The Essentials Agreement

We Make IT Better.

We Make Your TEAM Better

Thanks for meeting with us. I hope the time had value and helped you better determine the issues, pains and a solution to help you address them.

Our mission is to be a world class IT relationship provider.

Key points from our meeting:



What is SUCCESS from the “IT Department”?

FEWER ISSUES

LESS RISK

BUSINESS & BUDGET ALIGNMENT

OPERATIONAL BOOSTS

HAPPY END USERS

Fewer issues



Key Performance Indicators:

Number of issues

Severity/impact of issues

Hours of technical resolution time divided by the number of endpoints (PC’s and Servers)

Less risk



Key Performance Indicators:

Regulatory Standards/Gaps/% of alignment

General Cybersecurity Standards/Gaps/% of alignment

Advanced Cybersecurity Standards/Gaps/% of alignment

Business & Budget Alignment



Key Performance Indicators:

IT Operational Expense % of Budget

IT Capital Expense % of Budget

Operational Boosts



Key Performance Indicators:

General IT Standards/Gaps/% of alignment

Quarterly IT Objectives % Completed

(Scope, budget, schedule, satisfaction score)

Annual IT Objectives % Completed

Happy End Users



Key Performance Indicators:

IT Support Client Satisfaction Score

IT Project (end user facing) Client Satisfaction Score

What are the distinct ROLES of IT

What is included within an ESSENTIALS agreement?

Managed Security - Hardware, Software and Services



Anti-Virus Software



Remote Monitoring & Alerting



Firewall Hardware



Firewall Security Services



Wireless Access Point (Firewall integrated)



Dark Web Monitoring



Security Awareness Training



Phish Testing



Patch Management



3rd Party General Application Updates



IT Admin Account Password Management



Backups Encryption



Central Services

Backups/Business Continuity – Hardware, Software and Services



Onsite Server Backup Software



Onsite Server Backup Hardware



Offsite Server Cloud Backup



File Recovery



File System, Operating System or System Failure Recovery

IT Support (please discuss with me your options here as we have different structures available)



Help Desk



Field Support

Account Management



Onboarding



Annual Review



Annual Technology Steering Meeting



Other advice, budgeting, solution quotes



Customer issue resolution

How do the FEES work?

Onboarding

First Call charges an onboarding fee equal to 2x the recurring monthly fee. This is charged upfront and must be paid before work begins.

Recurring

The agreement is billed monthly at the beginning of the month. Credit card, e-check or ACH payment is required.

Agreement TERMS

Super simple with very little teeth – agreement is month to month for the first 12 months (no penalty to exit) after your first 12 months the agreement extends by another 24 months (2-month penalty to exit during that time).

The importance of a vCIO (virtual Chief Information Officer)

It’s a fancy title. We didn’t invent it. A vCIO is a smart technology professional with business experience. They create relationships with the key people in your organization to understand your business, operations, objectives, challenges and opportunities. When they understand you, your team and the needs they can help steer your IT over time to better serve the organization. They understand the technology and the operational challenges organizations face.

In an Essentials agreement you meet with them formally once a year for a Technology Steering Meeting. You also have their direct line, email address and can engage them informally throughout the year as needs for solutions and advice arise.

The importance of a TAM (Technology Alignment Manager)

Think of a TAM like an IT auditor. Once a year they are coming onsite, doing an “Essential” review of your technology against our Essential set of IT and cybersecurity standards. Finding the gaps, improving documentation, proactively reviewing the environment to reduce issues, improve standards alignment and improve the documentation for all parties involved.

The TAM and the vCIO work closely to raise issues up that need attention from the organization, so that good decisions and investments are consistently made.

Choosing an IT Partner

We hope the time spent and information provided has been helpful so far. We want a successful long term relationship, not to be a faceless remote IT vendor. Please provide us feedback on how else we can make the journey of finding a good fit better.

IMPORTANT:

If you are a Montana based-business with 5-50 employees, you may be eligible for a grant up to $8000

This money is available to Montana businesses who are implementing new cybersecurity protection measures with an accredited Montana Cybersecurity Company.

First Call Computer Solutions is an accredited Montana Cybersecurity Company. First Call has multiple proactive managed cybersecurity services.

Businesses can submit one grant application to the program, but the one application can include multiple eligible activity invoices up to $8000.

Click HERE to learn more