Manufacturing IT Services in Reno
Manufacturing IT services from Computer Services Reno support the office, the shop floor and the warehouse: ERP and MRP workstations, shop-floor PCs, label and barcode printers, networks that span buildings, and backups of production data. We work with manufacturers in Reno, Sparks and Carson City, on-site or remotely, at a flat monthly price.
What do manufacturing IT services cover?
A plant mixes ordinary office computers with equipment that has to work in dust, heat and noise, often on software that hasn't changed in years. Our managed IT services cover both sides.
Shop-floor PCs
Computers at workstations, inspection stations and machines, often shared by a shift. We set them up for the job they do, keep them patched where the software allows, and replace failed units; see business computer repair.
ERP and MRP systems
The server or hosted service, the client workstations, user accounts and database backups. We work with your ERP vendor, who stays responsible for the application itself.
Label and barcode printers
Thermal label printers, handheld and fixed scanners, drivers and network connections, to reduce printer-related delays in shipping and receiving.
Office-to-warehouse networks
Switches, firewalls and Wi-Fi that reach the far end of the racking, kept up by our network support. New cable runs between buildings are installed by a licensed low-voltage contractor, and we coordinate that work.
Servers and production data
File servers holding drawings, CNC programs and quality records, kept healthy through server support and maintenance and backed up off-site.
Maintenance windows
Updates timed outside production hours, with larger jobs booked for a weekend by appointment.
Why separate the office network from production equipment?
Common practice in manufacturing is to split the network into zones, so a phishing email opened in the front office can't spread to a machine controller, and a vendor's remote connection to one machine doesn't open the whole plant. A typical layout:
| Zone | What sits there | Typical access rule |
|---|---|---|
| Office | Staff computers, email, ERP clients, printers | Internet access; reaches servers it needs |
| Production | PCs tied to machines, controllers, HMIs | Little or no internet; only named systems can reach it |
| Warehouse | Barcode scanners, label printers, shipping stations | Reaches the ERP and printers, not office file shares |
| Vendor access | Remote connections for machine builders and software vendors | Turned on when needed, limited to one system, logged |
| Guest | Visitors, drivers, personal phones | Internet only |
Separating office and production networks is common industry practice, and we can talk through the options with you. Changes to production equipment, machine controllers and their software stay with the equipment vendor or your integrator, and we coordinate with them.
The production zone is also where older computers tend to linger. A PC that runs a machine's control software may be stuck on a version of Windows that no longer gets security updates, because the software won't run on anything newer. Keeping that PC on its own segment, with no email or web browsing, reduces the risk while you and the equipment vendor plan an upgrade path.
What production data should a manufacturer back up?
Office files are the easy part. The data that is hardest to rebuild usually lives on the shop side:
- The ERP or MRP database, on a schedule that matches how often orders change
- CAD drawings, CAM files and CNC programs
- Quality records, inspection data and certificates customers ask for
- Label and barcode templates
- Exported settings from machine PCs, where the vendor allows it
- A copy kept off-site, and restores tested on a schedule
Our backup and disaster recovery page covers retention and restore testing.
How do you work around production schedules?
A plant can't stop for a Tuesday afternoon server update. We time routine patches outside shift hours and book bigger jobs, such as replacing a server, switches or a batch of shop-floor PCs, for a weekend by appointment.
Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monitoring runs 24/7, and urgent after-hours support is available. Staff can reach our help desk for everyday problems, and a technician comes out when a fix needs hands, through our on-site support.
Where do we support manufacturers in Northern Nevada?
Our listed service area is Reno, Sparks and Carson City. Many plants and warehouses are in the industrial areas of Sparks and Reno. Some Northern Nevada manufacturing is at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC), which is in Storey County, so call us about a plant there before assuming it is covered.
Manufacturers who sell to larger companies often receive security questionnaires or contract clauses about how they protect data. We can help with the technical answers, such as backups, multi-factor sign-in and network separation; the contract obligations stay with your business. Our IT compliance page explains that split.
Pricing is a custom quote with a flat monthly amount, no contracts and no minimums. See managed IT pricing, or start with a free on-site IT assessment: a technician walks the office and the floor, looks at your computers, network, backups and security, and leaves you a prioritized list of what to fix.
This page is general information, not legal advice.
Manufacturing IT FAQ
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