Remote and on-site IT support: how it works in practice

Question “are you coming to us?” comes up in almost every first conversation, and remote and on-site IT support is a more useful answer when you break it down into parts: what can be done remotely, what requires on-site presence and who organises it. This article describes our model without beating around the bush, including what we don't promise.

Where does this question come from?

The question of whether we reach the customer is actually about something else: whether in the event of a problem, someone will take care of it, or whether the company will be told that the matter is out of reach.

It is worth breaking them down into parts, because in everyday IT support the proportions are different than intuition suggests: the vast majority of reports do not require physical presence at the device, but access to the system, appropriate permissions and knowledge about what has changed.

Below we describe how we separate these two scopes in everyday business operations.

Where are we really?

NexaIT is based in Świebodzin, Lubusz Voivodeship, and this is the only place where we have a physical base.

We have no branches, regional offices, or field teams in other cities, which we write directly about so that the client knows our model before the first failure, rather than during it.

We serve companies throughout Poland, but we do it in the model described below, instead of suggesting a local presence, which we do not actually have.

What we actually do remotely

This is not a marketing list, but a description of the everyday work we do for clients, ensuring the continuity of their environments.

• Helpdesk and user reports: problems with e-mail, file access, printing, application configuration and accounts constitute the vast majority of incoming reports that can be solved without visiting the desk.
• Environmental monitoring: RMM tools collect data on the status of stations, servers and network devices, including disk space, backup status, software versions, restarts and errors. Operating in the background without the involvement of client employees, monitoring often informs us about a problem before the user notices it.
• Updates and patch management: we plan patches to systems, applications and network devices within agreed service windows to limit the impact of the work on the company's operations.
• Server and service administration: this scope includes accounts, permissions, mail, directory, virtualisation, backups and recovery tests that require regular supervision.
• Network Management: configuration changes, segmentation, traffic rules, guest network and diagnostics can be performed remotely thanks to the management layer in network devices, which we write about in the article about router from the operator and the managed corporate network.
• Security: working remotely, we protect the station, respond to alerts, review access and support multi-factor authentication to the agreed extent.
• Documentation and reporting: we keep the environment description up to date, so the report shows not only what happened, but also the changes made.

Which requires on-site presence

This is a clearly shorter list, which is the point of the whole division.

• physical works on infrastructure: cabling, installation of cabinets, access points, cameras, switches,
• first hardware launch, if it cannot be prepared in advance and sent ready,
• hardware failurewhen a device or component needs to be replaced,
• implementation acceptance and measurements, which cannot be performed remotely,
• facility inventory without documentationwhen routes need to be physically traced,
• situations where the hardware is not responding and there is no one to turn it on.

The last point is important because remote operation has one boundary condition: the device must be reachable, and if the power or connection fails, someone will be needed on site to reconnect the cable.

How we organise work on site

Honestly: we do not declare travel times or guaranteed local availability in cities where we do not have a base, because a declaration that cannot be kept is worse than no declaration at all.

Instead:

• works planned We set a deadline for , just like any other project. Network implementation, modernisation, inspection, acceptance. Travel is then part of the schedule, not an intervention.
• hardware replacement We organise by shipping the device prepared and configured by us. In many cases, it is enough for someone on site to connect the cables according to the instructions, and we will complete the rest of the configuration remotely.
• works requiring hands on site, when travel does not make sense in terms of time or cost, we carry out the work with a local subcontractor under our supervision, with our documentation and our responsibility for the result.
• client-side contact person is set at the start. He doesn't have to know anything about IT. They must know where the rack cabinet is and have access to it.

The range of transports, their frequency and method of settlement are determined by contract individually for the location, and the journey is settled according to the price list: the net lump sum of PLN 80 within a radius of 30 km from Świebodzin, next to PLN 1.50 net per kilometre in both directions, with the amount given before departure.

Remote and on-site IT support: when this model fits and when it doesn't

We prefer to say this before the contract, because after signing it it is definitely too late for such a conversation.

Fits if:

• the company has a standard office environment, servers and network, and most problems can be solved remotely,
• you want one team responsible for everything instead of several suppliers,
• you accept that physical work is planned and not carried out on the same day,
• you have someone on site who can open the rack cabinet if necessary.

Does not fit if:

• you need someone in the building every day or on call,
• you have a production environment where every downtime hour is critical and requires an on-site technician,
• you expect a guaranteed travel time outside the Lubuskie Voivodeship.

In the last two cases, the honest answer is a company with a base in your city, which we will say directly, rather than signing a contract that cannot be performed well.

An intermediate arrangement is also possible, in which we are responsible for the remote layer, monitoring, security and documentation, while the local contractor carries out the physical work, as long as the division of responsibilities is written down and not left as default.

Lubuskie is not the same as the rest of the country

It's worth separating the two things because they can be confused with each other.

We have a real base in the Lubuskie Voivodeship, so access is a matter of logistics, not an exception, while Zielona Góra and Gorzów Wielkopolski are within the range that can be serviced normally.

Outside the region, the model is remote, with planned work on site, which does not mean worse service, but a different way of organising it, which is worth knowing before purchasing.

We do not say that we have an office or a team in Poznań or Wrocław: we operate companies from these cities remotely, working from Świebodzin.

What we do not promise

We have collected these rules in one place to avoid any confusion:

• we have no branches except Świebodzin,
• we do not declare travel time outside the Lubusz Voivodeship,
• we do not promise 24/7 availability beyond the scope of a specific package specified in the contract,
• we do not confuse response time with repair time. The response is the moment when someone starts working on the ticket. Repair is when the problem disappears. We describe them separately in the contract.

Where do we start?

We start with an overview of the environment, not the offer, checking what is there, what works, what is missing and what part of this requires on-site presence. This last point usually surprises the client the most, because the scope of physical work turns out to be smaller than he initially expected.

The result of the review stays with you regardless of whether you decide to cooperate later, serving as a reference point for further decisions.

The scope of permanent service is described on the website IT care, and the areas we work in can be found on the website areas of operation, so both topics can be checked separately.

Book a free IT review and let's see if this model fits your company.