Kieran Cooper picks his way through the minefield of choosing IT support.
Alongside the many IT problems afflicting arts organisations that I have discussed over the past two years, the issue of how to support computer systems must rank as one of the thorniest. Companies struggling to get by with out-of-date networks built piecemeal find it very hard to justify spending money on support that could better be channelled into replacing equipment. Even those organisations with entirely new systems find it difficult to commit to ongoing revenue costs in order to keep them functioning in the future.
Finding support
IT support is something that arts organisations have traditionally skimped on ? especially in comparison with companies of similar size and status outside the cultural sector. But even when resources can be found, it is often incredibly hard for organisations to assess what level of support they need, and how much they should be spending on it.
There are essentially four different ways in which IT support can be purchased:
- On a pay-as-you go basis with a support company
- By paying a company a retainer that includes a fixed amount of support time
- With an all-in fee, which disregards the time the company spends
- By employing a specialist in-house.
Each has its pros and cons. Either of the first two options may mean that an organisation may have to make a decision about whether or not to have some work done if the budget has already been spent for that year. The in-house option can be quite expensive, and even if you manage to find someone good, they may not have all the expertise needed and there would still need to be some backup if they were ill or on holiday.
Two words of caution here. Firstly, it is tempting to think further support is unnecessary if you have bought computers that come with maintenance as part of the manufacturer?s guarantee. Whilst your computers will undoubtedly be fixed if they go wrong, the engineer will be unlikely to re-install the operating system or restore the backup onto a machine, and you could be left with nowhere to turn to get your network operational again. Secondly, you may find a sponsor who offers free computer support in return for a package of benefits. This could be an attractive proposition, but the recipient organisation may lose control over the quality of the service. Support may be lacking, just when you need it most.
Remote access
Whilst it may well be a good idea to choose a locally-based support company, you should not rule out the option of using someone who specialises in the remote monitoring of networks over the Internet. I know of one support company based in Milton Keynes that looks after the network of a charity in Northern Ireland and hasn?t needed to send someone on site since the initial installation. However, going down the remote route will work better if there is someone on the staff of the organisation who is happy to be talked through some repairs or fixes that otherwise might have needed an engineer on site.
In choosing your IT support you should ask around as much as possible ? both within the arts community and among local businesses. As well as finding out the names of companies people use, you should also ask how much they pay them. I know of a number of arts organisations that have ended up paying for much more support than they needed, often because they had no measure against which to compare prices.
When you do decide to set up a support relationship with a company, you will invariably need to make changes to your system. With the massive variety of systems and approaches in the IT market at the moment, it is very unlikely that a support company will have detailed experience in every single type of product. So, as well as taking this into account when choosing someone (you would clearly want to select someone who knew about Macs if your network was predominantly based around that technology, for instance), you also need to be aware that you may need to change some elements of your system to match the capabilities and knowledge of the support company. Don?t be rushed into doing this, particularly if the company is in the position to make money from selling you new things; but do expect some help in prioritising the changes that need to be made.
Partnership working
Finally, a few golden rules:
- Always agree charges up front, and make sure that you get a quotation for any work that falls outside the agreed budget.
- Make sure that you have copies of all the passwords and system set-up details stored somewhere securely within your organisation, and pester the support company to keep the records updated. There is nothing worse than an organisation being forced to spend money unpicking a system when they have had to part with their previous support provider.
- In the same way, make sure that you are responsible for all the software licences and hardware guarantees. Ask your support company to help you to audit the software frequently and work with them to set up policies to keep you on the right side of the law.
The best support company is the one you hardly ever have to phone, because they have prevented or fixed any problems before you are aware of them.
Despite all the nightmares that so many organisations have had in the past, it is definitely possible to find companies that will work as your partners, keeping your IT systems going so that they can do their job properly and make the job of running your organisation easier.
Kieran Cooper is a Director of the arts management consultancy Catalyst Arts.
t: 01223 460818; e: kieran@catalystarts.com; w: http://www.catalystarts.com