Happy New Year!
As we all move forwards into the craziness that a new year brings, we wanted to take a moment to review ten of the services offered by eTop Technology, and the benefits that each service may have for your business.
If you see any services that you don’t currently receive and that you think would be beneficial, please contact your IT provider. We want work with you to ensure that you are able to access all of the services that will best benefit you and your business!
1. Microsoft Office 365
Microsoft Office 365 is the Microsoft email solution that we use for all of our clients. Office 365 goes beyond just offering you an email program by offering consistent office applications across devices, teamwork tools including up to 1TB of cloud storage, and built-in security and privacy systems with a guaranteed 99.9% service uptime.
2. Hosting Applications in the Cloud
In the past, hosting was primarily done on privately owned servers with local networks, but hosting your business applications (like QuickBooks) in the cloud is a great way to ensure that your hosting is less expensive, is more secure, and has guaranteed uptime. When you work with your IT professional, moving over to a cloud-based hosting system can be an easy transition with a lot of benefits.
3. Get Faster Internet
An unreliable or slow Internet connection can be disastrous when you are trying to accomplish tasks online. Fiber Internet is now widely available and is generally the best option for businesses who use their Internet connection for anything more than emails and general web browsing. Talk to your IT professional when considering your Internet options for the year – they have access to plans and services that you may not be aware of and may be able to help you access improved Internet speeds and reliability without a drastic change in cost!
4. Hosted Phones
If your business uses between 10 and 50 phones and is currently using a PBX system that requires you to maintain hardware, there’s a better solution available to you! Consider upgrading to a cloud-based phone hosting system. If your Internet is reliable and fast, this allows you to make all of your calls through your Internet connection instead of through copper phone lines. Not only is this system more effective, it also releases you from the effort involved in maintaining and hosting a classic phone system.
5. Server and Computer Upgrades
It can be exhausting trying to keep up to date with all of the different hardware upgrades available, and to judge whether or not making the upgrade is worthwhile. eTop Technology’s IT specialists have the knowledge required to judge when your business is ready for new servers and/or computers. We can also assist clients with hardware remediation – ensuring that your hardware will never cost you more to keep than it would to replace it.
6. Software Upgrades
Several major software changes have occurred in the last year, including the release of Windows 10 and the discontinuation of support for Windows Server 2003. If you aren’t sure which upgrades are right for your business, eTop can assess your current needs and make recommendations based specifically on your business needs. If you are apprehensive about upgrading to Windows 10, we can install it on a single workstation to ensure that it meets your needs before upgrading your entire network.
7. Disaster Mitigation Planning, BDR
It’s an unfortunate truth about technology that disaster is basically inevitable – hardware will crash, files will corrupt, software will have flaws. Thankfully, we offer numerous disaster-avoidance strategies, including redundancies such as BDR appliances (a local backup server that automatically turns on should your main server fail). BDR appliances make a transition from your main server to a backup server seamless, and can save your business thousands of dollars by preventing downtime.
8. Redundancy for backups and connectivity
Another strategy we offer within our disaster mitigation services is creating redundancies by making numerous copies of the information your business requires to work. First, individual workstations are backed up to the server, then the server is backed up to a local network attached storage device, and finally this data is backed up to the cloud on a nightly basis. These three layers of redundancy ensure that no matter what happens to your business – whether an on-site fire, or a computer failure, your data would be accessible.
Similarly, we can also ensure that your Internet connection also has a redundancy – a secondary internet connection run through a separate network so that if one connection goes down, the other is able to take over and you can keep working.
9. IT Managed Services
eTop Technology functions as a Managed Services Provider (MSP). This means that we manage all of your IT needs and act as the CIO for your business. We know that you don’t require a full-time IT technician, but offer support whenever it is needed for a consistent monthly expense. Our goal is to provide you with the resources and advice that you need to make a wise decision about the technology that you make use of in your business.
10. Security Consulting
The security needs of any business can be overwhelming! We offer internal security audits with a senior technician trained to detect any vulnerabilities. If any security flaws are determined, we will compile a set of service recommendations and help you to implement them. This service is especially important for businesses that need to comply with regulatory bodies (such as HIPAA for medical offices).
If you have any other questions about what eTop Technology can do for your business, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask. It’s our goal to help you keep your business running as smoothly and safely as possible, while taking away some of the stress that can come with the technological aspect of running a business!
