Keeping it simple?
The New York Times recently posted an article (by Eric Sylvers) about mobile phone companies reducing the number of mobile Operating Systems that they choose to support technically.
“Two operating systems run more than 95 percent of the world’s computers, but dozens of systems are behind the 2.5 billion mobile phones in circulation”
One of things I find is that whilst there may only be two operating systems in mainstream, as soon as the machine is lifted out of the box and switched on, the operating system takes on a new form. This is why clients need IT support and it’s why we charge what we do for it. The role of IT providers is to be ahead of their game (exams, community etc…) in order to solve existing problems and offer businesses insight into future developments - it’s a tough job but it’s one where sometimes it’s useful to show the client the paddling legs of the calm and graceful swan once in a while.
“Having multiple systems is also time-consuming and costly for the carriers, which must configure the phones they sell.”
Sound familiar? So what do you do when you deploy desktops to a client? Lock it all down? Let them run wild on the network? Trying to get the balance between managing the network for the sake of security against letting users have some element of responsible freedom is a tough one and different for every business. You have to understand your client first to know what they want to do so that you offer them that ‘tailor-made solution’ most talk about.
Moreover, it is essential that you have some form of monthly reporting process available for your clients. If they are paying £500/month for your support then they don’t want to receive an monthly invoice as their only benefit. If you can’t add value by training them and they hardly hear from you because your efficiently supporting them remotely then you’re going to need to count up the calls and emails they make, multiple it by a rate and show them what a saving they’ve made by being billed a consistent monthly sum rather than the usual ‘break-fix’ charge.
Customers can be tricky and are usually the ones causing the IT errors! So everything you want them to do (or not) should be written down from the start (i.e. a user policy) so that when you get a call from the receptionist complaining that the PC they built themselves and tried adding to the network doesn’t work you can gently explain to them that what they have done is against their company policy and your support agreement. That’ll mean that they may not necessarily be your top priority but they will be added to the priority list which will be dealt with accordingly.
Keeping what we support, be it brandwise, who supplies us, who we support, and how we support (break fix and/or managed services) simple is key to keeping us sane. Using the correct documentation (like Karl’s or the Small Business Technology Assessment Toolkit) will help keep it clear in our heads and others and so you can feel a little less like you’re running to stand still.
Whilst your clients are your number one concern (and rightly so), they are relying on you to hold fast and maintain their network so that it’s secure, functional, and a benefit to the business. If they don’t understand why you are doing something and it’s for their own good, then you’re just going to have to explain why and show them how it benefits them. There may be two operating systems on the majority of machines, but once Vista and XP become personalised then it’s a whole new ball game that you’ll need to know how to referee! 