Retainer Support ProgramDo you need a certain level of support every month, but would rather not have to schedule it ahead of time? The Retainer Support Program works well for clients who are fairly self-sufficient for day-to-day issues, but want a relationship they can depend on for regular maintenance, higher-level issues and user-support.
Under the Retainer Support Program, you select a fixed monthly number of service hours, typically ranging from four to sixteen hours per month. Technical services that can be provided under this program include:
- Service Calls
- Network Support
- Projects (as long as work is defined in a statement of work) – applied as a dollar value
The Retainer Support Program is predicated upon pre-payment for monthly service. Monthly payments are fixed and rates are based upon the retainer program committed to in the contract. The first month’s payment is due upon execution of agreement. You are then invoiced monthly, 30 days in advance. In addition, summary statements detailing the previous months’ service are provided monthly. Key differences between this and the OnSite program are that scheduling of the Network Engineers’ visits is flexible rather than fixed, and this program can be applied to projects.
Retainer Client ProfilesA 20 person architecture firm has used BEI to design, install and upgrade their computer network for a number of years. The network includes servers, desktops, laptops, printers and plotters. Users are quite technical and self-reliant in terms of computer support, so they are comfortable with 6 hours per month of Retainer Program support. This is typically divided into one preventative maintenance visit and one service call, depending on the clients' needs that month.
A 25 person consulting and public relations firm has an 8 hour per month Retainer agreement with BEI, which is usually divided into two 4-hour visits. In addition to several servers they have desktops, laptops and networked copier/printers. This client users their retainer visits (approximately every other week) for BEI to install and configure new equipment, address user issues and perform preventative maintenance.
A multi-location medical practice requires connectivity among their offices as well as database sharing and shared access to medical practice software. BEI has designed, installed and over time upgraded a Citrix solution for them that meets all these needs.
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