Network Support: Everything You Need to Know

IT support companies

The internet has changed everything about how we conduct our lives, including how we run our businesses. These days, companies handle everything from project collaboration to customer sales through digital channels. 

We pay employees, search for new job candidates, conduct meetings with clients, attend training seminars, launch marketing campaigns, and communicate with coworkers through the internet.

All of this connectivity means your company needs to have an excellent digital network in place. 

If your business operates in the Southern California area, hiring a managed IT services Los Angeles based company can help you find the best solutions for your company and keep them up to date so you can stay ahead of the competition. 

Read on to learn more about network support services and the benefits they can bring to your company.

What are the Basics of Computer Networks?

Before we get into all the benefits of outsourced technical support, let’s talk some about the basics of computer networks. 

In simplest terms, a computer network is a system of connected machines that can be used to share information, files, and communication. The most common computer network you likely interact with on a daily basis is the Internet.

Computer networks can be made up of a number of different components. This may include servers, routers, computers, printers, phones, tablets, and even lighting systems.

In today’s era of smart technology, refrigerators, ovens, washers, dryers, and other such appliances can be part of a network. These devices can communicate through a system of copper wires or fiber optic cables. They may also use wireless solutions like Bluetooth and the telephone network.

What Is Network Support?

Now that we know a little more about what computer networks are, what is network support and why is it important? 

As you might guess from the name, network support is a service that helps to maintain and update a computer network. A network support specialist may work on any piece of a network, from the individual devices to the system itself.

In the business world, network support services help companies to maintain the computer systems that keep them running. As we’ll discuss more, this may involve everything from setting up computers for new employees to handling network crashes. 

Having the right network IT support team could make a huge difference in your company’s productivity and success.

Upgrade to a Standardized System

One of the biggest advantages of working with a network support team is that you can set up a standardized system for your company. When you devise a network installation plan on your own or – worse yet – let your employees set up their own systems, you get a thousand different versions of the same system.

This makes it almost impossible to implement new solutions without redesigning everyone’s system. And it’s quite difficult to communicate efficiently in non-standard systems.

A network support team knows the gold standards for the computer industry and can help you set up a system that complies with those standards. 

Your team will be able to communicate better since they’ll all be working on identical versions of the same system. And you’ll avoid any unusual setups that can lead to more network crashes or downtime.

Improve Your Security

Cybersecurity is an incredibly important issue for any business operating in the modern world. Everything from hiring and payroll to product development and marketing happens through computers. Keeping your network secure could be critical to keep you at the top of your industry.

Unfortunately, as fast as developers are coming up with new security measures, hackers are coming up with new ways to evade them. Your network support team will be up-to-date on the latest and greatest in cybersecurity. This can help you prevent costly cyberattacks and keep your information secure.

Handle Computer Setup

When you hire a new employee, one of the first things you’ll need to do is to get them set up with a computer system. 

They’ll need the physical hardware setup – the monitor, a printer, and so on – in addition to account access to all relevant areas of your network. But do you really want to ask one of your other employees to take time out of their work to set up that system?

Locally, finding a company in your area like a West Hollywood IT support company can more easily handle computer setup for you because they reside close by, avoiding costly productivity losses and travel times. 

They can make sure the new system fits into the standards your company adheres to and grant your new team member access to all the appropriate programs and information. They can even get the printers hooked up and everything ready for your new hire to transition smoothly into their role.

Improve Productivity

You might be surprised to learn that working with a network support team can actually help to improve your overall company productivity. 

For one thing, your team won’t have to dedicate their time to handling problems with your network anymore. They can focus on doing the jobs you hired them to do and keeping customers happy.

But your network support team can also suggest ways to make your system work more efficiently. 

They might be able to configure a network that moves faster or interacts more natively with the system you’re running. Or they may be able to find solutions that provide more of the functionality you need with less hassle.

Troubleshoot Daily Issues

No matter how strong a system you build, problems are going to arise from time to time. If you have the proper precautions in place, you should be able to avoid most major network disasters. 

But every now and then, a team member will have trouble connecting to the program they need to or your printer will go on the fritz.

A local IT support team can help to troubleshoot these problems to get your team back up and running faster. For one thing, they have the expertise to recognize common problems and know how to solve them. And since network support is their primary role, they can resolve the problem while your other team members focus on other aspects of their job.

Resolve Larger Network Problems

In addition to small daily hiccups, your company may also find that your network setup has larger structural issues. You may outgrow your setup, or a new technology may come on the market that could transform your daily operations. 

No matter the reason, you may find yourself coping with larger network issues that are much more complex than a printer that won’t connect.

Your IT services team will be able to guide you through these transitions and help you find a solution that works better for you. 

If you decide you need to upgrade to a new system, they can advise you during that process and design a system that fits your needs. And if you need to make changes to your current system, they can implement those with the least amount of disruption for your team.

Reduce Downtime

We all know how frustrating it can be when the network goes down or runs slowly, but did you know it can cost your company a lot of money too? 

Let’s say each of your employees spends an hour a week fighting with the network instead of being able to focus on their work. If you have just ten employees who make $35,000 a year each, you could lose about $12,000 a year on downtime alone.

Having a good network support team can help you to reduce these costs and keep your network running more consistently. In addition to resolving issues quickly when they arise, they can help to identify the problems that are slowing down your team members every day. They can address these and keep things running smoothly and without a hitch.

Lower Operations Costs

You might be surprised to learn that hiring an outsource technical support company could actually help to save your company money. It is true that you’ll have to pay for these services, but the relative costs (which we’ll discuss more later) will still put you in the black at the end of the day. Let’s look again at our example of a ten-person company whose employees all make $35,000 a year.

Normal daily slowdowns will cost your company $12,000 a year, and if you have just twenty hours of total network downtime in the year, that will account for another $3,500. 

You can expect to pay far less than that for professional network support. And this is without accounting for the money you save by not having to run your own network support department.

Stay Up to Date

As you may have gathered from some of the points we’ve already talked about, keeping your network up to date is very important. Maintaining an updated network can improve everything from your security to your efficiency. But trying to keep up with all the latest developments in computer networks can be time-consuming.

Your tech support team, however, can dedicate the time needed to stay abreast of the constantly changing tech world. They can let you know about new opportunities when they arise and make a plan for implementing them in your workplace. They can also filter out solutions that won’t work for your company so you can focus on running your business, knowing your network is in expert hands.

Address Your Hardware Needs

Have you ever tried to buy a personal computer and found yourself lost in reviews within the first ten minutes? Knowing what hardware you need can be a complicated process even when you’re buying just one computer. How will you know when you need a repeater hub versus a protocol converter?

A good IT support company can help you get all the hardware you need to run a reliable system. They’ll know which components you need, what the best options for each component are, and how to set them all up properly. 

They can also advise you when different pieces of hardware need to be upgraded and help you manage that in a way that works for your budget.

Costs

So how much will it cost you to get a network support team that can provide you all these wonderful benefits? Your network support costs will vary depending on where your company is based out of, how much support you need, and so on. But there are some general price ranges that can give you a general sense of how much to expect to pay.

If you only want desktop computer management, you should expect to pay around $50 a computer. 

Server management should cost you about $250 per month per server you’re maintaining. 

And if you want full network support, you can expect to pay somewhere around $300 a month, with additional fees for added services.

Discover the Benefits of Outsourced Certified Technical Support 

Getting network support for your company can be one of the best ways to improve productivity and save you lost time and money. 

An offsite tech support team can help you find the best solutions for your company and keep your systems up to date. They can handle network problems when they arise, improve the overall function of your network, and save you a lot of money on downtime costs.

If you’d like to discover the benefits of network support services for yourself, check out the rest of our site at Be Structured Technology Group. 

We provide responsive IT services in Los Angeles, IT consulting, and managed IT services. Schedule a consultation with us today and discover the joy of working with an award-winning Los Angeles IT support firm.

 

About Chad Lauterbach

CEO at Be Structured Technology Group, Inc. a Los Angeles based provider of Managed IT Services for small business. I desire to help small businesses better utilize technology by assisting in high level planning to make sure that new systems will benefit them both operationally and financially. I am careful to implement and support systems using industry best practices.