The Things You Need to Know About Consulting and Tech Support
Ø Are you getting what your business needs; or what their business needs to sell? Most consultants and tech support organizations sell products. This is touted to be a convenience for their customers. At CNT we do not sell hardware. We will help you determine and aquire your needs, but you will purchase what is needed direct. We make nothing out of this, and therefore there is no incentive for us to SELL you anything.
Ø How much business experience does your consultant have? At CNT our consultants have an average of over 10 years of experience serving the needs of the business community. We will not send out our nephew who is pretty good… we only employ certified and experienced consultants.
Ø Does your consultant follow Industry Standards? At CNT we follow Industry Standard practices. These are best known practices generally accepted by the IT industry. Following these standards means less problems and a greater “Return On Investment” from your computing dollars.
Ø Does your consultant have somewhere to turn? When your consultant starts scratching his head… Does he call product tech support, or just ponder things for hours while you pay the bill? At CNT we have a partnership with Microsoft and many other software vendors. When we hit a brick wall, we call in the cavalry to assist. This means you get your problems solved as quickly (and cost effectively) as possible.
Ø What operating system software does your consultant recommend? There has been a lot of talk in recent years about Microsoft being a monopoly. This is not always a bad thing. 90% or more of the computers in the world today run Microsoft Operating Systems. This means OS software standardization. Linux on the other hand is Open Systems. This means the source code is out there for anyone to use and modify as they see fit. There are dozens of varieties of Linux out there, and they are all a little bit different. At CNT we only suggest Microsoft Operating Systems. If your consultant tries to sell you a Linux solution, ask him where he will turn if he needs help supporting it? No Open System solution can offer the support network that Microsoft has.
Ø How do you pay for support? At CNT you pay for exactly what you want. We offer 3 payment options. 1. Pay as you go: Pay for what you need, when you need it. There is no commitment. 2. Pre Paid Credits: 1 credit = 1 hour. No complex formulas needed to determine how much time has been used and how much remains. A simple concept, but one forgotten by a lot of consulting firms. 3. Complete Technology Management. You get one bill every month. This can be easily budgeted, and there are no surprises. Any task that arises, you simply call us, and we respond. The month that everything crashes and you are hit by a number of viruses, you receive the same bill as any other month. If you’ve ever had a month like that, our Complete Technology Management is a bargain at 10 times the price. Your monthly bill is determined up front by the number and type of systems you have. Complete Technology Management customers receive top priority in an emergency.
Ø What is an emergency? Many consulting firms make you declare an emergency to get preferred scheduling. When you do this, your billable rate increases. At CNT we prioritize every call. If company A has a new machine to be installed, and company B has a mission-critical server that is down, company B will get the priority. This seems like common sense, but we don’t charge extra for it.
