IT maintenance & support

This is the retainer, and it is where most practices start. One flat monthly rate covers monitoring, patching, backups, and a person you can actually reach when something goes wrong. Most of what we do under it you never see, which is how it should be.

What the retainer covers

Every workstation, server and network device in the practice is monitored around the clock by software that tells us when something is drifting before it fails. Disks filling up, a backup that skipped a night, a workstation that has not restarted in weeks, a Windows update that stalled. We fix those quietly, usually before anyone at the front desk notices.

Patching is scheduled around your hours, not ours. Practice-management software, imaging software, Windows and the drivers that sit under them all get updated on a cadence we agree with you, tested on one machine before it goes to the rest.

Backups are the part most practices think they have and do not. We set them up, we check that they ran, and we restore a file from them on a regular schedule to prove they work. A backup that has never been restored is a guess.

When something breaks, you call and the technician answers. We try a remote fix first because it is faster, and we come out the same day when remote will not do it.

What is included

• Monitoring and alerting on every workstation, server and network device
• Scheduled patching for Windows, practice-management and imaging software
• Backups that are configured, checked and test-restored
• Antivirus and endpoint protection, managed and reviewed
• Remote support during business hours, with same-day on-site when needed
• A plain-English report on what was done and what is coming up

What is not included

Hardware and software purchases are quoted separately, and we will tell you when something needs replacing rather than patching around it. Large projects such as a server replacement or a move to a new office are scoped on their own. Nothing gets added to the monthly rate without you agreeing to it first.

How it starts

Every retainer begins with the free on-site assessment. We come to the practice, look at everything, and give you a list of what is fragile and what is fine. If you want us on retainer, we quote one monthly number based on what we found. If not, you keep the list.

Common questions

Do we have to sign a long contract?

No. The retainer is month to month. If it is not working for you, you say so and it stops at the end of the month. We would rather earn the next month than lock you into it.

What counts as an emergency, and what happens after hours?

Anything that stops the practice seeing patients is an emergency: the front desk cannot check anyone in, imaging is down, the server is unreachable. We answer those first. Outside business hours, monitoring keeps running and we deal with what it catches first thing. We do not advertise round-the-clock support, because one technician cannot honestly promise it.

Can you work with the software we already use?

Almost certainly. Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental, DEXIS and Carestream are the ones we see most weeks, and we have worked with most of the others. If yours is unusual, we will say so up front rather than learn it on your time.

What if we already have some of this in place?

Then the assessment will say so, and the retainer is priced around what is actually left to do. We do not replace things that work.

Who will actually turn up?

The same technician every time. There is no rota and no subcontractor. That is a limitation when two things break at once, and a strength the rest of the time.

Who this suits

Practices that are replacing an IT provider who stopped answering. That is the most common reason we get the call. If you have a dental practice anywhere in Maryland and you would like your IT to be somebody’s job rather than nobody’s, this is the service.