IT Managed Services

What Are IT Managed Services?

IT Service Management (ITSM) is when a third-party Managed Service Provider like AVANT Network Solutions uses and provides a collection of IT services and equipment to support the company’s production.

Managed Services are designed to be proactive – solving technology problems before they affect business production.

Our Approach To IT Managed Services

AVANT Network Solutions takes a four-step approach to Managed Services:

1. Stabilize

We provide a full network assessment with recommendations to optimize your technology systems and processes so they align with your business goals.

2. Secure

Cybersecurity is first and foremost. All our solutions and services, including your existing equipment are made as secure as possible to protect against modern threats. All ITSM clients must meet the baseline security requirements.

3. Support

We provide support for all services we provide, including your existing equipment, in most cases.

4. Scale

With AVANT focusing on your technology, you can focus on your business. As your business grows, we do too. Don’t think of us as a vendor – think of us an extension of your company.

Core Components Of Our IT Managed Services Offering

Managed Services Plan

While you focus on running your business, we focus on your technology needs. We know one size doesn’t fit all, so all our Managed Services Plans are tailored to the businesses we service.

As part of our stabilize stage, we’ll create a plan that fits your needs and budget. Furthermore, it’ll be flexible to scale with your business – both up and down.

Remote IT Support

We provide remote support Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST). Emergency support is available 24/7/365. Most issues we come across are resolved remotely.

Onsite IT Support

We provide onsite support when remote IT support isn’t an option. For example, if your hardware needs to be replaced or upgraded, you can expect prompt and thorough service at your location.

Information Security (Cybersecurity)

Proper safeguards and procedures are critical to protect your sensitive data. During the stabilize stage, we’ll conduct a security assessment of your environment to identify threats, risks, and vulnerabilities. A report will be provided detailing requirements and recommendations to best secure your environment and the sensitive data within it.

All ITSM clients must meet the baseline security requirements.

Data Backup

A backup is your first line of defense to stabilize when data loss occurs. We ensure your data is backed up regularly, resides in multiple secure locations, and is always accessible in the event of a disaster or emergency.

Cloud Services

AVANT Network Solutions takes a cloud-first approach to IT. Self-hosted hardware and applications can be unreliable, hard to scale quickly, and costly to maintain. Leveraging cloud services for your business makes it easy to work from anywhere and scale quickly when your business needs demand it.

Network/Device Monitoring

Having visibility into the health of your equipment helps us provide support in a proactive manor. We use automation tools to continually monitor the health of devices on your network. In some cases, issues can be resolved automatically.

Virus Protection

We use Next Generation Antivirus (NGAV) to stop threats before they even start. Using Behavior Analysis and intent-based analytics, NGAV continually monitors file and network activity on your endpoints (computers) to keep them secure from zero-day threats/viruses and modern attack methods.

Email Management and Security

There are a lot of email providers out there, but that’s just it, they only provide email. They do nothing to prevent phishing attacks or spam. Our email solution is fully supported by us and can be customized to your business needs.

Patch Management

Ensuring computers and network equipment are up to date and free of vulnerabilities is paramount to overall network security. AVANT Network Solutions uses an automated tool to install operating system updates and patch third party software.

Vendor Management

Keeping track of the many vendors and contracts a given company uses for technology service can be overwhelming. Working with us rolls all of your IT services and subscriptions into one predictable price. We manage the contracts and renewals so you don’t have to.

Data Destruction And Equipment Lifecycle

We use an R2 certified recycling organization for electronic media destruction, hard drive shredding, and electronic waste recycling. Sensitive data is destroyed in a secure and environmentally friendly way with proof of destruction available if required.

Frequently Asked IT Managed Services Questions

How Much Do Managed Services Cost?

Managed Services are priced based on two factors: the number of users and the services/products provided in your Managed Services Plan.

In all cases, Managed Services are billed monthly at a flat, predictable rate. For example, if your company has 15 employees, but only 10 of them require a computer for their job, the user count would be 10.

What Do I Get With Managed Services?

We consider our Core Managed Services offering to be the minimum requirements for a Managed Services client. There are a myriad of other services and solutions that can be added to the core offering.

What's The Difference Between Managed Services And Outsourcing?

When IT services are outsourced, this generally means they’re provided by an offshore or non-local third-party entity.

AVANT Network Solutions is 100 percent based in Northeast Ohio and doesn’t use offshore services or technicians.

What Happens When I Need Support?

Support requests from our Managed Services customers fall into three categories based on their importance, the number of people affected, and other factors:

Level 1: The network is down, or an application is inaccessible to a group of people that prevents them from doing their job. We drop everything and help immediately.
Level 2: If an application is not working for one person, this is a medium-priority request.
Level 3: Moves, adds and changes (MACs) that aren’t time-sensitive, such as a request for a new application to be installed or a new printer, are low-priority requests.

What's Your Service Level Agreement (SLA) For Managed Services Clients?

Our SLA for Level 1 requests is 60 minutes initial response and a time to resolution, including parts, of 24 hours.

Our SLA for Level 2 requests is 4 hours initial response and a time to resolution, including parts, of 48 hours.

Our SLA for Level 3 requests is 24 hours initial response. Time to resolution depends on the nature of the request.

Why Is A Proactive Approach Beneficial?

Just like performing regular oil changes on your car, technology needs maintenance, too. When systems are monitored and updated regularly, it mitigates the chance of extended outages, security risks, and large upgrade projects in the future.

What's A Break/Fix?

Break/fix is when problems are resolved after they affect business productivity.

Break/fix also holds no Service Level Agreement (SLA), meaning it generally takes more time to resolve the problem.

What Are The Benefits To Using Cloud Services?

Hosting applications and services on premise is becoming increasingly less common with the shift to remote workers and demand for always-on solutions accessible from anywhere. Take email, for example. It’s not scalable or productive to only have access to your email when you’re within the four walls of your company.

What's An R2 Certified Recycling Organization?

The R2 Standard provides a common set of criteria to recognize responsible reuse and recycling practices, all along the used portion of the electronics lifecycle.

R2 Certification is the formal program for evaluating and monitoring businesses in meeting the R2 Standard, protecting of the environment, the health and safety of workers, and communities, and positively impacting the movement toward a sustainable circular economy while, enriching the lives of people all around the world. – SERI

For more information, visit https://sustainableelectronics.org

Learn More About Our IT Managed Services

Our Northeast Ohio location, rapid response times and 15-plus years of experience allows AVANT Network Solutions to be more than a vendor – we can become an extension of your company. Contact us today to learn how our four-stage approach to Managed Services can take your business operations to the next level.

We're Fast You Can Expect A Response To Any Support Request Within

Minutes

Our Vendors We Use The Latest Technology From Established, Market-leading Brands