[image] Pro-active technical support

Managed services for reliable systems

Dedicated IT support is essential for a reliable computing environment… and to the growth and survival of your enterprise. Our Active Support plans combine professional CIO/CTO management with ongoing pro-active technical services… providing an outstanding value proposition for discerning customers of our Network Applications & Services and our Smart Business Computing approach.

[image] Avoiding failure

Avoid system failures, don't fix them

Many small and mid-size organizations feel professional IT support is an unnecessary or avoidable expense. They believe system failures are inevitable… and wrongly assume the cost to fix them when they happen will be small compared to paying for dedicated support services. In fact, the collateral and opportunity costs of IT failure for an enterprise of any size can be enormous.

"Emergency" remediation calls and a "break-fix" mentality are not part of a well-managed business computing environment. Good systems support practices are based on failure-prevention, not reacting to crises. Consequently, we avoid engagements for casual computer support.
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[image] Planning for reliability

Planning is everything

An effective program of IT systems management requires:

We provide Active Support options for customers of our Network Applications & Services. And for serious-minded organizations that recognize the value of Smart Business Computing, we can offer Active Support services that take a comprehensive approach to managing your total IT environment… at a cost that's comfortably affordable.
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[image] Delivering strategic value

Best practices, strategic value

Active Support gives your organization a full-time "virtual" IT department. Employing a structured model of best-practices for professional systems management, Active Support is based on:

If you are a forward-looking organization with more than 10 computer users… contact us today. We can develop a customized plan combining Active Support with Smart Business Computing to deliver a highly-reliable business computing environment… and help you maximize the strategic value of your Information Technology investment.
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Find out more…
Some IT spending statistics…

Median corporate IT spending across all industry sectors in the U.S. and Canada was 2% of revenue in 2006, according to Computer Economics 17th annual IT Spending and Staffing Study.

The 2% ratio was an increase from 1.7% in 2005, and above the 1.9% figure from 2004. In fact, the 2006 ratio was the highest level reached since 1997, when the ratio was 2.2%, during the build-up to Y2K.

The median growth in IT spending on a dollar basis across all respondents in 2006 was 4.1%, outpacing the 2005 U.S. GDP growth rate of 3.5%.

In 2006, IT spending growth was strongest in business services, where it showed a 9.7% increase over 2005, followed by healthcare, pharmaceuticals & medical devices, retail, and banking & finance organizations. IT spending was slowest growing, though still increasing, in the process manufacturing, utilities/energy, and wholesale distribution sectors.

Source: Computer Economics (July, 2006)

Active Support plan options…

Managing applications — the computer programs you use in your business — is a significant challenge.

When applications are deployed, updated or migrated on your computer systems, disruptions need to be minimized… and the process must be simple for your end-users.

Pre-production testing for a new or changed computer application is important… to ensure it works for you as intended, without problems.

Application management is just one of many defined service activities that can form part of your Active Support plan.