Follow the Sun Support

You may think of New York as the city that never sleeps, and neither should your infrastructure. The realities are that IT matters more than ever these days, and for some, maintaining a reliable infrastructure and steadily investing in technology were the only reasons their business stayed operational during COVID.

But, as the sun sets in London, Lisbon, New York, Mumbai - or wherever in the world your organisation is based - you may find that you - and all your staff - head home for the evening at 5:30, ready to pick back up where you left off at 9am the next day. Maybe you have people on call in case of emergency, but is that sufficient?

We'll explore more about the 'Follow the Sun' model - or 'round the clock', as it's sometimes called - that we employ here at Fifosys and explain how it could be what your organisation is missing.

Follow the Sun

For those unfamiliar with the concept, the Follow the Sun approach is more than just my plan for when summer rolls around every year. The reality is this approach helps support your staff - and customers - in an incredibly efficient way.

We all know how hard - or burdensome - it can be to ask employees to give up their weekends, evenings, nights or even holidays such as Christmas, Easter or Eid to work. So, if you've ever struggled to fill a rota, this model could be the answer you've been looking for.

Working off the concept that it's always daytime somewhere in the world, this can benefit those with a presence in multiple countries - or those who operate 24/7, whilst for some, it may be the key they need to unlock 24/7 business hours.

At its core, it can be explained like this: when one team reaches the end of their working hours, a new group (usually in a different location in the world) is just starting their shift, who can pick up where work was left off. Hence the 'Follow the Sun' moniker.

However, in cases such as our own, this approach can be fulfilled by a company based in one location, with dedicated employees working around the clock to support you.

The Four Principles of Follow the Sun

To further understand the method, let's explore its four core principles:

• Increase your response times to solve problems faster. Additionally, it may reduce development and production times, getting your products and services to market quicker.
• Your service, development and resolution sites are spread out across many time zones or locations, meaning staff are always on call.
• As one shift finishes, another begins. Employees hand off their work at the end of each day to the following site or team starting their shift.
• Handoffs mean work is owned by and worked on by one site at a time until its resolution. They also offer an opportunity to share knowledge between teams in handovers, which can aid in staff development.

Benefits of the Follow the Sun model

Adopting such an approach can be incredibly beneficial to an organisation when deployed correctly. By turning to experts such as Fifosys, you can get access to a list of benefits, which include:

• An increase in response time benefits your customers and business
• Whilst no more night shifts or seasonal work boosts staff morale
• Access to a constant stream of ticket resolutions
• Reduced delays in problem-solving
• Peace of mind 24/7/365 as real people are monitoring your network
• Access to state of the art defences
• 24/7 availability of experts in case of an emergency
• Knowledge sharing through handoffs between staff

Is Follow the Sun right for my business?

As with anything technical, this approach may not be for everyone. However, if you find yourself curious as to if it would work for you, we've put together some questions that may help make your mind up:

1) Do you have a big enough customer base to need out of hours support? 

2) What support do your staff and customers require outside of working hours?

3) Can you afford to have your systems go offline outside of normal working hours?

4) What happens if an issue is flagged after 5:30pm?

5) Is someone monitoring your network at all times?

In some instances, it may not be necessary to use this approach. But, as we move to an 'Always On' world, it may not be long before you need it.

The Final Word

At Fifosys, we've been supporting companies for over 20 years, and we know what works - and what doesn't. Whilst we use a version of a Follow the Sun model, we've put our own spin on it to design something that puts you and your business front of mind.

Operating 24/7/365, we have dedicated teams of engineers who work to support our clients no matter the issue, day or time. When you call or email us, we don't waste your time with switchboards operators - you get put through to someone who can help immediately, with over 90% of our incidents solved on first contact.

Get in touch with our team to hear how our approach comes with state of the art defences and monitoring systems, ensuring you have peace of mind at all hours - whilst never worry about having to fill a rota out of hours again!