IT support for Washington businesses

IT support for one of the region's busiest manufacturing areas

Washington was built as a new town around a network of industrial estates, and it is still one of the most important places in the North East for making and moving things. The Nissan plant sits on its eastern edge, the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) is being developed beside it, and estates such as Pattinson, Crowther, Armstrong, Stephenson and Parsons are home to a long list of manufacturers, engineering firms, distributors and trade businesses.

Cyber Fits is a family run IT company based next door in Sunderland. We look after businesses of around 5 to 100 staff, and Washington is one of the closest places we work. We support you remotely day to day and come to site whenever a job needs hands on help.

The IT challenges Washington businesses face

• Supply chain security demands. Automotive and advanced manufacturing customers expect their suppliers to protect data and systems. Questionnaires, contract clauses and requests for Cyber Essentials are increasingly common, and some automotive customers ask for further assessments. Having clear, documented security makes those conversations much easier.
• Shop floor computers that must keep running. Production, stock and despatch often depend on a handful of PCs, label printers and scanners. When one fails, a line or a delivery can stop. These machines need monitoring, sensible updates and a quick replacement plan.
• Keeping production and office networks apart. Machines, controllers and older equipment on the shop floor often cannot be updated like a normal PC. Separating them from office computers and email limits how far a problem can spread.
• Units that were not designed for WiFi. Steel framed buildings, racking and long warehouses make WiFi difficult. Handheld devices and tablets need coverage from one end of the unit to the other.
• Shift patterns and shared computers. Many teams share PCs between shifts, which needs proper user accounts, sensible permissions and multi factor authentication rather than one shared login on the wall.

Services we provide in Washington

• Managed IT support covering office and shop floor computers, with monitoring and updates for one fixed monthly cost.
• Networks and WiFi: warehouse and factory WiFi, firewalls and separate networks for office, production, guests and CCTV.
• Cyber security and endpoint protection, with help preparing for Cyber Essentials and answering customer security questionnaires.
• Backup and recovery for servers, production data and Microsoft 365, tested so you know it works.
• IT hardware, including CAD workstations, rugged devices and replacement PCs set up ready to go.
• CCTV and access control for units, yards and car parks.
• Business phones with Virtual Voice Office and business broadband with Cyber Fibre.

Not every Washington business is a manufacturer. The town centre, Washington Village and the business parks are also home to offices, professional practices, care providers and trade businesses, and we look after their IT, security and Microsoft 365 in just the same way.

How remote and onsite support works in Washington

Your team can call 0191 543 3432, email support@cyberfits.co.uk or log a ticket. Most issues, from email problems to a stuck application, are fixed remotely by an engineer connecting securely to the computer with permission.

Because Washington is so close to us, onsite visits are straightforward. That matters for the jobs manufacturers often need: replacing a failed shop floor PC, getting a label printer back online, extending WiFi into a new part of the warehouse or cabling a new office. Planned work can be scheduled around production and shift changes. Our support hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.

Why a Sunderland based team suits Washington

• We are next door. Short travel times make onsite work simple to arrange.
• We understand industrial sites. Our managing director previously worked as an IT manager and engineer in a production environment, so we understand why uptime matters and why the shop floor is not just another office.
• Security that helps you win work. We help you put in place and document the controls your customers ask about.
• One local supplier. IT, networks, CCTV, phones and broadband from one company, with one number to call.

Book a free IT review and we will look at your office and shop floor IT, your security and your backups, and give you a clear list of priorities.

Areas we cover around Washington

Including postcode districts NE37, NE38.