Core IT Services

The question is never if hardware fails, but quite simply when does it fail. As a golden rule you can adopt the answer: “whenever it is most inconvenient”.

While there is no cast-iron guarantee that your PCs will escape disaster, the chances are greatly improved with Preventive Maintenance (PM). PM involves care for and servicing of equipment in regular intervals in order to keep equipment working and/or extend the life of the equipment. 

At MiT Ltd. we offer the following maintenance models:

• pay-per-call: the customer pays the hourly rate according to the time spent on the job. Minimum billable time is 0.5 hours.
• pre-paid block of hours: the customer pays for 5, 10 or 25 hours in advance at a reduced hourly rate, the hours bought will be worked down to 0. Unused hours are transferrable to the next billing year. Includes a guaranteed response time.
• monthly retainer: usually for recurring services e.g. included backup, cleanup... for the monthly payment the customer can claim services for up to the agreed number of hours per month. Includes a guaranteed response time.

We can help you to decide on what model is the right one foryour organisation by discussing the ups and downs with you.  

When things do go wrong this kicks in. Depending on the type of problem we can provide an on-site service to get things going again or log in remotely to sort out the problem

Having a proper network infrastructure in place can make a huge difference for any organisation.

The main advantage of a network is that computers can share information and resources.
A computer network can store more data than a stand-alone computer.
This is great if you have a business because your employees can exchange vital information easier.
A departmental printer can be more efficient than standalone printers for every PC.

Even for the advanced home user a network can be an interesting option as far as convenience, availability of resources and data security are concerned. With wireless networks or powerline networking you won’t even have to drill holes to run dozens of meters of cable.

If you have accidentally deleted a file or your computer won't turn on and you need your files, we can assist you getting them back. Following these recommendations greatly improves your chance of retrieving your data:

• stop everything and don’t do anything that can make a bad situation worse 
• you should make a note about any error message or take a picture of the screen with a camera / phone
• shut the machine down as quickly and as safely as possible and leave it turned off 
• for assistance if unsure about any of these steps call us immediately on 087-6382240 

In most cases information can be retrieved, sometimes this can be very slow process taking a few days depending on the amount of damaged data.

IT-Disasters do come in different flavours, but, be assured, they DO come!

Examples

When did you do your last backup?

ahhh....works every time.

Given the choice a lot of people would rather watch paint dry instead of doing a backup.

While we perfectly understand that there are more entertaining activities than backing up your PC we can only give you one solution: It HAS to be done. Common misconceptions about backups are:

• they take ages - not so, while the first (master) backup might take some time, everything after depends on how productive you have been since the last backup, only a few Word documents, a couple of photos and the odd spreadsheet can be backed up in a matter of a few minutes.
• they are expensive - that used to be the case when backups where still done on tape machines requiring several tape cassettes.
• while the backup is running no work can be done - a matter of scheduling, running it during the lunch break is a sensible choice and does not upset the day

The solution often lies in one of the following options:

• automate the whole process - this involves usually a backup strategy employing a sophisticated set-up of hardware and software, a trial- & error phase for installation, configuration & adjustment of a suitable software package. Once up and running you only need to remember to change the backup medium every now and then (well, every day, to be honest...)

• outsource the process to a company - here we would recommend extreme care and a good read of the fine print, remember, it is your data you’re handing over to somebody for safekeeping.

• do a so-called offsite data backup over the Internet (Cloud Backup) - affordable and usually reliable

• implement a network solution that frees the individual from manually backing up - probably the best solution for businesses.

sometimes a backup solution can be VERY simple, just a USB-Flashdisk (aka Memory-Stick) and some software: affordable, reliable, mobile.

In general it is a good idea to have the backup-data somewhere else than the original data sets. Just in case there is a fire, or flooding, or the house collapses, what chance would your tapes or CDs have, if even the PC in it’s solid metal casing didn’t make it?

At MiT Ltd. we can provide the right solution for your company.

Infections by a virus or other malicious software are sometimes extremely difficult to remove. 

Without thorough knowledge about the way software interacts with hardware you simply don’t stand a chance to get rid of the buggers. Quick reaction is of the essence to avoid cross-infection via network or internet.

Remember, you have a business reputation to defend, having a PC that sends infected e-mails or endangers the IT systems of other organisations will do that reputation no favour.

OK, the new shiny PC is up and running, but all data still reside on that old lemon there in the corner?

That is a bit of a problem, but, nothing that can’t be fixed.

Provided the hard disk on the old PC is free of errors we can copy data via a network or an external hard disk to the new PC in a way, that it looks and operates just like the old one did.

It will be just a lot faster, we usually do not get complaints about that...

In the boot and off to the recycling centre, job done!

Really?

What about data on the harddisk? Confidential customer data, emails, bank details, credit card information, proposals, estimates and other business data that could reveal a lot about how your business is run? Is that really a good idea to just dump it, not knowing, who might get access to those data?

MiT can take care of that problem either by physically destroying the storage device or by sanitising it according to DOD standards, which guarantees, that data can not be recovered.