Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I need Hardware Support?
Our Hardware Support packages are specifically designed to meet the needs of professionals who utilise their Desktop/Laptop PC’s and Servers on a daily basis and would be severely inconvenienced, both financially and operationally, if they experienced prolonged downtime due to a hardware fault.
Is this service available and suitable for individuals as well as small, medium, and large organisations?
Yes, we will happily provide the service to individuals or organisations.
We have a vast array of I.T. services which are well suited to not only Home Users/Small Businesses but large Enterprises as well.
What Desktop/Laptop PC’s, Servers and Network Equipment are supported?
We support the vast majority of Desktop/Laptop PC’s and Enterprise Level Servers & Network Equipment.
Please contact us for a list of supported manufacturers.
What about Mac Computers?
Unfortunately, Apple do not supply spares to third parties so we have to sub-contract this service back to Apple.
However, because of our high volume of business with Apple, we may be able to secure hardware support cheaper than an individual can.
We are constantly reviewing Apple support and will launch a non subcontracted service should volumes of requests demand.
How does this service differ from the likes of HP, IBM, Dell or PC World?
Our service offers you a greater level of support at a reduced cost with an increased Service Level Agreement (SLA).
Standard with all of our Hardware Support packages is our Multi-Site service. This means that your Desktop, Laptop or Server is covered wherever it maybe as long as it is within the UK mainland. So, if you’re away from home and something goes wrong with your laptop, no worries, we’ll send an engineer to your location.
Additionally, we provide a ‘call to fix’ service whereas the likes of HP and Dell offer ‘response only’ with no guaranteed fix or replacement. With us (and depending on your chosen package) we will fix or replace your system within your agreed SLA.
Unlike some companies, PGMS has a UK call centre with published numbers for escalation.
How do you compare on cost?
PGMS – Hardware Support Silver Desktop Package – £59.95 (call to fix)
Closest comparison service (response only) provided by:
HP – £92.00 DELL – £90.00
Not only are we cheaper but our service offering is far superior and more comprehensive than any manufacturer’s warranty.
However, our real advantage is in our ability to provide a fix or replacement that significantly reduces your exposure to costly business downtime and the financial and operational penalties therein.
What is different about your Multi-Site Hardware Support contract from that of an extended warranty which I can buy with a new PC?
The most significant difference is that no other vendor can offer the level of service we provide at the same (or cheaper) cost.
Most manufacturing companies will offer one year warranty services as standard with options to upgrade and the majority of them are “response only” during standard business hours (09:00-17:00, five days a week, excluding bank holidays and weekends).
“Response only” means exactly that. As long as they are responding in some way they are fulfilling their non guaranteed obligation. A “response” can be anything from a confirmation that the call is being processed or assigned to a courier to collect your PC for an off-site repair.
At best, this type of service will fix your PC within three working days; more than often it will take weeks.
With our Hardware Support packages we provide an increased service level agreement (SLA) to fix or replace your laptop, desktop or server within your chosen SLA. For example, our Platinum package is ‘fix or replace’ within 8 hours from the time your call is logged.
In some locations we will commit to a four hour fix with our Platinum Plus package.
We achieve our targeted SLA’s 98% of the time. Our service is provided to you where ever you and your registered Desktop/Laptop PC are located (within UK mainland) i.e. at home;
at work (such as Chambers, Court or Offices); or on holiday.
Why don’t I just buy a new Desktop or Laptop PC if a serious fault arises?
You can if you wish but it will be very expensive and time consuming in contrast to our service and your new PC will still suffer some sort of hardware failure within its lifetime.
The majority of business Desktop and Laptop PC’s cost upwards of £650. Our advice is that if you buy a high specification business PC it should last at least five years, whereas cheaper models will fail much sooner.
In the United States a recent 2009 survey reports an average chance of failure of 25.1% in the first three years. Our Hardware Support service allows you to have a stable period of worry free computing. This gives you a 50% cost benefit over the “buy another one” route.
More importantly is the length of downtime you will suffer as a result of your PC no longer working. Therefore, it is extremely important to consider the cost and impact this may have to your business.
Please read the ‘Manufacturers Reliability Report’ prepared by Square Trade and presented for Electronista News.
A typical professional will have minimum fees of approximately £150 – £250 per hour. Given that you probably spend an average of 2 – 4 hours on your PC a day, then one day’s downtime has an estimated negative impact of £1,000. Now multiply this number by taking the best case for a warranty fix of three days and you have accrued a negative business impact of £3,000.
Given the average time for a laptop to be fixed under warranty is ten days, it is clear that this amount of downtime is incredibly expensive to you and your business.
Our Platinum Hardware Support service for Laptop PC’s, with an 8 hour ‘call-to-fix’, costs £8.83 a month and as it is classified as an ‘operating cost’ it should be fully recoverable through the Tax system (if applicable).
Will you replace/restore my data and applications?
We can provide you with our Software Support backup service at an additional charge.
As every system can have a different configuration we would need to provide a bespoke service suited to your needs. Please let us know your requirements so that we can quote.
Does this service cover my battery and other items not integral to my PC or Laptop?
Unfortunately, we do not provide cover for batteries as they will degrade over time.
No manufacturer warrantee or hardware service will cover consumables or non integral items such as this.
You mention a replacement PC or Laptop, what is the procedure?
We will provide you with a ‘like for like’ or equivalent PC should we be unable to fix your PC within the chosen SLA.
How will I use the replacement PC or Laptop if I do not have applications?
The replacement PC will be provided with an operating system such as XP, Vista or Windows 7 which will allow you to access the internet.
You can then restore your applications or data from your backup. We highly recommend that you purchase one of our Software Support packages. Our highly trained software technicians can help put in place a backup procedure to ensure your data is safe in case of hardware failure.
