IT Support for Engineering Firms

Managed IT and security for engineering firms and technical consultancies across Cardiff and South Wales.

Engineering and consultancy

IT built around design work

Alphabyte IT provides managed IT support for engineering firms and technical consultancies across Cardiff and South Wales: CAD and design workstations that keep up, quick access to large project files in the office and on site, backups and document control you can rely on, and the Cyber Essentials certification that public-sector and infrastructure clients ask for. Support starts from £40 per user per month + VAT.

Engineering practices push IT harder than most offices. Models and drawing sets run to gigabytes, engineers work between the office, client sites and home, and a lost revision or a locked file server can hold up a whole project team.

We look after engineering firms and consultancies across South Wales, and you deal with the same small team every time.

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Unlimited support

Phone, remote and onsite support for a fixed monthly fee, from £40 per user.

Straight-away response

When a problem stops your team working, we typically pick it up straight away, backed by our SLA.

Project files protected

Daily backups monitored by our team, and a disaster recovery plan for when things go badly wrong.

Contract-ready security

Help with Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus for public-sector and infrastructure work.

CAD and design

Workstations specified for the software

CAD, BIM, analysis and rendering software needs more than an office PC. We specify workstations against the publisher’s own requirements for the version you actually run: the right graphics card, enough memory, fast local storage and decent screens. We keep graphics drivers and software versions consistent across the team, because mismatched versions can cause crashes and files that won’t open for a colleague.

We handle installs, updates and licence sign-ins alongside your software reseller, and we’re honest about our limits: we look after the machines and the network, not your modelling technique. To spread the cost of high-spec kit, Evergreen IT lets you lease hardware rather than buy it outright.

Large files

Big project files, opened quickly

SharePoint and OneDrive are excellent for documents, but they have limits that engineering firms hit. Microsoft caps single files at 250 GB and the full path, folders plus file name, at 400 characters, and for best performance recommends syncing no more than 300,000 files across the libraries a person syncs. Deep project folder structures and years of archive break those quickly.

Some design work doesn’t belong in a synced folder at all. Autodesk says file-based worksharing with a Revit central model stored in SharePoint isn’t supported, and warns of corrupted models and lost work. So the answer is usually a mix: a fast file server or storage in the office for live models, SharePoint and Teams for documents and client sharing, and the publisher’s own cloud service where you use it.

Site and field staff

Connected on site, secure off it

Engineers, surveyors and inspectors need drawings, email and Teams wherever the job is. We set up laptops and tablets with mobile data, offline copies of the files they need for when signal drops, and a simple way to get site photos and notes back into the project folder. For longer jobs with a site office, we can set up the connection, Wi-Fi and printer there as a separately quoted project.

Every device that touches work data is protected: encrypted, kept up to date, with multi-factor authentication on sign-in and the ability to wipe it remotely if it’s lost on site. For the office end, our network and Wi-Fi support keeps the connection between your file server, the cloud and remote staff quick enough for big files.

Document control and backups

The right revision, and a way back

Whether you work to ISO 9001 or simply need to prove which revision went to the client, your IT should support the process: permissions so only checkers and approvers can issue, version history switched on, and issued documents locked rather than left editable.

Backups are the safety net. We back up daily and our team monitors every backup. The NCSC warns that ransomware can lock your data and that a backup device left permanently connected can be hit too, so we make sure a copy sits apart from your live systems and that restores are tested. More on backup and disaster recovery.

Confidentiality and IP

Client information and your own know-how

Drawings, models, calculations and site information are often covered by confidentiality clauses in your appointments, and your own standard details and templates are years of intellectual property. We help you protect both: external sharing in SharePoint set deliberately rather than left open, links that expire, guest access reviewed, admin accounts kept separate from everyday ones, and leavers’ access removed before they walk out with the library. When a client sends a supplier security questionnaire, we help you answer the IT questions accurately.

Got your own IT person or CAD manager? We can work alongside them with co-managed IT, taking helpdesk overflow, security tools and project work off their plate. For report drafting, registers and bid packs, our sister business AlphaOps covers AI and automation for engineering consultancies.

Public-sector and infrastructure work

Cyber Essentials for contracts

Under the government’s procurement policy note PPN 014, central government departments, their agencies, non-departmental public bodies and NHS bodies must require Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus or equivalent controls on contracts with certain characteristics. These include handling citizens’ or civil servants’ personal information, supplying systems that store or process OFFICIAL information, and work involving the day-to-day business of government. It isn’t applied to every contract, but where it is, evidence is needed before contract award and Cyber Essentials must be renewed every year for the life of the contract. Other public bodies may follow the same approach, and the Welsh Government lists the note among its procurement policy notes.

We help you get both levels. Our Cyber Essentials service starts from £295 + VAT plus the IASME fee, with a 100% pass rate so far. For Cyber Essentials Plus, where the certification body tests your systems hands-on, we prepare you and support you through the audit.

Questions

IT for engineering firms: FAQs

How much does IT support for an engineering firm cost?

Our managed IT support starts from £40 per user per month + VAT, covering unlimited support, monitoring, daily backups and security. The price depends on your headcount, servers and set-up, so we give you a fixed quote first. New workstations and Microsoft 365 licences are extra. See what’s included.

Do you support CAD and BIM software?

We look after the workstations, network, storage and Microsoft 365 that your design software runs on, keep versions and drivers consistent, and work with your reseller or the publisher when a fault is in the software itself.

Should our project files be in SharePoint or on a server?

Often both. SharePoint and Teams suit documents, correspondence and client sharing. Large live models, and anything your software publisher says shouldn’t sit in a synced folder, are usually better on fast storage in the office or in the publisher’s own cloud service. We’ll look at how you work before recommending either.

Do we need Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus for government work?

It depends on the contract. The tender documents will say which level is required. Central government and NHS buyers must ask for one or the other, or equivalent controls, on contracts with certain characteristics, such as handling personal information or OFFICIAL data. We can help with either.

Can site staff work without a signal?

Yes. We set up offline copies of the drawings and documents people need on site, which sync back when the connection returns.

Can you help us move office?

Yes. Office moves, new server rooms and migrations are quoted as separate IT projects, so you know the cost up front, and we plan them around your project deadlines rather than the other way round.

How hard is it to switch IT provider?

Usually it takes one email from you. We assess your systems for free and handle the handover with your current provider. See how it works.

We have our own IT person. Can you still help?

Yes. With co-managed IT, we support your in-house person or team rather than replacing them: helpdesk overflow, security tools, projects and holiday cover.

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