It’s a fact—99% of y’all will read the first few lines of this article and then delete it. Please do not! Take a few minutes to read this…

As I walked into my doctor’s building today (a four-story building over by Medical City in Springfield) I saw box fans in every office – all throughout the building. I asked the receptionist what had happened. Apparently, a patient from the hospital’s psych ward had escaped and decided to sleep in the stairwell overnight. At some point, he must have turned on the fire hose and flooded the entire four floors!

Well, my doctor’s office had all of their PC’s and their sole server sitting on the floor…YEP! You guessed it…DONE. These devices are no longer working. And the data…well, let’s just say when you put a hard drive under water, the outcome isn’t good. This true story serves as a reminder that the unimaginable is also quite tangible. Are you prepared for the unexpected?

Here are my top 7 disaster preparedness tips to help ensure your priceless data stays safe

• Make a Checklist
  When it comes to disaster recovery (fire, flood, weather, thief, etc.), there is no time to just “wing it”, so making a checklist is your first key to success. Don’t have one? Right now is the time to make one. Make sure to include your Energy, Internet and IT service provider’s phone & account number on the list.
• Conduct a Risk Assessment
  What is the risk of X? It’s up to you to define “X”, but some examples are – loss of power, loss of servers, loss of the building. What risk does it pose to the health of the business?
• Identify the Top Causes of IT Outages
  If you’re not sure about this, please ask your IT professional. Have them create a list for you. The loss of data is 99% of the reason companies go out of business. Do you only have one server? If it dies without good, tested backups, what happens to the business? How long would you be able to keep the doors open and customers happy without backups?
• Establish Communication Protocol
  If you do not have a building because of a fire, flood or damage, where is your go-to spot? Can your phones be transferred in the blink of an eye to keep the business going? If they are VoIP phones, they most likely will. Again, it’s important to ask your phone administrator before disaster occurs.
• BDR Education
  Maybe you don’t know it, but Springfield I.T. Department offers our customers an amazing BDR (Backup Disaster Recovery) Solution. Do you have a comprehensive BDR Solution Plan? If not, GET ONE… It’s easy to justify the cost – If you lost your servers and data, the $400‒$500 is well beyond worth it!
• Discuss Various Storage Options
  Is your data stored correctly? Is it set up in a redundant fashion (meaning you have 2 copies of it)? If not, DO IT! Trust me, this is a big one and you’ll thank me later.
• Test Your BDR Processes
  Don’t just trust that your BDR plan is solid—do a test restore and request the data from your BDR solution provider to make sure it’s REALLY going to work in the event of an emergency.

Although these are all important details to consider, they’re just some of the tips and tricks that will aid in a smooth disaster recovery. For more details, please call Jeff Wheeler @ 972-331-3311 or email me: jwheeler@intelinetsystems.com

Providing Solutions for Real Results,

Jeff Wheeler
Managing Partner, VCIO

At Springfield I.T. Department our mission is to exceed your technology needs and expectations with our proven solutions, knowledgeable support staff, industry leading consulting and sales services, and skilled technical experts.

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Think about it… We change the oil in our cars every so often. We get our teeth cleaned every so often. We balance our checkbook every so often… OK, I’m not good about this one, but my point is… Have you done a telecom audit this year?

Did you know, the average Intelinet customer could save between $200 and $500 (or possibly more) each month in telecom services?

That is an average of $5,400 a year in saving!

With Springfield I.T. Department, you have full access to specialists, engineers and all the pricing discounts from over 70 providers! As a trusted provider, we have been serving the globe for Voice, Internet, IT and Cloud solutions, while saving companies just like yours, tons of money.

What’s the Process?
After we perform a comprehensive analysis of your business and technology direction, we audit your current expenses and provide you with proposals from all providers that offer services that would best meet your needs.

How Much Money Can You Save?
For the past 15 years, our consulting team has saved our clients an average of 30% on their telecommunications and bandwidth expenses. We ensure you are getting the lowest price from all providers with our comprehensive analysis. The best part— There’s no cost or obligation to our clients!

What’s the Next Step?
If you thinking about changing, please get a copy of your current phone bill and any agreements you have over to Springfield I.T. Department for a FREE No Obligation Audit.

What Are You Waiting For?
Email me directly and start saving money today! Just send it to jwheeler@intelinetsystems.com We’re looking forward to saving you money and increasing your Internet speeds!

Providing Solutions for Real Results,

Jeff Wheeler
Managing Partner, VCIO

At Springfield I.T. Department our mission is to exceed your technology needs and expectations with our proven solutions, knowledgeable support staff, industry leading consulting and sales services, and skilled technical experts.

The post More Internet Speed For Less $$$ appeared first on Springfield I.T. Department.

First of all, from time to time in the IT world, you as a user or a business owner will have complications. Issue here, issue there, just issues. So think about it. If you purchase IT assistance by the problem or issue, you can’t budget effectively. This means the more problems you have as a customer, the more money we make as your IT service provider. Ka-Ching! Your problem equals dollars for us.

The “answer” to the paying-by-the-problem scenario is to go with a flat-rate, monthly fee model such as our Managed Wise Elite offer. As our customer, when your business is running smoothly due to our preventative work, there are fewer issues we have to fix. The fewer issues we have to fix, the less labor dollars we spend on your account, and the more profitable you are as a customer of ours. You like less problems, we like less problems, so it’s a win-win for both of us! (As a side note, our TAMs, or Technical Account Managers, are required to walk into your office once a week, whether there is an issue or not. That is what we call customer service.)

Second of all, moving all your computing to our private cloud saves you money – Yep, it’s pretty easy! There are servers and virtual desktops, but your environment is on our private cloud. We own all of the equipment, so nothing is outsourced. We can drive you over to your cloud and you can touch the server where your data is being held. It’s not somewhere in LaLa land. Oh, and yes, you have normal work stations and laptops that you use every day.

When it comes to moving over to the cloud, resistance is futile. It is not a matter of IF you move, but WHEN! I have 3 cloud proposals on my desk as I type this article. We are helping companies forklift their businesses, their servers, and their processes to the cloud. Think about it: you walk into your office/home/hotel, and fire up your PC. The screen looks the same, you do the same job, you have the same process, but yet, your servers and systems are no longer in your office, they are now in our cloud (again, it’s our private data center). So, back to the original topic, budgeting IT. With your infrastructure in the cloud, it becomes a flat fee.

So, test me on this. Here is a math equation for you:

Let’s pick a 10 person office for grins.

Part 1

Remember, you don’t have to worry about server upgrades, patches, anti-virus, aging equipment, IT staff, or software upgrades. We manage everything for one low, flat fee.

Part 2

Take what you spent on IT last year and compare it to our flat fee. What is the difference? I will bet you a nice lunch at Salt Grass that it is either less than or within a few thousand dollars of your current spending. Here is the best part: all of your IT headaches are gone! Leave it to the IT Pros at Springfield I.T. Department, who LOVE THIS STUFF! Let us deal with the backend, while you focus on your business.

If you have any questions, I would love to hear from you.

Jeff Wheeler, Managing Partner, vCIO
jwheeler@intelinetsystems.com
SNR 972-331-3311 (Single Number Reach)

Let Springfield I.T. Department show you how much we can save you – in time and money. Schedule an appointment today at 417-942-5636.

Providing Solutions for Real Results,

Winning over customers the old fashioned way….Great Customer Service!
At Springfield I.T. Department our mission is to exceed your technology needs and expectations with our proven solutions, knowledgeable support staff, industry leading consulting and sales services, and skilled technical experts.

The post IT Budgeting is EASY appeared first on Springfield I.T. Department.

Paint

You don’t need to be a professional painter or interior designer to get this done. Use this shortcut: warm colors like shades of red make the room “cozier” which gives the room a shrinking effect.

If you want to make a room feel bigger, go with shades of blue. This helps give the room the illusion of being more expansive because cooler colors have a receding effect.

Here’s some other great tricks to make a small room look bigger:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAx91vd8a4A&w=469&h=264]

Make it more secure

(hire a part time guard)

  by  quinn.anya 

One of things that made my sister choose one apartment over another was one had a security guard downstairs and the other didn’t. Having a more secure place is always a good thing. Not only will it give tenants peace of mind, it’ll help differentiate your apartment buildings from others.

Get better furniture

(for staging)

Staging techniques used to sell homes can just as easily be applied to apartments. You are after all, trying to sell people on renting the place. So when you give prospects the tour, make sure to make it a memorable one by using simple staging tricks. In other words, paint the picture for them.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6qJ_MdXI2U&w=469&h=264]

Partner with local businesses

  by  stevendepolo 

Here’s a simple tip and all it takes is reaching out to other businesses. It can be gyms, restaurants, or dry cleaning/laundry services. Ask them if they would be open to giving a special rate for your tenants. Some will say no, but some will gladly do it if they want extra business.

Clean

You won’t believe how many apartments I’ve seen where it’s just dirty. You never want that stigma attached to your prospect’s mind.  My 3 best cleaning friends are:

Record Video Tour

There really are no excuses for not having a recorded video tour these days. You don’t need some fancy equipment or hire a video production company. You can simply use your Android phone or iPhone for this. It’s a lot easier if you have someone else hold the camera while another person does the talking.

But if you’re the only person managing the building, don’t use that as an excuse.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSoqxNiMe9A&w=469&h=264]

Keep it under 10 minutes, and you’ll be good to go.

Take Pictures

  by  Bonita la Banane 

If someone searches on Google for information about your building, there better be lots of pictures for them to see. Hire a professional photographer if you can, it can make a huge difference in terms of quality and perceived value.

However, if budget is limited, a smartphone or iPhone is good enough. Just take lots of pictures and vary it by using interesting angles and perspectives.

Hope you found these tips useful! For all your apartment complex IT needs, check out Springfield I.T. Department.

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