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Network Support and Maintenance
For any network; big, small, old or new we can offer support and maintenance which is vital to keep any business’ IT systems functional. How long would you continue to run your car without a service? If a system is not maintained and supported (server, cabling, PCs and peripherals) regularly systems become slow and break down, just like your car. However small or large your business IT network, we offer flexible value for money contracts to suit you needs. The majority of support can be offered by telephone or remotely to reduce costs. In many cases we monitor your network so we can inform you of problems before they arise. We can then address issues before they become critical and cause your system to collapse. By monitoring your system we can reduce the amount of downtime of your network.
Why outsource my network management and maintenance?
One of the best solutions is outsourcing your network management and maintenance to Acorn Media. We aim to maximise your network capability and reduce downtime - whilst letting you and your staff get on with your work. By outsourcing your IT you don’t have to employ a full-time member of staff which brings additional overheads and you have the cover problems for holiday and sickness. Our cost effective network support and maintenance support contracts are designed for any sized network, with a server or without a server. We even offer blocks of network support hours if you don’t want to commit to a regular contract to just perform maintenance periodically, or have those hours on-hand in-case of a breakdown.
Whilst some of the issues with network/ server support and maintenance are similar to PCs, a central problem can cripple your entire network. A more thorough and proactive approach to server management and maintenance is advisable to prevent problems before they happen.
Why do I need server management and maintenance?
Any server requires ongoing maintenance, continual configuration & regular checking. Your server management is vital to the network uptime and capacity.
Acorn Media view server management and maintenance as crucial to maintaining healthy networks. A virus on your server can easily be transferred across your whole network. If your server goes down then your workforce will be unable to log on, unable to browse e-mail & the web, unable to get to shared network resources. Any system downtime wastes valuable time and money which is bad news for any business.
Remote monitoring of servers is offered with all of our network management packages. This means that daily, an engineer remotely checks your server log files, event manager, disk space, Anti-Virus updates, and can more importantly troubleshoot and repair any problems before they affect the network performance. We also carry out various checks, procedures and maintenance over weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly periods performing a minimum amount of work on-site. We have a highly developed maintenance program to ensure every aspect of your server is being monitored, but to reduce costs, we only carry out necessary checks and a lot of the work is done remotely.
Emergency Cover - Why do I need it?
Inevitably, despite all efforts to keep your network running smoothly, server breakdowns still occur from time to time. For a small extra charge per year we will give you cover for network breakdown emergencies. We will respond within 2 hours* to your problem. How much network downtime can you afford to lose? If the answer is none then this extra cover charge is what you need. This small cost for that extra reassurance is definitely worth investing in.
Disaster Recovery
Disaster Recovery is an essential part of any business and at Acorn Media we take this part of network management extremely seriously. As part of your network management contract you get the following disaster recovery steps as standard:
- Thoroughly implementing and checking a variety of data backup procedures
- Implementing anti-virus solutions/updates and other security measures to protect your network
In addition to this, we recommend and supply other hardware which can help with your business’ disaster recovery plan.
- Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to keep your network data storage facility going and enable it to shutdown safely in the event of a power failure
- As part of our server/ data storage facility we always recommend local mirrors as a minimum for data and use disk protection technology (RAID)
- Surge Protectors — to minimise the effect of power surges on delicate electronic equipment
As a business you can’t afford to NOT have a disaster recovery plan and implement protection for your business. Here at Acorn Media we can help you plan and implement your IT disaster recovery plan, so don’t delay, call us for our expert advice now!
*subject to premises being no more than 40 miles from Gateshead Tyne & Wear
What is my IT network?
Anything to do with computing and data communications that your company uses. It enables your day to day accounts, communications, documents, researchability, data backups etc.
Your IT network is not just a collection of individual computers and other hardware - it is rather a whole system that needs maintaining, configuring, de-bugging, patching, updating, upgrading and importantly, log checking to spot potential pit falls and problems before they become major issues.
Therefore it makes sense to have your whole IT network managed, not just little bits of it when there is a problem. We believe in Full time IT Support for any business.
Prevention is better than a cure
We are able to preempt the majority of problems with your network before you even start work. We are confident that with our extensive knowledge and experience we can keep your server running efficiently, save you time and money to avoid the majority of breakdowns before they occur and give you peace of mind that your network is completely secure and your data safe.
What sort of things do I get for my money?
- Regular checks on disk space as these can fill up quickly
- Checks on event logs to predict and help prevent problems
- Security checks to ensure ongoing protection of your system and data
- Antivirus and software patch updates
- Configuration of, particularly new users to maximise efficiency and staff time
- Check and initiate data backup
- System cleanup
- And more!
Your IT network can often be a time-consuming and under-performing resource.
A properly integrated and fully functioning IT network enables you to work smarter - in many cases, this is worth the cost of a support contract alone.
At Acorn Media our support team have one main priority: - managing clients’ IT networks to the highest possible standards.
Prompt response times
We always endeavour to give the customer a prompt response and are proud of our excellent record in achieving our excellent response times. Our mission is to resolve your problem as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Priority response to contract customers
When you take out a network management contract, you have a 4 hour* priority response which gives you peace of mind that your network problem can be addressed quickly with the minimum downtime.
A network management contract doesn't fit into my budget, what can I do?
If you don’t have a contract that includes extra support hours that can be used every month to cover the time taken to repair a network problem, you can also buy a block of network support hours (at discounted rate from the ‘pay as you go’ customers’) so you know you have peace of mind should a problem occur.
