Frequently Asked Questions 1.  What is ShareIT™? 2.  Why should I use a service like ShareIT™? 3.  How will I benefit from your program? 4.  How much does it cost? 5.  What about my printers and networking equipment? 6.  Currently one of my employees looks after the network, they do it for free, why change? 7.  I pay for my support only when I need it, why is your solution better for me? 8.  What do I actually get for my money? 9.  You have unfettered access to my network, how will you ensure confidential information stored within my network will not be “stolen”? 10.  I have a medium sized business with my own IT staff, why should I consider ShareIT™ as a solution? 11.  I have a medium sized company and I am considering my own IT staff, is your option better for me? 12.  Outsourcing, is this really a viable option?   1.  What is ShareIT™? ShareIT™ is an inexpensive, “time-share” method of providing Small and Medium Businesses, access to the type and level of on-site, professional systems administration, normally reserved for large corporations and Government Departments.     2.  Why should I use a service like ShareIT™? • Next to your staff, your network (PC) is your most important business asset. This asset should be maintained by professionals on a professional basis allowing your staff to do the tasks they were employed for. • Your organization is using the same technology tools that large corporations and governments use. You should have access to the lower cost of operation and total cost of ownership (TCO) available to these larger organizations. Better Business Tip If you're finding that glitches with your computer hardware or software are eating into the productivity of your day, consider engaging a support firm. Often they can set up "dial-in" facilities, meaning they can dial in by phone from wherever they are, look at your machine and what it is doing wrong and fix it. A flat monthly fee can often be a reasonable way to cope with time-wasting IT issues. • The following is an extract from the NSW Department of State and Regional Development’s web site • The experts calculate that the hardware purchase price represent 20% of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of the product over a three (3) year period. The balance is reflected in support costs, lost revenue through “down time”, consumables etc. On this basis a PC costing between $2,000 and $3,000 will actually represent a total investment of between $10,000 and $15,000 over a 3 year period.     3.  How will I benefit from your program? Users of this program will benefit in several ways: • A qualified “Site Engineer” (SE) will be allocated to your account. He will be on-site at a specified time, twice a week (one morning, one afternoon) and will remain on-site for a minimum specified time (based on 1 hour for every 5 seats). • During this on-site time the SE will resolve any outstanding issues and perform any tasks on your network as defined by his “contact”. • In the event of a system failure, your SE (or if unavailable an alternative) will be on-site ASAP (the target time is less than 1 hour). They will remain on-site until such times as the situation is resolved (even if this means working outside normal working hours). • The service operates for 52 weeks of the year, 5 days a week (excluding Public Holidays) between the hours of 8:30AM and 5:00PM (no holidays or sick days). • Should a situation arise, which is outside the skills of the SE, you will have, on-site (at no additional charge) the SE’s manager, a more senior and more qualified IT Professional. The IT manager will also schedule a visit at least once per month, to ensure complete customer satisfaction and will each quarter produce a written report as to the health of the system. • Typically, a lower cost, higher productivity model than currently enjoyed.     4.  How much does it cost? We have based our fee on a “per seat”, (a “seat” is defined as a desktop PC, server, workstation, notebook, thin client or tablet PC) per week, invoiced monthly (in advance). Our contracted fee is from $28.00 (excluding GST) per seat per week.     5.  What about my printers and networking equipment? All equipment not defined as a “seat” is covered under the contract, free of charge.     6.  Currently one of my employees looks after the network, they do it for free, why change? As is often the case in Small and Medium businesses it is the role of a senior member of staff to act as Systems Administrator. There are at several valid reasons for the use of ShareIT™ in these environments. • The cost to the company of the FC, MD, Sales Manager etc., to the company is significantly more than the cost of ShareIT™. • More often than not, it is not the core competency of that individual. • When they are performing their IT function, they are not performing their own. • ShareIT™ does not “have holidays or sick days”, is not required to attend important meetings, visit with important clients and/or suppliers. • ShareIT™ is there when you need it, in many cases we have fixed a potential problem before it became a problem. • Next to your staff, your network (PC) is your most important business asset. This asset should be maintained by professionals on a professional basis allowing your staff to do the tasks they were employed for.     7.  I pay for my support only when I need it, why is your solution better for me? Your typical ad-hoc support charges are around the $100 to $120 per hour and travelling time is additional. To make more money contractors have to bill more hours, to bill more hours they need to have either a large number of clients, stay on-site just a little longer than is necessary, pray the systems they are supporting are that little less reliable than they should be, all of which are in direct conflict to what you, as the client, wants. You want a system which is as reliable as it can be and when it breaks you want someone there as soon as possible so that the system is up and running in the shortest possible time. With our solution, the more reliable your system is, the less time we spend repairing the network, the happier both of us will be. Our interests are the same, not in conflict as could happen when you have a “pay by the hour” contractor.     8.  What do I actually get for my money? • An on-site Systems Administrator for a guaranteed minimum period per week. • Guaranteed support for 8 hour a day, 5 days a week (excluding Public Holidays) 52 weeks of the year, no holidays, no sick days. • During scheduled visits the SE will:    - Perform required network tasks (add/remove users etc)    - Update system security (firewalls, virus protection etc)    - Perform any software/firmware updates (Microsoft, printers etc)    - Check backups have completed and test as necessary.    - Review the system log and resolve any issues    - Check system database(s) and resize, clean as necessary.    - Relocate users (as required)    - Remove for off-site storage (if required) system backup(s)    - Resolve any outstanding system issues • A monthly report on system performance, failures, areas of concern etc. • A quarterly review with the IT manager on the performance of the SE and the system • Timely response to unforeseen system failures • A computer network which provides a reliable, trouble free environment for your company.     9.  You have unfettered access to my network, how will you ensure confidential information stored within my network will not be “stolen”? This is arguably the most difficult question to answer. This issue is not restricted to “contractors” but to the entire staff of your company. Firstly we would see ourselves as “part of your organization” and would encourage our staff to act accordingly, however in order to minimize the opportunity to “steal” information we have adopted the following practices:   1. We will not remove any data (unless specifically requested)   2. We will not use remote access to gain access to the network (unless specifically requested)   3. The SE will not bring on-site (unless specifically requested) any device capable of storing information that can be easily transported.     10.  I have a medium sized business with my own IT staff, why should I consider ShareIT™ as a solution? The answer to this question will depend upon the size of the business and the current/proposed expenditure on in-house staff. Typically an IT Support person will cost the company in salary and add-ons between $65,000 and $120,000 per year depending on the level of experience required. For this you have the services of a single person. At the lower end of the pay scale their experience will not be as great as maybe required. As a single employee they will have 4 weeks annual leave and up to 5 days sick. This leaves your business without IT support for 5 weeks a year. ShareIT™ can provide a higher level of support and more than one person responsible for your site. This can be done for a fraction of your current/proposed expenditure. For example – a 50 “seat” site can have total hardware, software, training and design support for 52 weeks of the year, 5 days per week and 8 hours per day for a total of $71,500 including GST.     11.  I have a medium sized company and I am considering my own IT staff, is your option better for me? Whether you want support for as little a 1 hour or 5 days a week, we can accommodate you. The most significant advantage to you of our option is that under ShareIT™ you are never without the services of your IT person and you never have the services of just one person. Also we can tailor the on-site person to your requirements, both financially and practically, from a relative novice to a seasoned veteran, your budget, your choice.     12.  Outsourcing, is this really a viable option? A recent “Australian Newspaper” article stated that many Australian companies were either considering or outsourcing their IT to reduce costs. The article went on to say that Australian business could achieve savings in the 17% - 23% range by outsourcing. These savings were achieved using traditional methods of outsourcing; we believe that with ShareIT™ we can provide even greater savings over both in-house and traditional outsourced models, while maintaining and even improving service levels within an organization.