What is Software Support?
Software Support is unsurprisingly, exactly what it sounds like - support for software related matters covering everything from development and maintenance to troubleshooting and enhancements. Many companies maintain their own in house development teams to handle these responsibilities but not all businesses have the capacity or need for dedicated full time resource. Some may only require occasional development work, others may need specialist expertise outside of what their current team can offer and some may face unexpected shortfalls due to staff turnover or illness. It is in these cases, that seeking outside software support can provide a flexible and reliable solution to maintain continuity, reduce risk and keep critical systems and projects running smoothly.
When Should I Consider Software Support?
As we have covered above, there are a number of scenarios that might encourage a business to seek out software support. Let's take a closer look at them.
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Lack of In House Expertise
If an existing organisation lacks the specific technical skills needed to maintain or enhance their software systems, outsourced support can be a great option to fill that gap quickly and effectively.
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Limited Internal Resources
For businesses that don’t have enough development work to justify a full time hire or are facing resource constraints due to staff turnover, sick leave or competing priorities, external support can provide the flexibility to scale as needed without the overheads of a full time employee.
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Urgent or Critical Issues
When something goes wrong with a business's software system(s), having access to a reliable support partner can dramatically reduce downtime and keep business operations running.
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Ongoing Maintenance Needs
Software requires regular updates, patches and performance monitoring. If these tasks are being neglected or are putting pressure on internal teams, external software support can help ensure nothing slips through the cracks.
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Project Based Work
If a company is planning a software upgrade, integration or new feature rollout, temporary outside support can provide the extra hands and expertise needed to get the job done in the required timescales.
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Desire to Focus on Core Business
For many organisations, outsourcing software support allows internal teams to focus on more strategic or customer facing work, rather than being bogged down with technical upkeep.
Monthly Retainer
Here at Cool Code Company, we want to offer our services on a basis that suits you. So, not only are we available to take on individual projects and provide on-going support - we can also work with you on a monthly retainer agreement that will give you access to our highly experienced UK developers for a set number of days per month. It may be that you need a consultant on hand to help guide you on a new project or you may need an extension of your team for a period of time - we welcome these engagements.
Interim Support
We have a number of clients who have found themselves short of development resource when someone has left their company and they're going through the motions of trying to find a replacement for that position. This can wreak havoc on project delivery timescales and quality - it is simply not always an option to have this period without cover.
That's where we can help. If you've found yourself in this position and need interim support whilst recruiting, we can step in and help shoulder the burden for you. Our UK developers have over 30 years of experience in all things Bespoke Software and will be a fantastic interim solution that can provide the support you need during the transition period.
Ad-Hoc Support
Sometimes, you might just need a bit of guidance or to discuss an approach you would like to take to a specific project. Again, we can help. We can offer Ad-hoc consultancy and support on a daily rate basis to evaluate your ideas and provide guidance where needed.