Getting the best from your IT support provider

Having an IT support provider at the other end of the phone is a huge comfort when things go wrong – and very often a phone call is all that's needed to sort out a problem.

Things go wrong – and very often a phone call is all that's needed to sort out a problem. But to get the best from your support provider, you will need to actively manage the relationship. They can't be expected to look after your systems without your help and co-operation.

Let's presume you've started on the right foot by appointing a professional, capable company with good people skills. Firstly you will need to understand exactly what you can expect from your support subscription. There is help available for this in our Advice Note "What to expect from your IT support agreement".

Your provider will need to compile an inventory of your IT equipment and the software that's running on it. This can be a fiddly task, particularly if your system has been grow- ing organically for years, as so many have. They will also need to include peripherals like printers and scanners and any network components such as hubs, switches, firewalls, UPS (uninterruptible power supplies), ADSL routers etc.

Support contracts don't automatically cover everything. What they do cover will be specified in the subscription documentation. So once your inventory is complete, you will need to agree which parts of your system will need cover and which won't.

It is important to distinguish between "support", which is assistance and advice, and "hardware maintenance" which involves repairing failed equipment. Whilst most support providers will repair PCs they probably don't stock parts and need to order them each time; and most printer and monitor issues will need to be resolved by a specialist.

Everything depends on your server(s) so a hardware maintenance subscription with a minimum 4 hour on-site response is vital in addition to support cover. This requires that the hardware maintenance provider has sufficient field technicians to guarantee response times and carries a full range of spare parts for your particular server.

You may decide that coverage for other equipment can be dealt with on an ad-hoc basis and new or recently-purchased hardware should be covered by a manufacturer's warranty. Old equipment that is worth very little is probably not worth covering but there may be equipment that's in between, (equipment that's old enough to fail out of warranty but not old enough to be written off lightly), that is critical to your work and on which you decide it would be sensible to take out hardware maintenance cover.

The missing link

There may be members of your team who have some IT knowledge and are tempted to look after some of your support in-house. For several reasons this would be quite unwise. Just because Dave from Accounts thinks he is an IT wizard because he fiddles with his home PC, it doesn't mean he will know or understand the correct way to solve a complex problem or is aware of potential conflicts with what he has done and other parts of the system. If Dave does fiddle the IT support provider won't have a record of what he has done and can't be held responsible for any devastation caused by Dave.

Incidentally, you will have to manage Dave (or Davina) sensitively – if they have come to regard IT as their 'baby', they may feel their nose is being put out of joint by the appointment of a support company but it may make sense for Dave, or Davina, to take on the very important responsibility of IT co-ordinator, or whatever you decide to call the job. It helps if the person you appoint is the person most familiar with your systems but they must at all costs resist the temptation to start telling the support technicians how to do their job. The role of the IT co-ordinator is to build a relationship with the support provider and act on behalf of staff members when they have difficulties in getting problems resolved.

Any specialist software you're running is likely to be supported by the suppliers or developers - but you do have to be aware of the conflicts that can arise from install- ing incompatible software. For this and other reasons all IT issues though should be reported to the main support provider who will then take ownership of the issue and if necessary liaise directly with any third party support requirements thus making it much easier for your staff.

The devil is in the detail

The firm that subscribes to a support service and then sits back and leaves everything to take care of itself is like the motorist who drives with one hand on the wheel just because his car has seatbelts, airbags and side protection bars. Support providers will expect you to agree such things as:

Follow the provider's advice on any remedial work that is recommended from time to time
Issue an IT policy asking staff to:
Not undertake any work on the system unless under the full guidance and
control of the support provider
Notify the provider as soon as an issue occurs. This helps not only to ensure prompt attention but also to enable resolution before what seems like a minor issue can turn into a catastrophic one and to build up a picture which will prove useful if the same thing happens again.
Be available to assist the provider in resolving their reported issues
Notify the provider of all staff changes as soon as they are know and not left
until the very last moment. • Attend regular meetings to review the service

If you're in a sensitive line of business (as so many of us are), you should make sure you're not sharing confidential information with anyone outside the company, includ- ing your IT support provider. A reputable support provider will always treat all client information as confidential but the Data Protection Act demands a written contract in this situation (see The Information Commissioner's Office for more information on data protection).

Finally, if you purchase new equipment, make sure it will be covered by your support contract. For the odd printer, it probably won't make a difference. It will be a different story if you bring in a vanload of slightly-used PCs you picked up in a sale – particularly if they lead to a system crash....