Tackling IT problems before they happen

Oct 8 2008 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

SIMON ALBERT is co-founder and director of The PC Support Group, specialising in providing high-quality computer support to small businesses and home users.

Its approach, monitoring systems and helping prevent problems before they occur, has received rave reviews, and it has grown quickly from its Merseyside roots to now operate in a number of locations throughout the UK. This was his day:

6-7am: I usually wake up at about 6.30am and check my Blackberry. Sometimes there will be automated early-warning alerts from our system highlighting issues with a client’s computer or there may be an email from a franchisee, client or colleague out of hours asking for my input or help with something.

7.30-9am: Before leaving home, I get online and look at the support requests that have come in during the past 24 hours. We have a superb system for monitoring and tracking every customer request so I know exactly what’s happening.

9-10am: Into our head office in Crosby. See the team – some who will have already been dealing with customer queries.

10-11am: Over to Warrington to join one of our franchisees on a visit to see a possible new client. The potential new client has four offices around the UK and has outgrown their existing IT provider. They are looking to take on an IT company that can provide a local service to each of their regional offices.

11am-12pm: On the way back, there are plenty of calls to make. Our north west London franchisee needs to discuss a business opportunity, and one of the Merseyside engineers needs to discuss a challenging technical problem that needs resolving.

12-2pm: Lunch at the Crowne Plaza with Phil Bird, my business partner and co-founder of The PC Support Group, where we meet a data recovery specialist company to discuss a possible partnership. We already provide the service especially for small businesses, but we’re always looking at how we can offer more.

2-4pm: Interview with a potential new franchisee who is looking to take on the Edinburgh region. We know that our success depends on getting great people on board, so we’re pretty tough.

It’s always a thrill when we meet just the right type of person with enthusiasm, drive, customer facing skills and technical ability. An emergency text comes in from the support desk towards the end of the meeting.

A key client has lost their server and no-one can work – the team is onto it. Back-ups are intact and diagnostics are under way.

This is a prime example of how our aim is to remove any IT problems. Similarly, we are always monitoring systems so we can alert clients to any potential problems before they have even happened.

4-5pm: Back to the office. Emergency over. The root cause has been found. We’re relieved that this client has taken our fully managed back-up solution so the support team has been able to recover the critical files needed. Clear outstanding emails and telephone calls.

6-9pm: Back home, I work on an IT proposal, breaking for dinner with the family, and check there are no new emails or technical queries from the engineers and franchisees.