There are two main components to system maintenance.  First there is the preventative maintenance service required maintain servers and workstations in good working order and secondly, the unscheduled remedial service to resolve a failure and restore the system to operation.

The preventative service is likely to include: (monthly)

• replacement of hardware components to keep the equipment up to current specifications (e.g. engineering changes)
• updating of system software (bug fixes, new versions, etc)
• testing and analysis of system reports (error logs, self tests, system parameters, performance measures, etc)

The unscheduled remedial service is likely to include: (as needed)

• investigating the problem (on site or via remote login)
• resolving the problem directly or managing the resolution if a third party service is required
• restoring and/or returning the use of the system to the customer

Both scheduled and unscheduled service maintenance shall include the following:

1. Hardware fault inspection and detection.
2. Replacement of unserviceable parts or accessories.
3. System Configuration.
4. Backup and System recovery activities
5. Installation and/or maintenance of Software including:

• Operating Systems
• Application Software

6. Office Applications
7. Anti-virus
8. Utilities tools, etc

Here are a number of reasons every small business needs regular and proactive server and workstation maintenance:

1. Microsoft security updates need to be applied at least once a month
2. Firewall, virus and spyware protection needs regular review and management
3. Management of backup status, data selected and data testing is critical to data recovery
4. Proactive server and workstation standardization minimizes problems
5. Management of hard drive resources prevents storage issues & server crashes
6. Analysis of server event logs can identify issues before they create network problems
7. Optimization of server(s) and workstations to increase speed and efficiency
8. Daily use of servers and workstations by office staff can create random network issues