How GNS CARE managed service differs from traditional IT maintenance
GNS Engineering Team 3 min read
Managed service and maintenance are often treated as the same thing, but they start in different places: maintenance starts when you call to report a fault, a managed service starts when we can see the state of the equipment. Here is the difference, point by point, and when each one fits.
1. The trigger: your phone call vs a baseline drift
Traditional maintenance is triggered by your call. Before it, the provider knows nothing about the state of the kit; after it, the time goes into recovery rather than prevention. A managed service is triggered by data. Every device has its own long-term baseline, and when drive errors, supply voltage or roaming success rate start drifting, we get the signal before you have to make the call.
2. Where the data comes from: a snapshot vs continuous telemetry
An on-site inspection is a snapshot: if it powers on and connects while the engineer is there, it passes. A managed service reads device activity logs through the official UniFi API and sends them encrypted to our cloud platform, where an AI platform we build ourselves compares each device against its long-term baseline — with no agent on your network and no inbound ports opened. The difference is that a snapshot happens a few times a year, while telemetry is continuous and the AI names a failing unit as soon as its trend turns.
3. The replacement decision: after failure vs by condition
Traditionally the decision to replace a drive is made after the drive fails, and the cost is interrupted recording, a stopped till or a door that will not open. Under a managed service, drive health is a trend line. When the trend turns clearly downward we schedule the swap while everything still works, and the Complete tier swaps failed hardware within 24 hours.
4. How you pay: per visit vs per device per month
Break-fix is charged per visit: every call-out is an invoice, and more faults mean more invoices. A managed service is priced per device endpoint, from HK$800 per month (Essential) and HK$2,000 per month (Complete). The fee is fixed, so handling a hardware failure does not land as a surprise in one quarter.
5. Records and audit
In the traditional model the record is a job sheet: what happened and what was replaced, written by hand. Under a managed service the devices, the events and the action taken all leave a record on the platform, which makes answering management, audit or customer questions straightforward.
Which one fits
If you have one router and one switch, and an hour of downtime does not affect trading, per-visit maintenance is enough. When the same line carries Wi-Fi, CCTV, door access and intercom at once, and a break in any of them stops the business, the value of the managed model is that it finds the problem earlier — that is the real difference.
The technical detail (the four-layer architecture, SIEM and anomaly detection, public overseas practice) is in the whitepaper, and the monthly fee calculator gives an estimate.
Frequently asked questions
Is a managed service the same as insurance?
Not quite. Insurance pays afterwards; a managed service finds the problem beforehand and arranges the fix. Hardware can still fail, but the response is already scheduled rather than starting from the failure.
We already have an IT team. Do we still need this?
It covers continuous monitoring, updates and records at the device layer, and does not replace internal IT support for users and business systems. Many customers have internal IT handle day-to-day user issues while we look after the health and updates of the network, CCTV and door access hardware.
Does it replace the hardware warranty?
No. The warranty follows the manufacturer terms. The managed service covers monitoring, updates, configuration backup, event handling and the swap arrangement included in your tier, and we handle warranty claims on your behalf.
How is the monthly fee calculated?
Per device endpoint: gateways, switches, access points, cameras, recorders, door access and phones each carry a rate, with a floor of HK$800 per month for Essential and HK$2,000 for Complete. The final count is confirmed in a written quote after the free site survey.
