Midlands-IT Support can provide same day remote and on site IT support from our Overseal office conveniently situated close to Junction 11 of the M42.  We are only 5 minutes from Swadlincote, 10 minutes for Burton Upon Trent and Ashby de-la-Zouch and within 30 minutes of Derby, Coalville, Loughborough, Tamworth, Hinckley, Solihull and Birmingham.

We currently provide onsite support within a 50 mile radius for a very diverse range of businesses including Building Societies, Mortgage Brokers, Insurance Brokers, Estate Agents, Manufacturing Companies, Auctioneers and many more. For some companies we provide assistance to their own in-house IT Support Teams, providing 3rd line IT support and ITIL based management advice and guidance to support them when an issue is beyond their capability.

We also provide nationwide remote support, with clients as far north as Thurso and as far south as the Isle of White. We have on occasion provided remote support to users in Australia, United States, Spain, France and Cyprus to name a few. We utilise TeamViewer for secure remote access to devices with an internet connection. This includes phones and tablets. 

Since Covid, many of our customers have changed their working models to recruit remote worker, meaning that they can recruit from a wider pool of staff, anywhere in the UK.  We provide these staff with pre-configured laptops with secure remote access to business systems and services, so they may never need to attend the office.  Our staff organise the entire process from hardware and software acquisition to setup and installation. We arrange couriers to deliver the equipment to the end user, and keep them informed of when deliveries will occur.  Since launching the service we have now taken on international clients who are expanding into the UK market, so we look after the IT requirements of their UK staff, without them having to worry about the paperwork involved in exporting to the UK.

From years of experience managing complex IT infrastructures it's not rocket science to realise that the better equipment you supply, the longer it lasts.  We only provide business grade equipment which generally has a working life of at least 5 years. The difference in price compared to the improved longevity is a no-brainer in terms of return on investment.

We aim to provide a pro-active IT support service, either letting you know when and what maintenance is required, or doing the maintenance for you, usually outside business hours, to ensure your systems and services run optimally when you need them.

Small businesses invest thousands of pounds on IT equipment and software to make the day to day running of their business easier, yet many companies have only reactive IT support or none at all. That’s a little bit like buying a car and never servicing it – when problems do occur it can cost thousands of pounds to get back up and running or worse its too late to prevent the total loss of key business data.

So how can a smaller business become pro-active when budgets dictate that in-house support is not an option?

We offer the same ITIL based IT support framework used by big business, taking a pro-active service management approach to your IT infrastructure, yet with the personal service you would expect from a smaller company.

We can offer both onsite and cloud based solutions for your IT systems, including but not limited to emails, file sharing, HR Staff Management and backup solutions

We have recently changed our service offerings to simplify our business model, so we now only offer pay as you go IT support rather than monthly or annual contacts which do not offer good value to customers, especially with the way the world of work has changed since Covid.

Cloud Services, also referred to as Cloud Computing or Hosted Services is a means of an organisation gaining access to service such as email, offsite backups or file repositories without the need to buy the hardware, software and have the in-house IT department to manage the service for them.

It represents some of the most cost effective start-up packages for small businesses, giving a professional identity to companies that do not have several thousand pounds to setup a server and a few users, and given the scalability of cloud computing, it also offers a cost effective solution for expanding businesses.

Commonly used Cloud Services include Microsoft 365 such as OneDrive, SharePoint or Exchange Online, Xero Accounting software, GSuite by Google and Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Our client base is mainly small and medium sized businesses, many of whom are trying their best to keep costs to a minimum so as not to pass on additional costs to their customers. With this in mind, cloud or hybrid-cloud (a mix of on-premises and cloud based solutions) can provide a cost effective solution for most businesses with structured costs to help with business budgeting.  Each solution is based on the exact requirements of the business and can be expanded or reduced to meet current and future needs.

Understanding the needs of our clients and then explaining the options available in plain English is one of our strengths, and sets us apart from other IT Consultancy service providers.

For cloud services we are a Microsoft Cloud Partner, offering Microsoft 365 which includes email via Microsoft Exchange Online, online file storage and collaborative working areas via Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive and online unified communication and collaboration via Microsoft Teams.  There are also options for acrhiving older emails for those that like to keep a copy of everything via Microsoft Exchange Archiving.

Microsoft 365 starts from £4.90 per month for small businesses and professionals which gives you 50GB of email and 10GB of SharePoint file storage, plus 500MB additional SharePoint for each individual user and 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user

If you do not have a business edition of Office you can get a copy of this for an additional £6 per month for use on up to 5 devices per user.

We also provide Breathe HR Cloud Services, which is a cloud based HR Management system, and the feedback from our customers is that it's so easy to use and provides them wih real-time HR information with just a couple of clicks.  We can even setup the whole system for you including importing staff records, setting up your holiday years and allocating your management team with task such as holiday request approval. Full training on the system is provided by online learning modules which staff can take at their own pace.

Midlands-IT Support can provide consultants to assist you with every step of the process in moving to cloud services, whether its from the initial setup, purchasing of a domain name, transferring existing data or just having some time with someone to show you how to get the best from the system, we are there to help.  We can also manage the migration for you from start to finish as well as managing the service on your behalf going forward.

We can also offer cloud based backup services for your important data.

Our IT Management Service is there to provide your business with a cost effective solution to IT Management without you having to employ someone on a full or part time basis. We aim to provide you with help and assistance for the management of your IT systems, whether it is finding new solutions, or just managing the existing assets to ensure they meet any compliance needs.  This service can be combined with any of the other services we offer to give you a one stop shop for all your IT needs. From hardware and software procurement, to contract negotiation and renewals, with our expertise we can be the point of contact for IT suppliers, leaving you that valuable time to run your business.

Whether you are bombarded by calls from someone claiming to be Microsoft saying your computer has a virus, or someone trying to get you to buy domain names in India or China, we can deal with all these irritants on your behalf.

Where there is a requirement for Data Protection and GDPR compliance, we can provide the advice and guidance, and where necessary the resources to ensure you are fully compliant with the Data Protection Act and UK GDPR

If you’re not sure how many gigabytes you have free, when your anti-virus subscription expires, when the warranty expires on your hardware or how to request a service call, or you are simply getting bombarded by IT sales teams trying to get you to buy their products, then you may want to speak to us. We can take the headache of IT Management away from you, meaning you have the time to concentrate on building your business.

Some examples of our IT Management service offerings are:

    Hardware Asset Management

    Software Asset Management

    Supplier Management

    System Backup, Disaster Recovery & BCP

    Capacity Planning and Management

    Security Patching and Review

    IT Policy Development

Moving to new office, factory or workspace? Don’t know who to contact for your telecoms or how to move your servers and computers? Don’t have the time to manage your business and prepare the move? Maybe Midlands-IT.support  can help?

Businesses grow, businesses shrink, that’s a fact of life, but the key thing that links moving your business location is that you need to start making your new premises work for you on day one.

For most businesses the key to success is communication, whether it be by telephone, email, fax or letter, you purchased IT systems to make your business run quicker, smoother and smarter than before.

Unfortunately when it comes to keeping a track of the IT assets, who supplies them, how to contact them for support and how to relocate them should you move, the information isn’t usually available.  That’s where Midlands IT Support can help.

We have managed IT moves across major cities such as London and Birmingham, maintaining large corporate infrastructures and connectivity with clients.  We have project managed small and medium sized office relocations from town to town and same town relocations, culminating in same day moves with limited or no downtime.

We can provide specialist project managers for your business relocation, people who are used to organising both Telecoms and IT suppliers to make sure they are working to your agenda, not their own.

We also have a list of contacts for building refurbishment, surveying, alternate telecoms providers, printing services for new stationary and business cards, business removals companies, and we can manage the move of your PC’s and servers in-house.

So if the stress of moving your business is getting you down, if the project isn’t going to plan, if you are looking for someone to organise your suppliers so they work for you then why not give Midlands-IT.support a call.

The initial consultation is free, and you only pay for the time you use, not a half day or daily rate.

We can also document your IT suppliers, the contracts you have and whether you are getting the best value in the marketplace.  We have saved one customer £40,000 over 5 years and provided exactly the same services as they previously received from BT, but for only 22% of the cost. That money covered the entire refurbishment of their new offices.

IT Consultancy is the provision of advice and guidance for IT related matters. The scope for what constitutes IT consultancy is vast, it covers anything from starting up a business to transferring the IT assets to another company and just about everything in between.

With over 20 years’ experience of providing IT consultancy to businesses large and small on a hugely diverse range of technical areas we believe that Midlands-IT Support  is well placed to assist you will any IT consultancy needs you may have.

The key to good IT Consultancy is communication. Being able to ask the right questions to the right people in order to establish what the specific business requirements are. Really it’s a combination of technical business analyst and project manager rolled into one.  Whether it's what server to buy, whether your CRM system can be virtualised, which Cloud services are right for your organisation, or you’re looking to put together an IT strategy for the next 5 years so you can budget for when to replace equipment and software, our IT Consultancy Service can provide the answers you are looking for.

Our experience comes from providing IT consultancy, technical project management and hands-on technical management for projects as small as a printing review, small business infrastructure design and implementation and single site infrastructure upgrades to multi-site, multi-discipline  infrastructure upgrades, multi-site WAN configuration mapping, server virtualisation programs, large infrastructure capacity planning programs, desktop refresh programs and large office relocation projects and just about everything in-between.

Having worked for large corporate clients, with IT budgets in excess of £30m per annum, the marketplace for technology is immense.  If you want to perform a task or function better, faster or smarter and the product isn’t yet available, someone will be able to build it for you.  Midlands-IT Support have that knowledge.  We can help your existing IT team, or work as an independent resource on behalf of your business to make sure the solutions you need are the ones you get.

We always provide a FREE initial consultation which enables us to establish whether we are able to assist in what you are looking to do, and to make sure that it is really something you need to invest in. All of our services are delivered with the utmost integrity. We will not sell any of our services or any other product to you if we do not believe they are required.

IT Consultancy can be offered on either hourly, half day or full day rates depending upon your requirements.

We can also arrange the purchase of hardware, software and installation engineers. Let us do the leg work to get you the best prices. Previously we have saved a business in excess of 30% on a £100,000 hardware order for a few hours work and asking the right questions to the right suppliers. That’s a huge return on investment. Typical savings can be between 15% and 30% on the manufacturers RRP, although we have previously achieved a 66% saving on a £50,000 software order.

A few examples of the consultancy services we offer are:

    Infrastructure Review

    New Business start-up

    Infrastructure upgrades

    Server upgrades and data migration

    Project review and proof of concept testing

    Desktop refresh and deployment

    Back office installation and upgrades

    Capacity planning and archive solutions

    Shared infrastructure setup for multiple companies

The purpose of Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plans are to identify potential risks to your business and to put processes and procedures into place along with cost effective solutions, so that should those risks become a reality, your business can continue trading.

How much would a day without IT systems cost your business?

How much would a week without IT systems cost your business?

These are very realistic questions that you should ask yourself. Typically a day without IT systems for a small to medium sized business doesn’t actually cost that much other than a few phone calls and apologies to clients. If it becomes a longer term problem such as losing all of your server data and the backup hasn’t worked for the last 6 months, then it becomes a real issue, potentially one that could lose you your business all together.

So what should you do?

All businesses, irrespective of size should have both Disaster Recovery Plans and Business Continuity Plans in place. These plans are based on the potential risks that are identified as part of the planning stage, and comprehensive solutions are included to ensure that should the worst happen, everyone knows what to do to get your business back on track.

Fire, flood, electrical failure and structural issues can affect an organisation by making the business premises uninhabitable and without utilities, but a police incident or gas leak would mean your business premises is still up and running, the phones are still working but no one is able to answer them or respond to email. A break-in could result in the laptop and desktop machines being stolen, yet a server is usually too big to take. Everything again would still be functioning but your staff would be unable to respond to your clients needs. All of these things should be considered for your Business Continuity Plan, and where necessary steps should be taken to ensure that your business is in a position to respond to any problems that occur.

So how can we help?

With our vast experience of creating and testing Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plans for a diverse range of clients we can help you identify your core business requirements and create the plans so you and your staff can start to get your business back on track should disaster occur.

We have the knowledge and experience to assess your backup processes to ensure they are appropriate. We can create, or assist you with creating your own disaster recovery plan. We can also help to identify risks that should be covered within your business continuity plans. The entire process will be fully transparent to you, so hopefully you’ll gain a greater understanding of what you have in place, and what the best way to protect it is.

Previously we have helped recover entire servers, entire domains and entire infrastructures when full system backups have not been available so a manual process, piecing together different backups has been required.

So what happens if you have to call your plans into action?

Well we can be there to help you through the mine field that suppliers can inadvertently make, negotiating on your behalf to get the right products and services at the right price and in a timely fashion. We can assist in getting systems and services back up and running and co-ordinate efforts to ensure minimum downtime. We can be there to assist in assessing where the issues occurred and what can be done to prevent it happening again, and we can help to reassess your plans to ensure continuous improvement within the processes.