FAQs
Straight answers to common questions.
Plain English answers about managed IT support, remote and on-site help, support levels and the cloud. Can’t see your question? Just ask us.
01
Managed IT support.
What are managed IT services?
One trusted partner looks after your IT day to day. That means support for your team, monitoring, maintenance, security updates and backups. The aim is to stop problems before they happen, with regular reviews to keep your setup in step with where your business is heading.
What’s the difference between managed and ad-hoc IT support?
Ad-hoc support is pay as you go. You call when something breaks and pay for each fix. Managed support is ongoing, with your systems monitored and maintained all the time for a predictable monthly cost. It’s the difference between servicing your car and waiting for it to break down on the motorway.
What does fully managed IT support mean in practice?
Your provider takes full responsibility for keeping your technology running safely and smoothly. That covers support for your people, looking after devices, servers and core systems, cybersecurity monitoring and patching, backups and disaster recovery, and regular updates. You get fewer disruptions and less risk.
What is IT infrastructure support?
It’s the technology behind the scenes, such as your network, servers, cloud platforms, firewalls, backups and internet connection. Infrastructure support keeps all of it secure and running well, so your team can always get to the systems and data they need.
02
Remote, on-site and 24/7 support.
How does remote IT support work?
Our engineers connect securely to your systems over the internet to diagnose and fix issues without a site visit. Your team can reach the service desk by phone, email or the client portal, and most issues are resolved this way, quickly and with minimal disruption. When something can’t be fixed remotely, an engineer comes to you.
When do I need on-site support instead?
When the job needs hands on: repairing or replacing hardware, installing equipment, or working directly on your network or servers. Most businesses use a blend, with remote support for everyday issues and on-site visits when physical access is essential.
What does 24/7 IT support actually mean?
Help is there whenever you need it, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays. That matters if your systems are business critical, your team works outside normal hours, or you need a fast response to an outage or security incident.
03
Support levels explained.
What is 1st line IT support?
The first point of contact for your team. 1st line handles everyday issues such as password resets, email and login problems and software errors, aiming to fix them on the first call. Anything more complex goes to the right specialist with the details already gathered.
What is 2nd line support, and when is a ticket escalated?
When an issue needs deeper technical knowledge or more detailed troubleshooting, it moves to 2nd line. That keeps everyday requests moving quickly while trickier problems get specialist attention.
What is 3rd line support, and who provides it?
The most complex issues go to 3rd line: senior engineers who specialise in servers, cloud architecture and serious security incidents. They find the root cause and put long-term fixes in place, so the same problem doesn’t come back.
04
Cloud and modern IT.
What is cloud computing, and why do small businesses use it?
Your systems, files and applications run in secure data centres and are reached over the internet, rather than on hardware in your office. Small businesses use it because it’s flexible, easy to scale as you grow, and lets your team work securely from anywhere.
Cloud hosting or on-premise servers?
On-premise servers sit in your own building, so you have physical control but also the upkeep and upfront cost. Cloud hosting lives in secure data centres, scales up or down as you need, and comes with built-in resilience and simpler maintenance. We’ll help you weigh up what suits your business.
We were naturally nervous about changing our IT provider and worried about the potential disruption to our business. CREAVO made the transition straightforward and we felt well informed at every stage.
Since joining CREAVO we have gained a partner who supports us with our day to day IT needs and also guides our longer term technology planning. The team is professional, approachable and consistently proactive.
Peter Marquez
Finance Director, IS&G Steel Stockholders
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