A password still does not need a van. Field IT support is for the moment the hands matter: a switch with no lights, a row of new PCs still in boxes, a patch panel nobody labeled, or a server that only has a keyboard in the rack. If the computer is on and the user can approve a session, start with the remote desk and save the visit.
What on-site IT support is for
- Hardware installation: PCs, monitors, printers, access points, and the switch you already bought.
- Cabling services that stop at the IT drop and the rack, unless the quote says a longer run.
- Rack work: mounting gear, labeling both ends, and leaving a photo of what changed.
- Server maintenance on-site when the console is in the closet and remote management is down.
Onsite IT support services describe the same visit. The wording changes. The work does not. Technician dispatch is the step before arrival: we match a technician to the city, the part, and the hours the office can grant access. Field IT support fails when that step is skipped and the technician arrives to a locked closet.
How a visit is supposed to run
- You name the job, the street address, and who has the key.
- We confirm the city can be covered, and that any required part is already on site or on order.
- The technician does the physical work and does not invent a second project in the parking lot.
- You get a short closeout: what was installed, what failed, and what you still need to buy.
A request that says “look around” turns a one-hour visit into an open afternoon. The task list should be written before anyone travels. If the list grows while the technician is in the building, that addition is a second visit or a project, not an unstated extra. Technician dispatch assigns a scheduled person. On-site IT support is effective when that person arrives with the written list.
Jobs that belong on site
| Job | Send a technician | Keep it remote |
|---|---|---|
| New PCs for a row of desks | Yes, if they are still in boxes | If each person already has a working laptop online |
| A printer that jams or was never networked | Yes | A queue stuck on one PC |
| Patch panel and rack cleanup | Yes. Rack work without labels is half finished | Never |
| A mailbox or a password | No | Yes |
| Firewall rules and server roles | Only if someone must touch the hardware | Otherwise L2 |
What the office needs ready
Someone with a key. A parking note if the dock is gated. The Wi-Fi password, or a wired port that actually works. If the server room is a closet with no light, say that before the appointment. Server maintenance on-site, done in the dark with no serial number, turns a one-hour swap into a guessing game.
Parts are a separate decision. We can install hardware you purchased, or quote equipment with the visit. Asking us to “bring a switch” on the morning of the appointment is how the day slips. Order the part, then book the person. Hardware installation waits on the box. We would rather tell you the drive is two days out than pretend today’s visit replaces a disk that is not in the building.
Cabling services stop at the IT drop and the rack unless the quote says otherwise. A finished-ceiling pull is often another trade. We will say when the job has crossed that line. Onsite IT support services are confirmed per city before you hold the date.
After the technician leaves
The closeout should be readable without a follow-up call. It should state what was mounted, which person received which laptop, and which port failed. Rack work without labels is how the next outage begins with a flashlight. Hardware installation without an asset note is how laptops are lost between offices.
A failure that started this morning can still use this path, and it is described on the break-fix page. A room of new desks is a project. The visit itself is narrower than either of those: one technician, a defined job, and a building they can enter. That visit is on-site IT support. It is not an open-ended walkthrough of the office.
Questions before you book
What is on-site IT support?
It is a technician at your facility for work that cannot be done on a screen: hardware installation, cabling services, rack work, and server maintenance on-site. We dispatch after the job, the address, and building access are confirmed.
What is technician dispatch?
It is the matching step. We confirm the city, the hours, and whether the part is already there. A person standing at a locked door is not a finished appointment.
What should we have ready?
The street address, a person who can open the closet or rack, the hours the office can accept a visitor, and any part you already bought. The visit is wasted if nobody can unlock the room.
Is a field visit the same as a remote session?
No. A remote session needs a computer that is on and a person who can click Allow. This service needs a building. Use the one that matches the failure. On-site IT support is the building. The other is the screen.