Tag

Managed services Columbus Archives - thinkCSC

May 30
0

Manage IT Costs More Effectively

By | Managed IT Services | No Comments

mechanicDo you worry that when you take your car to the mechanic, more things will be wrong with the car after they see it than before? Do you stress over every hour your car is in the shop, knowing that it is racking up an ever-larger bill with each passing minute? If you could, would you pay a flat rate every month trusting that no matter what went wrong with your car, the mechanic would take care of it? And if you had an agreement like that, don’t you think that the mechanic would be certain to change the oil, rotate the tires and do all the other necessary preventative maintenance that would ensure the car remained finely tuned?

We don’t know of any mechanics who make such an offer, but the concept of a flat-rate service leading to better preventative care is transforming the way IT services are being handled. You can manage IT more efficiently.

Paying for Uptime

With a managed service plan, you and your IT provider work closely to ensure that your IT infrastructure and services are meeting your company’s needs. Because there is no hourly cost involved, it’s less likely that important proactive strategies will be ignored simply because of cost. By employing proactive measures to prevent disasters, a partnership-oriented relationship is created in which you are paying for uptime, not downtime. It turns IT support on its head.

Making IT Costs More Predictable

Consider the extraordinary cost of downtime on your organization. Hardware can fail, a server may crash, or data may become corrupted. These issues can impact your ability to provide service to your customers; in some cases, downtime can send them looking elsewhere. Whatever the issue may be, infrastructure failures can impact your business in unexpected ways. You may spend weeks rebuilding systems, reconnecting computers and restoring data. This becomes an enormous, unpredictable cost.

In our next blog, we will discuss how you can make your IT costs more predictable.

thinkCSC offers a variety of Managed IT plans to suit businesses of any size. Contact us for more information about how we can help you better manage your IT costs and pay for uptime instead of downtime.

May 05
0

Schools, EdTech, and Budgeting

By | EdTech | No Comments

Making the Most of the EdTech Mandates

school technologyThere are many state-mandated requirements in order to introduce technology into schools for the 2013-2014 school year. While building their budgets, virtually every district is responding to these mandates differently. BYOD (bring your own device), BYOT (bring your own technology) and 1:1 are the most common methods used. Some of the most important considerations regarding the use of devices in schools, however, are largely geared towards the 1:1 wireless scenario.

Is Your Infrastructure Capable of Handling the Devices You Choose?

As these devices – iPads, tablets or laptops – are given to students, schools must determine infrastructure readiness. The physical structure inside the schools, in regards to Internet connectivity bandwidth, must be capable of sustaining all of the devices. There are many elements that go into that.

For example, an increasing number of mobile tablet devices use a larger amount of Internet bandwidth, versus a traditional laptop that uses a local service typically hosted at the school. The more cloud services that are being used, the greater the demand on Internet infrastructure and on the bandwidth that the school district has. When a school chooses to deploy a large number of devices, the process of ensuring that the network is physically capable of providing a reliable and seamless end-user experience is complicated.

Do You Have Enough Bandwidth to Keep Everyone Connected?

Consider the amount of bandwidth necessary for your network; you want to ensure that you have sufficient internal bandwidth to sustain the number of devices you are deploying, as well as enough bandwidth to support your connectivity to the outside world. Essentially, the amount of bandwidth necessary comes down to the applications that you are using on your devices. If students are using iPads or Chromebooks, these cloud-based devices demand a substantially higher external bandwidth, as opposed to those devices that are using a local resource hosted by the school.

Addressing Security and MDM

Some schools provide the devices and let students take them home. By doing so, they then have to determine how they will continue to manage content that comes through the device. Is there still content filtering taking place outside of the school? Mobile device management – or MDM – is another infrastructure readiness issue. Once you have all of the devices, you want to have the capability to easily maintain them.

If you have to deploy application software, you want to be able to do so for a group of devices at a time or all of the devices simultaneously. If you need to filter content, change security preferences or block certain applications because of content, you want to be able to do that quickly, as opposed to one device at a time. If you have MDM in place, that significantly reduces the amount of time it takes for you to deploy, maintain and monitor your devices, at the same time ensuring that the devices are secure.

Saving Money on Device Investment, Warranty and Repair Services

In addition to infrastructure concerns related to bandwidth and connectivity of technology in schools, the cost of purchasing devices and warranties must be considered. School districts often purchase the manufacturer’s warranty and offer additional accidental damage insurance to the students – passing the cost onto the parents – on top of the manufacturer’s warranty. thinkCSC purchases from the same supplier as CDWG, so we can offer highly competitive rates for devices. As well, our warranty is less expensive, and we provide convenient device pick-up, repair and drop-off, thereby saving you time as well as money. In many cases, we can complete repairs on site.

Many district IT departments are capable of deploying technology devices themselves, but CSC can help, either with a particular portion or with the entire process. Our experience with both small and large school districts helps us steer you away from what doesn’t work and focus on what does. thinkCSC looks at the big picture, ensuring device deployments go as smoothly as possible. If you would like more information about our school technology and warranty services, please contact us.

Feb 11
0

Is Your School Ready for the EdTech It Needs?

By | EdTech | No Comments

schooltechAs a Columbus IT service provider, our goal is to do more than simply provide a one-time solution and then walk away. We want to engage in a partnership to make sure our clients receive the technology, technological support, and security they need in the most economical way. Recently, there has been a huge push to move towards one-to-one technology deployments using iPads and other iOS devices as well as to increase the physical security at schools. EdTech is the future of education. But is your infrastructure ready to handle these changes?

Because we work quite often with people in the education sector, budget constraints are always at the forefront. The struggle for administrators is that while budgets are shrinking, the tech requirements school administrators are being asked to implement keep increasing. And sometimes these devices are being deployed before the infrastructure is ready to handle them. In helping one school prepare for the purchase and deployment of 1700 iPads, we asked the following questions:

  • Do you have enough bandwidth and enough wireless access points?
  • What is the management policy you are implementing?
  • How will you use these devices to deliver curriculum?
  • How will you filter content?

Sometimes the people tasked with deciding whether to adopt these devices may not fully understand the underlying technological requirements for a successful implementation. And since most schools have limited IT staff (if they have any IT staff at all), a Columbus IT service provider can help facilitate the introduction of the technology in a way that is the most cost effective without sacrificing security. From networking to ensuring you have enough bandwidth to handle the connection of that many devices, thinkCSC partners with education providers to overcome challenges like content filtering. Have you considered the complications of filtering content on an iPad? It’s almost impossible to manage if it’s being taken off school grounds. We help schools create workable solutions to these and other infrastructure issues.

Aug 11
0

Disaster Recovery That Works in the Real World

By | BDR | No Comments

Sometimes the best way to address solutions for business continuity of computer network systems is by example. Picture this recent real-life situation: a local school district learns a back-to-school lesson involving safe storage of vital network data under the secured services of thinkCSC’s disaster recovery software. Fortunately, the lesson had a good outcome.

In this teachable moment, the virtualization software environment operating the school system’s multiple servers ran out of data storage space, essentially crashing all the servers. The data wasn’t actually lost; the servers were just basically offline and inaccessible, creating a major roadblock for teachers, administrators and students to accomplish much of anything. Normally the downtime for restoring multiple-server functionality would be several days. However, the school district had thinkCSC defending its network, and the solution for backup and disaster recovery — commonly known as BDR — was fairly simple.

thinkCSC’s BDR solution, bundled into a rack-mount box that can be conveniently placed in any room, only requires power and a network connection for initial startup. In an emergency situation, one that requires image-based backup and a timely solution to restore business continuity, this BDR system can actually activate incapacitated servers in a virtual environment until the original server platform can be repaired or replaced.

For the school system, it was just a matter of activating and turning on two or three of its 10 servers in what’s called a “virtual boot,” which expedited the backup process in just a few hours without having to engage in full data recovery or restoring, something that usually takes days to complete. Consequently, everyone was up and running in less than a day, without any further interruption to their daily routines; all the while, the more extensive server reconfiguration was being addressed. After all, education must go on!

It is important to note that we offer several levels of backup from which to choose. You can back up only files, and you can also select image-based backup or full BDR. There are certain levels of restoring, too. You can simply restore files and images, or you can choose to restore the entire network. You can also temporarily turn on the system, which mirrors a premiere level of disaster recovery, because you don’t have to wait around for the full restore time to be functional.

From a business continuity angle, here’s another teachable application of BDR. A small business of nearly 20 employees had recently contracted managed services for IT support. A week after installing a BDR system, the company’s one server completely crashed. Prior to that protective installation, though, replacement of the server was recommended, but due to budgetary constraints, the decision was delayed. Nevertheless, the deployment of thinkCSC’s BDR a week earlier safeguarded the company’s data storage in a virtual environment for more than week following the server crash, while new equipment was on order.

Both of these disaster recovery examples point to the importance of having both basic file and image-based backup systems in place 24/7. Equally important, the value of having multiple levels of BDR protection cannot be overstated, either, including off-site data storage solutions. Off-site data replication provides ultimate data protection for clients and serves as valued assurance that data losses will not occur.

Apr 11
0

VoIP Makes a Virtual Office Work

By | Cloud Services | No Comments

csc_voipAre you still not convinced that you should convert your traditional PBX (multi-line) phone system to a Voice over Internet Protocol system (VoIP)? If your company employs a virtual structure, there are many reasons to make the switch. VoIP easily solves those pesky challenges that often plague virtual businesses.

Connecting Employees Anywhere

Do you have employees who work exclusively from home or in offices scattered across the country? With nationwide distribution, no matter where your offices are or where your employees work, VoIP can connect you. If you currently use PBX, you know that you have to use 800-number dialing hubs for each company location or employee work center. VoIP eliminates the need for that dialing hub.

Phones on the VoIP system are pre-programmed with a server address, and they use the Internet to place calls. No more dialing hubs or phone lines; VoIP just needs a working Internet connection. You can also get creative with VoIP and customize your system. A follow-me service can be extremely useful for those employees that work in multiple offices or travel frequently. VoIP can be programmed so that calls literally follow you where you go. For example, calls to your office phone can ring for one second, and the call is not answered, VoIP will redirect the call and ring your mobile phone.

One-Stop Voicemail

Along with managing multiple offices, employees of virtual businesses are often tasked with managing multiple mail boxes. VoIP allows you to contain all voicemails in a central location. No more checking multiple assigned voicemails on multiple phones or numbers. Again, because VoIP can be programmed specifically for you, your voicemail will go wherever you need it: your email, your home or work office, or your mobile phone.

Who’s Calling Me?

With PBX, you know the frustration of receiving an internal work call and not knowing who it is, because one central number is displayed. The nature of the PBX native-line format can often disrupt Caller-ID functionality, omitting extension or internal caller information on the display. VoIP preserves that caller information, and it can be as detailed as you need it to be. Because you can program VoIP to your own specifications, you can decide the call display and extension information that makes sense to you.

There is one wrinkle in both the PBX and VoIP system Caller-ID set-up: the lack of ability to relay appropriate information to 911. For example, if you have an employee working at home and his Caller-ID information is set-up to display the head office number, calls into 911 from that home office will direct emergency responders to the head office instead of the employee’s home. However, because of the ability to customize VoIP, it is possible to assign a unique number to each virtual office. Another option would be programming your Caller-ID information to display corporate information for outgoing business calls, but local information for calls to 911.

With VoIP, you can let your imagination run wild and customize the office communication system you’ve always dreamed of. If you’ve been thinking about converting to VoIP, the question isn’t “what can it do for my virtual office?” The question is “what can’t VoIP do?”

Call thinkCSC’s sales team to schedule your Technical Needs Assessment today!

Feb 11
0

To Mac or Not to Mac: Making the Right Decision for Your Business

By | MAC for Business | No Comments

macbook proDue to the overwhelming success of Apple products such as the iPhone and iPad, more and more consumers are faced with this dilemma – whether to continue using a PC or to make the switch to Mac. In recent years, it seems that Apple has marketed Macs with this in mind. If they can hook you with one of their popular, ancillary products, you might think it appropriate, as Apple’s website suggests, to “make the ultimate upgrade” and buy a Mac.

Of course, if you have your own business, or if you are in the process of starting one, the stakes are much higher because the choice you make will determine both your everyday productivity and the ongoing support services you will need to make it work. It is easy to get swept up by clever marketing or even that colleague of yours who insists that Mac is the only option. However, making an informed decision is always best. Included here are several things you will want to consider before choosing Mac for yourself and/or your employees.

First, you should reflect on whether the end will justify the means. The hard truth is, if you are in an office environment and have a Windows Server and Windows-based apps, switching to Mac may entail more than you are really prepared for. For instance, you may find that your current business software is not compatible with Mac and has to be replaced. To sidestep this problem, a lot of Mac users decide to run virtualization on their computers, allowing them to choose which OS, Mac or Windows, they want to use at any given time. Yet, virtualization itself can lead to additional support costs and security issues. The moment you put Windows on your computer, your Windows environment can get infected just as easily as if you had a PC.

So when is it smart to choose Mac for a business environment? Generally speaking, if your business is small, web-based and your primary needs involve web, email, productivity, and file access, there is no reason why Mac would not be more than suitable. Apple’s hardware is infused with user confidence, and for good reason. You will definitely have fewer security and configuration problems. If price is a concern, you might consider the MacBook Air, which cannot be matched in the PC world for all that it offers. Unfortunately, the larger your business, the more complex a transition to Mac could become, requiring much more in the way of support services.

All that said, the decision to use Macs or PCs for your business needs may not be as straightforward as you’d like. Based on our broad history with the Mac platform, thinkCSC can help you determine which route is best for you.

Nov 08
0

4 Keys to Choosing the Right Mac Service Provider

By | Hardware & Warranty Repairs | No Comments

macserviceproviderFor the most part Macs run well, but like any technology, eventually they will fail. When that time comes, the odds are you will not be able to fix it yourself. You are going to need some professional help in order to get your system back in working order.

To complicate matters, you can’t just hire any technician. You need to deal with someone who knows how to work with Macs – and a PC technician just won’t cut it. Macs have a unique system architecture that require specialized knowledge. Even the best Windows tech could end up doing more harm that good if they issue the wrong commands through Terminal, which provides the technician nearly unlimited access to the core of the system.

So, how do you pick a good Mac service provider? There are four basic credentials you should look for that will help you to decide which service provider is the one that can meet your needs.

1. Experience

When it comes to getting your systems repaired, experience matters. You need a service provide who is familiar with the system but every company’s marketing department is going to tell you that they are the best company to meet your needs. Only by talking to their customers and finding out how they have handled problems in the past can you ensure that the service is responsive, friendly and able to meet your needs. Never use a service that cannot provide you with references.

Remember, this is IT. Technology changes quickly. You’re not looking for a company with 50 years of experience. In fact, IT companies that last longer than five years are doing really well. One good example is CSC, which has been in business since 1992. Not a lengthy history when you compare it to a brand like Kellogg’s, but it is an impressive span for an IT services provider.

2. Apple Certifications

When you are choosing a company you need to be sure that the providers who will be working on your systems with have the appropriate Apple certifications. These credentials, issued by Apple, show that the people who will be servicing your systems have demonstrated the knowledge and the skills needed to work with your systems to the satisfaction of the Mac makers themselves.

3. Apple Authorized Repair Center

Apple Authorized Repair Centers come with a guarantee that the service will be done right. Even more important, using an Apple Authorized Repair Center is a guarantee that the service will not void your warranty.

4. Managed Services

A number of problems with your system can be avoided simply by making sure that your system gets the monitoring that it needs on a daily basis, and the maintenance that it needs on a monthly basis. A company that provides its customers managed services simplifies that process and helps to prevent problems before they happen. This kind of service gives you what you don’t know you need but can’t live without.

CSC has a well-trained staff of Apple-certified technicians available to help you with all of your Mac service needs. Schedule service for your Mac with us.