Computerware Blog

It takes a lot of work and determination to make a successful small business. There are countless parts that need to be managed and maintained--so many that it can be difficult to assign a priority at times. There are certain requirements that your organization must achieve in order to remain successful, but it takes a little more than just business savvy to keep your organization ahead of the game. Let’s take a look at some of the ways your business can make itself stand out and achieve success.

Productivity is crucial to every workplace. If your employees are not properly leveraging their opportunities to be productive, then they are ultimately costing your business a considerable amount. Thanks to technology solutions, you can help your employees stay productive in numerous ways--chief among them being access to crucial data and applications.

The cloud has brought with it a plethora of benefits for small businesses, so many that organizations often are under the impression that the cloud can solve even the biggest issues. While we can’t speak for each and every business out there, we can say with confidence that regardless of your organization’s size, it can benefit in some way, shape, or form from a little bit of cloud implementation.

Businesses of all types have looked to the cloud as a way to receive the goods and services they could use to improve their ability to create revenue, while not having to lay out huge chunks of capital in which to get the dynamic computing infrastructure. Today, developers are creating useful cloud-based applications that not only provide growing businesses the resources they need, they increasingly give workers flexibility, through their inherent accessibility. Today, we will take a look at five cloud-based applications that can really benefit a small business.

With businesses dealing with and storing more data, cloud storage platforms have begun to be extremely important for the modern small business. It took a while for small business decision makers to implement cloud storage solutions for their businesses, which is largely to blame on the stigma of insecurity the cloud had. Today, however, cloud platforms are used for all types of utility. Today, we’ll go into the types of cloud storage, and their benefits to a small business.

Most businesses rely on email in at least some capacity. Nowadays, organizations often choose to outsource the management of their email servers, including their hosting, to other organizations, most notably cloud providers for ease of use. Here are some of the benefits that you can gain from switching your in-house email management to a cloud-based email server.

Cloud computing is taking the business world by storm. Despite this, not every organization has made the switch. While every company that hasn’t yet migrated to the cloud has their reasons, one big reason often tops the list: the perceived lack of cost savings. Thanks to a new study, this perception is now proven to be inaccurate.

If we asked you what the most significant trend in today’s professional environment is, what would you say? For those who depend on technology to manage and maintain their operations, the cloud has allowed for some of the biggest and best advantages--so much that it’s perhaps one of the most prominent shifts that the world has ever seen.

How the Cloud Works
In essence, the cloud is a term that applies to any off-site computing done by your organization. It’s not far from the reality of the situation to suggest that cloud-based services work by using someone else’s computer to store and process applications and data.

The cloud provider rents their computing resources to you. Depending on their service model, you’ll receive services for a cost based on how much you store, how much power or bandwidth you need, or how many accounts must access it. The cloud provider needs to adhere to these guidelines if they want to keep you as a customer. Furthermore, safety and security are also required, as nobody wants to have their data stored in a place where it’s susceptible to theft. Finally, the cloud provider needs to be able to provide you the services at a rate that’s cheaper than if you were to find a way to accomplish the same thing on your own. This is a considerable amount of information to think about, especially with the other costs involved.

The most important features to think about are how much uptime and security are offered, as both are required by any organization. The problem is that achieving the required results on your own is difficult for an organization with a limited IT budget, making outsourcing to a cloud provider quite ideal. It’s a way to manage risk; you won’t be burdened by unexpected costs in the event of trouble, as it’s the responsibility of the managed service provider and not your organization.

However, the cloud service provider needs to do much more than manage a single computer. Instead, it’s managing many hundreds or thousands of virtual computers stored in a data center, all of which need to be maintained. Since they are being stored in bulk, the cost per unit drops, but security becomes an even larger challenge. Meanwhile, the cloud provider is capable of investing in more expensive and top-shelf solutions that your business might not be able to afford on its own. The end result is enhanced security and capabilities alongside technology that allows organizations to keep up with major industry trends--without the hefty price tag.

This Isn’t the First Time
If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because this isn’t the first time that technology completely revolutionized the business environment. Back in the 1890s, before computers and cyber security were even pain points for organizations, business owners had to worry about how to power their site of operations with electricity. Factories used expensive on-site generators that could hardly be called efficient, and they were all but impossible to maintain without going out of your way to do so. Some employees needed to remain on-site just to ensure that operations didn’t stop due to a generator malfunction, simply because the organization couldn’t afford to allow productivity to halt, even for a few minutes.

This all changed when the Edison Power Company in Chicago found a better way of doing things. With the ability to provide reliable and clean electricity to factories at a more affordable rate, they were able to completely change the way organizations were run. The cost per unit became much cheaper, as the Edison Power Company found they could maintain their infrastructure by employing specialized technicians who focused on the upkeep of this equipment. 20 years later, you’d be hard-pressed to find an organization that didn’t utilize the power grid in some way.

How the Cloud is, More or Less, the Same Thing
Can you imagine producing the bulk of your organization's electricity in-house? While this might lead to humorous imaginary situations, like hamster wheels or treadmill desks, such a notion would be absolutely silly. The same thing can be said for the cloud and your organization's IT infrastructure. The fast-paced shift from on premise servers to cloud-based virtualization, along with the mobile device infestation, has made way for organizations to shed their traditional server and desktop infrastructure altogether in favor of a more streamlined virtual approach. With the cloud, your business will be able to implement solutions like email, document management, line-of-business apps, and so much more, all for a lower cost with enhanced security functionality.

In fact, some future-minded organizations have already begun taking advantage of this shift in ways previously unheard of. Instead of managing in-house servers and desktop workstations, these organizations host their infrastructure in the cloud, allowing for greater flexibility and energy saving costs. It’s just one way that the shift toward cloud computing is helping organizations achieve their maximum potential.

How will your business take advantage of the cloud? If you’re not sure, call us at (703) 821-8200. Computerware’s trusted technicians want to make sure that your business’s technology infrastructure doesn’t skip a beat.

For much of the past century, if you wanted to work among the clouds, you’d join the Air Force and take it from there. Nowadays, however, working among the clouds can mean that you want to work with advanced computer systems that deliver computing, security, storage, and utilities to businesses and end-users from all around the world.

You might be surprised to learn how much the cloud can change the way you do business. What follows are some of the most valuable ways your business can leverage the cloud.

Boosted Mobility
How many times has your company been limited by its lack of mobility? Employees working off-site may not be able to access critical files. Furthermore, keeping multiple copies of your files stored all over the place without having a unified location is just begging for a data leak or data loss disaster.

The cloud is a great solution to these problems and can provide you with a central hub to store your data. You can then access your data from anywhere with an Internet connection, allowing for much more flexibility. Your employees can access documents and other information that they need to do their jobs, all without the unnecessary risk of losing data or misplacing files.

Data Backup and Business Continuity
What if your business experienced a catastrophic situation where the majority of your data was lost or stolen? Floods, power surges, fires, earthquakes, and so much more all have the potential to knock your organization off its feet. If this data is stored both on-site and off-site, you’ll have a much greater chance of recovering from a disaster. Cloud-based data backup is a great way to take advantage of off-site backup.

By backing up to the cloud, you can rapidly recover your data to a viable device at a moment’s notice following a disaster. A quality Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) device is the ideal tool for business continuity, as it can take multiple backups a day (as often as every 15 minutes) and send them to the cloud. A BDR solution also has the ability to quickly restore your data for when you need it most.

Collaboration Tools
Collaboration done prior to the cloud often involved printing out multiple copies of documents and passing them out to members of the project management team. Then, you would scribble all over the copies and hand them back to the owner with your feedback. The problem with this process is that it’s relatively unorganized and has lots of room for error.

The cloud fixes these problems considerably. Instead of running the risk of losing paperwork, digital documents are stored online so they can be accessed by any team member with an Internet connection. Furthermore, collaboration is made easier by providing document editing and access in real time.

Scalability
What kind of physical storage are you using? Storing many files of different formats and sizes can take its toll on your network. Instead, it’s better to use a flexible solution in order to access and store all of your data. The flexibility you need can be found in the cloud. Your cloud provider can scale the amount of storage you need for your digital assets, which is one less thing for you to worry about. Plus, the costs of data storage will only increase incrementally as you require more space, but you’ll only pay for what you use (all while taking the burden off your in-house IT infrastructure).

If you want to implement a quality cloud solution, look no further than Computerware. To learn more, reach out to us at (703) 821-8200.

A recent survey shows that 43 percent of IT decision makers plan on investing more in the cloud in 2017. When you compare this projection with the steady cloud adoption rate we’ve seen over the past decade, it becomes obvious that the cloud is the next evolution of business computing. As exciting as this is, it’s important to adopt the cloud with a degree of caution.

As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to account for each and every one of your organization’s software solutions, but do you know the exact value that your business is getting from them? This can be challenging when managing software solutions locally on each of your workstations, but the cloud makes this astronomically easier.

One major advantage of the cloud is that it allows users to easily share files. Although, due to just how easy it is to share files, this advantage may also prove to be a disadvantage, especially when inexperienced users are the ones doing the sharing. The next time your business shares a file with a cloud-based file sharing service, be sure to account for these three risks.

Cloud computing gives businesses plenty of choices for how they want their assets managed. There are three different types of clouds: public, private, or hybrid. Some businesses have found that the public cloud is their preferred way of handling the management of their critical systems. We’ll investigate some of the finer details so that you can decide on the solution which suits your business best.

Here are three reasons why small businesses might prefer the public cloud over the other options.

The Cloud is Easy to Use
When your business hosts data in-house, you’re the one responsible for its upkeep and maintenance. Any major changes to your infrastructure would be your responsibility as well, which effectively means that any and all changes would have to be managed or supervised by either yourself or your internal IT department. Alternatively, utilizing the public cloud is easier and less time-consuming for your hosting needs. The public cloud makes it easy to make changes to your infrastructure, like adding new users or scaling up your resources. Just put in a support request to your cloud provider and you’re all set.

It should also be pointed out that it is possible to make use of a private cloud platform without having to manage every detail yourself. By outsourcing the responsibility of managing your private cloud to a managed service provider like Computerware, you can still enjoy the benefits of hosting your data in-house, as well as take advantage of Computerware’s infrastructure for your own use.

The Public Cloud is Secure Enough
One main point for you to take away here is that going through a public cloud provider gives you the opportunity to spend less on security while achieving a similar result to that of a private solution. While using a private cloud solution allows you to augment your cloud security with secondary solutions, we want you to remember that the public cloud is also a relatively secure experience. Public cloud providers have security experts which, if you’re a small business owner, can be preferable to hosting and managing your own in-house private cloud solution, as well as paying for full-time on-site IT technicians.

Still, even if the public cloud can provide passable security, you may require more. You should know that the best way to protect a company’s data is through a private cloud hosted internally, seeing as the private cloud allows you to implement external security features.

Less Focus on Technology Maintenance
If you don’t have the time or resources to maintain your cloud solution, you should at least be able to devote this time to managing your business’s operations. This is yet another main attraction of the public cloud. You’ll be able to spend less time managing your cloud solution, and more time on what matters most. A public cloud hosts your data on a service provider’s server, which handles the brunt of the work for you. Still, if you want to use a private cloud solution, Computerware can emulate the public cloud experience. We’ll focus on providing you with the best solution possible, while you focus on keeping your business functional.

Notice a pattern? Computerware can effectively help your business take advantage of the private cloud without any of the work. To learn more, reach out to us at (703) 821-8200.

Implementing a cloud solution is a difficult choice for many businesses, primarily because it represents a change in the way your organization functions. If you make a rash decision before doing your research, it might lead to downtime or a decrease in operability. Therefore, it’s important to understand why businesses move to the cloud, as well as what’s available for implementation.

Your business relies on swift, unfettered access to sensitive documents on many different mobile devices. The only problem with this is that security eventually becomes a problem, especially where multiple devices are concerned. You need to ask yourself if your file-sharing service is secure enough to protect important files.

Decision makers for small and medium-sized businesses certainly have a tough job. Each choice they make on the behalf of the business has repercussions, which could potentially influence the rest of the company, for better or for worse. Therefore, we’d like to take some of the pressure off of the decision makers with a recommendation: if you haven’t done so, consider utilizing Office 365 for your business’s various needs.

Making the move to the cloud is far from an easy task. You need a process that’s tailored specifically for your organization, and one which is open to adaptation. If your plans are foiled by unexpected complications, it can be difficult to keep on track, and your cloud’s migration could become a nightmare.

When hosting your IT infrastructure in-house, it’s nice to know that your servers and network equipment are being cared for to your specifications. However, are you providing the maintenance and management needed to maximize ROI and minimize downtime? The solution is virtualization.

Every business owner is keenly aware of how prominent a role technology has in today’s business environment. Yet, the vast majority of companies aren’t doing enough to keep up with the latest developments, and therefore, risk missing out on serious opportunities for growth, or even going out of business.