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Data Convergence

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Remote Hands and Smart Hands services for New York City and New Jersey data centers

Remote Hands and Smart Hands put an experienced person at your New York City or New Jersey data center or facility to carry out approved physical tasks while your engineers direct the work remotely. Remote Hands covers hands-and-eyes activities such as inspection, identification and basic connections. Smart Hands covers technical tasks such as installing and replacing network hardware, patching and physical-layer troubleshooting.

Our approach in one line

Your infrastructure is there. Your engineering team does not have to be.

What is Remote Hands?
Remote Hands is hands-and-eyes support: a field resource looks at equipment, confirms what is connected, captures serial numbers and photographs, and performs simple physical actions your remote engineer has authorized.
What is Smart Hands?
Smart Hands is technically capable on-site support: installing and replacing hardware, patching fiber and copper, replacing optics, connecting to consoles and helping troubleshoot at the physical layer under your engineer’s direction.

Who it is for

Who needs Remote Hands and Smart Hands?

  • IT directors and infrastructure managers with sites they cannot visit quickly
  • Network and systems engineers who need eyes and hands on equipment they manage remotely
  • Data center operations teams that need additional physical capacity
  • MSPs, VARs and integrators supporting customer equipment in other locations

What it includes

What does Remote Hands and Smart Hands include?

The activities below can be part of an engagement. The agreed scope for each request defines exactly what is included.

Remote Hands activities

Observation, identification and simple, authorized actions.

  • Visual equipment inspection
  • Equipment and rack identification
  • Serial-number and asset capture
  • Physical-connection verification
  • Console-cable connection
  • Authorized power-cycle or reboot assistance
  • Cable tracing
  • Patch-cable verification
  • Shipping and receiving assistance
  • Equipment inventory
  • Basic rack and cabinet inspection
  • Hands-and-eyes support for remote engineers

Smart Hands activities

Technical hardware and physical-layer work.

  • Network hardware installation and replacement
  • Switch and router installation
  • Rack and stack
  • Fiber and copper patching
  • Optic and transceiver replacement
  • Console access and coordinated troubleshooting
  • Hardware migration support
  • Cable remediation
  • Equipment relocation
  • Failed-component replacement
  • Network refresh support
  • Approved IOS/NX-OS upgrade assistance
  • Physical-layer troubleshooting
  • Vendor and RMA coordination
  • Testing and verification
  • Detailed completion documentation

Supporting capabilities

  • Console access support
  • Rack and hardware verification
  • RMA assistance
  • Change-window support
  • Before and after photographs
  • Exception reporting
  • Remote engineer coordination

Control and responsibility

What stays under your control?

The field resource works to your instructions. Your engineers stay in charge of the technical objective.

  • Approval of every physical action before it is performed
  • Configuration, logical network decisions and software changes
  • Monitoring, troubleshooting direction and validation of results
  • Decisions about when to proceed, pause or roll back

What to prepare

What should you prepare?

  • Site address, access requirements and the on-site contact who can authorize entry
  • Equipment location: facility, cage or suite, rack and rack unit where known
  • The exact task list, in order, with any steps that need your approval first
  • Console, cable, optic or replacement parts that will be on site, and who is delivering them
  • Maintenance window or access window, plus the communication channel to use during the work
  • What evidence you want back: photographs, serial numbers, port maps or test results

How it works

How does it work?

  1. Step 1: Scope the task

    Define the physical actions, the equipment involved and the evidence you need back.

  2. Step 2: Confirm access and parts

    Check site access, escort requirements, delivered parts and the maintenance window.

  3. Step 3: Brief the field resource

    Walk through the task list with your engineer so everyone shares the same sequence and stop points.

  4. Step 4: Work live with your engineer

    The field resource performs approved actions while your engineer observes and directs over your chosen channel.

  5. Step 5: Verify and document

    Results are confirmed with your engineer, then photographs, serial numbers, exceptions and open items are written up.

What gets documented

What gets documented and verified?

  • Before and after photographs of the work area
  • Serial numbers and asset details of equipment touched
  • A record of work performed against the agreed task list
  • Exceptions, deviations and anything found that was not expected
  • Open items and recommended next actions

Where is it available?

Remote Hands and Smart Hands are most readily supported in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan region. Other locations are evaluated against scope, schedule and resource availability.

New York and New Jersey coverage

Free tool

Project Completion Report Builder

Build a clean, branded completion report for field work: engagement details, work performed, photographs, validation results and sign-off. Export as PDF.

Open the tool

Questions

Remote Hands and Smart Hands: frequently asked questions

What is Remote Hands in a data center?

Remote Hands is on-site, hands-and-eyes support: someone at the facility looks at equipment, confirms what is connected and performs simple physical actions your remote engineer authorizes, so you do not have to travel.

How much do Remote Hands and Smart Hands services cost?

Cost depends on the tasks, the location, how soon the work is needed, the access window and whether parts or travel are involved. How pricing works is explained on the response times and pricing page. Send your sites and task list through the quote form to get scope and commercial terms.

Do you provide Remote Hands in New York and New Jersey?

The New York and New Jersey region is where Remote Hands and Smart Hands work is most readily supported. Feasibility for a specific facility depends on scope, schedule and resource availability.

What is the difference between Remote Hands and Smart Hands?

Remote Hands is hands-and-eyes support such as inspection, identification and simple authorized actions. Smart Hands covers technical work such as installing or replacing network hardware, patching and physical-layer troubleshooting. Many requests combine both.

Can my engineer direct the work remotely while it is happening?

Yes. Work is designed around a live channel between the field resource and your engineer, so each step can be confirmed before it is performed.

Do you perform configuration work?

Configuration and logical network decisions stay with your engineering team unless the agreed scope explicitly says otherwise. Approved software upgrade assistance is performed under your engineer’s direction.

What do we receive when the work is done?

A completion record that can include before and after photographs, serial numbers, work performed, exceptions and open items, based on what you asked to have captured.

Technical resources

Remote Hands and Smart Hands

Remote Hands vs. Smart Hands: what each covers and when to use which

The two terms are often used interchangeably. They describe different levels of on-site capability, and choosing correctly saves time in the maintenance window.

· 5 min read

Read the guide

Remote Hands and Smart Hands

A Remote Hands request template: what to send so the work gets done first time

Most delayed Remote Hands jobs start with an incomplete request. Use this template to give a technician everything needed to act the first time.

· 4 min read

Read the guide

Remote Hands and Smart Hands

Planning Remote Hands in NYC and New Jersey data centers

Work in and around New York City has its own logistics. Plan access, deliveries, timing and travel before you request a visit.

· 6 min read

Read the guide

Remote Hands and Smart Hands

Remote Hands vs. managed services: which do you need?

Managed services run your environment. Remote Hands performs physical tasks at a site. Knowing the difference stops you buying the wrong thing.

· 6 min read

Read the guide

Remote Hands and Smart Hands

How to read a Remote Hands response-time commitment

“Fast response” can mean four different things. Learn what each measures, how targets differ from guarantees and what to ask before you rely on one.

· 5 min read

Read the guide

Maintenance-window preparation

Preparing for a maintenance window with a field resource

A maintenance window is short, and on-site work inside it has little room for surprises. Preparing the task list, stop points, access, parts and communication channel in advance turns a hurried scramble into a controlled, documented sequence.

· 5 min read

Read the guide

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