What is a Managed Service?

We always start the process with some questions. Why do you think you need a Managed Service? Do you already have a Managed Service but are looking to leave your current provider? Are you experiencing problems with your IT department? Do you have issues with your IT system? Are you building a completely new school and need help from the ground up? In essence, what problems are you trying to solve? We need to work in close partnership with our schools and a vital part of the process is for us to gain a clear understanding of your current arrangements and how we can help.

The only way to start is to understand what ICT you have and how well it is performing. Dataspire will come in and review the entire ICT infrastructure. We will share with you what we find in terms of what is good, what could be improved and what needs replacing. We will also create a critical risk register and current state report including any components which are unable to be covered by an SLA such as Microsoft Windows 7, which is no longer supported by Microsoft and as a result is a major security risk should this continue to be used by the school.

Once appointed, Dataspire will begin setting up your new Managed Service. There are several things we will need to do before we can go live to facilitate a successful service transition. These include setting up remote access tools, importing all system users in to the Dataspire service desk, exporting all live ticket issues to ensure any outstanding queries are completed, setting up the remote monitoring tools and ensuring we have all the administrator passwords to your systems to be able to operate them fully.

Assessing IT staff training needs within the school is an essential requirement of any successful Managed Service transition. Working closely with you, Dataspire will deliver a complete training schedule to ensure any of your retained IT staff are ready to support users. Once we have identified any skills gaps, we can design and deliver in-house training on topics such as how to engage with teachers, resolving any problems, and updating process skills.

Before the launch of your new Dataspire Managed Service, our leadership team will present to the school. It is vital for a successful service delivery that we are visible to the whole school and that staff have confidence that we will support them and quickly resolve any ICT problems they are experiencing. We work in true partnership with a school and this high level of visibility, accountability, and approachability, including onsite technicians and a sector leading SLA, is what makes working with Dataspire different to other Managed Service providers. During this session we will introduce ourselves and outline what we are here to do and how the new Managed Service will operate. We will define how staff can log any ICT issues they are experiencing, and our SLA promise which is our commitment to fixing any problems fast.

Dataspire takes a proactive approach to the resolution of common ICT problems experienced by your school and over time we will be aiming to pre-empt as many as possible before they arise. Initially the service will be reactive but through the examination of early report data, and based on our extensive experience, we can interrogate the problems we are seeing, understand why are we seeing them and what we can do to prevent them, thus reducing the number of issues in the long term.

A vital part of a Dataspire Managed Service is the continuous, honest examination of our performance. We will sit down with your senior leadership team at regular intervals to discuss areas for improvement. This conversation will be driven by the responses to a comprehensive user survey and real-time help desk data to get a complete picture of what is going on. We will be able to show whether we are delivering a good quality service and meeting our SLA’s. We will examine how the Managed Service is used and be able to see whether you have experienced a reduction in the problems occurring. Out of these reviews we will identify and agree an action plan to address any training requirements and any necessary service modifications.

A vital part of a Dataspire Managed Service is the continuous, honest examination of our performance. We will sit down with your senior leadership team at regular intervals to discuss areas for improvement. This conversation will be driven by the responses to a comprehensive user survey and real-time help desk data to get a complete picture of what is going on. We will be able to show whether we are delivering a good quality service and meeting our SLA’s. We will examine how the Managed Service is used and be able to see whether you have experienced a reduction in the problems occurring. Out of these reviews we will identify and agree an action plan to address any training requirements and any necessary service modifications.