Bells IT Support

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5 Ways to Implement Effective IT Support in your Business

Technology is driving much of the world today and effective IT support is increasingly crucial for businesses seeking to maintain a competitive edge. Amidst this, there are increasing threats to the IT infrastructure of companies across the world, with an upward trend in both the severity and frequency of cyber-attacks both here in the UK and globally. 

A trustworthy, proactive and reliable IT support team is essential for sustainining and enhancing productivity, minimising downtime, deploying new systems seamlessly, and guaranteeing data security. Here are five tips that you can use to improve the overall efficiency and streamline your IT support functions in your business.  

 

Proactive Monitoring and Maintenance

IT issues can appear to come out of nowhere and cause disruption to operations and the employee experience. Proactive monitoring and maintenance is therefore a key way to anticipate problems and resolve them before they can wreak havoc on your operations. A business can implement robust monitoring tools for their IT infrastructure and conduct regular system health checks to do this. This positive, active approach enables support teams to anticipate issues, apply necessary updates and patches, and prevent potential disruptions to business operations. 

 

Clear Communication Channels 

One of the key elements that contribute to successful IT support, is clear communication channels. The importance of this cannot be understated, as improving communication translates into speedier issue resolution, streamlining of processes, and increased trust and rapport within teams. If there is something of a disconnect between IT support and your wider team, whether in the form of delayed responses or unnecessarily long back and forths, then creating clear communication channels should be prioritised to expedite issue resolution and minimise impact on your workflows. 

One way in which you can do this is by using multichannel communication. Different users have different preferences when it comes to communication channels. To accommodate various communication preferences, support teams should offer multiple channels for reaching out to them. This flexibility ensures that users can easily and comfortably communicate their issues, allowing for quicker problem resolution. Alongside this, having communication channels and methods that facilitate sharing of useful information, such as a form, or the ability to send screen captures or diagnostics, can provide the detail that support teams need to resolve IT problems with less repititious communication.  

By leveraging a combination of communication channels and methods for communicating information, IT support teams can cater to diverse user needs and provide a seamless support experience. 

 

Knowledge Base and Self-Service Options 

If it is possible for your team to resolve IT issues alone, such as following a set of instructions, this drives efficiency and saved time for your organisation. Often, these kinds of self-resolvable issues are recurring and happen to more than one person.  

Practically, you can offer easy access to step-by-step guides, FAQs, and tutorials, which can reduce the volume of repetitive support requests and allow IT support staff to focus on more complex tasks. A well-maintained knowledge base not only increases efficiency but also promotes user satisfaction by providing immediate solutions to common problems. 

Imagine a mid-sized company with their own dedicated IT support team. They find out that a large portion of their support requests involve simple IT issues such as password resets, software installations, and email configuration. To address this opportunity to save time and empower their staff, the company decides to develop a comprehensive knowledge base that is accessible to all employees. They create an online portal where employees can access step-by-step guides, FAQs, and video tutorials that cover a range of common IT issues. 

Employees can now leverage this knowledge base to troubleshoot basic IT problems independently. Instead of waiting for a password reset, an employee could search for the “Password Reset” guide and follow the instructions there. These guides should outline the steps and include screenshots to ensure clarity, empowering employees to resolve IT issues where they can.  

 

Employee Training and Awareness 

Effective IT support also involves training and awareness that empowers the team to leverage their IT infrastructure effectively and securely. We recommend spending some time on educating users, whether its sessions introducing new functionalities or software, or cybersecurity awareness training to enhance threat detection and prevention. By aligning your people with your systems, IT support enhances its effectiveness by empowering users to leverage their technology productively and autonomously in their work.  

 

Continuous Improvement and Feedback 

Some of the best feedback will come from service users both in explicit and implicit (I.e behavioural) forms, which can be used to drive improvements across the IT systems in your business. Review and analyse support ticket data consistently to recognise reoccurring issues as well as potential for improvement, and encourage feedback mechanisms like forms, to generate actionable insights for improvement. Alongside these benefits, implementing continuous improvement and using feedback also demonstrates a commitment to excellent IT support.  

 

Summary  

Effective IT support is critical for businesses seeking to thrive in today’s technology-driven landscape. By implementing proactive monitoring, establishing clear communication channels, providing self-service options, investing in employee training, and seeking continuous improvement, organisations can optimise their IT support capabilities. By implementing these tips, you can streamline processes, enhance productivity, and minimise downtime, enabling your business to focus more on its core activities, backed by reliable and efficient IT support.  

 

Ready to take your business to the next level? 

Contact Bells IT Support, Dartford’s top IT support company for SMEs. We provide a range of IT services, from managed IT to business telephony and project management. Our team takes a proactive approach to each of our managed service offerings, with solutions tailored to your business needs and budget. We are committed to providing strategic solutions to our clients and building business partnerships based on sincerity and trust. Partnering with us means access to expert tech solutions grounded in business reality and a firm commitment to cyber security best practices. Contact us today to learn more. 

Infinity Fitness UK LTD

  • Size: SME | < 20 Employees | 2 locations
  • Industry: Fitness

Infinity Fitness approached Bells IT in 2018 after being recommended by other clients for our services. They were looking for new connectivity and voice solutions for their facility in Kent. They were due to open another centre within a few months and wanted the ability of standardising their WiFi and calls for cross-gym memberships. Infinity Fitness learned about our services within CCTV, Help Points, Alarms and other services and quickly decided that we were the right team for them.

We designed a WiFi an voice solution that was quickly implemented at both sites for the use of staff, members and coffee shop users. Bells IT also supported the door access and CCTV installations. We have developed a long relationship with Infinity Fitness and are providing the on going support for all solutions. For Infinity Fitness, Bells IT Provided the following solutions:

  • Technology (All Solutions)
  • Connectivity and Voice
    • Hosted Telephony
    • FTTC Connections (Multiple)
    • FTTPoD Connection
    • ADSL AnnexM Connection
  • Security Solutions
    • CCTV
    • Anti-Virus
    • Security Firewalls
    • Email Security
    • Door Access

Evergreen Care Bexley

  • Size: Charity | < 20 Employees | 1 Location
  • Industry: Community Care

Evergreen were introduced to Bells IT Support by a mutual client. Evergreen decided to appoint Bells IT Support as their go-to IT department. Evergreen Care required an email migration to Microsoft Office 365 while using all available charitable licenses. Bells IT Support have also deployed a new private cloud for Evergreen Care to store their data and database. This ensures that their IT is kept up-to-date and secure.

Solutions currently provided by Bells IT Support

  • Technology (All Solutions)
  • Security Solutions
    • Anti-Virus

Evergreen care provides an invaluable service to the elderly community with Bexley and Bromley. They rely heavily on support from local community funding and from volunteers. If you are able to assist this great local charity, please do so by going to their website. HTTPS://WWW.EVERGREENCAREBEXLEY.ORG/

DWG Group

  • Size: SME | < 50 Employees | 1 Location
  • Industry: Construction

DWG Group have been a long-standing client of Bells IT Support. Bells IT Support initially started working with DWG Group in 2014 when they were looking to expand and required a server. We proposed a few options and decided the best solution was to provide a small business server, keeping email and files in-house with 4-hourly backups and a daily offsite backup. DWG grew and decided to take on more of the services that Bells had to offer, such as on-premise telephony utilising the Avaya products and more recently our CCTV and Alarm offerings. DWG have now moved to a cloud-based email using the Office 365 infrastructure with an up to date onsite server.

DWG currently use Bells IT Support for the following solutions:

  • Technology (All Solutions)
  • Connectivity and Voice
    • On-Premise Telephony
    • FTTC Connection
    • EFM Circuit
    • ISDN Circuits
  • Security Solutions
    • CCTV
    • Alarm
    • Anti-Virus
    • Security Firewalls
    • Email Security

CSCS

  • Size: SME | < 20 Employees | 1 Location
  • Industry: Construction, Health and Safety

CSCS contacted Bells IT Support in 2017 after putting their technology requirements out to tender. Bells IT Support placed a tender and met with the board to discuss their requirements and produce a plan of different options to understand what was best for them. After a couple of meetings and discussing different options and how things would work going forward, CSCS knew that Bells IT Support were the right company for their needs. With the immediate changes approaching such as moving offices, server upgrades, telephony upgrades and the ability to reduce their IT support queries, Bells IT understood all of their requirements and discussed options and plans to suit their needs and budget, as well as delivering all services on-time.  With users now working globally, they are able to all function and work from anywhere.

 

Bells IT Support currently provide CSCS with the following solutions:

  • Technology (All Solutions)
  • Connectivity and Voice
    • Hosted Telephony
  • Security Solutions
    • Anti-Virus
    • Security Firewalls
    • Email Security
  • Digital Solutions
    • Copier Solutions
    • Video Conferencing

A testimonial from CSCS:

“Switching IT provider can be a daunting prospect for your business. What if something goes wrong and the business is impacted. However, during our first consultation with Bells IT we were sure that we were talking to the right people. The team at Bells are very knowledgeable and act professionally at all times. The actual migration was carried out seamlessly and much quicker than expected. Since switching to Bells IT our technical issues have significantly reduced, response times have greatly improved and our IT support costs have come down. Bells IT have surpassed our expectations.”

Carepoint Services LTD

  • Size: < 50 Employees | 4 Locations
  • Industry: Community Care

Carepoint Services began using Bells IT Support in 2016 after deciding to switch IT provider. Carepoint had a newly installed server and required some support for their staff and software. Bells IT support put a proposal together to support their end users, manage their server and maintain their backups. Over the last two years, Carepoint have grown into three new locations and have required more services from Bells IT. We have delivered a bespoke private cloud solution utilising Dell thin clients for access their servers in any office. Carepoint now have the peace of mind knowing that their servers are up-to-date and secured. This allows them to undertake bigger tenders and grow their business further.

 

Current solutions provided by Bells IT Support are:

  • Technology (All Solutions)
  • Connectivity and Voice
    • Hosted Telephony
    • FTTC Connections (Multiple)
    • Fibre Leased Line (Multiple)
  • Security Solutions
    • Anti-Virus
    • Security Firewalls
    • Email Security

Supreme Care Services

  • Size: > 65 Employees | 12 Locations
  • Industry: Community Care

Supreme Care Services first contacted Bells IT to discuss the support for their entire IT infrastructure. Supreme Care have an enterprise setup with 65 users spread across 12 sites. Upon our first discussions, Supreme Care felt that Bells IT was the right company to choose. After being left with unresolved issues from their previous IT company, they decided it was time to change. The system previously implemented included over 30 servers all for basic roles. Bells IT redesigned their infrastructure and have narrowed this down to jus 5 servers without any performance loss. A shift from on-premise exchange to Microsoft 365, reducing exchange licensing and the need for servers has allowed Supreme flexibility and better integration with their other core systems.

Since working with Supreme and building a growing relationship, Bells IT now supply manage the following solutions :

  • Technology (All Solutions)
  • Connectivity and Voice
    • Hosted Telephony
    • FTTC Connections (Multiple)
    • Fibre Leased Line (Multiple)
  • Security Solutions
    • Anti-Virus
    • Security Firewalls
    • Email Security

Rainbow Medical Services

  • Size: < 30 Employees | 1 Location
  • Industry: Specialized Care

Rainbow Medical Services were introduced to Bells IT after being recommended by another client. Based on the support and knowledge they received, they suggested we were the right company for their needs. After our first discussions, Rainbow Medical Services, who have staff in multiple countries, decided Bells IT were best to take over their services.

While reviewing the current setup for Rainbow, Bells IT have made suggestions to migrate their email to Microsoft 365, migrate their database to a cloud system and provide a new file server.

 

We are currently providing Rainbow Medical Services with Technology Solutions and Broadband Solutions.