RFMS And Your Technical Configuration

Over the years, RFMS has always gone above and beyond our contractual obligation to assist our clients with their technical (also referred to as hardware) needs. We have helped troubleshoot issues ranging from printers to network cards and everything in between. We have consistently worked hard to make our client's RFMS experience exemplary by helping them troubleshoot and fix problems themselves. Unfortunately, this has created an unsustainable technical dependency with many of our clients while at the same time many new clients assume we can handle their hardware issues, too. 

With all that in mind, we want to remind our clients of our general guidelines on the RFMS Help Desk's role in helping you with your technical configuration. 

First, we need to define what your technical configuration is: 

Technical Configuration (TC)

Simply put, your TC is any part of your computer system not included within the RFMS software. For example, this would include, but not be limited to:

1. Microsoft Server
2. Microsoft SQL
3. Workstations
4. Printers
5. Drivers
6. Monitors
7. Network cards

While RFMS interacts with these components, RFMS does not maintain exclusive use, even though you may use the device exclusively with RFMS. For instance, you may have a printer to print RFMS Invoices/Orders but also use to print documents from MS Word or similar. Your network card may be used to access the RFMS program but also used to retrieve your email. 

With regard to your server and Microsoft SQL, RFMS is installed utilizing both components but we have no way of controlling Microsoft updates, Microsoft patches and other integrated components of these configurations, such as your anti-virus software or machine specific drivers (video drivers, network card drivers, etc.) 

What is RFMS's responsibility when your TC it is not “good-enough?”

It would be easy enough to say we have no responsibility. The reality is that we are partners. Our relationship is about ongoing service. You rely on us to provide you with a system that effectively manages your business. If something is impeding your goal, we want to help. 

As much as we want to help get you to “good-enough”, our responsibility is to assist qualified technicians. 

There are two very specific components of that statement. 

The first is “assist”. We cannot be the primary party on troubleshooting issues that arise with your TC. We will assist. If your qualified technician would like to ask us for recommendations or ideas on how to solve a problem, we are here to help. 

The second is “qualified technician”. We cannot assist in situations where a client has neglected to professionally maintain their system. Years ago it was fine to experiment with configuring and maintaining your network. A lot of our clients were “garage-mechanics” for their networks, building them to see how they tick. However, as critical as these systems are to your business today, that is no longer an acceptable practice. Information about Microsoft Certification can be found at: Professional and Technical Credentials and Certifications | Microsoft Learn

If something is not working properly in your technical configuration, your first call needs to be to your local hardware provider. If they cannot solve your issue, we are here to assist them.