Support Services
In addition to our Help Line, we are able to supply a comprehensive range
of support services.
Shire has a team of specialists to help you get the best from your Shire
software and to resolve any problems that you may encounter.
Although our software is designed to be simple to use, making use of our
expert assistance is often the quickest and most cost-effective means of
achieving maximum return from your system.
We aim to provide practical solutions not simply theoretical advice. In
addition to in-depth knowledge of the software, members of the Support team
have a wide range of skills and extensive experience in the fields of business
analysis, maintenance management, project planning, system implementation
and IT hardware.
Training
We provide regular training courses at our Southampton, Nottingham and
Northwich training centres, which will help you and your staff to use your
new system quickly and effectively.
The courses follow a set syllabus that explains all features of the system,
including shortcuts and efficient methods, and are based around structured
practical exercises that provide individual hands-on practice.
In addition to our regular courses, we can:
- Train groups of users at your site, broadly following standard course content but tailored to your specific requirements.
- Carry out one-to-one training for individual users.
For further details please see the Training section of this website
Software Installation
Installation of new systems and updates is generally straightforward, but we are happy to:
- Discuss how you plan to deploy your system and any constraints of your network infrastructure.
- Advise on the options for installing the software under different environments.
- Visit your site to carry out the installation.
System Implementation
Setting up a system correctly is vital to its long-term success. With Shire applications, there is no single right way to set up the system – it all depends on what you want to achieve. Naturally, you are faced with the important initial decisions at the point when you have least knowledge of the capabilities of the software. We can assist with this critical stage by:
- Discussing your business requirements and proposing the best options for setting up the system.
- Setting up pilot systems to test-drive, optimise and prove the proposed solution.
- Assisting with the capture and input of data.
- Converting your data from other systems, spreadsheets, etc. into Shire applications
- Planning and managing the implementation of your system.
System Performance Review
After you have been using our software for some time, things will have changed from when you first set up the system. You may have experienced organisational or staff changes, your business requirements may be different, or it could be that the capabilities of the software have been enhanced. At this point it can be productive to take a fresh look at whether you are making the best use of the system. We can:
- Review the way you have been using your system.
- Resolve current difficulties.
- Propose ways of satisfying your requirements and aspirations.
- Recommend changes to the way the software is being used and your operating procedures and working practices
- Assist with the re-working of existing data within the system to match current requirements.
System Customisation
Although Shire software is designed as an ‘out of the box’ solution, there are exceptional cases where you need something that is not included. For specialised requirements, which may not be appropriate for the mainstream product, we can:
- Develop special interfaces to allow data to flow between your Shire applications and your other systems.
- Create special reports, outside the standard range provided by the software.