Fluid Does Managed Services
Managed Services Going Big for Business
One of the issues facing business today is the need for better, more pro-active management of all systems. Keeping up to date on patches, monitoring back-ups, maintaining current Anti-virus and Spyware as well as making sure all-important servers and the network do not fail are critical to companiess trying to keep their people working. Most small to medium-sized businesses simply wait for a problem to occur before they take action...which usually results in a hefty bill along with significant lost revenue, productivity, and even data information.
Business today recognizes technology is no longer just about whose server you bought or which manufacturer you like for your PCs and printers; it's much more about building and managing an intricate communications system working together and managed as one. When you introduce new VOIP and Video solutions to the mix the need for greater compatibility, management, and accountability is most apparent.
Managed Services Addresses these Issues
Starting beginning of Q4, 2008, Fluid Networks is making a large investment in a new Managed Services Platform which will help take the guess work out of what's going on in your network. What is Managed Services? We're glad you asked. Here's a quick run-down of what Fluid Networks will be offering our customers:
- Total Server Monitoring and Management
For a set monthly fee Fluid Networks will monitor your server (even virtual servers) and historically track performance matrix which will identify any potential issues before they become debilitating. When a server is going to fail there are usually signs like dwindling drive space, drive or fan errors, low or bad memory, services failing to start, and so on, which can each clue you in on an inevitable failure. The key is having a reliable mechanism to track these network elements and alert you when they become critical. If an issue arises, a Fluid engineer can immediately, automatically be assigned to work to resolve the issue...even before you or your users even know there's a problem.
- Automatic Patch, Anti-Virus, License and Backup Management
Are your Servers and PCs truly up to date? Are you sure the patches Microsoft has just released are necessary? Will they cause a problem if you install them? Are your backups working properly? These are some of the constant concerns for business owners and managers who want to ensure the law of unintended consequences do not bite them. Our MSP platform enables us to "approve" new patches before they are rolled out, and then automatically deploy them to your network seamlessly.
- Administrative Task automation
Our new Managed Services Platform will allow us to automate many administrative tasks such as generating printer mappings at boot-up, rolling out software updates, applying uniformity across desktops, applying security elements to PCs and laptops, etc. If a critical server application or service fails, we can be alerted, Yes, but we can also have a script automatically restart the service or application to ensure the failure is not disruptive. This ultimately results in less Technician Time saving you money.
- Monitor your bandwidth and Network performance
Know for a fact when network performance is being hampered by over utilization or other issues. Make more informed decisions about what changes need to be made to make the most positive impact.
- Remote Maintenance on PCs and Servers without interupting the Users
Fluid Networks engineers can remotely administer a PC without disturbing the user. We can see in real-time what processes are utilizing what resources while the user works. Reports of "slow performance" can easily be diagnosed and solved with minimal or no user impact. If the user simply requires some assistance, an engineer can remotely access his/her PC in order to provide the little extra hand-holding, too. Most user issues can be resolved without an expensive truck-roll, saving your business money by minimizing expensive on-site service calls. Just pay the more affordable, monthly maintenance fee on said device and rest easy knowing you are protected.
- Staff can request Service from Anywhere
If a user requires assistance, he/she can ask for help on our website and an engineer can drop right on to their PC no matter where they are located. This is great for road warriors and other "outside" staff who need aid when they are out of the office.
- Management Portal and Ticketing System
You have access to our customer network management portal where you and/or your IT staff can see at a glance your network health. You can see any tickets already generated or you can open new ones. It's all designed to ensure you are comfortable in the fact Fluid Networks is effectively managing your IT needs. If you have an in-house IT staff, we can even open up our back-end systems to them so they can better serve your users...All the while keeping everybody in the loop.
- Monthly Executive Reports
Monthly reports get emailed to you showing overall network health and giving a high level overview of any issues worked on that month. More detailed reports can be set-up and sent out when you need them as well.
Call (805.856.1807) or email us today to find out how the Fluid | MSP platform can help you cut IT costs and increase overall network health.