Outlook will not open
IT Support & Help Desk
You do not need to diagnose the problem before asking for help.
Most businesses look for IT support because something is not working. Outlook will not open. A computer is painfully slow. Someone cannot sign in. The printer disappeared again. That is enough information to start.
RPMC provides business IT support in Barrie and the surrounding area. You do not need an existing Managed IT agreement. New and on-demand customers are welcome.
The simple idea
Tell us what you were trying to do and what happened instead. We will work on the technical part.
Start with what is happening
If technology is getting in the way of work, start with the problem.
You do not need to decide whether the cause is Microsoft 365, the computer, the network, the internet, a server, an account, a software vendor, a printer, security, or something else underneath it. Those are examples of where troubleshooting may lead, not a list of what you are allowed to ask.
A computer is painfully slow
Someone cannot sign in
A program keeps crashing
The printer disappeared again
The Wi-Fi is unreliable
A shared drive is unavailable
A server or application is down
The internet feels wrong
A suspicious email arrived
A new employee needs setup
Something changed and nobody knows why
Help with the problem you have today
On-demand support is a legitimate way to work with RPMC.
Sometimes a business simply has a technical problem that needs to be fixed. That is enough reason to contact us. A customer should not have to understand RPMC's service catalogue before asking a technical question.
We also support customers farther afield, including Toronto and the GTA, particularly where the work can be handled remotely or where the relationship makes sense. Barrie and the surrounding area remain the geographic centre of this service.
You do not need an existing Managed IT agreement before you can ask RPMC for help.
Day-to-day interruptions
A computer stops working properly. An employee loses access to email. Microsoft 365 behaves unexpectedly. A business application stops connecting.
Office-wide friction
A network problem may affect one person or the whole office. A printer or scanner becomes unreachable. A server or shared system causes problems.
People and access
A new employee needs to be set up. A departing employee needs access removed. Someone receives a suspicious email and wants another set of eyes before doing anything with it.
More than repairing a box
Business computers rarely exist in isolation.
People search for computer repair because that is often the simplest way to describe what they need. RPMC provides business computer and PC troubleshooting, but a computer may depend on the office network, Microsoft 365, user accounts, shared files, printers, applications, security controls, and cloud services around it.
What looks like a broken computer may actually be a problem somewhere else in that environment. Working with the device where it is used can be valuable, because the technician can see the computer and the systems around it rather than treating the machine as an isolated object.
Remote support
Useful when it can begin quickly
Some problems can be investigated and resolved remotely. Remote support can remove travel time and may allow troubleshooting to begin sooner.
Onsite support
When the environment matters
Hardware, cabling, installations, certain network problems, equipment failures, and issues that depend on the surrounding environment may need somebody physically present.
The point is not to force every problem into remote support or onsite support. The point is to choose the practical route toward understanding the problem and getting the customer working again. If a technician determines that equipment needs work away from the customer's location, that can be handled as part of resolving the issue. Visits to the RPMC office are by appointment only.
Good troubleshooting
The thing showing the error is not always the thing causing it.
A useful support conversation does not begin by asking the customer to speak like a technician. A person may say Outlook is broken because Outlook is where they see the error. That does not mean Outlook itself is the cause.
RPMC looks at what changed, what works, what does not, who is affected, what happened before the problem started, and what the available technical information is showing us. We would rather narrow down the cause than change random things until the symptom disappears.
Trying something is not the same as fixing something. Where practical, we want to know whether the change actually solved the problem. You should not have to keep paying to patch the same symptom without eventually asking why it keeps happening.
Good troubleshooting means following the evidence. Sometimes the right fix is quick. Not every problem needs to become a major investigation.
01
What were you trying to do?
02
What happened instead?
03
Who is affected?
04
When did it start?
What you see
The printer disappeared
What it may be
A network problem
The device showing the error is not always the system that needs attention.
What you see
An application is unstable
What it may be
Authentication, connectivity, storage, or the server underneath it
Problems often cross several technical systems.
What you see
A suspicious email
What it may be
Something that needs a look, not an automatic conclusion
A strange email does not automatically mean an account has been compromised.
A process, not another thing to remember
Asking for support should put the problem somewhere it can live.
A support request should not depend entirely on whether somebody happens to be available to answer the telephone at that exact moment. Tickets are monitored and give the problem somewhere to live while it is being assessed, assigned, worked, tracked, and documented.
01
Recorded
The request is captured so it does not depend on somebody remembering a conversation.
02
Assessed
Someone reviews what was submitted and what the problem appears to be doing.
03
Prioritized
Urgency follows business impact, so the most disruptive problems receive the appropriate priority.
04
Assigned
The work is given to somebody who can actually take it forward.
05
Worked
A technician engages: reviewing, asking, contacting, or beginning troubleshooting.
06
Tracked
The issue stays visible while it is moving, including when another vendor is involved.
07
Documented
What was found and what was done has a place to live after the immediate fire is out.
08
Verified
Where practical, we want to know whether the change actually solved the problem.
An automated ticket received message is not the same as technician engagement. A meaningful response means somebody has actively engaged with the request. The purpose of the process is not bureaucracy. It is to make the problem visible and keep it moving.
Priority
Every problem matters to the person experiencing it. They do not all affect the business in the same way.
One employee losing a second monitor is different from the entire company being unable to access a system required to operate. RPMC considers severity, how many people are affected, whether work can continue, whether there is a workaround, and what service commitments apply. The exact label is less important than the principle: priority should reflect business impact.
Critical
The business cannot reasonably continue
Work that the organization depends on has stopped, or cannot continue in a usable way.
High
Serious interruption
Important work is blocked for one person or a group, with little or no useful workaround.
Medium
Work is impaired
The issue is getting in the way, but some work can still continue.
Low
Limited impact
The problem is real, but it is not stopping the business from operating.
Request
Not stopping anyone
A request that would help, without blocking anyone from working today.
You should not have to referee
Some technical problems cross several boundaries.
The software company says it is the network. The internet provider says its connection is working. The copier company says it is Microsoft. Microsoft points toward a configuration elsewhere. Meanwhile the customer is stuck in the middle.
That should not become the customer's job. Start with RPMC. If another provider genuinely needs to be involved, we can gather logs, test connectivity, explain the environment, join troubleshooting calls, translate what has already been discovered, and help determine where the responsibility actually belongs.
Sometimes another provider legitimately performs the final fix. That is fine. The value is helping move the problem toward resolution without requiring the customer to understand every technical boundary.
Microsoft
ISP
Software vendor
Copier company
Firewall / network
Cloud service
If it looks suspicious, send it
Security questions are support questions too.
Not every security concern begins as a cybersecurity project. Sometimes an employee simply receives an email that does not look right. They should be able to ask. An employee who stops before clicking and asks for help is doing exactly what a sensible security process should encourage.
RPMC can look at what was received and help determine what the evidence actually shows. A strange email should not be ignored simply because the employee does not know how to investigate it themselves.
If the concern reveals a larger security need, Cybersecurity is the deeper conversation: ongoing protection, monitoring, identity, security controls, and incident preparation.
Explore Cybersecurity
When today's problem is not the whole story
A support ticket may begin with one computer and uncover something larger.
When possible, RPMC can stabilize the immediate issue and explain what was found. If the underlying problem is better handled as a project, replacement, infrastructure improvement, security change, or another type of work, that should be identified separately rather than quietly allowing a small support request to become an open-ended project.
Fix today's problem
Get the person or system working again. The customer does not need to know which service category owns the symptom when they first contact us.
Explain what was found
Aging infrastructure, a network issue, Microsoft 365 configuration, weak account security, failing hardware, or an unreliable backup process may sit underneath the visible symptom.
Choose the next kind of work
That may lead into Microsoft 365 work, networking, cybersecurity, backup and continuity, infrastructure, or equipment replacement. RPMC can help determine which kind of work makes sense next.
When the relationship starts
There is nothing wrong with calling IT when something breaks.
RPMC is not going to tell a business that it has made a bad decision simply because it is not ready for Managed IT. For some businesses, occasional support is all they need today. Help comes first.
On-demand support
The relationship starts after the interruption
Something stops working, you contact RPMC, and we help investigate and fix the problem. That relationship is valid. The practical limitation is that we may need to learn the environment while the customer is already waiting.
Managed IT
An ongoing role before the next request
Managed IT changes when RPMC becomes involved and how much responsibility we carry between incidents. It does not prevent every failure. Sometimes the value is prevention. Sometimes it is already knowing the environment. Sometimes it is being better prepared to recover.
If the business is tired of repeatedly starting the IT relationship only after something has gone wrong, Fully Managed IT explains that model in depth.
Explore Fully Managed ITAlready have internal IT?
The answer is not automatically replacing the person the business already trusts.
Some organizations already have an employee or internal IT team handling technology. They may still need extra capacity, a place to escalate difficult problems, project assistance, specialist depth, vacation coverage, security help, or vendor coordination.
If the business is looking for reinforcement rather than replacement, Co-Managed IT is the deeper conversation.
Co-Managed IT is meant to strengthen the IT resources the business already has, not replace them.
Explore Co-Managed ITBarrie-based support
RPMC is based in Barrie and supports businesses throughout Barrie and the surrounding region.
That is the geographic centre of this service. We can also support customers beyond the immediate area, including Toronto and the GTA, particularly where remote support or the wider customer relationship makes that practical. Not every technical problem requires somebody to travel. Location, urgency, the nature of the problem, and the work involved all affect the practical support approach.
Regular hours
Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, excluding holidays.
Emergency support
Emergency support is available 24/7. Emergency rates apply.
Office visits
92 Caplan Avenue, Suite 643, Barrie, Ontario L4N 9J2. Visits to the RPMC office are by appointment only. Support is built around helping the customer in the environment where the problem occurs.
Choose the path that matches today
Get Support, Contact Us, and a Discovery Call are three different conversations.
If something is broken now, the next step should be support. If you are comparing long-term IT partners, a Discovery Call is a different conversation.
Active technical problem
Get Support
I have a technical problem and want RPMC's attention so somebody can help me. Submitting a support request is usually the best way to get the issue into the support process, because tickets remain monitored and tracked even when the phone cannot be answered immediately.
Question or enquiry
Contact Us
I have a question or general enquiry and want to talk with RPMC. Use this for a conversation about whether we can help, contact information, or an enquiry that is not an active support request.
Ongoing relationship
Book a Free Discovery Call
I want to explore an ongoing business relationship. This is a different conversation from getting today's problem into the support process.
Tickets are the preferred support path. Since 2003, RPMC has helped businesses start with the problem in front of them, whether they are new customers or already working with us.
Practical details
A few questions people usually ask before they get in touch.
You do not need to choose the correct service name before talking to RPMC. Start with what is happening.
Do I need Managed IT before I can get help?
No. New customers do not require an existing Managed IT agreement before asking RPMC for support. Occasional and on-demand help is a legitimate way to work with us.
Should I call, or submit a support request?
For an active technical problem, use Get Support to put the issue into our support process. Tickets are preferred because they remain monitored and tracked even when the phone cannot be answered immediately.
Can you help if I do not know what is broken?
Yes. Tell us what you were trying to do, what happened instead, who is affected, and when it started. You do not need to diagnose the problem or decide which system owns it first.
Do you only work remotely?
No. Remote support is useful when it can begin quickly and properly address the problem. Onsite support is appropriate when physical access, hardware, cabling, installation, or the surrounding environment matter. We choose the practical route.
What are the current support hours?
Regular support hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, excluding holidays. Emergency support is available 24/7, and emergency rates apply.
Can you help when the problem involves another technology provider?
Yes. Start with us. If Microsoft, an internet provider, software vendor, copier company, or another provider needs to be involved, RPMC can help gather the technical information, coordinate troubleshooting, and keep the issue moving. Sometimes another provider performs the final fix. You should not have to figure out every technical boundary before asking for help.
Related work
Start with the problem. Explore the deeper service when the need becomes more specific.
Start with what is happening
If you need help with a technical problem now, start there.
Tell us what you were trying to do, what happened instead, and what the problem is stopping you from doing. We will work on the technical part.
Employees should be able to ask for help without becoming IT experts themselves.