Network Support Enhanced
The successful maintenance of a complex and evolving enterprise network is dependent on being aware of the key support needs and potential problem areas. Integral provide the necessary skills, tools and resources to assist in the effective support and management of data communication networks, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Integral functions as part of the clients own support team and works closely with them to develop and operate a comprehensive support plan for the network. This support plan forms the basis of the joint service level agreement and can include a number of standard and optional services that will ensure the successful day to day running of the network.
The services we provide
ActiveCare – an integrated comprehensive support solution, including remote monitoring and guaranteed fix times as standard with the benefit of an online portal giving access to a dedicated information centre.
ActiveCare is typically used by clients who have the need for a highly pro-active network maintenance and support solution, which guarantees less downtime, more uptime and higher levels of staff productivity. This solution also reduces the time the IT department needs to be involved. A typical ActiveCare client would have a need for pro-active monitoring of potential and ‘real time’ network issues with automated fault ticket generation. The ActiveCare system will automatically alert our 24/7 helpdesk of network-based ‘problems’ that require immediate remote diagnostics, with a much shorter fault rectification time. With the use of this solution, you can be confident that faults can be rapidly identified before they become a major issue – in fact in 82% of cases, faults can be rectified remotely and within less than 2 hours.
Integral offers a unique flexible combined network support & maintenance solution, which includes a remote monitoring and management service, as standard. With the backup of in excess of 500 network engineers, high level technical specialists, the highest manufacturer accreditations available and with stock levels in excess of £25 Million, Integral offers a solution which really makes a difference; these include full 24 hour, 365 day a year monitoring and alerting of critical components, availability and utilisation reporting and live incident tracking via a secure client portal.
InCare – a comprehensive support solution, with guaranteed fix times as standard.
InCare is typically used by clients who have a less demanding need for a combined monitoring and network maintenance solution. InCare delivers all of the benefits of ActiveCare but without the monitoring tools in place. A typical InCare client would have a need for a fast resolution of network problems that have been identified by the in-house IT teams. The InCare solution continues to deliver such benefits as remote diagnostics with 4 hour guaranteed fix times, as standard.
For more details please download our ActiveCare & InCare PDF
Our Capabilities
Although there are key differences between ActiveCare and InCare, our capabilities apply to both solutions. These are detailed below.
Nationwide field service capability
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Integral operates a 24 hour 365 day nationwide field service capability that is both flexible and high quality. To provide the highest levels of service and support, with over 500 experienced field service engineers divided into geographical regions throughout the UK and Ireland. Approximately 100 of the engineers are trained on core equipment, networking protocols and data communications in general including MPLS, xDSL, IP, Frame Relay and a wide range of LAN and WAN technologies.
There are 35 dedicated product specialists, trained to the highest levels, who have an in-depth knowledge of each of the products supported. They are also accredited in other technology areas such as network monitoring and management, network performance analysis, security, IPT, and content delivery networking products. The field itself is supported by the centrally based TAC group whose role is to provide telephone support to both the field resource as well as our Partner base. |
Accreditations
All 1200 field and technical engineers attend both internal and manufacturers’ training courses. This has allowed the achievement of accreditations to the highest levels with all the main networking vendors. Below is a list of the accreditations held as a result of the field and technical engineers’ skill-sets.
Other manufacturer’s that can be supported include: 3com, Enterasys, Cabletron, Foundry and Extreme.
Flexible Service Levels
Integral provides a comprehensive and flexible range of maintenance and support options that can be further tailored to provide the level of service and response times to match your individual needs. These range from advanced replacement to 24x7, 4 hour guaranteed fix times to dedicated engineers and spares based permanently on-site.
Integral can also offer the flexibility to assign varying service levels or priority ratings to each component under contract - this allows you, the client, to decide on the service level required at the time of placing the fault ticket.
Contract Variations
Integral allows total flexibility for additions and removals to the contract schedule on a pro-rata basis. This way you will only ever pay for what is being supported.
Technical Telephone Assistance
With its integrated technical assistance facility, the fault management system will provide you with only one number to call and a single point of contact for all your service enquiries.
The technical assistance desk is manned by the specialist support engineers who employ advanced information systems and diagnostic tools to quickly resolve issues on a wide variety of networking hardware and software. They are in regular contact with the leading product suppliers and service providers to ensure you are kept fully aware of any major developments and are provided with the best possible support.
ActiveCare Specific Capabilities
24/7 Monitoring & Notification
- Automatic collection of performance and alert statistics.
- Trouble Ticket raised on Call Management system.
- Notification of alerts via email and SMS for up to 5 defined points of contact.
- Corresponding inventory under support displayed via the Portal.
Availability Reporting
Client Portal
Key Benefits
The key benefits of ActiveCare and InCare are listed below. The only differences in benefits are shown with asterisks.
- *Proactive remote monitoring, including network performance analysis, fault alerts and reporting
- *Client portal (access to contract details, live and historical fault tickets, network availability, etc.)
- *Network audits and serial number collection on network devices
- Flexible and fluid service contracts with ´priority call rating´
- Guaranteed fix times – rather than response times
- Performance penalties and service credits written into a clear and concise service level agreement
- Technical telephone assistance on ICT related issues
- Remote troubleshooting
- Software support
- Contract additions and deletions with prorated cost reconciliation
* applies to ActiveCare only.
Optional services include:
Guarantees
ActiveCare and InCare are services that offer differing levels of benefits. The guarantees below apply to each service. In each case we guarantee the service backed up with performance penalties and service credits.
ActiveCare – we guarantee everything within the InCare guarantee and in addition; more network uptime and less downtime leading to a higher level of productivity from staff members as a result of a pro-active combined monitoring and support solution.
InCare – we guarantee 24/365 – maximum of 4 hour fix times - rather than response times, more flexible service approach with ‘priority call rating’ options, a more comprehensive solution with a higher level of service.
Pricing
Service contracts with an annual spend of £15,000 or more gain the enhanced benefit of the ActiveCare solution. Pricing for both services are available on request. Typically, InCare is applicable to budgets of less than £15,000 per year, however InCare contracts can be easily upgraded to ActiveCare contracts.
Testimonials
“We chose Integral to provide us with support and maintenance services for our data networks,over the past three years working with Integral we have not been disappointed. Having the knowledge that one of 1200 multi-skilled field engineers based across 22 UK sites would be onsite within a matter of hours, gave us great comfort. And with the 4 hour guaranteed fix time as standard, we always knew that our problems would be solved successfully and without disruption!
Integral always go beyond the call of duty and to date have exceeded our expectations. Many organisations claim to guarantee their service – Integral were the only organisation that backed up this claim with penalty clauses and service credits. They have never yet missed the SLA and have always acted promptly, even when the issue fell outside of the standard contract terms. I would be pleased to refer Integral to any other organisation, as they really are true to their word”
Pat Gogarty
CTO
Abacus / Epsilion EMEA
The Trust chose Integral Specialist Services as their support provider as they demonstrated a more flexible solution and one which offered ‘real’ value for money with additional inclusive services, all at less cost than other providers. 
To date, Integral has proven to be a ‘true’ support partner displaying the commitment to giving technical advice and assistance at all times. They have helped us to ensure the ICT environment remains stable and they are always consistent in their expertise.
We would have no problem recommending Integral to any other organisation.
IT Network Manager
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
After much due diligence, USS selected Integral due to their proven track record of offering flexible and tailored support services that match the demands and requirements of the business. We have been extremely impressed with the Integral team and the services they provide to us. We would have no problem is recommending their services to anyone. Jeremy Warren Most of our clients are initially attracted by one of our services but most go on to use many of our other services. Our focus is on saving clients budget in a wide range of areas, while improving operational efficiency. Please do look at our services introduction page to see other areas in which we can help you.
Their ´can do approach´ and responsiveness means we can rely on Integral when it is most needed.
IT Manager
Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS)Our Full Range of Services