IT support advice & FAQs

Our managed support contracts are priced per computer per month, not per user, and all prices exclude VAT. Business Essentials covers unlimited remote and phone support with updates, backups and security kept in check, and runs from £36 for a single computer down to £21.60 each for 18 or more, with on-site visits charged at a £60 call-out plus labour. Business Premium adds on-site labour and call-outs, and runs from £54 for a single computer down to £24.40 each for 20 or more. If you want a figure specific to your office in Bury St Edmunds, ask IT Support Bury St Edmunds for a breakdown based on your actual headcount and systems.

Break-fix support means you call an engineer when something goes wrong and pay for each job individually. If you prefer that approach, our prepaid blocks of 4, 8 or 16 hours cost £312, £592 or £1,123 excluding VAT and are valid for up to six months. A managed service contract means you pay a fixed monthly fee and the provider monitors your systems continuously, often catching problems before they cause downtime. For a business with more than three or four staff, a managed contract usually works out more cost-effective because a provider can act before a failure rather than after it. Break-fix suits very small operations with minimal IT, but it leaves you exposed if a critical system fails on a busy day.

Response times are defined in a Service Level Agreement (SLA), which any reputable IT support provider should give you in writing before you sign a contract. Critical faults such as a server outage or email failure are typically targeted for a response within one to four hours, while lower-priority issues may have a next-business-day target. Ask specifically whether the SLA covers remote response, on-site attendance, or both, as these are different things. Businesses in and around Bury St Edmunds should confirm that on-site cover is included for their location, not just remote assistance.

At a minimum, UK small businesses should have a business-grade firewall, up-to-date antivirus and anti-malware on every device, multi-factor authentication on email and cloud accounts, and regular automated backups stored off-site or in the cloud. The UK government's Cyber Essentials scheme sets out five basic controls and certification costs from around £300 for smaller organisations. Phishing attacks on staff email accounts are one of the most common routes into a business network, so staff awareness training is as important as any technical tool. An IT support provider should be able to audit your current setup and identify the gaps before recommending solutions.

Business laptops and desktops typically have a useful working life of three to five years before performance, security patching and repair costs make replacement more economical than continuing to use them. Servers running critical business applications are generally refreshed every five to seven years, though cloud migration can remove the need for on-site servers entirely. Operating systems that have reached end-of-life, such as Windows 10 which reaches end of support in October 2025, should be treated as an urgent replacement trigger because they stop receiving security patches. A planned hardware refresh programme avoids emergency spending and lets you budget properly.

A disaster recovery plan for a small business should document what systems and data are critical, how frequently they are backed up, where backups are stored, and the steps needed to restore operations if a system fails or data is lost. UK businesses that hold personal data are required under the UK GDPR to have a plan for restoring data availability after an incident and to be able to demonstrate that to the ICO if asked. Backups stored only on the same site as your servers offer no protection against fire, flood or ransomware that encrypts your whole network. Test your restore process at least once a year - a backup you have never tested is not a reliable backup.

Yes. Any UK business that holds personal data about customers, staff or suppliers is subject to UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, both of which require appropriate technical and organisational security measures. This includes keeping software patched, controlling who has access to personal data, and reporting certain data breaches to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) within 72 hours of becoming aware of them. Fines for serious breaches can reach £17.5 million or 4% of annual global turnover. Your IT support provider should be able to advise on the technical side of compliance, though legal questions about GDPR obligations are best directed to a solicitor or data protection specialist.

For many small businesses with fewer than 20 staff, moving to cloud-based services such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace removes the capital cost of server hardware, reduces the risk of data loss from a physical failure, and means staff can access files and email from any location. An on-site server still makes sense if your business handles very large files locally, has a poor internet connection, or operates software that cannot run in the cloud. The ongoing subscription cost of cloud services should be weighed against the hardware, maintenance and energy cost of running a server yourself. A mixed approach, keeping some systems on-site while moving email and file storage to the cloud, is also a practical option for many businesses.

Ask for a written SLA that specifies response and resolution times for different fault priorities, and check whether on-site visits are included or charged separately. Find out who actually carries out the work - some companies subcontract, which can affect consistency and accountability. Ask how your data is handled if you end the contract, and confirm you will retain full access to your systems and accounts. Check whether the company holds any recognised accreditations such as Microsoft Partner status, and ask for references from businesses of a similar size to yours.

A business broadband connection should offer consistent upload and download speeds rather than just a headline download figure, because video calls, cloud backups and VoIP phone systems all depend heavily on upload speed. A general rule for small offices is to allow at least 10 Mbps upload speed per five simultaneous heavy users, though cloud-heavy setups will need more. Frequent drops in speed or reliability during business hours often point to a contended residential-grade line being used instead of a dedicated business circuit. An IT support provider can run line tests and advise whether upgrading to a leased line or full-fibre business connection makes sense for your usage.

Isolate affected machines from the network immediately by unplugging network cables and disabling Wi-Fi - do not wait to investigate, as ransomware spreads quickly between connected devices. Contact your IT support provider as an emergency and, if personal data may have been compromised, you are likely required under UK GDPR to report the incident to the ICO within 72 hours. Do not pay the ransom without taking specialist advice, as payment does not guarantee recovery and may expose you to further attacks. Having tested, isolated backups is the most reliable route to recovery and allows restoration without negotiating with attackers.

Look for a company that will carry out a documented audit of your current systems before quoting, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all price over the phone. Check for verifiable accreditations such as Microsoft or Cyber Essentials certification, and ask for references from businesses of a similar size in the local area around Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk. Read reviews on Google Business Profile rather than testimonials on the company's own website, as these are harder to edit or remove. IT Support Bury St Edmunds covers the town and the surrounding area and can assess your setup before recommending what cover you actually need.