Managed IT Services

The Virtual Chief Information Officer is one of the greatest benefits of being a Total Support Client with Apex. The VCIO is a strategic-level IT Director, dedicated to your organization’s successful use of technology in accomplishing your goals.
• Strategic IT Planning and Budgeting assistance (5-Year)
• Needs Analysis and Solution Evaluation and Recommendations
• Regular meetings with Management team & Monthly Executive Summary Reports
• Project Planning and Management assistance (together with our full-time Project Manager) • Relationship Management, Service escalations & personalized care
• IT Policies, Procedures, Standards Development, Procurement and Purchasing
• IT Resource Management (licensing, inventories, warranties, etc.)
• Coordination and Management of third-party technology vendors

A key aspect of Apex’s service is proactive monitoring & alerting, and patching of the Client’s network. Apex installs a small software agent on the Client’s supported devices, which monitors over 75 different metrics around the clock. Most IT issues will be automatically detected early by this enterprise-class IT Remote Monitoring & Management (RMM) software. When a monitoring alert is triggered, it automatically generates a Help Desk service ticket in our fully integrated CRM, Ticketing and IT Management software, ConnectWise. The Help Desk then fulfills their role in addressing IT issues (described on the next page). We also provide patch management and apply critical security and system patches to keep the network secure and performing reliably.

For your direct staff support, Apex Technology Management operates a California-based, full time, fully staffed Help Desk. Our experienced IT experts can offer support services that can resolve troubleshooting and other issues remotely.

Service tickets can be created by phone, email, or Client Web Portal. A Toll-Free Number is also available. A client who calls Apex’s Help Desk on the phone is speaking with a live technician in an average of 17 seconds. The technicians log in to the caller’s system remotely and address their IT issues. Escalation is available to Level II and Level III technicians and/or On-Site technician as needed.

With Apex’s enterprise-class remote Help Desk support in place, the vast majority of the Client’s IT needs will be addressed remotely (typically over 95%). However, there are those periodic issues that do require a technician’s physical, on-site presence. If a particular IT job requires on-site technician service-Apex has you covered!

On the Gold plan, on-Site support is available but billed separately from the proposed monthly plan. It is billed at Gold discounted rates. (listed in the Pricing section of this proposal).

We have options with on-site support time included if you would like to review alternate plans. We can review what you are interested in and develop an option to fit your needs and budget.

Our Total Support plans include the ongoing maintenance and support of your existing IT infrastructure, hardware, software, etc. Any work outside of that (e.g. installation of new/additional/replacement servers, network equipment, software solutions, etc.) would be considered “special projects.” Special projects will be quoted, submitted, approved and billed separately from the proposed monthly support agreement.

As part of our initial “Onboarding” process, Apex technicians will also conduct an Initial IT Assessment of the Client’s network. This Assessment may provide additional insights to be considered for implementation. Recognizing that budget constraints are the “norm” for public agencies, the VCIO will recommend project solutions that meet your budget constraints, while still maintaining a secure and stable network that is guided by IT industry best practices.

Apex becomes intimately familiar with the Client’s organizational culture, mission, values, policies and procedures and we integrate. Our goal is to move away from a “vendor” relationship and become the Client’s own IT department. Remediation projects are completed to eliminate any recurring issues and replace aging/at-risk infrastructure. The IT environment is stabilized, secured and standardized. Opportunities to transform the Client’s organization are sought. A longer-term Strategic IT Plan is created that will turn IT into a tool that advances the organizations mission and vision moving into the future.