Frequently Asked Questions


IT Systems and Technology


Network Security


Managed Service Support vs. Your Current IT Support


IT Systems and Technology

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Which is better for my business: DSL or T1?
Like many IT solutions, the answer depends on your business needs. A Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection uses pre-existing phone line connections to offer a digital web connection. A T1, which makes use of several bundled phone lines that must be installed specially, offers improvement in both speed and reliability over DSL, but its cost can be anywhere from 3-4 times greater. If your business primarily uses its Internet connection for e-mail and web browsing, then DSL should be able to handle all your bandwidth needs at a lower cost. If, however, your business relies sending or reading large files, then speed and bandwidth are a priority, and a T1 line will increase productivity.

How big should my business be before I think about using a server?
Even a business as small a couple of workstations should seriously think about installing a centralized network server. There are many benefits that even the smallest business can enjoy, including the convenience of having project files all located in a single folder, simpler automatic backups of all files, and easier comprehensive security for data and access.

When should I switch to an in-house e-mail server?
If you are experiencing capacity problems with your e-mail provider-or have more than, say, 20 employees-you may want to implement your own e-mail server. One major advantage to bringing your e-mail in-house is that you ensure e-mails can be archived along with your normal online backup. The addition of a server such as Sendmail, Microsoft Exchange, or qmail can also improve e-mail transmission times and tracking.

It seems like everyone is upgrading to Microsoft Vista. Should my company?
Though there are many advantages to updating to Microsoft Vista, a network assessment is necessary to determine how it will affect your company. Employee training may be required to overcome differences between Vista and Windows; and, PC workstations and hardware may need to be upgraded to meet the minimum requirements to run Vista. A local IT provider can help you assess whether or not your systems and hardware are compatible with the new operating system.

How does web surfing affect my bandwidth?
Surfing the Internet is one of the biggest stealers of bandwidth that a SMB can face. Accessing personal websites and social networks, downloading music, and streaming videos can all cause congestion on your network that may conflict with productivity. Implementing Internet use policies will prevent your company from having to pay for resources that are not directly business-related, as well as limiting the legal liability and security vulnerability that arise when surfing the web.


Network Security

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How in the world can my business get rid of all this spam?
The first step toward stopping the glut of unwanted e-mails that arrive in your inbox every morning is to understand how spammers find you in the first place. These days, spammers use crawling programs that pluck e-mail addresses from websites. Once your e-mail address is collected by a spammer, most likely it will be sent on to others via spam lists and so on, until your e-mail inbox is brimming with this garbage.

Avoiding putting company or personal e-mail addresses on websites, or changing the spelling to fool some spam programs, is the best preventative for avoiding spam. If you've already got spam, putting in place a spam filtering program can help alleviate some of the problems caused by massive amounts of spam. Firewalls, especially those made for corporate networks, also prove successful when installed and managed by an IT company that specializes in network security.

What is a firewall and why should my business think about getting one?
A firewall is a hardware or software unit that is set up to transfer traffic and data between networks, usually the Internet and a company network. A firewall can target and restrict any source of potential threat, including e-mail, user login, and any data transmission. Using a firewall is an effective way for companies to standardize any policies they have for security against viruses, spyware or spam, both as a way to combat these malware threats and as an effective tool for understanding how any potentially successful security breach was made.


Managed Service Support vs. Your Current IT Support

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Why is a managed service plan better than traditional hourly consulting?
Traditional IT consulting is like going to the emergency room repeatedly for the same illness but never taking any preventive action. A managed service plan is a flat fee service that provides the preventive maintenance your systems need to avoid IT failures.

Hourly IT consultants are at best emergency management. Because they are paid hourly they get paid more the longer your IT system is not working. A managed service plan offers a flat-fee monthly service. Therefore, the IT provider's incentive is keep your IT systems running with the least amount of down time possible.

Someone in our office manages the IT systems part-time. Why do I need to hire an IT service provider?
How much time each week does your dual-role employee spend on IT? We have found that many employees and managers greatly underestimate the amount of time spent on IT by dual role employees. Every minute an employee spends fixing IT problems is time not spent generating revenue for your company. And, since that employee's attention is divided, he can't be expected to be as efficient or up-to-date as a team of professionals whose only business is IT support.

Can't I just survive by calling an hourly consultant when things break?
Hourly consultants are paid to fix problems. They are not paid to prevent them from happening. They only make money when your system is broken, and the longer it is broken the more money they make. A managed service provider only succeeds when you are up and running-which means that your goals and those of the service provider are exactly the same.

Do I really need a managed service plan?
The single largest cost associated with business technology is the time wasted by employees sitting around while IT systems are not performing effectively. An intern may seem to keep things working, but the average employee wastes more than an hour a week waiting for IT problems to be corrected. If you have 20 employees, that's like paying a part-time employee to do nothing every week.