Technical support

Before internet access was widely available, you were likely to spend time searching for manuals, waiting in a phone queue for technical support, or writing off for free software patches with a cheque for post and packing.

Elements of technical support

Software patches and live updates
If you read the business or IT pages in most newspapers, you will be aware that software is often released with major, or minor, flaws that need to be fixed with updates or software patches. (Where these are security-related flaws this is particularly important.) Almost all software companies now provide these fixes online. In addition free incremental upgrades to programs and paid-for version upgrades are typically available online, quickly downloadable with broadband. This is also the case with operating systems (the software that is the ‘guts’ of a computer) and current versions of Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s MacOS will regularly check for updates and offer to install them ‘live’. Having stable and up-to-date software will save your employees time and a lot of stress. Broadband allows updates to happen in the background and at any time, and is much quicker and less intrusive than having IT support manually update all your computers.

Anti-virus updates
Virus scares now make the national television news and are a serious threat to business productivity. Anti-virus software is common in businesses but is only as good as the viruses it knows about. With new viruses being produced with increasing frequency you will need to ensure your profiles are up-to-date, and broadband allows updates to be downloaded and installed automatically, as soon as they are available.

Access to resource centres and guides
Learning how to use a software application or piece of hardware, and trouble-shooting it when it goes wrong, is a common requirement for businesses, but the manuals never seem to be there when you finally need them. Many hardware companies offer copies of manuals online, and most software companies offer technical support documents and frequently asked questions (FAQ) services online. Employees who know how to use a product properly will be more motivated and productive. As you are likely to need to navigate many pages when trouble-shooting, you will find the high speed of broadband valuable. It is also valuable for downloading support documents, often stored as large Acrobat files.

Online helpdesks
Some software and hardware suppliers offer online helpdesks, which allow customers the ability to chat (or type) live to a support person. Resolving problems quickly avoids stress for employees and helps them get on with their real job. Often these services require you to download an additional application (perhaps written in the Java language), and broadband will allow you to converse more quickly.

Online backup
Losing data can be disastrous for most modern businesses. Businesses typically backup their over their local area network to DAT tape or another cheap medium such as CD-ROM. Data can also be backed up over the internet to a Service Provider, using broadband. This has the advantage that you will never run out of storage space, as the provider can add more as it is needed (at a cost of course).

Online backup tends to be more expensive than local backups, not least because the backups may need to be permanently available. Online backup may best used for interim backups between major local backups (to reduce the amount of data that needs to be stored) or as a fallback if a local backup fails. Most current backup software supports copying to remote servers. (Of course backups made locally can be stored offsite, but somehow that system where you take your backups home and bring them in again for the next backup never quite works out.) Online backups are much quicker to restore from, which may be an important factor if you require your computers to be continually functional.

If most modern businesses lost a significant amount of their data it is unlikely they would survive. Broadband makes online backup practical (reducing backup time to perhaps only tens of minutes per session), and the long backup times require the reliability of a broadband connection.

Supporting remote users
Your company may have multiple sites, or you may have employees working from home or on the road. These users can be helped at a distance by your IT staff or consultant, using tools such as screen sharing, instant messaging (for instance to quickly pass on error messages) and remote file sharing. Allow IT support to be provided flexibly at a distance can may increase the quality of support received. Screen sharing requires the high-bandwidth of broadband. When they are out of the office your employees may also need to connect to your network to pickup software updates or review internal IT support material, and you will need an always-on connection for this.

Remote network and server maintenance and security
Ensuring your network and server are working and performing efficiently is an important element of IT support. If you retain external IT support, or your IT manager is offsite or at one of your other offices they can use broadband to access your network and servers remotely, as it is always-on. They can then perform many of the operations they might carry out if they were actually there, carry out security checks remotely, and check that backups have run correctly.

Remote software installation and configuration
Installing new software is a common activity and interrupts employees’ work. With broadband being always-on, a consultant or offsite IT manager can remotely perform a certain amount of software installation and configuration, and subsequent tweaking, perhaps taking advantage of times that employees are not using their computers. They should also be able to fix the inevitable and irritating setup changes that seem to occur during computer maintenance.

Delivering technical support
If you are a business that produces any kind of software, or software-based service, then delivering technical support will be a key aspect of your business. If your company offers IT support it will be the core of your business. You may choose to offer an online helpdesk (see above), which will need to be updated regularly as new problems or solutions are identified, for which broadband will be beneficial. Supporting remote users, remote software installation, and remote network and server maintenance all require the high-speed and always-on nature of broadband.

Tools and services

Online collaboration
Some of the tools discussed in the ‘Online Collaboration’ white paper will also be useful for technical support, particularly those for instant messaging.

AOL Instant Messenger
www.aim.com

Microsoft MSN Messenger
messenger.msn.com

Virus updates

Norton Antivirus Professional Edition
Automatically removes viruses from email messages and instant message attachments. Features automatic profile updates.
Platform: Windows
Cost: from under £50 per unit
www.symantec.com/product/index_smallbiz.html

McAfee Security Product Suites
Scans floppy disks, email messages (including compressed attachments) and CDs for viruses. Can also work at the internet gateway to prevent virus infection. Allows IT staff to install profile updates over the network, and set the ‘policy’ for intercepting viruses.
Platform: Windows and MacOS
Cost: from under £50 per unit
http://www.nai.com/us/products/mcafee/antivirus/product_suites/category.htm

Online backup

BT Wholesale Automatic Data Backup
www.btwholesale.com

Cable & Wireless Backup and Restore
www.cw.com/services

Datafort
Data from a full backup is initially posted and compressed after which the software runs periodic backups of new and modified files, which are securely copied to the offsite backup.
Cost: based on amount of data stored
www.datafort.co.uk

SteadyTech.com
Full-service computer and network installation and maintenance, including offline backup.
www.steadytech.com

Supporting remote users

Netopia Timbuktu
Allows screen sharing and file exchange. Ease of use: high.
Platform: Windows and MacOS
Cost: around £50 per unit
www.netopia.com/software/products/tb2

Microsoft NetMeeting
Allows screen sharing. Also supports voice- and video-conferencing. Ease of use: medium.
Platform: Windows
www.microsoft.com/netmeeting

Apple Remote Desktop
Allows screen sharing and configuration of remote systems, software distribution, and creation of reports on software and hardware configurations.
Platform: MacOS
Cost: £100s
www.apple.com/remotedesktop

Virtual Network Computing (VNC)
Allows remote screen sharing between computers running all these operating systems. Machines running the VNC software can also be viewed using any Java-capable browser.
Platform: Windows, MacOS, and Unix
Cost: free
Ease of use: medium
www.realvnc.com

Remote network and server maintenance and security

Apple Remote Desktop (see above)

Microsoft Windows XP

Has a number of features for remote network maintenance, including desktop management.

What you need
For all these activities and tools you will need a broadband connection to the internet. Most of the tools mentioned are client- rather than web-based so you will need to invest in purchasing this software. You will also need IT support to help configure software and computers to take advantage of the opportunities proposed.

Next steps

Where to go
For specific advice on which applications discussed might fit your business needs, or on finding and evaluating suppliers and products, you can contact your local, government-funded, Business Link service (www.businesslink.org). You might also review the UK Online for Business website (www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk).

Learn on
For the general business person some useful online publications include:

Wall Street Journal Technology
Lead technology writer Walt Mossberg is well-worth reading. Paid subscription required.
online.wsj.com/technology

Wired News
In-depth reflective IT stories. US-oriented but covers the UK.
www.wired.com/news

Silicon.com
Serious-minded UK-based publication now owned by US-based c|net. Quite business-oriented, with good columnists.
www.silicon.com

The Register
Combative UK-based publication. A valuable antidote to the rest of the IT press.
www.theregister.co.uk

Watch out for...

Patchy patches
While the model of automatically downloaded and installed software patches is a good one, some patches are themselves not well tested. It is a good idea to talk to your IT adviser, read the IT press, or review relevant online discussions to find out whether a current patch should be applied.

No 100% protection
Even with regular anti-virus updates applied, you can still be one of the first victims of a new virus, infected before an update has been issued, so you should also have a strategy for recovery from infections. This is likely to involve having a recently backup of your system and applications.

IT support troubles ahead
If you allow employees to work from home or on the road with computers that are not setup and maintained by your company, you may find that technical support issues will become more complex, as your IT support will may not be familiar with the setup of these computers.

Keeping private in public
Remote access to a network has many security implications. A common way to protect data moving back and forth is to create Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), over which data is encrypted. VPNs are supported by most modern operating systems, and although they are more cumbersome for employees to login to they are an important safeguard for protecting your company’s data.

Immune systems
Ensure that you have up-to-date virus protection in place before allowing automatic installation of security or system updates.

Vulnerable computers
To be able to remotely administer a computer, the ‘privileges’ on your computers will have to be set accordingly. This can make them more vulnerable to interference by unauthorised people and you will need to have a security strategy in place. This is likely to involve a firewall and perhaps periodically changing passwords.