How to deliver GOOD IT support globally

Technology is paramount to today's working environment and the knowledge is constantly evolving.

BPS World have offices in the UK and internationally, including Europe and the US and to deliver GOOD IT support for the company it is important to ensure there is always a solution in place ready to deal with the inevitable IT issues which will arise. Working on a “preventative” basis is more proactive way on managing IT support as opposed to working reactively. There are various ways in which to do this:

In our UK offices, we have a LAN (Local Area Network) setup allowing the offices to be on the same network enabling our computers to talk to each other. The computers share network drives that house our vital files and documents which are used to access our Customer Relationship Management systems. For our international offices, we adopt a VPN (Virtual Private Network) which will allow users to access our network and the shared drives without being connected to our network allowing them to always have access wherever they are located.

GOOD IT support involves running monthly checks on the systems and ensuring there is always enough storage space on our network drives to enable the systems to run efficiently.  It is important to keep up to date with information on what data has been saved and remove any redundant files and folders so storage space is always available.  Ensuring everyone’s accounts are up to date is a necessity as there is flexibility within the teams.  When a member moves to a different team they need to have all the accesses in place so the transition is seamless and no delays are incurred. 

Integral to BPS World's communication style is VOIP technology (Voice Over Internet Protocol) which uses platforms like Skype allowing people to speak across the internet. We have adopted this technology and have incorporated a VOIP telephony system call Ring Central which enables team members to have access to their work number from their mobile phones and laptops removing the need for a desk phone. GOOD Visual communication is essential for multiple offices, we are able to connect and interact with each other which allows us to still work as a team regardless of the distance.

Always have spare equipment in the offices. This might sound like obvious advice but it is essential. If hardware were to break having spare kit readily available ensures no time is lost and people can continue working. For example, If a laptop were to break a spare one can be built and sent to another office the same day so any disruption is kept to a minimum.  GOOD IT support is about keeping any work disturbances to a low rate and fixing problems quickly.

As 1^st Line Support I can only be in one place at a time however I can be “virtually” in every office by using remote support tools like TeamViewer. This allows me to manually take over a user’s machine so any issues with the computers can be fixed without the need to travel to them.  This is extremely useful and allows me to spend time fixing the issue rather than talking a colleague through the steps over the phone. This saves valuable time for myself and my colleagues who do not to interrupt their working day to take instructions on how to sort the problem out.

When a new team members joins the organisation, I manage the set up of their account a week in advance. It is important to allow time to manage the account and make sure they have access to the correct files, emails and that their VPN is in place so they are ready to start working. The new team members usually spend a week at our Head Office so I can give them any necessary training in situations where this is not possible the training sessions can be conducted remotely using our conferencing system which allows me to share screens and documents.

The ability to work remotely ensures GOOD IT support can be delivered to all our offices and a high standard of support can be maintained.

Do you have any tips on how to manage IT support across multiple offices you would like to share?

For further information please contact Lee Bennett on 01628 664727 or lee.bennett@bps-world.com