As a business, there are many departments that require a manager’s attention; for example, marketing, accounting, and customer service. Just like the other departments in your business, IT requires attention as well. When managed correctly, IT should be a crucial asset to the business as opposed to a hindrance constantly sucking in resources.

In order to correctly choose who will handle your IT, you need to outline your business requirements and your IT budget. Based on your requirements and budget, you are now armed to make a decision on whether you want to hire an in-house IT staff or outsource the department. At the end of the day, you need an IT provider that will stay in budget, meet your unique needs, and help solve your business challenges.

Some questions to ask yourself

If you currently have a provider (in-house or outsourced), it’s important to regularly review their performance:

1. Are you comfortable and confident that your IT setup will handle the needs of your business?
2. Is your provider friendly, approachable, and building positive relationships with your staff?
3. Are your IT issues being looked after in a timely fashion?
4. Are you paying for services/products that you don’t need?
5. Is your provider being efficient and effective with their time?

Conclusion

When speaking in terms of the small business sector, hiring an in-house IT technician does not typically provide sustainability or value. Having one in-house technician can cost more than an entire outsourced team both short term and long term. The other big concern is that as a small business, the workload available might not require the attention of a dedicated full-time technician which will mean a lot of wasted money.

Outsourcing with the right partner can save you money, reduce risks, and support your IT & business goals.

Contact us today to learn about what we can offer and how we can meet your business needs.

With the New Year upon us, this is the time when people try to get rid of bad habits and pick up good ones. Some might aspire to exercise more, read more, or travel more. We wanted to put together a list of three easy steps that can make you a more aware, security conscious computer user.

The following will outline three simple steps that you can start today to decrease the likelihood that your information will be stolen or accessed by unauthorized parties.

1) Use a complex password and change it regularly:

• 8-16 characters
• Use 3 of the 4: lowercase, uppercase, numbers, and symbols
• Change password at least every 6 months
This may seem like a big hassle now but what’s worse, setting a secure password now or having someone hack your email account? Keep it easy to remember, use a variation of a word you were already planning to use as the password. For example, instead of “password”, use “Password!23”.

2) Be mindful of what you click on or open:

• Attachments sent by email from seemingly reputable companies such as: UPS, FedEx, and major banks will almost always be a virus unless it is from a correspondent that you have a relationship with or are expecting an email from.
• Even if you know the sender, it is good practice to scan attachments with an anti-virus before opening.
• Hyperlinks and advertisements also require extra care when opening. Malicious websites and software are often behind these links that look legitimate.
• A good way to tell if a link is legitimate or not is by moving your mouse on top of the link but don’t click on it. When you hover your mouse cursor over the link, it will show you the real location of where it will take you once clicked.
• Viruses can track your keystrokes to learn your private information and send back to hackers, encrypt access to your files so that you cannot open them, and cause many other undesirable issues so it is important to take extra caution to avoid them.

3) Use a good quality anti-virus and keep your software up to date:

• Having a good anti-virus is crucial to keeping your computer and usage secure. We recommend ones that have additional Internet security features like email and web protection.
• Not only do you have to keep your anti-virus up to date but you also have to keep your operating system and software up to date. A lot of Internet attacks are performed through security holes on users who don’t update their Windows or even smaller applications like Java and Adobe Flash.
• No anti-virus is 100% guaranteed to stop all viruses. It is there to help but much of the burden falls on the user to develop good habits.

We’d like to start off by wishing everyone a Happy New Year and we hope the holiday season was enjoyed by all.

We will close off part 2 of how technology and the Internet can transform your business operations.

More and more, companies today are working towards allowing their staff to work from home or remote locations. This can help save overhead costs for office space and allow staff to eliminate stressful elements like long commutes.

One way to accomplish this is through Virtual Private Networking (VPN). A VPN is essentially a secure, tunneled connection between the remote user and the office resources. All data between the two parties is encrypted through the tunnel. Users will come across many terms such as PPTP, L2TP, IPSec, SSL/TLS, generally you will need to know which of these is used by the VPN you are connecting to but there is no real need for the user to know the differences between these protocols.

Common tasks that can be done remotely:

• Access to office workstation, use apps only installed on that computer
• Access to server files and storage
• Print to office MFP
• Scan from office MFP

Apps are required to connect to a VPN. Your employer may mandate a specific VPN client to use or may have a list of approved clients. Unless otherwise stated as long as the connection settings are given you may choose your app of choice.

Data and applications might not be the only resource you want staff to be able to access. What about phones and communication?

VOIP Phone services enable your small business to have a dedicated number with a custom phone tree system. A low cost solution to allow your small office to have a big office phone system, set the hours of operation for your business. Powerful voicemail, and with Apps for both Apple and Android to take it on the go.

The reason that VOIP is important for this topic is because it gives companies the power to not only allow staff to use company resources involving computers, data, applications; it also allows staff to use phone services to conduct business as if they were centrally located.

For example, Joe in accounting could pick up a call from his home and easily transfer the call to his boss Frank who happens to be sitting on the beach in a tropical climate. Using the resort’s WiFi Frank is able to answer the call as if he were in the office.

Contact us today to find out how VPNs and VoIP can benefit your business!

With the holiday season fast approaching, we wanted to take some time to discuss the many ways that you DON’T need to be at the office to get work done. This is possible with the myriad of options made available to small businesses today. Some of the technologies that help accomplish this are the cloud, voice over IP (VOIP), and virtual private networks (VPN).

The Cloud

What is it?

You probably hear this word get thrown around everywhere when talking about IT and it is for good reason; it has become a critical component to many IT strategies for small businesses over the last few years. The cloud is just an easy way of saying services hosted through the Internet, thus eliminating the need for on-premises equipment. For you, that means no more trying to scrounge up thousands of dollars for a new piece of equipment or that latest piece of software. With the cloud, the service provider bares all the burden when it comes to hardware costs. The SMB gets all the benefits of top of the line equipment, regular updates, and previously unattainable reliability at a reasonable monthly cost.

What are examples of when small businesses would most commonly use it?

• Email services: the cloud has made enterprise level email services available at a price that small businesses can afford

• Data storage: some small business teams can get rid of the server all together and move all their data to the cloud for available access anytime, anywhere as long as they have Internet

• Data backup: The cloud allows data to be automatically backed up so that it can be recovered in a time of need from any location. For example, if a fire were to burn down your office space.

• Expensive software: Sometimes small businesses require software that is quite expensive to buy upfront; in these scenarios, a lot of times there will be a cloud option available which allows the SMB to pay small monthly fees to get the software, upgrades, and technical support.

The fact that SMBs can now have the technology to empower them to be successful at predictable monthly rates and value-added services (technical support, automatic upgrades, and more) means that there is one less thing for SMB owners to worry about. After all, as an owner, you have your own business to run; IT shouldn’t disrupt that. If executed correctly, IT can become an asset to helping your business succeed.

In part 2, we will discuss how VoIP and VPNs can also aid SMBs in being more flexible with their operations.

Contact us today to find out how cloud services can benefit your business!!!

Oftentimes small businesses and non-profits end up with dissimilar hardware, meaning different models of computers and usually different versions of software acquired at varying dates. While it is understandable that sometimes this is unavoidable due to budget or urgency it is still important to keep in mind the following points when it comes to choosing the right computer for your small business needs.

Where to start?

1. Decide how many computers need to be purchased
2. Decide what type to purchase (Desktop or Laptop)
   • Desktops are better suited for static users that do not require mobility
   • Laptops are better suited for users that regularly have to be mobile and work on the go
3. Decide where to purchase
   • Do not buy from big box retailers (Best Buy, Costco, Wal-Mart, etc.)
   • These computers are designed for home users and do not have the same quality as computers which come through business channels
   • Lack effective warranty, consumer warranty programs are not effective in the business setting as they require shipping defective hardware and waiting for long turnaround times which may span weeks to months.
   • Purchase from b2b channels or directly from manufacturer and expressly state they are for business use. A computer that is setup for business is indeed different from it’s consumer counterpart which would often be bundled with unnecessary programs that are not optimized for business efficiency
4. Decide on additional details

Windows or Mac

• You will need to evaluate what industry you are in, what applications and intended purposes you use, and what your staff is comfortable with
• Do not buy Mac unless you can satisfy all 3 requirements above as advantageous to a Mac environment
• Example of when Mac might be best
  • Marketing/Advertising industry, no special applications/equipment beside Microsoft Office, staff is 100% comfortable and confident with Mac.
• Example of when Windows might be best
  • Professional services industry (accounting, insurance, etc.), many specialized 3^rd party applications/equipment, staff is comfortable with Windows
• Factor in support and compatibility, will Mac be compatible with your existing systems? Printers? File sharing? Servers? Mac IT support is usually also at an extra cost.
• Try to be as accurate with this decision as possible because it will not be easy to change down the road without severe business interruptions

System specifications (as of late 2015)

• Value
  • Intel i3 Processor
  • 4GB RAM
  • 500GB Hard Drive
  • Great for: everyday office workers, Microsoft Office, Internet browsing
• Value to Performance Compromise
  • Intel i5 Processor
  • 8GB RAM
  • 500GB-1TB Hard Drive
  • Great for: advanced office workers, Microsoft Office, Internet browsing, specialized applications
• Performance
  • Intel i7 Processor
  • 16GB RAM
  • 1TB Hard Drive
  • Possible dedicated graphics card for media and multi display
  • Possible Solid State Drive for fast Operating System loading
  • Great for: All of the above plus resource-heavy applications, graphics design

Overture Group strongly recommends Dell for small business

• Why?
  • Great warranty
    • Optional Next Business Day service from certified Dell technician
    • Will bring necessary replacement parts and perform work at your location
  • Great pricing
    • Regularly has big promotion sales where customers can get large discounts on new purchases
  • Working with all other manufacturers we have found that the best after-purchase service to come from Dell

Standardization is key!!!

No matter what you purchase, do your best to keep all the computers the same or very similar. The more you divide and differentiate in your computer procurement, the more issues you will have down the road with asset management and support.

For any help in computer procurement, contact us today!

Back Story:

Our client found themselves faced with a common issue in the café and coffee shop industry; guests that would visit their location, make one small purchase, and spend 5+ hours sitting down using the free WiFi that was made available. Customers with potential to buy more were purchasing less because of the lack of seating which was being taken up by some guests abusing the free WiFi access.

On top of that, due to the nature of guest Internet usage, the café’s Internet provider was sending them warning notices threatening to suspend Internet services. This especially is quite dangerous for the café because without Internet, payment processing would not be possible for debit/credit.

Solution:

We recommended a Meraki wireless solution that gave the café the ability to manage and monitor their wireless network. They now have the power to limit the duration and speed of free WiFi access along with the ability to shape the traffic coming through the wireless network; they can block adult content, peer-to-peer file sharing, video games, and other unwanted activities that use up sizable bandwidth. These blocks are a great value-add because they ensure the WiFi network complies with the café’s family-friendly policies and Internet usage policies.

With a time limit set to 90 minutes, guests still have the ability to enjoy a fair amount of Internet access but are deterred from spending excessive amounts of time abusing the free WiFi. Should they require longer than 90 minutes, guests can purchase additional time for Internet access through the use of a credit card right from their own device. This adds an additional revenue source for the café which is always beneficial.

The small footprint and strong signal of the device made it ideal for their environment and the web management dashboard makes it easy for the owner to monitor the network. Armed with the right solution, the owner of the café can now control and manage his once chaotic network.

If you want to take back control of your WiFi network, contact us today!