Many IT Departments struggle with managing multiple locations nationally and internationally forming a demand for a multi-location IT service provider that acts as a single source point-of-contact (POC), offering a wide array of onsite computer, networking and data communications services in an ongoing day-to-day support capacity and as their IT infrastructure continues to develop over time.
Some of the ongoing operational onsite IT functions that need to be addressed are:
- Ad-hoc break-fix computer and networking services (this ranges from very simple computer repair, installation and maintenance services such as hard drive, tower and monitor swaps, and actual computer repair to printer repair and more complex networking issues such connectivity issues, switches/racks/patch panels/firewall/routers and access points that are offline or need to be installed, reconfigured, moved, maintained and cabling may need to be re-run or re-terminated)
- Server installation and maintenance
- Wireless networks, smart buildings – installation, maintenance and expansion
- Low-voltage data cabling services: Adding new cable runs within and office, upgrading cable (e.g. all types of Cat5 & Cat6 cable and Fiber Optics), new location hardware layer installation and maintenance
- Telecommunication services: Maintenance of existing (analog or VoIP) phone system. Programming of phone systems when there may be a glitch and installation of new/upgraded phone systems (e.g. when moving from analog to VoIP)
- A/V (audio visual) equipment such as TV’s, interactive whiteboards (e.g. Smartboards, Teamboards, etc.), video projectors, sound systems (including XM radio systems), surveillance systems, etc. installation and maintenance
- Project management for upgrades (e.g the recent Windows 7 upgrades that many companies have already done or in process), new site builds, office moves and relocations, company and new site acquisitions (e.g. site surveys and then conforming the new locations to company standards) and mergers
- IT staffing for longer engagements such as part or full-time help desk support, data center management, short or longer-term projects…
There are some multi-location IT service providers, however, one of the pain points we have recognized is the need for dedicated account managers and redundancy for the dedicated IT services account managers in case the primary account manager is unavailable (personal day, vacation, etc). At A+ Mobile Techs we have developed a system whereby we assign dedicated account managers from the beginning of a business relationship that truly get to know a client’s staff, general operations, and of course their IT infrastructure (hardware, software, service call workflow, operations, etc).
Another of the pain points we have recognized over time and addressed is the need for the dedicated and support account managers to actually be at least Level 2 to Level 3 technicians with years of proven field experience, excellent oral and written communications skills, be superbly organized, reliable, highly educated, excel in fast-paced environments and overall just easy to work and get along with (good people). These are qualities that we as a company look for when hiring account managers. When providing account managers to clients that are also technicians, we are able to minimize the amount of ticket escalation due to technical issues or other related technical problems that otherwise we may have to escalate within our clients’ organizations. This not only cuts down on the workload for our clients, but it speeds up resolution times increasing efficiency and ultimately saves money!
Additionally, when selecting a multi-location IT services provider with a dedicated account manager, there are many other benefits that speed up time to resolution such as ticket or work order routing and time until the technician is onsite. Lastly, when it comes to invoicing and payments, by receiving only one bill from one IT service provider, the time you spend to review the invoice (your IT department) and your accounts payable department will not have to spend nearly as much time processing payments – and if there are any questions they do not have to make multiple calls/emails, just one – which of course saves time and time is money!
16 Comments to 'Multi-Location IT Service Providers, Multi-Location Computer Support Services'
June 28, 2014
Interesting post and thank you.
July 2, 2014
I read your blog Multiplication IT service provider. Really good post and onsite service is good option for IT professionals.
July 11, 2014
Excellent information and well written – we will are investigating this (through your above links) as we are interested in outsourcing some of our onsite IT services as we have multi-locations where we need IT support services. Thanks!
July 11, 2014
Great post and very good points regarding multi-site or multi-location IT services, seems like you have a very good grasp of this and thanks for taking the time to write this posting
August 1, 2014
Great post and well written. Nice to see something that is not just a bunch of fluff. Question: Do you techs and/or account managers speak more than one language? We have a need for both in the states and also we have several roll outs happening in Latin America and will Spanish speakers as well as English…
August 2, 2014
Ryan – thank you for the kind words. The answer to your question is yes, we have multilingual account managers and of course onsite techs based on the IT service location. Sí tenemos gerentes de cuenta que hablan el español.
September 15, 2014
Hello!
Thank u for sharing this post regarding “Computer & IT Services Chat
Multi-Location IT Service Providers, Multi-Location Computer Support Services “.This is such a useful article for me.
October 18, 2014
A+ Mobile Techs provide a flexible and enthusiastic approach to its customer base. They take on our role as a key business partner with confidence. Their client base, from single PC sites to a multiple site organization, takes them into businesses in medical/healthcare, financial services, professional services, manufacturing, government, real estate, hospitality and tourism.
November 19, 2014
IT services account managers in case the primary account manager is unavailable (personal day, vacation, etc). At A+ Mobile Techs we have developed a system whereby we assign dedicated account managers from the beginning of a business relationship that truly get to know a client’s staff, general operations, and of course their IT infrastructure (hardware, software, service call workflow, operations, etc.)
November 19, 2014
when selecting a multi-location IT services provider with a dedicated account manager, there are many other benefits that speed up time to resolution such as ticket or work order routing and time until the technician is onsite. Lastly, when it comes to invoicing and payments, by receiving only one bill from one IT service provider
December 20, 2014
Thank you for the kind words Ryan. We do have multi-lingual techs and multi-lingual account managers. I myself speak English and Spanish for example – but the truth is that the universal language especially when dealing with global accounts is English – but let’s face it, being able to speak multiple languages definitely helps streamline projects and helps us operate more efficiently.
December 31, 2014
Thank you for another wonderful post. Where else could anyone get that type of information in such a perfect
approach of writing? I have a presentation subsequent week, and I’m at the search for such info.
January 2, 2015
Nice post about nationwide multi-location IT computer support service. Thanks for this!
January 8, 2015
It is really difficult to manage our IT services to Multi Location from various prospect and you have address them beautifully. So Thanks for it.
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March 7, 2019
Great post for Nationwide IT Services. Well written and informative. Thanks for taking the time to write it
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