What Is Onsite IT Support? Pros and Cons of On-site vs Remote

What Is Onsite IT Support? Pros and Cons of On-site vs Remote

Technology is a beautiful thing. It makes operating businesses easier than ever and makes life more convenient. Until it doesn’t. As long as technology is operating at maximum efficiency, life is good. But once there is an interruption to the technical process or you find yourself in need of technical assistance, things can become inconvenient fast.

Unfortunately, most small and mid-sized businesses do not have the luxury of a dedicated IT team to provide consistent support on a daily basis. You’ve probably also found that remote support is limited in the value it provides when IT issues arise.

repairing a server

Onsite support services for businesses offer the best solution by bringing knowledgeable and professional technicians to you. Onsite support may appear more expensive at first glance. However, many businesses find that it offers endless cost saving benefits over time and is a far greater return on investment.

The better you understand what onsite support is and what it has to offer your business, the more you’ll come to appreciate the true value managed service providers offer for your business. In fact, you may decide that onsite IT support is the only IT solution for your business.

What is Onsite IT Support?

technical staff

As the name implies, onsite IT support is tech support that comes to you when you experience technical problems, outages, and disruptions. Whether your business has a single office location or multiple branch locations, you have the benefit of quality tech support when you need it.

Most managed service providers even offer services supporting remote offices, too! With so many companies offering greater flexibility for employees to work from home, this particular benefit is more important than ever.

The bottom line is that onsite services allow business owners the relief of knowing that their technology needs will be met promptly and efficiently by qualified professionals who come to you when the need arises.

How Does Onsite IT Support Work?

technical staff

Onsite IT support can work in many ways. From simply responding to tech issues as they arise, to performing scheduled onsite IT services, such as updates, upgrades, and overhauls of your IT system. There are even onsite IT support services to handle integrations when needed.

The best thing about how onsite IT support works, though, is its ease and convenience. It works primarily on your terms. If you have a technical emergency, you have a professional tech support team to plow through and save the day as the problem arises.

When you know about an upgrade or integration and have time to plan ahead, you can schedule your onsite support team to be there for your business on a certain date and at a specific time to manage the process. Wouldn’t it be nice if all things in life were this convenient?

Who Needs Onsite IT Support?

  • Computers
  • Tablets
  • Printers
  • Phone systems (especially for businesses using VOIP systems)
  • Cash registers
  • Cloud services
  • Modems
  • Security systems (including cyber security efforts for your business)
  • Entry or key-card systems

Some businesses even have internet-connected lighting and temperature controls. When technical glitches occur, the problems can be devastating for productivity and costly for your business. The more heavily your business relies upon technology to power through your day, the more vulnerable your business is to IT problems that can be resolved quickly and effectively by a qualified onsite support services provider.

Pros and Cons of Onsite IT Support?

With everything in business (and in life), there are pros and cons to keep in mind when deciding whether contracting onsite support is the right call for your business needs. Keep these pros and cons in mind to help you decide if you’re ready to make the investment in your business.

Pros of Onsite IT Support

  • Flexibility. Onsite support works on your terms and comes to you when needed, where needed – even if you have multiple branches or if your company supports remote offices. Onsite IT providers can even help you set up a new office location for your business.
  • Minimize Downtime. The less time your business is out of commission when technical issues arise, the better it is for your bottom line. A dedicated team to handle onsite IT support for your business can help you keep your downtime to a minimum, maximizing your uptime and profitability.
  • Improve Technical Process. Whether you have specific IT goals in mind or simply want to improve productivity using the power of technology, your onsite IT support team of one or multiple technicians can help ensure the quick resolution of problems and improve efficiency all around.
  • Control Costs. Choosing an onsite IT support service allows you to control costs more than bringing in a full-time in-house team to handle your technical needs. It also allows you greater control over access to your network, how often you use the service, and which specific services you utilize for managing IT issues.

Cons of Onsite IT Support

it staff repairing

  • Onsite support is more expensive. Remote technical support is less costly, though far more problematic for many business owners. Keep this in mind as you may save money, initially by choosing remote IT services. However, it may cost you more in the long-term in the form of more downtime, more technical issues, and lower quality assistance for your technical needs.
  • Onsite support is less available. The other consideration is that fewer reputable service provider organizations offer onsite IT support services. This is especially true for businesses that need recurring onsite services. However, there are reputable organizations that do offer these invaluable services and it may be worth your while to make sure you’re utilizing them.

Services for Onsite IT Support

Onsite IT support comes in many forms. Many of which you may not have even considered yet. Consider all these services where onsite IT support can be of great value and benefit to your business whenever facing IT issues. Not to mention, it can save you countless hours of frustrated hair pulling and residual headaches.

Managed IT Services

This includes things like on-demand dispatch, specific project assistance, and implementing revenue-generating initiatives.

IT Support

Wherever you are in the technical process, IT support services can help address network failures as they arise, address hardware issues, and improve technical processes for your business operations in the short and long term.

Moving and Rewiring Offices

Information technology requires certain wiring and support. Our team of experts has the knowledge to help you when moving or rewiring your office so that your IT needs are met.

Server Care

server

Your servers are the heart of technology for your business. Everything centers around effectively operating servers, which is why on-site server care is an essential part of the process.

Network Security and Care

Without effective support services to handle your network security, your business organization could be vulnerable to the latest cyber attacks.

On-Demand Services

Because different businesses have different needs when it comes to technology and overhead costs, onsite IT support allows you the ability to choose the solution that best meets your needs and budget. It is one of the biggest benefits to consider for onsite support services rather than investing in internal resources for your business.

Backup and Disaster Recovery Services

disaster recovery during crisis

When disasters occur, a prompt resolution is essential. If you lack an internal team dedicated to disaster recovery, onsite IT support is the next best thing.

Onsite IT Support vs. Remote IT Support

The problem with remote IT support is that you don’t have the benefit of an expert in the seat to handle your gravest IT problems in the moment. Remote support service providers are limited in the scope of what they can do to help you resolve your technical problems. Onsite IT support, in contrast, is an “in the flesh” human being who can respond and react in real-time to the technical issues you face while offering actionable advice about how you can avoid similar problems in the future.

Whether you're looking for a dedicated IT solution, consistent levels of technology expertise, or simply want the convenience of site IT services without the cost of a dedicated internal IT staff, the benefits of our product offerings are well worth investigating. Take advantage of the resources we can offer with live access to our dedicated professionals today.