Mel Patel - Managing Director

How MSPs Support Charities

Posted on July 20, 2023July 24, 2023 by Mel Patel

Charities do vital work to support the vulnerable in our communities. To ensure efficiency and quality, as well as safety and compliance, charities often turn to MSPs (Managed Service Providers) for assistance. The reason charities turn to MSPs for support is to ensure that all needed support is available always and it is also a cost-effective solution, enabling them to allocate more resources to support those in need.

Our story

At help4IT, we didn’t set out to niche in the charity sector, however, as we were approached for assistance by charities, we took the chance to make a positive impact on people’s lives through our expertise and enthusiasm for tech. We work with many charities from AGE UK Camden and Groundswell to Meals On Wheels, providing them with tailored solutions that ensure they can always operate effectively.

We’ve helped our clients with full cloud migration, automation of operations, including route planning and orders, as well as Linux support to ensure the system and all programs work properly. Charities often need to find ways to be cost-effective without sacrificing quality and safety, that’s why many charities turn to an MSP like help4IT for support with their IT requirements. Most of the charities we work with have been with us for 15 years and refer us because we not only know our field inside out, we take time to listen, communicate and nurture the relationship. We genuinely care about the charities we work with and we want to ensure our clients and the people they help are happy and stay safe.

The impact of MSPs on charities

Charities must always think carefully about their budgets while ensuring that their operations don’t suffer, and their team and their customers stay safe. This is why many charities opt-in to outsource their IT operations to MSPs.

Meals On Wheels were planning their delivery routes manually which took time, so they turned to us for help. We automated their operations in terms of route planning and orders with the help of Microsoft Azure. As a result, they were able to take on 200 more households as customers for meal deliveries. Read more about our work with Meals on Wheels here.

Groundswell had chosen to use a Linux-based server to reduce costs, but their IT service provider wasn’t able to solve an issue causing the charity severe issues with their IT operations. The charity turned to us because we have Linux expertise in our team and the capability to resolve the key issues quickly. Since that day we have been the trusted partner for Groundswell.

Charities can’t afford to risk their operations halting or slowing down due to tech issues. People across the country rely on charities for daily support. If the IT operations aren’t optimised, not only their performance but also security is affected. These are the main reasons why MSPs are trusted partners for charities like Groundswell and Meals On Wheels. Charities also appreciate human interaction with their service provider. As we are a people business that cares about our clients, we build a strong bond with the charities that we work with. This is why we have retained these clients for many years.

For further information on our IT support for charities, don’t hesitate to contact us today.

“We are a people business” – Mel Patel on the founding of help4IT

Posted on April 17, 2023June 12, 2023 by Mel Patel

When I first founded help4IT Limited, it was already clear to me that I wanted my company to be one of
a kind. IT is often seen as boring and complex with plenty of terminologies that would turn any business
owner off within 5 minutes. I wanted to build a business that is exactly the opposite.

I’ve always appreciated and respected people I meet and love helping where I can. This was also the
cornerstone of help4IT when I embarked on the mission to build an IT company that is also a people
business. I wanted my clients to feel heard, respected and understood. I didn’t want my clients to feel
puzzled when an IT manager explains what needs to be done, I wanted everything to be clear and simple.

This philosophy has resulted in long-term relationships with both employees and clients. I value
connection and relationship and that also shows in our relationship. Many of the help4IT team have
been around for over a decade and so have many clients like Groundswell who we’ve been working with
for over 15 years already.

One size doesn’t fit all

Another reason for customer loyalty is that we understand that one size doesn’t fit all. This is why we
take time to listen and understand the requirements of our valued clients instead of playing that we
know it all. We tailor our services to provide the optimal solution for our clients. From cybersecurity and
MSP to consulting and providing pay-as-you-go with the features that are vital for our clients has
ensured that our customers are happy.

We are family

I take pride in having around me people who have become family to me. With time, me, my team at
help4IT, and our clients have become like family. When you treat people like family, they are more likely to
stay with you long-term. Investing in relationships is a vital ingredient in our success story.

How to Provide the Best IT Support for Your Remote Workers

Posted on April 25, 2022July 18, 2023 by Mel Patel

The number of employees working remotely within the UK has grown significantly in recent years, largely due to the impact of Covid-19 and the subsequent national lockdowns. According to a study by the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data, remote working was relatively rare in 1981 when only 1.5% of those in employment worked mainly from home. By 2019 it had tripled to 4.7%, however, it rose suddenly and dramatically in lockdown with just over 43% of employees working almost always working remotely.

With 36% of working adults reporting that they have worked at home at least once over a 7 day period in January 2022, there has emerged a significant requirement for employers to ensure that their staff can fulfil their roles to the best of their ability outside of the office or other traditional work environments. With the remote working trend likely to continue long after the impact of Covid-19 has diminished, employers must be able to provide a high standard of IT support services for staff working from home and other spaces outside of official company premises.

Key areas that employers need to consider when accommodating the requirements of remote workers include the following.

Ensure remote workers can get technical issues fixed by a remote IT support team

If large sections of your team are not office based, it’s unlikely that you will be able to provide onsite IT support for every issue that they encounter. You need to ensure that you have a good system in place for responding to their issues quickly and fixing the problem remotely, wherever possible. If your business serves customers from around the world, then you may need to consider providing a multi-lingual remote IT support department.

Ensure that your remote team can access IT support 24/7

If a high percentage of your staff do not work regular 9 to 5 office hours, it’s important that they are able to access help and fix IT issues whenever they occur. If you are unable to establish an in-house 24/7 IT team, consider outsourcing support to a dedicated managed IT support company. This will ensure that staff working from home late at night or operating in different time zones are not prevented from meeting important deadlines or delivering solutions to customers.

Ensure that you can deal with local emergencies experienced by remote workers

Whilst most issues can be resolved remotely, occasionally an onsite visit is the only option for resolving urgent issues faced by staff working remotely. You, therefore, need to ensure that you can facilitate a response to any emergencies occurring no matter where in the country, or the world, they happen. One way to do this would be to work alongside multiple local IT support providers based on the locations of your remote staff. This might work for smaller businesses, however, for larger and more complex operations you should consider hiring a local managed services provider (MSP), one that can leverage network connections to ensure onsite support is provided quickly no matter where in the world your staff are based.

Ensure that strong security standards and procedures are implemented

Never assume that staff working remotely are not a threat to your central systems. Without carefully considered security procedures and solutions in place, staff may attempt to access company files from unprotected or public networks potentially compromising sensitive data and information. Important steps to ensure that staff can work safely whilst remote include the following:

Mandating Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Mandating strong passwords and user access protocols
Limiting access to sensitive files and directories
Providing training and support on common security risks such as phishing attacks
Setting up a VPN network
Setting up systems to ensure that security software on devices used to access company information is kept up to date
Implementing a cloud-based mobile device management (MDM) service such as Microsoft Intune.

Ensure you have considered the bigger picture for remote working staff

It’s not enough just to provide a solution for fixing IT issues for your remote staff. You need to ensure that your business can continue to operate well in the face of bigger systemic issues such as server failures. Backup server maintenance, temporary systems, and devices for both your office-based and remote staff all need to be considered to assure uninterrupted productivity and business continuity.

The help4IT advantage: providing specialist support for remote working staff

With our extensive global partner network, the help4IT team provide emergency support for our clients that have operations in multiple countries and remote staff working in varied locations. We have also assisted countless businesses to migrate to a platform that offers best in class security provision for both office-based and remote working team members.

To find out more about how we can help you, please get in touch.

What benefits can a bespoke IT infrastructure offer your business?

Posted on January 9, 2017May 25, 2022 by Mel Patel

Every business has different requirements when it comes to their IT. From storage solutions to catering for necessary processes and backup requirements, off-the-shelf solutions are not always applicable to the needs of companies, and can often result in them paying for unnecessary components. If your business hasn’t considered bespoke IT solutions, then there are numerous benefits that are worth bearing in mind.

Bespoke solutions increase security and flexibility

Security is one of the most major concerns for many businesses, since it has significant legal implications and data protection regulations must be adhered to. In many cases, a bespoke solution can offer much greater security than standard solutions, since they can be tailored to your exact requirements.

Faster data restoration and RTO times

Certified processes can be put in place to ensure that data is backed up effectively. This means that you can guarantee a faster RTO time and reduce the negative effects on your clients and in-house when downtime occurs. Data can be stored and backed up using a private or [public cloud solution depending on what best suits you. This structure can also give you better overall services due to large bandwidth pipes.

Cuts costs and reduce your carbon footprint

Ultimately, choosing a bespoke solution means paying only for the things your business setup requires, and cuts out costs of things that will not be used. It gives you full control over your IT infrastructure and the features that it has, meaning you also have control over the way you work –this can include flexibility to work remotely. Some options such as using the cloud can also reduce operational costs and reduce your carbon footprint.

A solution to suit you

The most important thing about your IT infrastructure is that it allows you to complete day-to-day processes efficiently and meets your requirements. Although standard setups can be suitable for some businesses, a bespoke solution is often much better at directly addressing these needs, and ensuring the best possible infrastructure that is tailored exactly for optimum performance.

Find out more about bespoke IT support solutions by giving help4IT a call today on 0800 043 4448.

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Author: Mel Patel