Yes, we do. Our small business users think our periodic service agreements provide both a good value and a piece of mind. We have several flavors, all of them are pre-paid:

• The IT on Site Agreement: pre-scheduled site visits
• The NetRunners® "Block of Time" Service Agreement
• The NetRunners® "Block of Calls" Service Agreement

A service agreement also elevates any of your service requests to a "Priority" status, which means we get to your problem faster!

• With the IT on Site Agreement, a Site Engineer will be at your home or office at a pre-agreed time and at a pre-agreed day, for a set number of hours, selected by you. In this manner, you have the piece of mind to know you have the exclusive use of an experienced Microsoft-certified Site Engineer on a regular basis. Therefore, you can plan in advance and let us upgrade that software, set-up that network, check security, reconfigure that PC, or transfer data from one PC to a new one. If you have questions, we spend the time to sit down and help. The IT on Site Agreement is our most affordable plan because we can better schedule and plan our Site Engineers.
• With a NetRunners® "Block of Time", or "Block of Calls" Agreement, you buy service calls in advance, and in bulk, and therefore get a better deal than waiting for a crisis to emerge. If you expect to need one or more service visits over the next three months or so, but only to "fix" problems (as opposed to perform maintenance) this plan may be just for you. You can either buy service hours or service calls in advance.

You guessed it: "it depends". We recommend an IT on Site Agreement if you have a basic understanding of what your needs are. Our Site Engineers are then a nice supplement to you and your staff and can help you make sure you get the most out of your entire system (PC's and network), make sure you are secure and protected, and can consult with you on software and hardware that may help you become more competitive. (Just remember: we are not in the business of selling hardware or software; we can, but our model is strictly service based!).

That question is difficult to answer in general terms. But here are some thoughts:

• Hardware vendors are eager to sell you a Service Agreement because they know that hardware failures are less and less frequent. Some of these agreements can cost up to $400 for a multi-year agreement!
• Even though you buy an on-site service agreement, you should read the fine print carefully. It usually stipulates that the vendor has the right to extensively troubleshoot a problem over the phone, before they agree to send a service person; it is usually the last thing they want to do, so you may be on the phone for quite a while. Meanwhile, your computer is not functional.

• Another problem is when it proves nearly impossible to trace a particular problem to a specific vendor's component. Until the vendor's telephone support can be convinced that the problem is with a component that is under their warranty, you may have a tough time getting any support at all.
  • For example: your internet is not working. Is it your PC? Could it be your Internet provider? Is it your modem? Your cable or wireless connection? Is it your firewall or software? Unless you are able to conclusively demonstrate that it is your PC's problem, you will be asked to contact your ISP, your modem vendor, your firewall and software vendor to find out. (Not our idea of a fun week-end activity....).

• Consider also what the service agreement covers: it usually only covers the system in its original state.
  • For example: if your hard drive fails within the warranty period, they may come out and replace the drive. But they will not install any software you installed after you received the machine or configure your machine to work with your network or ISP.