Great Lakes Computer Corporation

Managed Service Provider

Archives for January 2014

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New Study Identifies Top 4 Reasons for IT Outsourcing

Managed Services monitor your IT with an expert eye

Four reasons for MSPIT staff regularly find that a lack of time or financial resources are the biggest barriers to productivity that they face.  This is according to a new survey carried out by JDL Technologies; the study found that in response to these issues, 36% of those asked have employed the skills of a Managed Service Provider (MSP), and it appears that during 2014, that number will to continue to rise, eventually reaching the 40% mark.

So why are more and more businesses deciding to explore the possibilities of outsourcing their IT?  Here are the top 4 reasons:

    1. LOWER TCO: Most sited reason was the reduction in downtime, coupled with the ability to reduce their IT costs.
    2. STAFFING: Of those asked by JDL, 73% reported a drop in the need for extra IT workers when an MSP steps in.  This was mentioned as the overriding gain.
    3. PRODUCTIVITY: 68% also explained that the MSP allowed their permanent IT staff to become more active, freeing them up from day-to-day computer maintenance and housekeeping chores.
    4. INNOVATION: A further 61% said that MSPs brought the promise of advanced technological solutions, enabling their businesses to make use of more specialist knowledge than they could have hoped for previously.

Choosing the right MSP

When it comes to choosing the right MSP for their organization, companies were fairly unified in their response: An overwhelming 86% claimed that the reputation, as well as the price, of a provider was top of their list.  They also carefully considered the references given by previous clients, the service level agreement terms, and how reliable the MSP was.

The MSP Alliance, an international body that represents the sector, explains the importance of their members as: “The operative distinction that sets apart a Managed Services Provider is the proactive delivery of service, as compared to reactive IT services, which have been around for decades.”

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10 Dead-Simple Printer, POS, and Plotter Repair Tips

Printer, Plotter and POS Troubleshooting Tips

POS RepairAlright, so maybe not everyone can do printer, POS, and plotter repair, but hopefully these tips will make your life easier if you absolutely have to.

Check out these tips, and hopefully they help you when you’re in a pinch:

    1. Printer problems – printing goes way too slow.  If you don’t need high print quality for your documents, reduce it.  To do this, in just about any piece of software, go to “Print,” “Properties,” and then you should see a quality setting somewhere.
    2. Ink costs way too much.  The printer isn’t the real expense – ink and toner are where companies make their money.  Consider purchasing third-party filled cartridges.  Plus, if you have to print a lot, the best solution is to buy cartridges with higher capacities.
    3. Your printing is light, spotty, or has horizontal lines.  Usually this indicates the print head is clogged.  You can usually have the ink cleaned out by choosing a command on the printer itself, or by going to its administrative software.  You can usually find it by going to the Control Panel in Windows.
    4. Wireless printing is too slow.  Wi-Fi is convenient, when it works.  If possible, make sure everyone at your business has a wired connection to your printer.  If not, have your printer situated as closely to your router as possible to speed up communication.
    5. Problems with your POS/receipt printer?  Turn it off, and disconnect it from all electronic devices.  Turn it back on in a couple minutes, and see if the problems aren’t corrected. Still having POS repair problems?  Update the driver.  Simply go to the manufacturer’s website and find the model of your receipt printer.
    6. Has the quality of your plotter’s printing declined?  Don’t try to save money on ink with plotters – this can result in more printing problems later on down the line.
    7. If the ink is bleeding…Your plotter may be located in a space with too much humidity.  Or the grade of paper could be too low.  Address each issue and see if that doesn’t correct the problem.
    8. What if only part of your image is printing?  Your plotter may not have enough memory.  File sizes have gotten much larger, so older plotters may need a memory upgrade.
    9. Your plotter doesn’t print at the right speed…Your computer’s settings override those of the plotter (usually).  Set the desired speed on your PC.
    10. Have a Good Printer Repair Service on Hand… Not all problems can be easily fixed, and often times, when you need the printer the most you don’t have time to repair it yourself.  Having a reliable printer, plotter and POS repair service on hand, one that preferably has local parts delivery and time and material contracts.

Those are just some of the most common POS, plotter, and printer repair problems you’ll encounter.  Hopefully these tips help you take care of them so you can get back to growing your business.

Click Here for a FREE Hour of Printer Repair!

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Why You Need Remote Monitoring for Less than $1 a Day

Give your business the edge with remote monitoring support

remote monitoringIf your business relies on its information technology to function, and most do, downtime can be a major cause for concern.  Hardware failures that occur repeatedly will impact on the image of your brand, create problems for clients and drive down productivity.  SMBs tend to be hit harder than larger firms, because most do not have an in-house team of IT experts who can be called upon to fix any issues promptly.  However, when you use remote hardware monitoring, your company can bypass computing headaches altogether.

If you do experience a software or hardware problem, you can relax, knowing it will be dealt with; an application installed specifically for this purpose will alert the remote monitoring team and they will address the issue.  The team will contact any relevant third party for assistance, diagnose the fault on your server and liaise with a representative at your company to keep you posted on the situation.  As most irregularities are spotted early, the corrective procedures may already be in place before you are even aware something has gone wrong.

The service provider will check on the health of your IT system on a regular basis, so you are free to divert staff and resources elsewhere.  This is especially relevant in today’s recruitment market, where skilled IT professionals can be in short supply.

Furthermore, there is no need for a business to compile lengthy and complex lists of the IT assets they hold.  Each work station is visible from a central hub, ensuring the task can be completed within a few minutes and the inventory information is processed in real-time.

Although no service could claim to provide completely disruption free computing, when firms choose a remote management vendor, they are prepared for every eventuality, ensuring that their security, maintenance and support, is firmly in place.

Remote Monitoring for less than $1/day!

Server monitoring allows your organization to obtain real-time internal statistics from your servers by automatically scanning them for irregularities and/or failures.

What’s Included in a Server Monitoring Package:

    • Monitoring of your server for faults, errors and warnings – 24 hours a day – 7 days a week – 365 days per year.
    • Automated program scripts that remotely fix common problems and errors immediately
    • Instant notification of problems or changes such as low disk space, processor spikes and memory issues.
    • After-hours e-mail and cell phone problem notification.
    • Keep servers up-to-date with the latest important security patches and updates.
    • Monthly and ad-hoc reporting

More information on Remote Monitoring for less than$1/day!

Learn more about the author Bob Martin

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