A good Managed IT Services organization or IT department runs their own patch/update server and tests every update against the specific environment in question before approving the deployment of the update. This allows the IT administrators to ensure all approved patches will not interfere with the business processes.

Another reason for having professionals manage your patches/updates is that just because a patch is made available by the software manufacturer does not mean that the specific environment requires it. IT administrators can read the release notes put out by the software company and decide whether the patch is important enough to deploy. Reading and understanding the release notes is why a professional is needed to decipher between what should be installed and what should not. As with any profession (doctor, lawyer, accountant) you have to be able to understand the notes and correlate them to the environment in questions, once you understand the ramifications you can decide what is valuable to that specific environment and what is not.

The final and equally as important point occurs when something goes wrong; most users may not be able to reverse the damages caused by an update and may find themselves with a non-functioning system. This would affect the business’ work flow for some time and may even require a professional to intervene in order rectify the situation.

The best thing a business owner can do is to concentrate on what they do best and leave the IT management to seasoned professionals.

The new and more cost effective approach is a managed services contract where support for all the computers in the organization is covered under a fixed monthly contract. Some IT companies (like AIO) include additional features such as antivirus protection, system monitoring, software and hardware updates, computer maintenance, and remote backups in the monthly fee. This is unlike the traditional T&M arrangements where nothing is included and everything is billable.

So why do companies opt for the T&M approach? It’s simple; just adding up the annual costs of the T&M support doesn’t paint the full picture. You have to add up all the costs associated with poor performance and down time (including the underlying costs such as lack of employee productivity). A computer network runs more efficiently and has far less down time when all the pieces are managed and maintained proactively; as they would be covered under a managed services contract.

Below is a real example of a recent T&M customer encounter. We have highlighted the issues found and the time it took to resolve them:

A T&M engagement like this would have cost the customer an estimated $1,900 for almost a half a week’s worth of labor hours in addition to the cost associated with the 2+ days of down time. The down time could have been even more depending on the availability of the tech. This would, in turn, increase the total cost based on based on the average revenue loss that computer represents.

The same laptop covered under a managed services agreement would only cost the customer between $100/month and $150/month (depending on the Service Level Agreement); much less than this one T&M engagement represents. Add to this a Service Level Agreement (SLA) – a guaranteed response/resolution time – something managed service companies provide for in their contracts – and you also get a quicker resolution resulting in far less downtime.

The real cost to the business is the downtime and poor performance which are variables few organizations actually take into account. Managed services clients prosper from the fact that their systems work efficiently and downtime is minimized.

A managed services contract is similar to taking your T&M support costs and spreading them over time while at the same time reducing the amount of possible downtime by increasing the amount of proactive maintenance on the computers and adding additional features such as monitoring, maintenance, and remote backups. It becomes a win for the end user as well as for the customer’s bottom line.

Avaya is now marketing its IP Office telephony system to small businesses that want to take advantage of IP technology. IP Office is configurable as a traditional PBX system, or as an IP telephony server. Either way, Avaya comes with a complete set of administrator tools that allow your staff to monitor the system status, log calls, and diagnose problems easily.

Some of the features of Avaya, according to information at its Web site, include:

• Turns a home phone into an IP Office telephone with the Phone Manager Pro intelligent desktop application using Telecommuter capabilities.
• Enables a mobile device to simultaneously ring when calls arrive at an IP Office telephone.
• Empowers the mobile user with complete call control—place a caller on hold, transfer, toggle between calls, or create a conference call.
• Downloads software using mobile devices (Windows Mobile 5 & 6 and Symbian Single-Mode Version 4). This enables the mobile user to make and receive calls through the IP Office system, saving on toll charges, retaining customer records, and maintaining mobile number privacy.
• Provides remote workers with software to turn the remote IP hard phone into an extension of the system without the need for remote VPN (Virtual Private Network) gateways.

If you think Avaya IP Office might be a good fit for your business, AIO can answer your questions and help you find out if Avaya telephony would benefit your workplace.

As the company continued to attract business — growing significantly to attract hundreds of thousands of customers — it faced customer service challenges due to its use of an outsourced call center based on the other side of the country. e.l.f. realized it would have to gain greater control over its contact center if it was going to have more efficient operations and satisfied customers.

Improvements took hold when e.l.f. implemented an Avaya IP Office software platform, which is an IP communications solution for small and medium enterprises. ICCS & Co., LLC (ICCS), an Avaya SMB Expert BusinessPartner that manages information technology for e.l.f., recognized the challenges at hand and recommended and implemented Avaya IP Office for the online retailer, which enabled e.l.f. to bring its contact center operations in-house. The first improvement was speedier service, as customer inquiries got routed swiftly to the right agents with minimal hold time. This enhanced customer satisfaction and increased sales by helping deliver faster answers to customer questions or sales and return inquiries with the professionalism expected of a first-class retailer.

“Our entire New York City office is just 30 people, with 20 serving as dedicated customer service agents,” said Joe Shamah, president of e.l.f. “But even though we are a small enterprise, we have big business demands all year round, 24/7, and we approach our customer service in that manner.”

Avaya Office Solutions is able to give diversified communications solutions to meet the demands and unpredictability of not only the holidays, but online business as well.  Getting customers the department they need quickly and with the best service maintain helps to maintain the faith in the relationship they have with your business. 

Whatever your needs Avaya has many options to create the right combinations of services that will take your communications to the next level, helping you look better than ever!

The name can be misleading, but it is really the simplest form of blogging. Twitter allows its users to post updates about what they are doing, reach out to others who are “following” their updates, and network with other tweets. By giving the users the ability to follow and be followed by others it opens up large world of social networking.

To get connected:
1. Go to Twitter
2. Create a user name and password
3. Start adding people

You can search the network within Twitter by name or email to see who you already know who is using Twitter.

Wired Magazine had this to say:

“It validates the Twitter concept as something that people want. And people want it all over the world.”

Twitter is a part of the blinding speed that social networks are accelerating. It is more than addicting it is something that creates amazing results. Networking, community, and relationships that can all help you get the word out about what you and your business are great at doing. Not only are individuals using Twitter to boost resumes and get their skills noticed but also, churches, schools, sports teams, newspapers, are all using it to have a bigger broader voice; you name the source and I bet they Twitter.

There are applications for iPhone, Blackberry, Palm, and other phones. You can use it on your desktop through applications like Tweet Deck (my favorite), on your iPod Touch and through SMS messaging. 

The Future is Social:

Favorite Tweets:

(you can search for them on Twitter after you get a Twiiter account  or read what they are saying to get better aquanted with posting.)

Shama Hyder (Click to Client)

Robert Scoble (Scoblizer)

Biz Stone (Twitter Founder)

Adam Root (Root & Madison, LLC.)

Apple (Apple)

According to Edward Alexi of Tangent, Inc: “… approximately 90% of the day’s business communications are performed via email or by way of unsecured instant messages.”

Think about it, 20 years ago correspondence between offices was, just that, correspondence. With pens and paper. Now every topic, meeting, memo and conversation is done electronically. The paper trail is no more. 

What are the Rules:

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern the production of evidence in Federal cases. The FRCP is designed for the civil federal court system, with input from the US Supreme Court, and approval by the US Congress. Seventeen states have adopted the new rules for electronic stored information (ESI) discovery and eighteen additional states are considering adopting the new rules for state civil litigation. Companies that find themselves subjected to lawsuits within the federal and state courts system need to be prepared to meet the requirements as written and supply information immediately as it pertains to individual cases.

Amended Rule 26:
As of December 2006, all institutions must meet the eDiscovery requirements as stated in the FRCP. This amended rule was created to assist specifically at helping courts and litigators navigate the new world of ESI. The eDiscovery requirements recognize all electronic communication, especially email and IMs as now legal to request at the court’s convenience. Organizations now have a clear responsibility to produce ESI or face the penalty of the law.

Penalties of not following FRCP eDiscovery Requirements:
As outlined in Section V, Rule 37 “Failure to Make or Cooperate in Discovery; Sanctions,” penalties include paying for the expenses of the opposing party, contempt of court, imposing of sanctions against your case, heavy fines, or even an automatic guilty verdict. (ITworld.com)

There are some really great options to help you implement these laws.  Using a virtual desktop or server, backing up to an online source like .mac/MobileMe, google, or your companies online database,  will get the job done without slowing down operations; as if you just saved all these emails to your hard drive.  The ability to save these emails in one place, and retrieve them in one easy search is what is most important. 

This is something that, if put off will cost you time, money and could bring other unpleasant government consequences as well. 

When The Dallas Morning News requested specific e-mails last month from the county’s information technology director, the district attorney’s office said it would cost about $720 to pay someone to conduct a manual search. (Dallas News)

To help you with this transition, we at AIO Network Solutions can answer all your questions and give you options to meet your companies needs.

Outsourcing major functions of the day-to-day and gaining more with spending less. To which we say “awesome,” we welcome the change and the direction to which the nations economy is being forced to reconsider some of the decisions made.

The concept of David & Goliath, something small does not mean inefficient or blind to fact that big business could womp on David if so choosing; but big bad business that once clung to the idea that business must have bigger stuff to make bigger and better deals are not so anymore. David, has the advantage. Smaller resources are giving companies the ability to focus on customer service, make changes within the structure to rebuild foundations that had cracks and were unstable. David is stronger than ever and setting the standard to which Goliath must comply.

Big is the New Small:

VoIP (voice over IP) something mentioned and blogged about but not really understood or accepted as a mainstream form of communication. There is a perception it would be unreliable. Sure it is less expensive and more individualized but is going to be the same equability and performance than having multi-line phone system? Yes. It also gives more use of wireless functions. Being connected to the offices while in a business meeting in Japan, through your iPhone, for instance.

VoIP gives access to mobility which a phone line cannot. Mobility gives way to choice and options, something every business owner desires to have and also pass on to his clients.

Sally M. Cohen with Forrester Research says, “cable will continue to drive VoIP technology to the average US household, growing to almost 23 million lines by 2013 and pushing the overall VoIP market across the 28 million-line mark over the next five years.”

The main idea is the US is moving into a “change”; kind of like a diet. Unknown at first, but then as you get into it and can walk up the 14 stairs to your office without 3-4 stops the momentum gains; and no longer is it weird, it is exciting. Change is needed to move forward.

Someone very wise told me:

“If you want something you have never had, you must do something you have never done.”

This applies to all things. Want your business to grow, need more clients, choose to change what you are doing. Allow others to help, and embrace some of the really cool and mind blowing things that can be done to help your numbers peak and business to not only be more efficient but be profitable.

This week I will be discussing some great ideas and options within AIO Network Solutions, as well as getting some inside thoughts on the industry. Join us.

Sean Silverthorne author of The View from Harvard Business praises what 37signals is doing, Silverthorne says:

“When you’re competing against companies that have so much more, the only answer is to do less … do less than your competitors to beat them. Instead of one-upping other companies, one-down them. Instead of out-doing other products, under-do them.”

Sometimes the greatest ideas are the most simple. With Basecamp and other online tools, mobile business and management is simple. Create simple ideas that work perfectly, have excellent customer service, and treat your clients as partners to what you are moving towards achieving. Constant struggle to out-do the other guys will only bring more work, more headache and less gain. The simple adage of K.I.S.S always applies.

So what does that tell us, it tells us that you can make a hugh impact without having a hugh crunch into your bottom line. Enabling your company to mobilize, to do business on smartphones, laptops, and through VoIP’s still being connected to the “home office.”

Served More:

Increased asset utilization 

Reduction in carbon emissions 

Hardware replacement savings 

Increased flexibility 

Better availability 

Better performance 

Less Total Cost of Ownership

Redirecting unspent capital 

 

 

Telecom giant Verizon has 4,200 managed services customers in 142 countries, and it manages 262,000 network devices, such as routers and firewalls. With today business utilizing offices outside the office, a network connection to “home” is more important than ever. With access to IT assistance from those locations prove crucial to the flow of business.

No longer are IT the boys in the basement. They are the core of business.

What are your strategies for IT, what is working and not working?