May 22, 2013

3 months of FREE off-site backup for your business!

In our experience, off-site backup is one of the least expensive and most overlooked safeguards businesses can utilize to insure a speedy recovery in the event of disaster.  One of our clients chose to decline off-site backups and they recently lost their server.  While we had their server up and running within a day, they are still scrambling trying to run their business without the data they used each and every day.

Sadly, the business we are referring to here is not alone.  On average in the US every year 42% of computer users lose irreplaceable files.  Business files, proposals, contracts, personal files, can all be lost in a blink of an eye.  Data can be lost due to hard drive crashes, theft, water damage, power surges, natural disasters, or accidentally deleting your own files.  You need to be aware that losing data is not only a possibility, it is an eventual fact over time that you will loose some or all of your data on your computer.  You need to take proper precautions and backup your data.

That is why we are offering your business 3 months of FREE off-site backup!!  This offer is for businesses currently not using our off-site backup.  This offer is for small and medium businesses with at least 2 PC’s to backup.   This offer runs until the end of the month so be sure to contact us by May 31st.  Why use DenBe’s off-site backup?

Free images of all PC’s!

Now who does that?  We will image the computers at your business for once per quarter.  When you have a problem with your system we can use that image to get you up and running with minimal downtime.  Not to mention all the time you’ll save not trying to re-install all the applications you were using before.

Cost Effective

No set up fee, just a small fixed monthly fee based on what you wish to backup.  No operating costs. No tape storage or optical media storage to worry about.

Efficient

Installation is completed quickly by a trained technician.  No assistance or expertise is needed by the end user.  The restore process is automated by a trained technician as well.

Reliable

Automated daily backup provides comprehensive protection and zero hassle. Less down-time and reduced lost productivity – files can be recovered instantly.  Works in the background and is backed up securely to our server farm in Texas.

Running XP or Office 2003? Read this!

On 8 April 2014 Microsoft will finally pull the plug and end support for Windows XP, a 12-year-old operating system that is estimated to still run on around 600 million of the world’s PCs. On that date Microsoft will also end support for Microsoft Office 2003.

The software giant has repeatedly warned users about the performance issues they may face should they remain on XP after this date, as the firm will no longer push out technical and security updates to their systems.

However, despite Microsoft’s best efforts, the message doesn’t seem to be getting through to everyone, with some industry watchers claiming progress in getting people off XP has effectively stalled in recent months.

Who remembers how to migrate desktops anymore?

Since the release of Windows 7 in October 2009, Windows XP usage started to drop, according market date from NetMarketShare. So much so, the number of people using Windows 7 overtook Windows XP for the first time last August.

However, since then the number of people using XP seems to have reached something of a plateau.

If your organization is running XP or Office 2003 please contact us about how to get you migrated before the end of support is reached.

Find us on Thumbtack

Hello readers.  We are just letting you know we are offering all our great services to home users as well.  We have joined Thumbtack and have found a good market for home users who need an alternative to the big box stores for help with their computing needs.  You can find our profile here: http://www.thumbtack.com/mi/south-lyon/web-developers/complete-it-services

The IT Girl

How exciting- my very first blogging post ever!  I love to write and quite frankly- I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to start a blog.  The bigger surprise is that I’m writing about IT issues.  No I’m not an “it” girl nor am I a Kardashian wanna be.  I work with my husband doing sales for our IT company.  IT is short for Information Technology to those who think with a technological brain.  For the rest of the world it looks like someone spelled the word “it” with capital letters.  I am the Director of Development and Sales within our company.  Ironically, I am not well versed in most things concerning computers or technology.  Turns out that people who are brilliant in areas of computers, networking and all things technology are not rock stars at meeting new people and establishing sales relationships.  You may have guessed by this point that my husband is the one with the the IT brain and I’m the one who loves to meet people and cultivate business relationships.  Sounds perfect to most because he gets to spend his time doing the “geek” things he loves and I get to spend my time basically socializing which I love.  There is a major issue that arises- I’m selling what I don’t know.  Let me clarify.  I know what services we offer, I know how we handle our clients, I know what we do- but ask me how or why and I’m out.  I then need to call my husband to go anywhere beneath the surface.  He takes it from there and does surprisingly well.  I’m learning that to keep him where he needs to be (working on the geek portion) I need to learn more of what he knows.  In direct conflict with my natural God given talent I’m beginning my journey to learn the ins and outs of all things IT.  I’m not confident in this endeavor which is probably why I have the famous clip of Lucy Ball trying to wrap candy off the conveyor belt running through my head as I think about beginning this journey.  None the less- it is the beginning of a new journey.  I’ll keep posting to see where it takes me but hopefully I’ll keep learning.  I don’t know if I’ll ever develop a passion for the intricacies of IT but my passion to write about it will hopefully give me inspiration to keep trying.

Give That Old Computer a New Life

Have you ever noticed that after a year or two your computer seems like a dinosaur compared to the new ones at the store?  Before you go shopping there is probably a few things you can do to your computer to give it the boost in performance you are looking for.  Adding RAM, or random access memory is an inexpensive upgrade that will create a big difference in your computer.  Another thing to look at is how many programs you are loading at startup.  As new programs are installed on your Windows computer they are set to load at startup.  Unless you use the programs all the time it doesn’t make sense for Windows to load them at startup.  A third item to consider is defragmenting your hard drive.  Although this task doesn’t need do be done every week, or even every month it should be done every quarter or so.  Finally, make sure that Windows has downloaded and installed all the critical service packs and updates for your computer.  This sometimes takes place automatically but not always.  A good way to check is to visit windowsupdate.com.  With a small amount of money and a little hard work you can speed up your old computer and get it working like a champ again.

How Secure is your Network?

Whether you are using a wired network, a wireless network, or a combination of both, security is an important thing to consider.  Wireless Networks that are open or not secured with high level encryption can allow malicious attacks on your company data.  If your company’s wireless network is secure, your firewall may be allowing hackers a way behind your network and could be putting your company at risk.  DenBe Consulting specializes in making your network secure.  We use the complex testing measures to insure that intruders are unable to penetrate your network.  Your company’s data is important, you should give us a call and schedule a free network evaluation today.

Be Aware of What You Share

Savvy cybercriminals want data. From your personal credit card information to your company’s most important intellectual property, they work diligently to quietly steal it all. Be aware of their more typical tactics and learn basic security measures to ensure you aren’t their next victim.

Hard Drive Failure- Not a Matter of If but When

Hard drive failure is an inescapable reality in the modern business world. Whether due to human error, software corruption or other causes most firms will face incidents of lost data through hard drive failure. Our calculations indicate that on average a single data loss incident will cost an organization $2,900, the majority of which is measured as lost productivity.

An episode of data loss will result in two outcomes: either the data is recoverable or is permanently lost. In today’s environment, with numerous backup and recovery solutions, businesses need not suffer episodes of irretrievable data, except in case of careless planning or major disaster.

Your company should have a comprehensive backup plan in place. If you are not, please give us a call and let us show you how affordable it is to have worry free, automatic off site back ups.