Cloud Computing, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), or simply "the cloud" are all terms you may be hearing creep into tech-lingo at your place of business. Perhaps you've even heard the terms used by your I.T. provider, but what does it really mean to put your technology "in the cloud" and is it the right choice for you? In this article, we will look at 5 important ways the cloud can help your business by reducing the total cost of ownership and providing an excellent return on investment.

Since the launch of IT/365 at the beginning of September, we have had over 350 node installations. Our team of Virtual System Administrators monitor all alerts that are raised by the system and decide what action should be taken. With the historical data gathered by the IT/365 system in hand, our team can effectively manage all problems that arise. We constantly check our monitoring sets, procedures, and alerting functions to ensure that we stay at the forefront of issues and errors that occur on our clients' computers.

We have all seen the classic yellow shield and exclamation point (now a notification flag in Windows 7) that indicates there are Windows Updates available for installation, but do you know how these updates actually affect your computer? With Microsoft set to patch a record 49 vulnerabilities on October 12th, we believe it is critical to our clients' security that they understand a little about these patches and how you can keep your systems protected. (Don't have time to read? Call us for the solution: Patch Management with IT/365)

Are you too busy to manage your office’s network? When your computer system is down, your business is down. So what’s the next step? The dreaded call to your IT service provider—the phone call with questions no one in your office understands? Then there is the cost and lost time of having a technician come to repair the problem. But your expense goes beyond the technician—your employees are your largest financial investment, and while technicians are in your office fixing the computer network, employee productivity is shut down.

What if there was a way to prevent these problems without the hassle and with little or no distraction to yourself or your employees? What if your network could be monitored and you were warned about potential problems? What if these problems could be repaired without a visit from a technician?

InfoTECH has the solution—a managed service plan known as IT/365. This new service, a first in Lake Charles, enables us to monitor your network remotely for notifications, troubleshooting and routine maintenance. We will be able to find and resolve a problem when it begins, not when it has grown to a point where it shuts down your system.

How it works:




The first line of defense: Secure Monitoring

IT/365 includes free 24-hour monitoring of all the devices on your network, seven days a week, 365 days a year. This preventive measure ensures the health and performance of your business’s network. We can spot a virus, missed updates and many other emerging issues—before they become a problem.

How does monitoring work?
We install a secure probe program on each computer at your office, which enables us to monitor your entire network and allows us to see problem indicators, alerts and notifications that can be missed during a busy workday or because of lack of computer knowledge. After installation, we can monitor your system from our offices, and the monitoring element of IT/365 is free of charge. IT/365 monitoring gives our clients time to focus on their workload and not their computer issues. We can provide you with warnings, filter for false alarms and quickly fix the problems through virtual management, without interrupting you or your employees with an onsite visit.

In-depth reporting
As we monitor your office network, we also provide a wide range of reports for you to review. This also assists our technicians with a history of your network. The reports will help you visualize and understand the performance of your systems' devices.

Preventive approach: Virtual Management
We all know that the best way to keep our cars running smoothly is through routine maintenance, such as an oil change or a tune up. Computers work in the same way. However, we also know it can be easy to miss an oil change and it is even easier to forget proper computer maintenance. Taking the time for proper computer maintenance, such as clearing your computer’s cookies, running a virus scan or defragging the hard drive can sometimes be impossible during a busy workday.
Our virtual management service is a proactive approach toward managing and solving a network issue—before it has a critical impact on your business. In addition to monitoring, we can also perform routine tasks such as patch management and desktop optimization and remedy problems found through monitoring, such as disabling a virus. We can attack these issues directly through a live connection. You will even be able to see us moving the infected computer’s cursor as the work is being done.

What if my company already has an IT professional?
InfoTECH’s IT/365 can be a valuable tool for in-house IT professionals and will enhance their productivity. It can be challenging to constantly keep up with and constantly monitor and apply security or software updates. IT/365 can free an IT professional from the regular time-consuming monitoring and maintenance tasks to handle larger technological issues that will be beneficial to the company.

The benefits of IT/365
IT/365 allows a business to move from the inefficient “break-fix” model of computer maintenance to a proactive managed-service approach. Instead of waiting for the unexpected breakdown—when time, productivity and data can be lost—your systems are constantly monitored at no charge to detect any signs of potential trouble. Then, the InfoTECH team can take appropriate action to avert costly breakdowns. In addition, routine maintenance by InfoTECH—performed remotely without interrupting your employees—can ensure better performance and extend the useful life of your systems.

In the end, IT/365 can provide you with valuable information about your business's computer usage—information that can help you manage and plan your IT needs into the future. To find out more or get IT/365 setup at your place of business, call our office at 337-896-3681 or email us at info@infotech.us.

Servers, like any other piece of hardware, grow old and eventually need to be replaced. Many businesses try to stretch the useful life of their server to the very edge, but that's usually not the best option. Let's look at a few of the most important reasons for replacing that aging box.