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Posts Tagged as managed services (page 2)

Assessing and Documenting Your IT Needs

You expect your computer to work when you turn it on. The last thing you want is to waste valuable time trying to get your email running or wrestling with a web browser that won’t load. These are frustrations you surely have experienced, and chances are you will again. But you don’t have to. Or, at the very least, you can make them as rare as your refrigerator breaking down or your car battery dying. To get there, you need to understand how well your IT environment is running. No, we’re not suggesting that you look under the hood to figure out what does what and how. Leave that to the IT people. What we’re proposing is a comprehensive endeavor to document all your IT processes and inventory your IT assets. Identify your best practices – those processes and functions that experience has proven to run efficiently and produce the most desirable results – and document them as part of your overall business practices. During the process of documenting your IT processes and functions, you’re bound to discover your IT environment isn’t as efficient as it should be – hence, your computer-borne frustrations. You’ll also identify needs that you weren’t aware of. Left unaddressed, these needs cut into productivity (and therefore profits), and can sometimes lead to costly IT network emergencies that would have been a lot less expensive with the right technology and proper maintenance in place. Let us help assess your needs through this documentation process, and identify solutions that will bring you peace of mind. Some common solutions include outsourcing some of your network functions such as security, backup and recovery, or email, so that they are maintained and updated to keep them running smoothly and prevent costly downtime. You expect your computer to work when you turn it on – and that is what we want to make sure happens.

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Remote IT Support Helps SMBs Save Money and Keep Moving Forward

As a result of the past year’s economic climate, many small and medium-size businesses have increased their efforts to mitigate risks and lower costs—and more and more are turning toward remote IT support to fulfill those goals. Remote support tools allow IT providers to support an entire company’s computing infrastructure, wherever and whenever needed, from their own offices. This helps address the needs of a market that significantly benefits from doing more with less— small and medium businesses. Some of the benefits of remote support include: No travel time. As long as the issue doesn’t require on-site support, you won’t pay for time spent traveling to your site. No waiting. Response time is faster because support staff can address your needs immediately with online access to your machines and servers. Less work interruption. Because support can be done remotely, much support work can be done after hours, or behind the scenes as you continue to work. No more downtime while support staff takes over your physical desk. Lower costs. IT support staff can work on all of your computers simultaneously from their own offices, saving time – and therefore money. Proactive monitoring prevents problems from ever happening. Instead of waiting to come out and fixing your infrastructure when it’s already broken, remote support provides ongoing network monitoring, management, and unlimited remote support that prevents problems from occurring in the first place – all for one fixed monthly fee. Contact us today for details on how our remote IT support solutions can help your business stay on track.

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Businesses Should Replace PCs Every Three Years

For many small and medium-sized businesses, the cost of maintaining an old PC may be more expensive than upgrading to a new one. This insight comes from a survey conducted by research firm Techaisle , which polled 630 companies across seven countries. Their research suggests that the average cost for SMBs to repair PCs over three years old can be 1.65 times as expensive as repairing PCs under three years old. Repairs include replacements, usually from hardware failure, and the cost to fix software crashes. Small business respondents with PCs older than three years experienced network card failures nearly eight times more than respondents with PCs less than three years old. This was followed by power supply failures, motherboard failures, software crashes, and virus attacks. Midmarket respondents experienced a similar trend, with network card failures at six times higher, followed by power supply failures and motherboard failures. In addition, respondents said desktops that have been in use for more than three years are more susceptible to attacks from malware and viruses (28 percent), while older notebooks are 58 percent more likely to endure a virus attack. The cost of related lost worker productivity should also be factored in by companies wishing to hold on to outdated hardware. Are you hanging on to old PCs in an attempt to money? Contact us today. We can help you assess the health and condition of your PCs, as well as determine the cost of maintaining existing PCs versus upgrading or replacing them.

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Proactive Computer Network Management Reduces Total Cost of Ownership

In today’s challenging economic times, many small businesses like yours are reluctant to spend money. However, a modest investment in network maintenance can ultimately improve your profitability and reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of your network infrastructure. Your business depends on your network Your revenue is directly tied to the availability and performance of your network, because it’s the backbone of your business. Your network houses critical applications, allows your employees to communicate, and gives customers access your goods and services. When your network fails, your business suffers. Employees cannot access the applications and information they need to keep your business up and running, and basic means of communication, such as printing, filing, and emailing, are unavailable. At the same time, customers cannot access the information they need to buy your products. You’re forced to spend time and money to get the system up and running, increasing your TCO. The end result: productivity declines and revenue decreases. Managing your network can prevent revenue loss It pays to minimize network performance degradation and downtime, and a network management system will help you do this. Large companies have long deployed such systems, but as networks become more critical to smaller businesses, they have become important for small- and mid-size enterprises as well. A network management system will provide tools that improve network performance, help network administrators manage the network more efficiently, and include an early warning system for network outages. These benefits allow your business to operate more efficiently, thereby cutting costs and preventing revenue loss—and reducing the TCO of your network infrastructure. Need Help? Finding a good network management system and deploying it correctly is by no means a simple task, but there are plenty of solutions that provide the necessary functionality at a relatively low cost. We can help you deploy an easy-to-use network management system that helps you manage your network more efficiently and save money at the same time. Contact us today for more information. Related articles: Assessing the business impact of network management on small and mid-size enterprises

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Big IT Lessons Small Businesses Can Learn

What are the key technology lessons that small and mid-sized businesses can learn from large enterprises? Be proactive. Be prepared. Take security concerns seriously. Always watch for ways to cut costs. That just might sum up the advice that enterprise-grade IT shops would give smaller businesses about how to avoid costly IT mistakes. But what are some specific technology lessons that smaller fry can learn from the big fish? We asked the experts, and here’s a partial list: Read more at Inc Technology…

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IT Emergencies: Who Ya Gonna Call?

We all want to minimize costs – both planned and unexpected – but not at the expense of keeping systems and essential equipment running smoothly. Small businesses without an IT department often wait until something breaks to call in an expert for help, or simply rely on the most techy person in the office to take care of the computers in addition to his regular duties. Read more at SB Informer…

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Why Do You Need an IT Consultant

Reading this article will help you understand the pros and cons of internal IT Staff or external IT Consultants. In today’s world you’d be hard pressed to find a company that does not use computers, the Internet, and other information technology on a daily basis. In fact, there is hardly a company that does not rely on computers and networks for its mere existence. Whether we like it or not, IT plays a significant role in every business, and if you don’t ensure that your information system is working properly, your business is at risk. Do You Really Need an IT Consultant? Since your information system is so crucial to your business, you can’t afford to compromise with its quality. Technology is a pretty complex field, and unless you are a tech guru you might not be able to handle it on your own. But even if you can, you most likely have better things to do. As a small business owner your time is spent more productively focusing on your core business activities than on desperately trying to keep your network up and running. Additionally, downtime is not cheap, and it costs far less to hire a good IT consultant to maintain your network for you than to experience the losses of downtime. You are lucky if you have not already learned the hard way that relying on amateurs in IT, medicine, law, and many other fields is very dangerous, so you will hardly want to experiment in your own company with trying to become a first-class IT expert. While there are small business owners who do have the skills (and time) to manage their network, the majority prefer to have somebody else do it for them. Keeping in mind the speed at which information technology develops, it is quite understandable that many small business owners, even if they are IT-proficient, aren’t able to keep up with this constantly changing field. Therefore, many small business owners agree that the best solution is to hire a specialist. Employ an IT Specialist Full Time — or Hire an External Consultant? After you have decided that you need to hire somebody to maintain your information system for you, the next step is to decide whether you need an in-house expert or an external consultant. Depending on your specific situation, both alternatives have their pros and cons. Hiring an in-house IT specialist — This is a good choice if you have 30-40 or more computers or use complex applications that require ongoing maintenance. However, generally speaking, hiring an in-house IT specialist is rarely the best option for small companies who don’t need the level of IT attention to justify a full-time IT expert on payroll. Having a part-time IT expert is also an option, but very often it’s difficult to find a good IT expert who is willing to work part time. Also, for many people, a part-time job is only a temporary solution until something more permanent comes along. Because of this, part-time employees often leave when you need them most. And even worse, they leave taking important information about your systems with them, so when you finally replace them, it takes the new person valuable time to become familiar with the configuration of your network and applications. Hiring an external IT consultant — This could be the better choice, and not only in terms of money. The advantage of hiring an external IT consultant is that you call them only when you need them, avoiding costly full-time salaries. Hiring an experienced and knowledgeable IT Consultant gives you the best of both worlds: part-time, highly specialized help, and the consistency and reliability of a full-time employee. However, In most cases, it’s best to have an IT Consultant on a monthly fee – and that’s certainly what our clients prefer. Companies that get out of the ”fix-it-when-it-breaks” mode of thinking benefit from relying on an experienced IT Consultant as a trusted advisor, performing preventative work and helping them plan for the future. This is known as Managed Services. What to Look for When Hiring an IT Consultant Hiring an IT consultant is not that different from hiring in-house employees, but it certainly has its advantages. To get an idea of what to look for when hiring an IT consultant, you may want to read this article . You don’t handle complex legal issues without your attorney – do you want to entrust the smooth functioning of your business to chance or unqualified hobbyists? What Next? Review your business plans, and determine if you are happy with your current IT capabilities and performance. Talk to other businesses and associates and learn how they are using IT to better manage their business. Get their recommendations for IT Consultants and interview a few until you find one that meets your needs and standards.

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How to Choose an IT Consultant

In business today the choice of a technology advisor can be a critical success factor in this article you’ll learn how to make the right choice. Maintaining your small company network in good shape is not an easy task, and you are probably perfectly aware that doing it on your own is not the best way to invest your time. When you want to hire somebody to maintain your company network for you, basically you have two choices – to employ somebody onsite (as a full-time or part-time employee) or to outsource the task to an external IT Consultant . After you have decided that your small company does not need onsite IT staff and you will need an IT Consultant, the next step is to choose one. Choosing an IT Consultant is not so different from choosing an onsite employee, but still there are specifics you need to be aware of. Sometimes this task is a very easy one when you can ask your business associates to recommend somebody. But if you want to choose the IT consultant on your own, here are some points to consider: 5 Key Steps in Choosing an IT Consultant Technical competencies . Needless to say, this is the most important factor because if you hire somebody whose technical competency is not satisfactory, this will certainly lead to a lot of trouble. If you are a non-technical person, you are hardly in a position to judge the technical skills of the candidates, but if you ask them about the certificates, degrees, diplomas, and other similar documents they possess, this will give you a clue if they are technically competent or not. For instance, IT Consultants with Microsoft Small Business Specialist certification have passed rigorous exams on small business technology. Ability to work with people . Sometimes technical people are not the best communicators. But IT Consultants are supposed to be half techies, half business consultants, so for them being technical is not an excuse for lacking basic business and communication skills. That is why it is key to choose someone who can communicate with you, explain things in a way you understand, answer all your questions, and not just talk in jargon — someone who can help you understand how technology matters to your business and can help it grow. Availability . Availability is a key factor for your decision because if you hire somebody who is not available when you need him or her most, what’s the point of having an IT Consultant if you can’t rely on him or her? Usually it’s best to hire locally, because when their office is near, they are more likely to be able to arrive quickly on your premises an emergency. Also, very often problems can quickly be solved remotely, so it is equally important that the IT Consultant you choose provides remote support as well. Recommendations from clients . It’s always good to know how the candidate has handled previous clients, so feel free to ask for recommendations from their clients. Can they handle all your IT needs? When you choose an IT Consultant, you would like him or her to be the single point of contact for all your IT needs. While it’s not always possible for your IT Consultant to necessarily complete all of your technical needs him or herself, he or she should be able to manage the process on your behalf. (For example, if you want a software application to be developed especially for you, you’d better contact a dedicated software development company, but your IT consultant could be the one to handle the process for you.) Therefore, it’s best if the consultant you choose can meet all (or at least most) of your IT needs – from purchasing new hardware, to maintaining the network, to providing support for the applications you use on a daily basis. Wrapping Up These are some of the points you need to have in mind when choosing an IT consultant. It is important to choose carefully. If you want to establish a long term “trusted advisor” relationship with your IT Consultant, just like with your attorney or accountant, you must choose the best — not necessarily the cheapest — IT Consultant. Remember, your IT Consultant is a key partner in the viability of your business and your success! What Next? Sit down with your team and become clear on your IT needs and goals. Ask associates or key advisors such as your accountant for recommendations Interview and select carefully. The best IT Consultant should be a trusted advisor just like your accountant or attorney. Take your time and find someone you can trust and work with for the long term

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