Our Services

Alink Network Services Professional and Experienced system engineers will conduct an initial on-site consultation at no obligation or cost, the focus of which is a complete review of the client’s existing IT environment. This analysis would include a thorough inventory of technology, hardware and software, currently in use, as well as a review of local and offsite data-backup procedures. In addition, this analysis would make recommendations, as necessary, for updating, improving, and/or securing the client’s existing technology, as well as offer suggestions for other products or services which the client might find of value, including training and support.

We understand that each client is unique, with a set of specific goals and expectations. Some clients hire us just to perform a specific task, such as a server check. Other clients, those running home offices or small firms, for instance, will have Alink do manual back-ups and software updates. In every case, no matter how big or small the job, Our team works in close collaboration with our clients to insure that the technologies they use are appropriate to their business aims, secure against unauthorized access, up to date and backed up, because we want to provide our clients with high quality, convenient and dependable services at the best possible rates.

You talk, we listen. We talk, you listen and you will understand clearly what we are talking about as we DO NOT use computer language that you need a science degree to understand. We have delivered to our existing clients for more than a decade and still counting, purely because of the fact that we deliver what we preach at all times. When you select us, you’ll gain access to a large number of resources dedicated to the business of IT focus on driving your business productivity, transformation and agility.

Whether you are moving office, upgrading your existing network or battling against system problems, Alink network consultants offer you a professional, fast and cost-effective solution. Our experienced engineers will take the time to understand your business needs and aspirations, so that they can create a networking solution that will grow with your business, whatever your budget. Our network consultants would be delighted to assist, by setting up anything from a single computer optimised and ready to go, to the installation of a fully designed technology framework supplied, installed, and maintained for your company’s specific needs. We can advise you on the best solutions for your business, install hardware and software that you have sourced, or project manage the installation of third party technologies Most Important of all this the initial consultation will be NO OBLIGATION and FREE OF CHARGE. What have you got to lose, if anything you will learn something through it all so get in touch with us here today.

Network maintenance is often the most overlooked area of a business. Ongoing maintenance of a system ensures minimal interruptions and disturbances and allows you to continually improve your efficiency. Alink will provide a customized maintenance and support solution for you and your organisation specially designed to cater for your current environment whilst always having your future plans in mind. Our Services give you access to a full team of experts and their specialities, rather than just a one man support company or your own in house employee.

We tailor our services to suit our clients’ needs. We manage and support your network through proactive scheduled maintenance, whether it is onsite or done remotely, so your whole network, servers, computers and infrastructure are running optimally. We know that your time is precious and your employees, suppliers and vendors rely on a dependable, available technology platform so you can conduct your day to day business.

In addition to managing and supporting your network environment, we ensure it is well protected. Our Remote monitoring services ensure your network infrastructure; servers and key applications are up and running at peak performance. Centrally managed security software keeps spam, viruses’ spyware and malicious attacks away from your network and your users, so you don't waste time removing these unwanted intrusions. Monthly IT reporting will also provide you with the monitoring tools to ensure your staff is reaching the productivity levels required.

Our 24/7 Backup services are crucial as one of the last lines of defence in protecting your network. If there is an attack, fire, theft, hardware failure, network outage or some other catastrophe, recovering your key data in record time can be the difference between staying in business or going out of business.

We monitor while you sleep. We become your IT support guardian angel. While you are asleep or concentrating on running your business, we watch over your systems to ensure that they are updated with the latest service packs, patches and antivirus protection, as well as supervising your backups and error logs to make sure all issues are recognised and resolved quickly.

Having ongoing regular IT Support will provide you with the level of regular supervision of your IT environment they you are looking for, as well as a convenient way to anticipate expenses for budget planning purposes.

We will be there in time. Although our monitoring system can pre-empt most issues and allow us to be able to use our remote access to your systems and resolve your issues, sometimes we do need to come to site and it is good to see a face to ensure there are no physical issues regarding your network. We in fact insist as part of our services that regular IT Meetings are held in order to discuss the status of the environment along with any new projects, etc.

As a result we include a number of onsite hours per month to visit you and your systems and ensure that you are pleased with our services. This also gives you an opportunity to speak to one of our highly trained engineers about any questions you may have and for us to resolve any onsite issues that could not be resolved remotely.

Your Personal Helpdesk. Even the best systems can let you down from time to time and when they do, the most important thing is to know that help is just a phone call away. When you need to make the call one of our experienced Helpdesk staff will speak to you right away, NO multiple number option selection and NO answering services, we are ready to take your call in person.

When a technical problem arises, there’s no time to waste, because every moment that goes by without a resolution could be costly to your business. Our automated and manned Helpdesk services have been designed to ensure that your IT support issues are addressed as quickly as possible, whether remotely, over the phone or in person to minimise the downtime effects such a problem could cause.

For your convenience, there are several ways you can contact our fully trained helpdesk staff, depending on the nature and urgency of your technical issue. You can log the problem within our “Myit” Helpdesk system, send an email to our staff or you can call them for an immediate response.

Casual or regular, you decide. For clients who are not looking for regular service maintenance, or only need occasional Technical support, either onsite, remotely or by telephone, Alink offers very reasonable support rates. Onsite support is billed in 15 minute increments, with a minimum of one hour. Telephone and remote support calls are billed in 15 minute increments, with no minimum. There is a one hour minimum for all onsite calls. The time after that initial hour will be billed in 15 minute increments. All telephone and remote support calls are billed at 15 minute increments as well. We are however convinced that once you use our services, you will want us to attend to your IT resources on a regular basis.

For regular IT Technical support we strongly recommend a Service Level Agreement that can also be the most cost-effective way to ensure the best possible technology support and troubleshooting, as it is customized to address the client’s specific requirements. Our Service Level Agreement is an unbeatable complete package to manage and support your Information Technology infrastructure.

Below are just a few of the service benefits that Alink offers in a standard Service Level Agreement:

• 24/7 Dedicated Support
• Full operating system and data offsite backups
• No call out fees during standard hours*
• Dedicated helpdesk support
• Higher priority support response times
• Guaranteed onsite response times
• Immediate replacement upon failure of any supplied hardware
• Interactive user support
• Helpdesk user chat line during support hours
• Reduced rates on service, maintenance and supplies
• Loan equipment
• Monthly reporting
• Fixed IT costs
• IT hardware and software auditing
• Scheduled preventive maintenance
• Supply, deliver maintain and service

What is a disaster situation? It is a situation where your whole IT network is crippled and cannot function due to a complete and total loss of all your data. In most cases you have heard the words before, but you don’t really care anyway as you think it’s just another term for selling something that you will probably never need or use, right? WRONG, Any of the following factors below can happen to you at any time and even though it is unthinkable because these things will only happen very rarely if ever, it only takes once and all your hard years of work and data is GONE and LOST forever. Can you just picture this in your mind for a moment? Here are some of the most common factors listed on order of occurrence:

• Computer Hardware Failure
• Electricity Power Surge (Overvoltage)
• Theft or vandalism
• Fire
• Flooding

So how do we get it all back now? Well you simply CANNOT get your data back unless you have proper onsite and more importantly offsite backup procedures in place that are scheduled to run on a regular basis (at least once a day). Even with the advanced technologies that we have today retrieving data from a badly damaged hard disk drive can cost thousands of dollars and take a very long time, during which your business is at a standstill and is costing you even more money. Even worse if your Server, computer or notebook (laptop) has been stolen then your chances are almost impossible, and yes, you WILL have to start all over again.

So, you do have a backup in the top drawer and you don’t have to worry about any of this, as someone is actually replacing the tape, disc or even worse floppy disk every day so you think you are safe. They might even be using a USB Stick (flash drive) and they do take it home every day, because the person at the shop told them that these are great for offsite backups and never mentioned that one day you might find there’s nothing in there at all, it’s all gone. Does this tape or USB Stick also have a complete copy of your operating system (Windows) including all your programs and emails, or are you going to have to install everything from scratch?

When was the last time someone actually tried to restore some data back from the tape or disc?, Yesterday, last week, last month, six months ago or even worse NEVER? Do they even know how to use the backup program so they can do a proper data test restore? Or do they just copy and paste in the old traditional way. Too bad if they missed that critical document you spent four hours working on all day yesterday. Can you really trust this person with your business lifeline in their hands; your data?

Why take it offsite? Ultimately it is useless having some form of data backup on the premises if any of the above mentioned scenarios does happen. If the fire kicks in, the drawer will burn too and so will your precious backup. If the thief decides to also take the data safe, then it is also gone and you’re left with nothing. But the most important thing is that these backups will need to be regularly tested offsite by a professional who knows how to use the backup program and to ensure that you can actually recover all your data safely and completely in any event.

Have you got a plan? What exactly is a disaster recovery plan (DRP)? It is an IT focused plan designed to restore operability of the target systems, applications, or computer facility at an alternate site after an emergency. A DRP addresses major site disruptions that require site relocation. The DRP applies to major, usually catastrophic, events that deny access to the normal facility for an extended period. Typically, disaster recovery planning involves an analysis of business processes and continuity needs; it may also include a significant focus on disaster prevention.

Let us keep your data safe? This is what we do for a living, so we do it well because we do it over and over again. Our professional team will make sure that your data not only is happening as scheduled, even up to every hour if you require, but we will conduct regular test restores at least once a month to ensure that if the unthinkable does happen, we are prepared, can and will have you up and running in the least possible amount of time so that your business does not suffer. What have you got to lose? Let us come and explain to you more in detail on how this will work. Contact us today.

What type of networks? Cabling, Local area network (LAN), Wide area Network (WAN) / Internet, we can cater for all your needs. We have a proven track record of delivering solutions for any of these situations and we have also achieved Microsoft Networking Infrastructure Solutions competency, because we have dedicated a lot of time and effort in helping our clients achieving their goals in any networking situation they may require.

Alink has proven experience in providing complex network solutions to organisations of all sizes. During this time we have developed partnerships with the leading technology manufacturers. This ensures we are always aware of the latest developments and importantly how to apply these to give you maximum business benefit.

What about cabling? We are specialists in providing structured cabling network and connectivity solutions to meet the needs of your organisation, our highly experienced team offers a complete service from design through to implementation, including:

• Requirements analysis and system specification
• Systems analysis and design
• Cat 5E & Cat 6 structured cabling
• Integrated voice and data cabling
• Extensive experience of the specific networking needs of business
• Testing of existing installations with relocations and changes

All cabling work is complete with, labelling of all patch panels and outlets and performance testing of the complete installation to Australian Standards.

Is your internet letting you down or are you paying someone too much for what you use? Are you still using one of the big Internet service providers some ridiculous figure per month for a miserable amount of data traffic, that makes it virtually impossible for you or your staff to access your resources remotely? We have partnered for a long time with some of the most reliable internet business class providers in Australia, so that we can offer you the best possible internet solution at the most affordable cost to you and your business.

Has your internet ever been down and you got so frustrated because you spent thirty minutes talking to a machine and then it hung up on you, so you had to start all over again? We have dedicated account managers that we communicate with on a daily basis, so you don’t have to worry about any of this. In the rare case that you may have an internet problem, there is only one phone call to make and we handle all the rest, with hourly regular updates if any disruptions do occur. Once again we take away your headaches so you can concentrate more on running your business. Don’t take our word for it; see what some of our clients had to say about this here.

Remote Access for my staff Small businesses are sometimes confused by the many options that can connect remote users and remote locations together. First, it is important to determine how your remote users or locations will connect to the home office or headquarters. You can do this via the Internet using ADSL, Cable, Wireless Internet, Frame relay, ISDN or some other solution.

What type of access do I need? Is access to email enough? Do users need to access data or a database using live access or is a secure web server session suitable? Do you want your employees to have access to all same services as if they were in the office, for example, printing or access to file servers? Depending upon your answer to these questions, Terminal Services, or Virtual Private Network (VPN) may be the appropriate solution.

Some small businesses have users that have a computer at home and also a computer at the office. They might be concerned about where the user is saving his work documents. Again, depending on the requirements, speed, security, and price would be the factors in deciding on the most appropriate solution which would include a Virtual Private Network (VPN), Terminal server or a Microsoft remote desktop connection (RDP) to name a few.

We can provide you with any of the above solutions depending on your needs and budget. Together we will work with you to ensure that the solutions you are using or will use in the future will be the most cost effective for your business. This way we can ensure as we have done before with all our clients that your staff can reach the maximum possible productivity level at the cheapest possible cost to you and your business.

Contact us today to see if we can help you cut your costs and increase productivity, you might be surprised with the savings.

So you’ve heard a lot about it and now you’re curious as to how it all works. Here’s some brief information to help you make an informed decision about your business. Owning a business means that you are a recognised trader or entity. In today’s fast growing world you need to ensure that you are also recognised as an online business. Can you afford to be unknown anymore?

Have you ever wondered why most professional businesses have their own business name as their email address, while you are still using the one supplied by your Internet service provider, or even worse a Hotmail email address? Such as: “@bigpond.net.au”, “@optusnet.com.au”. This means that every time you change your Internet service provider, your email address will change as well, not to mention the fact that you can never choose you own email address. So most times you end up keeping the same even though it is more expensive than any other. How many times have you lost all your emails and you call your provider only to hear that they cannot help you. Can you afford to put up with all this if you are running a professional business? It is costing you time and money.

This is why you need to register a domain name for your business. You will be surprised to find how cheap it can be done and the great benefits that your business will gain. Once you have registered you own domain name, this now belongs to you and is your Internet address to the whole world. This now also means that you can change your Internet service provider as many times as you like, as your email address will never change. You no longer need to use the one given to you by your provider as now you have your own.

Examples: “john@yourbusiness.com.au, accounts@yourbusiness.net.au, director@yourbusiness.com” etc. In most cases you can also have as many email addresses as you need. No more changing business cards and letterheads. You will feel proud to have you own domain name and maybe later your own website too.

Don’t let it rest any longer. If you want to be professional then give your business the online presence that it deserves. Start here today.