My name is Chris Miles and I work with Canadian System Integrators, VAR's and Network Administrators, who are looking at supporting IP telephony on their network.
Showing posts with label insight information technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insight information technology. Show all posts
We recently found a corrupt print job on a customer's computer network that was using 50% of the CPU by the Print Spooler. The Print Spooler, also called the Queuing System, manages printer use on computer systems that have more than one printer, and a 50% usage causes a much slower computer network.
The corrupt print job occurred months ago, but wasn't found until our customer took advantage of our "5 to 50" Computer Network Support Service. Part of this service is 24/7 Network Monitoring, allowing us to foresee and diagnose problems much faster, and in some cases, remedy the situation immediately without having to go on-site.
If this was an existing customer why wasn't this problem found earlier?
Typically, Computer Support is based on what we call a "Break & Fix" model. Unless there is a problem or a project, we are NOT involved in the day-to-day management of our customer's network. However our "5 to 50" service is a Pro-active Support model, which delivers computer support at a flat monthly fee that our customers can budget for just like rent. And part of this service is the 24/7 Monitoring, which is constantly scanning the network looking for problem that might not be seen by an end-user. In the case of the high CPU usage on the Server, our customer really didn't notice anything until after the problem was fixed, and they noticed everything running faster.
If your business has 5 or more workstations, and is located in the Vancouver Lower Mainland or Fraser Valley, we'd welcome the opportunity to manage your Computer Network. Contact us anytime at 604-484-5141 in Vancouver or 604-864-0465 in Abbotsford.
There was a great article in the February Business In Vancouver newspaper, written by Alan Zisman. In the High Tech Office section, the headline reads "Lessons from another malware meltdown". The article explains how by mid-January of this year millions of Windows systems had been successfully attacked by malware, even though Microsoft had released a patch in October. It goes on to explain how easily one infected machine can spread throughout a network, even a network that is behind a firewall. "Infected systems are hooked into botnets, serving up mass amounts of spam e-mail messages. An estimated 90% of all spam comes from such botnets."
For business owners, the lesson learned is to ensure all your machines, including Desktops, Laptops and Servers have Virus Protection and they have been regularly updated and are always current. I'd argue that your Virus Protection be updated automatically, without you thinking about it, or without your staff or IT guy needing to update manually. Now here's the Sales Pitch. Insight IT customers, who take advantage of our "5 to 50" Computer Support Service have the option of our Virus Protection service that is always current 24/7. Nothing for your staff to do, and each machine is monitored around the clock, 365 days per year.
Click here, to read Alan Zisman's Business In Vancouver article.
And if you are interested in an inexpensive way to ensure your Computer Network is safe, contact us anytime. Insight Information Technology or Insight IT for short delivers Enterprise Computer Support at a Small Business price, for organizations throughout Vancouver BC Lower Mainland, Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley.
Imagine running ALL your Windows Applications over the Internet, from any Workstation or Browser, anywhere in the World!
Let's say you're working from your home, maybe on the family Mac.And you need to access an important Windows application that you run from your PC back at the office. All you need to do is fire-up your web browser, log-in to a secure web site and there is the Windows application you need.Just like at your workstation back at the office, you can open, change, save and delete documents remotely, and even send print jobs to your local printer at home.
Or maybe you're running a new feature rich application in your office, but don't want to upgrade all your PC's.Now older, under powered workstations can access the new application using only a web browser.
Another example is a Law Firm who, instead of investing in new machines with Microsoft's Vista Operating System, he chose to implement less expensive Linux software.All his existing applications worked fine, except for one that he simply Web Enabled allowing all users to access from any desktops, either in the office or from a remote location.
Web enabling any Windows, Unix or Linux application is made available through a product called Go-Global from GraphOn.With Go-Global you can access applications from any platform, take advantage of enhanced security and eliminate Citrix and Terminal Server.Not only is GO-Global an efficient Web-enabling and application publishing solution, it's also a cross-platform solution. So now Linux users can run Windows applications. Windows users can run UNIX and Linux programs. Mac users can run Windows applications. Windows 98 users can Windows XP programs. You get the picture, right? Mix and match for the most effective application access solution.
How Go-Global Works:
GO-Global consists of two parts: the GO-Global server software and the GO-Global client software. The GO-Global server software runs on a central server along with the application being published. Each client device runs one of the GO-Global client software modules which are available as native thin clients or as browser plug-ins.
You can click here to see an interactive Flash presentation of GO-Global's Web-enabling and application publishing features.
If you looking to connect remote users or get more from your existing PC's, contact us anytime.We offer Computer Network Support and Repair for business customers throughout Vancouver BC, Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley.
Before joining Insight Information Technology, I worked a number of years with a VancouverBC Internet Service Provider.Skyway West was the ISP I worked with, marketing a number of business class Internet Services.My time at Skyway gave me a great deal of experience understanding the Internet and Wide Area Networking.
Over the years I've talked to a number of business owners and their IT Managers, who were struggling with Voice over IP, Virtual Private Networks and other applications that take advantage of high-speed Internet connections.Poor phone call quality or dropped Terminal Server sessions were some of the problems that would often stop small businesses from taking advantage of these important business applications.
Many businesses connect to the Internet using Broadband services like ADSL and Cable, because they offer very fast Downstream speeds, at an affordable price.And although the Upstream speeds are slower, they have improved a great deal over the last few years.But most Broadband services are Half Duplex, which can be a problem for many applications.
A Lesson in Half Duplex
Let's take ADSL as an example.In BC and Alberta businesses can take advantage of either a maximum 3.0 Mbps Downstream service or (depending where you are located) 6.0 Mbps.Both of these options come with a maximum Upstream speed of 1.0 Mbps.Now most people assume they get both a 3 or 6 Mbps Downstream AND a 1 Mbps Upstream connection.WRONG!ADSL and Cable are Half Duplex, meaning that if users are surfing the web and using up (say) 2.5 Mbps, the Upstream available is only 500K at best.And this is the problem for important applications like VoIP, VPN's and Terminal Server.
For many the fix is to throw more Bandwidth at the problem, by upgrading the service or replacing their Broadband connection with more expensive services like a T1 or Fibre.
A T1 tutorial
A T1 is generally 1.5 Mbps, and unlike Broadband the speeds are Guaranteed, instead of a “best effort”.And T1's are Full Duplex, meaning you enjoy BOTH a 1.5 Downstream and a 1.5 Mbps Upstream.However compared to Broadband pricing, a T1 will be a hit to your operating budget.Depending where you are, a T1 can be anywhere from $600 to $1,000 per month.And for users that are have enjoyed a 3.0 or 6.0 Mbps service, a T1 can appear much slower.
What about Fibre?
In terms of performance, Fibre is a great solution.But, unless your business is in downtown Vancouver, a Fibre connection will be very expensive.Prices for Fibre can be anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 per month, which is a big jump from most Broadband services.
However, if your business is on a budget, I suggest there is a better way.
2 Heads are Better Than One
Another solution is to separate regular web surfing traffic from your VoIP or inbound traffic from Remote Users.In other works, use 2 Broadband services and “Aggregate” the traffic.For example a good Managed ADSL for your VoIP traffic, and a separate Cable service for your email and Web Surfing.
2 Separate Internet Connections
2 Separate Technologies
2 Separate ISP's
If your VoIP or Terminal Server traffic is not competing with normal Web Surfing, the full Upstream connection is available.Add a Dual Wan Router, and you also get an automatic fail-over if one connection becomes unavailable.
So, how much?
In the Vancouver Lower Mainland and FraserValley, a good Managed ADSL service starts at $69 per month, and a business Shaw Cable service also starts at $69.So for under $140 per month, your business can take advantage of a Fast, Very Reliable Internet connection.
If you are adding VoIP, connecting remote users to your business process or just looking for a more reliable Internet service, contact us anytime.Insight Information Technology provides Computer Network Support and Repair for business customers throughout the Vancouver Lower Mainland and FraserValley.As well, we provide CIO services to our customers.
I recently asked our Telephony Partners if they could share with me how their Phone Systems integrate with other business applications. An interesting response came from Brian Dunn of ETC Telecom, explaining some of the VIP features of the ESI Business Telephone System.
ESI's VIP (Visually Integrated Phone) PC applications let you combine the power of your ESI phone system and Microsoft Outlook to enhance communication in your day-to-day activities - including the ability to control calls and organize voice mail and contacts.
Both VIP and VIP Professional, combined with an ESI Telephone System lets you do the following from your PC's screen.
Manage your telephone calls
Manage your voice mail
Organize your contacts
Quickly program your ESI Feature Phone
ETC Telecom supports the ESI line of business Telephone Systems throughout the Lower Mainland of Greater Vancouver BC.
When you compare us to many Systems Integrators out there, announcing a Partnership with Microsoft calls for a loud “so what”!But you see, for many years Insight IT was known as a Novell Shop.As a Novell Gold Partner Insight was (and still is) the “go to” company if you ran a Novell network.Whether you used Netware or upgraded to Suse Linux, we knew Novell, Linux and Open Source.
While many of our customers had a Netware or Linux Server, almost all ran Microsoft on the desktop.So by default, we always supported Microsoft Software.These days, as we grow, more and more of our new customers are running Windows Servers, and in many cases Microsoft’s Small Business Server.
To ensure that we keep current, Insight Information Technology became a Microsoft Partner Program Registered Member.While many of our competitors only understand one Operating System, Insight IT customers can enjoy the option to choose one or more and know they will be supported.
About Us:
Insight Information Technology (or Insight IT for short) provides Computer Network Support and Repair for Vancouver Lower Mainland and FraserValley business.
Typically businesses that outsource their IT support generally have a "Break and Fix" relationship with a Systems Integrator. In other words, when there is a problem with your Computer Network, you place a call to your IT guy; they come in and fix the problem, then send you an invoice. This form of support is very Reactive, and the time it takes between your call for support and getting the problem fixed can be very unproductive. As well, the more problems on your network, the more your Computer Support person earns.
Although Insight IT has a number of "Break/Fix" customers, we are moving many to a more Proactive support model. The model is often called "Managed Services", or "Fixed-Fee" IT support. Business customers pay a fixed monthly rate, for which Systems Integrators (like us) support your Computer Network. Now if there is a problem it's on our dime, not yours! Therefore we invest in tools to help us deliver support faster and less expensively. It is in our best interest to ensure that support issues are reduced considerably.
To help us deliver our Fixed-Fee support, Insight partnered with Zenith Infotech. Zenith is an international company serving IT Service Providers worldwide. Zenith engineers remotely and securely monitor, maintain and manage desktops, servers, network devices and applications at end-customers' locations over the Internet.
A huge advantage is now problems are often found and fixed quickly, often in minutes. As well, Software Updates, Virus and Spyware Protection and Patch Management is managed 24/7 by trained professionals instead of your non-technical employees.
Insight Information Technology (or Insight IT for short) supports Windows, Linux and Novell networks, throughout the Vancouver BC Lower Mainland, Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley.
Contact us anytime, and if you are a new customer to us and have 5 to 50 computers, we’d like offer you 2 FREE hours of computer support with no strings attached, no small print, and absolutely zero obligations to do or buy anything!
Entrust Chartered Accountants offer accounting, tax and business consulting services to private businesses, with the kind of personalized attention that is usually reserved for only the biggest clients.Entrust is interested in doing more than balancing your books and preparing your returns—they want to help you grow. They offer a range of value-added services to private businesses: personalized accounting advice, innovative tax solutions, and business consulting services.
Entrust was the first customer to take advantage of our "5 to 50" Computer Network Support Program.With this plan Entrust pays a fixed monthly fee that they can easily budget for, just like rent.Insight’s “5 to 50” Computer Network Supportservice includes a number of services to ensure a healthy network.
"Insight IT's regular service allows for planned management of our IT requirements and upgrades. Insight's ability to manage our server from offsite means they can often address a problem quickly without having to make a service call to our location."
Welcome to our new Blog, and to be honest we're doing this help promote and grow our business.
My name is Chris Miles, and I'm the Director of Business Development for Insight Information Technology. Insight IT for short. Director of Business Development is just a fancy way of saying that I'm "the dumb Sales Guy" in our organization.
We provide Computer Network support to small and medium sized businesses, throughout Vancouver's Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.
We can completely take over the day-to-day management and maintenance of your computer network and free businesses from expensive, frustrating computer problems, downtime, and security threats.
In the coming days, weeks, months we'll be adding to our Blog, sharing stories of Technology and Business, with a particular slant towards the Canadian marketplace.
