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Spotlight on
Us
Jim Davis
What is you job title?
Senior Account Manager
How long have you been with ITSolutions? 20 years.
Do you have a particular area of expertise?
After 20 years in this business, I know a great deal about many
aspects of technology but my focus over the past few years has been
Small Business Network Systems.
Is there an aspect of
your job that you are passionate about?
Satisfying the customer and
helping him or her feel good about technology. I truly love
most aspects of technology and helping people embrace it is my
passion. Showing people how helpful it can be in their daily
activities really makes me feel good.
Do you have a hobby or special interest?
Escaping into the movies. I have built an actual replica
of a theater in my home so I can indulge myself in it completely.
Tip
of the Month:
Five
Important Ways to Protect against Identity Theft
1. The next time you order checks, have only the initials of your
first and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook,
they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials
or your first name. Your bank will know.
2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead put "PHOTO ID
REQUIRED".
3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts,
DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead,
just put the last four numbers.
4. Don't list any telephone number. You can always write it on the
check at the time of the transaction. If you have a PO Box, use that
instead of your home address or your work address.
5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both
sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had
in your wallet, all the account numbers and phone numbers to call
and cancel. Store in a secure place and refresh when you change
cards.
Melissa's Quote
of the month:
How many system
administrators does it take to change a light bulb? None. Just
remove the rights of everybody allowed to go into the room. - Ross
Clement
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1032 11th Street
Modesto, CA 95354
Voice: (209) 578 9739
800 845 4628
Fax: (209) 578 5463 |
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New Backup & Recovery Options for
SMBs
Small to mid-sized
businesses can always benefit from any IT enhancement that will save
both time and money. Unfortunately, many SMBs are not able to get
the benefits from IT that they need, chiefly due to lack of
resources and expertise. For that reason, many SMBs are exploring
the Software-as-a-Service options that are now available – these
options cost less and are run by experts. Symantec is gearing up to
deliver online backup as a service – specifically designed for SMBs
– later this year.
Capabilities that are
delivered via the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model (sometimes
called "online services") are provided to end users over the Web,
rather than software that is installed and maintained in-house by
the customer. With SaaS, a vendor (or other service provider) owns,
hosts, manages, and updates the software so that customers need not
implement or manage software applications themselves, but can rely
on experts to do it for them. Customers pay for SaaS on a
subscription or per-use basis, which simplifies budget planning,
reduces upfront costs, makes payments more predictable, and lowers
total cost of ownership. This allows SMBs to eliminate many of the
overhead IT expenses and operational concerns commonly associated
with traditional software products. Also, SMBs using SaaS will never
have to deal with an IT infrastructure that has become obsolete over
time.
Despite all of its
benefits, some SMBs are hesitant to make the move to SaaS
applications. Why? Many are resistant to change what is working for
them; the "if it ain’t broke, why fix it?" kind of thinking. Other
SMBs worry that their unique business needs can’t be met by a new
SaaS solution – that the solution will be feature-poor or
unreliable. Still others are afraid the transition to SaaS would not
be smooth, and that the vendor won’t be available to help (or worse
– that the vendor will not be around in a year or two!). Finally,
another common obstacle is that businesses worry about the security
of their data when it’s hosted and/or stored offsite by a vendor.
Read more |
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Eight E-mail Mistakes That Make You Look
Bad
 By Kim
Komando
Reprinted with permission from
Microsoft Small Business Center
I get an awful lot of
e-mail. Sometimes, people are looking for help with their computers.
Some of it is fan mail.
Other folks are mad
about something I said or wrote. Add to this the barrage of press
releases and an occasional blast from the past when a former
classmate or ex-boss drops me a note.
After facing this tidal
wave of electronic words for several years, as well as owning my own
business, I've developed some strong opinions about e-mail and
correspondents.
Here are eight easily
avoidable mistakes you should know about to keep your image and
inbox in tip-top shape.
Read more |
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Are you Doomed if your Office
Computer Tech Quits?
By Kim
Komando
Reprinted with permission from the
Microsoft Small Business Center
 It's the nightmare that
most small businesses aren't prepared to face: What would happen if
you suddenly lost your office computer expert? Would you be in big
trouble?
The answer usually is
"Yes!" But just how much anguish, time and money would an
unanticipated departure cause your company's operations? Ask
yourself these six questions to find out.
1. Do you know every
password?
Practically everything computer and Internet-related in your shop
has, or should have, a password. If your computer expert left at
this very moment, could you (or someone you trust) log on to each of
the computers on the network and have the ability to make changes to
system settings, tweak the firewall and more?
Do you know the
password to the server, the customer database and other files needed
to run your business? That's why it is important for you, as the
business owner, to know all the passwords.
Read
more |
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Are you IT Strategic?
By Blake Britton, Vice
President, AXXYS Technologies
 The
purchase and search for IT products and services to make the
business operate more efficiently can be a daunting task. While
ITSolutions is pleased to be able to help our clients with
this “search”, there are questions that need to be asked when
looking at a replacement or even a new technology. The main
question: What is the strategy of the business from an IT
perspective? I have selected a few products that have recently been
upgraded or purchased new by some of our clients. In each of these
cases I have given a few strategic questions that should be asked
before the solution is selected.
Firewall/Security
Appliance: This device is used to protect your network resources
from outside threats. Its primary purpose is perimeter security but
can also be used to provide deeper levels of security depending on
the business acceptable use policy for Internet browsing.
-
Does this
appliance provide a deeper inspection of data other than what I
get with a router or low end firewall appliance? (This is
sometimes referred to as deep packet inspection.)
-
Can I block
specific content I do not want end users browsing during
business hours?
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Can I scan all
emails for viruses before they get to my mail server and onto my
network?
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Can I limit the
ability for end users to download and install music or other
non-business related content? (On some sites content filtering
is not enough, and the firewall needs the ability to look at the
application level.)
Read
more
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New Backup & Recovery