FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Answers on what smart hands covers, how fast we respond, where we work, how we charge and how our engineers are vetted. If your question is not here, ask us directly and a coordinator replies within 2 business hours.
Services and scope
What is the difference between remote hands and smart hands?
Remote hands covers simple prescriptive tasks such as a power cycle, a cable swap or reading a status light. Smart hands covers skilled work needing judgement on site: installing and configuring hardware, tracing faults, terminating and testing fibre, and troubleshooting alongside your engineers. DataOptix provides both, and most requests that start as one turn into the other.
Which services does DataOptix provide?
Eight: rack and stack, structured cabling, fibre design and DWDM, 24/7 smart hands, data centre migrations, RMA and logistics, audits and documentation, and power and connectivity. Each has its own page setting out what is included.
Do you work in any data centre, or only certain operators?
We are vendor-neutral and operator-neutral. Our engineers work in whichever facility your equipment sits in, subject to being added to your authorised access list with that operator.
Can you work on equipment you did not install?
Yes. Most of our work is on estates built by someone else. Where documentation is missing we can audit first so that later work starts from an accurate record rather than guesswork.
Do you supply hardware as well as install it?
We can source to your specification, but many customers procure their own to keep part numbers consistent. Either way suits us, and we will tell you honestly when buying direct would serve you better.
Response times and SLAs
How quickly can an engineer be on site?
Pay-as-you-go requests carry a 4-hour response SLA. Block-hour customers are dispatched on a 2-hour SLA and take priority over ad-hoc requests. Response is often faster in cities where our engineers already hold facility access.
Is support genuinely available 24/7?
Yes. Requests are triaged around the clock, including weekends and public holidays. Out-of-hours work is charged at the rate set out in your agreement.
What counts as an emergency?
Anything causing or threatening a service outage. Emergency requests are triaged immediately rather than queued behind planned work, and we will tell you straight away if we cannot meet the timescale you need.
What most affects how fast you can respond?
Facility access. Operator access lists take time to process, so having DataOptix engineers pre-authorised on your account before you need them makes more difference to real response time than anything else.
Do you guarantee a fix time as well as a response time?
No, and you should be cautious of any provider that does. We commit to having a competent engineer on site within the SLA. How long a fix takes depends on the fault, and we will give you an honest assessment once our engineer can see it.
Coverage and locations
Which cities do you cover?
London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, New York and New Jersey are our deepest markets. We also cover Stockholm, Helsinki, Milan, Rome, Singapore and Dubai. Paris, Dublin, Northern Virginia, Dallas, Chicago, Zurich and Madrid are growth markets served through our vetted engineer network.
What happens if our site is in a city you do not list?
Ask us. Our engineer network reaches beyond the cities listed on the site, and we would rather arrange coverage and tell you a realistic timescale than turn the request away. What we will not do is promise an SLA we cannot stand behind.
What does coverage on request actually mean?
It means we do not hold a standing local team in that city, so we source a vetted engineer from our network for your request. We confirm the engineer and a realistic timescale before you commit to anything, and we do not quote a standard SLA for those cities.
Do you have offices in every city you cover?
No, and we do not claim to. We work through engineers who live and work in each market, which is what makes response times realistic without inflating overheads you would end up paying for.
Can you support a multi-city rollout to one standard?
Yes. Working to a single build sheet, labelling convention and documentation format across every city is one of the more common reasons customers come to us rather than appointing a different local supplier in each market.
Working with us
How much does smart hands cost?
Pricing depends on the city, the service model, the urgency and the skills required, so we quote each request rather than publishing a rate card. Send us the site and the work and you will have a quote back quickly.
Which service model should we choose?
If interventions are rare and unpredictable, pay as you go keeps things simple. If you need faster response or you raise requests most months, block hours costs less per intervention and halves the response SLA. Defined pieces of work such as migrations belong in a project engagement.
Do we need a contract to raise a single request?
No. Pay as you go exists for exactly that case: no minimum commitment, no monthly fee, billed for the work done.
How do we raise a request?
Through the form on our contact page, or by email to your coordinator once you are set up. Tell us the site, the cabinet, the task and the urgency, and we will come back with next steps.
What do we get after the work is done?
A written close-out for every ticket, with photographs of what was done. Installation and cabling work also comes with as-built documentation, and cabling certification results where links were tested.
Security, insurance and vetting
How are your engineers vetted?
Every engineer in the network is identity-checked and reference-checked, and holds the certifications relevant to the work they take on. Our certifications page sets out the current position, and we are happy to provide evidence for a specific engineer before they attend your site.
Are you insured?
Yes. Details of the cover we hold are on the certifications page, and we can supply certificates for your procurement process on request.
How do you handle access to our equipment?
Our engineers work under your authorisation with the facility operator and only within the scope of the request you raised. Anything outside that scope is referred back to you before it is touched.
What about data-bearing drives?
Handled to your policy. That can mean secure erasure before return, retention under a keep-your-drive agreement, or certified destruction with a certificate issued to you.
Do you subcontract work?
We work through a network of vetted independent engineers rather than employing staff in every city, and we are open about that because it is what makes wide coverage possible. Every engineer is vetted to the same standard and works to our documentation requirements.
Still have a question?
Ask us directly. A coordinator replies within 2 business hours, and we will tell you honestly if we are not the right fit.