The Technical Support department, as the name suggests, provides technical support and implementation services to FSL's clients. The department is comprised of four units:

1. Database Management & Administration
2. Hardware Engineering
3. Systems Management
4. Computer Operations

Database Management and Administration Unit
The function of the DBA unit is to provide a safe, stable and efficient environment in which to store and manage data. This means the team needs to be current and proactive at all times. Generally, a DBA needs to be knowledgeable in the product specifics of the RDBMS that is being used and at least a working knowledge of relational database design. There are more specific and detailed requirements of the database administrator (DBA) which are outlined below.

Currently the DBA unit is responsible to perform the following major functions:

• Install and upgrade RDBMS products.
• Monitoring the performance and configuration of existing installations.
• Configuring and tuning new installations for production.
• Troubleshooting performance issues in existing environments.
• Providing guidance and advice to the application developers in the logical design of new databases and in the modifications of existing databases. The DBA also performs the required creation and changes once the decisions are made.
• Providing information to other related units/departments (e.g. hardware and system administration) to assist in decision making regarding server configuration and performance.
• Keeping current with database technology and trends to effectively keep our installation current.
• Ensuring that data is backed up securely and, consequently, ensuring that the data is easily and efficiently recoverable in the event of a failure.
• Providing advice and guidance to developers on how to best to code complex queries to get the best possible responses from the RDBMS without overtaxing resources.
• Monitor database access security by providing access to the relevant users and ensuring that unauthorized users are not able to access the data.
• Plan and implement any training or instruction that is necessary to keep the relevant persons current in the database technologies as it pertains to their daily functions.

Hardware Engineering Unit
The hardware-engineering unit is the arm of technical support and by extension of FSL, that is responsible for the procurement, installation and maintenance of all computer hardware, peripherals and related services.

This unit which consists of ten (10) engineers with a collective experience of 63 years in the engineering field, is headed by a team leader to whom all engineers report and who in turn reports to the Department Head –Technical Support.

The functions of the unit can be divided into three very broad categories. These are in the areas of:

1. Hardware procurement
2. Hardware installation
3. Hardware maintenance

Hardware Procurement
The unit is responsible for the procurement of all computer hardware, peripherals and hardware related services.

Hardware Installation
The hardware unit is responsibly for not only all hardware installations but also the required infrastructure such as electrical wiring and necessary environmental conditioners.
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Hardware Maintenance
The most critical function of any service organization is its ability to satisfy the needs of its customers. The aim of the hardware engineering unit in this area, is to bring to its customers, unmatched service in a timely and professional manner.

The quantity of devices in FSL’s installed based is enormous, currently in excess of two (2) thousand devices. The Hardware-Engineering unit maintains all of these devices, which are currently deployed over a multitude of sites, which increases the challenge of maintaining and managing all of them. This installed base includes a wide range of computer Equipment such as Servers, Printers, Terminals and Uninterruptible Power Supplies.

In addition to doing corrective maintenance, another important aspect of the unit’s maintenance procedure is doing preventative maintenance. Preventative maintenance as the name suggest, is a scheduled set of activities that are performed periodically on machines in an attempt to reduce/eliminate/prevent possible causes of failures.
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Systems Management Unit
The Systems Management unit is charged with ensuring the security, reliability and efficiency of the computer systems and applications for which FSL is responsible. The unit endeavours to carry out this mandate by:

• Providing technical guidance to our clients, both internal and external, in the selection of IT solutions.
• Ensuring the integrity and privacy of clients' data through the use of system audits as well as monitoring users' compliance with the organisation's standards and procedures.
• Formulating and implementing procedures for data recovery and performing contingency planning.
• Performing operating system installation, monitoring and tuning on our computer systems.
• Troubleshooting day-to-day system faults.
• Implementation of new or upgraded applications provided by our Application Engineering division.
• Ensuring the currency of our clients' office automation and other business support software. Systems Management facilitates the acquisition of software, from evaluation through procurement, to installation / upgrade.

The unit currently supports an installed user base in excess of 4000 users, and is now challenged with the task of performing remote system administration of these users' machines in anticipation of the planned implementation of several major new projects.
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Computer Operations Unit
The Computer Operations unit operates on a 24-hour basis, manning the main computer suite of FSL's Central Facility in Kingston, and providing computer bureau services to our clients. The routine tasks performed by the unit include batch execution of user jobs, transaction data upload, and the printing and dispatch of large reports and tax notices. The unit is also responsible for carrying out the backup and archiving of all in-house system and application data.

Computer Operations also provides vital implementation support services, such as onsite system backup, as well as training for our clients' onsite administrators.