Branch Office IT Support
Providing IT, desktop, and network support to a branch and virtual workplaces is one of the biggest challenges facing business organizations today.
Statistics show that most organizations have little or no local IT support at their branch offices. Some statistics show that only 5% of branch offices have any onsite IT personnel, depending upon the type of industry or business the organization supports. About 30% of organizations use service providers, or a combination of internal management with service providers, to oversee branch operations. I expect that figure to increase, considering the continued growth in the number of branch offices and virtual workers, the present economic condition with respect to organizations reducing head count, and the demands for quick and responsive application and IT system support.
For organizations that have multiple virtual workers or branch offices, establishing a solid relationship with a third-party managed-service provider (MSP) is critical. Benefits include: cost reduction, as well as increased accountability and responsiveness to support the IT needs of an organization. Typically, the largest challenge for organizations with branch offices is geography. Geography is also the largest challenge for the vendors that provide IT support for branch offices. However, with sophisticated, proactive monitoring systems, an MSP can provide excellent, responsive IT support to multiple branches. An MSP should have a NOC (Network Operations Center), established to provide proactive monitoring for all voice and data devices on a network. In addition, the MSP should be able to provide coast-to-coast project rollout and management services WITHOUT sub-contracting services. Using the MSP as the single source of contact and responsibility helps to ensure a successful project outcome.
A strong MSP can provide a good solution for IT resources or for value-added IT resources for those organizations that have a limited IT team. One reason-- competition. In addition, using an MSP will provide several advantages:
• Value-added IT resources for organizations with no IT team or small IT teams
o Reduction in operational costs
• MSP’s have deep technical benches
o Gaps in support with in-house IT personnel can occur when people are sick, on vacation, etc.
• MSP’s are trained on the leading edge of technology through IT manufacturer and vendor relationships, which can provide cost-saving solutions to the client
• MSP’s can have a wider, deeper range of IT knowledge and also have access to additional support resources.
Final thoughts to consider for branch office IT support…
1. Escalate the priority of branch office management. This means, standardize on technology throughout the organization. This allows the technology to be supported cheaper, faster, better.
2. Consider a third-party MSP for desktop support, network connectivity/infrastructure, system monitoring, project rollout, and offsite data storage and vaulting.
3. Evaluate the option of hosting or offloading the support for certain applications, including VoIP, unified messaging, and audio conferencing for branch offices by offloading monitoring and management to a third party.
4. Request regular reports that provide support statistics outlining the response times, up-times, productivity of users, down-times, etc.
5. Establish baseline IT support expectations for responsiveness, maintenance, forward thinking, and planning with the MSP.
Kevin Staley, CEO
Statistics show that most organizations have little or no local IT support at their branch offices. Some statistics show that only 5% of branch offices have any onsite IT personnel, depending upon the type of industry or business the organization supports. About 30% of organizations use service providers, or a combination of internal management with service providers, to oversee branch operations. I expect that figure to increase, considering the continued growth in the number of branch offices and virtual workers, the present economic condition with respect to organizations reducing head count, and the demands for quick and responsive application and IT system support.
For organizations that have multiple virtual workers or branch offices, establishing a solid relationship with a third-party managed-service provider (MSP) is critical. Benefits include: cost reduction, as well as increased accountability and responsiveness to support the IT needs of an organization. Typically, the largest challenge for organizations with branch offices is geography. Geography is also the largest challenge for the vendors that provide IT support for branch offices. However, with sophisticated, proactive monitoring systems, an MSP can provide excellent, responsive IT support to multiple branches. An MSP should have a NOC (Network Operations Center), established to provide proactive monitoring for all voice and data devices on a network. In addition, the MSP should be able to provide coast-to-coast project rollout and management services WITHOUT sub-contracting services. Using the MSP as the single source of contact and responsibility helps to ensure a successful project outcome.
A strong MSP can provide a good solution for IT resources or for value-added IT resources for those organizations that have a limited IT team. One reason-- competition. In addition, using an MSP will provide several advantages:
• Value-added IT resources for organizations with no IT team or small IT teams
o Reduction in operational costs
• MSP’s have deep technical benches
o Gaps in support with in-house IT personnel can occur when people are sick, on vacation, etc.
• MSP’s are trained on the leading edge of technology through IT manufacturer and vendor relationships, which can provide cost-saving solutions to the client
• MSP’s can have a wider, deeper range of IT knowledge and also have access to additional support resources.
Final thoughts to consider for branch office IT support…
1. Escalate the priority of branch office management. This means, standardize on technology throughout the organization. This allows the technology to be supported cheaper, faster, better.
2. Consider a third-party MSP for desktop support, network connectivity/infrastructure, system monitoring, project rollout, and offsite data storage and vaulting.
3. Evaluate the option of hosting or offloading the support for certain applications, including VoIP, unified messaging, and audio conferencing for branch offices by offloading monitoring and management to a third party.
4. Request regular reports that provide support statistics outlining the response times, up-times, productivity of users, down-times, etc.
5. Establish baseline IT support expectations for responsiveness, maintenance, forward thinking, and planning with the MSP.
Kevin Staley, CEO
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About ISI
- Integrated Systems, Inc.
- With over 50 years of combined experience, Integrated Systems, Inc. has the knowledge and resources to provide IT service and support for small and medium-sized businesses. Our approach to IT solutions is to deliver a competitive advantage in the IT service and support industry. Our Mission To provide our clients with the best possible IT solution for their businesses — directly impacts everything we do and sets the high standards for performance that others attempt to follow. Our Advantage • Support for all products within a client environment • 24/7/365 service and support with automated dispatch systems • Client accessible service and support update systems Where We Deliver Integrated Systems' headquarters is based in Kansas City, Missouri near the Kansas/Missouri borders. We provide our products and service offerings to both local and national clients.
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