As with payroll services before, it is becoming increasingly cost effective to outsource IT services. Having been an outsourcer for dozens of customers over a 10 year period, we do IT outsourcing right. We have a clear methodology that enables us to remedy any existing problems in a company’s IT infrastructure, and to setup a tailored plan for managing that infrastructure going forward. Here are the steps:

Network Audit

This is a comprehensive examination of a company’s IT infrastructure broken out into the following 6 categories:
. Messaging Systems
. Remote Access
· Local Area Network
· Security
· Backup
· Disaster Recovery

The output of this examination is a detailed recommendation document. It includes the following sections:
. Cost Savings Opportunities
. Security
· Stability
· Performance
· Fault Tolerance

Audit Review

We then meet with the company to review the findings and discuss possible courses of action.

Outsourcing Proposal

Based on our findings and discussions, we draft a proposal. In the proposal, we include the set of services that corresponding to the company’s needs. We also select one of three service levels. We then sit down with the company to go over each selected service, taking as long as the company needs to understand the services, and offering them the option of removing any unwanted services.

Network Remediation

We then go about implementing our recommendations until we have the IT infrastructure operating at a level that matches our high standards.

Network Maintenance/Monitoring

We are now in a steady state situation. ZEI now acts as your “computer guy”. We will provide day-to-day troubleshooting for unexpected problems, and schedule with you times to make changes to the network such as adding a print server, or installing a new piece of software on the desktop.

Remote Access

ZEI uses proprietary software to safely and securely “take over” any PC of any of our customers. That means that we can literally begin work on fixing a problem on your PC faster than local IT experts (we don’t have to walk over to your desk).