- Are purchase orders accepted?
- Are service contracts available or required?
- But my clone server is using a (Brand name) motherboard, and that’s certified!
- Can I pay by the hour?
- Can KIS execute the whole project (Planning, Preparation, Implementation, Documentation, Training)?
- Can KIS provide any free consultations to new clients?
- Can KIS provide staff augmentation during a Project?
- Can we buy software somewhere else, and have KIS install it?
- Can we get a free evaluation of our system?
- Can we pay with a Credit Card?
- How can KIS be great at Microsoft AND LINUX, or Cisco AND SonicWall, etc?
- How can KIS help me get the parts I need?
- How do I get a quote on a specific product?
- How do we get assigned to an Engineer?
- I still think buying a brand-name server is a rip off. I want you to support my clone server anyway.
- We don’t understand any of this technical stuff! How can we find out more about it?
- What do we have to commit to in order to get a 4-hour response?
- What happens if I need something, but don’t know what specific product to ask for?
- What if I have already bought my hardware and software?
- What if I have an emergency, and I am NOT yet a client of KIS?
- What if I want a laptop/hardware customized BEFORE it gets to me?
- What if I want KIS to simply provide Project Management and Mentoring?
- When I’m ready to move forward, how do I purchase products from you?
- Why are generic/clone servers a problem?
- Why do we need a tape backup system?
- Why do we need a UPS?
- Why do we need antiviral software on the server and workstations?
- Why do we need so many backup tapes?
- Will KIS bid a NTE (not to exceed) Professional Services contract?
- Are purchase orders accepted?
- Yes, but only from qualified companies with excellent credit references. Please contact our accounting department to enquire about our credit application process. Most of our new clients are able to get approval for purchase orders right away. For more questions, please contact us.
- Are service contracts available or required?
- For clients with an ongoing support requirement, or who are planning a large project, prepaid support agreements are available which provide a 15% discount on all labor charges. You do not need a support agreement to work with us, however. We generally suggest that most new clients work with us on a pay-as-you-go basis until you get to know us better. If you'd like to establish a support agreement at that time, we'll happily oblige you. Contact us for more info.
- But my clone server is using a (Brand name) motherboard, and that’s certified!
- We can only provide a support commitment as strong as Novell & Microsoft will provide. While both vendors support individual components, they can't and won't support those components outside the specific and exact configuration they themselves tested. When these vendors certify a server, they test and certify a complete system, rather than its individual components. There's no way for them to predict how a Brand a motherboard works with a Brand B SCSI controller. Please contact us for more questions.
- Can I pay by the hour?
- KIS has a time and material rate that can be used to pay by hour, instead of signing a Subscription Contract or System Administration Agreement. Most new clients start with Time and Material. As they become more comfortable with KIS, many move to Subscription Contracts and/or System Administration Agreements. KIS accepts Credit Cards, Net Terms, and Company Checks. Contact us with any questions that you may have.
- Can KIS execute the whole project (Planning, Preparation, Implementation, Documentation, Training)?
- KIS feels that its role in a Project should cover any and all areas requested by our Client. Whether it is all Phases, or just one, whether one specific piece or many, our job is to fill those gaps identified by the Client. KIS has the required skills sets to manage a Project, with all of its phases, pieces, etc. It is why we have invested so heavily to have the best people in Management, Design, Engineering, and Training.
- Can KIS provide any free consultations to new clients?
- KIS provides new Client a free 1 hour assessment in one of our Cores (Network, Security, Storage, Management). Please contact your KIS Sales Team for more information, and to book the 1 hour free Assessment Core of your choice.
- Can KIS provide staff augmentation during a Project?
- KIS has worked with many Clients that decided to have their internal staff implement the Project. In those instances, KIS came in with staff to take the day to day duties from the Client's internal staff so the Project would be the primary focus of the implementation team. When the project wad done, the Client's internal team took over the day to day operations, and KIS removed the engineers.
- Can we buy software somewhere else, and have KIS install it?
- Yes, but KIS is NOT responsible if the hardware selected is incorrect, inappropriate, or nonfunctional. For example, if you purchase a server from someone else and we spend time troubleshooting bad hardware, all of our labor is billable, and you still have to contact the company that provided the hardware to have them replace or repair it. KIS does not provide warranty service for hardware. If you purchase hardware from us, we do have support recourse with the manufacturer, and will work with you to ensure that the manufacturer (or distributor) supports their warranty. More importantly, we'll make sure that you purchase the right hardware the first time.
- Can we get a free evaluation of our system?
- We will provide a complimentary one-hour onsite evaluation to clients within our optimal service area (San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Fresno, San Francisco, Alameda, Tulare, Visalia, Kansas City, and Contra Costa Counties).
Headquarters
4027 Clipper Court
Fremont, CA 94538
510.933.1900 Main
510.933.1915 FaxFresno
2377 West Shaw Ste 112
Fresno, CA 93711
559-354-9400 Main
510-933-1915 FaxKansas City
4230 S.Phelps Rd Ste A
Independence, MO 64055
816.373.9900 Main
816.373.9912 Fax - Can we pay with a Credit Card?
- Absolutely. We accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. Many of our clients prefer to use credit cards, even for large purchases such as servers or printers. It's certainly an easy way to earn those frequent-flyer miles! For more information, please contact us.
- How can KIS be great at Microsoft AND LINUX, or Cisco AND SonicWall, etc?
- KIS has invested heavily to maintain and train separate sets of Engineers, and to maintain separate Consulting Groups within KIS, so that KIS Engineers dedicated to Microsoft are unmatched by Engineers in "all Microsoft" shops. The same is true of KIS Engineers in our other Consulting Groups when compared to "all Cisco" shops, or "all-Linux" or "all SonicWall".
In every Practice Area, KIS carries AT LEAST 2 different Technology Solutions. This provides our Clients with choice, and we believe that choice is one of the most valuable things we can provide to a Client. Our Clients can hear from our Microsoft Team AND our Linux Team, so the final Client decision is informed, and certain. Our Clients get Engineers from every competence a Project requires.
For more information or questions, please contact us.
- How can KIS help me get the parts I need?
- Often, KIS is able to deliver the same day. On average Clients see their orders within 2 business days. Back ordered items are checked by KIS personnel every day, searching for stock in one of 50 Distributors, and 100's of warehouses, throughout the country. When we find it, we bring it in for our Client.
KIS Sales are also extremely expert at helping configure their orders to provide the best pricing advantage possible. Hundreds of millions of dollars are wasted annually because of confusing licensing agreements, and purchasing recommendations.
For more information or questions, please contact us.
- How do I get a quote on a specific product?
- Call (510) 933-1900 or email us to get a quote.
- How do we get assigned to an Engineer?
- In general, we try to match each client with the engineer who's both geographically closest to them AND who we think will provide the best cultural "fit" for a good working relationship. (We place a stronger emphasis on the relationship than the geographic location.) If there's a particular engineer of ours that you especially enjoy working with, we'll be delighted to assign them to your account as your primary engineer.
- I still think buying a brand-name server is a rip off. I want you to support my clone server anyway.
- We will support generic servers to the best of our abilities, but you will need to sign a waiver of liability certifying that we are not responsible for any results (or lack thereof) from using a clone server, nor are we responsible for providing any type of warranty work or support on clone servers. Caveat Emptor.
- We don’t understand any of this technical stuff! How can we find out more about it?
- You hire us to explain it to you. We pride ourselves on being able to communicate with our clients in plain, non-technical language that makes complex technology (comparatively) easy to understand. We can also point you to local classes, user groups, and online resources for self-education.
- What do we have to commit to in order to get a 4-hour response?
- Nothing, all of our clients receive 4-hour, 7 x 24 response. We have an emergency paging system with a certified engineer always available. As with all worthwhile things, accelerated response carries a cost. We charge a minimum of a 50% surcharge on our usual hourly rate for emergency calls, and a minimum of a 100% surcharge for emergency calls received after-hours. Please contact our office and request a copy of our billing rate sheet for full details.
- What happens if I need something, but don’t know what specific product to ask for?
- Tell us what you need. In most cases, we can recommend a specific product right away. If we need to research your question extensively, there may be a charge for engineering time. We will also let you know in advance when a question requires billable research to answer.
- What if I have already bought my hardware and software?
- KIS has different relationships with different Clients. While many utilize KIS for Hardware and Software purchasing as well as Professional Services, some Clients do not. These Clients have current contracts in place, are local, state, federal Government entities, or otherwise can not purchase the HW/SW portion from KIS. In those cases, KIS provides exactly what the Client needs, as always.
- What if I have an emergency, and I am NOT yet a client of KIS?
- KIS explains to all of its clients that our number one priority is to respond to Emergency calls immediately. KIS makes no distinction between an Emergency Call from a Client or non-Client. All Emergency calls are routed the same, and that is to respond and resolve as quickly as possible. Through the last 5 years, KIS has maintained a 30 minute average call-back (from an Engineer), and 1 hour on-site response time. Our commitment for non-Clients is to provide Best Effort response time. Clients have a four hour maximum response time for Emergencies.
- What if I want a laptop/hardware customized BEFORE it gets to me?
- KIS has a Production Facility in Fremont to customize systems, switches, routers, etc before final delivery to the Client. Talk to your KIS Sales team for more information on what type of customizing can be done, and what requirements you have. Please contact our Sales Department and we can start to Keep IT Simple for you.
- What if I want KIS to simply provide Project Management and Mentoring?
- Again, KIS is very flexible, and wants to provide exactly what the Client needs. If that is a certain aspect, like Project Management, then we will provide that specific aspect only.
- When I’m ready to move forward, how do I purchase products from you?
- We provide only written quotes. Just take our quote, sign and date it with the words "OK to purchase" on it, and fax it back to us. If your company uses purchase orders, just attach your signed purchase order. We do require an advance deposit on large orders. Please contact our office for details.
- Why are generic/clone servers a problem?
- Generic (sometimes called "clone") servers are a problem because we can't get support from Novell & Microsoft for non-certified hardware platforms. We only use and recommend servers that are on Novell & Microsoft's certified and supported lists.
- Why do we need a tape backup system?
- It is no longer "good enough" to back up a few files to floppy disk and call it a day. In the event of data corruption, most modern software - especially programs such as database and accounting systems - require restoring a complete "snapshot" of all of their files at a given point in time. In addition, it takes much longer and is much more expensive to pay us to rebuild your file server, reload the software, and reload all of your applications from scratch if we can't restore a full backup from tape. If you have a good tape backup system which can back up all of your server's data onto a single tape cassette or cartridge, that's all you need, along with a file server, boot floppies, and operating system media, to recreate your server from scratch. Even if your office burned to the ground, as long as you have a good backup tape, we can restore and recreate your server quite easily. Your data IS your company.
- Why do we need a UPS?
- Your file server is holding your company's most important information. If a power outage or brownout occurs, data can (and usually will) be lost. Hardware damage can also occur, requiring you to spend many times the amount of money you would have normally invested in a UPS. A UPS allows the server to keep running during brief power outages and brownouts. During extended power problem situations, the UPS will signal the server to shut itself down gracefully, and will then power itself off until full and stable AC power is restored.
Do I need to change my UPS batteries?
We recommend changing your UPS batteries at least once every two years. If your UPS was manufactured before 1998, we recommend you replace the UPS completely, for a more current model with user-replaceable batteries. Replacement batteries are available from us, or from the UPS manufacturer directly. - Why do we need antiviral software on the server and workstations?
- It only takes a couple of days for a macro virus to spread to literally tens of thousands of files on a busy file server. We require our clients to run antiviral software on the server AND on the workstations. Because computer viruses are evolving constantly, we strongly suggest that you update your antiviral software at least once a month. We can even set up workstations to automatically update their own software if you wish.
- Why do we need so many backup tapes?
- We recommend keeping at least two weeks' worth of daily (Monday-Friday) backup tapes, plus setting aside the last good daily backup prior to running your accounting system's month-end closing as an archival copy. This requires 22 tapes for the first year, which equals 2 weeks X 5 days (Monday-Friday) plus 12 monthly archival tapes. We suggest you pull a daily backup as your monthly archival tape, and replace it with a new tape. This will keep new tapes flowing into your tape rotation, preventing excessive tape and tape drive wear and tear.
- Will KIS bid a NTE (not to exceed) Professional Services contract?
- KIS can create a (not to exceed) Professional Services Contract for a specific set of defined Deliverables. Please contact the KIS Sales Team for more information.
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