8 Essential Services Provided by Your NYC IT Support Team

Did you know that over 40% of cyber-attacks are targeted at small to medium-sized businesses? The world is becoming a more dangerous and complex place.

The same report indicated that the businesses that are attacked are not easily salvaged. It stated that victims of attacks are “generally out of business within six months”.

In these dangerous times, it can be easy for companies to become distracted from their real goal of developing the best product they can – simply out of the need to defend themselves.

If you have felt like this, or that your IT needs are greater than before, externally managed IT services could help you.

What IT support services are available? How can they help you and support your productivity?  Check out our comprehensive guide to eight services you don’t want to miss out on.

1. Instant Remote Support

Remote support saves you time. An expert will remote into your machine within minutes of you reporting a problem. The IT expert will then diagnose the issue and if possible solve it in front of your eyes.

During this time they will communicate what they are doing. If they cannot solve the problem immediately they will communicate clearly that they are advancing the issue to the next level of support.

This also brings an added level of security as the user can watch how the IT worker manages even sensitive information or system areas.

Further, you will learn instantly whether this is a problem unique to you or whether other users are facing it. A sample of problems that remote support can quickly solve:

• Hardware issues
• Printing problems
• Email problems
• Software setup

2. Fast On-Site Support

In more serious situations remote support may not be practical or possible. In this case, a technician will be sent to the physical location of the problem. This may be to diagnose problems with cabling or connectivity.

He will quickly discern whether the problem is local to the office location or caused by an external factor ie. the internet provider. Whatever the cause, this more efficient approach means that you are not in the dark regarding the cause of the issue.

Using support personnel from an IT management company can save you money. You do not need to retain permanent staff on-site that possess these skills. You can outsource this to the IT management company and they will be available as and when you need them.

3. Network/Server Maintenance

Your physical infrastructure is made up of network devices and servers. This is the backbone of your infrastructure. This means that if it works efficiently, your entire system will run more smoothly.

They also require maintenance and protection from attack. Regular patches, updates, and upgrades will ensure that it does not run slowly and that it has the latest security features.

4. Network and Systems Security

Security is the hottest IT topic in 2019. Attacks are evolving, however, and existing methods still pose a threat. Email attacks are a prime example. A recent poll indicated that 70% believe that protecting themselves against email threats is becoming more difficult.

The best approach to security is a proactive one. It is often too late to wait until an attack to diagnose weaknesses. Taking preventative measures and regularly challenging systems is the most effective way to uncover weaknesses.

Preventative measures also include:

1. Anti-virus
2. Anti-malware
3. Login and Permissions Management

5. Round-the-Clock Monitoring

Office hours may run from 08:00-17:00 but realistically projects don’t. The global commerce world of 2019 has international projects and remote workers spread across the world.

Infrastructure needs to function optimally 24/7, 365 days a year. This requires support that can ensure it’s safe running and be available to address problems day and night.

6. Backup and Restore

The concept of backing up data is not new. Yet it remains one of the most neglected security precautions that can be taken.

Damage related to cybercrime, including ransomware and crypto-jacking will reach $6 billion annually. A vital tool to protect companies from disaster is regular backup programs.

A cyber attack may not be the cause of the problem. Anything from a natural disaster to an office location change may require you to perform a complete system restore. In this case, you will need a trustworthy business and production continuity plan.

7. Operating System Optimization

Operating systems are constantly evolving. Updates bring security enhancements and new features. However, they can also cause systems to slow down and include features that are not desired under company policy.

Managed IT systems can enhance and optimize your system so that the operating system works more quickly and is free of unwanted software. This can be ensured regardless of the operating system.

8. Network Connectivity

Companies globally rely on higher up-load/download speeds than ever before. both wired and wireless connections need to work as efficiently as possible to keep up.

Infrastructure may be solid, but unless it is maintained and troubleshooting regularly performed, it may regularly underachieve. A reliable IT management company can diagnose problems in either wired or wireless systems and provide either fixes or recommendations to bring the network up to speed.

Next Level IT Support

If you are a medium-sized business in the New York area you will know that competition builds expectations in business. Any downtime due to technical issues is lost time and money for your business.

We make it our aim to take ownership of our client’s technical problems and diagnose and address them with the minimum impact on your service. We look to provide solutions that do not only solve problems but also enhance your services.

If you are looking for next-level IT support, why not check out our blog or contact us to see how we can help you.