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Productivity

Slowdown Means It’s Time To Boost Productivity

Thomas Fox is president of Tech Experts, southeast Michigan’s leading small business computer support company.

I attended an industry summit last month in Orlando, Florida, sponsored by the company that develops the software we use to run our business. Over 750 of the computer industry’s top service providers all converged in Downtown Disney for two days of training, sharing of best practices and panel discussions on the future of the computer service business.

Not surprisingly, a frequent topic of discussion among the attendees was the economy. While I know companies and people are struggling, I think in large part the media builds up the hype and frenzy to the point of near mass hysteria. “Bad news sells papers,” as they say.

Being involved in these discussions at the summit did drive home the point that we need to be the trusted business advisor for our clients. This means we need to do more than fix your computers – we need to help you maximize your technology investment, reduce costs and lower overhead. You don’t want computers – you want what the computers can do for you.

This has never been more important than right now, as we’re watching the economy rise and fall like a roller coaster.

This idea won’t be popular with your employees, but one of the areas where we can help you make an immediate impact on your bottom line is by increasing productivity. The Internet has become a way of life for nearly everyone – and almost every staff person has Internet access right at their desktops.

If you have a medium sized company with 10 regular, work at their desk type employees. Let’s assume, too, that each person makes $20 per hour after taxes and benefits. If each employee wastes just five minutes per day on the Internet, your annual waste is over $4,300. If they spend 15 personal minutes per day on the Internet, the annual cost is more than $13,000. An hour per day? The cost skyrockets to more than $50,000 per year.

There are plenty of options available to limit and monitor Internet usage at your company, and I’d encourage you to implement something immediately. There are some options that won’t cost you anything more than an hour of one of our consultant’s time.

If you know that employees are spending time on Myspace, for example, we can block access to that website. Or, you can make Myspace a hot monitoring term, and start recording a screen shot every second while an employee is on that site.

We also have the ability to block any external sites at the firewall level, so there’s no need to monitor employee’s computers. With a firewall, we can deny and allow sites based on their category (research sites are allowed, while lingerie sites aren’t). Call me at the office (734-457-5000) and I’ll be happy to discuss options with you.

If you’re concerned about violating employee privacy, here’s a little secret I’ll let you in on: The good employees don’t care. And secretly, they’re going to be happy you’re cracking down on the slackers.

Tired of Dumping Money Into Your Network?

Read On To Discover How You Can Make Those Darn Things Finally Pay Off!

If you ask most business owners why they invest in computers and technology, you will hear things like “to increase employee productivity,” or “to improve customer service” or even to lower operating costs, make information more accessible, and give them a competitive advantage.

But the question is, are the computers in your office actually contributing to your productivity, or do they act as a money-sucking stumbling block to your businesses success?

In this dog-eat-dog world, you cannot afford to have anything slowing you down or interfering with your day to day operations. Especially the tools you rely on in your computer network. If you want to learn how we can help you experience fewer interruptions, problems, and downtime, AND lower the overall costs associated with your computer network, then you’ll want to know about our “Experts Total Support” plan.

This program was designed specifically for small business owners that do not have a full time IT staff taking care of their computer network.

For a small, fixed monthly fee, we will monitor and maintain your computer network 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to make sure all systems are running at peak performance. We’ll also make sure critical network maintenance such as security and virus updates, backups, and system optimization happens when it should to avoid bigger, more expensive problems from happening.

Our Free 60 Minute “Technology Tune Up” May (Finally) Make Your Computers Pay Off

To introduce this new program to all of our clients and prospects, we are offering a free, 60-minute “Technology Tune Up” to the first five businesses that contact us this month.

In less than 1 hour, we can come in and examine your computer network, talk to your employees, and provide a very revealing analysis of all the under utilized or overlooked capabilities being wasted in your current computer system. We’ll also look for security loop holes, check your system back ups and virus protection, and look for other hidden problems lurking in the background, waiting to turn into bigger, more expensive disasters.

After doing this analysis, we can not only advise you on how to improve the speed. reliability, and security of  your computer network, but also on ways you can improve your overall office productivity.

Normally we charge $297 for this type of service but we are giving it away FREE as a special promotion this month to demonstrate our “Experts Total Support” plan. To secure your spot, simply call our offices at (734) 457-5000 or e-mail us at info@MyTechExperts.com and we’ll schedule a convenient time for us to come out and conduct this tune up.

No Risk, No Obligation, No Hassles

You will be under zero obligations to do or buy anything if you sign up for a FREE Technology Tune Up. This is just our way of introducing our new network maintenance program to you and we certainly don’t expect everyone to sign up.

So what are you waiting for? Call us right now while you’re thinking about it. Remember, we are only giving away five tune ups on a first come, first serve basis so call now while there are spots left!

This offer will expire as soon as we have five companies signed up, or on August 29th. Call today!

The Simple Document That Could Save Your Company From Complete Disaster

It’s official: end users are the weakest link in the IT security chain. You can set up a firewall, encryption, anti-virus software, and password protection up to your ears, but it won’t save you from the employee who posts his access information to a public website.

Most security breaches, viruses, spyware, and other network problems are a result of human error—an end user unknowingly downloading an infected file, emailing confidential information, or disabling their anti-virus, to name a few.

So what is a company to do? While there is no surefire way to keep end users from making mistakes, you can dramatically reduce the number of problems by creating an acceptable use policy (AUP) and training your employees on what is and what is NOT acceptable behavior.

But if you want your employees to actually adhere to your security policies, here are a few tips:

  • Keep it simple. A long, confusing policy that looks like a legal document is about as easy to read as the instruction manual for your digital camera. Make the policies clear and easy to read. Give examples and include screen shots where necessary.
  • Provide group training. Many companies make the mistake of distributing their AUP by e-mail and telling employees they must read it on their own. This gives the employees the option of NOT reading and simply signing and submitting. You don’t need hours of classroom training but a simple 15 or 20-minute session will force even the most reluctant users to learn a thing or two.
  • Keep employees updated. To add to the above tip, make sure you update employees on a regular basis to keep the policies fresh in their minds and to educate them about new threats.
  • Explain the consequences of not following the policy. This is both explaining the negative effects to the business as well as disciplinary actions that will be taken if they refuse to follow policy. Occasional violators should be warned, and habitual violators should be disciplined.
  • Monitor their behavior. The best policy in the world won’t work if it’s not enforced. There are many tools on the market that can do this for you automatically.

Need Help In Creating An Acceptable Use Policy and Training Your Staff?
Not only can we help you create a customized acceptable use policy for your staff, but we can also provide training on the topic and even install network monitoring software to make sure it is enforced, and that your
policy is working.

Call us at 734-457-5000 or visit us online at www.MyTechExperts.com for more info!

Tracking Down “Bandwith Hogs” – Should You Monitor Employee Internet?

For many businesses, tracking employees use of software and the Internet is an absolute necessity for employers who are juggling productivity with employee privacy while trying to remain competitive in an increasingly fierce market.

Many computer professionals consider the problem to be crucial in today’s market.

What do you do if you’re an employer, and you want to retain your employees? You must keep salaries high, or they will go else-where. But you also can’t raise your prices, or you will be outpriced by competitors.

The answer is to increase productivity. You look around the office but don’t see people wandering the halls or talking at the water cooler. Everyone’s at their computers. The question is, what are they doing at their computers?

There is much anecdotal evidence that demonstrates the growth of personal use of computers during business hours, and there are many programs that track the URLs that employees visit, how much time they spend online, and the amount of bandwidth that Internet use is taking up.

They also allow employers to monitor which non-Internet programs employees use.

Programs like these gives employers a snapshot to show how much activity is spent on non-administrative activity.

Some critics see monitoring of employee Internet use as something of an invasion of privacy, but workplace security experts disagree. These programs can tell that an employee is spending four hours a day on eBay, but won’t disclose the actual activity on it.

It can tell if someone is consistently downloading unusually large files, but doesn’t disclose the contents of the individual’s e-mail.

Many monitoring programs also can tell if employees are spending large amounts of time playing Elf Bowling or Tetris instead of working, and whether more official programs that the company has purchased are being used. If they’re not, then further purchases may be a waste of money.

The primary purpose of the software is not to penalize employees for “unofficial” Internet use but rather to pinpoint problem areas in weak-performing employees and to locate “bandwidth hogs” whose overuse of the Internet slows down everyone’s work.

Tech Experts offers several solutions to filter, monitor and report on Internet use on a company’s network.

Call us today at (734) 457-5000 (toll free 888-457-5001) for more informataion.

Time Awasting? It Could Be Worse Than You Know

The ‘work’ day is supposed to be about 8.5 hours, with either a half or a full hour for lunch. That’s the expectation. With any small business every hour of that day is key to business.

So what would you do if you discovered your small staff or employees were whittling away at least an hour or two hours doing something other than work?

One to two hours a day equals five to 10 hours a week–with a small staff that could translate to a full week of workable hours down the drain.

Yet that’s what’s happening in business today. According to a recent InformationWeek article, workers are still spending too much time on other things such as:

Using the Internet for personal reasons, socializing with co-workers, conducting personal business and running errands on company time.

Software now exists which can monitor employee usage of the Internet, and report on activity such as browsing personal sites, downloading inappropriate content, and using email or instant messenger services for personal use.

Check Out Our New Online Client Portal

You may have noticed recently that our field work order format has changed. This is because we recently implented a new Professional Services Automation software system to manage our work flow and service contract processes more efficiently.

This new system also offers enhanced communication features, keeping you informed when work orders are opened, ticket statuses change, or orders are closed.

You can also initiate service requests through a special client portal, which also gives you access to historical ticket information, recent invoices, and the ability to update open tickets.

Tech Experts Ranked Among The Top Five Percent Of Microsoft Solution Providers In U.S.

The results are in! Thank you to all of our valued clients who took the time to complete our third-quarter Microsoft Customer Satisfaction Survey.

We had a record number of clients participate this quarter, and we’re pleased to announce that Tech Experts achieved a Net Satisfaction Index (NSAT) score of 195 out of a possible 200. This places us within the top five percent of Microsoft partners in the United States.

The NSAT score is how Microsoft and Tech Experts measure customer satisfaction based on  weighted responses to survey questions.

Microsoft has introduced a third-party worldwide system that allows solutions partners to survey their clients using industry-proven methodology to track customer satisfaction.

Only Microsoft Certified and Gold Certified Partners are invited to participate in the survey, which is conducted quarterly by Palo Alto, California based TNS Prognostics.

If you have questions about the Customer Satisfaction Survey, or would be willing to participate in the fourth quarter survey, please call our office at (734) 457-5000, or send an email to info@expertsmi.com. Thank you again to all of our clients who participated! Watch for our next survey announcement, next quarter.

Parents More Worried About TV Time Than Children’s Internet Use

About 80 percent of children responding to a recent survey said the Internet is important for schoolwork, although three-quarters of the parents said their kids’ grades hadn’t gone up or down since they got Internet access.

Forty-seven percent of the adults said they have withheld Internet use as a form of punishment. Banning television is still more popular, though.

One in five American parents believe their kids are spending too much time on the Internet, though most say the online activities haven’t affected grades either way. In a study by the University of Southern California’s (USC) Center for a Digital Future, 21 percent of adult Internet users with children believe the kids are online too long, compared with 11 percent in 2000. Still, that’s less than the 49 percent who complain their kids watch too much TV.

Internet Use Peaking
The study, meanwhile, found that although only 27 percent of cell phone owners use them for text messaging, photo transmitting and other non-voice functions, the figure grows to 54 percent among those 18- to 24 years old and 45 percent among those under 18.

The study has been conducted most years since 2000. Over that time, researchers have seen Internet use grow to 78 percent from 67 percent. Access at home increased to 68 percent from 47 percent.

Net Dropouts
In one of the few surveys to look at why people are offline, the study found the lack of a working computer most often to blame. Of the 22 percent of Americans who do not currently use the Internet, more than a quarter are former users who dropped out.

“Almost nobody drops out out of dissatisfaction,” said Jeffrey Cole, director of USC’s Center for the Digital Future. “The reason most people drop off is they change jobs or their computer breaks.”

However, more than half the former users have no intention of returning online — the most ever. Overall, 60 percent of nonusers have no plans to go online within the next year.

Cole said the numbers raise the prospect of a permanent subclass of nonusers. “Internet penetration has largely plateaued,” he said.

Elderly Are Least Connected
Americans 66 years old and over remain the most disconnected, with only 38 percent online. For all other age groups, at least 74 percent are online, with penetration hitting 99 percent for those 18 and under, likely because most U.S. schools now have some form of publicly-usable Internet access.

On average, users spend 14 hours a week online, compared with 9.4 hours in 2000.

Thirty-seven percent of home Internet users still have dial-up accounts, compared with 26 percent for high-speed cable modems and 24 percent for DSL. Eleven percent of Internet users go online through mobile devices – not necessarily exclusively – averaging two hours a week.

Internet vs. Television
The study revealed little change in the effect on television. Thirty-six percent of home Internet users say they have spent less time watching TV since they started using the Internet, roughly the same as the 33 percent who said that in a 2001 survey.

Cole said the increased use of high-speed connections has a lot to do with that.

When people were on dial-up, they were accessing the Internet 20 or 30 minutes at a time – “generally time not spent watching television,” Cole said. “Broadband changed all that. They are on 30, 40, 50 times a day for two or three minutes at a time. It’s not a big bucket of time displacing television.”

People may be paying less attention to television commercials, though, fitting in online use during program breaks, he said.

That said, 41 percent of veteran users – those online for more than nine years – say they have spent less time watching television, compared with only 23 percent among those who have joined the Internet within the year.

The study found nearly a quarter of online users – especially newcomers to the Internet – say they spend less time reading.

The telephone survey of 2,269 U.S. households was conducted in English and Spanish from February to April and included follow-up interviews with respondents to previous USC studies.

The study has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

You won’t believe what they’re doing at work!

Survey Of Over 400 IT Managers Reveals What Employees Are Really Doing During Work Hours… And You Won’t Believe What They Discovered!

According to a survey conducted by 8e6 Technologies (www.8e6.com), employees are using company computers, Internet access, email, and other resources to conduct hours of non-work related activities.

Some of these activities simply waste time, like day trading and monitoring eBay bids.

However, many of the activities are downright malicious and threaten their employers’ existence and security.

Just look at some of these outrageous real-life stories collected from IT Managers polled:

  • One employee was caught running a gambling website and acting as a bookie for his coworkers.
  • To bypass the company’s web filter, one employee was caught using his desktop computer as an FTP server for the other employees. He had downloaded and saved over 300 GB of material.
  • One employee was busted for giving away confidential information such as price lists, contracts, and software code for application development.
  • Another employee was busted for having a side business stealing and selling company inventory on eBay.
  • One woman was caught running an online outcall service from her desk.
  • One employee was caught renting the corporate IP address to hacker friends to generate DOS (denial of service hacker) attacks.

While these scenarios seem outrageous, they are not uncommon. According to a survey outlined in the Seattle Times, of 294 U.S. firms with 1,000 or more employees, almost one-third of companies have fired an employee in the last 12 months for violating email policies, and 52 percent of companies said they have disciplined an employee for violating email rules in the past year.

As an employer, educating your employees as to what they can and cannot do through an acceptable use policy is simply not enough.

If the requirements are not enforced, employees will accidentally (or intentionally) violate your rules. That’s why every company should look at investing in a good email and web filtering system.

Just having it in place will act as a deterrent for such activities, and if something really is going on — like an employee leaking confidential information to a competitor or sending racial or sexist jokes through your company’s email —you’ll be able to nip it in the bud before it comes back and bites you in the form of a lawsuit.

Additionally, a good web filter will prevent employees from accessing inappropriate material online, wasting time on non-work related activities, downloading viruses and spyware, and using up company bandwidth to download photos and music.

Software such as Spectorsoft monitor employee Internet usage, accumulating statistics about how much time is spent on certain web pages, logging sites visited, and can block sites based on keywords, addresses, or time of day.

If you would like our help in choosing and setting up an acceptable use policy and a web filtering system for your company, call us at: (734) 457-5000 or send an email message to at info@expertsmi.com.