Business Information Solutions Scope of Service
The Business Information Solutions (BIS) Support Services deliver fast, courteous, expert problem resolution for end-user technical problems by focusing its support in areas of deep expertise. This document defines the scope of service offered by BIS and the key responsibilities of the BIS team. A complete understanding of respective responsibilities ensures our clients receive the high-quality service they expect.
You can download a PDF of this document here.
- Topics addressed in this document include:
- Service Level Options
- Supported Services
- Supported Operating Systems and Software Scope Limitations
- How to Contact BIS
Service Level Options
The Help Desk provides the following service level options. All levels are offered on a per-site basis.
Note: Level of coverage is determined by contract when clients are initially onboarded or when they change the scope of their contract,
Supported Services
BIS responds to a wide range of end-user requests, via a robust ticketing system. We utilize a tiered ticket resolution system (Tier I, Tier II, Tier III), and strive to have “First Time Resolution”. Some tickets may be identified as a recurring issue, and will therefore be immediately escalated. Others, based on a set of metrics, may get escalated based on severity of ticket, time currently spent to resolve the ticket, and so forth. Although the Help Desk supports new user and equipment setups as well as other desktop projects, our first responsibility is to resolve high-priority incidents that impede an existing client’s ability to work. Project Tickets and Projects are turned over to our Project and Onsite Teams. Therefore, we divide our services into three primary categories:
- Real-Time Tickets
- Project Tickets
- Projects
Focusing on these three types of service:
- Ensures when our clients call with a high priority issue, our frontline technicians are available to serve you almost immediately. (We prefer to work with our clients while you remain on the call or chat to ensure issues are resolved to your satisfaction, but if you are not required, we generally offer the opportunity to disconnect while our technicians complete the work.)
- Minimizes the time our clients spend on the phone while our technicians work, delivering a superior customer experience.
- Enables BIS to offer reasonable prices and provide additional services at no charge by leveraging our resources when direct client interaction is not required.
- Allows our clients to make necessary changes to their network with our guidance or direct input, ensuring those changes are secure and business wise.
Real-Time Requests
Real-time requests are handled almost immediately by Help Desk technicians until resolved unless partner escalation is required. These requests are divided into five categories and are addressed in this order:
- Super Critical – Active Attack, Multiple Client, Emergency
- Critical – Entire Department/Company is down and result is complete work stoppage
- High – Single User/Small Group experiencing complete work stoppage
- Medium – Department/Company is down, but issue is minor and there is a work around
- Low- Single User/Small Group is down, but issue is minor and there is a work around
Highest Priority Issues
Any ticket considered a high-priority issue, must severely impede a client’s ability to work. In some cases, multiple users may be affected.
Examples include:
- Network connectivity failures**
- Main Server down
- Main Line of Business Software is down
- Email / application crashed or not functioning properly
- File / Folder Access Problems
- PC performance problems
- Virus and malware infections*
- Printing issues
- The Help Desk will make a best effort to troubleshoot and address open database connectivity (OBDC) issues. Please make sure that the documentation has the appropriate information for access or instructions for escalation.
- The Help Desk cannot support database corruption issues. Client should always have Application Support, which BIS will gladly work with and give best effort to resolve application issues.
* The Help Desk will typically receive an automatically generated ticket from our 24/7 monitoring service and will begin (if necessary) a forensic discovery of any virus or malware affecting your system(s) to determine a plan of action. Where a more widespread infection exists, our SOC will work with the Help Desk to resolve the problem. Sites with network infections often require workstations to be physically disconnected from the network to prevent re-infection during cleanup, in which case the SOC’s ability to assist will be further determined.
** The Help Desk’s Tier I team, your first line of resolution, is for end users and is therefore prepared to resolve limited network problems. Tier I will attempt to isolate a network problem and will execute remote, though limited, troubleshooting steps to resolve the network connectivity. Tier I typically does not change network configurations, including firewalls, nor does it provide support for troubleshooting or power-cycling network gear found in server rooms or data centers. This is generally done either under the direction of senior personnel or by our Onsite Team.
In certain cases, we may recommend performing the work at night so the client and their workstation are not in use during business hours. For example, if the client is experiencing moderate performance problems or has a minor virus or malware problem, we will coordinate with the client to schedule the diagnosis and remediation after working hours. When difficult server-related problems are identified, the Help Desk will engage BIS’s NOC, which specializes in server troubleshooting and remediation.
Administrative Tasks
Using our Ticketing system, administrative tasks are often accomplished by our experienced Tier I team. A few of those services include:
- Single user account and group creation Mailbox and distribution list creation
- Password resets and unlocking of domain accounts File and folder permission changes
- Microsoft Outlook profile set-ups
- Mobile device email setup and configurations along with email, contact, and calendar synchronization troubleshooting File and Folder restores*
*Please note that for file and folder restores:
- Partners must provide necessary credentials for Help Desk backup access, such as login Credentials will then be added into your Company record for future use or reference.
- The Help Desk will assist users with the restoration of files and folders owned/created by the same Exceptions are limited to those documented in required documentation and credentials.
- The Help Desk will not restore files or folders to the original location with the potential to overwrite other files accidentally. Instead the Help Desk will create a new restored file or folder in an alternate location, typically on the machine’s
- The Help Desk will not perform any virtualizations, policy changes, or changes to any other configurations on a Recover for Continuity
- Any Help Desk work performed on non-BIS products is a best effort based on documentation provided by the
- Office 365 restores include emails, calendars, OneDrive files and folders, SharePoint Sites and data, and Microsoft Teams data for those partners using the BIS Recover for
Although the Help Desk responds immediately to most administrative tasks, more complex tasks such as new workstation setups may be treated as Desktop Project Requests.
Application Support
Application support includes:
- Common Desktop Applications: The Help Desk provides in-depth troubleshooting and assistance for Microsoft Office Applications and draws on a wide range of resources, including the Help Desk knowledge base, partner reference documentation added in the your Site Configuration information, and web searches. Although the Help Desk does not provide end-user training, technicians will assist users with simple queries such as how to print from a specific application or how to add a signature block to an email.
- Line-of-Business and Proprietary Applications: Although many of these applications are supported using the same resources described above for common applications, the Help Desk may be limited with less-common applications and will rely more heavily on partners to provide relevant reference documentation which will be added to your Site Configuration information. If the client has a current support contract with less known LOB software, our Technicians may attempt to contact third-party vendors for support.
Note: Due to licensing concerns the Help Desk will only work with the installed solutions on the computer and will not install new tools unless licensing is provided by the partner. New installation of Software is done at our billable rate.
Project Ticket Requests
Project Ticket Requests anticipated and scheduled in advance, typically require extended time to address. These requests will be performed when the client is not using their workstation and are performed by BIS Onsite personnel so that Help Desk Technicians remain available for Remote Support.
Because Project Tickets typically require an Onsite visit, clients should be aware these may incur a billable charge at our normal labor rate if the client does not have a Total Care or Complete Care contract. New installations that will add assets to existing contracts, will incur a billable charge, regardless of contract type.
Examples of project ticket requests include:
- New computer setups and configurations
- Network printer setups requiring configuration of the printer and multiple end-user workstations New User setups involving multiple application installations
- User terminations involving more than two password disables and/or multiple software removals or any email archiving or transfers
- Complex desktop software installations that are supported
- Any request involving multiple workstations, such as installing software across multiple workstations or configuring multiple workstations for a new network printer
When a client calls the Help Desk for a Project Ticket Request, Dispatch or Help Desk personnel will collect the necessary information, create the appropriate ticket, and assign it the appropriate department team for further action. If the request is for more than 1 device and will take more than 8 hours to complete, our Dispatch will convert the request to either a project ticket or full project.
Project Requests
Project Requests are typically negotiated with our Sales Team to ensure all requested services are discussed and any and all hardware or software required to complete the project are effectively identified, quoted and ordered. The standard procedure for a Project is:
- Sales Team identifies or is contacted regarding needs of the client
- Sales Team outlines the normal BIS process of discovery, quoting and timelines for project completion
- Quote is created and sent to client’s Point of Contact
- Once signed, it is sent to the Projects Team for review and scheduling
- The Projects Team will work in tandem with the client to provide timelines, updates and to discuss any changes that may be necessary to successfully complete the project
Supported Operating Systems and Software
BIS supports a wide range of commonly used desktop software products, many of which are listed below. The Help Desk fully supports desktops, laptops, thin clients, and printers and provides limited support for tablets, smart phones, and local networks. For details about line-of-business and proprietary applications, see Application Support above.
- Microsoft Supported Operating Systems
- Best efforts will be made to support OS versions not included in the current Microsoft life cycle but it is not part of our standard service offering.
- Any beta software is not officially supported and is considered best effort. Examples include: Windows Insider, applications described as beta, preview or other language that alludes to a non-stable release
- Latest Mac OS versions (Apple recommends OS based on the compatibility with the desktop/laptop. The Help Desk will support the latest version of Apple OS and the prior two versions).
- Best efforts will be made to support older Mac OS versions but it is not part of our standard service offering.
Note: Best efforts will be made to support OS versions not included in the current Microsoft life cycle and older Mac OS versions, but this level of support is not part of our standard service offering.
Office Suites*
The Help Desk will support the following versions of MS Office: Office 2019
- Office 2016
- Office 365
- Microsoft Office for Mac 2019, 2016, and 2013
Note: Best efforts will be made to support older MS Office versions, but this level of support is not part of our standard service offering, and billable charges may apply.
* Includes Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Email Clients
- Microsoft Office 365 Outlook
Note: Best efforts will be made to support older email clients, but this level of support is not part of our standard service offering, and billable charges may apply.
Browsers
The Help Desk will support the latest version of the following browsers. Best efforts will be made to support older versions, but that support is not part of our standard service offering.
- Chrome
- Microsoft Edge
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Software
The Help Desk supports clients by connecting to their local devices using Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Software and controlling the end client’s session. According to what services are contracted, the BIS RMM agent may be installed on the client’s networked devices to allow for the remote connectivity and troubleshooting because a majority of client issues can be solved using these tools.
Devices
If the RMM agent is installed on the end user’s machine or mobile device our Help Desk support can extend to the end user’s mobile device(s). Device support includes setup and configuration of the default email application (if documentation is provided) and connection to wireless networks The Help Desk will not, however, set up or configure actual devices.
Scope Limitations
BIS’s Help Desk is committed to delivering a wide range of superior services to your clients at all times. To ensure our technicians are able to provide fast, effective service, however, keep these non-supported services in mind.
Unsupported services include, but are not limited to:
- Support for machines without an RMM agent installed. * If a client calling from home has a work workstation with an agent, the Help Desk will assist with work connectivity problems (such as a VPN connection) but will not support other home PC issues, unless the client explicitly knows it is billable.
- Our Help Desk focuses on end users (and those contracted services, primarily) and is therefore prepared to resolve basic network issues. The Help Desk will attempt to isolate a network issue and, if approved by senior personnel, may power-cycle attached devices such as a local router, but only under critical or catastrophic circumstances. The Help Desk does not change network configurations, including firewalls, nor does it provide support for troubleshooting or power-cycling network gear found in server rooms or data centers.
- Hardware-related issues (hard disk, memory, power supply, etc.)
- Issues detected by BIS’s RMM detection applications. The SOC will work directly with Help Desk on these issues.
- Internet service provider (ISP) outages
- Hardware, software, or ISP vendor ticketing and management Application ‘How-To’ training
- The Help Desk cannot initiate nor facilitate financial transactions on behalf of the client or partner with third- party application vendors. Any purchasing of software licenses or hardware must be handled by the partner directly with the client.
Non-Contract Services
While our primary emphasis is dedicated to our contracted clients and their requirements, the Help Desk can, however, provide our troubleshooting expertise on an as-needed, fee for services basis. Our Help Desk will receive the call through our Dispatch personnel and then provide best effort troubleshooting with the goal of First Time Resolution,
We strongly encourage generating long-term contracts as this allows us to develop a deeper understanding of your overall network, the hardware and software you currently use, and to be able to more effectively respond to those needs and to partner with you for even greater success.
How to Contact the Help Desk
Clients can contact the Help Desk in the following ways (be sure to share this contact information with your personnel during site implementation):
Dispatch / Help Desk Phone
- 1-251-405-2555
- Help Desk personnel are available, M-F 7-6, and on-call after our normal business hours
- You can also contact us through our website at askbis.com
Help Desk Email
- The Help Desk email is support@askbis.com
- When using the email option, on the subject line, please include the problem you are having, whether this is a recurring issue, and level of priority. Within the body of the email, please include your first and last name, and a good contact phone number.
Client Portal
For our clients that have a contract with us, a client portal is also available. Once approved, a login name and password will be generated and provided to your primary point of contact to allow for ticket submission through our portal option.
Additional Information
For more information regarding our services, to visit our video library or to learn more about BIS, please visit our website, askbis.com
