If IT plays a critical role in your business to the point where you lose business operations or continuity if your computer or networks fail, you need to consider a more proactive approach to your IT management by using managed services to reduce the risk of business losses.

What really happens when your technology lets you down? How much staff time is wasted dealing with slow computers or system crashes? And if your system crashes, how do you recover your data? If you don’t know these answers you need a Trusted IT Advisor.

That’s why we created Business Enhanced Support Technology (B.E.S.T.), the industry’s leading managed services support plan for small businesses.

• Support and maintenance – We handle any computer, network or server problem (including Windows, virus and spyware problems) via remote support or on-site.
• Proactive system monitoring - Constant monitoring of your technology`s `vital statistics` alerting us to any early warning signs of impending problems.
• Remote access - Secure remote access, enabling our team to see the problem from our office, allowing us to provide faster diagnosis and resolution times.
• Backup monitoring - We check your backups to ensure your information can be restored safely.
• Security - Shielding your computer networks from internet attack through monitoring of equipment and security software.
• Helpdesk - Fast, easy access for all your staff to our quality support consultants (using our centralised network operations centre), anytime they have a computer question or problem.
• Solutions - Recommended technology vendors partner for specialised business and technology requirements eg. internet, phones and business applications.

No downtime guarantee (on our trouble-free plan) - We are so confident of theresults that our top best plan carries a money back `No Downtime` guarantee.

Small business owners around the World have been raving about our BEST programs, protecting their mission critical IT networks and reducing the impact of technology problems on their business.

How do we do it?

• As a global franchise we have been able to partner with some of the World`s most proven technology providers such as LogMeIn, Kaseya and Zenith Technologies who traditionally have offered this service to large corporate organisations.
• We use this software to manage your network just like a large company`s IT department - automating some routine preventative maintenance, with the ability to remotely access your systems to fix small issues and the functionality to see your networks performance end to end.

Clean your Microsoft Windows

Remember when your computer was shiny and new? Windows ran smoothly, applications opened fast and error messages were few. Over time you may have noticed some changes though. As applications were installed, patched, upgraded and uninstalled, as data files were created or downloaded, and perhaps as the occasional virus or malware jumped in (and hopefully was promptly squashed by your protection software), your shiny new PC began to slow down. Between leftover temporary files, changes to the configuration files, and other debris often left behind by normal applications, it’s no surprise that your computer is slower, less reliable, and more prone to errors than it was when you first unboxed it. The best way to give your computer a new lease of life is to wipe all of the information and start again with a new software load (commonly known as a ‘rebuild’ or a ‘wipe & reload’). Computer experts regularly rebuild their own computers to restore their performance and sometimes it’s a better alternative than trying to remove a particularly nasty virus. However, before the rebuild proceeds, there are a number of things that you can do to make the process easier: 1. Know where you’ve been saving your files: If you create a new document or copy some photos from your digital camera, where do you save those files to? Whilst we can search for common file types, it’s a much quicker process when we know that you’ve been keeping everything under ‘My Documents’ (for example). 2. Know what software you use: Let us know if you use any specific software packages (such as accounting, sales or customer management software), so we can check other locations for hidden data. These types of software can store your information in locations which may not be obvious. 3. Know your account details: Your computer may be set to store and ‘remember’ your login details for certain websites. This information will be lost during a rebuild and will need to be re-entered, so make sure you have a list of any usernames and passwords. You may also have username, password and mail server details in your email client that will need to be re-entered. 4. Locate your software installation files: Get into the habit of storing all of your software CDs in one box, to make it easy to find the original files when you need them reinstalling. If your software was obtained via an internet download, store all of your downloads in one folder on your computer (e.g. name ‘Source’). You also may need to provide a serial number, license number or product key, which would have been supplied when you originally purchased the software. Keep these details filed in a box or in a folder on your computer to ensure they can be easily retrieved for the rebuild. 5. Your computer’s new look: If you’ve spent some time customizing your icons, menus, screen saver etc, much of this will be lost as your computer returns to the default software settings. Take a photo of your menu layout before the rebuild or take the opportunity to create a new look afterwards. Talk to your local Computer Troubleshooter about the benefits of rebuilding your computer and how you can help to make the process go much smoother by providing the above important information.

Computer Problems?

If your technology stopped working, would your business stop functioning too? Is your business totally reliant on the information stored on your computer systems or could you continue to deliver 95% of your products and services and catch up on the computer work later? No matter which end of this scale your business is at, you will fare much better during a major technology outage if you plan in advance, before it happens. This month we take some of the mystery out of Business Continuity Planning

Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is the process of working out how your business will continue to function during a disaster.

These threats to your business could include:
• Fire • Burst water pipes • Burglary • Flooding (severe rainfall) • Earthquake • Influenza outbreak
• Hardware failure • Software Failure • Internet outage • Tornado/Hurricane/Cyclone • Severed phone cabling • Security breach • Damage by disgruntled employee • Employee error • … And many more!

BCP begins with identifying the possible risks and the impact they would have on your business. What functions would be affected if your main administration PC crashed? How long could you be without internet access? It’s important to evaluate the probability of these incidents occurring and the severity of their impact. This will help you to determine which incidents are the highest priorities to be addressed.

Next, you look at how these risks can be prevented, or the impact of them lessened. This could include copying data to a different site or having a laptop that has the same business-critical software applications as your administration PC.

Finally, you plan the actions that would be needed to help you respond when this incident occurs. Do you need to go to another site to get a copy of your data or bring the laptop in from home? Do you need to temporarily relocate to another site that does have internet access? Can you run a paper-based system until you can access your computers again? Think about who will be responsible for doing what and what resources they will need. This also needs to include any third-party suppliers of your business, like your local Computer Troubleshooter.

Your Business Continuity Plan should be examined, tested and maintained on a regular basis. This is to ensure it still reflects the changing needs of your business and also to make sure that the key parties within your business understand their roles in the process.

Whilst it may seem a little daunting, some forethought and planning will save you a lot of time, stress and money when things do go wrong. Talk to your local Computer Troubleshooters about the best way to keep your business running smoothly if you’re suddenly without your technology.
 

10 things you must know before buying an iPad

With much fanfare, Apple has now unveiled its ‘iPad’ computer. Weighing 1.5 pounds and being 0.5 inch thin, it delivers a 9.7 inch touch screen without the bulk of a traditional laptop. Opinions about the device range greatly from ‘revolutionary’ to ‘an oversized iPod Touch’. Computer Troubleshooters has scoured the reviews to bring you the facts about the Apple iPad and what you need to know before purchasing one. 1. Battery Life – The iPad will run for up to 10 hours on battery power. This is better than most laptops, but significantly less than electronic book readers like Amazon’s Kindle. This may mean you need to charge your iPad every night if you’re away from a power source all day. Don’t leave home overnight without your power cable. 2. Touch Screen – The familiar touch screen of the iPhone has been improved to suit this larger device and allow more precise control of the select, scroll, drag, pinch and expand movements of your fingers. The iPad also supports portrait and landscape auto-rotation viewing of compatible software. 3. Accessories – From productivity enhancements to just plain fun, extra gadgets can be found for your iPad. Serious considerations include a keyboard dock or a wireless keyboard, as an alternative to the on-screen touch keyboard. More light-hearted options include a plastic steering wheel frame for driving games. 4. Connectivity - The iPad supports today’s fastest wireless network connections. You’ll pay extra for a 3G version, which adds data capability across the mobile or cellular phone network. Note, this won’t let you make phone calls from your iPad. 5. Apple software – Out of the box, you get 12 Apple software titles including iPhoto, iTunes and iBooks. iBooks is your virtual bookshelf and reader for electronic books. You can also purchase the iWorks applications for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. 6. Other software – Like the iPod and iPhone, you’ll have easy access to over 140,000 software titles currently available from the App Store. Whilst these are not yet fined-tuned for the iPad, Apple has released a kit to software makers so watch out for iPad-optimized programs soon. 7. Internet browsing – Apple’s Safari web browsing software is pre-installed, but it doesn’t support Adobe’s Flash software. Flash is used for animations on some websites (though it’s less popular now), so if you rely on web-based functions check if you need Flash or not. 8. Multi-tasking – Like the iPhone, the iPad limits you to using one application at a time. As an example, you can’t play music whilst visiting websites. 9. Media – Apple will tell you the iPad is the best way to experience photos, video and more. It certainly could replace the laptops carried by sales professionals for their presentations and provide easy, lightweight storage of service manuals for tradespeople. 10. Camera – One important omission is a camera, especially for this generation that is used to uploading photos and videos to social networking sites. The rumours say there is a cut-out in the plastic bezel for one, so maybe it will be introduced in a later version of the device? Whilst the iPad’s design and features may sound great, any technology has to match your needs and how you work. So, whether you’re looking to purchase a notebook, netbook or iPad, talk to your local Computer Troubleshooters to ensure you’re getting the best tool for the job.

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