The government announced in late 2010 that despite rolling cutbacks across other sectors, the nation’s cyber defence network would be granted an additional £650 million; outlining the importance of online security. In the last few weeks BAE systems, the world’s largest defence contractor, whose headquarters lay in Farnborough just outside of Greater London have been bolstering their own cyber security complex with the acquisition of several smaller international firms. In a proposed buy out BAE representatives have stated that they will pay £183 million for Irish financial crime and compliance software specialists Norkom, as well as Danish outfit ETI A/S; L1 Identity Solutions and Intelligence Services Group in America and Australian based stratsec.net. BAE are only one in a continued stream of corporations who have become extremely preoccupied in their own online defence capabilities; 2011 therefore looks set to be the year of the great cyber security buy in.

German enterprise software provider SAP have also striven to expand their security portfolio recently with the attainment of Swiss business Secude, when asked to identify the company’s motivations, a spokesperson for SAP stated that,
“Customers face threats to the integrity and security of their business scenarios as a result of increased cyber crime and owing to targeted attacks on business data from hackers.”

On an international and national level it is crucial to protect your business with a robust security set up. Chaos was caused by the ‘Operation Payback’ attacks which targeted financial services such as PayPal, MasterCard, Visa and online marketplace Amazon late in 2010 and news has also recently emerged that UK cosmetics company LUSH has suffered continued targeted attacks by hackers trying to access account member payment card details.

The best way to prevent such attacks is to initiate a professional and consistent security network serviced and maintained by experienced IT professionals.

1. You’re located in London.  IT support London is the best you’ll find simply because your IT company will be within reach at all times.  You’ll likely find a reputable company right near you, which is more than can be said for a large number of other locations, especially rural ones.  The competition is also quite steep, which means that if you look at a number of IT companies, you’re much more likely to find one that suits you and your budget rather than a company which can relax on the job because there isn’t anyone else to turn to.
2. You’re a small or medium business.  These businesses may not have the cash or the incentive to hire large IT teams, but they still require many of the functions which such departments would provide.  An IT support company can fill all of those roles at a minimal cost; in fact, it may even cost you less than it normally would to hire a single employee.  At such a discount, you may wonder why you ever bothered.
3. Very, very small businesses can be perfectly happy with a “pay as you go” plan.  Contract IT support to help you set your business up, then relax but know they’ll nearby as and when you need them.  They can be a great help with scalability, so it’s well worth considering the option even if you’re on a tiny budget.
4. You’re looking for some upgrades.  External IT support can not only upgrade your custom software, they can also help with hardware updates.  They’re excellent for installing new phone systems; if you haven’t switched to a VoIP phone system yet it’s very likely that you’re losing quite a bit of money on calls and productivity on features that you can’t afford but which come free with VoIP.
5. You need to back up your essential documents, but you’re not sure how to do it properly.  IT support companies have many different ways to back up your private data.  Remote backup systems are available; these are monitored around the clock, with guards and security fencing to prevent any dangerous activity around them.  Such facilities may be out of your reach, but your IT support company will subsidize the cost of the backup since it’s also a service they’ll be providing to other clients.  Their reputation rests on the security of your data; as such, you know it will be in safe hands.

If your company fits into one of these five situations, it may well be time to contract an external IT company to help you out.  Make sure you shop around and get the best fit for your business.

1. When Your Fixes Don’t Work

If you’ve got a problem and you’ve tried to fix it yourself over a period longer than a week, it is likely that you’re not going to solve it.  A virus may have burrowed its way deeply into your system, preventing system restores and effectively hiding from all your detecting expertise.  Consulting a professional is less expensive than purchasing a new computer in most cases, and you certainly don’t want that virus spreading around your network.  That will cause much more damage in the long run.

Similarly, if your PC is crashing constantly and nothing you try makes that end, consider calling for help before re-installing Windows.  They might wind up just doing it for you, but it’s also possible that they can identify software causing the issue and save you the hassle of setting your computer up again for no reason.  They’ll make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.

2. Hardware Problems

If you’ve spilled a glass of water – or worse, a sugary drink – on your computer, you do not want to be fiddling with it.  Attempting to clean it yourself may only exacerbate the damage as PC parts require special cleaners that may not be easily accessible.  If you have a laptop, forget about it.  In some cases opening it yourself may even void the warranty (if yours is still valid, that is).  If you notice any suspicious smells, loud noises, or extra heat coming from your computer, it’s probably time to get someone else to look at it.  Beyond that, if your computer doesn’t start at all, it’s unlikely that there’s anything you can do besides let someone else have a look at it.

In order to identify the importance of cost and investment, you need to first understand how important London IT support is to your company and how much your company relies on information technology. By identifying where you company relies on IT you can find a IT support strategy which should mirror the strengths and weaknesses of your company.

With this strategy in mind it means that the London IT support market is made up of companies that offer individual, personalized IT strategies, offer service support to fit your demands. However these often come at a premium.

For smaller businesses IT services can often be far beyond their requirements, the packages seem to dwarf the needs of your business, if that is the case, there are a lot of “prepackaged” services offering business day service offering a guaranteed service when it is needed.

Remote support is now offering the perfect solution for small businesses and SMEs looking for a quick “helpdesk” style support, giving customers the comfort knowing that they will have their software issues, and some hardware problems solved without having to have an IT engineer taking apart servers and clients etc.

This essentially reduces downtime for customers, and at the end of the day, that’s what you pay for, if your network goes down, how long will it take to get it up and running again. Simple.

Minimizing the inconvenience is  the sole purpose of London IT support, if something goes wrong it should be solved as simply as possible. Outsourced technical support offers this solution at a fair price.

Modern IT systems are built with critical protection in place offering a level of resilience that comes as standard to remove any IT incidents which could result in a serious company impact.

You therefore need to compare, software support, remote support, and hardware support in order to create an IT strategy suitable for your IT needs. You need technical support as well as the emergency engineer when the IT hits the fan.

Can you be thrifty with your London IT Support?

I don’t think so, the protection that London IT support provides can significantly reduce the risk of IT incidents impacting on your business, consider an IT service as an insurance policy rather than a necessity.

So, similarly to insurance, evaluate the risk, and evaluate the price and before you pick the cheap maintenance package, consider if your company could afford the risk.