|
 |
Network Support for Mid-size Businesses
IT Consulting Services for Florida |
| |
Overview
Businesses with 50 to 250 network users have traditionally been an underserved segment of the IT outsourcing market. The cost structures and service delivery models of large third-party support organizations make them too expensive for most mid-size businesses, who typically have small IT budgets with which to support IT networks whose complexity and sophistication are comparable to the information systems of larger enterprises. ACTS service delivery model, which takes full advantage of remote support, virtual office infrastructure and proactive network monitoring, dramatically reduces IT support costs while offering enterprise-level service from certified, world-class experts in a broad range of technologies.
ACTS co-sourcing services allow your business to find the right balance between in-house and outside support by leveraging the capability of your in-house IT staff with the in-depth expertise of ACTS engineers. By delivering effective support when you need it, providing specialists for critical applications, minimizing travel costs through remote support, offering unique services such as customized, automated server monitoring, and charging only for the services you use, ACTS gives you an affordable way to maximize the business value of your network.
Why ACTS Makes Sense for Mid-size Businesses
ACTS staff of certified IT professionals have extensive experience with enterprise networks, allowing mid-size businesses to achieve world-class IT support without having to maintain large internal IT organizations or absorb the high cost of outsourcing network support to large national service organizations. |
|
| Working with ACTS allows your mid-size business to: |
- Avoid Turning IT Management Into Crisis Management
Companies with 50 to 250 network clients often have sophisticated, enterprise-class IT infrastructures, but rarely have internal IT staffs with the depth and breadth of technical expertise to provide all the IT support that complex networks require. Internal resources are often overworked and budgetary realities do not permit hiring additional full-time IT staff.
These environments can be subject to higher than average employee turnover, which often leads to situations where replacement support staff must focus on keeping the network running rather than enhancing it. Lacking in knowledge of the history, design, implementation, and architecture of the network, and with little time available between crises, new support staff are unlikely to be able to plan and implement effective network upgrades or migrate the system to keep up with changing business requirements.
- Let Senior Management Focus Business, Not Networks
Many mid-size businesses are aggressively moving to outsourced support models for information technology because building up large internal IT staffs seldom pays off with strategic business advantages. Attempting to handle all IT service issues in-house can bog down senior management with the details of IT problems, yielding poor returns for time invested by such top talent.
Companies need reliable, feature-rich, scalable, and fault-tolerant IT environments to support their mission critical applications, but they recognize that it makes little business sense to own and build such systems themselves or to manage large internal staffs of IT personnel. Smart outsourcing or co-sourcing allows companies to concentrate their internal resources on areas that will bring them the greatest strategic and competitive advantages in the markets they serve.
- Migrate Quickly to the Best Network Technology
The tough economic times that many companies suffered over the past five years has caused many IT environments to become woefully out of date as a result of IT budgets being slashed in the interest of survival. As economic prosperity has returned to many market segments, the starvation diets forced upon many business networks has created a burden of outdated information systems.
This problem becomes apparent when the demand for new applications and customer-centered information solutions can’t be easily adapted to legacy systems. Increasingly, companies are being challenged by new upstart competitors who are not saddled with outdated environments and can quickly introduce state-of-the-art, customer-friendly applications such as web-based eCommerce, vender extranets, customer portals, and integrated supply chain management. Budgets may be available, but often such major initiatives can't be carried out solely with existing resources. Adding to full-time head count seldom makes long-term economic sense for project-specific work, and companies often don’t have the time to bring resources up to speed for business-critical projects. In these circumstances, it can be very cost effective to engaged outsourced resources that can solve problems immediately.
Unique Advantages of Working with ACTS
As a Microsoft-certified consulting firm, ACTS offers expertise in the core system software and office productivity applications used by most small businesses. As a Cisco-certified partner, ACTS can also provide help with an increasingly complex array of infrastructure technologies including firewalls, switches, routers, voice-over-IP solutions and wireless connectivity. In addition, ACTS CISSP-certified consultants and CISM-certified security experts offer a company-wide perspective on network security.
The breadth and depth of ACTS consulting expertise brings a unique set of advantages to companies trying to maximize the business value of their IT network within a reasonable budget. These advantages include:
- Best Practices
ACTS’s staff of Microsoft and Cisco certified consultants average more than ten years of industry experience performing a variety of technical projects for a broad range of clients. This extensive industry experience is refined by the company-wide best practices training that ACTS instills in its consulting staff. This means you get not just expert technical skills, but a consultant with proven methods for applying those skills to solving real business problems successfully and in a repeatable fashion. Find out more about ACTS best practices for network consulting.
- Value Pricing
ACTS charges a competitive hourly rate for services. Clients are not forced to commit to retainers that may result in paying for services that are never delivered. ACTS adds no surcharge for after-hours or emergency service, and does not charge for travel time except for emergency support where on-site time is less than 4 hours. Find out more about ACTS value pricing for IT outsourcing.
- Full Documentation of IT Services
ACTS has developed a sophisticated service reporting system that records and archives detailed documentation for all delivered services. Every service provided by ACTS is accompanied by comprehensive documentation. Every ACTS staff member has full access to the service reports generated by every staff member to every client. The discipline of documenting and storing service records results in more effective service and allows service to grow increasingly efficient over time. Find out more about ACTS documentation of IT outsourcing services.
- Knowledge Transfer
ACTS is committed to knowledge transfer from ACTS consultants to customers. By teaching clients to deal with problems that are within their comfort zone, ACTS can focus on providing high-value services by helping clients resolve complex problems and facilitating the adoption of leading-edge technologies. ACTS can also help clients hire internal support staff to find a sensible balance for co-sourcing IT service. Find out more about ACTS knowledge transfer services.
Service Delivery Options Available for Mid-size Businesses
To suit the needs and budgets of mid-size businesses, ACTS offers a variety of options for delivering support, troubleshooting and consulting services. Find out more about ACTS service delivery options for mid-size businesses.
MOM-based Network Support Packages
ACTS has developed special Network Support Packages based on the proactive problem solving capabilities of Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM), a next-generation network management software platform that monitors the availability, performance and security of your information system and identifies problems before they can disrupt your network. ACTS Network Support Packages also feature network assessment, security audits, Help Desk Call Center support, and the establishment of safe remote connections between your network and ACTS’s support experts. Find out more about ACTS special Network Support Packages for cost-effective IT support outsourcing.
For concise information about about ACTS network support packages, check out ACTS Network Support Datasheets, available in Adobe Acrobat format for easy printing.
For an example of how Microsoft Operations Manager helped a Florida achieve enterprise-class network management, read the Microsoft Operations Manager Case Study.
For more information about ACTS Network Support Packages, call 1-(904) 317-2140 or send email to info@ACTSolution.net.
|
|
|
