Our tiered rate structure is based on the expertise and training of our staff, so you only pay for the skill set required to get the job done.

You can partner with us in the way that best suits your needs:

• Hourly - time and materials
• Blocks of time discounts
• Service contracts

Hourly and Discounted Rates

Resource Level / Role	Hourly Rate	40 Hour   Block Rate	160 Hour   Block Rate
Systems Analyst	$115	$90	$80
Senior Systems Analyst	$150	$120	$105
Systems Consultant	$200	$160	$140
Senior Systems Consultant	$250	$200	$175

*No charge for travel time within metro Atlanta. 2 hour minimum charge applies for Hourly Rates. 2 hour minimum waived for Block Time. Mileage and parking fees are billed for all travel. After hours & holiday work is invoiced at time and a half.

Rates are charged according to the level of expertise and training of our staff. We offer a tiered rate structure based on the following resource roles. All of our personnel hold one or more current industry certifications and continuously receive updated training.

Block Time Rates

Level	Hours in Block	Effective Hourly Cost	Block Price
Systems Analyst	40	$90.00	$3,600
Senior Systems Analyst	40	$120.00	$4,800
Systems Consultant	40	$160.00	$6,400
Senior Systems Consultant	40	$200.00	$8,000
Systems Analyst	160	$80.00	$12,800
Senior Systems Analyst	160	$105.00	$16,800
Systems Consultant	160	$140.00	$22,400
Senior Systems Consultant	160	$175.00	$28,000

Blocks of time are purchased and used in the following manner:

• Select the maximum technical level needed.
• Select a time category to purchase: 40 or 160 hours.
• Prepay for the service block to establish your block time account.
• The Block Time account will be debited as the time is used.
• The account will be debited the discounted "Effective Hourly Cost" based on the Level of the person providing the service (Systems Analyst, Senior Systems Analyst, Systems Consultant).
• After hours service will be charged at time-and-a-half.
• Parking and travel expenses will be invoiced separately and will not be debited from the account
• The discounted rate will only apply to work performed by Emerald staff members at the level purchased or below. Work done by staff members above the level purchased will be invoiced separately at the standard base rate. For example, if you buy a 40 hour block of Senior Systems Analyst time, you would be charged the following rates:

¹Refunds are not given on unused Block Time balances.

Basic Service Plan

Service Provided

What this Means for You

Install maintenance patches and updates provided by the manufacturer for the server OS, Backup and Anti-virus Software.

Install firmware updates provided by the manufacturer.
Update Hardware Drivers for Server OS.

Provide a report detailing the health of the network, including proactive recommendations, accessing hardware and component performance and documentation of the network.

8 business hour response time to network emergencies.

Many systems administrators do not have the time or resources to keep information systems properly tuned and in prime operating condition. The Basic Service plan will assure that your network is updated each month with the latest fixes to problems that are continually addressed by both hardware and software manufacturers.

Your network will be analyzed each month for signs of trouble or abnormal events. Early detection of problems, e.g. low disk space and low memory, will mean less unscheduled down time.

You will receive a manager friendly detailed report of our findings, which provides a history over the year.

Administration of Network Services

Service Provided

What this Means for You

A workstation will be provided by Emerald that will enable Emerald to remotely access your network and perform administration of users and network services.

These functions can be addressed by our in house technical support staff within 8 business hours.

Remote access to your network will mean that you do not need to wait for an Emerald field technician to arrive at your site to perform such tasks as add and remove users, assign rights to network services, troubleshoot printing problems, backup management, remote communications management and identify server problems.

This is a cost effective alternative to adding a dedicated systems administrator or taking valuable time away from an existing staff member to administer the network.

Emergency Response Upgrade

Service Provided

What this Means for You

Responding to network outages within 30 minutes with a technician on site within 4 business hours in the Metro Atlanta area if the server cannot be brought back up over the phone.

Network outages are extremely costly to a business. Although every effort is made to address all requests from our clients as quickly as possible, this addition to the Basic Proactive Support plan guarantees the stated response time so that your network is up and running as quickly. The guaranteed response time is twice as fast as the Basic Proactive Support Plan.

Hot Spare Server

Service Provided

What this Means for You

In the event that your server has suffered a catastrophic failure. Emerald will provide a server and restore your data from backup while your existing server is being repaired.

Losing a server means that repairs are time critical. A business cannot afford to be without its information to continue to work. In the event that your server cannot be repaired quickly Emerald will configure a powerful, spare server for your use.

A server may fail for a variety of reasons. Often spare parts are needed to remedy a server breakage. This means that a server will be down for at least a 2 days if spare parts are necessary. If the part is on back order - it may be several days or weeks before the part becomes available. Having a spare server guaranteed and available goes a long way to reduce expensive prolonged down time.