- Small and medium-size businesses report an average of 50 hours of lost productivity per employee year due to IT related problems.
- 93% of IT-related problems are preventable by proactive network monitoring and proper preventative maintenance.
- Proper monitoring and preventative maintenance can help eliminate performance problems, loss of data, security breaches and downtime.
- Outsourcing network monitoring, preventative maintenance and help desk support can save you 50% or more off your yearly IT expenses.
For many small to medium-sized businesses, hiring a full-time computer and network support technician can become too large of an expense. Hiring a "Virtual IT" service provider like RedEye is a more affordable solution to keeping its network and PCs running efficiently. What’s more, you benefit from a wide range of talents from experienced IT professionals from all backgrounds in the field.
There are a few main things that should be done at minimum in any computing environment:
- Whether you have a server or not, hire a qualified IT service provider to install a tape backup system and configure the software to backup the system nightly. A better solution, as tape is inherently problematic, is to use a NAS (Network Attached Storage), which can be automated and is a disk-to-disk based backup solution.
- If you do have a server, store all your critical data on that machine. Be sure you have at least two hard drives mirrored (RAID1), so in case one fails, as they will over time, the other takes over without downtime. Backups should be done on the server with a NAS system or other backup device.
- Install a UPS/battery backup on the system that houses your critical data. This will help guard against any data corruption that can occur when systems are subjected to “hard” shutdowns; i.e., power is abruptly lost without a graceful shutdown.
“Security” covers many areas, from physical to virtual, and it’s impossible to mention them all here. However, when we’re specifically talking about protection from intrusion to your company network, there are a few things to consider as best practices:
- If your network is connected to the Internet as most are these days, you should have a properly-configured firewall device between the Internet connection (such as a DSL or cable modem) and the rest of your network.
- Install an anti-virus/ anti-spyware/ spam protector on your server and/or PCs.
- Never give out the “administrator” or “root” password to your server to anyone other than the person or company managing the network.
Managed Services, while a vague term, can be very important for businesses of all sizes, not just SMBs. Managed Services are essentially services that are managed by a third party such as RedEye, who has the services and products necessary to remotely monitor the health of a network, including servers, PCs, laptops, network devices (switches, routers, firewalls, etc), and backup devices. If any of these devices show signs of deterioration, our staff are alerted and appropriate steps are taken before minor issues become major problems. This is a truly proactive approach to technology management and outsourcing.
A service agreement is an annual agreement that give our clients the peace of mind that comes with having a talented team of professionals at their beckon call. It also allows for proactive support. Why fire-fight when you don’t have to? Other key benefits include:
- Priority access to RedEye staff.
- Discounted rates on labor fees and hardware purchases.
- Dedicated project manager.
- Access to network of local partners and specialized consultants.
- Rock solid service level agreements (SLAs).
