptions and maintain server uptime.
Performance Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of key performance metrics such as memory usage, hard drive health, and CPU performance helps maintain server health. By tracking these parameters, potential performance issues can be identified and resolved before they impact server functionality.
Uptime Monitoring: Regular uptime monitoring is conducted to ensure that servers remain operational and accessible, which is crucial for business continuity. This helps in maintaining high availability and reliability of server infrastructure.
24/7 Internet Connection Monitoring:* Around-the-clock monitoring of internet connections ensures that servers remain connected and accessible at all times. This is vital for maintaining the continuous availability of server-hosted applications and services.
Monitor for Drive and RAID Failures: Monitoring systems are in place to detect potential drive and RAID failures. Early detection of such issues allows for timely intervention, preventing data loss and maintaining server performance.
Automated Maintenance Routines: Scheduled automated maintenance routines help keep servers running efficiently. These routines include tasks such as temporary file and cache clean-up, which help free up server resources and improve performance.
Windows Updating: Keeping server operating systems up to date is critical for security and performance. This service includes monitoring and applying Windows updates to ensure that servers benefit from the latest features, performance improvements, and security patches.
Monitor Failed Updates: Monitoring for failed updates ensures that all updates are successfully applied. This helps identify and resolve issues that may prevent updates from being installed, maintaining server security and performance.
Hypervisor Monitoring: Monitoring the performance and health of hypervisors is essential for virtualized environments. This involves tracking the performance of virtual machines and the underlying hypervisor to ensure efficient resource utilization and optimal performance.
Hardware Performance Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of server hardware performance helps detect potential issues before they become critical. This includes tracking metrics related to server hardware components to ensure they are operating within acceptable parameters.
Health Monitoring: Regular health monitoring provides an overall view of server health, allowing for proactive maintenance and issue resolution. This helps in maintaining the reliability and performance of server environments.
Critical Security Patching: Applying critical security patches promptly is essential for protecting servers from vulnerabilities. This service ensures that all necessary patches are applied in a timely manner, maintaining the security and integrity of server environments.
By leveraging Managed Server Maintenance services, businesses can ensure that their server infrastructure is well-maintained, secure, and optimized for peak performance. This comprehensive approach to server management not only enhances productivity but also reduces the risk of costly downtime and security incidents, providing a robust foundation for business operations.
(d) Service Desk
The Service Desk offers comprehensive support to ensure the smooth operation of IT infrastructure. Here’s a detailed overview of the usual services provided:
Unlimited Remote Support: Unlimited remote support is available for incidents involving equipment covered under the proposal. Incidents are defined as events that interrupt or degrade technology services or systems, excluding any specified exclusions. While the aim is to resolve all issues remotely for expediency, onsite support is available at discretion, with applicable rates.
Service Level Agreement (SLA) Response Time: SLAs apply to incidents, not to vCIO consulting or Service Requests (MACs). Ticket priority is determined by industry standards and discretion. Response time is measured from the creation of a ticket in the system to the first interaction with the reported issue. SLA response times are only measured during service desk hours.
Regular Service Desk Hours SLA by Priority: Regular service desk hours are from 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern Time.
- Priority 1 (Critical): Response Time SLA is 45 minutes.
- Priority 2 (High): Response Time SLA is 2 hours.
- Priority 3 (Medium): Response Time SLA is 4 hours.
- Priority 4 (Low): Response Time SLA is 8 hours.
After Hours & Weekends SLA: For clients covered under the proposal, after-hours service desk operates Monday to Friday from 5 PM to 9 PM Eastern Time, and Saturday to Sunday from 8 AM to 5 PM Central Time. The response time SLA for these periods is 2 hours.
Standard Business Application Support: Full support is offered for standard business applications like Microsoft 365, Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe, and G Suite if installed on covered equipment.
Line of Business Application Support: Support for Line of Business (LOB) applications is limited to the system they are installed on, provided it is owned or operated by the client.
Server Support: Comprehensive support is available for servers, including monitoring and managing anti-virus software, performance, uptime, and critical security patching. This ensures servers are secure and operating efficiently.
Router, Switch, and Firewall Support: Monitoring and management services for networking equipment ensure optimal performance and security.
User Login/Authentication Support: Assistance is provided for user login issues related to equipment or systems covered under the proposal.
Active Directory Support: Support is provided for Active Directory, including adjustments to settings and policies.
Storage Device or Service Support: Management and support for storage devices and services.
Wireless Network Support: Monitoring and managing wireless networks to ensure seamless connectivity.
Moves, Additions, and Changes (MACs): Also known as Service Requests, MACs involve non-incident requests such as enhancements, changes, moves, or additions to technology systems. Each client’s monthly allotment of MAC hours may be specified in the agreement.
Customer Service Portal: Access is provided to a portal for ticketing information, history, and submission via email, portal, desktop agent, and live service hotline.
Vendor Management: Coordination with various vendors, including Internet Service Providers, application vendors, hardware vendors, and cloud services providers.
Monthly Management Reports: Detailed reports including service desk key performance indicators to keep clients informed about performance and support activities.
This Service Desk ensures that technology systems are managed effectively, reducing downtime and enhancing productivity through proactive support and monitoring.
(e) vCIO Services
The vCIO (Virtual Chief Information Officer) Services provide strategic IT guidance and management for clients, helping them to align technology with their business goals. Here’s a detailed overview of the vCIO services:
**Monthly Allotment of vCIO Hours:** Clients are allocated a specific number of vCIO hours each month, as listed in the authorized service proposal. These hours are dedicated to providing high-level IT strategy and planning.
**Utilization of vCIO Hours:** The allocated vCIO hours are used to offer expert advice on IT infrastructure, future technology investments, and overall IT strategy to ensure the client’s technology supports their business objectives effectively.
**Non-Rolling Hours:** It is important to note that any unused vCIO hours do not carry forward to subsequent months. This policy ensures that clients regularly engage with their vCIO to maximize the benefits of the service and continuously improve their IT operations.
**Strategic IT Planning:** The vCIO works closely with the client to develop and implement IT strategies that align with the business’s goals, ensuring that technology investments are made wisely and effectively.
**IT Budgeting and Cost Management:** The vCIO assists in creating IT budgets and managing costs, providing insights into where financial resources should be allocated to get the best return on investment.
**Technology Roadmap Development:** The vCIO helps in developing a technology roadmap, outlining future technology projects and upgrades that will support the business’s growth and operational efficiency.
**Risk Management:** The vCIO identifies potential IT risks and develops strategies to mitigate them, ensuring the business is protected against cyber threats and other IT-related issues.
**Vendor Management:** The vCIO assists with managing relationships with technology vendors, ensuring that the client gets the best value from their technology investments and service contracts.
This structured approach ensures that clients receive consistent, high-quality IT strategic support, allowing them to leverage technology effectively to meet their business objectives.
Key Features of Troinet IT Services
1. Flat-rate fee – instead of being reactive to issues that arise, flat-rate fee helps prevents problems from happening in the first place. Its goal is to initially fix the issue and endeavor to lessen the problems through time. The more seamless and continuous are your operations, the lower will be your total service costs. Learn how flat rate IT can help your company grow.
2. Low monthly fee – Troinet combines friendly pricing with quality support and extensive technology coverage. Since 1998, we have been providing managed network services, including phones, printers, software, and even IT financing.
3. Greater productivity – our managed IT services means that reduced downtimes, no more tangled cables, tasks, and routers. With less IT-related stuff to worry about, you can focus on what you do best. Reduced downtimes also eliminates expensive inefficiencies that slow down business
3. Free IT Assessment – Troinet offers a complimentary IT assessment to determine whether the client environment can support certain centralized services. We identify any vulnerabilities, inefficiencies, or outdated technologies that may be hindering the client’s operations.
4. After-hours IT support – we provide support after regular business offers to ensure business continuity, especially for organizations that operate globally, have 24/7 operations, or need to address issues promptly. This includes technical assistance at any time including nighttimes, weekedends, and holidays.