IT Support Oakland</span

Oakland is one of the nation’s central technology hubs. Small and large businesses in Oakland continue to push the envelope in innovation across many industries, from technology and financial services to marketing and manufacturing. Considering all of the diversity of products and services coming out of Oakland, one thing ties all of these industries together. Every business in Oakland must exist digitally to succeed – and all businesses require IT support in Oakland.

Big enterprises in Oakland probably have in-house IT support teams. However, most small to mid-sized businesses are benefiting from outsourcing their IT Support. Today, like so many other digital industries, IT support can be carried out efficiently and affordably remotely.

In this article, we’re going to take a close look at IT support. We’ll explore IT support, what’s included, who needs it, why they need it, and a lot more. After you make your way through this article, you’ll be equipped to make an informed decision as to how you’d like to strategize your company’s IT support in Oakland.

 

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What is IT Support?

On the surface, IT support is an incredibly broad term. It refers to any assistance given with technology-related products and services. For most businesses, however, the role of an IT technical support engineer is to help monitor and maintain computer systems and networks across the organization.

Your IT support team is responsible for everything from the installation and configuration of computer systems, to the diagnostics of hardware and software, and navigating any challenges that arise.

IT support has evolved at the same rapid pace of the technology teams work with. Today’s IT support teams operate within a fast-paced, complex sphere of cutting-edge skills and real-time problem-solving. Any company using computers (which is all companies today) need to carefully consider their IT strategy to get the most out of their technology and minimize potential downtime when things don’t go as planned.

Technical support is not just about fixing problems but optimizing the usability and performance of every area within a system. An experienced IT support team creates roadmaps for businesses to stay up to date and secure for the long term.

 

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Why Do Businesses Need IT Support for Better Customer Service?

Whether you choose to have an onsite IT support team in Oakland or a remote team, every business today needs an experienced IT support team. We’ve already touched on what IT Support is, but now let’s take a closer look at why every company needs a good IT support team to ensure a good customer service experience.

Better Service for Clients

Nothing compromises your brand reputation more than technology that isn’t performing to today’s standards. With IT support, you’ll ensure your customers always receive the service they demand and expect. From perfect wireless connections and seamless live chat to easy in-store purchasing, IT support creates a customer experience your customers will enjoy and talk about.

Enhance Your Security

No matter what type of business you’re running, your data must be secured. It’s your responsibility to support your company data with reliable backup systems and strong cybersecurity. A good IT support team is the best way to secure sensitive information. IT assistance keeps your employees, customers, and company data secure while safeguarding your business against malicious cyber-attacks. If your data is ever lost, your IT support team will have a recovery system in place to retrieve lost files, so you’re never faced with embarrassing downtime.

 

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What are the Internal Benefits of IT Support in Oakland for Businesses?

IT Support Increases ROI and Saves Money

Hiring a remote IT support team in Oakland is best viewed as an investment. Unlike other investments, this is an investment that is guaranteed to bring a great ROI and cut company costs. When you invest in tech support, you no longer need to worry about costly repairs and risky software. You don’t need to worry about hidden fees or costs. You simply pay a flat rate and are fully covered. When you invest in IT support, you’re choosing financial security.

New Technology Advances Company Goals

IT support brings the newest, most cutting-edge technology to your company and optimizes your processes and profits. Working with an experienced IT support team allows you to outsource time spent researching and keeping up with new technologies. A professional IT support team in Oakland will be able to keep your business up to date with the most beneficial technology designed and engineered to serve your company and customers.

Maximize Business Efficiency

No matter what type of business you own, you’re always on an endless journey to improve company efficiencies. In the digital era, technology is the best tool for improving your business’s efficiency. At the same time, the wrong technology can decrease your efficiency if you’re constantly dealing with issues, bugs, and downtime. A good IT support team ensures that the appropriate technology is leveraged to maximize your business’s effectiveness in all areas, from customer interactions to administration.

Customized and Specialized IT Services

Every business has unique technology needs. When you hire a professional IT support team, you are guaranteed to receive customized service that is specifically designed for how your company operates. Your IT support team will be able to identify your technology needs and provide immediate solutions.

What is Fully Managed IT Support?

If you're looking for an IT Support team in Oakland that can handle all your needs, you might be wondering what exactly they can do for you. When you outsource your IT support and go for a fully managed IT support team, you get 100% support in every area of IT. Let's take a look at what that should include.

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Unlimited Support

Unlimited support means your IT support team is available whenever you need them. Onsite, or remotely, you're getting skilled professionals that get the job done. If you're working with a remote team, they should guarantee a response time of 15 minutes or less.

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24/7/365 Network Management

Choosing fully managed IT support means you’re getting a team of professionals to take care of your servers, desktops, laptops, network, internet, printers, and more. They address the small problems before they become bigger, more costly issues. If your network or internet goes down, your IT support team gets it back online immediately.

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Helpdesk and Ticketing

A good IT support service will offer a helpdesk and ticketing option. This makes it easy to contact them and instantly let them know about your issue. Part of that helpdesk should be an urgent helpdesk phone for emergencies. When you outsource your IT support, it should feel like you're still using an internal IT department.

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Transparent Network Documentation

Knowing what technology your business is using and if it's optimized to help you meet your goals is essential. The rapid rate of technological advancement leaves a lot of companies behind their competition if they don't keep up with innovation. Your IT support team should perform regular IT audits and asset-tracking, so you're always ahead of the curve.

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Vendor Liaison Assistance

One of the great things about a good IT support team is they take vendor management off your hands. They’ll work directly with your tech providers to handle issues with service. That should include internet, telecom, and even your printer/copier leasing company.

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Network & Endpoint Security

Your network has to be secure from hackers and breaches. Cybercriminals are experts at finding vulnerabilities within your network. IT support makes sure your network is secure and that your computers and users aren’t susceptible to viruses, malware, and any other kind of cyber threat.

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Virtual CIO Services

Does your company have a CIO? If not, it should. A good IT support company will provide vision and oversight for your IT, ensuring you optimize your competitive advantage. CIO services ensure your projects stay on budget and keep you in compliance with industry regulations.

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Backup and Disaster Recovery

From designing a simple server backup to creating a comprehensive business continuity plan, your IT support team will be experts in data security. They keep your data safe from loss, theft, hackers, and natural disasters.

What is Co-Managed IT Support?

If you're looking for a co-managed IT support solution in Oakland, you'll want to work with a company that is flexible enough to easily integrate with yours. Co-managed IT support teams are fluid and fill in the holes where they’re most needed. We’ll take a look at a few of the holes an onsite or remote co-managed IT support team can fill in for your business.

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IT Helpdesk

Your IT staff gets busy. Sometimes they don't have time for the little issues that pile up day and night. A professional IT support service will take care of your everyday tech support, even during off-hours. IT Helpdesk support is a great way to let your team focus on mission-critical tasks.

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Daily IT Maintenance

The daily IT maintenance tasks within a business or organization can be a time drain. When your IT professionals need to work on high-level projects but are instead diverted to low level IT tasks, it hurts your bottom line. A co-managed IT support team can take on time-consuming tasks like setting up users, creating logins, and updating software and machines.

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Project Management

Sometimes you're trying to juggle multiple projects at once, and your in-house IT support starts running thin. Likewise, you have a particularly difficult and large IT project to undertake and need some extra hands (and brains) to get the project completed on time. Take advantage of hiring a co-managed IT support team on a temporary basis to get you through projects on time.

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Infrastructure Management

It’s critical that your internet, network, and security are running smoothly 24/7. However, this takes time, especially when something goes wrong. Have an IT support partner take care of these things frees your in-house staff to focus on more complex issues.

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Branch Office Coverage

Sometimes you have the best IT support team at headquarters, but your branch offices are lacking the support they need. You can't send your IT team from headquarters out all the time, it's inefficient, and they're busy enough. Your co-managed IT support team can fill in the holes for your branch offices and ensure your company is operating smoothly at all locations.

Is Remote Helpdesk IT Support Worth it?

If you already have an in-house IT support team that takes care of the majority of your IT tasks, you can still benefit from partnering with an IT support team to handle your helpdesk. Remote helpdesk support is convenient, budget-friendly, and fast. A good IT support company that offers remote helpdesk services should include the following.

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24/7 Support

When your staff needs answers during business hours or after, a remote helpdesk support team should be there.

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Rapid-Response Support

A quality IT support remote helpdesk team will never make you wait. Users are immediately connected to a human being with the expertise to help.

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Multi-Channel Support

A good remote helpdesk support team can resolve issues via chat, email, and phone. The right team will have friendly, easy to understand communication, and skilled individuals fielding your questions.

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Onsite When Needed

Your IT needs can change fast. Your IT support service team should be able to adjust on the fly. If you need them onsite, they should be agile enough to arrive quickly and solve your issue.

What Kind of Cybersecurity can an IT Support Company Offer?

Are you looking for cybersecurity help in Oakland? If you already have an in-house IT support team but would like to enhance or offload your security, you can. Cybersecurity is critical for protecting your employees, clients, and your reputation. Nothing is more damaging to your company image than having to tell customers their sensitive data has been compromised. It's very difficult to restore customer confidence after security breaches. Working with an Oakland IT support company that offers cybersecurity services comes with a lot of advantages.

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Endpoint Protection

Everyone has embraced the use of mobile devices. With the convenience of mobile, new doors of opportunity have opened for cybercriminals. A good cybersecurity IT support team will layer security solutions to protect all your endpoints, including mobile, laptops, desktops, and servers.

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Firewall and Network Management

Today internet attacks are more sophisticated than ever before. Your network needs to be protected and monitored 24/7/365. Your cybersecurity team should make sure that your firewall and network are properly maintained and continually monitored for anomalies.

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Patch Management

It feels like new security patches are released every day. If you miss a patch update, your system is vulnerable, but sometimes you don’t have the time to update right away. A professional cybersecurity IT support team will make sure your Windows, Mac, and third-party apps are current with the latest patches at all times.

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Industry Compliance

If you’re operating in an industry that demands compliance staying in compliance can take a lot of work. Your cybersecurity team will keep up to date with regulations and make sure you meet or exceed them. They’ll put security controls in place to keep your data protected, confidential, and available only to the appropriate people.

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Dark Web Monitoring

The dark web is where cybercriminals live. They steal sensitive information like usernames and passwords and take it to the dark web. Dark web monitoring is an identity theft prevention method that enables you to monitor your identity information on the dark web and receive notifications if your information is found. Your cybersecurity team will do this for you to ensure your data isn't being used unlawfully.

Who Needs IT Support Services?

Business Owners

If you’re a business owner, your focus should be on growing your business, not troubleshooting IT issues. A good IT support partner will optimize and manage your IT to increase productivity and expedite the growth of your business.

CEO/COO/CTO

Dealing with IT outages, disruptions, and unproductive employees are a budget killer. Partnering with an experienced IT support services company can streamline your workflows, boost productivity, and protect your company’s data.

Office Managers or Administrators

You have enough on your plate as it is. Dealing with outages and grumpy employees shouldn’t be on your task list. When you find the right IT support team, you can focus on mission-critical tasks like running the office.

When do You Need IT Services?

There are many reasons a business may contact an IT support company for IT services. If your network is slow and continually disconnecting, you need IT services. Perhaps your current IT company is slow to respond to requests. You might want to try another provider. If you’re unsure that your company data and computers are safe from disaster and cyber-attacks, you need to speak with an IT service provider. When your company workflow is stifled, and productivity is suffering, an IT services company can help.

 

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How to Choose a Good IT Support Company in Oakland

You know you want to take advantage of all the benefits that come with working with a professional IT services company but aren’t sure how to filter out the bad from the good. No worries, there are a number of useful metrics you can use to determine if you’re choosing the right IT support company for your business.

Experience Matters

Make sure the company you choose has years of experience in the business and only hires technicians that have experience.

Friendly and Skilled Technicians

If you can’t comfortably communicate with your IT support company, you’re going to get frustrated fast. Make sure to only partner with a company that has technicians that are friendly and speak in clear, easy to understand English to avoid headaches down the road.

Money-Back Guarantee

Any company that is confident in the service they provide will offer a money-back guarantee. Choose a company that stands by the quality of their work by offering a money-back guarantee.

Vendor Neutrality

You want the best IT vendors for your company. Your IT support partner should recommend IT vendors based on what they can do for your unique business, not because they’re getting bonuses from vendors every time they introduce a new client.

No Long-Term Commitments

A good IT support company will offer a month to month contract. This gives you the flexibility to move to another company if they’re not meeting your expectations. Be wary of companies the try to get you to commit to long-term contracts.

Honest and Fair Pricing

Do your homework and compare pricing among different IT support providers. Choose a company that isn’t shy about discussing pricing and offers a competitive price with no hidden fees.

What is the Process of Working with an IT Support Company?

If you’re thinking about outsourcing your IT support services, you might wonder what the process of engagement looks like. Good question. Here’s the breakdown.

Getting to Know Each other

Because every business is unique, your IT support partner should come to you with an open mind, and not boilerplate recommendations. They should learn how you’re using your current IT, what your business goals are, and what you hope to achieve with technology.

Learning About Your Technology

Your new IT support partner should take a close look at your infrastructure, computers, network, devices, and apps. They will then determine how to reduce disruptions, streamline workflows, increase productivity, and meet your budget goals.

Proposing Solutions

After a thorough audit and evaluation, your IT support partner should provide a detailed proposal that aligns with your current challenges and long-term goals. The proposal should include a plan for resolving immediate problems as well as a long-term strategy to ensure your IT runs smoothly over time.

Executing the Plan

After you fine-tune the proposal, your new IT support partner will get to work on bringing it to life. They’ll install any new tech, complete inventory and documentation, and let your staff know how they can get support when needed.

Do You Need IT Support in Oakland for Your Business?

If you’ve made this far, you might now know more than you ever wanted to know about IT support services. You now should understand the value and how to find the right company that can deliver that value. In the age of remote working, having a remote IT support partner that responds like an onsite IT support team is invaluable. You can cut your overhead and still get the critical IT support you need to improve productivity, security, and creating a winning strategy for the long term.