Our IT Services: Reviewing the Top 22 Frequently Asked Questions

We want to make evaluating our IT services less confusing, so we’ve assembled a quick review of our top 22 frequently asked questions.

Perhaps you’ve already spoken with MULTi IT and want to do some research before our follow-up conversation.

We created these FAQs to prioritise the mutual discovery process. Once these basics are out of the way, we can invest more time gaining a deeper understanding of your challenges when we reconvene.

Get to know MULTi IT better by delving into the following topics and clicking on the jump links for more information.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #1 – What are your two primary services?

Fully Managed IT Services – MULTi IT monitors, manages, supports, and secures all IT systems and users for a fixed and predictable monthly fee.

Co-Managed IT Services – MULTi IT monitors, manages, supports, and secures all IT systems for a fixed and predictable monthly fee. We handle the backend, and an in-house IT resource manages the user help desk & support. MULTi IT will give in-house IT access to ConnectWise, the industry standard for Professional Services Automation and Ticketing.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #2 – What business problems do you solve?

We save clients time and money, reduce employee frustration, and solidify client defenses against data breaches, ransomware attacks, and legal exposure.

We help clients increase profitability, improve team morale, and lower cybersecurity and compliance risk.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #3 – How Are Your Services Packaged?

Services consist of two specific categories: Core Services and Adjustable Services.

CORE SERVICES are fixed, baseline foundational resources included in every MULTi IT Service Level Agreement.

Account Management – Your point of contact for all inquiries regarding services, invoices, technical trends, standards, best practices, compliance, etc. They also provide strategic consulting services through periodic account reviews. We make recommendations and use network diagrams, IT roadmaps, and detailed project plans to advance your digital transformation.
Client Management Tools – Professional Services Automation, Ticketing, CRM, Remote Management and Monitoring, Documentation, Communication, Notification, and Data Privacy.
Vendor Technical Assistance – We interact directly with your other technology vendors for incident remediation, opening tickets, escalating requests, or working with a vendor to resolve incidents within your IT environment. We will also answer basic questions about your environment or provide access to systems the vendor has requested when approved by the client, such as allocating IP addresses for a copier or security camera vendor or allowing network traffic for a vendor service. This assistance covers hardware manufacturers, software development firms, cloud service providers, ISPs, telecommunication brokers, printer and copier companies, and local couriers.
Procurement Services – MULTi IT sources products exclusively from authorised channels and recommends business-class solutions. We also identify configuration options, ensure proper registration, manage licensing and warranties, and guarantee that all products are genuine.
Network Management – Monitoring, Administration, Reporting, Domain Name, and SSL Certificate Management, Remote Incident Remediation, and On-site Incident Remediation.

If a client has more than one location – with expanded Network Management & Vendor Technical Assistance requirements – additional Core Services charges may apply.

ADJUSTABLE SERVICES are based on specific quantities of subscriptions, consulting hours, or backup data volume. Here’s a hypothetical breakdown for a fictitious, 50-person company.

Cloud Management – 3 cloud instances
Server Management – 1 bare-metal server
Workstation Management – 50 machines with AV, patching, asset management, monitoring, and web filtering
Technical Support – Managed Services Silver – 40 users with unlimited remote-only support
Technical Support – Managed Services Gold – 10 users with unlimited onsite support (extra hand-holding)
Email Protection – 50 machines with spam filtering, URL defence, and encryption
vCIO – 4 additional consulting hours per month (because they have an ongoing compliance initiative)
Data Backup – 4 TB of data
Microsoft 365 – 50 user accounts

Each one of these line items can be adjusted – up or down. The firm may replace its bare metal server with four cloud services. Two years from now, they may downsize to 40 people, which would reduce all of their quantities and charges.

MULTi IT IT Services FAQ #4 – How long are your agreements?

MULTi IT agreements are typically 12 to 36 months in duration.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #5 – How are you different?

MULTi IT selectively partners with growing organisations that like applying strategy and budgets to a proven IT process based on standards and best practices – to improve performance and lower risk.

MULTi IT creates and maintains powerful, quiet, and secure IT systems by actively engaging and advising our clients in regularly scheduled Strategic Business Reviews.

Most MULTi IT locations limit new client onboardings to two per month. This approach allows us to institute comprehensive, data-driven quality controls – on the front end – which create increasing operating leverage for our clients throughout the lifetime of the relationship.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #6 – How do you maximize responsiveness?

MULTi IT is responsive by design. We partner with organisations that appreciate the value of following a standards-based approach to inform the architecture and lifecycle management of their IT systems.

This alignment allows clients to enjoy business optimizing technology that doesn’t require constant, reactive, emergency intervention – so they have more time to focus on growing their business.

We give all users direct access to support, which eliminates bottlenecks and allows us to collect data and insights to identify training gaps and recommend system improvements.

Our Service Level Agreement prioritizes all client matters and response times by P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5. A significant server or cloud application outage is a P1.

Assisting with a password reset is a P4. Good news: we can set you up with a self-serve password solution so you don’t have to open a ticket.

The outcome is similar to the concept of compound interest. When you invest in the process over time, both quality of service and responsiveness accrue. Failure to invest (or starting late) makes it impossible to catch up.

Full disclosure: If you have a distressed IT environment with aging, non-standard equipment, and refuse to follow support protocols, maximum responsiveness is impossible to guarantee.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #7 – Can you describe your technical support process?

Each client is assigned a vCIO-level Account Manager with day-to-day support from a service pool of engineers who respond based on the priority levels P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5.

Clients have four ways to open tickets: 1 – phone, 2 – email, 3 – customer portal, and 4 – desktop icon.

MULTi IT will provide portal access for all authorised Client personnel to its client ticketing and support systems. All initiated support will be recorded and trackable through the system.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #8 – What are your hours of operation?

Our hours are 24/7/365 for coverage, monitoring, and management of all client IT systems. User help desk hours are 8 am-6 pm, Monday – Friday.

We also have customised plans for companies that require user support outside of standard business hours.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #9 – Do you have full-time employees or contractors?

All of our employees work full-time. We do not use contractors.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #10 – What is your industry focus?

Professional Services (CPA, Legal, Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Consulting), Construction, Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Non-profit.

We are always happy to extend our focus whenever we meet open, honest, competitive, growth-oriented businesses that embrace the strategic value of digital transformation.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #11 – Who is your ideal client?

Growing businesses and non-profits (20-500 employees) that like applying strategy and budgets to a proven IT process based on standards and best practices.

A majority of our clients are in the 50-150 headcount range. Our smallest clients have around 5-20 people or at least R1M in annual revenue.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #12 – Is there an onboarding fee?

Yes. The onboarding fee is fixed and typically the same as your monthly fee. If your monthly fee is R4,000, your onboarding fee is R4,000.

Onboarding is a very comprehensive process and includes:

The investment of 60 to 120 hours over 60-90 days
An executive kick-off meeting with several site visits and interviews
The engagement of engineers and project managers
Coordination of the transition with your existing vendors
Documentation of all IT systems and users with a 100-point punch list
The creation of new hire/exit checklists
The deployment of management tools and the migration of data and mailboxes
Delivery of a security assessment and implementation of MFA
Introduction of the service and user orientation training on our support platform

MULTi IT Services FAQ #13 – What are your project fees?

Project fees are R450.00 per hour for maintenance clients.

Out of scope, emergencies are the exception. For example, if an executive assistant accidentally deletes five years of email from the CEO’s Outlook account, the recovery timeline would be impossible to predict in advance. It might take 10 hours or 40. We would be happy to work out a discounted rate.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #14 – How big is MULTi IT & Telephony Solutions?

We’re a national provider and Southern Africa provider with employees in multiple office locations across two countries.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #15 How did MULTi IT get started?

Something extraordinary happened in 1985 when the IT sector was just beginning for the need for a trustworthy IT solution provider that could guide businesses in moving them forward through the use of Technology.

Recognised as one of the first Microsoft partners in Africa, MULTi IT has been helping companies grow and move forward for over 37+ years. Multi’s Vision: to become the number one trusted solution for all your ICT requirements. to represent, support and inspire every business and industry we are privileged to work with. To enable technology to drive growth and efficiency for our clients. We aim to make a social impact while continuously implementing corporate social responsibility to every division of our company.

Learn More: About MULTi IT

MULTi IT Services FAQ #16 – What certifications does the MULTi IT team have?

3CX Certified Advanced Engineers
FortiGate Certified Firewall Engineers
Sophos Certified Firewall Engineers
Certified Meraki Networking Associate (CMNA)
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
Cisco Certified Network Associate Security (CCNA Security)
Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt
Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA)
Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE)
Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT)
Veeam Sales Professional (VSP)

MULTi IT Services FAQ #17 – Do I have to move everything to the cloud?

No. We support several hybrid environments – on-premise + cloud. However, the world is migrating to the cloud. Everything seems to be software as a service or “SaaS.” As your on-premise server equipment ages, we will make recommendations about a cloud transition.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #18 – How does billing work?

IT services are billed a month in advance because the dedicated resources and facilities assigned to your business are active 24/7/365.

Since it’s an “always-on” fixed fee service – and not based on accumulating monthly usage – we need to exercise financial discipline and cover costs as they occur – which is around the clock.

The effective date of your agreement triggers the billing cycle. Your first bill covers onboarding and your first month of service.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #19 – How long does it take to change providers?

Thirty (30) days. We recommend you continue service with your current provider during this time frame. This approach makes the transition more seamless. They’ll be more likely to cooperate with account transfer details if your account is still active.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #20 – Which vendors do you support?

We support 3CX, Apple, AWS, Azure, Cisco, Datto, Dell, FortiGate and Fortinet, HP, Lenovo, Meraki, M365, Microsoft, Nextiva, Polycom, Proofpoint, Ring Central, Sophos, VMware, Veeam, Vonage, and more.

Learn More: Our Partners

MULTi IT Services FAQ #21 – Are there any options to lower my costs?

Yes. You can mix and match any of your Adjustable Services. Here are a few examples:

Unlimited onsite and unlimited remote is a premium service combination – covering both IT systems and users.
Your fees go down if you choose remote-only service for users. Why? Over 90% of user support tickets get resolved remotely.
You can select lighter coverage plans for your servers.
Finally, you may not have servers in the future since everything is moving to the cloud. This transition opens the door for lower-cost alternatives.

MULTi IT Services FAQ #22 – When may I have references?

To minimise client disruption, we provide official references at the agreement stage. Once you decide to move forward with MULTi IT, we’ll arrange for you to correspond with a few clients – via phone or email – as a final checkpoint. In the meantime, please see the following MULTi IT Reviews on Google

Next Steps?

You have more than likely read this article because you’re nearing the finish line in your competitive evaluation of IT providers.

While we strive to make this guide as comprehensive as possible, there is always room for more nuance. We welcome inquiries to further simplify your learning process.

Book a Strategy Session Today

Johannesburg – +27(0)11 435 0450, [email protected]
Cape Town – +27(0)21 879 1950, [email protected]
Durban – +27(0)31 331 0735, [email protected]

Namibia – +264(0)84 000 8310, [email protected]