The Risks of Texting versus Phoning on Business

While sociologists might debate the possible negative effects of massed text-based communication on the development of broader social and inter-personal skills, there does seem to be a significant risk at times of defaulting to texting rather than phoning when engaging in business.  

There has been a lot of commentary recently in the press relating to the potential dangers of the social media and our mobile IT society.   

The argument runs broadly along the lines that entire generations are becoming adults without having developed the prerequisite verbal and inter-personal social communication skills needed in business.  This is slightly tenuously attributed to the effects of mass texting rather than speaking to people either face-to-face or on the phone.

This is a big subject and one that we at Server Sentry don’t particularly have a position on in terms of social interactions but we will make one observation about the use of texting in a business environment.

Few people would dispute that texting is increasingly replacing both verbal communications and email.  There are many reasons why that’s the case but it does bring with it a potential risk.  

Texting, even in unabbreviated form, has a tendency to be ambiguous and subject to misunderstanding as a result. In some situations that could be potentially disastrous.

Imagine a text “please delete information just sent”.  Does that mean information that the text sender has previously sent to the recipient or vice-versa?

It simply isn’t clear and could lead to hugely embarrassing misunderstandings in a way that a quick 30-second telephone call wouldn’t.

From a technical computer support viewpoint, there is no real difference to the challenges posed by the various communication approaches but from a business computing management perspective, it might sometimes be faster and less risky to make a quick phone call than to exchange multiple potentially ambiguous texts.

It’s a difficult balance to get the right but it is one worth thinking about! 

 

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Getting the Best Out of IT through Business IT Support Services Melbourne

As our existing customers know, here at Server Sentry we are not great believers in IT jargon.

We like communicating with people in everyday business language rather than techno-speak but even so, it has to be acknowledged that IT is a highly complicated and specialist discipline.

As such, it can sometimes be difficult for business people with skills and experience in other areas, to understand just how to get the very best out of their existing investment in IT systems.

In fact, it’s not unusual for us to encounter situations where an existing investment in technology is being hugely under-utilised by the company concerned. That’s a great pity both in terms of supporting business development and also maximising your return on investment.

This is just one area where Business IT Support Services can play a key role.

It may surprise you to know that this is not just about trying to sell you new solutions and equipment but more often it is oriented towards helping you to better exploit what you already have. If you are going to be able to extend the life expectancy of the technology you already have then that might actually enable you to defer planned investment in yet more.

Specialists in Business IT Support Services are usually well trained in being able to talk about IT in business terms rather than the very specialized technical vocabulary of Information Technology. In fact, that’s essential if they are to serve their main purpose in life, which is to bridge the gap between a specific area of business activity and the IT supporting it.

So, if you would like to know more about how even your existing technology could help your business to grow and prosper, why not give us a call and let us talk to you further about business IT support?

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How Long Should You Keep Your Historic Data?

To all intents and purposes, electronic data can be stored indefinitely.

For those who are pedantic, yes, we know that electronic media can deteriorate over time and it is sensible practice to ensure that multiple copies are taken from time to time to ensure that your data is residing on the latest media.

That’s also important because storage formats can change. File and database formats of 20 or 30 years ago may be difficult to restore and gain access to unless they have been converted to more up-to-date versions.

However, the fact that you could practically keep your data forever doesn’t necessarily mean that it makes sense to do so. Although storage is typically low-cost, it nevertheless involves a certain degree of periodic administrative overhead in order to maintain catalogues etc.

There are two real drivers in terms of answering that ‘how long’ question :

• Regulatory Requirements – certain types of business are required by law to store certain types of data for a minimum number of years. Transgress here and you could find yourself in deep trouble with the law. 

• Your operational business requirements. For example, historical data can be invaluable in terms of marketing campaigns and statistical analysis in support of product development. Scrapping all of your historical operational data at the end of a calendar year might not be a sensible use of it given it could generate so much more benefit through what’s called Data Mining.

Why not contact our Business IT Support Services for a discussion of what things such as Server Sentry’s Vault Care proposition might be able to do for you in this area? They may not be able to give you an in-depth definition of what the law requires by way of data archiving for your particular type of business but we can tell you what your technical and cost options are.

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Why is my Hard Disk Whirring?

Over many years, this has without doubt been one of the commonest questions we’ve encountered at Server Sentry.

It usually arises because a customer is concerned that one of their PCs or perhaps a server appears to be constantly accessing its disk and making whirring noises - even when they aren’t actually doing anything on the system at the time.

As almost always with IT systems support, there is no one sure answer to the question.  It could have any number of causes including:

• Even though you are n’t doing anything on your system at the time, it could be automatic software that is running various routines which are making heavy use of disk access (technically called ‘disk I/O’ for Input/Output). That might include things such as software security scans, updates following the automatic download of new versions of software and so on.

• It could indicate that your disk is seriously fragmented.  That does n’t mean damaged, it simply means that individual databases and files have been split into different sections and placed on different parts of the disk.  That is perfectly normal and is the way disk space utilisation is optimised but when the splitting of logical units of data becomes very pronounced, the disk is needing to do a lot more work in order to access what you may think of as a single integrated file of data.  It is possible to run what are called disk de- fragmentation programs to help the problem.

• In some, hopefully rare, circumstances, it might indicate that you have a certain type of malware on your system.

• It’s possible that it is a symptom of potential disk controller problems.
There’s no need to get overly worried about what’s happening.
Simply call us and we will diagnose exactly what’s going on and if appropriate, assist you to take remedial action.

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Deferring Expensive IT Upgrades

Hardly a month goes past without some manufacturer announcing a new device or new piece of software aimed at business users.

There is nothing unique in manufacturers trying to sell things but the rapid pace of technological change means that it is perhaps rather more frequently seen in IT than other domains.

Another thing that makes Information Technology slightly unusual is that much of it is marketed on the basis not of offering competitive advantage but fear.  The fear stated is that if you don’t upgrade or purchase that new piece of kit, your existing equipment may shortly start to creak and groan at the seams and be unable to cope.

In fairness, to some extent, that has some foundation in fact.

Whilst many businesses marvel at what technology can now do for them, the price being paid for that increased sophistication is usually that ever higher-specification equipment is needed to achieve it.
So, should you be running out every 12 or 18 months and replacing your file servers and PCs?

At Server Sentry, we don’t believe that is necessary and we welcome the opportunity to explain why in the context of the following:

• We believe in cost justification.  That new technology may appear very sophisticated but will it generate business benefit for you?

• Even if your existing systems are becoming a little elderly in terms of their performance or storage capacity, there may be far more cost-attractive options available to you than buying all-new kit. Examples might include buying additional disk storage or upgrading your processors.

• If you build the big resource-consumption components of your IT systems on the Cloud, you are future-proving yourself to a large extent from growing demands for more capacity and processing power.

So, don’t just reach for the chequebook because your existing architecture is proving to be a bit sluggish.  Call us instead and let us do a full analysis for you.

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How to Insulate yourself from Power Supply Problems

Power outages aren’t as commonplace as they once were.

Of course, that won’t be much consolation to you if you lose your power during the middle of the day and are unable to continue working until it’s restored.

So, what can you do to try and mitigate the effects of a problem arising from adverse weather conditions or someone digging through the main power supply cable in your local area?

Uninterrupted Power Supply

For a surprisingly modest cost, you can purchase battery standby systems that will generate up to a specified number of hours’ worth of electricity to keep your IT systems functioning in the event of a problem.
Cut over to the UPS can be almost instantaneous and automatic and you should be able to continue your work without significant interruption.

Standby generators

The UPS can also be enhanced by having things such as ancillary diesel generators around if you are really trying to protect yourself against extended outages.

Of course, this will increase the cost of your contingency arrangements over and above a basic UPS.

Using laptops and tablets 

One of the big advantages of these devices is that they are entirely independent of mains power supplies, at least for a maximum number of battery hours.

That though won’t be of much help if you have your critical corporate data sitting on a central network supported by larger file servers.

Laptops, handheld devices and the Cloud

If you design and build your IT infrastructure around laptops and the storage of your corporate data on the Cloud then you may insulate yourself a little further from certain types of power outage.

If this doesn’t mean anything to you, please contact Server Sentry and we will arrange for one of our IT technical consultants to explain this approach in more detail

It may change your perception of the potential IT solutions open to you.

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How do you see data recovery solutions?

Companies come into one of several categories where data recovery is concerned:

• Those that realise that their business is largely data-driven and that the loss of their data would cripple their operations – possibly fatally. They take steps to protect themselves against such a possibility

• Companies that know nothing of the risks involved and as a result, who take no preventative measures

• Those that think they have protection in place but which, in reality, is woefully inadequate.

• Organisations that think the risks are not significant and that the area is hyped-up through scare tactics in order to sell expensive data recovery solutions Melbourne.

Here at Server Sentry, we know with a sad certainty that companies in the last three categories are sooner or later going to have the reality of their vulnerabilities made only too clear to them after a disaster.

In some cases that’s going to lead to regret, recriminations, post-mortems, firings and in extreme situations, the end of their business.

So, what is the solution?

We make no apologies for continually preaching the need for increased corporate awareness as far as data recovery solutions are concerned. It’s one thing to realistically assess the risks to your organisation arising from a catastrophic loss of data then decide to do nothing. It’s entirely another to do nothing through a lack of awareness.

Nor are data recovery solutions simply a case of copying files and information onto another secure site.  For example, there are issues to do with cycles of backup and currency of data.

So, if you ask your provider of data recovery solutionsto restore your files as they were at the end of your last financial quarter for audit purposes, you might not want to hear at that stage, for the first time, that they only keep backups for 30 days.

Equally, if you lose an entire day’s work at say 4pm, would you prefer to restore your data to the last time a backup was taken at say five minutes before, 12pm that day or perhaps at 8pm the day before? Keep in mind anything done between your last backup and your disaster may be irretrievably lost.

That’s why professional data recovery solutionsand their analysis are critically important.

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Why is 24/7 helpdesk support important?

It might be the case that you are relatively fortunate and are able to operate your business on a pretty much 9 to 5 basis.

However, for increasing numbers of 21st century businesses that simply isn’t the reality, as we at Server Sentry know only too well.

For a start, if you are dealing globally with customers, they may be operating in different time zones and might expect you to be around when they need to work rather than change their schedule to fit yours.

Then there are those businesses who may well be working a standard day but at the end of it, need to still have their IT systems running overnight in order to provide services to net visitors.

The inescapable conclusion in the modern world is that many businesses simply cannot afford to pull down the shutters at 5 and ‘go home’.

If you are one such business, bad luck doesn’t restrict itself to normal office hours either.  IT problems can arise at any hour of the day and if they do, you will want to be sure that you are able to get hold of support as fast as possible.

What you will want, at say 10.00 PM, is to know that you have 24/7 helpdesk support available to you.  What you most certainly won’t want is a recorded message telling you that your IT services and support provider has gone home for the night!

Then there is the related issue of weekends.

The standard two day weekend is not universal around the globe and if your customers are working Saturday or Sunday, your IT systems may need to be live likewise to support them.

Once again, if you hit snags in such circumstances you may need that 24/7 helpdesk support.

So, when you are selecting a provider of IT services, keep this in mind.  Remember also that helpdesk contact is typically only the first link in a chain that should lead you to qualified help as fast as possible.

Having immediate 24/7 helpdesk supportcontact out of hours is fine but not if the only response is to say nothing can be done for two days because all of the technical consultants have gone home for the weekend.

Look at this one carefully when choosing a provider.

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Why pay for IT Consulting?

It’s terrifying but true that some companies base their entire IT Services on what might be termed ‘DIY’ computing.

You should be very clear that there is a VAST difference between someone who might be considered by friends and family to be something or a home technical guru with a smartphone or PC software and a professional IT establishment.

Providers such as Sever Sentry invest very significant sums of money in training and maintaining the skills base of their experts providing IT consulting services Melbourne.   They also understand that technical issues can’t just be seen in isolation but also have to be matched to the company’s business culture and overall business model.

It’s important for a professional IT consultant to also be well-versed in a range of different potential solutions and be able to critically evaluate them against each other rather than simply to champion an approach because it’s the only one they know.

The results of amateur, even if well-intentioned, IT consulting are often all too visible.

For example, ‘part-time home IT experts’ may be very well versed in the latest equipment and software but will they be capable of understanding just how compatible it will be with your existing IT infrastructure?

The very latest products also often come with a hidden risk – that of being one of the first in the marketplace to start using it.  Do you really wish your company to be at the cutting edge of IT if that means that you’re also a de-facto guinea-pig site for the manufacturers?

In addition, what will be the payback on your new investment? Will it be the most cost-effective approach?

These and dozens of similar issues is really what IT consultingis all about.  It’s about delivering benefit through IT to your company both cost-effectively and within a managed risk environment.

Amateurs, however, technically gifted they may be, may struggle to have the breadth of professional experience required to deliver warranted solutions to you with ticks in all these boxes.

Of course, you can keep asking your neighbour who knows a “lot about computers” for help and advice – if you’re brave that is.  Maybe he or she will also be around to help out in a crisis rather than on holiday etc.

Alternatively, if you’re not inclined to gamble with your company’s future, use professional IT consulting.

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Web hosting, Melbourne and your FAQs

Here are some of the questions on this subject that we see regularly at Server Sentry.

What is web hosting?

Strangely, this can sometimes mean slightly different things in the IT Services industry.

Typically it means that your website and associated services, including data, reside on a third-party’s equipment and at their site.  It means you don’t have the bother of needing to buy and maintain your own servers, arrange for backups or put into place IT disaster recovery plans etc.

Sometimes, it can mean splitting your technology components between your own premises at a third party’s.  So, your data may be on your premises but your website and applications on a provider’s physical premises and servers.

Is physical proximity essential? 

In purely technical terms no.  Your hardware and software could be anywhere.

However, in terms of support to web hosting Melbourne companies may prefer to have a local services provider. Apart from anything else, it means that if a quick site visit or meeting is required, then it’s easy.

Is my data safe if it’s on somebody else’s equipment and site?

Yes, extensive safeguards are taken but this is an important subject and you should take this into account when selecting a provider – e.g. by asking what backups and disaster recovery plans they have.

Note that in some relatively rare cases, there may be legal issues to do with custody of data, for example, in situations relating to personal financial information.

These are relatively rare though and can be discussed with providers as required.

Will my hosting be available 24 x 7?

If that’s a service you have selected and paid for, then yes.

Make sure though that service availability promises are backed up by firm guarantees rather than just pious statements of good intent.

In the domain of web hosting, Melbourneproviders may be only too pleased to welcome you for a site visit and to run you through the specifics of their service availability hours and post-implementation support capabilities (e.g. their helpdesk services).

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