Regardless of how sophisticated a high availability architecture is, all HA systems face failures every now and then. After all, 100% uptime is theoretical, since the mathematical function that calculates it is logarithmic, meaning that uptime can only tend to 100%, not reach it.
When failures happen it is crucial to have a technical support system in place, that will guarantee minimum downtime and thus minimum financial loss and frustration.
A basic yet crucial feature of a HA technical support system is 24/7 availability. This means that well-trained IT engineers need to be on stand-by constantly, regardless of time or day. 24/7 Support typically works with three 8-hour shifts every day.
It is important to trust the communication system of your support team. Different support teams work in different ways. In our experience, the best way to resolve technical problems or requests quickly and accurately is through a support ticket platform. Ticketing helps everyone keep the subject and actions organized. Additionally, all details are written down, so they are available whenever needed. This also helps to keep roles and responsibility defined.
Of course, additional support communication platforms are available;
- Bot Support: This type of server support is ideal when clients have simple, common requests regarding their services. Preconfigured answers with specific directions for a popular technical query can prove very helpful when a clients needs a quick insight on how to proceed.
- Chat Support: Chatting with the support team can be helpful when the client has simple, yet uncommon, technical requests. A support agent can provide personalized assistance instantly. However, it can be highly unproductive for a cloud hosting provider to resolve serious technical problems through chat. Accessibility is limited and various mistakes from either side, can complicate the problem further instead of resolving it.
- Telephone Support: For many of us, it feels great listening to someone telling you that it is all gonna be fine. Telephone support is the most personalized way to resolve technical issues. However, we can all see how it could be easily exploited and overused. This is why MassiveGRID offers 24/7 telephone support for clients with business-critical systems, who really need it. Of course, this type of support is more expensive, so it makes sense only if you really need it and can afford it.
To explore all the possible mediums, uses and requirements of IT support, feel free to check MassiveGRID’s
support plans.
These packages vary from a streamlined plan with essential support, for customers who wish to undertake any IT related task themselves, to SysAdmin Support plans, for businesses who wish to outsource SysAdmin tasks to MassiveGRID, up to Business Critical support plans with guaranteed response time and proactive engagement, in order to be certain that everything is being handled before any issues arise.