Tag Archives: internet

Should you virtualize your business

Virtualization seems to be the latest trend for business (and personal) these days. Everywhere you turn, people are talking about the “cloud” and utilizing their “online services”. But how realistic is this move for businesses? And is this just a passing fad?

First off, let’s be clear the concept of virtualization for computers isn’t as new as Microsoft or other big contenders would have you believe. In fact, the original computing world was completely “virtual”. Back then, we called them mainframes. All data and applications were in a central location; the only thing the user had was a terminal in which to log into the main servers.

Mainframes were powerful but the architecture had quite a few drawbacks. Limitations, such as capacity of simultaneous users and distance from the mainframe servers, directed companies more towards personal computers and stand-alone devices.

The idea of virtualization has risen again because of many advancements which makes the concept and technology far more accessible. In today’s world, virtualization refers to a diverse array of solutions and possibilities. Understanding the differences and possibilities are key to gaining the benefit of the technology.

Small companies (< 50 desktops)

Smaller companies can see real cost benefits from virtualizing their support or auxiliary systems. When we speak about virtualization for smaller businesses, we are talking primarily about utilizing the services of another company to eliminate the need of locally maintaining hardware and software.

Example: A mid-sized manufacturing company with roughly 15 employees was getting bombarded with spam in their email box. The spam was causing important emails from clients to be delayed and even rejected.

The cost for purchasing a local spam filtering software was a flat server rate plus individual cost per user. Divided across 15 boxes, it worked out to over $200/year/user.
Solve-IT.ca recommended they move to a virtualized spam filter, where they were able to reduce the cost of spam filtering to just a few dollars a month per user, or < $100/year/user. There was no compromise in service and in fact they gained message queuing, mail archiving and the ability to reply to emails in the queue in the event of a server outage.

Larger companies (> 50 desktops)

In larger companies, they can benefit from the same shared services as small businesses. But there are other opportunities available, such as Hyper-V, a Microsoft technology which allows for a single server to act like multiple.

Example: A large pharmaceutical company had at one time maintained close to 27 servers to store all their critical clinical trials data. This large number of servers was starting to impede the space allotted for computers and thus the ability for the company to continue to grow.

Rather than simply place more servers into the room, Solve-IT.ca worked out a new architecture for the environment that reduced the 27 servers down to 7 and allowed for additional growth within the existing environment. In addition to saving floor space, this allowed the company to retire the other 20 servers and save on maintenance time, reduce their carbon footprint and experience a utilities cost saving.

So what’s the right virtualization solution?

Virtualizing a company’s IT has to be done with a lot of care and forethought. Without the proper planning, critical systems can go down and data can be lost.

It is also not a “one-size-fits-all” environment. The solution has to fit with the company’s needs. For instance, a lawyer firm Solve-IT.ca recently worked with had legal requirements to maintain all data within Canada. Thus, it was critical for us to work with them and find the right solution to meet their needs and not compromise their data.

Are you interested in virtualizing your environment? Curious what options may be available to you?

Give us a call and book some Discovery time with Solve-IT.ca. We’ll be able to review your existing setup and provide our assessment on what architecture would make the most sense for your business.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday Tomorrow – Important Patches Due Out

Come Tuesday, Microsoft is shipping five security bulletins to fix flaws in the Microsoft Windows operating system, the Microsoft Office productivity suite and the Microsoft Server Software that could lead to code execution and privilege escalation attacks.

All five upgrades have been rated “important” and the Windows OS updates will apply to all versions of the operating system, which means the newest Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be able to reap the benefits too. And keep in mind, at least one of the bulletins will require a restart after installation.

Now don’t you even think of downplaying this batch of patches just because it doesn’t have a “critical” bulletin. Yes, “important” vulnerabilities do not give attackers the full root privileges generally associated with “critical” vulnerabilities, but the attackers can still use an “important” rated vulnerability to achieve an initial compromise. Once the compromise has been obtained, there is no doubt that these attackers will escalate privileges by other means.

The not-“critical” but still “important” bulletins are coming. We are sure that by now, you’ve come to understand just how important these “important” bulletins are.

Trust your local Hamilton IT support specialists at Solve-IT to help you with all your business IT support needs.  Our clients never have to worry about security bulletins, we do this for them.  Speak with us today about all your Hamilton computer support needs.

iPads are not just for play

If you think iPads are just for leisure or for entertainment, think again. With nearly 86 percent of Fortune 500 companies in the US report deploying or testing the iPad, this revolutionary device has become a tool for business too!

Manufactured by Apple, these easy to hold, easy to transport, and easy to use devices use the same operating system as iPod Touch and iPhone. They do not use input devices like the mouse or keyboard and require you to use your fingers to touch and navigate. Thanks to the availability of hundreds and thousands of applications that range from entertainment, media and education to even productivity and business, the iPad can be used as one powerful device in all areas of life and your workplace is definitely no exception.

Here are reasons why you should bring your iPad to work:

Presentations: Presentations are made so much easier by iPads. First off, they are portable and secondly, they contain applications that allow you to import and edit PowerPoint presentations, and even accessories to connect the device to a monitor or projector. You can also do virtual presentations as there are iPad apps that let you stream your presentation via the Internet.

Communication and Collaboration: If it is communication and collaboration you want, the iPad is the name of the game. With the iPad, you get built-in applications for emailing and you also get to add more to support audio and video conferencing. You can manage meetings with the built-in calendar and address book apps and also use the built-in support it has for third-party mail and calendar applications like Microsoft Exchange, Google Mail, and Calendar. If you want, you may also download and use additional applications to help you manage your tasks, monitor projects, share files, post and view your social networks! And the iPad’s larger screen is definitely a plus!

Field assignments: The iPad is the best device for people on the go as it is light weight and portable. You can install and configure VPN clients to securely connect to your office network when in the field, or even use any of the business applications (mainly cloud based ones) you use in the office. Managing your itinerary while on assignment also becomes much easier with the iPad, thanks to the built-in productivity tools.

Travel: With the iPad, you can carry your whole world as you travel. Besides the apps that help you manage your travel itinerary, there are built-in communication and collaboration tools that let you touch base with your office and find out what progress is being made. When you are not using your iPad for work, you can use it as a media viewer or news reader for information and entertainment.

Industry-specific apps: There are many industry specific apps that let you use the iPad for various purposes. You can use it as a point-of-sale display, or even as a point-of-sale device and much more!

You should discuss the best way to deploy your iPad with your trusted Hamilton IT support specialists. Give us a call today and we can help you with all your business mobility needs.

Do It Yourself SEO Tips and Tricks

Any website owner would want to generate traffic from search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. And why not? After all, traffic generated from search engines are high quality and free! Plus, if you’ve got good ranking, you might as well sit with your hands folded and see the visitors pour in. But of course, you have to put in your fair share of effort first and when it comes to effort in website marketing, SEO (or Search Engine Optimization) is the name of the game. Yes, you’ve heard of the amount of work involved and the internet marketing companies out there that can help you with your SEO. But there are some SEO strategies you can carry out all by yourself thus making the entire process an inexpensive one. So, here are 9 surefire (and DIY!) ways to up your ranking:

  • Choose your keywords wisely: Keywords are the search terms that people use to find websites in search engines and if you want them to find yours, you should choose your keywords wisely. When planning your website’s content, do some research about which keywords to use and consider using tools like the Google AdWords Keyword Tool to help you with this. And do use the “exact match” option when using the Keyword Tool to find out how many people are searching for the exact terms you’re researching. Keyword phrases with 1500 – 5000 monthly searches are fine as they bring along just enough searches to be profitable while keeping out stiff competition. Begin with 5 keywords and add more to the list as you go ahead.
  • Use your keywords in the title tags of your web pages: A title tag that describes the content of the page in a concise and accurate way with the right keywords helps search engines decide how relevant the page is to a particular search term. And remember, the more relevant a page is, the higher it will rank in the results for that search term.
  • Use your keywords in your domain name: Everyone might not agree on this one but there has been clear evidence that websites with exact match domains get top ranking easier than non-keyword domain sites. So, do include your best keyword phrase in your domain name with a .com, .net or .org. You should use a hyphen (-) between your best keywords if none are available.
  • Use Your Keywords in the HTML Heading Tags: This gives search engines more info about how relevant your web page is to certain search terms. So, make it a point to use heading tags containing your keywords at each page of your site. And see to it that every web page has at least one H1 tag that includes the same keywords that are in your title tag.
  • Check the Keyword Density in Your Website Text: Keyword density refers to the several times your keywords appear in the text on your webpage. Some believe that high keyword density is beneficial to search engine rankings, while others argue that ‘keyword stuffing’ is viewed as a form of spam by the search engines. So, if you want to be in the safe zone, you should use the main keyword once in the first paragraph, once in second paragraph, once in the last paragraph, and once somewhere between for a web page that has about 400-600 words.
  • Setup Your Website’s Internal Linking Structure Properly: You should have at least one text link with your best keyword or keyword phrase on every page that links to your main URL. This increases the popularity ofyour main page because the number of web pages that point to your main page will grow along with your website. And don’t forget to hyperlink to other posts on your blog when adding blog posts to your blog! Remember to put your best foot err..keywords forward!
  • Grow the Number of Incoming Links from a Wide Variety of External Sites: You’ve got to have a lot of webpages and popular sites linking to your site if you want to improve its PR (stands for Page Rank). This is quite a time demanding task, though, so you might consider outsourcing it.
  • Grow the Number of Incoming Links From External Sites Slowly and Consistently: Getting a few dozen links a week or even 10 a day is fine but hundreds of them is not! Unless you want your site to move down the serpsthe next time Google updates their database, you should consider taking it slow.
  • Use Your Keywords in as Many Incoming Links as Possible: Focus on using your best keyword or keyword phrase for most of your links and use it as much as possible.

Use these DIY SEO strategies and see your Page Rank improve right in front of your eyes!

Need help with SEO? Speak to our team of Hamilton IT specialists today about how we can help you.

Windows 8 to debut in 2012

Are you ready for another version of Windows?

Windows 8 is coming soon; according to Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer. Recently the Microsoft leader was speaking to an audience of software developers in Tokyo where he announced that Microsoft’s next version of the Windows operating system, Windows 8, is all set to debut in 2012. Since this announcement, the blogs have heated up with many opinions on what Microsoft will change from Windows 7 to Windows 8.

Many of our peers and industry pundits have been speculating about the release of Windows 8 for the past while, this is the first time an actual date has been somewhat officially confirmed.

Ballmer further added that, as Microsoft approaches the release date, there will be a lot of noise around Windows 8, Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, and a variety of different form factors who all running Windows.

The upcoming version of Windows is likely to have an updated user interface and will support low-power ARM chip. This change is expected to give Microsoft a benefit in the blooming tablet market which is now dominated by Apple and an affluence of others, including Research in Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook.

Windows 8 being released in 2012 puts it three years behind the earlier version, Windows 7, which was released in July 2009. As the tradition remains, Microsoft is relying on this new version to spur sales. Microsoft still expects to sell more than 350 million copies of Windows 7 this year even with new versions of the Apple MacIntosh Operating System LION now being announced.

As for the upcoming version, we will be hearing more about it at the recent All Things Digital conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Still have questions about Microsoft Windows and other Microsoft solutions in your small business? Talk to your Hamilton Microsoft partner today. Solve-IT works with a number of businesses in and around the Hamilton area. We can help you make informed decisions about any of Microsoft’s product offerings.

Sneak Peak at Windows 8

After so much speculation, we were glad to hear that Windows 8 is finally scheduled to hit the market within the next year. According to all the product demos we have seen, it appears that the next generation of Windows is equipped with new user interface that is going to sweep us off our feet, as seen in Windows’ demonstration of the upcoming version at the D9 conference.

Windows 8 basically revolves around touch-centric hardware although it will still work equally well with a mouse and a keyboard. The new interface also has several other aspects that we think are absolutely amazing. Check this out:

  • A tile-based Start screen with a customizable, scalable full screen view of fast launching apps.
  • Live tiles with notifications to give you up-to-date information from your apps.
  • Fast, fluid and natural switching between running apps.
  • Apps can be snapped and resized to the side of the screen. Could multitasking with Windows get any better?
  • Apps built using HTML5 and JavaScript that are web-connected and web-powered!
  • Hardware accelerated Internet Explorer 10 that gives you fully touch-optimized browsing.

And it does not end here! The demo also showed effortless movement between existing Windows programs and new Windows 8 apps.

The new reimagined interface is also expected to fuel a whole new generation of apps. Apps in Windows 8 itself can use a broad set of new libraries and controls that enable fluid interaction and seamless connectivity. This entirely new user experience is not limited to just touch PCs. We are also going to see the user interface and new apps working with or without a keyboard or a mouse on all kinds of screen sizes and pixel densities. The product is just being prepared for early testing though which means we will have to wait for a while to experience this brand new interface.

As soon as we get a chance, Solve-IT will be testing Windows 8 in our own test labs. We want to make sure we can figure everything out throughout the beta process so when it is available through our PC partners, we are properly prepared. We are your Hamilton Microsoft partner and want to ensure you have an IT firm you can trust with all your business technology needs.

Microsoft set to retire versions of Windows

For Windows XP and Vista users, there is bad news AND there is good news.

Let’s get done with the bad news first. The bad news is that support is ending for some versions of Windows which includes Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) for which support ends on July 12, 2011. And if you didn’t know, support for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) has already ended on July 13, 2010 which means if you are using any of these versions, you won’t get security updates for Windows after support ends.

However, users of the 64-bit version of Windows XP running it with SP2 need not worry as this version of Windows will continue to have Microsoft support and receive updates until April 8, 2014.

Now, we understand this is devastating news to some of you who elected to hold onto Windows XP but now is the perfect time to sit down and talk with your St. Catharine’s computer repair team about Windows 7.

In our opinion it is the better option for today’s business. Windows 7 simplifies your everyday tasks, makes your PC safer, and makes new things possible. For those “do it yourself” folks, make sure you download Upgrade Advisor to see if your PC can run Windows 7 before you run out and buy it. Compare versions to find out why Windows 7 is the better option and then and only then should you buy it.

Even better, call us and we can help your business find the right version of Windows 7.

Not ready to shift to Windows 7 now? Don’t worry, there are two things you can do: get Windows XP SP3 (a free update) or get Windows Vista SP2 (which is a free update too).

Windows XP SP3 includes all previously-released updates and a small number of new updates. There is no SP3 for the 64-bit version of Windows XP though, but you can use it with SP2 and you will continue to get support till April 8, 2014. Likewise, Windows Vista SP2 includes support for new types of hardware and includes all the updates that have been released since Windows Vista SP1.

As your St. Catharine’s Microsoft Partner, we can help you get the most out of your business IT. Talk with us today.

To learn more about Microsoft retirement of Windows visit http://windows.microsoft.com/eos.

Microsoft Big Easy 6.0 Offer

If you are thinking of purchasing or renewing software, why not do it via eligible Open License programs, especially at a time when Big Easy 6.0 is providing an incredible offer with the latest Microsoft products? As your local Hamilton Microsoft Partner, there are many programs your business can leverage to help make sure the right solutions are in place for your business and that you are getting them for the right price plus maybe taking advantage of many Microsoft incentives.

The Big Easy 6.0 offer provides you up to 30% in partner subsidy dollars on qualifying Microsoft purchases, and the offer applies to new and renewal software purchases. You will also be able to apply these partner subsidy dollars towards future purchases of Microsoft solutions or services. With the offer, you will be able to receive a reimbursement on the purchase of a Windows Phone device through Open Business or Open Value, as well.

While making new purchases, you will be able to get 5% in partner subsidy dollars under the Open License plus Software Assurance, and the percentage is 15 for Open Value. Those who opt for an Open Value Subscription will be provided 30% partner subsidy dollars. Confused about Microsoft’s licensing programs; don’t be. We are here to make sure your business gets the right licenses.

Likewise, if you are looking for renewing an existing license agreement, you will be able to get 30% partner subsidy dollars under the Open Value agreement where renewals are given when other new products are purchased.

You must have already taken your pick by now. If not, we recommend you make new software purchases through the Open Value Subscription (OVS) agreement and renew existing license agreements through the Open Value (OV) agreement (because they are the most beneficial agreements!). The offer lets you choose from the latest softwares like Lync, Office 2010, Windows Server, and Exchange 2010 to name a few; but the offer lasts only until June 30, 2011.

So what are you waiting for? Grab the offer today!

Three Ways To Improve Your Google Searches

Sometimes finding what you are looking for when performing an online search seems impossible, but remember, it is not. With these three unbelievably simple tips, you can certainly find what you are looking for:

  • Keep it simple: The first unbelievably simple tip for getting accurate results is simple, keep the keywords simple. Use only a few words or phrases, make sure they are good enough and you are bound to get relevant results.
  • Learn about Boolean: You have probably already done this. Using terms like “and,” “not” and “or” in your online searches to include or exclude the terms you are looking for can get you better results. And don’t forget to do some math. You can use pluses or minuses and you can even use quotation marks. For example, if you would like get a particular term in your search results, you can simply type a “ ” before the term while conducting the search. For excluding the term, you will have to keep a “-“ before the unwanted term.
  • Be precise: Being precise is a sure-fire way to find what you are looking for. Don’t use broad phrases or you will end up with thousands of results which are not even close to what you are trying to find. Instead use quotation marks for the exact phrase you are looking for.

So, the next time you are performing an online search, keep in mind these three simple tips and find what you are looking for in an instant.

Your Hamilton IT support team at Solve-IT are here to help you get the most out of your IT. Helping our clients is not always focused on technical issues but sometimes “how to” questions. Feel free to contact us at anytime to discuss how we can help your Hamilton business with all of your technology needs.

Important Microsoft Security Fix For Niagara Business

Microsoft addressed two security bulletins in May’s Patch Tuesday release. Security experts said administrators should apply the fixes immediately – because, despite their small size, they address significant threats.

Microsoft fixed a critical vulnerability affecting Windows Server and an important bug in Microsoft Office PowerPoint, according to the Patch Tuesday advisory released May 10. Microsoft also assigned separate “exploitability” scores for newer versions of the software under the “improved” exploitability index ratings.

Your Niagara computer support team at Solve-IT is already looking into all identified security flaws and addressing them. Our clients who are part of our fully managed IT support program have nothing to worry about. Interested in learning more about how we help Denver business with their day-to-day IT needs? call us today for a no obligation review of your business IT.

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