Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the CHMO?
A: As the name states, the CHMO is a service designed by the people at MCG, an 18 year old full service computer consulting and support firm. As the CHMO name implies, the service it provides parallels the objectives and services a traditional medical HMO provides. The CHMO strives to provide fixed cost preventive and ongoing computer support to companies whose business model depends on in-house technology but who choose not make a large investment in a technology staff.

Q: What is the usual environment of firms that need the CHMO service?
A: Most small business data processing environments tend to have few procedures, policies and rules. The owners feel the system is too small to have a true data processing department so usually one person is designated responsible for the system and has to find a way to deal with the problems. They take a reactive approach to problems and usually have the same problems over & over again. Users generally are allowed to load software onto their local machines, whether personal or business and we usually find all sorts of non-standard applications running on the machines. Internet usage is often abused with non-work related surfing as is e-mail. In a typical 20-30 user environment when we walk in the door we find there are usually daily problems requiring some sort of outside support. The firm that generally provides network & desktop support generally only comes in when they are called and that call is usually for emergency service of some sort. Does this sound like someone you know?

Q: How does it work?
A: Our service assists you in creating an organization with a simple and effective approach to maintenance, system monitoring, application support, phone support, upgrades, equipment purchases and repairs, and managing the expectations of your users. All these things mean one thing to the business owners and managers. More uptime and less emergencies. That also translates to less cost and a lot less stress.

Its not magic. It only works with companies willing to make some changes in their policies and procedures regarding their technology.

Q: What sort of success have you had implementing your CHMO plan?
A: All companies, especially smaller companies, can stand to improve their policies and procedures. Companies that tend to invest in and become dependent on technology yet would rather not invest a lot in technology personnel are our best candidates. These types of firms recognize that the varied skills necessary to troubleshoot, organize and operate a data processing department are rarely found in one or two low paid computer employees. Our CHMO departments have personnel with varied skill sets and lots of experience in all aspects of hardware, software & networks. There are people to handle simple problems who also know when to recognize big problems and call in the more experienced level 2 and 3 support people before problems get too big. In-house people who have no real support tend to spend massive amounts of time trying to solve problems way over their heads. The end product is a call to an expensive consultant that has an emergency that must be handled immediately instead of a small problem.

Normally, this sort of service would be expensive, with varying billing rates and large variations in monthly bills based on services required.

The CHMO gives you both the benefit of varied degrees of skills and almost unlimited manpower combined with the fixed monthly cost of an employee.

Q: Why do your clients seem to love the CHMO plan?
A: If it takes 20 hours of a level 3 tech or 50 hours of level 1 tech or 10 hours of telephone support with our live help line the cost to the client is the same. The one thing all our clients have in common is a need to be able to depend on state of the art technology yet be able to control and budget their technology labor costs.

Q: Is my company a candidate for the CHMO plan?
A: Not everyone is. The firms we deal with must be willing to change how they run their departments They need to be willing to follow our procedures. They must be willing to enforce strict rules on their desktops. They need to change their backup policies and they need to believe in preventive maintenance. The entire CHMO concept, like the traditional medical HMO concept, hinges on the belief that you are willing to see the doctor on a regular basis to try to catch the problems early before they become big problems like cancers.

FAQ's Service Area Get an Estimate Contact Us Home