Even before the pandemic struck, Home Office Workstation Installation was accelerating in the U.S. The share of the labor force that works from home tripled in the past 15 years, according to the Federal Reserve. Two of the accelerants are obvious: living costs in metros with the highest density of knowledge workers, and technology, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, that moves collaboration and gossip online. On the other hand, Onsite Computer Services systems are already creaking at the edges. Corporate networks, unused to having a majority of their connections coming in over virtual private networks (VPNs), are experiencing unusual quirks, while internet service providers have come under pressure to lift bandwidth caps so that remote workers do not get cut off from their employers halfway through the month.

home office computer workstation setup and installation.

Onsite IT Services, millions of people will get the chance to experience days without long commutes, or the harsh inflexibility of not being able to stay close to home when a family member is sick… This might be a chance for a great reset in terms of how we work. Overall, working from home doesn’t change your day-to-day work, it just means you’ll be doing it from a different environment. Large technology firms were some of the first to make the switch to remote working for all their staff, building on pre-existing infrastructures such as office chat groups, remote access to critical tools, and the fact that much knowledge work can be carried out remotely.

So yes, the coronavirus will most likely change the way we work. Because if companies like A+ Mobile Techs realize they can navigate this crisis while their people are at home, business as usual should be a walk in the park. Or maybe I should say a lap in the living room.

Multi-Location IT Services

Many IT Departments struggle with managing multiple locations nationally and internationally forming a demand for a multi-location onsite IT services 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 (audiovisual) equipment such as TV’s, interactive whiteboards (e.g. Smartboards, Team boards, 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 the 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 for low voltage cabling, 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 gets 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 On-Site IT Support provider with a dedicated account manager, there are many other benefits that speed up a 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!

Decisions on how to manage more than one location’s IT infrastructure from a centralized headquarters are challenging, filled with obstacles and pitfalls. Whether managing under 3 locations or thousands, the decision to employ full-time or part-time (W2) locally dedicated on-site IT services that are capable of supporting your home office computer setup locally needs vs utilizing individual contractors or vendors is cumbersome and prone to errors that can be costly and generally a nightmare to manage. To become more efficient, a movement towards more centralized management of these processes has shown to be the most logical and ultimately successful approach.

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Onsite IT Services

The type of technician required for this IT support would be a Network Engineer with ample experience in general computer services, network engineering including servers, routing, switching, security systems, data cabling skills, telephony, and some knowledge of printers and possibly someone who is comfortable traveling a lot if they are to support a company’s onsite IT support requirements in the USA.

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Huge demand for better technology and services surrounding the available technologies in the greater Seattle area is evident. Many local businesses have expressed their need and demand for best-in-class internet, along with voice and data communications services. This of course includes ongoing sustainability of their voice and data networks including their computers hardware, software, network security, printers, phones, and any other networkable devices that allow them to do business as usual and operate at max efficiency.

We look forward to continuing to support local and branch businesses throughout greater Phoenix and all of Arizona in 2020 and many years to follow.