IMAC stands for install, move, add, change. It is the name IT teams, MSPs and service desks use for the routine physical work that keeps end-user and site equipment in the right place and working: new laptops and desk phones, office moves, extra network points, and hardware swaps. You will also see IMACD, which adds dispose (or decommission) to the list.
IMAC work is rarely complicated on its own. What makes it hard is volume, distance and coordination, especially when your users and sites are spread across cities or countries.
The four (or five) parts of IMAC
Install
Deploying new equipment and getting it working: desktops, laptops, docking stations, monitors, printers, desk phones, Wi-Fi access points, switches and small servers. A good install includes unboxing, physical set-up, connecting to the network, checking the build, asset tagging and removing packaging.
Move
Relocating equipment and users: a desk move, a team moving floors, or a whole office relocation. Moves need disconnection, labelling, transport, reconnection and testing, plus updating the asset register so everyone knows where kit now lives.
Add
Adding to an existing set-up: a second monitor, extra RAM, a new network port, a new user’s peripherals, or an additional switch in a comms cabinet.
Change
Modifying what is already there: swapping a faulty component, re-patching a cabinet, changing a desk phone’s location, upgrading firmware on site or replacing a user’s device under a refresh programme.
Dispose (the D in IMACD)
Removing retired equipment securely, wiping or destroying data-bearing devices in line with your policy, and keeping a record for compliance. Disposal is where IMAC overlaps with data protection, so chain of custody matters.
IMAC vs break-fix
IMAC is planned work: you know what needs doing and when. Break-fix is reactive work: something has failed and needs repairing or replacing. In practice the same engineer often does both, which is why providers group them together as IMAC and break-fix services. Our guide to break-fix IT support covers the reactive side in more detail.
Typical IMAC requests
- New starter set-ups: laptop, dock, monitors, headset and phone on the desk before day one
- Leaver collections: recovering devices and returning them to stock or for disposal
- Laptop and desktop refresh programmes across several offices
- Printer and multifunction device installs and moves
- Desk and floor moves, including re-patching network and phone points
- Adding access points or switches as a site grows
- Retail, branch and warehouse equipment roll-outs
How to run IMAC well across many sites
- Standardise the request. Use one form or ticket template for every IMAC: site, contact, asset details, task steps and what “done” looks like. Our field engineer work order template is a good starting point.
- Stage kit before the visit. Have devices imaged, labelled and delivered to site, or to the engineer, before the booked date.
- Batch work by location. One engineer completing ten moves in a day is far more efficient than ten separate visits.
- Insist on evidence. Photos, serial numbers and a short report for every job make audits and asset reconciliation painless.
- Keep the asset register live. Every install, move and disposal should update your CMDB or asset list the same day.
Who usually does IMAC work?
Larger organisations may have desk-side teams in head office, but branches, remote offices and overseas sites rarely justify full-time staff. That is where on-demand field engineers help. MSPs often use a partner to cover IMAC requests outside their own patch, sometimes under their own brand through white-label field services.
Simplify Networks provides vetted engineers for IMAC and break-fix work across the UK and in many countries worldwide, coordinated from one London contact. See our coverage map for example locations.
Got IMAC work across several sites?
Send us the list of sites and tasks and we will plan engineers, dates and reporting around it.