Since small businesses joined large conglomerates in relegating their mission critical processes to data infrastructures, IT companies are always faced with the dangers that come with a network-based working environment. And that’s on a daily basis.

Disasters in the data center or in the physical server room are not unheard of, turning the IT support leg of any company into tireless workhorses which could have been prevented had there been proper data security policies or sturdy data backup and recovery solutions in place. And this is where IT consultants and their expertise are pulling in the muscle, by leveraging on data disaster plans that will definitely secure the continuous flow of productivity in the office.

As the risks grow exponentially, developing a remote offsite data backup plan has become crucial and a necessary investment. It will prevent downtimes, the loss of vital data and revenues and, eventually, potential damage to the overall business.

Assessing Your Needs

When creating a data disaster prevention plan, there are several factors the IT support department should consider and most of them depend on your business’ needs and overall data infrastructure. These include your nature of business and the risks and potential benefits you will have to face once a backup solution is in place, among others.

There are some companies that only use small-scale backup solutions like the use of external hard disk drives on USB hookups or maybe even decent PC-based backup applications and server storage; and these are enough for them. Others, on the other hand, require larger solutions that include third party data software suites and even remote data data center mirroring. Service oriented companies and businesses dealing with eCommerce fall bluntly in this category.

Remote Backups

Investing in data backup solutions are one of the best contingency plans your business can get on board with. In the data center, the word “redundancy” is one word that often gets bounced around and it should be part of your data disaster plan’s prevention checklists.

This means that while your gigabytes (or most likely, terabytes) of data are stored and backed up locally, it’s important to have another copy mirrored remotely on a data center on a different location. This is one backup solution many large entities, especially IT companies and Web services, are utilizing to ensure their data’s constant availability. You can also use IT outsourcing services for your data to be safely backed up in a disaster-proof data center with an accompanying backup solution that can be accessed locally. This will save you from the potential headache should you encounter some unfortunate data loss later on.

Backup Frequency

An important question to ask when setting up your data disaster plan in place is “how often should I backup?” As a general rule, backups are usually performed during weekends as they usually take up several hours to an afternoon or even an entire day to accomplish depending on the size of your library of data and your network connection’s speed. A day’s worth of backup time would ideally be the extent for IT companies running a 24/7 operation, on the other hand. The succeeding data backups will most probably take far lesser time to complete.

As a side note, while a backup is in the works, many IT service teams take the opportunity to do hardware refreshes and perform routine diagnostics. And it is recommended that you do to make sure there really is no downtime even from the technical aspect.

Data backup and recovery is crucial element in any given business to ensure both the productivity and the security of a company’s data infrastructure. Contact All Covered to learn more about it to help you find the perfect solution for your company. Just call us at 866-446-1133; our IT experts are always at the ready to help you with your IT consulting needs.

Andreas Krebs
Marketing Manager, All Covered, Inc.

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As IT companies grow at a consistent rate despite the rather unstable economic climate, businesses are turning to more cost-effective solutions to expand the functionalities and capabilities of their existing network infrastructure. This is where most IT support concerns are raised, including potential security issues and cost alignments with customary hardware refresh cycles, among many others.

To keep up with the exponential ramp-up in hardware and software demands without having to risk reliability, many SMBs are opting to pack up their mission critical processes and head for the cloud.

Since it is Internet-based, cloud computing ensures your data and other resources are easily within reach, even for users operating under a mobile office. And true enough, productivity is indeed flourishing thanks to the bevy of SaaS (Software as a Service) applications and tools readily made available online.

It provides a good amount of application stability, minus the hardware compatibility setbacks, at capacities that rival even those costly native-hosted proprietary software suites. Here are a handful of essential SaaS software packages scalable enough for IT companies to rely on for enhancing productivity on the cloud.

Google Docs

Word Processing

Google Docs is Google’s suite of word processing suite that leverages on online collaboration. With it, you can create, share and allow multiple users to work concurrently on a document, spreadsheet or presentation. You’re also provided with a free gigabyte of online storage for all your files. It’s free and pretty intuitive, as its interface is similar to word processing software like the ones from Microsoft Office or OpenOffice.org. So if you’re used to these applications, there won’t be much of a learning curve to be able to navigate through its features.

Despite being a cloud computing app, you can still work on your documents offline and then save your crafted documents when you get internet connection. This is obviously one of its best features as it will let you continue your work even if you have an intermittent Internet connection or when you’re on-the-go. In addition, it also is compatible with most word processing file formats. As such, you can upload, convert and edit existing documents on it, or you can import your Google Docs-crafted works into your PC.

DropBox

Cloud Storage

Offering cloud storage and file synchronization, Dropbox offers three cost-effective options for storage capacity, starting with the free 2 GB Basic package and moving up to the 50 GB Pro 50 for $9.99 a month and the $19.99 per month 100 GB Pro 100 subscription. With its accompanying native app, you can also seamlessly synchronize the files in your computer whether you’re running a Windows, Mac or Linux operating system. If you synchronize a previously synced folder, Dropbox will back up the previous version, which can help a lot when organizing your sub-folders later on.

Once on the cloud, you can access your synced folder on a Web interface for easy file management. On it, you can share specific files or entire sub-folders anywhere online by simply copying their designated URL. You can also share files to other Dropbox members and indicate if you’d like to give them editing privileges like enabling collaborative work within your IT consulting team, for example. Also, if you’re dubious about your files’ security, Dropbox slathers a thick AES-256 layer of encryption to make sure only you or the people you’ve invited have access to them.

GoToMeeting

Telepresence

Virtualization and cloud computing company Citrix Systems developed GoToMeeting as a highly scalable tool that offers a comparatively cheap alternative to today’s expensive industry-standard telepresence equipment. All you need is to install its desktop application, a PC and a pair of headphones with a microphone hookup, and you’re good to go; your invited attendees don’t even need to have the software installed.

GoToMeeting offers far more features than your average VOiP and phone conferencing service. When initiating a virtual meeting or a webinar, the software can create and send out e-mail invitations to your attendees with a link and a Meeting ID to join through. You can opt for your entire gathering to be recorded into a video which includes audio from each attendee and the screens you shared — the generated footage can also be imported into your computer for documentation purposes or for further editing with any video editor. Like most services online, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial and then move on to its paid service at $49 a month (or $468 a year) with a maximum of 15 attendees. While it does sound pricey at the onset, SMBs will find GoToMeeting’s real value with its aforementioned capabilities and more on as many meetings as they want for as long as want.

These highly scalable cloud computing solutions can definitely kick your business’ productivity up a notch with a stable connection to the Web and a huge thrust on online real-time collaboration. There are many other SaaS options clogging the tubes nowadays, and they range from small but useful applications all the way to the expansive and large-scale employable ones. The only thing IT companies need to do now is determine their needs versus their infrastructure limitations, and assess their capabilities. Our IT experts at All Covered are always here to help, so call us at 866-466-1133.

Andreas Krebs
Marketing Manager, All Covered, Inc.

Contact All Covered

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Thanks to the Asus Eee PC’s debut into mass consciousness, netbooks – tiny, low-powered laptops with screen sizes of 11 inches or smaller – have seen a significant jump in popularity and a huge chunk of the PC market share worldwide.

Its streamlined features, expansive connectivity options and relatively cheap price points are indeed compelling qualities why it’s become a weapon of choice for end-users from both the consumer and the business markets. In the small and medium-sized business segment, these factors can prove beneficial as IT companies are seeing the values of a mobile office as a definite game-changer.

As a result, we’re seeing a slow netbook penetration into the business segment, especially with the recent economic downturn forcing many IT companies to start pinching their pennies without risking productivity.

But is the netbook indeed ready for SMB primetime?

While most companies across different industries have easily implemented netbook use among its employees, it’s best to first assess if it will even be a logically sound computing platform for your business. After all, we have to understand that technology is not a one-size-fits-all solution; there will always be varying preferences and restrictions that’ll determine if it’s a viable route to take on.

Generally, netbooks are intended for content consumption rather than creation and so they carry the bare minimum of capacities in their components. Normal specs include a mere gigabyte of RAM, relatively slower processor speeds and smaller screen sizes with decent enough resolutions and oftentimes accompanied by entry-level graphics cards.

As limited as they are, you can still run various applications like word processors and a handful of non-resource hogging business software packages among many others. This makes it perfect for bookkeepers and sales people who deal with spreadsheets and simple financial applications, and for the IT support personnel running basic diagnostics.

While its small frame offers portability and storage advantages, it may do so at the expense of ergonomics. For one, the keyboard and the touchpad (along with its accompanying mouse keys) have been reduced to fit the smaller palm rest. Another important thing this highlights is the smaller screen real estate, which naturally comes with a potential decrease in onscreen multitasking. Sure, you can just as easily buy full-sized external input devices and a secondary display panel (also, throw in an external optical drive because that is usually missing) but it may not sit well with your purchasing department as it can be seen as unnecessary additional purchases.

On the other hand, road warriors will find a reliable companion in the netbook with its lightweight, compact form factor that offers smart mobility technology without disrupting productivity even when on-the-go. Its support for most connectivity options, matched by the growing ubiquity of wireless connections from network providers, boosts this flexibility even further.

To complement these, you can leverage a wealth of Software as a Service providers, as well as other cloud computing services and tools readily available. Ranging from simple word processing and storage to online collaboration and other functionalities, both paid and free, these services make sure both the communication with the headquarters and the flow of mission critical processes remain unbridled without taking a single byte out of your hard drive.

While it won’t be your heavy-duty workhorse for system-intensive tasks, netbooks bring a lot of benefits to the table, and will most likely be crucial tools to supplementing a full-featured work laptop or desktop PC. Though these should help you start determining if netbook adoption is right for your company, there are many other technical aspects specific to your set IT infrastructure that you need to take a look at. Contact our IT experts at All Covered to find out how you can address these issues, and how you can optimize netbooks for your company.

Andreas Krebs
Marketing Manager, All Covered, Inc.

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If you take a look at all the different IT companies involved in computers, hardware, software, networks, servers and other computer-related products; very quickly, you realize there is an amazing conglomeration of different types of technology companies. After looking at all the different components required for IT, one can easily understand why so many companies choose to outsource their own IT needs to specialized IT Companies rather than try to learn and do everything on their own.

If you own a small or medium-sized business and are looking for IT products and services you’ve probably encountered the decision of hiring an outside agency to handle your IT needs or have contemplated facing the tasks of handling the IT yourself. But in either case, the realization and importance of IT in helping address small businesses challenges has been proven.

But how do you find the best IT companies’ to fit with your particular needs?

We are now living in an intensely technology-laden world. We are actually saturated with not just a few, but literally thousands of IT companies all over the world. There are just so many out there and all of them seem to claim that they are the best.

This is why you need to make a few business assessments before you engage any IT firm. Here are some guidelines to help you choose the best IT Companies for your needs:

1. Make an IT item checklist. Write down the most important and specific IT products/services that your company needs. This will serve as a template for your requirements, and will guide IT service providers as to what exactly needs to be addressed when they finally send you their proposal.
2. Check if the company can meet your specific requirements. Before you can get into the details of their product or service quality, you have to determine if they have the capacity to address your minimum requirements. Make sure the company you are looking into fits the right criteria in which your needs are in, if you’re looking for IT software solutions don’t ask a firm who specializes in hardware manufacturing.
3. Experience matters. Ask the IT companies about their experience in their fields. Find out how many organizations they’ve worked with and how long they’ve been in business. Inquire about their IT solutions team and what work it has done, especially for companies that are similar to yours.
4. IT support and training. Ask about how much IT support you will receive. Will your staff get training? Check if it will be hands-on training, especially if there will be a total systems change. Will they have consultants to monitor what changes should be made to fit your needs? If your business plan includes an expansion plan in the next 2 to 5 years, then you need this level of IT support.
5. Help Desk. Excellent IT management should also have a good help desk in place that can readily assist you if you run into any problems. The best IT support system should also be able to ensure that you don’t have to worry about service downtimes. Time is gold in any business and any downtime in your IT system could affect your entire operation, which is tantamount to business losses. Be very particular about their promised response time and make sure that you have something agreed upon for response time issues in your contract for service downtimes.
6. Price. Once all the details are accounted for, mind the price. Every small business takes price into consideration. However, this should not be the only criterion for choosing an IT company. Remember to compare companies and get multiple quotes. For a company that fits better with your company’s budget, needs, and processes, try looking for the personalized service that smaller IT companies can easily provide.

Looking for an IT company? Turn to All Covered.com, the leading provider of computer network services and technology solutions for small to medium-sized businesses. Call us at 866-446-1133.

Andreas Krebs
Marketing Manager, All Covered, Inc.

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Though the path of least resistance can carry you in unruly directions – as it so often does – it can empower you to effortlessly flow towards your goals.

It’s a given: all things that matter are usually the ones that costs a lot most of the time. Companies that pride themselves to be frontrunners in their own fields of expertise are usually the first to say that they invest a lot in technology to propel their businesses to accelerated growth and expansion. In hindsight, these same companies are aware that at any point of their business’s existence, downturns could affect their operations and could domino into crucial decision-making of whether to cut or not to cut IT costs.

Everyone in the IT industry knows that talk of cuts on IT expenditures will always resurface, especially if the economy is not as robust as we all would prefer. The board of directors and executives of a company are wont to immediately look at the IT costs and drastically cut its budget. IT investment and expenditures are not for the fainthearted. It is substantial enough to warrant a concern from the management. However, management knows that it cannot do away with IT altogether and there just must be some reason to just minimize its impact in downtrodden times.

So, what should be done as a compromise? Increasing IT productivity while maintaining operational efficiency through simple money-saving suggestions:

1. Take stock of what you have. Before you do anything else, it is best to make an inventory of all the things that you already have. Check all applications and make a checklist of the things that you really need and those that may have no value to the company anymore. Learn how to maximize necessary usage. You may already have redundant software that you can eliminate.
2. Use Web-based applications or open source software. Where appropriate, go for the cheaper one and one that is accessible online for free and for everyone. Why pay when you can get it for free or at the least amount possible? Always look for alternative options.
3. Consolidate servers. Look for ways where you can swap smaller servers performing the same task with a larger server. Initially, it may cost you a little more but its long term investment will be worth it.
4. Exchange deals. We are living in a symbiotic world and more often than not, exchange deals really work. Some hardware shops may accept your products and/or services in exchange for discounts, upgrades or lowered or waived service and maintenance fees.
5. Hold off on upgrades. Needless to say, if the current updated version of the software you are using can still do the work, hold off onto buying the latest version in the meantime.
6. Skip the top-of-the-line hardware for now. It may be very important that you get the best quality hardware, but if the second-best can perform just as well for you, why think about paying more?
7. Offer training options for your IT staff. Training seminars and workshops may sound expensive, but you will realize that investing in employee training can drastically improve productivity and efficiency.
8. Outsource selected services. Sometimes, the best way out is really out. Consider outsourcing some of the services that you need. You can save money by not having to deal with extending your staff to meet certain needs.

In the long run, companies cannot do away with IT, and a dramatic cut in its budget will not really cure the problem. There are surefire creative ways of minimizing cost with the least impact, both for the company in general and for the IT department at whose hands the wheels of technology are being churned for the company’s growth. Outsourcing IT services to companies such as All Covered is one path to a better, more economically sound IT that should not be ignored.

Andreas Krebs
Marketing Manager, All Covered, Inc.

Contact All Covered

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