phone – Internetblog.org.uk https://www.internetblog.org.uk Web hosting, Domain names, Dedicated servers Fri, 29 Jan 2016 11:05:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.5 https://www.internetblog.org.uk/files/2016/01/cropped-favico-32x32.png phone – Internetblog.org.uk https://www.internetblog.org.uk 32 32 Flood ravages Vodafone data center https://www.internetblog.org.uk/post/501/flood-ravages-vodafone-data-center/ Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:01:06 +0000 http://www.internetblog.org.uk/post/501/flood-ravages-vodafone-data-center/ This isn’t the first data center flood covered here at Internetblog, but most certainly the worst. In the video above, you can watch as several feet of water rush into Vodafone’s Istanbul data center and destroy thousands of pounds worth of server hardware and data.

Immediately after the flood, Vodafone subscribers experienced technical difficulties that lasted 24-48 hours, but no outages were reported. Large tech companies almost always have a system in place where if one data center goes out, the computing load is automatically rerouted to another facility. Needless to say, hopefully the company kept good backups.

]]> Is phone support worth the extra cost? https://www.internetblog.org.uk/post/495/is-phone-support-worth-the-extra-cost/ Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:09:28 +0000 http://www.internetblog.org.uk/post/495/is-phone-support-worth-the-extra-cost/ call center
In an attempt to provide better service, some hosts have returned to the old model of providing phone support as a substitute for the more common online ticket system. It’s great to see technical assistance being provided the old-fashioned way again, but this luxury usually comes at an added cost.

Most hosts don’t offer phone support simply because it’s too expensive. Those that do charge extra for it. This may be a per-call or per-minute basis, a monthly fee, or, in the case of an upper-tier host like mine, implicitly charged to all customers.

You probably won’t need to use phone support most of the time, but it can be useful in a number of situations:

  1. Your problem is especially complicated or you want to make sure it is taken care of correctly the first time.
  2. Online support has been unable to solve your inquiry.
  3. You are technically challenged. We’re not all the next Bill Gates.
  4. You don’t have access to a computer at the moment.

There are many benefits to talking to a person live in real-time. If your host offers phone support, why not take advantage of the extra service?

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