TechnologyUPDATE The Right Technology to Grow Your Business
In this issue: The Right Technology to Grow Your Business . . . . . . . . . .1 How a Little Idea is Making a Huge Difference... . . . . .1 11 Surefire Signs Your Business is Ready For a Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 If You Own a Small Business Press “1” . . . . . .3 Want to Hit Your Computer With a Hammer?. . . . . . . .3 Back to Basics: ContinuITSM Brings Peace of Mind to Small Business (SMBs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Altronics Communications, Inc. 13017 Wisteria Dr. Suite 298 Germantown, MD 20874 Phone/Fax 1-888-890-7770
Thank You! Dear Martin and Patricia, Thank you very much for inviting me to the Giving Connections Networking Event at Normandie Farms Restaurant.It was very nice and I met a lot of nice people and got some leads for the Center. My sincere thanks again. Sandra Burgess ChiCenters, Inc.
As I am writing this newsletter I am preparing for a trip to Argentina, partly for business and partly for pleasure but certainly long overdue. My friend, Will, mentioned last week that he is taking a second trip to China and a client of mine travels to Middle East and Asia on a regular basis. While away from home we continue to work seamlessly, like we were at home. These three businesses are smaller than 10 employees and under any other circumstance would be considered small (if not micro) business. The truth is that the right technology can enable your business to reach new levels and enable you to do things that you thought were only possible for bigger companies. In this issue I am talking about one technology that businesses leave out of their infrastructure for too long, the first server. If you are not sure if you are ready for a server, pay special attention to the 11 signs presented in the article. I
have not seen any other technology that can improve the business operations so dramatically by bringing it into the network sooner than later (at least not from the IT point of view) I am also touching again on disaster recovery, specifically our ContinuIT Data Protection Services, in the Back to Basics section. I had first hand experience over the last couple of months on bringing a business back from disaster by recovering data from a failed hard-drive. Something that could have cost the business maybe $30 a month, ended up being a $750 repair bill, which would have been significantly higher had we had to send the disk to a clean room. The damage doesn't include the revenue loss of being without customer data for seven days. The final technology that I want to discuss this month is Response Point, a small business friendly phone system that will make you look like a big player but without any of the expense. We are finding this to be one of the other few technologies that can make a huge difference to any small business without breaking the piggy bank.
How a Little Idea is Making a Huge Difference The third edition of Giving Connections last month was another success and so far we have raised more than $1,600 to give back to the community and make a difference. Yet, participants understand we also meet to network, and indeed they are making connections, exchanging leads and setting appointments. With NoVA, DC, and Frederick coming on board, the sky is the limit! Have you signed up yet?
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Next Giving Connections September 11th in Bethesda to Support Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County. More information or to register visit www.giving-connections.com 13017 Wisteria Dr. Suite 298, Germantown, MD 20874 toll free: 888.890.7770 - www.altronicscom.com
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TechnologyUPDATE 11 Surefire Signs Your Business is Ready for a Server and How it Will Skyrocket the Speed, Security, and Reliability of Your Computer Network If you are like most small businesses, you acquire desktop computers, phone systems, and software in a random, "buy-itwhen-you-need-it" fashion as your business operations demand it. But at some point, this patchwork of stopgap technology you've acquired is going to end up costing you more in downtime, system errors, breakdowns, and other problems than it would to rip out and replace everything. If you've suddenly become aware that you're at that stage of growth in your business, then you want to stop purchasing more software and hardware in a willy-nilly fashion and get serious about planning for your future growth and business operations so you don't end up with a big pile of expensive hardware and software that doesn't meet your business needs. One Big Secret to Saving Money One secret to saving money on IT costs is to strive for as much uniformity and connectivity as possible across your business network. The first place to start achieving that is through the use of a server. If you have two or more computers that are loosely connected and share information, printers, scanners, Internet access, or fax machines, then you could inject
a great deal of simplicity, productivity, and security with a small business server. A server simply acts as a single specialized computer that ensures all of the computer connected to it (called "clients") have faster access to the resources, information, and systems they need and with fewer problems. It also acts as a centralized manager to make sure data is secure and organized.
secured from loss, corruption, or unauthorized access. 3. You need (or would like to have) secure access to your computer files while traveling or working from home. 4. You need to back up critical files on more than one comput-
7. You need a central communication system that makes it easy to schedule group meetings and share information with employees, vendors, and customers. 8. You need to allow employees to share databases and other software tools.
They're Not Just for Big Business Anymore At one time, servers only made sense for large organizations because of their high cost and complexity. But today, there are very affordable and easy-toimplement server systems designed specifically for a growing small business. If you're not absolutely certain that installing a server could help your business enough to justify the cost, here are 11 surefire signs that your business could definitely benefit from an upgrade. 11 Signs That Your Business Is Ready for a Server 1. You have two or more computers that need to share office equipment (printers, fax machines, scanners) and resources such as Internet access. 2. You have irreplaceable files and data residing on more than one computer that need to be
13017 Wisteria Dr. Suite 298, Germantown, MD 20874 toll free: 888.890.7770 - www.altronicscom.com
er, and you would like to be able to restore accidentally deleted files or previous versions of your files. 5. You need CRM (customer relationship management) software and accounting programs to manage and communicate with your growing list of clients and vendors. 6. You need to manage different versions of one file.
9. You would like to send group faxes and e-mail broadcasts to customers. 10. You want to control employee access to sensitive financial records and personnel information. 11. You want a central access point for information instead of having to hunt down various files and data on various computers on your network. September 2008 Page |2
TechnologyUPDATE The Concept of the Slight Edge All master craftsmen demand excellent tools to complete their work. They know that the best tools allow them to focus on creating their next masterpiece rather than being sidetracked, frustrated, or limited by the tools they are using. The computers, software, and office equipment you use are the tools you use every day to create your greatest masterpiece: your business. If the technology in your office is not simplifying your business and making it easier for you to get more done with fewer employees, it's costing you a lot more than the price of a server. While there is no shortage of white papers on the topic of ROI (return on investment) for upgrading technology, you and I know that this is truly a hard cost to quantify; however, there certainly IS a cost, and depending on your business operations and how you use the computers and technology in your office, the cost may be significant.
course of a year and they've invested $1,460 into a daily cup of coffee. Why am I telling you this? Because massive loss of productivity in any business plays out exactly the same way. Think about this: a faster processor and a faster hard drive with greater capacity allow you to open and use applications faster, saving a few minutes every hour. Information is centralized, which saves a few more minutes every hour in finding files. There are fewer crashes and hang-ups. Each of these little things adds up to significant employee hours saved over the course of a year. Then there's the cost-savings of outsourced IT support. A properly configured and maintained client-server network is far easier to support and troubleshoot than a patchwork of computers that are loosely connected. All of this translates into higher revenue from your technology investment and should land on your bottom line.
However, add that up over the
If you're interested in discovering how upgrading to a clientserver network could help your business, contact us for a free consultation. We can sit down and discuss the pros and cons, the costs, and how a server can help address specific problems and productivity bottlenecks you are experiencing in your business. There is absolutely no cost or obligation when you invite us into your business. If we discover that your network is just fine the way it is, we'll tell you that and not try to sell you something you don't need. Simply call Martin Posse at: 888-890-7770 x4 or e-mail me at : mposse@altronicscom.com
Present this coupon to your technician upon arrival
Are You Ready to Hit Your Computer With A Hammer?
The "Latte" Factor In his book Automatic Millionaire, author David Bach talks about the "latte" factor. Simply put, most people end up financially broke not because of the big purchases they make, but because of the small, seemingly innocent day-to-day spending of small amounts of money over a long period of time. For example, no one thinks twice of spending $4 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks every morning.
Learn How a Network Can Give You All of These Benefits and More!
We want to make it easy on you! Call us before October 31st to troubleshoot any computer problem and get 25% discount. We will also review your computer for hidden problems and tell you if you are at risk of virus attacks or loosing data.
Call 1-888-890-7770 x 4 Expires: 10/31/2008
13017 Wisteria Dr. Suite 298, Germantown, MD 20874 toll free: 888.890.7770 - www.altronicscom.com
If You Own a Small Business Press “1” Finally, there's a small business phone system designed to meet your needs. What is Response Point? Microsoft Response Point is a innovative new phone system software that offers small business customers a radically simplified phone experience. You can access the phone and its features using just your voice. The intuitive Response Point administrator software allows you to complete phone moves, additions, or changes with a few mouse clicks. Response Point offers a complete phone system— at an affordable price—that grows with your business. How can Response Point save my small business time and money? Response Point can save small businesses time and money in three ways: 1. It reduces phone system management costs by empowering average PC users to complete moves, additions, and changes. 2. It lets small businesses slash their phone bills by using Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) to cut long-distance bills and eliminate unnecessary local lines without forcing them to abandon their traditional phone service. 3. It eliminates many expensive phone system extras that typically add thousands of dollars to the cost of a small business phone system.
Cannot be combined with any other offer. No cash value.
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TechnologyUPDATE Back to Basics. ContinuITSM Brings Peace of Mind to SMBs ometimes we get so accustomed to our own speech that we forget that people may not understand what we do. That is why I wanted to get back to some basics about our ContinuITSM program.
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ContinuITSM is a set of services that were created to provide a highly predictable network infrastructure. The program is comprised of three basic building blocks, ContinuITSM Network Infrastructure Management, ContinuITSM Security Services and ContinuITSM Data Protection Services. This program can be implemented in a business of any size. We have successfully provided highly predictable environments to businesses with as few as one computer and to businesses with multiple locations, multiple servers and users traveling overseas. ContinuITSM Data Protection Services Have you ever lost an hour's worth of work on your computer? Now imagine if you lost days or even weeks of work because your network went down and you couldn't access your client database, financial records or any of the work files your company has ever produced or compiled. How devastating would that be? Or, what if a major storm, flood, or fire destroyed your office and all of your files? What if your computer gets stolen or lost? Or if a virus wiped out your server…do you have an emergency recovery plan in place that you feel confident in? How quickly do you think you could recover, if at all? If you do not have a good answer to the above questions or a rock-solid disaster recovery plan in place, you are quite literally playing Russian roulette with your data and business. With the number of threats constantly
growing, it’s not a matter of if you will have a problem, but rather a matter of when. Recently, a small company of two partners lost their only computer. One morning, without any warning, the computer stopped working and would not boot. Our client - I will call him Jack to protect his privacy - felt a chill going down his spine when he realized that inside that computer was his QuickBooks file, his email and contacts, his contract templates and the record of all the jobs he had done over the last three years. We received his call that morning and we knew he was in serious trouble - definitely looking for a miracle to save him. He was already wondering how long it would take to rebuild all the databases, reload all the receipts and invoices in QuickBooks and all contact information from the copies of invoices he had been collecting. We went for an inspection and determined that the hard-drive
13017 Wisteria Dr. Suite 298, Germantown, MD 20874 toll free: 888.890.7770 - www.altronicscom.com
had crashed (a problem that we could have seen coming if he were a ContinuITSM client) and the computer would not read it. We took the drive to our lab and using special software we were able to recover all of his data. We had to replace the disk and reinstall his whole system and finally restore and verify all data we were able to recover. Even though the final result was perfect, they spent more than $750 in services and parts and probably more than that in lost productivity. This is a catastrophe we see regularly. The ONLY way to completely protect your data and guarantee that you could restore it all after a major disaster is by maintaining an up-to-date copy of your data offsite in a high-security facility. Jack didn’t have a remote backup, or anyone looking after him and monitoring the backups to ensure they were run and data was collected offsite. A remote backup, also called offsite backups, online backups, or managed backups, is a service that allows you to maintain a
secure copy of your data in a different location than your office. ContinuITSM Data Protection Services is the answer to all your concerns about data protection and business continuity. As a client of ContinuITSM Data Protection Services, you will receive installation, configuration and monitoring of our data backup software solution, either for desktops, laptops or servers. Backups are stored on a secure facility and the datacenter is replicated across the country to a backup facility, just in case a major catastrophe occured at one of the facilities. If your business cannot afford downtime, ContinuITSM Data Protection Services can provide you with local and remote backup for your servers, which includes server replication, a technology that allows our system to replace your server in a matter of minutes should your system fail or crash. For an evaluation of your current backup and recovery strategy please contact us at 888890-7770 x 4 or email me at mposse@altronicscom.com.
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