Veterinary IT Support
Exodesk supports the devices, networks, connectivity and data protection behind veterinary clinics.
We work alongside your chosen practice software, imaging and laboratory suppliers, with systems, sites, support hours and responsibilities agreed before work starts.
Tell us about your sites, current suppliers and the systems your clinic depends on
What does veterinary IT support cover?
Veterinary IT support covers the agreed devices, networks, connectivity, accounts, remote access and data protection behind a clinic, plus coordination with the suppliers who run its specialist systems.
A clinic can depend on practice management software, digital imaging, in-house analysers, a payment terminal, a phone system and client messaging, all handing information to each other. Practice management software is sometimes called a PIMS, short for practice information management system. Connections and integrations vary by product and supplier agreement, so we document what your clinic actually runs before agreeing the scope.
Exodesk has supported New Zealand businesses since 1989. Today, our Christchurch and Dunedin teams support businesses nationwide, with remote support, on-site attendance and travel agreed for each clinic.
Veterinary IT support across the clinic
The agreement lists the systems included, so staff know who to call and each supplier knows where its responsibilities start.
Network and connectivity
Consult room and reception connections, wireless coverage designed from a site survey, internet links and failover, with visitor, clinical, payment and equipment traffic kept apart.
Imaging, storage and recovery
Storage for the practice database, imaging and attachments, protected recovery copies, and restore tests agreed with the practice and its suppliers.
Devices, accounts and access
Clinic devices, individual accounts, multi-factor authentication where supported, and secure remote access for vets on call.
We agree the helpdesk, monitoring, updates, security and backup responsibilities for your clinic before veterinary IT support starts. The quote separates ongoing support from one-off improvements.
Ongoing support sits within our managed IT services. Recovery delivery is covered in Backup as a Service, and wireless design in business WiFi.
Practice software and supplier responsibilities
We support the agreed IT environment around your chosen practice software and coordinate with its supplier when an issue crosses systems.
The software vendor remains responsible for its application service, supported configurations and product fixes. Imaging, analyser and payment suppliers retain their equipment and integration responsibilities. Specialist changes and migrations are scoped separately. Whether your clinic runs ezyVet, Provet Cloud or another system, we record escalation contacts in advance, so a fault that crosses those boundaries has a named coordinator.
Some clinics want digital intake, consent or treatment forms. Our Transsend mobile forms platform can capture approved forms with client details and file them where the practice decides. Any connection to the practice software is agreed with that supplier first.
Imaging storage, records access and retention
The Veterinary Council Code of Professional Conduct advises keeping patient records while the animal remains alive and a patient of the practice, and for seven years after the last consultation.
Other statutory requirements and continued relevance can require longer retention. The practice determines its approved schedule; we configure storage, access and authorised disposal around it. Imaging and other relevant clinical material form part of the clinical record. Controlled drug registers and reconciliation records have their own requirements, so one clinical-record rule should not be applied to every dataset.
Clinical retention determines how long an accessible record must remain available; backup retention determines which recovery points are kept. Document both, including how records survive a migration, supplier exit or failed device, because a backup is not automatically a searchable clinical archive.
- Map the data. Identify each dataset, its system of record and whether it holds complete records or only links
- Measure growth. Record the current size and annual growth of each dataset
- Agree retention. Confirm retention and access needs with the clinical owner
- Size separately. Size live storage, archive and recovery capacity on their own terms, with headroom
- Validate migrations. Check that exported images, identifiers, attachments and metadata remain linked and readable
Cloud hosting can remove local server administration for that application, but it does not remove the need to plan recovery, retention and access for other clinic data. Compare supported options, failover, integrations, export terms and cost; a local copy of a cloud system may not be supported or usable offline. See cloud solutions.
Backup, ransomware protection and restore testing
We protect the practice database, imaging, attachments, configuration and other agreed data, with recovery objectives set with the practice and its suppliers.
The clinical lead decides what work can continue during an outage. Before quoting recovery targets, agree acceptable downtime and data loss, the restoration order and the supplier dependencies. The National Cyber Security Centre recommends three copies on two kinds of media, with one copy off site and at least one offline, which helps protect recovery copies from ransomware.
We test representative restores in an approved isolated environment, not by overwriting a live database during clinic hours. Each test records stage timings, authorised clinic staff validate the restored records, and the schedule is documented to suit the systems.
Consult rooms, imaging uploads and guest WiFi
We assess imaging transfers, consult room coverage, internet reliability and failover against the way your clinic works.
We test the affected tasks and investigate the agreed infrastructure, involving your software or equipment supplier where needed. Guest access is separated from clinic systems through configured and verified access rules, and access point numbers come from a site survey rather than a fixed rule per room.
Rural and mixed practices need failover coverage checked as part of their veterinary IT support; our agriculture IT support covers farm connectivity. Phones are covered by business phone systems.
On-call access, accounts and client information
Any after-hours support is agreed and priced separately, with the hours, escalation routes and response targets set out in your veterinary IT support agreement. On-call vets reach the systems they need from clinic-managed devices with multi-factor authentication where supported.
Secure remote access is not an emergency veterinary answering service. We coordinate faults that cross the agreed IT and application boundaries. Your software supplier remains responsible for its product support and fixes, with supplier charges and any specialist work treated according to the support agreement.
Shared logins weaken attribution and access control. We set up individual accounts, least privilege and the strongest supported authentication, with any exceptions documented. Owner-linked records can contain personal information, so information privacy principle 5 requires reasonable security safeguards and role-based access. Under the Privacy Act 2020, a breach that has caused or is likely to cause serious harm must be notified to the Privacy Commissioner and affected people as soon as practicable, subject to the exceptions in the privacy breach guidance. Affected people can include staff as well as clients. Human healthcare providers have different requirements, covered in healthcare IT.
Onboarding and improvement work
We start every veterinary IT support agreement with an agreed scope and a documented picture of the clinic, then move to prioritised fixes.
Agree the scope
List the sites, systems, suppliers and support hours covered, with exclusions, so everyone knows where support starts and stops.
Document the environment
Record devices, networks, accounts, data locations and supplier contacts, with any testing approved and scheduled around the clinic.
Fix the priorities
Address agreed risks first, such as network separation, individual accounts and protected recovery copies.
Hand over and support
Hand over documentation and escalation contacts, then review recovery tests and access as the clinic changes.
What affects the cost of veterinary IT support?
A veterinary IT support quote depends on users, sites, systems, imaging volume, recovery requirements and support hours.
- Ongoing support. Users, devices, sites and the agreed support hours
- Project work. Network, storage or migration work, priced separately as one-off projects
- Imaging and recovery. Data volumes, retention and the recovery objectives agreed with the practice
- After-hours cover. Any cover beyond agreed hours, stated and priced separately
- Hardware. Replacement planned from supported requirements, condition and warranty rather than a fixed cycle
Responsibilities and exclusions are stated in the quote. Clinics wanting a wider review can start with an IT assessment. Dental practices have their own workflows, covered by our dental IT support.
Veterinary IT support questions
What does veterinary IT support cover?
Veterinary IT support covers the agreed devices, networks, connectivity, accounts, remote access and data protection behind a clinic. The agreement lists the systems and sites included and sets out what stays with the practice software, imaging, laboratory, payment and phone suppliers.
Do you support our existing veterinary software?
We support the agreed IT environment around your chosen software and coordinate with its supplier. Product support, vendor-hosted recovery and specialist application changes remain with the responsible supplier unless separately agreed.
What does veterinary IT support cost?
The quote depends on users, sites, systems, imaging volume, recovery requirements and support hours. Ongoing support and one-off network, storage or migration work are priced separately, with responsibilities and exclusions stated.
How long should a vet clinic keep patient records?
The Veterinary Council Code advises keeping patient records while the animal remains alive and a patient of the practice, and for seven years after the last consultation. Other legal requirements can require longer retention. The practice sets its approved schedule, and IT configures storage, access and authorised disposal around it.
Is a backup the same as a records archive?
No. Clinical retention decides how long an accessible record must stay available, while backup retention decides which recovery points are kept. A backup is not automatically a searchable clinical archive, so document both and test how records survive a migration or supplier change.
Should a clinic move its practice software to the cloud?
It depends on the supported options, connectivity and failover, integrations, supplier recovery and export terms, and cost. Cloud hosting can remove local server administration for that application. It does not remove the need to plan recovery, retention and access for other clinic data.
What should we check when the practice software is slow?
Record the affected task, times and users, then compare supported devices and connections. Check local and cloud service health and collect logs. We investigate the agreed infrastructure and escalate application or equipment issues to the relevant supplier.
Do you provide after-hours support for vet clinics?
Any after-hours support is agreed and priced separately. Your support agreement states the hours, escalation contacts and response targets that apply. We can also set up secure remote access for on-call vets on clinic-managed devices.
Discuss your clinic IT support
Tell us about your sites, current suppliers, critical systems and the support you need. We will confirm what our veterinary IT support can cover and scope the next step. Please leave passwords and client information out of the enquiry.
Talk to us about your clinic
Tell us your practice, location, the sites involved and what is not working, and we will be in touch to arrange a time that suits.
Prefer to talk?
Christchurch
Level 1, 85 Riccarton Road
Christchurch 8011
03 343 3124
Dunedin
Level 3, Bartons Building
2 Stafford Street, Dunedin 9016
03 479 2941