Blog | Managed IT Solutions For Businesseshttps://acsapp.com/blog/2024-03-29T02:15:59-04:00ACS IT Services Blog
Keep Your IT Guy and Outsource IT Services, Too2019-03-31T00:00:00-04:002024-03-28T19:20:03-04:00adminhttps://acsapp.com/blog/author/admin/https://acsapp.com/blog/keep-your-it-guy-and-outsource-it-services-too/<p><br/>Keep Your IT Guy and Outsource IT Services, Too<br/> <br/>Everyone in the office loves Eric. Sporting a different ironic t-shirt everyday, Eric is the one we call when technology spits in our face. Whether it's a slow system, a bug that needs to be squashed, a website issue, or a crash that results in unexpected downtime and data loss, Eric is right there. Not only does he get to the bottom of any issue but he also rights the ship like he's some sort of miracle-working captain who just happens to have a pretty wickedly funny Peter Griffinfrom Family Guy impersonation.<br/> <br/>But business is growing and Eric is overworked. Eric has certain skills that you'd love to use to develop innovative applications and revenue-generating projects-- but he's too busy running around fixing things that break. Or he's performing the most mundane and routine tasks day-in-and-day-out just to keep things secure and running smoothly.<br/> <br/>You get a sense that Eric's overburdened and he's saddled with too many responsibilities. His demeanor has changed from pleasant to moody. He's listening to angrier metal and punk music and you're noticing cracks in his work. You fear Eric is being pulled in too many directions and the reliability of your server, network, and applications, as well as the integrity of your data, are all at risk.<br/> <br/>Someone who has watched a bit too much of Donald Trump on The Apprentice might think Eric should be fired. We're not going to fire Eric. But we're also not going to hire a full-time salaried Robin to his Batman or Cheech to his Chong. We're going to help Eric by exploiting IT automation and managed services to handle many of the monotonous tasks making Eric hate his job right now.<br/> <br/>Let's help Eric.....</p>
<p><strong>Focus Primarily on Cost-Cutting and Revenue Increasing Projects:</strong> First things first, Eric has to realize that he can't do everything himself. Where are his skills best used? Whether it's processes that help drive down costs or ones with the potential to raise revenue, evaluate the projects in the queue and rank them by what impacts the bottom line the most.</p>
<p>Once that's done, look at the day-to-day processes designed to keep things running securely and efficiently. What can be off-loaded from Eric? Determine which of those tasks can be automated either through the cloud or managed services.<br/> </p>
<p><strong>Take to the Cloud:</strong> Some IT people fear the cloud spells the end to their job security. Meanwhile, the cloud can actually help them take on a more prominent contributing role in the company's success.<br/>The cloud should be seen as another tool that further eliminates the mundane yet necessary daily drudgery from their workday. Those who work WITH the cloud will find that they have more available time to take on more meaningful cost cutting or revenue generating projects. <br/><br/><strong>Use a Managed Service Provider:</strong> Using outsourced managed services not only alleviates much of Eric's pressure and stress, but also boosts productivity and gives the company a much improved ROI (Return-on-Investment) on their technology investment.</p>
<p>While technology has gotten easier for the end user, it has become more complex on the backend with the advent of virtualization, cloud computing, and advanced infrastructure.<br/> <br/>Using an MSP gives Eric access to a trusted advisor, a 24/7 help desk, remote monitoring and management tools, mobile device management tools, and much better disaster recovery and business continuity solutions. All without the overhead that comes with hiring more help for Eric. MSPs offer a consistency to not just your end-user but also your main IT guy who will certainly appreciate the help.<br/> <br/><strong>Contact us at Advanced Computer Solutions</strong></p>Traverse City businesses need enhanced security to protect their customers2018-11-06T00:00:00-05:002024-03-28T13:30:08-04:00adminhttps://acsapp.com/blog/author/admin/https://acsapp.com/blog/traverse-city-businesses-need-enhanced-security-to-protect-their-customers/<p>We at ACS recently had our credit card stolen. Everyone knows that this is a hassle, but for us it’s a costly hassle. This card is primarily used to pay recurring payments to close to a dozen vendors. This means that when the card is stolen it takes hours of staff time to setup our payments with our vendors. What is interesting about this situation is that we had the card stolen shortly after doing something we rarely do, using the card at a local vendor.</p>
<p>We had the need to purchase some services from two Traverse City businesses. Both are small ‘mom and pop’ type businesses. We are fairly confident that our credit card was either stolen at one of these businesses, or potentially sold by an employee at one of the businesses. We are, of course, trying to reach out to these businesses so that we can discuss this, and hopefully help them. This situation, however, strongly demonstrates that hackers, thieves and cyber criminals don’t only focus on big business, or businesses in big cities.</p>
<p>I recently read a fantastic <a href="http://fortune.com/2018/11/05/credit-card-chips-fail-to-halt-fraud-survey-says/">article from Fortune magazine</a> that talks about the new ‘chip’ card readers, and how the promise of less fraud from the new cards hasn’t come true. Fraud is as prevalent as before the upgrades. This quote from the fortune article basically sums up the entire problem-</p>
<div style="margin-left: .6in;">
<blockquote>
<p>But while the EMV standard is supposed to ensure the card data cannot be captured, many merchants are failing to properly configure their systems, according to a Gemini Advisory executive who spoke with Fortune. (Fortune has also reached out to the payment processors for comment and will update this article accordingly.) The upshot is that criminals have been able to insert themselves into the transaction data steam, either by hacking into merchant networks or installing skimmer devices in order to capture card information.</p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p>“…many merchants are failing to properly configure their systems…” This is us Traverse City. We are the merchants who are not doing the right things to protect our customers.</p>
<p>Later that week in my personal world I had the need to use BOTH companies again. I most definitely steered clear of these businesses. It was frustrating, as they are both good companies who do fine work, but they do not have my best interest at heart when it comes to protecting me.</p>
<p>ACS works with small businesses in the Grand Traverse region to secure their networks. Please feel free to contact us at 231-933-6333 to learn how you can protect your business and your clients.</p>5 reasons why you should buy a business grade computer for your business.2018-08-06T00:00:00-04:002024-03-29T02:15:59-04:00adminhttps://acsapp.com/blog/author/admin/https://acsapp.com/blog/5-reasons-why-you-should-buy-a-business-grade-computer-for-your-business/<p>Periodically I like to review the consumer retailers and what they offer for PC’s, laptops, and other consumer devices. I do this, so I can stay on top of all the options available for my clients. I want to make sure I can best guide my clients in making the best business decisions regarding IT.</p>
<p>I’m often surprised by the extreme amount of horsepower you can buy in a consumer level computer. They often sell PC’s with specifications that would match a high-end engineering workstation, at the price of a mid-level office PC. This has led me to research what is the difference between these consumer PC’s and their business counterparts.</p>
<h2>Warranty</h2>
<p>Often a consumer PC will come with a 90 day, or 1-year warranty. Whereas a professional grade PC start with a 1-year warranty, and often come with a three-year warranty.</p>
<p>Another difference between these two is the business grade PC will come with an onsite repair, with a certified repair technician arriving the next day. Consumer pc’s typically require you to ship your PC to a repair depot.</p>
<p>This is a major issue if your reception area is unable to take new patients, or your shipping department is down. Having a technician on site, the next day, and your computer working within 48 hours, versus shipping your computer to a repair depot. The shipping alone can take 24-48 hours. In our experience repair depots often take multiple attempts to fix the issue. Your pc can be out of service for days, even weeks.</p>
<h2>Professional operating system</h2>
<p>Consumer grade pc’s come with the ‘home’ version of the windows operating system. This means that the machine is not designed to function on a business network. Your pc will not integrate with servers, cannot see network resources, like printers, and will not have the needed features for securing the pc.</p>
<h2>Quality of components</h2>
<p>If you are buying a device that has the same specifications as a high-end engineering computer, at the price of a mid-grade business computer, something must be missing. This difference is made up with the quality of the components. I like to compare it to automobiles. Anyone who has ever watched the movie ‘Cars’ has seen a ‘Nascar’ vehicle pull a road paver, and dig up a road. The line from the movie states “He can do it, he has the horsepower!” This situation is similar to using a consumer gaming computer in an office environment. The pc definitely has the horsepower, but its missing some majorly important features. In an office environment longevity, and reliability are prized over speed. These features require higher quality components. A truck built to pull road pavers, and dig up asphalt is going to last longer, and be more reliable than a race car doing those jobs, even though technically they both have 500 horsepower, and plenty of torque.</p>
<h2>Bloatware</h2>
<p>Consumer grade pc’s are often subsidized by software companies. The software companies pay to have their software preinstalled on the PC. Most of this software is not friendly to businesses. They are insecure, slow the PC down, and can cause issues with management of the PC. If you are in a regulated environment, such as HIPAA, or NIST, these programs may cause you to be non-compliant.</p>
<h2>Upgradeability</h2>
<p>Often consumer PC’s are not upgradeable to meet future business needs. In the world of laptops often the devices are not upgradable at all. Business machines on the other hand often come with several upgrade slots available and are built with future upgrades in mind. These PC’s are engineered to make upgrades simpler, and cheaper.</p>
<p>Business PC’s are also built with parts that are stocked much longer, and thus can be maintained longer. This offers the ability to keep the machine longer, and keep it operating reliably with components built for it.</p>
<h2>In closing</h2>
<p>I know that business PC’s are not right for every business. But generally, when you add up the benefits of owning a business class PC, over time the cost is drastically lower than owning a consumer grade PC. Going back to the car analogy, towing that trailer cross country with your Camaro may be possible, but using your ¾ ton pickup is probably a whole lot better.</p>
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</p>New Video - What You Can Learn in a Network Audit2014-10-30T00:00:00-04:002024-03-26T00:27:06-04:00adminhttps://acsapp.com/blog/author/admin/https://acsapp.com/blog/new-video-what-you-can-learn-in-a-network-audit/<p>What am I REALLY going to get out of a network audit?</p>
<p>We recently made a short (under 2 minute) video summarizing what you can learn by getting a network audit. Check it out what a network audit will do for you!</p>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AZg-14X6IkA" width="560"></iframe></p>3 Reasons You Should Do a Computer Audit2014-09-29T00:00:00-04:002024-03-29T02:05:07-04:00adminhttps://acsapp.com/blog/author/admin/https://acsapp.com/blog/3-reasons-you-should-do-a-computer-audit/<p><img alt="" src="https://www.acsapp.com/media/uploads/image/business-computer-audit.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 250px;"/></p>
<p><br/>Everyone has a computer at their business. It's nearly impossible to work without one! Do you know what is on your computers? Are you sure? Here are three reasons to do an audit on all of the computers at your business.</p>
<h1> <br/>Remove Aggravation</h1>
<p>The best reason to do a computer audit is to remove aggravation from your customers, your employees and even yourself. A good computer audit will check for disk space use, check for clues about failing hard drives, and even whether or not you have installed all the important Windows security updates. Get rid of the aggravation of hard disk failures, treading water due to a full hard drive, or anger over breaches in security.</p>
<h1><br/>Remove Budget Surprises</h1>
<p>Another item in a thorough computer audit is the software installed. Our computer audit tool provides a list of all the software and how many computers are running it. Help your bottom line, by knowing how many licenses you have and how many you need. Don't get caught unexpectedly needing to purchase more licenses because you don't have enough valid copies when doing an upgrade. Also, it provides you an opportunity to save by reviewing who has access to what. Does the partner's secretary REALLY need access to QuickBooks? Do ALL your nurses need Photoshop?</p>
<h1><br/>Remove Suspicion</h1>
<p>If you suspect that their may be some funny business going on during business hours on work computers, this computer might give you a clue. Odd software that is only on one machine, usage at weird times or oddities could confirm or give pause to any suspicions you might have. Or help you address something you hadn't suspected at all!</p>
<p><br/>Any way you slice it, there are many benefits to doing a computer audit. Removing aggravation, budget surprises and suspicion are three important reasons to do a computer audit. Each one can provide an immediate impact on your business and/or planning. </p>
<p><br/><strong>Have you ever had a computer audit done? What were you surprised to discover?</strong></p>
<p><br/> </p>
<p><img alt="" src="https://www.acsapp.com/media/uploads/image/steed%20jen_0049%20mailer%20copy.jpg" style="width: 150px; height: 210px;"/> Jen Steed writes about technology, travel and more. You can find her writing for various online and print publications. To talk to Jen or see all of her articles as they are published, you can follow Jen on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JenSteed?rel=author" rel="author" title="Author: Jen Steed on Google+">Google+</a>.</p>
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<p>As of 4/8/2014, Windows XP will no longer be supported by Microsoft. Is your business ready?</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 2em;">Why Does a Lack of Support for XP Matter to Me?</span></strong></p>
<p>Most home users who are just putzing around, probably wouldn't even care if their computer was still running XP. But if you have a business, you should be more concerned. That Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows XP means that they will no longer be supporting the software for things like security risks & viruses. If Microsoft is not supporting XP anymore, that leaves our hands tied as well.</p>
<h1>Should I Get New Software or a New Machine?</h1>
<p>You could attempt to just install an updated version of Windows (either 7 or 8) on your machine. Chances are, though, that if your computer is old enough to have XP, it's probably too old to run the new OS well. To upgrade to Windows 8, your computer should have:</p>
<ul>
<li>Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster</li>
<li>RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)</li>
<li>Free hard drive space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)</li>
<li>Graphics card: MicrosoftDirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver</li>
</ul>
<p>Clear as mud? </p>
<h1>Upgrade Today!</h1>
<p>If not, don't worry. We can navigate the muddy waters of computer stats to get you what you need at a price you can afford. We have the ability to get discounted and refurbished computers in pricing to fit most budgets with an updated Windows OS. Call us today to have your machines upgraded. Give us a call at 877.404.8224!</p>
<p><img alt="" src="https://www.acsapp.com/media/uploads/image/steed%20jen_0049%20mailer%20copy.jpg" style="width: 150px; height: 210px;"/> Jen Steed writes about technology, travel and more. You can find her writing for various online and print publications. To talk to Jen or see all of her articles as they are published, you can follow Jen on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JenSteed?rel=author" rel="author" title="Author: Jen Steed on Google+">Google+</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>2 (BIG!) Benefits of Having a Network Audit Done2013-10-18T00:00:00-04:002024-03-25T18:44:49-04:00adminhttps://acsapp.com/blog/author/admin/https://acsapp.com/blog/2-big-benefits-network-audit-done/<p><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DHS_W.gif" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="U.S. Department of Homeland Security Official ..." class="zemanta-img-inserted zemanta-img-configured aligncenter" height="119" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/DHS_W.gif/300px-DHS_W.gif" title="U.S. Department of Homeland Security Official ..." width="300"/></a></p>
<p>Due to the Syrian geo-political climate, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has deemed October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Their fear is that hackers stand poised to attack the US where it hurts -- our pocketbook. Whether or not, you agree with their reasoning for creating National Cyber Security Awareness Month, it's still a good time to look at the security of your network. Here are two (BIG) benefits your company will get from having a network audit done.</p>
<h1>Peace of Mind</h1>
<p>With all the stresses involved in just getting the business to run profitably and keep your customers happy, a network audit can provide peace of mind when you have a plan in place in case of a cyber attack. If you communicate this to your staff, customers and vendors, it will help give all the stakeholders peace of mind. How much nicer would it be to just implement a plan than to have everyone clamoring at you while you figure out how to fix it? Can you even put a dollar amount on how much that might be worth?</p>
<h1>The Bottom Line</h1>
<p>Even if you CAN put a dollar amount on your peace of mind, having a network audit can help you pinch your pennies as well. A good network audit can prevent you from being penny-wise and pound-foolish, as it were. The network audit can help identify problems that can cost you, both on the physical level as well as on the virtual level. Physical problems might include things like failing drives, or even outright theft of machines. Virtual problems could be anything from viruses to data vulnerabilities. </p>
<p>Knowing these problems in advance can help you plan out your budget so that you can take advantage of computer deals or even just help to protect you from a lawsuit. Stay tuned -- we have some strategic planning tips in the coming months that will help you address some of these issues! </p>
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<p><img alt="" src="https://www.acsapp.com/media/uploads/image/steed%20jen_0049%20mailer%20copy.jpg" style="width: 150px; height: 210px;"/> Jen Steed writes about technology, travel and more. You can find her writing for various online and print publications. To talk to Jen or see all of her articles as they are published, you can follow Jen on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JenSteed?rel=author" rel="author" title="Author: Jen Steed on Google+">Google+</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>How Healthy Are Your Computers?2013-10-04T00:00:00-04:002024-03-27T23:34:44-04:00adminhttps://acsapp.com/blog/author/admin/https://acsapp.com/blog/healthy-computers/<p><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Virus_Blaster.jpg" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="English: Blaster Virus" class="zemanta-img-inserted zemanta-img-configured" height="189" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Virus_Blaster.jpg/300px-Virus_Blaster.jpg" title="English: Blaster Virus" width="300"/></a></p>
<p><span class="smText">English: Blaster Virus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)</span> </p>
<p>In this hyper-connected age of computers, if your computers go down, so does your business. Without them, you have no calendar, email, bookkeeping, customer records or a myriad of other information. So how healthy are your computers?</p>
<h1>Does Your Computer Get It's Exercise?</h1>
<p>So how old are your computers? Have you ever upgraded them? How about vacuuming them out? They are probably full of dustballs that keep them from functioning properly. Is the hard drive still the original?</p>
<h1>Is Your Computer Running A Fever?</h1>
<p>Is your computer running well? Do programs crash on you? Can you have all the programs and windows open that you need to work? Or is your computers slowness causing productivity loss?</p>
<h1>Does Your Computer Need It's Vitamins?</h1>
<p>All computers need a few things to help keep it, and your business, running well. Do you have virus protection to protect it from bugs? How about a backup program to keep your data healthy? Are you going in for regular health visits and keeping your computer monitored for illnesses? If you need help with any of these, give ACS a call and we can help your computers to function their best. 877.404.8224</p>
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<p><img alt="" src="https://www.acsapp.com/media/uploads/image/steed%20jen_0049%20mailer%20copy.jpg" style="width: 150px; height: 210px;"/> Jen Steed writes about technology, travel and more. You can find her writing for various online and print publications. To talk to Jen or see all of her articles as they are published, you can follow Jen on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JenSteed?rel=author" rel="author" title="Author: Jen Steed on Google+">Google+</a>.</p>Opening Your New Office - Phone, Internet & Security Systems2013-03-19T00:00:00-04:002024-03-28T16:15:08-04:00adminhttps://acsapp.com/blog/author/admin/https://acsapp.com/blog/opening-your-new-office-phone-internet-security-systems/<p><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cisco7960G.jpg" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="A Cisco 7960G IP telephone" class="zemanta-img-inserted zemanta-img-configured" height="225" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Cisco7960G.jpg/300px-Cisco7960G.jpg" title="A Cisco 7960G IP telephone" width="300"/></a> Over the years, we have opened a new office multiple times and there are always three things that get lined up first - our internet service, our phone service and a security system. We truly cannot function without the first two and the last is another step in securing our data.</p>
<h1>Phone Systems</h1>
<p>The easiest one to set up is the phone system. You figure out how many lines you think you need, call the phone company, sign a bazillion year contract and off you go. Or maybe not. Phone companies simply charge you for the phone lines and local and long distance/international services. You still need to purchase phones to use with those phone lines and figure out what to do about an automated phone system. Check with your computer or IT consultant to see if they have suggestions for a VOIP phone system utilizing your internet connection. Typically, you can get a VOIP system for about the same price as the phone company without a 5 year contract and more features.</p>
<h1>Security Systems</h1>
<p>Not all security breeches come from outside hackers trying to get into your server. Some are caused by an employee or ex-employee coming in after hours or a random thief phishing for information and then breaking in. If you are not in a shared office building with a security system already in place, you should really consider budgeting for a security system. A lot of times your security system will use regular phone lines, an internet connection or sometimes even a cell phone connection to communicate. Find a good reputable security provider and check their options for the communication of the system</p>
<h1>Internet Provider</h1>
<p>Now that you've pinpointed any extra bandwidth needs from your phone system and/or security system, it's time to consider your internet provider. Based on the amount of applications and uses for the internet in recent years, broadband is the only way to go and you generally have 3 options:</p>
<ol>
<li><span style="line-height: 13px;">T1 or fiber from a telephone company.</span></li>
<li>DSL from a telephone company.</li>
<li>Cable modem or fiber from the local cable company.</li>
</ol>
<p>I know that DSL is much cheaper than the other options, but it runs on the regular old fashioned copper lines. When the phones go down, so does your internet. A T1 or fiber from a telephone company usually requires a lengthy contract and is pretty expensive. In my opinion, the best deal is on a cable modem or fiber connection from your local cable company. When you deal with their commercial division, you will typically still need to sign a 1-3 year contract for the best price, but the service is generally more reliable. You also get better customer service when you find your local sales rep and account coordinator. If you have an outside computer consultant, you will want to have them help you determine how much bandwidth you need. Let them know if your security system will be using the internet connection, if you are getting a VOIP phone system, how many employees you have, and what software you have on the web. Any other uses you have for the internet (like a cyber cafe for customers) will help them advise you on bandwidth. With a cable modem or DSL, it's easy to upgrade, but with a T1 or fiber it's a little more involved. And finally, if you are using the internet for everything, get a secondary internet connection. If it will cost your company $1000's of dollars an hour to be unproductive, spend an extra $50-100 a month for back-up internet. No cable, fiber, or T1 provider guarantees 100% uptime, so be prepared. If your primary internet is a cable modem, get a back-up DSL account. If you have fiber, get a T1. It doesn't need to be the same amount of bandwidth, but it should be a different provider. You don't need your backup to be full bandwidth, but have enough for essential services to be working; it's better than being at a complete standstill! For more tips for opening a new office, see all the articles in this series:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.acsapp.com/blog/threethings-to-think-about-before-opening-a-new-law-office/">Three Things to Think About Before Opening A New Law Office</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.acsapp.com/blog/opening-a-new-office-what-do-you-really-want/">Opening a New Office – What Do You REALLY Want?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.acsapp.com/blog/computer-peripherals-for-your-new-office/">Computer Peripherals for Your New Office</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wp.me/p2WTPp-iM">Opening Your New Office – Phone, Internet & Security Systems</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wp.me/p2WTPp-jK" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Opening Your New Office - Your Minimum Online Presence - Web & Email Hosting</a></li>
</ul>
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<p>Jen Steed writes about technology, travel and more. You can find her writing for various online and print publications. To talk to Jen or see all of her articles as they are published, you can follow Jen on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JenSteed?%20rel=author" rel="author" title="Author: Jen Steed on Google +">Google+</a>.</p>Computer Peripherals for Your New Office2013-02-19T00:00:00-05:002024-03-29T01:49:15-04:00adminhttps://acsapp.com/blog/author/admin/https://acsapp.com/blog/computer-peripherals-for-your-new-office/<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24178729@N08/3739647697" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="my desk (monitor and peripherals side)" class="zemanta-img-inserted zemanta-img-configured aligncenter" height="180" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2498/3739647697_0475aeb5b9_m.jpg" title="my desk (monitor and peripherals side)" width="240"/></a> Before you consider things like furniture for your new office, you first need to think about what computer peripherals are needed for your employees and how they will be working.</p>
<h2>Printers</h2>
<p>The most important one to think about is how many printers you need. Can everyone use 1 (or more) centrally located printers? Is there someone doing special work that requires more than your basic black and white? A photo printer or a color laser printer? How many other people will need it? Should it sit at their desk or be accessible to all? Knowing the answer to questions like these will help your consultant find the best equipment to meet your needs.</p>
<h2>Scanners</h2>
<p>This may seem silly coming from printers to scanners but I've never seen a COMPLETELY paperless office. Someone always needs something printed or mailed. Will you try to scan as much as possible for easy access by your employees? Who needs those scanners? All your paralegals? Do the lawyers need them? How about the front office staff? Salespeople? Figure out how much scanning your employees will be doing and who will be in charge of it.</p>
<h2>Camera</h2>
<p>Since most cameras are pretty small, it might be a silly thing to think about at this point, but also consider if you have any employees who give webinars or frequently do video chats or conferences. They may need a camera and/or microphone.</p>
<h2>Extra Devices</h2>
<p>Depending on your industry, there may be specialized input devices. For example, many graphic artists have a tablet that allows them to draw on the pad and have it show up on the screen. I couldn't imagine trying to draw cartoons or art with a mouse! Things like microphones and possible other equipment to make computers more accessible could be necessary as well and may take up space. Think about anyone you have that has something special/unusual and consider whether it is necessary and if anyone else could benefit by having one. </p>
<h2>Bonus: Shredders</h2>
<p>While these aren't computer peripherals, they may need to be near an employees desk. Once you print the page or scan pages that come in, typically you want to shred them for additional security of your (and your customers!) private information! How much shredding do you currently do? Will you need several large shredders? If you have a LOT it could be more cost effective to have a document shredding service. </p>
<ul>
<li>For more tips for opening a new office, see all the articles in this series:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.acsapp.com/blog/threethings-to-think-about-before-opening-a-new-law-office/">Three Things to Think About Before Opening A New Law Office</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.acsapp.com/blog/opening-a-new-office-what-do-you-really-want/">Opening a New Office – What Do You REALLY Want?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.acsapp.com/blog/computer-peripherals-for-your-new-office/">Computer Peripherals for Your New Office</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wp.me/p2WTPp-iM">Opening Your New Office – Phone, Internet & Security Systems</a></li>
<li><a href="http://wp.me/p2WTPp-jK" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Opening Your New Office - Your Minimum Online Presence - Web & Email Hosting</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
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<p>Jen Steed writes about technology, travel and more. You can find her writing for various online and print publications. To talk to Jen or see all of her articles as they are published, you can follow Jen on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JenSteed?%20rel=author" rel="author" title="Author: Jen Steed on Google +">Google+</a>.</p>Three Easy Ways to Reduce Computer Downtime2013-01-30T00:00:00-05:002024-03-29T01:53:08-04:00adminhttps://acsapp.com/blog/author/admin/https://acsapp.com/blog/three-easy-ways-to-reduce-computer-downtime/<p><img alt="3-ways-reduce-downtime" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1804" src="https://www.acsapp.com/media/uploads/image/3-ways-reduce-downtime.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 295px;"/> Your computers are the backbone of your business and without them, your business stops in its tracks. Now that the holidays are over and everyone is back in their productive groove, it's a great time to take stock of your computers. After all, it doesn't do your employees any good to be willing to work but not have a functioning computer! Here are three easy ways to substantially reduce computer downtime.</p>
<h1>1. Virus monitoring</h1>
<p>Viruses can be so easy to get and near impossible to clean up. If you wait too long before the problem is noticed, it could result in loss of data and several days of repair to the computer. There are proactive virus monitoring tools that monitor your computer's and inform your IT department before the user has even noticed any ill effects.</p>
<h1>2. Software updates</h1>
<p>Windows software frequently gets large updates and many major pieces of software (such as QuickBooks) do as well. The best software updates are those that are seamless and happen when you aren't even aware that they needed to be done. Have you ever opened up Quickbooks and had to wait 10 minutes to work because it was installing an update? There is a way to have them all done without you even knowing it!</p>
<h1>3. Computer monitoring</h1>
<p>With managed service monitoring on your computer, we can install software that lets us know if there has been a security breach. It also allows us to monitor potential issues such as potential hard drive failures or disk space issues as well as checking to make sure that various essential Windows services are running properly on your computers. All these issues can have a marked effect on your business and the productivity of your employees. With just a few simple changes, you can substantially reduce computer downtime in your office. Give us a call today for more information -- 888-404-8224!</p>
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<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jen Steed writes about technology, travel and more. You can find her writing for various online and print publications. To talk to Jen or see all of her articles as they are published, you can follow Jen on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JenSteed?%20rel=author" rel="author" title="Author: Jen Steed on Google +">Google+</a>.</p>