SNC – Frequently Asked Questions

We can provide most IT related services, from laying a network inside your building to hosting your entire IT infrastructure in a secure data centre and providing worldwide 24x7, 365 access and support to your offices, servers and applications. Away from mainstream hardware, servers, networking and IT we also have a dedicated Telecoms team that help clients source telephone and high-speed data lines. We also deliver and support leading edge telephone systems. Please browse our website or contact us for more information.

SNC speciailises in providing IT support to established businesses with 10 users and above, where the company has multiple sites or anything other than standard desktop/server IT requirements. We can act as a total outsourcing partner providing all of your IT services. Alternatively, we can act as a second line IT support team if you have an individual or small team in-house that have the skills to answer the majority of frontline queries. In this instance our role becomes more strategic and advisory or calls on our relationships with major authors and vendors to get to the route of an issue and resolve it in the fastest possible time. We offer everything from standard 09:00-17:30 desktop support packages to full 24x7, 365 days per year support covering international offices and providing critical recovery solutions in the event of a system failure. For more information, please visit the support section of the website.

The IT support packages we offer are always tailored to the client’s requirements and so we don’t have a ‘list price’. There are some costs that we base calculations on i.e. X per desktop and Y per server but the reality is most companies want a much wider, bespoke package. Many clients choose our fixed price IT support which provides a service for a pre-agreed price month in, month out, assuming your requirements stay the same. This approach helps businesses budget accordingly and avoids nasty surprises in the shape of large one-off invoices. If you would like a quotation or guide prices, please contact us today with a list of your requirements and we will be pleased to help you.

Proactive server monitoring is a useful tool and we use it as standard for all of our clients. By installing a piece of software on your server, we can monitor it constantly from our support centre. Above our support desk we have a series of large screens which show the status of every server we look after. At-a-glance we can see if a server has failed completely, has not backed up correctly, has lost its internet connection or is running low on memory. In most cases we know that you have a problem with your server before you do. We can also use our monitoring tools to pre-warn us of anything that is likely to happen, such as low disk space or memory issues. We reassure clients that all that server monitoring does is 'watch' your server, and we do not and will not track, collect or access any of the data you have stored on your hardware. The server monitoring system we use can also help us identify other issues. For instance when we have clients located geographically near to one another we can immediately identify whether an internet connection issue is isolated to an individual client or whether it is a service outage in that particular area. Ultimately, the simple answer is yes, Proactive Server Monitoring is a great tool and we highly recommend it to all clients.

There is only one answer to this – YES. In fact you will most probably find that your insurance policies are invalid without one! A disaster recover plan does not have to be all-consuming, but it does need to reflect what you perceive to be the risks to your IT infrastructure. We can help you write and deliver a tailored plan which we regularly revisit (and every so often put to the test).

We only work with branded components such as Dell, Microsoft, HP, Avaya etc. The simple reason is they are easier to support, we know we can source replacement parts now and in the future and also these systems normally have a return to base warranty. Warranty means that even though we are supporting your business' use of that hardware, there is someone in the background ultimately able to support the machine itself, which is peace of mind for you.

Absolutely not. The IT market seems to be heading towards Cloud for the delivery of most services and there are lots of benefits in using Cloud or Hosted solutions, but that does not make it right for all businesses. Where we believe the Cloud should form part of your IT strategy we will set this out and explain our reasons for that recommendation - but ultimately the choice is yours. At this stage we have not seen anything in the market move solely to Cloud or Hosted options and so you can still base your entire IT solution at your premises. This is likely to change and when it does we will be on hand to advise you accordingly, but for now you have the benefit of choice. We would certainly recommend that you consider the Cloud when looking at your future IT requirements and maybe even consider a hybrid solution as an interim step, but we would never force a client down a particular path as we understand some of the sensitivities and restrictions when using Cloud solutions.

We are real people and the support service we offer is delivered by a skilled team of highly experienced professionals. As we support a number of clients in various cities and countries of the world it is more efficient for us to deliver the majority of our services from our main support centre. The team also have a range of tools and resources on offer to them at HQ which makes it easier for them to deliver support services. However, some elements of support demand a physical presence on site and so on these occasions, or when we are carrying out any proactive services or commissioning of new systems, one of the team will be available at your offices. We always try to minimise on site work so as not to disrupt your working day (and also to keep the cost of support as low as possible for you) but we also appreciate that sometimes it is reassuring to see a face. It is important to note that our on-site and remote support is delivered by the same team and so it is likely you will meet the team that you regularly speak to and who have an intrinsic knowledge of your particular network.

If you need to contact our Customer Services Team they are available during normal Business Hours on 0808 168 0412.

Our Customer Services Team are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week, 365 days per year to assist with a lost or stolen telephone In the UK please call 0808 168 0412 From overseas please call +44 207 183 3744

If you purchase a phone, providing it is on our approved list, there will be no problem with installing your SIM card into the device. However, it is very important that you advise SNC immediately of your new IMEI so that in the event of your phone/mobile device being lost or stolen we can not only place a bar on the SIM Card but also the handset too.