Some IT companies are little more than quick-hit artists.

They sell you a high- powered network or an elaborate system support package and hand you a pen so you can sign on the dotted line.

Then they plug in your system, flick the "on" switch and slip out the door, never to be seen again.

Or else they convince you to purchase a complex and expensive set of solutions which goes far beyond your day-to-day needs.

The Top Gun Computer Solutions team includes, from left, Ken McLean, Stacy Adams and Dan Labrecque.

But an innovative and user-friendly Calgary support team known as Top Gun Computer Solutions refuses to do business that way.

"We're not going to sell you a Cadillac when a Pinto will do the job just as well," said Top Gun president Stacy Adams, a straight-talking small-town boy whose resumé is loaded with big-city credentials.

No, Top Gun prefers to serve you exactly according to your needs. Then Adams and his team of certified experts will stick by you, following through with whatever technical assistance you need to point your own small or medium-sized business in the right direction.

"Our philosophy is, we want to grow with our customers," said Adams, an affable product of Trochu, Alta., who believes in a friendly, distinctly old-school brand of customer service.

"We want to work with them on a long-term basis," he added. "We're not in business just to make a big sale and walk away."

While Top Gun Computer Solutions can supply you with an enormous range of services, from managed security service to network design/implementation to Internet management solutions to hardware and software procurement, an important company focus is preventive maintenance of your existing system.

As Adams puts it, the best way to ensure the integrity of your computer system is to stick to regular schedules of maintenance procedures. Since your computer system includes highly sensitive mechanical and electronic components, a program of regular care can dramatically reduce the incidence of computer failure.

That translates to a drastic reduction of down time, which translates to a healthier bottom line for your company.

"Your network is such an integral part of your business. Yet people take it for granted every day ... . until something goes wrong," Adams said.

As part of Top Gun's personalized service plan, Adams and his team of certified specialists will meet with you and fully assess your needs, keeping your own budgetary concerns in mind.

When the assessment is complete, Top Gun will present you with a detailed document that outlines exactly where you stand.

Top Gun will ask you to enter into a one-year service contract, with pricing based on the size of your computer network. Top Gun guarantees the customer a minimum number of service hours per month, rather than charging a strict hourly rate. It's an arrangement that leads to significant customer savings over the long term.

Then the pros set to work, ensuring that anti-virus software is up to date while identifying and rectifying sporadic software or hardware failures.

"We do the general maintenance. Often you'll get one problem machine on a network which can periodically take down the whole structure. We can address and eliminate such problems," explained Adams.

Once a month, Top Gun will stop by to make sure the network is running smoothly while remaining on call for emergency repairs on a same-day basis.

Adams also considers the Top Gun managed-security system one of the company's most important service offerings. Internet and network security is a major issue and the Top Gun team will make sure your company stays in step with the latest technological advances.

"Our firewall behaves much like the alarm system in your home," Adams said. "We monitor it 24/7 and we'll know instantly if there's a problem with your network."

If Internet service is interrupted, Top Gun will instantly identify the error. If your system comes under attack from viruses, Top Gun shuts down the affected ports. If a virus does manage to sneak through, Top Gun takes steps to ensure that the virus is not passed along to your own customers.

As a total solutions company, Top Gun Computer Solutions employs software that enables customers to quickly recover inadvertently-deleted files and projects, provides customers with web-page design and hosting and facilitates two-way satellite communications, ideally-suited for customers with branches in remote rural locations. In a pinch, they'll even pay a house call to restore a fried laptop to life.

If you're after high-tech solutions while craving old-fashioned standards of customer service, look no further than Top Gun Computer Solutions.

For further information, visit the website at www.topguncs.com.

Or contact the team by telephone (403.255.0047) or e-mail sjadams@topguncs.com.