When your customers operate critical IT infrastructure in a data centre, not every problem can be solved remotely.
A server might need rebooting. A network cable may need replacing. New equipment might need installing or a visual check may be required at the rack. When the equipment is located hundreds of miles away from the customer’s IT team, sending someone to the data centre every time something needs attention can quickly become expensive, disruptive and time-consuming.
This is where Remote Hands services come in.
Remote Hands provides on-site technical assistance at a data centre, allowing customers and their IT teams to have physical tasks carried out by trained engineers without needing to be there themselves.
For businesses using colocation, Remote Hands can be a valuable way to reduce downtime, improve operational efficiency and extend the reach of an IT team.
What does Remote Hands mean?
Remote Hands is essentially on-site technical support for infrastructure located in a data centre.
Instead of an organisation sending its own engineer to a data centre, a member of the data centre’s technical team carries out an agreed physical task on its behalf.
The customer remains in control. Their IT team can provide instructions remotely, while an engineer at the facility carries out the physical work.
Depending on the data centre and service package, Remote Hands can include tasks such as:
- Rebooting or power cycling equipment
- Checking server or network equipment
- Connecting or disconnecting cables
- Replacing cables or other customer-supplied components
- Installing or removing equipment
- Checking equipment status lights
- Taking photographs of equipment or rack layouts
- Basic troubleshooting and fault investigation
- Supporting equipment deliveries and installations
- Providing visual verification of hardware
- Assisting with planned maintenance
- Escalating faults to the appropriate technical team
The exact services available will depend on the data centre, but the principle is straightforward: if someone needs to physically interact with infrastructure inside the facility, Remote Hands can often do it for them.
Why do businesses need Remote Hands?
Modern IT infrastructure is increasingly distributed.
A business might have employees, customers, cloud services, servers, networking equipment and applications spread across multiple locations. An MSP may manage infrastructure for customers across the country. A hosting provider may operate equipment in several data centres.
Having engineers physically present at every location isn't practical.
Remote Hands provides a way to bridge that gap.
Instead of an engineer travelling to a data centre for a relatively simple task, they can contact the facility and request assistance from an on-site engineer.
This can turn a task that might otherwise take hours of travel and coordination into a much quicker operational activity.
How Remote Hands reduces downtime
One of the biggest benefits of Remote Hands is the potential to reduce the time it takes to respond to physical infrastructure problems.
Consider a simple example.
A customer's server becomes unresponsive at 2am.
The IT team can troubleshoot the server remotely, but if it requires a physical reboot, somebody needs to access the equipment.
Without Remote Hands, the organisation may need to call an engineer, arrange access and wait for them to travel to the data centre.
With Remote Hands, an on-site engineer can potentially access the rack and perform the requested task much sooner.
That difference can be significant for businesses running:
- Customer-facing applications
- Hosted services
- Business-critical systems
- Communications platforms
- Network infrastructure
- Hosting environments
- Backup infrastructure
The quicker a physical fault can be investigated or resolved, the less time a service may spend unavailable.
Remote Hands can also support proactive maintenance
Remote Hands isn't only useful when something has already gone wrong.
Engineers can also assist with planned activities, such as checking equipment, installing hardware or changing cables.
This means organisations can schedule physical work around their own maintenance windows without necessarily having to send their own engineers to the site.
Remote Hands vs sending your own engineer
For organisations with infrastructure in a data centre, there are two obvious options when physical work is required:
Option 1: Send an engineer to the data centre
This provides direct control, but comes with travel time, travel costs and potentially significant disruption to an engineer's working day.
Option 2: Use Remote Hands
An on-site engineer carries out the agreed task while the customer's IT team manages the work remotely.
For simple or routine physical tasks, Remote Hands can often be a much more efficient approach.
|
Consideration |
Own Engineer |
Remote Hands |
|
Travel required |
Yes |
No |
|
Response can be immediate |
Depends on location |
Often faster |
|
Travel costs |
Yes |
Included or charged depending on service |
|
Local technical presence |
Customer-dependent |
Data centre provided |
|
Suitable for routine physical tasks |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Customer's engineer needs to attend site |
Yes |
No |
Remote Hands doesn't replace the need for an organisation's own IT engineers. Instead, it extends their capabilities by providing physical support where they aren't able to be present.
Common Remote Hands use cases
- Server reboot
A server or appliance has become unresponsive and cannot be rebooted remotely.
The customer's IT team can request a physical reboot from the data centre engineer.
- Cable replacement
A network connection is suspected of having a physical cabling fault.
An engineer can inspect the connection and, where appropriate, replace the customer-provided cable.
- Equipment installation
New hardware needs to be installed in a customer's rack.
Remote Hands can assist with receiving equipment, installing it and connecting it according to the customer's instructions.
- Visual inspection
An IT team needs to verify the physical state of equipment.
An engineer can inspect the rack and provide information or photographs to help the remote team diagnose the issue.
- Troubleshooting
An IT team has identified a potential hardware or connectivity problem but needs someone physically present to investigate.
Remote Hands can provide the eyes and hands required to progress the diagnosis.
- Planned maintenance
Hardware needs to be moved, replaced, disconnected or reconnected during a maintenance window.
An on-site engineer can carry out the physical element while the customer's technical team manages the wider process.
How Remote Hands improves operational efficiency
The value of Remote Hands isn't just about fixing faults.
It can also make IT operations more efficient.
Less engineer travel
If an engineer can resolve a problem remotely with the assistance of an on-site technician, there is no need to spend hours travelling to and from the data centre.
Faster response
A technician already working within the facility can often respond more quickly than an engineer travelling from another location.
Better use of technical resources
Highly skilled IT engineers can concentrate on diagnosis, configuration and problem-solving rather than spending time travelling to perform straightforward physical tasks.
Easier multi-site management
For MSPs and organisations operating infrastructure across multiple data centres, Remote Hands provides an additional layer of support without requiring a permanent technical presence at every site.
Greater flexibility
Maintenance and installation work can be planned around the availability of the customer's technical team rather than their ability to physically attend a facility.
What Remote Hands doesn't do
Remote Hands is important to understand correctly.
It is not the same as fully managed IT support.
The customer or their IT provider will normally remain responsible for deciding what needs to be done and providing the technical instructions.
Remote Hands provides the physical assistance required to carry out those instructions.
For example:
Customer's IT team: "Please reboot the server in rack 12, position 18."
Remote Hands engineer: Physically accesses the equipment and carries out the reboot.
The customer's IT team remains responsible for the wider technical decision-making.
The scope of Remote Hands should therefore always be clearly understood before choosing a colocation provider.
What should partners look for when evaluating Remote Hands?
If you're recommending colocation to a customer, Remote Hands should be considered alongside the rack space, power, connectivity and security provided by the data centre.
Key questions to ask include:
Is Remote Hands included?
Some providers charge separately for every Remote Hands request, while others include a level of support within their colocation package.
Understanding the commercial model can help customers compare providers accurately.
What tasks are covered?
Check whether the service includes common activities such as reboots, cable changes, equipment installation and visual inspections.
Is it available 24/7?
For critical infrastructure, support outside normal office hours can be extremely important.
A fault at 11pm shouldn't necessarily have to wait until the next morning for somebody to physically investigate it.
How quickly can engineers respond?
Look at the provider's expected response times and escalation processes.
Who carries out the work?
Customers should understand whether Remote Hands is provided by the data centre's own technical team or outsourced to a third party.
How are requests managed?
A clear ticketing or request process makes it easier for customers and partners to provide instructions, track progress and maintain an audit trail.
Remote Hands and colocation
Remote Hands is particularly valuable when combined with colocation.
Colocation provides the physical environment for customer-owned IT infrastructure, including space, power, cooling, connectivity and security.
Remote Hands adds another important capability: physical technical assistance when the customer isn't on site.
Together, they can provide businesses and MSPs with a more flexible way to operate infrastructure remotely.
Instead of needing a technical team permanently located close to every data centre, organisations can combine their own remote expertise with engineers on site.
Why Remote Hands matters for MSPs
Remote Hands can be particularly useful for MSPs managing infrastructure on behalf of multiple customers.
An MSP may have customers located across different regions, while their infrastructure could be hosted in one or more data centres.
Having access to on-site technical support means the MSP can manage the environment centrally while still having physical assistance available when required.
This can help MSPs:
- Reduce unnecessary site visits
- Improve response times
- Support customers across wider geographic areas
- Reduce operational costs
- Deliver a more consistent support experience
- Scale their managed services without proportionally increasing field engineering resources
For an MSP looking to grow, that additional operational flexibility can become a significant advantage.
Remote Hands: a simple way to extend your IT team
Remote Hands might sound like a relatively simple service, but its impact can be significant.
When critical infrastructure is located away from the people responsible for managing it, having trusted technical support on site can make the difference between a problem being resolved quickly and an engineer spending hours travelling to the data centre.
For businesses and MSPs using colocation, Remote Hands provides a practical way to extend the reach of their technical teams, improve operational efficiency and potentially reduce downtime.
When comparing colocation providers, don't just ask how much rack space costs.
Ask what happens when something goes wrong.
Because having someone you trust physically present at the data centre can be just as important as having the right space, power and connectivity in the first place.
Looking for colocation with Remote Hands?
At VeloxServ, our colocation services are designed to give partners and their customers more than simply somewhere to put their equipment.
Our privately owned data centres provide secure, resilient environments for servers, networking equipment and critical infrastructure, with Remote Hands and delivery management included with all colocation packages.
From individual 1U deployments through to quarter, half and full racks and caged environments, we can provide flexible colocation options for MSPs, hosting providers and growing businesses.
Want to see our facilities for yourself? Book a data centre tour or speak to the VeloxServ team to discuss your requirements: sales@veloxserv.co.uk.
