Local IT Pro's Basic Security Services is a monthly set of services intended to establish the very basics of IT security best practices that every legitimate business should be doing. These services will be priced at a simple, easy to calculate and predict per device rate, and will include:
We use an industry-standard central asset management system to keep track of your environment. This accommodates monitoring for basic components of your systems, such as CPU, memory, disk usage, warranty status, etc. It also gives alerts, provides asset reports, and other useful tools such as remote control used for helpdesk services. That way, you can have eyes and ears on your business at all times, with quick and easy help when needed.
A business-grade antivirus product with flexible monthly licensing will be deployed on every workstation, laptop, and server. This will come with a central console that every endpoint checks into, which will be monitored and managed. Alerts will be given to us so we can quickly remediate issues as needed. Software licensing is included. No antivirus company out there can guarantee 100% prevention rate, so infection removal, while rare, will be done additionally at hourly rates.
Many viruses that exist today, only exist because of security flaws in the Microsoft Windows operating system. Once Microsoft identifies these flaws, they release patches to prevent the problem. This is only helpful if you actually install these patches, which many small businesses don't do. They believe this is supposed to happen automatically by default, but quite often in reality it does not. Additionally, some users turn off updates to avoid unexpected restarts, which defeats the purpose. We use our management console to deploy these patches to your systems on a scheduled, reliable, monthly basis, with Email notifications, so that you can be sure your systems are up to date and protected at a predictable time.
With Local IT Pro as your partner, we will design your infrastructure in a way that has several safeguards in place, so you will hopefully never need to use off-site backups. That said, they're still an absolute must for every business. We take a 3-2-1 approach to your data. This means, we keep 3 copies of the data, in 2 different locations, 1 of which is off-site. This software is installed on the server and runs a backup every night to make sure that your data is safe. Workstation backups are also available at additional rates.
Firewalls and other networking equipment is something that most businesses just set and forget. However, in today's world they are a common point of attack for bad actors. We install business-grade equipment, and make sure that it is kept up to date every month, with configuration backups kept off-site. This equipment gives eyes into your network, and has capabilities that consumer-grade equipment just doesn't have, all while costing about the same. It's a no-brainer for any small business.
It is important to keep a finger on the pulse of the technology world while making sure your infrastructure stays current and up to date. We love to visit with you and/or the business owner on a regular basis to review list of devices, review warranty expirations (for Dell computers only), discuss outstanding issues, discuss new technology, and discuss your company goals and how technology can be used to meet those goals.
Many IT service providers charge a much higher monthly per device rate and include "unlimited" helpdesk services* with a lot of fine-print exceptions to the rule. Exceptions such as compliance requirements and penalties, additional costs for regular computer replacements, server replacements, and other projects, etc. These routine items cost extra anyway, yet you always pay that higher base monthly rate. Local IT Pro takes a hybrid approach that has served our customers well. Helpdesk Services will be done at an as-needed basis in order to keep recurring monthly costs as low as possible. All of our customers have found this to be in their best interest because it keeps costs much lower while providing transparency on what will appear on the bill each month. There will be no surprises about which services are included, and which services are performed at hourly rates.
Local IT Pro has existed since 2012 completely through word-of-mouth and customer referrals. Our existence depends on our ability to deliver a quality result to you and your business. We hope you will share our name with your friends, family, and business associates. We offer an incentive bonus for successful referrals that result in a new Basic Security Services customer.
There will always be a need for a knowledgeable, competent, and friendly IT guy to handle all of the remaining issues not prevented by the basic security services. Things such as computer replacements, server replacements, network upgrades, Email organization setup, Cloud services setup, End-user training and questions, etc. We provide these services at our current hourly rate, which is billed in quarter-hour increments. On-Site visits will have a 1-hour minimum requirement, but no additional travel charge.
Many businesses benefit greatly from a regularly scheduled recurring on-site visit (such as a weekly visit). This helps streamline the support process, and gives your employees the feeling that they are well taken care of. As time goes on, they rely on the fact that their IT questions will be addressed on a predictable schedule, so they save the non-critical issues until that time, this eliminates multiple, unpredictable phone calls and helps save on support costs.
Projects will be priced on a per-project basis, typically done at hourly rates, but can also be done at a project rate, depending on the project. Schedule a meeting to discuss the details.
Local IT Pro is strategically partnered with several big-name hardware and software vendors and can assist with procuring the right piece of hardware for the job. This is one area where many small businesses often over, or under purchase causing costly problems down the road. We do it right the first time, so your equipment will last. We also help make sure that your older equipment doesn't overstay it's welcome so you can avoid increased costs and unexpected downtime.
Local IT Pro is knowledgeable and experienced with several cloud-based services such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Dropbox for Business, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, etc. We can help you find the right solution to fit your needs.
Local IT Pro does not offer website building services, but can help in this area with hosting and/or referral to other website development partners. We are knowledgeable in this area and can help point you in the right direction, even if we are not the ones who will end up doing the work.
Over time, server rooms can become a forgotten mess. Which can cause quite the problem in an emergency outage situation. We can come in and clean up the server room. Everything from de-junking the old hardware, to re-wiring the server rack, patch panel, switches, etc.
Local IT Pro specializes in small business infrastructure and Microsoft Windows operating systems. We officially do not support home/personal devices, devices with other operating systems (i.e. Mac or Linux), nor mobile devices. That said, we will certainly do our best to help you out with these devices in an unofficial capacity if necessary as we do have plenty of experience with them. We will never leave you hanging with an unanswered problem, even if it's on a device we do not officially support.