Hi All,

I realise that this question is somewhat related to my other thread here, but I thought it deserverd it's own thread.

I was thinking of outsourcing some of the tech support for a web host and I have a few questions.

1) Is this a done thing, ie: does anybody else do this?
2) Is this a viable thing, is that going to make me broke?
3) Would you give this to a single person or to a company (baring in mind that single guy can disssapear but company is more expensive)
4) What sort of payment would be reasonable, and how much would it depend on the amount / level of service provided?
5) What / how much access do you give to the outsourced tech guys to your system?

Once again, thanks for the help ...

Note: Just to clarify ... I am looking for tech guys to help with a server, not offering tech support ...

1) There is places that do this, I know of about 5 of them.. If you search on Google you will come up with alot of results..

2) There is potential to make alot of money off of outsourcing technical support and also system administration. You just need to know what your doing, and you need to know how to market yourself.

4) Charge what you believe you are worth. If you are a very experienced tech then you may charge more than others. But bare in mind, alot of people like to go with the cheaper solution. So dont make your priceses TOO high.

Okies .. sorry I think I confused the issue here .. I was asking from the host point of view ... ie: if I want to hire some techies to help with my website ....

But thanks for the viewpoint from the other side of the fence :)

I personally don't believe in outsourcing, but it's a case of whatever floats your boat.

I'd prefer to have a direct connection to our customer base and to know what's happening from their end of things. We've built some pretty close working relationships with some of our customers that have lead to different things. Without that interpersonal relationship I don't think you really have a good grasp of how your company is doing.

Greg Moore

For new people in the business that are still learning I think it's a great idea to outsource some of the work. Whatever they can't handle send to the outsource company. Or even for those one man operations that the owner may work a full-time job and outsource the work between the hours of 8-5 for example. I think we all would prefer direct connections to our customers as much as possible, and I still think it can be done when outsourcing. A copy of each ticket can be emailed to the owner, and as good customer relations go he can always follow up on the serivce request to make sure it was done in a satisfactory and timely manner. I am sure the customer would appreciate the followup.

HingyGuy, I think it is affordable, but that term varies from person to person. I have seen per server plans for as low as $100 per month, depending on how many domains are on the server.

does anybody else do this?

Yes, there is a market for this. I am not affiliated with any of these companies just maybe interested in their services some day, but here is a small listing:

Platypus Group (http://www.platypusgroup.com)
Bob Cares (http://www.bobcares.com/pages/plan.php)
Hands on Support (http://www.handsonsupport.com/index.html)
adminME.net (http://www.adminme.net/)

There are more, but those were a few I had in my bookmarks. Good luck.

You might want to try esupportpro, at http://www.esupportpro.com. They might be able to tailor made to your needs, whether it's support issues, or sys admin. Mike (sales@esupportpro.com) is very helpful in building a cost-effective solution.