An important element of the smooth operation of your IT infrastructure is its maintenance and support. If you do not look after it, over time it will become a source of losses. In Russian realities, there are 4 main approaches to solving the problem of servicing computers and servers in companies. Let's briefly analyze each approach and outline its pros and cons in order to choose the best one.

1. Employees do the work of a system administrator

This approach is relevant for small organizations. Usually there is an employee in the team to whom everyone turns for help. His position is not a system administrator at all, and he has his own job responsibilities, but when there is a problem with a computer, printer, Internet, everyone goes to him. It's good if the problem is minor. There are situations when the problem is more complex, and he spends time searching for a solution on the Internet. In fact, the maintenance of all computers in the company lies with him. As a result, the work of both employees is at a standstill, and the salary goes during this time. The biggest problem can happen if the employee makes things even worse, which will lead to the office stopping work. Usually, only after such critical situations the management decides that it is no longer possible.

2. The visiting system administrator

2.1. A common approach, when a company turns to a competent IT specialist and pays a fixed fee every month. He knows what to do and his competence is often enough if the company is small and does not have a fleet of servers. One of the cornerstones of this approach, which all companies face at some point, is availability. The specialist goes on vacation or is unavailable for some reason, and the problem with the server needs to be solved right now!

2.2. A worse option is when a specialist is called to service computers only when problems arise and is paid for the time. In this case, the company generally puts the specialist in such a position that it is profitable for him to solve the problem longer, because the payment is hourly.

With one-time requests, conflicts may arise on the basis of warranty obligations for the work done. "A week ago you set up the printer, and now it again does not print on the computer" - the employee of the company who paid for the service of the specialist is indignant. But during this week anything could have happened to the computer, because usually employees have administrator rights on all computers (point 3). It is not clear what could have led to a failure in the work, and you do not want to pay again for calling a specialist.

3. System administrator on staff

Companies with a fleet of 10-15 computers and a server begin to think about hiring a specialist on staff. The company understands that the right IT technologies are a tool for any business in the modern world. Downtime in work for such companies results in considerable losses. Hiring a full-time employee involves a number of indirect costs:

— taxes, insurance premiums;
— provision of a workplace;
— paid sick leave, vacations.

4. Computer maintenance under a contract (IT outsourcing)

IT outsourcing is the transfer of IT department functions by an organization to another company under a contract. In simple terms, — this is an IT specialist who:

— does not need sick leave or vacation;
— has a huge range of skills;
— solves problems of varying degrees of complexity;
— is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year;
— will pay you if something doesn't work, and won't come for your salary.

Option 1. Comprehensive support.

The most common and comfortable approach, in which the company transfers all the functions of the IT department to a third-party company. In this case, all requests come to 1 window. An outsourcing company always strives to ensure that the infrastructure works reliably like a Swiss watch and there are as few requests as possible.

Option 2. Transfer of complex tasks.

If the company already has technical specialists, then it is possible to transfer individual functions for maintenance. Sometimes technical specialists cannot service some complex devices due to a number of reasons. In such situations, you can transfer this task to the company. The work is carried out in parallel, which allows you to maintain both user workstations and complex server devices in order.

Option 3. Transfer of simple tasks.

Your specialists do the most complex work, and all the "routine" is transferred to the company. Accepting requests from users, solving their technical problems and complaints is our task.

That's probably all. The most important points, in our opinion, that you need to think about if you want IT technologies to help your business. If you want to know how much IT technologies help or hinder the development of your company, and what can be done, then IT audit is what you need.