If there are any topics you would like to see discussed in the future or if you have any comments, please contact me at JoeT@HighCaliber.com
Bullet Points
Managed Services - Internet Connection Monitoring
Over the past two months we have discussed the benefits of a managed approach
to keeping your network infrastructure up and running as opposed to the
break/fix approach that most people are using now. Last month we talked about
how critical it is to make sure backup jobs run properly. This month I would
like to talk about your Internet connection.
When we first became an Internet Service Provider 10 years ago, Internet connectivity
was not a big issue for our clients. Today, we find that in many cases, having a
reliable connection to the Internet is at least as important as having the telephones
working. Internet-based services, especially email, have become "mission critical
for almost all of the small/medium sized businesses we service today.
What can be done to reduce the probablity of losing your Internet connection?
Many of you have already signed up for our InSite Service Plans which include
monitoring of your Internet connection, firewall, servers and other critical
network components. This is a good start. With InSite, we can detect problems
before they cause downtime.
The next thing you might want to consider is upgrading your connection. Most
people don't realize that DSL and cable service do not come with a meaningful
Service Level Agreement (SLA). This means that the provider does not make any
promises about how quickly they will get your connection back up should things
go wrong. T1 service, on the other hand, does come with a very stringent SLA.
So not only is it faster than DSL, the bandwidth (1.5 Mbps) is guaranteed and
they also promise to keep your line up and running within a very tight timetable.
If they don't, you start getting your money back.
A third thing you can do is install redundant Internet connections, each from
a separate provider. So you might get a T1 connection from Provider A and an
inexpensive DSL line from Provider B as a backup. You can even install
automatic failover systems that will detect when your primary Internet connection
goes down and then automatically failover to the backup connection without
manual intervention.
T1 prices have come down dramatically in recent months. Give us a call if
you are interested in upgrading to these faster, more reliable Internet
connections.
Beware of Free Spyware Programs
Be suspicious of downloading certain programs that claim to fight spyware,
viruses and popups. Some of them are evil. One example is Winfixer.
Winfixer actually does the opposite of what it claims. It will cause
your PC to become infested with everything it purports to fight. If you
have a PC that has been taken over by Winfixer, see this article:
You can sign up for a free basic account that allows you to create Microsoft
office-compatible documents from the Web, open and edit them anywhere, create
Web presentations, and convert existing documents to PDF
format.
Does Acrobat Reader 6.0 open too slowly for you? Try this:
Navigate to your Acrobat\Reader folder, which should be something like
this: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader
Open the Plug_ins subfolder
Move everything to the C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\Optional
folder except the following .API files: Search, Search5, IA32, EWH32, EScript
This allows the program to open much faster.
How much RAM (memory) do you need?
Has your computer been running sluggishly? Do you get errors or have
freeze-ups when you run certain programs? There can be many reasons for
those symptoms, including spyware, disk fragmentation, and others. It's also
possible that you don't have enough memory installed to handle all the tasks
you're trying to perform. How much RAM do you really need? To find out why
today's computers seem to be such memory hogs, see this article on
Tom's Hardware site:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/13/how_much_ram_do_you_really_need/
When disaster strikes, one of the first things you will need to do is get accurate
information flowing in and out of your organization. Case in point: After the initial
shock of the power failures in the northeast United States in August 2003, many people
were absolutely convinced it was a terrorist attack, when in fact it was simply a
large-scale technology failure. Finding out what happened and what resources you still
have available, and being able to direct those resources is a vital first phase of any
business continuity plan.
Today, most people communicate face-to-face, by phone and via email. I have discussed
various ways to protect your data and related systems against undue downtime in our Data
Protection Newsletter: http://www.highcaliber.com/DP/Newsletter.cfm.
I would like to now focus on your voice-related systems.
Most small/medium sized businesses have their phone switching equipment on premises.
This could be anything from a simple 3-line key system to a high-enc PBX. The problem
with this from a business continuity perspective is that these systems lack portability.
That is, these systems were designed to work with phones located on your premises.
If you can't gain access to your premises or if you have lost power, and you need to
continue operations from alternate locations, you are normally out of luck when it
comes to centralized voice communication. Keep in mind that cell phones won't quite
cut it when it comes to operating your business.
Enter VoIP. Most of you know that VoIP is an acronym for Voice Over IP which is
Internet-based telephony. For our purposes, we will focus on business-class VoIP, not
consumer products like Vonage or Skype that do not have the toll-grade voice quality
and reliability that businesses require.
With the hosted PBX technology offered by most business VoIP providers, you no longer need
to invest in or maintain phone switching equipment on your premises. This means, in a
nutshell, that if your office goes down, you will still be able to answer your phones from
anywhere you can get an Internet connection without any loss in functionality. This gives
you the portability needed to keep your organization up and running should a disaster
occur. With VoIP, employees could work from home or other field offices and still take
calls as if they were in the affected office. Imagine being able to answer your primary
phone number from home and then being able to seamlessly transfer that call to the desired
party, who also happens to be working from home or at an unaffected field office.
VoIP has other significant advantages over the traditional telephone network like
reduced usage costs and incredible call handling features. But for a business owner, I
believe the portability issue discussed above is its most significant advantage when
business continuity is an important consideration.
If you are thinking of implementing VoIP, give us a call. We can help you make an
educated decision and hook you up with a reliable provider.
