Setting up a new business is a thrilling venture.  You’ve raised some money and you’re ready to get on with your plan for your business.  But before you get into the swing of things and set up your office, you should first consider your IT needs.  Who else to consult than an IT support company?

You’ll have a number of considerations for setting up an office.  By far the most important question to ask yourself is how many employees you plan on hiring and whether or not your business is the type that will expand massively over the following years.  You’ll need to estimate your data usage, storage, and internet requirements so you can determine what type of server you need and what type of broadband you should sign up for.

You’ll also need to make a choice about your phone system.  Do you have a traditional PBX system in mind?  If so, you’ll need to determine how expensive it will be to buy or rent the equipment and handsets as well as working out how much it would be to add on extra extensions in case you need them in the future.  If you choose a VoIP system, you’ll likely have to ensure you have the best quality broadband for your area, though it will probably be cheaper overall.

On top of this, you’ll also need to purchase all of your hardware for all employees, install operating systems and necessary software, and customise each PC to fit each role.  Obviously, you as founder would not actually do this; you’d hire a few IT experts to do it.  Instead of reaching out to whoever is available and changing things in the future, why not consider your IT support more carefully from the beginning?

If you provide us with your plan for your business, we can plan your IT needs from top to bottom, not only making suggestions for your infrastructure but implementing them and setting them up from start to finish.  We’ll make the start easier for new businesses and a move easier for businesses looking to expand.  Don’t try and suffer through it on your own; contact us for a quote today.

Don’t underestimate the benefits of outsourcing IT support.  When deciding whether to hire individual employees or an entire company, there are a number of important factors to consider.

Peace of mind is not the least of these factors and is incredibly important to consider.  With outsourced IT support, you’ll never have to worry about your own virus protection or server hosting.  You’ll never stress about crashes or emergencies that your company can’t deal with.  Most businesses who suffer lengthy outages will lose substantial amounts of money and in many cases, will even be forced to file for bankruptcy.  With carefully chosen IT support, that worry should never cross your mind.  You’ll be able to relax and do your job, not babysit or wait on your in-house IT department.

Whenever you need an upgrade, you won’t have to stress about who can implement it or what are the likely consequences of that upgrade.  Switching your entire office to Windows 7 becomes a simple task with no extra effort on your part.  Going from a traditional PBX phone system to a business VoIP phone system is ridiculously simple and will hardly impact your workday while drastically improving costs.  Customised software to help you effectively and efficiently manage your business is just another possibility that can truly enhance everything you do.

When you need your employees to do something new with their computers, or even if many of them need a brush-up on certain skills, training is easy.  Your IT support company will take up the slack and there will be an expert ready and willing to train your staff in all the skills that they need.  You’ll know that your IT support will always talk with you in ordinary language, so you can understand what’s necessary for you to do and what you’ll need to learn next.

Since your IT support will always be ready to advise you on the latest big changes in technology, you’ll never feel behind the curve.  Your employees won’t be the ones stuck using an operating system that is already two generations old and full of bugs – they’ll be using the latest and greatest available software to help them enhance their productivity levels and grow your business.  With these tools, you’ll be well on your way to becoming the best in the field with the greatest ability to adapt to market trends and collaborate on essential products.

Plus, your servers and your data will all be completely secure; it will certainly be safer than you could have managed yourself, with round the clock guards, temperature control, and barbed wire fences.  Most people can’t manage that around their office buildings, especially the kind of small business that most often needs an IT support company; you’ll find many of them in enclosed city centres or in London, where we’re based.  Worries about server melt-downs or corruptions will be a thing of the past and a full backup will be available for you whenever you need it.

If you’re a small business and you want the peace of mind that goes along with outsourcing your IT support, contact us today for a quote.

Viruses and malware are virtually the number one threat for PC users.  Spyware can steal your bank passwords and personal information, cripple your PC with pop-ups, or use your email address to send out spam.  Viruses can cripple your PC, network, and even your VoIP phone systems, causing an immediate call to your IT support company and hours of downtime to your business.  These five precautions can help you avoid those extra phone calls and lost revenue by giving you the ability to do your best by your network and your PCs.

1. Ensure all PCs on the network are equipped with effective and regularly updated anti-virus programs with real-time protection, so they’ll find viruses before the rest of the network can be affected. Your IT support company should take care of this for you, but the maintenance may be down to each individual user of the PCs.
2. Refrain from clicking on unknown or suspicious links, especially when found in email or on social networking sites.  If you don’t know the sender in any way, never click on a link in an attachment to an email.  Similarly, if a link on a social networking site or in an instant messaging program seems suspiciously unlike a particular friend, avoid it at all costs.  The most intelligent people fall prey to this simple tactic, so it’s essential to be vigilant.
3. Never installed bootlegged software, especially not if you’ve downloaded it from the internet. You may think that you’re cutting costs by avoiding paying for a license, but you’ll often be voluntarily infecting your PC with malware which is extremely difficult to remove, even after you’ve uninstalled the original program. You could suffer far harsher consequences if your software abuse gets out anyway, so it’s best to pay for an extra license and avoid both malware and lawsuits.
4. Make sensible browser choices.  Do not continue using Internet Explorer 6 or 7 because they contain vulnerabilities which Microsoft is notoriously slow to fix.  That means when a hole is found by a hacker, they can freely exploit it and Microsoft may not be able to solve the problem until after your PC has already been infected.  In general, Microsoft browsers are less secure than other choices though Internet Explorer 8 has closed a number of holes and introduced security features that are still lacking in other browsers.  If you want websites to work as they’re intended, however, IE8 is probably not the right choice, as it breaks a number of sites with its different compliance rules.
5. Install all important updates to Windows.  Updates usually include important fixes and patch up security holes that have been exposed by hackers.  They can also add new features which will enhance your every day work life.  If you’re unsure about an update, feel free to ask your IT support company whether or not it’s necessary for your business, but most security updates in particular should be installed shortly after their release.

Choosing an IT support company can be an incredibly difficult decision.  Who are you going to trust with all of your secure data, with installing of your essential programs, or with consistent and effective crisis control?  There are a number of ways you can determine which company you want for your IT support.

First, look at the list of services each IT support company offers, and then find out if the IT company has qualifications from reputable computing companies.  If you’re looking for operating system help, find support that has been qualified by Microsoft, and the higher the partnership the better.  If you’re a small business, ensure that the company has been endorsed by them for that purpose, so you’ll know you get the individual attention you deserve.

If you’re looking for a phone system, check to see if the IT support company has been accredited by a particular software provider.  If so, then investigate that phone system and make sure you’ll like it before you choose that IT support company.  Do the same with networks and software.

It’s also worth checking to ensure they’ve been endorsed by a anti-virus software firm, so you’ll know what kind of protection you’ll get if you pay them to provide it.  Do your research and ensure that the virus protection offered is acceptable for your business and your needs.  It’s even better if the company offers choices, so you’ll be able to decide what level of security best suits your business.

Next, check out response times that IT support companies offer and whether their support is 24/7 or only during business hours.  Do you want your employees to suffer a crisis while working overtime and not be able to get a solution until the next morning?  If your internet goes down, it’s likely that your business will completely halt until it can be restored.  24 hours, seven days a week constant monitoring is absolutely ideal for any situation your business can find itself in and downtime will be so rare that you’ll have forgotten what it’s like.  Your IT support might find and repair a more serious problem before you even realise it’s there.  Find out how soon they can get to your company; in London a response time of more than two hours is virtually unacceptable given how close your company will be to your IT support.

Finally, ask how your backup data will be stored if you choose to give it over to the IT support company.  How often will backups be taken and how old is the data that can be recovered in an emergency?  How much space can you have at what price?  It’s important to ensure that you can expand your data needs if your company grows and more documents need storing.

Something that truly can’t be quantified is the level of friendly, reliable service you’ll receive from a top IT support company.  Pay close attention during your evaluations and choose a company with employees you feel comfortable with and could learn to trust.  Make sure they are ready and willing to listen to your questions and plan your IT support around your exact needs, not around standards.

Octavia IT Services is proud to provide all of these services and more.  For further details, explore the rest of our website or contact us for a quote.

We mentioned cloud computing a few weeks back but provided a word of caution about the potential ramifications of entrusting your data to a large third party with advertising interests, like Google and Amazon.  Having your data stored in a remote location, however, is virtually an essential for your business.  Storing information in multiple places has always been the best of fail-safes when it comes to technology, and nothing has changed there.

By storing your data with your IT support company, you can gain further advantages than if you’d stored it yourself.  For one thing, you have one more copy of your documents out in the world to provide a back up if you should ever need one.  Since those documents are virtually in the hands of your IT support company, they know how to restore them and will be able to do so easily once they’ve fixed your more immediate issue.

Secondly, your IT support company has a vested interest in keeping your data safe.  If their servers crash or experience downtime, they’ll lose your business and likely that of many other clients as well.  Most IT companies (us included) store data in heavily protected buildings at a distance from our own premises for improved security.

Buildings full of servers and data centres have guards round the clock, barbed wire protection, and consistently maintained temperature levels to ensure the highest levels of functionality.  Most businesses can’t support that kind of environment for their own servers and often remote back up services are actually cheaper than purchasing a back up server of your own.

The best part is that after taking a full back up initially, your data will automatically be refreshed and updated to match your current needs.  You’ll be able to recover anything from the last sixty days should the worst happen and you lose your own business files.  While a larger, commercial cloud computing company can provide a similar service, your IT support company is not likely to sell information about you for profit and you can even stipulate this in the terms of your contract.  You’ll be getting all of the benefits and none of the risks.

If you’ve ever considered remotely backing up all of your data, look no further than your own IT support company.  If you don’t have one, you can still request this as your only service.  It’s well worth having the peace of mind that a reliably installed and supported remote back up solution will get you.

Choosing to outsource IT support is a difficult decision.  An in-house team will be at work in your company every day, able to fix any issues that arise from the software they’ve developed or installed.  But in what scenarios might you wish you’d outsourced your IT support?  Here are five cases that can help you make that crucial choice.

-          Installing a new phone system. It’s highly unlikely that any of your employees have the skills to install a new phone system; even if they do, are they up to date with the latest advancements in technology?  Do they have the contacts required to get you the best deals on equipment and software?  Are they certified by the appropriate companies?  We’re willing to bet that at least one of the answers to these questions is “no”.  IT support companies can provide all of these things and may leave you regretting it when you learn that a major competitor paid far less than you for a similar quality phone system.

-          Having an IT crisis when your employee is away. If your systems crash, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to fly the appropriate person in from a holiday for emergency recovery, and moreover he or she may not have the knowledge to truly fix the issue or recover your important data from a crashed PC or servers.  An outsourced IT support team will always be available for help whenever you need it and can be with you in a very short time, especially if both you and your IT support are based nearby.  Moreover, an IT team will have a varied team with any skill that could possibly be required to solve the crisis and fix any damage, if it’s at all possible to do so.

-          Company expansion. A big expansion means new software, new hardware, and new employees.  That leads to training that one or two employees, no matter how knowledgeable, simply can’t handle.  If your small business has too much to handle with training and installation, call for help.  An IT company will have all the knowledge you need to expand successfully and will be educated in the best ways to train new workers to use hardware and software that they were previously unfamiliar with.

-          Technology changes.  Unless you’re willing to pay for employees to take new classes, head off to conferences, or educate themselves with expensive and hefty books, it’s likely that they’ll fall behind ever-changing technology very quickly, sticking to what they know rather than innovating.  Training employees to use each and every new system that you need as it comes out is expensive and time consuming.  It’s a much easier task to outsource.  You’ll automatically have a team of experts whose job it is to keep up with the latest technology and programs and help you implement them when you choose to.

-          In-house server crash.  Because your outsourced IT support team has its own servers, they can offer services to help you remotely store all of your important information.  For example, they can back up all of your important data on their servers, so if yours are compromised for whatever reason, you won’t have lost a thing.  A properly configured remote backup solution will first store everything and then update periodically to index and save changes, so all of your documents will be up to date and accessible whenever you need them, no matter what’s happened to your original servers.

We’ve seen a lot of worries around the web lately about securing privacy online, especially with regard to social networking sites.  On a wider scale, however, browser security is even more important.  If you don’t understand your own privacy settings, your information and browsing history can be stolen or compromised without you even realising it.  Many of us access the internet from public or work computers and, as such, may need ways to protect our secure data from those who would take advantage of it.  In our latest video, we discuss browser safety and demonstrate a few ways to protect yourself using Mozilla Firefox 3.6.

You can watch the video here – Browser Safety Video