For many small and medium sized businesses having dedicated IT staff is not an option. For the companies that do have dedicated staff they are often limited to a staff of one or two persons. Since one person can not possibly master all areas of technology, those companies still find that they have to outsource areas of their infrastructure. Further, the management of IT personnel is typically more difficult for companies where a majority of the staff are not technical, without the understanding to question the recommendations or workload. This causes many companies to be held hostage to their technology (or technology departments). Most IT folks will agree (unless their job is in question). That is also the reason why smaller IT departments choose to partner with Five Iron Technologies to augment their team. We even have the ability to staff a full-time engineer to an account if required. Reduce overhead, reduce management and stress, focus on what matters most....your growth.

 

Five Iron Technologies' core business model is built on helping companies overcome this barrier and take control of their company's direction. We join your team as a partner, someone that you can rely on. Our staff covers multiple areas of specific expertise and if we do not have a particular expertise - we go hire someone with it. We will deliver a higher quality, more responsive level of service than could be obtained in one full-time IT resource. We will provide access to the same type support tools and response times that large companies enjoy at a fraction of the cost.
Our support works on "hourly" based fees, and therefore allows you to only pay for the resource when you need it. We will work closely with you to plan for regularly scheduled proactive maintenance and agree on response intervals for network and computer outages. During our maintenance visits we will complete required service and provide reports to you based on service completed.

 

A sample of some things that we will review on a regular basis include:

Check (servers/computers) to ensure latest security patches, updates, and hot-fixes are installed

Check (servers/computers) to ensure virus scans are complete and scheduled

Check (servers/computers) to ensure virus definitions are updated

Review server event, security, application logs for tale-tale errors

Review the (servers/computers) backup logs to ensure backup has occurred

Change out backup tapes

Review firewall records for potential intrusion attempts

Check the hardware (routers, firewalls, switches, etc) hardware versions and firmware updates.

Verify that alerts and notifications are implemented and that thresholds are appropriate.

Check the servers hard disk for adequate free space during peak periods.

Monitor HTTP and FTP performance.

Analyze performance data to identify trends and any potential issues.

Review backup server registries, proxy server, and DNS configuration

Identify any network bottlenecks in cabling, cards, hubs, routers, etc.

Identify any server bottlenecks in memory, processors, storage, etc.

Validate backup procedures, rotation, and system.

 

*** Note: some tasks will be completed monthly, some quarterly, some yearly***