Contract Support:
This is the core of our business and is based on the concept of
time-shared systems management. We provide you the consistency and
personal support enjoyed by companies large enough to employ an
experienced, full-time systems manager but at the level that is
affordable and appropriate to your size. This means a weekly or
bi-weekly visit at a regular time to keep your system & users
happy. Rather than a typical support company, gsm can take on all
aspects of systems management including user training, establishing
good working practices, maintaining hardware & software asset
registers, defining strategies for security, virus protection, backup,
archival, remote access, internet access, email etc. Most client
relationships over the years have been long term with our position
being more one of the team than an outside supplier.
The advantages of this approach are many. Firstly, your time is
allocated. It cannot be squeezed out by other clients. You always
get the same, highly experienced person every time rather than whoever
is available from a pool of engineers. By maintaining regular visits,
your system is pro-actively maintained and strategically developed
which is in stark contrast to the fire-fighting approach which many
companies find themselves stuck with i.e. they only call someone
in when things collapse. Systems management is often overlooked
to save money but is more costly in the long run in terms of lost
productivity and efficiency. Given that for most companies their
computer facility represents one of the largest capital investments
they make, it is short sighted not to ensure you are reaping the
maximum benefits from that investment.
Contract fees are based on a day rate of £450/7.5hour day
+ VAT. A typical entry level contract would be half a day every
other week i.e. 3 days or £1,350 + VAT per quarter.
If you have a Mac based system of 10 or more machines and you would
like to take the management of this facility seriously, then contact
Nick Gillard at gsm now to discuss your requirments.
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Ad-hoc :
However much we believe in the value of regular contract support,
the reality is that if your system is below a certain size or complexity
then it is simply not necessary or viable to spend time on site
that regularly and so gsm does maintain a small list of select clients
who still want their systems pro-actively managed. In this case
we would book in time as & when necessary to discuss and impliment
future strategies, provide hardware, software & systems support
or carry out routine health checks. It does require a high ongoing
level of commitment from the client to keep investing in their systems
and not falling back to a firefighting approach but we have supported
many such clients over the years who have reaped all the same benefits
of the contract client.
Since ad-hoc clients do not have a pre-allocated time slot, gsm
cannot always guarantee an immediate onsite visit but can usually
attend within two working days. Please note that the systems management
services supplied by gsm do not claim to replace or negate the need
for a hardware maintenance contract. Just as a large company with
an in-house IT manager would still require an external hardware
support contract with guaranteed response times on critical items
such as servers, so too may our clients need such support.
Ad-hoc time on site is charged at £75/hour + VAT.
If you have a small Mac based system and would like to take the
management of this facility seriously, then contact
Nick Gillard at gsm now to discuss your requirments.
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merseyside