Remote I.T. Support

What is remote IT support?

If a member needs help, they can call, email, or contact the BIAS IT support desk using their online membership portal. All requests for help are logged by the IT help desk team and assigned a support ticket. A ‘ticket’ is used to digitally record the communications, progress and support given to a member.

Most of the support given is provided remotely by an IT engineer using specialised software that grants them virtual access to the computer or IT network where their help is needed. This method of remote I.T. support is the fastest way to troubleshoot, diagnose and resolve any issues. In fact, remote I.T. support can be utilised for almost everything, for example we can remotely manage user accounts, perform routine maintenance, and even fix complex issues like WIFI connectivity & data backups.

BIAS IT support memberships come with either 50, 100 or 250 support tickets a month. For every additional seat purchased past the first twenty we add further support tickets to a members monthly account.

IT Engineer Callouts

What are IT Engineer Callouts?

For those occasions where remotely accessing computer systems is not possible or hands-on IT support is needed, members benefit from a BIAS IT support engineer physically working at their location.

Whether calling out an IT engineer to upgrade or repair computer hardware or just using an IT specialist to plan and build a server room, the fact remains that if they are needed, members are guaranteed a set number of FREE IT engineer visits each month.

Just the ‘callout’ value of a membership is more than enough to justify the subscription fee. For example, the ‘Corporate’ membership alone provides four callouts a month, which is potentially worth close to £2000.

First Response Time

What is “first response time”?

The expression ‘first response time’ simply means the time it takes for an IT support engineer to respond to a request for help and generate a ticket.

BIAS IT support members regularly get a rapid response and remedy faster than specified in their membership package. More often than not, IT support is given within a few short moments of the support ticket being generated. We encourage members to email our IT support team or use their membership portal to create a ticket. In an emergency, please call us, we provide all members with an “Emergency Only” support number to call in-the-event your office is flooded, burnt to the ground, or held to ransom by a cybercriminal.

IT Support Hours

What is meant by ‘IT support hours’?

The phrase ‘IT support hours’ is commonly used to denote the standard working hours that a managed service provider (MSP) will deliver the service of IT support to their clients. Most managed service providers (MSP’s) operate between the working hours of 9am to 5pm. The BIAS IT support team go much further, providing ‘Corporate’ members with IT help desk cover from 8am to 6pm.

Furthermore, we can usually have an IT engineer ‘called-out’ to your location within 60 to 90 minutes (within your IT support hours). If you pre-book an IT engineer ‘callout’ then we can get them to your door for the first minute your IT support hours start (subject to traffic). It’s also fair to mention that within reason if we are in the process of helping you, we’re not about to suddenly stop working because you’ve gone outside of your IT support hours. With that said, if it keeps happening it might be time to upgrade your membership level.

Emergency Hours

What are the emergency support hours?

The BIAS IT support team are 100% UK based; we never outsource IT support to a foreign call centre. This means that in the event of an emergency you will always have someone on-hand locally that can help and if the need arises, we can physically send that IT engineer to your location.

The BIAS IT Essential membership subscription plan provides emergency I.T. support cover from 8am to 7pm Monday to Friday and Executive Plus membership provides that extra 5 hours of cover from 7am to 9pm Monday to Friday. Corporate membership goes that extra mile and offers the highest level of cover with a FREE 24/7 emergency support package.

The 24/7 emergency service is also available to Essential & Executive Plus members, but there is an additional charge of £250 every time the service is used. For details about what qualifies as an emergency please call: 0345 548 8853.

Backup Frequency

What is meant by 'backup frequency'?

The term ‘backup frequency’ put simply means how often business data and IT systems are backed up. If you have the Microsoft 365 OneDrive solution BIAS will provide a secondary (off-site) file backup service to deliver the extra level of support that Microsoft can’t provide. Furthermore, BIAS will help create a backup solution at your location (providing you have the required hardware) and an additional backup in the BIAS Cloud.

In addition to providing daily or hourly backups for all your MS 365 Exchange emails, Teams meetings, OneDrive files and SharePoint content BIAS can also schedule backups of your application servers and files servers. Frequent backups that are stored in a secure “off-site” location are simply a modern requirement for a business today. On becoming an IT support member with BIAS your backup needs will be fully assessed and a system that helps ensure 100% peace of mind will be achieved.

Backup Storage

What is data backup storage?

Data backup storage is the name given to the physical ‘hard drives’ used to store copies of data from computers, servers, or other digital devices. The primary purpose of backup storage is to ensure that data can be recovered in the event of loss caused by file corruption, accidental deletion, or disaster (e.g.: hardware failing, damaged storage, ransomware and cyber-attacks).

The data ‘storage’ capacity of a backup hard drive is usually measured in Terabytes. The BIAS IT support backup service offers up to 8TB (capable of storing eight million single megabyte files), this capacity can be increased if needed.

As part of the service the BIAS IT support team constantly monitor your data storage usage & will advise you (ahead of time) when best to review the amount of storage you have.

Backup Retention

What is meant by 'backup retention'?

The HMRC insists that company accounting records must be kept for 6 years from the end of their accounting period (7 years including the start period). As a ‘Corporate’ member of a BIAS IT support subscription your business will benefit from a 7-year data retention service. This membership level has been created to help your company comply with UK accounting legislation and ensure you have the ability to recover historic data if ever needed.

Your BIAS IT support team monitors your backups and data storage usage. If it looks like you don’t have enough storage (2TB, 4TB & 8TB) to maintain your backup history we will let you know before it becomes a problem. If you would like to store your data for longer than 7 years, please call: 0345 548 8853 to arrange a bespoke backup retention service.

It’s important to remember that data is retained comparatively by months, e.g. 24 months of data stored from March 2028 with be held until March 2030.

Device Security

What is device security?

Most modern businesses are heavily dependent on ‘Information Technology Services’ to perform their day-to-day operations. However, the successful operation of a business can be halted and even destroyed in minutes by cybercriminals and digital viruses. It is the term “Device Security” that refers to the practices, tools, and technologies designed to help protect your business’s IT systems from these cybercriminals and devastating viruses.

BIAS IT support membership aims to safeguard your business with “Server Guardian”, an application designed to monitor and block IP attacks. Furthermore, the BIAS IT support team is also fully certified to implement advanced Xcitium virus & ransomware protection solutions. BIAS feels that cybersecurity is such an important part of IT support that all of these solutions are FULLY included with every level of membership.

Additionally, Executive and Corporate members get full access to cybersecurity awareness training videos and materials. This level of added support helps our members to recognise potential hazards and threats (e.g. certain types of email attachments).

MS365 IT Support

What is Microsoft 365 support?

Microsoft 365 (previously Office 365) is highly regarded and used by most of our members. This is due in part to the fact Microsoft 365 caters to a wide range of needs for just about every scale of business.

BIAS IT support includes MS 365 license management, account generation and management. We also support members with Exchange (email), Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint. Perhaps most impressively, Executive Plus and Corporate members both get access to video clip training videos for just about every Microsoft 365 product available.

Desktop RMM

What is desktop RMM?

Desktop RMM is an abbreviation for the remote monitoring and management of a user’s device (e.g. laptop or a PC). Most ‘Managed Service Providers’ (MSP’s) and IT professionals use desktop RMM software.

BIAS IT support membership includes RMM tools that are designed for our IT engineers to diagnose and remotely fix any issues. It is reasonable to say that RMM tools are essential for modern IT management, providing the ability to remotely monitor and manage client systems efficiently and proactively. By leveraging these tools, BIAS IT support members can expect better service, enhance security, and improved IT efficiency.

Sever RMM

What is server RMM?

During a servers’ lifetime it can experience several problems that if left unchecked could be catastrophic to a business’s IT infrastructure. BIAS IT support includes a particular solution for all its members that helps detect server problems before they turn into disasters. The solution is commonly known as Remotely Monitoring and Managing (RMM). Server RMM is software which is configured to monitor the health and even temperature of a server.

In summary, RMM for servers is essential for maintaining the performance and security of any business’s IT infrastructure and office computer networks. The BIAS IT support team use RMM software to manage a members’ servers, switches, routers and other such IT network hardware. We set on average 10 RMM probes per server to constantly monitor and report any problems. When you become a BIAS IT support member our team will immediately get-to-work ensuring your servers all have the correct RMM systems installed.

Extra Day Rate

What is meant by 'extra day rate'?

The BIAS IT support team are on-hand to help with every aspect of corporate IT from cabling and installing computer & server networks to planning and building server rooms and office computer architecture. If your business needs help with an IT project that requires more callouts than covered in your membership, don’t worry. Any extra days needed are massively discounted if you have the ‘Executive Plus’ & ‘Corporate’ membership packages.

Our standard day rate for members is £500, ‘Executive Plus’ members get a 30% discount (£350 per day), and our ‘Corporate’ members receive a 40% discount (£300). Most ‘Computer Network Installation & Support Businesses’ will bill their clients by the hour or for large projects, bill them by the day. BIAS IT support members are not charged by the hour and enjoy either 2, 3 or 4 FREE callouts per month. A callout might last the day, or just a few hours. However long an IT engineer is called out for, the fact remains that a BIAS IT support membership is by far the most cost-effective solution for all your IT needs.

Website Hosting

What is the BIAS IT website hosting?

On average an ISP will charge a medium-sized business approximately £200 to £1,000 per year for hosting their website. As a ‘Corporate’ member of the BIAS IT support package you don’t have to worry about paying those high ISP bills ever again. ‘Corporate’ IT support members receive a FREE website hosting solution that includes fully accessible PLESK, SSL security & 5GB of space.

Furthermore, BIAS IT website hosting includes domain name (e.g.: www.my-company.com) registration or allows you to link an existing domain to your hosting account. We also provide a control panel for web designers and developers to manage your website. Whether it be a WordPress site or even a bespoke ecommerce platform we’ve got I.T. covered. For more information call: 0345 548 8853.

ITDR Business Continuity

What is IT Disaster Recovery (ITDR)?

IT Disaster Recovery (ITDR) is the subset of business continuity that focuses specifically on the recovery of IT systems, data, and infrastructure after a disruption. The goal of ITDR is to restore normal operations as quickly and efficiently as possible to minimise downtime and data loss.

The BIAS IT support team will create a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) and set the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) for all their members. In the event of a disaster, it is our mission to help you restore your IT systems as quickly as possible. ‘Corporate’ members will also benefit from an added cloud-based file server solution, meaning that subscribers will be able to resume work remotely or at another location within a very short period after the disaster. If you are interested in BIAS creating an emergency virtual office solution, please call: 0345 548 8853.

Computer Recycling

What is computer recycling?

There are several laws and regulations in the UK governing the disposal of your business’s IT hardware. In essence, UK computer recycling legislation ensures that electronic waste (e-waste) is disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner. However, there are also Data Protection laws that need to be closely observed when disposing of IT hardware.

Failure to recycle your IT hardware correctly and destroy certain sensitive data held on storage devices (e.g. hard drives, tapes and disks) can result in large fines and even imprisonment. Corporate BIAS IT support members can rest easy in the knowledge that their retired IT hardware will be recycled legally, securely, and for FREE. The BIAS IT computer disposal service is also available to ‘Executive Plus’ members at a discounted rate. For more information please call: 0345 548 8853.

Contract Notice Period

What is meant by 'notice period'?

The BIAS IT support ‘notice periods’ are defined as the durations of time that a member must notify BIAS IT Ltd. before their membership subscription can be cancelled. For example, 30 days written notice must be given by the member and received by BIAS IT Ltd. To cancel a ‘Corporate’ membership subscription. ‘Executive Plus’ membership requires just 60 days of notice and ‘Essential’ members need to provide 90 days’ notice.

These notice periods ensure a member is allotted enough time for the smooth transition to another MSP and helps ensure the proper handover of duties occur in a fashion that reduces disruption to the members business and data backup systems.