Hi,
I have several servers and I'm looking for outsourced support to back up my small staff.

I currently have been testing out angelnetworkz and to date (1 week) they have been terrible. Truly a waste of my time and money. I am very disappointed as the reviews here were quite positive.

I'm interested in hearing about outsourced support firms (not just individuals) that can provide results within about 12 hours or less of any request.

Ideally, I'm interested in server admin (redhat/whm) and also outsourced customer support from the same company. This company should be able to monitor servers and restart services ASAP if needed.

Budget is a real consideration, esp. as this is to be a second line of support not our only support, but I understand that these services may cost a few bucks.

Please do not just add a name or link...I have lots of company names from searching here. I would really appreciate hearing about your experiences, good and bad. I think that would benefit everyone who searches this topic in future too.
thanks
Todd

Todd,
Unfortunately, I think you'll find quite a few outsourcing companies make their clients sign NDAs, which would forbid them from providing testimonials. Additionally, admitting to using an outsourcing company might impede on an otherwise un-tarnished reputation (depending on how a potential client might view such practices). Naturally the latter is unfortunate as I think that outsourcing companies should know their proverbial sh** much better than in house techs :D

Regards,
Dave

I think you will be better of hiring a professional admin - even if it puts a dent in your revenue for a while. It gives your more control over the quality of your service.

http://instacarma.com and http://actsupport.com
the best out there

Touch support are also very good I have heard nothing bad about them

Originally posted by 2Mhost
http://instacarma.com and http://actsupport.com
the best out there

Thanks for the names...can you give me a bit of info why you think they are the best out there? Have you used them?

I'm fishing for a bit more hard info then is usually posted :)

Originally posted by TheFish
I think you will be better of hiring a professional admin

Pro's are best, I agree, but I'm researching solid 2nd string backup, to take over the overflow or to fall back on when I'm short staffed, someone's on holiday, or we are all just feeling lazy.

Greetings:

I'm not sure how many do end user support, but check with:

Huck and his team at http://www.rackaid.com/
Steve and his team at http://www.rack911.com/
Mouse and his team at http://www.easyservermanagement.com/

Thank you.

I'm sure rack911 is a fine company but when they make three spelling mistakes on one short page (http://www.rack911.com/administration.php) you begin to wonder.

GDO

Originally posted by HasGreatDane
I'm sure rack911 is a fine company but when they make three spelling mistakes on one short page (http://www.rack911.com/administration.php) you begin to wonder.

GDO

HasGreatDane,

People's servers to me are more important then fixing my spelling errors. I can't write worth a darn, but i sure do know my linux.

I think Rack911 is right on this in some ways - getting servers managed sometimes is more important than spelling mistakes. However, trouble tickets and customer support issues should be professional (and that does include spelling words correctly fairly consistently). :)

On that topic of NDAs, TS-Dave is right - most customers of ours have us sign (or provide) an NDA of some sort that bars us from using them as testimonials. The idea behind good outsourcing is to *hide* it. :P

Roj

Maybe testimonials was the wrong word to use?

I'm not looking for support services to advertise themselves, although you are welcome to. I always like to know who's out there!

I'm actually looking for users to share their experiences, so people like me can make considered choices.

As for hiding outsourcing, I see the point, but I am not doing it. I don't flaunt it either...we announced that we are hiring a specialist support firm to augment our inhouse staff, and received several positive emails from clients.

The best way to run a business is to be upfront, IMO. No surprises that need to be hidden away like little time bombs if discovered.

BigT,

phpdeveloper / serveradmins.biz
wolfstream / linux-tech.net

I have never had to use them for management but they both know their stuff. Very knowledgeable. Also try using the search feature on the forums =)

Hate to bad mouth rack911, but I found them unresponsive... I asked them to sign an NDA but they said their phone no# broke down. They told me it would be fixed the next day, needless to say I never saw them online again.

I sent another PM asking them about the kernel recompiles. Not a whisper to date.

I dunno about you, but that is enough to scare me off. :angry: :angry: :angry:

Hey Big T, I used Rack 911 for securing my servers and and he managed them for me for a few months and did a great job. The only reason I don't use him anymore is I needed to hire on customer support as well as server support and monitoring so I went with Touch Support and I can say I am very happy with them as well, they allow me to get some sleep now and the customers that have used the ticket system with them have been very satisfied. It is nice to send them a note about something and find out it has already been done. I hope to do business with them for years. Let them have the headaches of hiring others.

I recommend them highly for outsourced support and you are welcome to PM me with any questions about them.

Steve is still wonderful, he still sends me security alerts and keeps me updated everytime a security report comes out and that is truly someone that cares.

I give a thumbs up to both companies.

www.rack911.com
www.actsupport.com
www.esupportpro.com
www.tripodsupport.com

experienced these and all are pretty good and helpfull:D

Thanks folks for replying with your experiences.

An update about my angelnetworkz experience for anyone reading this thread: Improving, but shaky.

I have been told by them that tickets are handled within an hour or two usually, but that doesn't fit my experience yet. It has taken much longer, and I'm really not sure about them yet.

However it may have been a bad week for them...it happens. I try them a bit longer but I am keeping my options open.

Thanks for the names...can you give me a bit of info why you think they are the best out there? Have you used them?

I'm fishing for a bit more hard info then is usually posted

yes i have used them .. both .. for long time and still using them till the moment

and to be honest i used them only .. so may be 'best' is not accurate .. the accurate word is 'the best for me' because they did %200 of the jobs perfectly including tickets, live chat and server administration tasks

Originally posted by universal2001
Hate to bad mouth rack911, but I found them unresponsive... I asked them to sign an NDA but they said their phone no# broke down. They told me it would be fixed the next day, needless to say I never saw them online again.

I sent another PM asking them about the kernel recompiles. Not a whisper to date.

I dunno about you, but that is enough to scare me off. :angry: :angry: :angry: Hmm deja vu

Tripod Support seams good i only had them for about a month and they are really nice poeple and like to help you out