 The majority of homes today have at least one computer, and that’s unlikely to be the full extent of the technology. Everyone has a smartphone, and there may be streaming devices, modems, routers, or printers, and – we’re guessing here – lots and lots of power cords! When something goes awry with any of this tech, homeowners can feel stuck. In an office setting, there’s the IT support desk, but at home, you could be relying on Google search, YouTube videos, and the efforts of a digital-native teen. Talking with IT experts well versed in residential technology issues can help.
As with doctors, it can be worthwhile to get a second opinion. Having an IT expert for your home can save you money and prevent disasters. With an IT guru on speed dial, you can make smart decisions for buying, repairing, and upgrading tech. Unfortunately, there are a lot of unscrupulous computer businesses out there. They will take advantage of a buyer’s lack of knowledge about all things tech. Doing your own research is great, but it can get overwhelming. A search for a Wi-Fi-enabled, Mac-compatible printer nets hundreds of options, rankings, and reviews. You try to evaluate a laptop or printer on function, quality, and price, but all these other elements get mentioned. You don’t even know what they mean! How can you ask the right questions? An IT expert can narrow the field and make recommendations based on your needs. You don’t have to wonder what that salesperson is not telling you. Maybe you usually go to a big-box store to buy your technology. Yes, they can have good deals, but often there’s a reason that laptop is so cheap or that printer is such a great deal. These temptingly priced technologies can be just too slow to do the job, or they’ll break down sooner. Or that astounding deal on a color printer is going to backfire on you down the road because the cost of the ink is crazy! With an IT partner providing a second opinion, you can avoid being bamboozled. Your IT support team will take the time to get to know the issues you’re facing and how you plan to use the product. They can steer you towards tech that is good value and makes sense for the problem you're trying to fix. They’re not trying to sell you the actual technology, only acting as a consultant. They don’t benefit from your buying a particular brand. You don't go home with something that duplicates or doesn't work well with your other tech. The best technology is going to be a combination of the right product at the right quality at the right price. Beyond Buying – IT Support for You When it comes to replacing or repairing technology, it helps also to get a second opinion. You wouldn’t want to get surgery when a week with a splint would do the trick, right? Well, you don’t want to buy a new computer to solve a problem that could be fixed by taking off under-performing but processing-power sucking applications. Or pay to repair a device when you could pay the same amount for a new one that works even better in the way you need. IT support isn’t only for enterprise-sized businesses. Tech experts can help a homeowner:
Get the help you need to keep your computers and technology in top shape at home. Contact us today at (863)606-8FIX (that's 606-8349) .  In today's competitive, always-on landscape, businesses need to be one step ahead of their competitors to thrive and retain their customers. Your business functions on technology and it should be reliable and efficient.
In light of October being National Security Awareness Month, your first objective should be to ensure that your network and interconnected devices are secure against the proliferation of ransomware and malware knocking at your firewall's front door.
Features like these and more are commonplace with what are being called Next Generation Firewalls. Speaking of Next Generation, the same applies to Antivirus. Several new security software companies have brought new software to market which takes a new approach to Antivirus software. Gone are the days of downloading updates and definitions; now heuristics and intrusion detection and prevention are here. We're testing these Next Generation products and have found that some are capable of stopping malware in it's tracks and restoring any data and settings that were modified back to their original state—usually in the blink of an eye. Contact us today to learn more! We'd be happy to have a conversation over the phone, email, or coffee! The techie in us couldn't resist posting this great imagery of hurricane Dorian as of 9/2/2019. Check out https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/satellite.php and look at the GOES Gulf and East Coast links for looped imagery like the one below.   Managed IT Services is a maintenance program which bundles services such as IT Support, Network Security, Systems Administration, Cloud Services Management, and Data Security. We tend to group backup and general data protection, data loss prevention, and data security under our Data Security service—5 years ago we would have referred to this as data mobility, but now data is growing and moving around our planet so quickly that we struggle to remember what cloud storage service a document is stored in.
Right, right…but what does that mean? Well, let’s start at a high level and make our way down until we can see our spot on the beach—you know, the one with a lounge chair and your favorite drink. Today, your IT support may be like a Prairie Dog; popping its head up when something needs to be fixed or a virus or some other malware needs to be removed (dare we say a ransom paid or backup data restored, with incident response procedures to ensure the data is viable). The goal of Managed Services is for that Prairie Dog to be constantly vigilant and equipped with the tools and expertise to drive off predators or play the role of medic when called for. Okay; tactical Prairie Dog, got it. Instead of being reactive, Managed Services is the constant oversight of your IT services by an external organization. It is monitoring, maintenance, and self-repair of networks, hardware, servers, and software to keep your business’s data protected and available to allow your team to deliver outstanding customer service, deliver product on time, build the right product the first time, you name it. Usually, one or more employees find themselves “pitching in” for the IT role. While this is helpful in the moment, it takes away focus from their primary role and technology is always an afterthought. When things get really complicated, a call goes out to another resource or consultant to bring your service back online. You can open QuickBooks again? Great, until the next time an outage occurs. Be prepared for a 3 to 4-hour staff meeting until the IT guy is available and makes the corrections to get the services running again. What if your servers, workstations, network, and business applications were monitored 24×7? Taking a more proactive approach ensures the technology you rely on has improved up-time. Beyond monitoring, IT Protectorate reviews trends and automates processes designed to keep your systems running smoothly. With our focus on your technology operations, IT Protectorate can provide insight to your strategic planning. Keeping track of your assets, cloud services subscriptions, software licensing, and device configurations can be a daunting task. We’re able to keep track of this data in our specialized systems and provide you with summary reports that will help plan the future of your business. A proactive approach will prevent IT problems before they occur, ensuring your technology is as reliable as the service you provide your customers. Allow us the opportunity to assess your network and work with you to establish a reliable IT maintenance program for your business.  What do you expect from the technology that helps run your business? Is it a benefit or a burden? We believe your success is our success and strive to help guide our customers through their digital transformations. Most importantly, we get you thinking about defining goals and setting clear intentions. This helps develop realistic expectations around the digital systems that help employees clock in or look up information to ensure they deliver quality customer service.
The first question is what are we trying to accomplish? How are we going to measure the success of this implementation? What does success mean to us? Having walked our customers through countless upgrades, hardware failures, and data recoveries, we’ve found that clients with clearly defined goals use their technology to its fullest. Translation: thinking about the value of your data or what your customers need from your database means we can recover exactly the data you need from the exact day two weeks ago that you needed it. Or, when a customer calls in needing a serial number from an air conditioning system, pool pump, or hydraulic jack they purchased from you four years ago, they happily get that serial number quickly and think of you the next time they need your products or services. What are your biggest operational challenges? Where would you like to see the most improvement? Thinking through these questions will help you define your businesses goals regarding the technology that helps store and retrieve data for you and your customers. |
ElroyElroy is the man behind the scenes; writing posts, checking status of servers, managing networks and endpoints, and enjoying coffee in his favorite spots in Lakeland and Winter Haven, FL. Archives
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Proudly providing worry-free computer support and operational oversight of your technology infrastructure from Lakeland, FL.
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