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Low Cost, Premiere Value Telecommunications Services Telecommunications Expense Management Information Technology Staff Augmentation CIO Advisory Services Data Center Outsourcing System Managed Networks Process Development Information Security Specialists PC End of Lifecycle Services |
Frequently Asked Questions
Low Cost, High Quality TelecommunicationsYou alternatively refer to Hastings clients as members. Are these synonymous?Essentially yes. Hastings is successful because our team is focused on delivering exceptional services to a relatively small number of clients. To achieve this goal, our clients must fit a certain profile. Hastings staff will determine if we can be the right choice for your company. If we are, and if you sign on with us, then your company becomes a member of the Hastings family of clients. Hastings also acts as the "front door" to KII for large companies with very large telecommunications expenditures. For those large companies who can benefit from our cost savings and are also interested in becoming active members of KII, The Hastings Group will determine if a true match with KII exists and if so, work with the KII Management Committee to potentially sponsor them into KII as a full KII Member. Won't buying from an indirect source diminish my leverage and influence with at&t, Verizon or Sprint?On the contrary, as a Hastings member you give up nothing, benefit from some of the best pricing in the industry and have the influence of $130,000,000 of annual spending behind you. You continue to deal directly with vendors, but best of all, you also have the additional resources of Hastings also at your disposal. If I have service problems, can I call at&t/Verizon/Sprint or do I need to call Hastings?Your first call for service problems goes directly to the vendor's network management center assigned to Hastings and KII customers. If you are not satisfied with their responsiveness, you can call any of the Hastings staff and they will help escalate issues within the vendor organization. Under what circumstances would I call The Hastings Group directly?The Hastings Group staff is available to help you add and implement new services, as part of the initial cutover to Hastings or as your business moves or changes. We also are your primary contact for any questions regarding billing or service offerings. Finally, if you are dissatisfied in any way with any aspect of your dealings with the vendors, we are always available to help resolve those issues. Can The Hastings Group help me with planning or design issues?Yes, Hastings offers a full range of professional services, focused on all aspects of telecommunications and Information Technology. Since we are already familiar with our member's networks, we are well positioned to provide high quality advice in an efficient and cost-effective way. Professional service engagements are bid on a case-by-case basis and are independent of any other Hastings service offerings. Can I be sure that Hastings prices will benefit my company? How can I tell how much I will save?In almost every situation, Hastings services will lower telecommunications expenses considerably. The specific amount of savings will depend on a variety of factors, including the size of your account, the mix of particular services used and your price. Once a company has qualified as a potential Hastings member, we suggest doing a specific "re-price" of an actual bill, so you can determine precisely how much you will save. Aren't the service providers upset about this arrangement, and if so, will they be less willing to provide good support?Our providers view the arrangements Hastings has with at&t, Verizon and Sprint very positively. Hastings is an important customer and the vendors are intent on delivering the very highest levels of service to Hastings and, in turn, to Hastings members. Do I need to sign a contract or make a revenue commitment to get these prices?The basic arrangement Hastings has with it's members includes a simple contract. Term commitments are typically shorter than those required by direct negotiations with telecom providers. This is a big advantage for many customers, because without Hastings they are usually required to make multi-year revenue commitments in exchange for discounted service pricing. What happens to my service if Hastings goes out of business?Hastings is a stable, well-funded operation and there is absolutely no reason to believe it will not remain viable in the future. It has consistently operated "in the black" every year of its existence. However, should Hastings end operations, your services would be transferred to a new account and continue uninterrupted during that transition. If I sign on with Hastings, what is involved in transitioning my services?That depends on the particular services involved and the vendor we mutually select for your network. In many cases, it is a simple administrative change made at the vendor’s office that does not involve physical work at your site. In more complex situations, some physical changes may be needed. In any case, the Hastings technical team, and chosen telecom provider will coordinate implementation activities. How does billing work?The Hastings Group utilizes several billing formats, depending on the vendor selected (at&t, Verizon or Sprint) and the options that best suit your company's needs (vendor direct, Hastings Group fee-based). Please contact The Hastings Group to discuss these options. What are Hastings billing terms?In order to achieve the deepest discounts, The Hastings Group operates with very low overhead and must maintain current accounts with at&t, Verizon and Sprint. The specific billing terms for all Hastings services are payment in full, upon receipt of invoice. What is the first step?Contact The Hastings Group and be able to provide copies of any recent bills you received and The Hastings Group pricing specialists will evaluate your current bills and "reprice" the services under Hasting rates, so you can know exactly what you will save. Telecommunications Expense ManagementWhy does The Hastings Group refer to its Telecommunications Expense Management service as "no risk"?We refer to this offer as no risk for two reasons. First, our analysis requires minimal involvement of your staff's time. Second, fees are tailored to your specific needs and you pay only for results. There is no financial risk in a gain share arrangement. IT Staff AugmentationWhat benefit does Information Technology Staff Augmentation provide for my company?IT Staff Augmentation is simply the provision of contract consultants who bring expertise to specific areas of information technology, provide skills which are required for a defined project or a defined timeframe to supplement an area in which IT specialization either is absent or insufficient to meet the demands of a business requirement which needs focus. The Hastings Group provides resources in information technology disciplines and skills which cover virtually all information technologies used today, from help desk to Enterprise Resource Planning software developers, to Business Analysts, for example. How can I be sure the resources I request is a match for the specific needs I define?The Hastings Group uses the specific job and skills description you provide and insures it thoroughly understands the position requirement before it identifies and provides matched candidates which you then interview and make the final determination regarding acceptance or rejection. CIO Advisory ServicesHow does The Hastings Group charge for the CIO Advisory Services offer?Our customers vary in how they employ our CIO Advisory services. The initial meeting usually begins with a thorough discussion of goals and expectations. Following this goal identification stage, The Hastings Group will provide a proposal which includes costs associated with expected deliverables and timeframes specific to your companies requirements. Data Center OutsourcingData Center Outsourcing is a broad term and can mean many things. Specifically what does Hastings offer?The Hastings Group in connection with its business partner MFX, provides data center infrastructure outsourcing, from mainframe to server hosting, and offers a complete compliment of associated services, 24 x 7. Where are the supporting data center facilities?The current data centers are in Ridgefield Park, NJ and Roanoke, VA. Systems Managed NetworksHow are The Hastings Group and Peleton Systems Affiliated?Peleton Systems is a Hastings Group partner. As The Hastings Group is entrenched in the telecommunications and information technology business with its customers and prospective customers, we are often involved in discussions, investigation, and planning for the out-tasking of network management. Peleton is a proven provider of those services and will provide proposed solutions and pricing as part of The Hastings Group family of offers. Process Development"Process" is a very general category. What actually do you provide?Yes, "Process" is very general and processes apply to numerous and varied business functions. Very often those functions evolve from simple to complex, where defined policies and procedures are now required, not just nice to have. The Right Process is a comprehensive solution offered by our process experts which delivers defined polices and procedures for your specific, evolving business functions. Information Security SolutionsSafeguarding of our corporate information is part of our general company policy. Why would we need a specialist to tell us how to and/or assist in guarding our valuable information?Most companies do have an information security and protection policy. Often, however, it is a general guideline, sometimes driven at a high-level through Human Resources provided direction. Our service offerings are designed to assess and define the multitude of information categories and types, which are often overlooked as valuable and sensitive. We provide solutions to protect currently utilized information and protect or destroy information which is no longer of value, but potentially dangerous in the wrong hands, regardless of the media type that data may be resident in. PC End-of-Lifecycle SpecialistsWhy would I need to have the service of a PC specialist when I am done using my PC’s and am upgrading to new technology?Companies can often receive revenue for information technology equipment which they own and are now ready to retire. We provide programs to do so when mass replacements of technology and equipment are in your future plans. In addition, all too often valuable and proprietary data remains on hard drives which are retired and/or trashed. We provide guaranteed services that permanently remove applications and data to insure it is no longer accessible to anyone else in the future, when retired PC's are no longer under your companies control. 
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