Managed Services

Quorum operates a managed service engagement and delivery framework that ensures clients can be confident that services are delivered to the required standards.

We are committed to the Prince 2 methodology and apply rigour and structure in all of our client engagements. We are an ISO9001 certified business that operates ITIL backed processes.
Our managed service offering may be procured on its own or may be a logical stage in a wider architecture and solution development engagement.

Blended Operation

We are also comfortable operating in blended environment with both client and Quorum staff operating a tiered service model with responsibilities split in a variety of ways such as desktop/server applications or on/off premise applications. We build monitoring and reporting protocols that cover whatever blended capability we agree with the client works best. For example, we have client in-house teams that act as the focus for all helpdesk calls. In some cases desktop support and local applications are managed by the in-house team with all hosted and 3rd party systems managed by Quorum. Our processes allow this to appear seamless. We have even extended our helpdesk system to client operations, where no system previously existed, to deliver a unified system for all helpdesk contact handling. This not only provides a holistic view of tickets/incidents but also supports the consistent management of SLAs across normally apparent boundaries. The management process is optimised, the end user experience is smooth and seamless.

Service Integration

We offer a complete end-to-end managed service with commitment to assuming service management of 3rd party components of the clients’ solution where appropriate. This may mean us assuming responsibility for 3rd party contracts on an agent or novated basis – we are comfortable with such arrangements. We believe that it is by doing this that we can maximise the benefit of client investment.

Monitoring – SLAs and KPIs

We offer extensive experience utilising monitoring tools such as Microsoft System Centre Operation Manager (SCOM) to construct active system monitoring capabilities that will highlight performance outside defined metrics. We can layer notification protocols so that relevant notifications are highlighted to the appropriate levels within the service hierarchy. For example, frequent but low impact notices would remain within the early stage team for recognition and handling at the appropriate level.

The service desk monitors all client metrics in our network operations centre with both visual display and system generated alerts ensuring that performance outside agreed limits is always front of mind for the service team. The key is that system is actively monitored with exceptions investigated, characterised and corrected. The Quorum service ensures that system deficiencies are no longer buried within the copious log files.

The generation of KPI reports or dashboards and associated trending information are also part of the normal range of Quorum activities.

Helpdesk

The ITIL based Quorum helpdesk operates 7/24. Staffed by a team of highly qualified support specialists in our Edinburgh HQ, the helpdesk provides a single point of contact for all service related issues. Whether stimulated by a call, email or self-logged ticket, the Quorum service is consistent and direct. We assume full responsibility for incident management and ensure that all issues as handled swiftly irrespective of whether the technology is managed directly or under 3rd party control.

The helpdesk team also respond to exceptions of tolerance breaches identified by our monitoring solutions. In many cases, this means that the team responds even before the client is aware of an impending issue and often results in early restoration of service.

Continuous Service Improvement

We are committed to delivering continuous service improvement to ensure that our clients are deriving the maximum value from their service capability.

The Quorum service delivery team undertakes regular analysis of the performance reports and helpdesk call volumes\resolutions available. This data can be augmented with information gathered from our client satisfaction reviews to create a map of service improvement areas and prioritisation. Although we would like to delight our clients with seamless on–going improvements, we recognise that there may be significant events that are unknown to the Quorum team so all improvements are rolled up into release packages and implemented against agreed schedules.