Remote tools can fix a lot, but not everything. Sooner or later a cable needs reseating, a device needs swapping or someone needs to look at a rack and say what is really there. That is where hands and feet IT support comes in.
This guide explains what the term means, the kind of tasks it covers, and when MSPs and IT service companies should use it rather than sending their own staff or hiring locally.
What “hands and feet” means
Hands and feet IT support is onsite work carried out by an engineer who follows direction from your team. Your engineers or your customer’s IT team keep ownership of the fix. The onsite engineer provides the physical presence: eyes on the problem, hands on the equipment, and feet at the site within the agreed response time.
It is closely related to smart hands. The terms are often used interchangeably, though smart hands is more common in data centres and hands and feet is used more broadly for offices, retail, branches and warehouses. Our guide to smart hands vs remote hands covers the distinctions in more detail.
Typical hands and feet tasks
- Replacing failed hardware such as drives, power supplies, switches or access points.
- Patching, re-patching and labelling network cables.
- Power cycling devices and reporting status lights.
- Installing, moving or removing desktops, printers and peripherals.
- Connecting a console cable so your team can work remotely.
- Photographing racks, comms rooms and cabling for audits.
- Receiving deliveries and confirming serial numbers.
- Escorting vendors or other contractors on site.
Larger tasks often follow the same model, including IMAC and break-fix, structured cabling and wireless surveys, where the engineer works to a plan your team has defined.
When to use hands and feet IT support
You have customers in places you have no staff
This is the most common reason. An MSP based in London wins a customer with sites in Edinburgh, Paris and Sydney. Hiring in each city is not viable, but the contract still needs onsite response. A partner fills the gap without new headcount.
Your own engineers are tied up
Even where you have staff, a busy week or a holiday period can leave tickets waiting. Hands and feet cover lets you keep your SLAs without overloading the team.
The task is simple but the travel is not
Sending a senior engineer on a long trip to swap a power supply is poor use of their time. A local engineer can do the physical work while your specialist directs it remotely.
You need a fast response
For critical faults, being close to the site matters more than anything. A partner with engineers near the location can meet 4-hour or next business day windows that your own team may not.
You are running a rollout
When many sites need the same task done, a pool of local engineers working to one brief is faster and more consistent than a small travelling team. See our multi-site rollouts service for how this works.
When it may not be the right fit
Hands and feet works best when your team can define the task and stay in contact during the visit. If the job requires deep design work, long-term ownership of a customer environment or extensive configuration with no remote guidance, you may need a dedicated engineer or a fuller managed service.
Getting the most from onsite engineers across the UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific
Good outcomes depend on good preparation, wherever the site is. Before dispatch, make sure the brief includes:
- The site address, access hours and named site contact.
- A clear description of the task and the expected outcome.
- Any parts, and where they will be on arrival.
- How the engineer should contact your team during the visit.
- What the completion report must include.
A good partner will check this for you. At Simplify Networks, work orders are reviewed before dispatch from London, and our 24/7 service desk responds in under 30 minutes all year. Engineers are drawn from a network of more than 2,000 worldwide, whether the job is in Manchester, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Singapore or Tokyo. Our onsite support and dispatch and SLAs pages explain the process.
If you resell this to your own customers, our field service partner programme lets engineers work under your brand.
Where we cover
Our coverage map lists 285 cities. Country pages include the UK, France, Sweden, Singapore, Japan and Australia.
Frequently asked questions
What is hands and feet IT support?
Onsite work carried out by an engineer who follows direction from your IT team, providing physical presence at a site while your team keeps ownership of the fix.
Is hands and feet the same as smart hands?
They are very similar. Smart hands is the term most used in data centres, while hands and feet is used more widely for offices, branches, retail and warehouse sites.
What tasks can a hands and feet engineer do?
Typical tasks include hardware swaps, patching cables, power cycling, device installs and moves, console access for remote teams, site photos and receiving deliveries.
Can hands and feet engineers work under my brand?
Yes. With a white-label partner, engineers represent your company on site and report back to you rather than to your customer.
Need hands and feet where you have no team?
Tell us your sites and the response times you need. We will confirm coverage and send our partner rate card.