Network Solutions Unlimited Blog

Business owners try to avoid downtime like the plague, but it’s often a challenge to do so. The impact of downtime can be devastating for even the most stable business, and this is even more so the case when you bring profits and bottom lines into view. We’ll take a look at how you can calculate the cost of a downtime event.

In terms of the sheer amount of technology your company utilizes, we’re willing to bet that a sizable chunk of it is made up of hardware. This includes devices like your workstations, routers, switches, and servers. Most of us understand that this technology does not last forever, so you should not only expect your hardware to fail, but anticipate it. In other words, you need to be prepared.

We thought we would do something a little bit different for this week’s tip. Instead of giving you some software tips or some kind of thing you can use to make your business more productive, we thought that we’d help you with the thing that you already know, but may not realize:

If you want to minimize costs, being proactive can go a long way toward this goal. Your business’ technology is one such area where proactive maintenance can allow your company to save countless dollars and hours of downtime. If you haven’t implemented a proactive maintenance platform yet, then you might be putting your company at risk.

How much time does your staff spend actually doing work compared to simply communicating about work? There’s a big difference, primarily in terms of making you money versus costing you money. Truth be told, employees spend nearly 80 percent of their time either in meetings, on the phone, or responding to emails. By finding ways for your team to communicate more efficiently, they will effectively spend less time yapping and more time making you money.

Virtually every business needs data to function, yet not every SMB has the skills or resources needed to maintain their in-house server units. If you’ve found yourself struggling with server upkeep, then you’ll be happy to learn that this responsibility can easily be outsourced to a third party.

When you look at the benefits of outsourcing your server needs to our cloud, it becomes difficult to go back to “doing IT the hard way.”

Server Hosting Takes One More Thing Off Your Plate
Essentially, having a third party handle the management and maintenance of your data means one less responsibility that you don’t have to worry about. For the busy business owner, freeing up time so you don’t have to sweat the small stuff and instead focus more on running your business is what outsourcing is all about.

Server Hosting Prevents Expensive Downtime
It’s just common sense that having a computer maintained by a professional prevents downtime by making sure that the equipment is running in tiptop shape. When it comes small server problems that go unchecked (perhaps because you may not even know that these issues are problems in the first place), it’s only a matter of time before these unknown-to-you issues develop into serious problems that can hinder your workflow. When your company finds itself in this most unfortunate predicament, you’ll kick yourself when you realize that the downtime you’re experiencing could have been avoided with proactive maintenance.

Server Hosting Saves on Expenses
You may not know much about the technical side of how servers work, but it’s easy to know that a server is quite expensive to purchase. Plus, having to pay for the upkeep of hosting a full rack of servers in your office adds up. Think for a moment of the electricity it takes to run these machines and the maintenance bills from unplanned repairs. By simply outsourcing your server needs to a third party, you’re letting them handle the hosting, along with all of the upkeep and other associated expenses.

Although, outsourcing the care of your servers doesn’t necessarily mean having your data hosted off-site. If you already have an IT infrastructure that you’re happy with, then an outsourced IT company like Network Solutions Unlimited can assist you remotely with the maintenance and upkeep of your in-house equipment, as well as the management of your data. Whether you outsource the care of your in-house servers, or you go so far as hosting your data in the cloud, either way, you’ll save money.

Server Hosting Ensures Compatibility
One of the challenges of managing your own servers is having to be familiar with which applications are compatible with specific operating systems, and which ones aren’t. Otherwise, you run the risk of performing a software upgrade that unintentionally disables a mission-critical app used in your business’ day-to-day operations. A misstep like this can be costly.

The advantage of hosted servers is that they are often virtualized, which means you can run various operating systems to ensure compatibility with the legacy apps your business relies on. With this being such an easy way to mitigate such a serious risk, it’s a move that every business owner should consider.

If your business needs assistance with server management and hosting, reach out to us at (217) 428-6449.

Thanks to the advancements of virtualization and cloud computing, many businesses are hosting key parts of their IT infrastructure off-site. While this move is great for mobility and productivity, it makes operations extremely dependant upon a working Internet connection. If this scenario describes your organization, what’s your plan to stay productive should your Internet connection fail?

Whether you host just some of your mission-critical data in the cloud or your entire IT infrastructure, a failed Internet connection translates to costly downtime; even those annoying Internet “hiccups” can add up over the course of the workday. Even the best ISPs can’t promise 100 percent uptime, making it very likely that you’ve experienced this pain point before.

Also, what about a worst-case scenario? Imagine for a moment Illinois getting slammed with a natural disaster that takes your ISP offline for days. This is more likely to happen than you would think. Here are three solutions to overcome this inconvenience.

Have a Backup IT Infrastructure On-Site
One solution is to have a backup of your infrastructure stored locally on your in-house network. Taking a precaution like this certainly is prudent, although, while locally backing up your infrastructure is a great move, not every business will have the ability or funds needed to enact this proactive measure.

Access a Mobile Network
Another idea to give your office Internet access when your ISP fails is to equip your staff with 4G-enabled laptops and smartphones that can act as temporary hotspots. This will provide your team with the ability to access the files they need over the 4G network, allowing operations to continue humming along. However, before you put a lot of stock into a strategy like this, you’ll first want to check the terms and conditions of your mobile data plan. Having the entire office access your carrier’s 4G network could result in some hefty fees that may or may not be offset by the profits made while working on your mobile network.

Have Your Team Work Remotely
Another approach is to simply take advantage of other working Internet connections that can be found elsewhere. This is one clear advantage to having a mobile workforce. If your office is experiencing Internet troubles, then your staff can take their mobile devices with them to the nearest coffee shop with working Wi-Fi connection, or even work from their homes. A move like this will keep operations going in an emergency situation, and depending on the likes and dislikes of your staff, you may even find such an arrangement to be more productive for your company overall.

According to ZDNet, this option may actually be the best option in terms of overcoming downtime, and it’s worth implementing as a contingency plan: “It's true that businesses are increasingly allowing for remote work and disaster planning is a good argument for it. It may even be worthwhile as an exercise. Require employees to have a plan for working off-site and schedule a day for everyone, or perhaps one department at a time, to do so. You might learn something about productivity while you're at it. 9/11 proved that it's possible your offices may be out of commission for a while. Do you really want to have to make up your plans on the spot when that happens?”

Having a plan in place to account for the loss of Internet is just one of the many potential IT problems that you’ll want to be prepared for. Whether your IT infrastructure is hosted in the cloud or it’s located in-house, there exist a plethora of downtime-causing sceneries that can strike your business at anytime (like hacking attacks, user error, and more). Working with Network Solutions Unlimited to create a bulletproof business continuity plan is the surest way to keep your company up and running, no matter what problems you’re faced with.

To make sure you’re prepared for any and all problems that can affect your technology, call us today at (217) 428-6449.

If you’re like every other business in the world, you rely on a set of software solutions that you use to ensure that all work gets done properly in your office. In order to effectively use this software, though, users have to purchase a software license, an agreement with the developers pertaining to the use of the software. Without having the proper licensing, your business can no longer access mission-critical applications, which could result in downtime and other risks to your infrastructure.

The Risks Involved
Since renewing software licensing is so crucial to the continued success of your business, you should be aware of the risks of not renewing your software licenses promptly. Here are three of the biggest problems that can come from not keeping track of your business’s software licenses.

• Downtime: The first thing you’ll notice about failing to renew your software licensing is that the applications will be available one moment, and then unavailable the next. This can be troublesome if your business is on a strict deadline for a project. If the software required to complete the project is suddenly unavailable, how can you keep operations moving forward? Waiting for this problem to be solved can kill your business’s momentum and grind progress to a halt.
• Shadow IT: If your team is getting frustrated from a discontinued access to certain software solutions, it’s likely that they will try to find a solution to the problem themselves by searching for free software online. The problem here is that this software isn’t approved by IT, and this lack of oversight can have dire consequences. Some free online software will come with malware or adware attached, which could lead to a potential data breach if left unchecked.
• Legal repercussions: If your team does find a cheap version of the software they need, chances are that a “discounted” or “free” version of any major brand software, like Microsoft, probably isn’t legitimate. Risking your company’s future by giving your team a reason to find workarounds for software licenses isn’t the right way to do things. You shouldn’t have to rely on potentially illegal ways of acquiring software to get around software licensing. If your team is found to be using a version of a particular software without a software license agreement, you could be subject to nasty fines and audits that could break your budget.

If your business is having trouble managing its software licenses, we would be more than happy to help. With our remote management and maintenance solutions, we can keep track of updates to your business’s crucial systems, and we can keep an eye on your software license renewal process to ensure that it happens without a hitch. To learn more, give us a call at (217) 428-6449.