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When IT Support Takes a Vacation

IT Support in Business is the vital support system that all else depends upon

IT Support taking vacation resized 600As small and medium sized companies and organizations become increasingly reliant on their IT networks for maintaining nearly all aspects of their business, a great deal of emphasis has been put on finding the right IT person for the job.  Once that person has been brought on board, they become the go-to for troubleshooting across all aspects of operations.  It can be argued that a company’s “IT Department of 1” is not only the busiest person in the company, but in times of network outages and PC issues, they are the most crucial to operations.

But what happens when your IT guy or gal wants to take a vacation, or comes down with the flu?

Business cannot stop just because an employee wants to use their well deserved time off.  It is imperative for companies to have a plan in place to address your company’s vital operations even when the one person you rely on is not available.  Having a company such as Great Lakes Computer in your back pocket, available to provide on-call IT maintenance and repair on a non-contractual basis, could be just the answer you are looking for.

Contact GRLakes for Backup IT Support Practices

“The Importance of IT Support in Business”

For more compelling reasons to prioritize your IT Support, read our last blog article “The Importance of IT Support in Business” by George Pettit.


Learn more about the author Bob Martin

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The Importance of IT Support in Business

We found this article by George Pettit that stresses the importance of having a robust IT Support System in place, and why it is imperative to have a backup plan in place when your IT Department is not available:

The Importance of IT Support in Business

By George Pettit

George PettitVirtually every company depends on its computer network. Its cash flow and inventory are just two of the figures that need to be closely monitored and this can only be done with assurance through a functioning computer system. In addition, the clients are serviced through computer generated software and any interruption in the system will cost the Business clients. Clients will go to companies that respond quickly to their needs and will not be understanding when a company is offline for a considerable period of time.

IT Support is a necessary ingredient for a successful Business. As long as the company servicing your needs is excellent, it makes little difference in the method of service. Many companies have gone offshore seeking IT Support for their Businesses. It is not necessary for the technicians to be on site in order to service the IT network. This can be done remotely and works very well. The problem with the offshore approach is that there are justifiable complaints in understanding the offshore personnel. Though they may be fluent in the language of the company, accents are frustrating. Offshore is cheaper and the decision has to be made whether the frugality is worth the frustration. Onshore IT support is preferable with no language problems resulting.

In house computer teams are prevalent in larger corporations. This is an expensive way to gain IT Support, but if it is effective there is nothing wrong with this system. Whatever IT Support is used by Business; it must be ready to service the company on a 24/7 basis. The company can be called on site or remedy the problem remotely but the response time needs to be fast. The IT Support must be able to alleviate the negative situation as soon as possible. Make sure you have an IT Support company in place prior to a breakdown in computer services.

IT Support must be excellent. Without great support, the advanced technology of the company will be rendered useless, if it cannot be brought online immediately after a problem. IT Support in Business is the vital support system that all else depends upon.

Intellekt will continue to focus and innovate as an IT Support Melbourne leader to government, non-profit and commercial entities. This includes IT security review, penetration testing, audit, compliance services, small business IT managed services and network consulting.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Pettit
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Importance-of-IT-Support-in-Business&id=3459623

Learn more about the author Bob Martin

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Data Protection Case Study for Educators and Government Agencies

Dell AppAssureGreat Lakes Computer is proud to call ourselves a member of Dell’s PartnerAssure Program.  Dell AppAssure is the industry’s leading software for backup and replication for voicemail, physical and cloud comuting environments.

We also have a number of government agencies and School Boards we work with and provide services, from our managed print to our Data Protection services.

Below is a case study of how the entire state of Alabama’s Education system reduced their recovery time from 24 hours to 2 MINUTES.

Learn more about the author Bob Martin

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Beware: “Changeup” Malware Threatening Data Security

“Changeup” Worm infecting SMB’s and large businesses worldwide

Date protectionFew businesses want worms invading the premises, but night crawlers are probably preferable to what office supply retailer Staples has had to contend with during the past week.  The company, based out of Framingham, Massachusetts, was forced to lock down its computer systems after it realized that shared drives were infected with the Changeup worm.

The firm notified employees of the data security problem via email, an ironic choice considering the fact that Changeup infections are often spread in the same way.  Computers may also become infected with the Changeup worm when users click on malicious links contained on social media networking sites.  Last November, computer security expert Symantec issued a warning about the Changeup worm, citing an increase in the total number of infections that it detected.

Once the worm has managed to infect a system, it spreads itself onto both mapped and removable drives in a bid to propagate still further.  The malware has been dubbed the Changeup worm because the author of it has continued to alter it in order to keep one step ahead of programs such as anti-virus and anti-spyware suites, which aim to provide computer systems with data protection by neutralizing and quarantining malware.

Threat management expert Marc Maiffret commented on the ways in which businesses can protect themselves against threats such as the Changeup worm, saying: “Malware doesn’t discern between consumers and corporations.  If companies were doing the right things such as egress filtering to control executables coming in and out of the environment, they should be able to safely mitigate this type of malware.”

Staples has yet to comment on whether or not the incident put any consumer data at risk.  Businesses, large and small, often make efforts to keep such data off shared drives, but in some cases they fail to implement such a policy consistently.

Take our Free Security Audit

Take advantage of this FREE OFFER for a proactive review of your computer network systems.  Gain the knowledge you need to be able to manage your system’s integrity and security with this 27 point System Analysis.

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Online data backup: no longer discretionary

SMB’s recognize online data backup as a necessity

Free eBook AppAssureA growing number of small- and medium-sized businesses around the nation are beginning to recognize online data backup as necessary rather than discretionary expenses.  Increasingly, such businesses see data recovery as a critical need of the organization and regard online backup and recovery options as the most viable and affordable means of assuring that needed data will be available for daily workflow even when unforeseen events interfere with the regular operation of the business.  This trend, however, is nothing new; as far back as 2009, over 40% of SMBs were citing automated methods of data recovery from backups as a crucial IT need.

Barriers to adoption

Even though the need for automated online backup is apparent to even the smallest of businesses these days, not all SMBs have yet adopted the technology.  A variety of barriers to adoption exist, but when SMBs are polled, two factors stand out above the others: security and cost.

Cost considerations

A common approach of small businesses to online backup is to assume that this technology is only affordable for the big players in the market.  Actually, nothing could be farther from the truth.  Many online backup suppliers actually price their services in ways that make them highly accessible to small businesses.

A popular model in this regard is the pay-per-gigabyte approach, in which a business is assessed a variable charge during each payment cycle, with the charge directly reflecting the amount of bandwidth or storage actually consumed during the time period in question.  Thus, a small business that needs only a relatively tiny amount of backup space can be sure that they are not paying for capacity that will ultimately go unused.

Security

In this context, data security concerns can actually be ironic; businesses that back up their data on site and store it on the premises are actually open to more data loss scenarios than those that utilize an online backup solution.  A flood or fire in the office, for example, stands an excellent chance of destroying both primary data and all backups if data sets are stored in the same geographic location.  In contrast, backing up data in the cloud, which is an integral part of online automated backup, guarantees that a localized event cannot destroy all copies of the data in question.

Learn more about the author Bob Martin

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The Verdict is in on Cloud Computing

SMB’s find that Cloud Computing significantly reduces cost

Cloud ComputingIt is invariably true that no single business strategy is appropriate for all firms.  When it comes to cloud computing, however, recent data indicates that the vast majority of businesses do find that it lives up to its central promise of reducing IT expenditures by reducing costs associated with on-premises infrastructure.

Last week, Rackspace released a new survey pointing to this conclusion.  The survey involved interviewing more than 1,200 businesses in both the US and UK.  All of the businesses in question had made use of cloud strategies in one form or another.  Remarkably, only the small minority of 17% felt that cloud computing had failed to save them money.  In contrast, nearly four times as many business users – some 66% – reported that cloud computing had indeed allowed them to trim costs associated with IT.  The remainder of respondents offered no opinion on the cost issue.

Rackspace’s Chief Technology Officer, John Engates, summarized the findings of the research, saying: “It used to be debatable whether the cloud was saving money or not, but apparently the businesses we surveyed believe it is saving them money.”

The survey also provided much more detailed information regarding business use of cloud computing and in particular the cost savings that could be garnered by moving applications to the cloud.  For example, nearly 20% of companies queried indicated that IT cost savings had exceeded 25%, while a further 41% reported slashing IT costs between 10% and 25%.

Nor was cost savings the only benefit of cloud computing.  More than half of respondents indicated that using cloud services helped them to implement projects faster, and a similar proportion said that cloud computing had helped them to increase their profits.

A similar survey arranged by Intermap focused on businesses that have yet to make the switch to cloud computing, but who may be considering running applications that run in the cloud.  Optimism is high among such businesses, with 41% anticipating cost savings in their IT departments.

Get the FREE eBook “Bringing the Cloud Down to Earth”

Acclaimed small business and entrepreneurial author, Rhonda Abrams, provides you with a step-by-step guide to create the optimal cloud strategy for your organization.

Learn more about the author Bob Martin

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