24/7 IT Support in Kenya – SLA Checklist 

With any business in Nairobi, even a brief IT issue can cause an impact on customer service, employee productivity and business continuity. Any IT issues such as server outages, network issues, email and cyber security can cause severe business issues if you’re not supported. 

By ensuring that your IT support provider provides 24/7 support in Kenya, it’s important to know what is covered in your support agreement, how quick your support will be and what happens if an issue cannot be resolved immediately. 

Having a detailed Service Level Agreement (SLA) will help to set expectations. 

What is an SLA? 

An SLA outlines the services an IT support provider will deliver including support hours, response times, responsibilities, escalation and reporting. 

Having an SLA will give your company in Nairobi clarity on what to expect from your IT support provider regarding technical issues and critical incidents. It will also allow you to easily compare different providers. 

We offer managed IT services based around SLAs. 

24/7 IT Support in Kenya – SLA Checklist 

Make sure to consider the following when entering into an IT support contract. 

1. 24/7 IT Support 

Is there 24/7 support available? Are they available over the weekend and public holidays? Will they be available for all issues or just critical incidents? 

A business that isn’t working during traditional hours may require immediate support if their server goes down. 

When considering 24/7 IT support in Kenya, ensure that there is a way to contact the team out of hours. Are there specific processes for urgent requests? 

2. Response and Resolution Times 

Response time can differ to resolution time. Response time refers to how quickly an issue is acknowledged and being worked on, whereas resolution time refers to how quickly the affected service is back up and running. 

Your SLA should outline how quickly you can expect an issue to be resolved, depending on the priority. 

Critical – Major server or network outage. 

• High – Business application or critical department service unavailable. 

• Medium – Multiple users experiencing an issue. 

• Low – Routine software installation or simple configuration. 

Ensure your IT support provider can provide realistic response times and explain how you will be kept up to date with progress. 

3. Emergency IT Support 

A good emergency IT support Kenya should outline what will happen in the event of a major issue. 

Your SLA should outline; 

Emergency contact, how to report an incident, escalation contacts and how senior engineers will be involved where necessary. 

It should also explain how remote troubleshooting will be performed and if an engineer will need to be on site. This will be important if you rely on consistent access to your servers, application and network. 

4. What is Covered? 

• Don’t assume that all IT services will be covered. Ensure that your contract includes; 

• Desktop/laptop and software support. 

• Server monitoring. 

• Network support. 

• Security updates and malware support. 

• Data backup and recovery. 

• Remote helpdesk and on-site support. 

Your provider should outline exactly what will be covered, what won’t be covered, what will cost extra and any limitations. 

5. Escalation and Communication 

If an issue cannot be resolved by the initial engineer, your SLA should outline how incidents will be escalated. Who will be responsible for major incidents and how you will be kept updated. 

Will you be given regular updates for critical incidents? Will you also receive a report outlining the cause, resolution and recommendations? 

6. Monitoring and Reporting 

Prevention is better than cure! Depending on your agreement, having monitoring in place will help to identify any issues with your server, network and other issues before causing major downtime. 

Will you receive monthly reports detailing your service? Incident reports, maintenance and recommendations. 

This will give your management team an insight into the service you are receiving and any repeated issues. 

7. Responsibilities 

A good SLA should outline what responsibilities each party have. You may need to provide access, valid licences, contacts and incident reporting. 

Ensure you understand how long the contract will last, renewal, what isn’t covered, how data will be accessed, confidentiality and any credits. 

Why Nairobi Businesses Should Have a Clear IT Support SLA 

More and more businesses are becoming reliant on connected systems, therefore it’s important to have a clear support in place. If you don’t and an issue arises that could be easily resolved, you could cause unnecessary delays. 

Having a well structured SLA will help to set expectations, budget for IT costs, improve how incidents are handled and understand what level of support you are paying for. 

We offer managed IT services and helpdesk support with 24/7 options. Find out more about our services. 

Selecting the Right 24/7 IT Support Provider 

Consider what services are provided, response times, escalation, reporting and contract when comparing 24/7 IT support providers in Kenya.Having a clear SLA will give your business a practical way to manage technical issues. 

If your business in Nairobi requires structured IT support, take a look at our managed IT services here. Get in touch with our team to discuss your requirements and ensure that you’ll have the right level of support.

FAQ

What is the cost of 24/7 IT Support in Kenya? 

The cost will vary depending on how many users and the amount of devices you have. The amount of hours of support you require and if you need onsite support. Smaller businesses may pay a set monthly fee for IT support. Larger companies often require a bespoke SLA for their IT support. We can assess your setup and suggest the correct IT support for your needs. 

What is a good response time for IT support? 

A good SLA will have defined response times for different issue priorities. Critical issues like server/network/email outages should be prioritised, with longer response times for less priority issues. The key thing is to have defined response times in writing. 

What is the difference between remote and onsite IT support? 

Remote IT support refers to solving issues like software issues, email issues, updates and user access. Onsite support is better for hardware issues, cabling, network hardware and any issues that require onsite access. Many businesses use a combination of onsite and remote IT support. 

When should I use emergency IT support? 

Emergency IT support can be useful if issues occur which stop you carrying out normal business, or present a risk to security. This can be things like server outages, ransomware alerts, major network issues or loss of access to critical systems. By escalating the issue quickly it can help reduce downtime.