When I set up my own home office, I knew I would need help with my IT, so I was researched IT support. Sadly, I could not find much except for publicity. So, I looked into it and the costs being exorbitant, I had to come up with the strategy below:
Home office IT support will mean using a mix of service provider support (Internet access), local tech repair person or company and, finally, backups, both hardware (at least 2 PCs or laptops) and software (use cloud to store files…)
With regards to your Home Office IT, it’s very easy to get out of your depth very quickly even fir “Techies”. Also, you can’t always afford the premium support plan from a tech support company. Even if you did, they are not always around when you face a complete meltdown usually late in the evening or over the weekends or holidays… So, what to do? Below are the few steps I take to organize my IT support needs which revolve around proactively minimizing the impact of IT breaking down…
Local Tech support company
Contracting a local tech support company is definitely the most expensive option, especially if you absolutely need help urgently at any time. With the right company, you also have the most expert help when you need it. The costs for this type of support varies wildly since the field is so large and service providers have offers that differ greatly one from another.
If you are a small business, you can expect to pay about $ 2,000 per month for a contract that covers you fully. Again, the coverage will have to be defined and tailored to your needs, but that would be the ballpark from my research.
Here, we are talking about a local tech company that will have someone to be “on call”, ready to jump in a car and come to your place if needed. For that cost, you really need to be a small business of a size large enough for this arrangement to make sense.
Assuming you have a home office but you are not really that big of a business (or not a business at all), the option above is not cost effective. I did mention it anyway because I came across many such publicity with no indication of pricing. understandably, those IT support companies want to understand your specific needs to tailor their offer and give a quote.
In-house Tech support
If you are a business and need regular help, then you will need to contact an few local tech support companies and compare the prices. Keep in mind that a full time IT employee cost anywhere between $ 35k and $ 85k and that you could probably get a college kid to help on a regular basis, a few hours a day or a week, for a fraction of that cost. On the other hand, a Local IT support business can bring up, when needed, a Wifi expert, then a PC repair guy, then a file backup specialist… So, multiple specialties whereas your “employee” may know a little bit of everything but would really excel in only one or two areas.
If the above is not a viable option for you (certainly not for me), there are alternatives. Let’s review the options we have for a Home Office IT support.
Brand name company Tech support
The best-known nationwide alternative is “Geek Squad”. Their plans that start $ 49.99 per month with on-site support. Keep in mind that, in addition, each “service” is priced separately. For example, a PC setup is $ 99.99 and a VPN support is $ 329.99… And if someone comes to your home office, it will be $ 119.00 per hour, for the first 10 to 19 hours and you need at least 10 hours to start… One thing to note, GeekSquad is in partnership with BestBuy and if you get some piece of equipment at BestBuy, you can get it setup by GeekSquad – it would take a day to press a few buttons that you absolutely can do yourself… And somehow, even if you don’t use their service, you still get hit with an annual $ 50 ish fee!!!
Another one is “HelloTech”. They have an On-site support plan will start at $ 299 per year including 3 in-home services. Then you need to buy each additional service. Same model as above. Hello Tech also offers a “Business” support option starting at $ 19 per employee. On-site support is then $ 149 but help comes the next day (add $ 50 for same day help).
Nerds on call is another option if you are located on the West coast. They offer on-site support that start at $ 149 per hour with their plan.
Computer Assistant does not offer a plan, so all services are priced by the hour or for the task. You need to call them and then they will give you a quote. Expect about $ 49 per hour for remote help and $ 125 per hour on site.
The conclusion here is that pricing plans and service prices make it hard to do a proper comparison side-by-side especially if you overlay your own support needs in terms of their nature and frequency. You may very well end up paying as much if not more than with a local tech support if you make frequent calls.
Free-lance Tech support
For one-time, specific services, you may want to consider help from a Fiverr, Task Rabbit, Guru or even Craigslist. You contact a free-lancer who will do a specific task. It can be PC repair job for example. Those services will allow you to choose a free-lancer based on availability, expertise and cost. The benefit is that you have access to a lot more help at a reduced cost. On the flip side however, you will need to do the research yourself and rely on others’ feedback to determine which free-lancer to work with. The best here is to go with a few free-lancers, try them out and then determine for yourself which one(s) is (are) best for you.
The one important drawback I can see it that you need to give access to your files and computer to someone you do not know at all…
On Fiverr, you can find free-lancer who will help for as low as $ 5 although, quite frankly, this is the minimum Fiverr can charge and for that price you’ll get a very basic, simple task. So your real cost will be higher for any work of any importance. Also, safety is a concern.
Guru is a similar type of service, focusing on remote help with prices starting at $ 8. I will stress the fact that $ 8 is a starting price… You will find publicity for remote IT support companies as well on this platform.
Then you have Craiglsit. A bit like Fiverr and Guru, you can find any kind of help. Maybe best to use Craigslist to find a local IT help person like we mentioned earlier.
Word of caution
It would seem that, unless you are an IT professional yourself, you have no other choice than hiring a very expensive local IT support company for your Home Office IT support. In reality, you don’t always need immediate help (which is what costs the most). A few techniques an backups can go a long way to alleviate that immediacy need even further.
Below, we’ll go over ways we can minimize the need for immediate and total protection as we just described. We’ll discuss how to have you set up with some backups so you can continue to work while a more reasonably priced help can come.
Backups
Files backups are essential, simple in principle but hard to achieve in the mix of all that you need to do during your regular day. Backing up your files, entire directory, should be a nightly or at least weekly activity. The easiest it to work off of the cloud but that can pose some security issues as we want to avoid unencrypted sensitive information stored on the cloud.
Why are the backup so essential? Because help may be a few hours or even days away. Imagine your files are on a laptop that has now some hardware issue. You may have a contract with a tech support company and they will help you retrieve the files, but it’s Friday night. Or, you may have to send them the laptop. Or, you may need to wait until the technician shows up at your door… So below are some of my suggestions for backups.
File backups
For your low risk files, work off the cloud, you’ll never risk losing those. For your files that contain sensitive information, the best is to take a backup on an external drive. A USB key could do provide you have very few (and/or small) such files.
A good candidate for USB key backup would be a file that contain your password. Note that your most sensitive password (bank account access or email account that can be used to reset your bank account access), should never be saved on any file.
Hardware backups
Hardware backup and most importantly, PC/laptop back up, can only be achieved through the use of 2 machines computers, laptop, tablet…). It is a doubling of the cost, yes, but if you need to get that project finished or send that file before a certain deadline, you need a way to get back up and running immediately while the computer that you used to use is being repaired.
In case of a laptop or tablet, you need a second power supply. Why? Two reasons: you may lose the first one and, particularly for tablets, the connectivity may break and you won’t be able to charge your device again. If an issue happens during a weekday, before stores close, you can run and buy a replacement but what if the issue happens on a Friday evening, when the stores are all closed and you need to work another 6 hrs?
By the same logic, you could ask whether you should have two printers… I don’t recommend it because either the work you produce is not that dependent on having a printout produced, and in this case, you can probably wait for the repair or, you do heavily rely on printouts and then you should really be using professional printer services such as Kinkos, FedEx. They will print in any number of locations and some are even open on weekends… So, you will be able have your printouts produced with minimal delay.
Internet access backups
Internet access goes down: have an alternate Internet access. I know it sounds like an overkill, but most people have internet at home and a data plan through their cell phone company. My cell phone did serve me a few times as an internet backup connection. When in trouble with internet access and you need to send that doc out or access your accounts, having internet access through your cell phone is a must. You may even consider a premium cell phone data plan.
The likelihood of having both the ISP and the cell phone down at the same time is quite small so I would not recommend going for an additional backup access. In fact, if both ISP and Cell phone company are down, it’s probably due to a major event (hurricane, other natural disaster, etc.) and at that point, you may have to move to the next town just to get electricity…
Service provider support
You have Internet access through an ISP. You have a cell phone plan with a cell phone company. You bought your computer and software from reputable companies… All those “service providers” have insurances and support coverage that you can use. Just like mentioned above however, in some cases, help can be a few days away, hence the backup guidelines above. So, in case you have any issue, you do fallback on your backup solution and you get your important work completed, but then you will still need to address the failure at hand (internet down, laptop unresponsive). This is where you need to use the support from your providers first.
ISP support
Still, if your internet is down, you will need to have the ISP fix it. Only they can do that and that. That form of support is included in their service, so you will have to call them. That support will extend to the router box they install in your home. If you have on top of that a wifi router, that piece of equipment is not covered however. We’ll discuss later what can be done from an on-going support perspective. So, in short, your ISP is supporting your internet connection from their router to internet.
Hardware manufacturer support
When you buy a PC/Laptop/Printer, you will get the option to buy a guarantee with it either from the store or the manufacturer. Some guarantees are priced unreasonably, so I can’t say that I always recommend taking one even though you should…
If what you buy is expensive enough, I’d look at the guarantee twice. They may come with a manufacturer guarantee included for 1 year for example. If the store offers an additional guarantee, I’d take the coverage that is 2 or 3 years only because by that time, I’ll probably need to replace the PC/Laptop/printer anyway.
So, I will try and get as much manufacturer guarantee / support as I can provide the cost is reasonable.
Software editor support
When you buy office 365, you automatically get support, however, that’s mostly support for the installation itself, not if you have a problem with a word doc in particular or if you deleted a file.
Likewise, gmail comes with support but they won’t show you how the additional gmail services work. For that, you will need to spend time and “google” it.
If you have a specific software you use and it’s critical for the work (or business) you do, you may want to consider the support they offer even if you have to pay for it. Most of the time though, the software will be offered on a subscription basis which will always contain some form of support (either by email or chat…)
Related question
How to surf safely online
Use a good anti-virus. Your password must be complex with special characters, lower case and upper-case letters. Confirm the site’s security (https vs. http). Be selective with whom you share your info: only government’s or financial institution’s secured sites. Use a credit card with a low limit for online payments…
What is the cost of IT support for a small business?
You can expect to pay about $50 per desktop per month for a “managed service”: in case of an issue, you call. Fixing is done remotely and a “Tech” can come if needed. Alternatively, you can alternatively use an “IT guy” who can help when needed and that would amount to about $60 to $100 per hour.