24/7 IT Support Without Breaking the Bank

IT systems support a wide variety of tasks in an organization—from general computer upkeep and backups to the maintenance of massive data centers, we expect IT services to be secure, functional, and constantly up and running. Sometimes, though, this doesn’t always happen. Any issue that manifests requires a quick resolution in order to maintain business operations and minimize downtime for your employees and customers. During traditional business hours, these issues are resolved with the knowledge of your dedicated IT staff. After-hours IT support, however, is a much different story.

Let’s take a look at the traditional solutions available for 24/7 IT support as well as a newer, budget-friendly option that’s changing the IT industry.

Traditional IT Solutions

For the most part, there are three very common solutions for organizations seeking 24/7 IT support. Which solution your organization chooses depends on your business offerings, your budget, and your clients’ expectations. These include:

• After-hours on-call escalation tree. When an issue arises after business hours, an employee or customer will contact IT and speak with the first member of an escalation tree, or a hierarchy of support members. Depending on the complexity of the issue, this staff member may either resolve the issue on the spot or, if necessary, escalate it to a more senior staff member. But because these staff members are on call, it may take time to reach them, thus delaying issue resolution. Furthermore, the number of people in the tree varies by organization, so if the issue is especially complex, it may need to wait until morning to be resolved, frustrating the employee or customer and potentially affecting their business.
• Dedicated on-call staff. A dedicated on-call IT staff member is typically the same person who handles after-hours issues. But unlike the technician in an escalation tree who can get help from other members of your team, an on-call representative has no other resources to lean on aside from their own knowledge and Internet research. Thus, issue resolution may be delayed,depending on the representative’s troubleshooting abilities. However, not only is it frustrating for an employee or customer to hear “I don’t know,” but it also gives them a poor impression of your organization, especially if your staff can’t answer critical IT questions like they’re supposed to.
• No support staff. Depending on your organization, you may opt against having 24/7 IT support. While this solution may be better for your wallet up front, if issues arise after hours, clients will have no one to turn to until the morning. Furthermore, this option leaves your organization vulnerable to malicious attacks overnight. If something were to happen, no one would be on staff to resolve or escalate the issue, leading to a much higher chance of damage to your business (or that of your client).

The Better Solution

An ideal solution for 24/7 IT support marries the convenience of the escalation tree with the dedicated knowledge of an on-call support technician. In this unique solution from CTI, your organization pays a monthly fee to receive the ability to have 24/7 support from the same, knowledgeable engineers in the form of an escalation tree. If that engineer encounters an issue they cannot resolve with their years of experience, they can escalate the issue up to four times, or until the problem is solved—with no downtime in between. These highly experienced engineers become an extension of your team, helping you increase time to issue resolution without busting your budget.

Regardless of your industry, IT operations run 24/7. As a result, it’s crucial for every organization to have support available all day and night. Contact us today for more information about how our 24/7 IT support specialists can fit within your budget.