Great Lakes Computer Corporation

Managed Service Provider

You are here: Home / Great Lakes Blog

Great Lakes Blog

By

IT Support Question of the Day: Should You Shut Down Your PC at Night?

IT supportIt used to be, many moons ago, that as you left for work, you shut down your big desktop computer as you were leaving, then allowed it to reboot as you waited for the coffee to brew.  With the advent of such innovations as the laptop and the Keurig, your evening and morning work routines have no doubt changed a lot since the 90’s, as has IT Support for that matter.

We found this article shared by Toolbox.com to be a great answer to the nagging question if the need is still there to shut down your PC, whether desktop or laptop, every night:

With the advent of diverse tech devices, people who do not have the right know-how face a number of questions when using these devices. When it comes to computers, one popular questions is, ‘should I shut my computer down every night?’ Different people may give you different answers, but the use of your PC should dictate whether you need to shut it down or not.
Whenever you shut it down, there’s always an advantage and a disadvantage to it. One of the benefits is that you lower your energy usage. You can potentially save some money if you turn off your machine since you prevent unnecessary use of power, especially if you are using more than one computer.
Another advantage is that switching your computer on and off deals with temporary system issues that may arise as a result of long hours of use. A reboot gives it a fresh start thereby increasing its performance.
One last thing to consider is that leaving your PC on all the time could add to the wear and tear. Your cooling fans will get dirtier faster, your thermal paste will wear out more quickly, and your hard drives will be active more often. These all could potentially lead to problems down the line.
On the other hand, shutting it down can inconvenience you because you have to wait for it to turn on. Also, when it is off, you cannot leverage this time for running background maintenance tasks like scanning for threats or updating software.
Another advantage of leaving a PC on is that it opens up the ability to access the machine remotely. There are many situations where this could be quite beneficial such as needing an important file off the machine while you are away from it.
So, in general, most people will benefit from turning the machine off when not in use. However, there are a few cases in which leaving the machine on makes sense.

By

Manufacturing IT Support: Why You Need to Embrace Technology

rsz_linkedin_mfgtechToday’s Manufacturing IT Support guest blog is shared from our partner at Informs:

One thing is becoming clear to the modern manufacturer: if they want to continue to succeed, they must develop and execute strategies that embrace technological innovations. Increasingly, manufacturers are leveraging digital technologies, the Internet of Things, and other advances to build better products, operate more efficiently, and communicate more effectively with their customers.

If you aren’t taking the technological leap forward, it’s time to get moving – your competitors may already be there. The majority of CEOs at industrial manufacturing firms today recognize the significance of technological advances for engaging customers, cyber security, and data mining and analysis. More than 75% regard using mobile technologies as important to their overall strategy.

For companies that are generally slower to adapt, seizing the latest digital innovation opportunities isn’t an intuitive strategy. After all, industrial manufacturing is not the technology sector. However, this makes it even more crucial to analyze your businesses and see how technology (in all of its different forms) might benefit your company.

One important place to look is what’s known as the Internet of Things (IoT)—you’ve probably heard this word buzzing around the technology industry a lot this year. The IoT is easy to understand; it’s basically a network of devices that are connected digitally and communicate with each other to provide manufacturers data about those devices. Connected devices and new data flows have already made substantial headway in manufacturing, with an expectation that this pace will only accelerate.

Currently, 35% of manufacturers in the United States collect and use data generated by smart devices to enhance manufacturing and operating processes, and an additional 17% plan to do so in the next three years.

These manufacturers are leveraging more data in their operations and are responding to customer needs by embedding intelligence into their products to increase functionality. By tracking product performance over lifecycles, these businesses are able to increase their efficiency and focus on their own product-related services.

Still, the majority of manufacturers have yet to engage with this technology. If you’re one of them, ask yourself if you’re falling behind the curve and letting those who are engaging the IoT gain a competitive edge. It’s up to manufacturing CEOs to develop strategies that seize innovation opportunities that will help their companies do business better—and grab customers from competitors that don’t.

By

Considering Managed Print? 4 Things NOT To Do When Your Printer Breaks

printer_maintenanceThese days, most people are moving much of their important data and documents to the cloud or other sources of secure, digital storage. It’s likely that you will still need to rely on your printer though for many crucial applications, so the frustration that comes when it’s not working when you need it most can be paralyzing.

It’s important to remember that printer mechanisms are vastly complex, and if a single component is misaligned, dirty, or clogged it can cause the entire operation to stall and potentiallycause serious damage to the machine. The next time your printer fails, don’t panic, and don’t fall prey to these common mistakes.

1) Don’t do anything without resetting first

When you call for IT support, there’s a good reason why the technician always asks if you’ve reset the power on your device first. Although it may seem like an obvious initial step, it’s one that many people still neglect to try before opening up their printer and looking for paper jams and damaged printer heads. Sometimes these problems can easily be solved by a simple power reset, saving you the hassle and angst over long periods of troubleshooting. Try resetting the power on the printer first. If that doesn’t work, you can move on to resetting the device from which you are trying to print.

2) Don’t try too many solutions at one time

Troubleshooting is inherently a process of trial and error. It may take some patience, but it’s still one of the most surefire ways to arrive at a solution for a technical problem. Resist the temptation to try every fix you can think of at one time and see if your printer is working again. You might stumble upon the magic answer, but if the problem persists you won’t know how you got to the solution.

3) Don’t neglect to check your owner’s manual

The manufacturers of your printer have observed every step of the printing process from the ground up. They’ve seen mechanisms and flaws that you simply can’t see unless you’ve built your own printer from scratch. Don’t assume you know more than they do, and check your device’s manual if you get stuck. It’s always possible that they’ve included one troubleshooting step that you’ve skipped over. If you don’t have a hard copy of the manual, a simple internet search of your make and model will likely turn up a digital version for your reference.

4) Don’t forget about coverage from a managed print services company

There’s definitely no shame in needing help when it comes to something as technical and complex as printer maintenance. Sometimes all your pride will earn you is additional frustration and time lost. Partnering with a managed print services company means that you’ll always have access to expert technicians for regular maintenance and when repairs are needed. You’ll also never have to worry about running out of supplies or paper. Print services represents an all-in-one solution for your most important printing needs.

Download our Managed Print Brochure

By

The 9 Most Commonly Misunderstood Facts About Cloud Computing

Cloud ComputingBy now everyone has heard of “the cloud,” but most people tend to associate it with its namesake: i.e. a puffy white ball of nothingness that’s far away and impossible to grasp. Well, folks, the cloud is real, and it could be the answer to your computing frustrations. But not if you don’t understand it, right? With that said, here are nine common misconceptions about the cloud … and the real facts behind them.

1. It’s Really a Cloud!

It’s not really a cloud. It’s not in the air, it’s not a weird vapor, it’s not insubstantial. The cloud is everywhere and nowhere, however, and in that sense is rather cloud-like. When you put your data in the cloud, you can access it from anywhere and any device.

2. There’s Only One Type of Cloud

Nope. There are several types of clouds, the main distinction between them being whether they’re dedicated only to your company, are shared between several companies, are public, are community, or are a mix.

3. The Public Cloud Is Dangerous

Luckily, this isn’t true. A public cloud is no more easily breached than a private cloud, and your data is just as secure. You may still want a dedicated cloud, because you can host it in your own data center and more easily track usage, but it isn’t necessary.

4. Private Clouds Are Always In-House

Not so. A data center can host your private cloud if you don’t have the space or the desire to have a data center in-house.

5. Private Clouds Are Too Costly

While it is more expensive to implement a private cloud than to use a preexisting public one, your return on investment can make this worthwhile. The flexibility and ability to meet immediate demand that comes with a private cloud can make it worthwhile for large organizations.

6. Your Cloud Provider Will Protect You

It’s important to realize that cloud service providers aren’t responsible for maintaining your passwords, overseeing your data and people, and assessing risk. That’s still on you.

7. Cloud Services Are a Flat Rate

Actually, many cloud service providers charge by usage, making this a very affordable option.

8. The Cloud Is Less Secure Than On-Site IT

Just like the public cloud isn’t less secure than a private cloud, no type of cloud computing is less secure than on-site data storage.

9. Desktops and Laptops Are Still Necessary

When you think of computing, you think of a comput-er, but the truth is you no longer need a desktop or laptop in order to, well, compute. Now it’s possible to move all your computing to the cloud with a service such as Avatara, making you infinitely mobile and totally secure.

Now that you know more about the cloud, perhaps you can see how it could help your business to transition to this ever-growing and cutting-edge method of storing data and computing. Your business will only get more powerful if you do.

View the Video and Download Cloud Computing 101

By

Top 5 Ways A Move to the Cloud Makes Your Business More Productive

Cloud ComputingThis is a shared post courtesy of our partner, Avatara, LLC and their CompleteCloud blog, and presents 5 ways to make your SMB more productive using new technology:

1. Move to the cloud – based infrastructure.  Ok, so you saw this one coming. But don’t just take our word for it; every day, more and more small businesses are moving to the cloud. The cloud has lots of advantages  from mobility to disaster recovery to scalability. Transitioning your on-premise computing to a private cloud-based infrastructure can save you money, lower your risk, increase your productivity and even increase employee satisfaction due to added convenience. The advantages of mobility through portable devices have saved business owners about 2 billion labor hours per year and over $65 billion per year.

2. Utilize mobile point of sale systems. With the ubiquity of tablets and mobile devices, and the integration of these devices with cost-effective point of sale applications, there’s no longer a need to invest in expensive point of sale hardware. Many outdated point of sale systems had high learning curves for employees and consequently high switching costs. Now, though, it can be as easy as setting your tablet next to the cash register. And if you’re hooked in the cloud, sync everything with ease.

3. Increase back-end productivity through cost-effective applications. The increase in business productivity software tools we’ve seen in the last few years means that backend software such as accounting, finance, HR and collaboration tools is cheaper than ever to acquire. These tools can enhance your business’s productivity and save you thousands of dollars per year, without having to invest in expensive software licenses. There are also tons of other applications out there, from mobile apps to PC apps, that can enhance collaboration and productivity. Business owners using smartphone apps save an average of 150 labor hours per year and $6,000 per year.

4. Using consumer insights data to drive business decision.  With a growing number of software tools to both gather and analyze consumer data, it is easier and cheaper than ever before to access market research about your customers. While powerhouse research firms tend to charge hefty fees, survey and polling tools as well as statistical analytical software might make economic since for your business. And this is not to mention the vast access that social media can give you to your customers—this is now perhaps one of the most effective ways to gain insights into your customer.

5. Reevaluating customer communication.  Customer communication is key: from marketing to updates to deals and offers to surveys to sales. Are you paying too much to stay close to your customer? With modern technology, there’s no longer a marginal cost per recipient: you can leverage the internet to blast an email or a social media post to thousands or millions of people in one click.

View the Video and Download Cloud Computing 101

By

5 Fun Facts About Cloud Computing

Cloud computing fun factsCloud computing is everywhere, but surprisingly few people understand exactly what it is, or the incredible power it has to continue to revolutionize our digital landscape. Whether or not you get the gist of cloud computing, there’s always more to learn. Here are five fun facts you probably don’t know, which may just make you want to scrap your own hard drives and move to a cloud-based solution.

1. It’s Not Actually a “Cloud”

One of the most interesting facts about cloud computing is that data storage doesn’t actually take place in some nebulous ether like many imagine it does. Cloud computing simply means that your data is stored on the Internet using remote servers, rather than being stored locally on your hard drive or company network. It’s your data stored in another location. This type of remote storage is like a cloud, however, in the sense that your data essentially follows you everywhere, enabling you to retrieve and use information anywhere in the world.

2. There Are Multiple Formats of Cloud Access

Depending on your business’s IT support needs, you can get many different types of cloud computing applications. You might, for example, choose a private solution, where your data is externally hosted on servers that are dedicated solely to your company. It can also be cost effective to share space with others, though, in which case you might want to go with community hosting. If you want to offer the public space on your servers, choose a public solution, or a hybrid of multiple types. If you aren’t ready to switch all of your storage and processes to the cloud, you can use cloud applications to gain some of the benefits, like Office 365.

3. The Cloud Is Safe

More than $1 trillion in IT spending will be directly or indirectly affected by the shift to cloud during the next five years (Gartner, 2016). The numbers today, thanks in large part to applications like Office 365, have surpassed previous expectations.  This is because the cloud enables redundancy, simple data transfer and backups, so you’ll never lose information that’s important to you. It’s also far more secure than traditional storage and processing because it is safeguarded 24/7/365 by security experts that are up-to-date with the most recent threats.

4. Never Upgrade Again

No matter what type of device you use for work or play, when you use cloud-based solutions, you’ll never have to upgrade your outdated IT infrastructure and hardware to account for more storage space or software upgrades. Cloud computing companies take care of this for you, so you can focus on what really matters: getting work done, or having fun! It happens automatically in real-time, so you’re always up-to-date.

5. The Cloud Is the Way of the Future

The cloud is good for more than simply storing your data. The power of such technology is currently fueling all sorts of research angles. Intel, for instance, is looking into the ability of cloud technology to decode brainwaves for interaction with software, to cure cancer, to model water resource management and more. When you invest in the cloud, you not only make your data and your business safer, more accessible and easier to use, you pave the way for future technological developments that can help mankind.  If you’re looking to a Unified Communications strategy or a Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) work environment, the cloud is a first step. It enables a mobile workforce and that can help attract new talent.

Cloud computing also reduces server downtime, optimizes capital and helps with disaster recovery. Don’t miss your ticket to better and more effective IT solutions. Great Lakes Computer Corporation can help you implement all levels of cloud computing, from cloud-based applications to a complete cloud solution. Contact us to learn more.

New Call-to-action

Contact Us