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Improve Your Business With Tech Expert’s Email

July 25, 2013

By Tech Experts Staff
With the many different types of email offerings out there what type of email should you be using for your business and why?

At Tech Experts we offer several different email plans for your business needs that are reliable, secure, and offer many features you don’t find just anywhere.

Many people today make the mistake of trying to use free email services for their business. The main problem with free email services is that they are a huge security risk.

For example, say you use a free email provider such as Yahoo for your business email, anyone else can create email accounts in the same fashion as your company.

An example of this is that if your employees use email accounts like TJ.mycompanyname@yahoo.com for their email address, anyone that uses Yahoo for email could make a similar email address and act as if they are an employee of your company.

So what are the other kinds of email that Tech Experts hosts if you should not use free email services for your business?

We offer three main plans and another type of email called Hosted Exchange.

The first “Basic Plan” we offer allows you to have your own domain name which will increase your company’s security by not allowing hackers to use email addresses on your company’s domain.

This plan also offers the option of enhanced spam filtering, unlimited mail aliases, a basic website, and a maximum of 5 mailboxes.

This is our best “starter” plan allowing companies to get into email that’s secure without costing an arm and a leg.

Our second plan, the “Plus Plan”, offers all of the features of the basic plan but allows users to have 5 email accounts with enhanced spam filtering, still unlimited aliases, an enhanced website, unlimited mailing lists, and a maximum of 25 included mailboxes.

This plan is designed more for medium sized businesses that are already fairly well established but still haven’t taken the step to have their own domain or email services.

Our third plan, the “Advanced Plan”, offers an enhanced website still but with much more storage space, 10 email accounts with enhanced spam filtering services included, again unlimited aliases, unlimited mailing lists, and an unlimited number of mailboxes (up to 10 GB of storage space included).

This is our package for larger companies that have over 25 employees. Increased storage space can always be added as well as needed.

The final service we offer is called Hosted Exchange email. Hosted Exchange email takes security up a notch and improves on features and performance greatly.

Hosted Exchange email requires usernames and passwords just as the previous email offerings do but they can have other features enabled such as encrypted emails and archiving if your business is the type of business where you really need to be able to access other employees emails or if you need to keep them for a period of time for compliance reasons.

One major benefit to Hosted Exchange email is that it syncs across all of your devices. For example, if you send an email from your phone, that same email will show up in the sent items on your computer and on the Online Web Access.

Just the same, if an email is sent to you and you get it on one of your devices it will also show up on the other devices you have email setup on.

What’s really nice is that not only do the emails show up across all of your devices the statuses update as well. So if you read an email on your phone it shows as read on your PC as well.

So with all the email choices out there what works best for your company?

If you’re not sure the answer to that question, give us a call and we can work with you to determine this.

Why An Organized Cabling Plan Is Good For Business

July 25, 2013

by Jeremy Miller, Technician
When you need to begin to cable a building for a business it is a good idea to plan ahead to prevent many issues that you can encounter.

Cabling can be different for every organization. Some organizations move into a new building and need to cable the entire building. Other business may only need to add to the existing cabling.

It would be best to look and see how the cables can all be run throughout the building. Most commercial buildings have drop ceilings that make it easier to run cable.

You will want to check which directions you can run cable. There may be walls or boundaries that are not able to have cable ran through them.

You will also want to develop a standard wiring scheme or convention. This will make everything easier in the long run.

Most organizations have adopted the wiring standard T-586B. If you continue to wire all cable with the same standard then it will make the job easier for you and anyone who needs to add an additional cable after your installation.

There are some things to keep in mind while running the cable. It is best to leave about a foot of extra cable in a single loop above your drop.

This will ensure you have enough cable if you make a punch down error, or want to upgrade in the future. Don’t create a coil of cables as this will cause a magnetic field that will disrupt the data.

With all of this in mind you will need to determine exactly how many data and voice drops you will need to install.

Make a document detailing which room needs what cables and where they need to be placed on the walls.

It is best to color coordinate the cable, for example you would use blue cable for data, white cable for voice, and another color if you need to run other cable such as Ethernet cable for a security system. This will let you easily detect which type of cable you are working with.

If you are installing phones you will want to punch down the same pairs of wires in the same order. This will allow you to terminate the phone systems in your telecomm room more efficiently. Efficiency is essential when undergoing a time-consuming project.

Cable management is important regardless of how many cables you have ran. Your telecomm room can easily start to get out of control with all of the different cables coming into a single location.

There are many ways of organizing your cable, but it is best to plan this before you begin to run any cable. This will also make sure that all of your cables will be long enough to reach the punch-down panel in your telecomm room.

If your business needs help with a cabling project or if you have any questions about cabling give us a call.

Get Ahead By Practicing These ‘Top Employee’ Habits

July 25, 2013

Maybe you’ll win the lottery. Or a wealthy relative will leave you a fortune.

But if neither possibility turns into reality, you’ll have to go to work tomorrow, where your best chance of getting ahead is to be the best employee you can.

Here’s some advice for making an impact at work:

Be positive
Managers and co-workers like working with people who are upbeat and enthusiastic.

You don’t have to force a fake smile on your face every minute of the day, but refrain from complaints, cynicism, and sarcasm at work. Support what’s working, and fix what needs to work better.

Communicate
The ability to express your ideas clearly is one of the most important skills you can master.

Concentrate on getting your messages across in concrete, concise language that everyone can understand without confusion.

Compliment people
Tell people sincerely when you appreciate their work, their assistance, or their support.

Highlight their tangible achievements, connect your praise to your organization’s goals, and don’t overdo it. Everyone, including your supervisor, likes to hear, “Thank you,” or, “Good work.”

Be honest
Admit your mistakes, and ask openly about things you don’t understand.

“Fake it till you make it,” has a place in your career strategy, but in the long run you’ll do better by being up front with your supervisors and colleagues.

Keep learning
Don’t rely too long on what’s worked for you in the past. A commitment to your own development shows that you’re serious about your career, and gets the attention of managers looking for tomorrow’s leaders.

Better Passwords: Keep Your Information Secure!

June 17, 2013

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

It could be your email, your pictures, or your company documents and files – whatever you have on your computer needs to protected from hackers, identity thieves, nosy employees and other cyber troublemakers.

Imagine if all of your private, personal and company information were available on the public Internet. And then, take a few minutes to follow the steps below and help make your systems more secure.

Use a different password for each important service
Make sure you have a different password for every important account you have. Hackers will steal your username and password from one site, and then use them to try to log into lots of other sites where you might have an account.

Even large, reputable sites sometimes have their password databases stolen. If you use the same password across many different sites, there’s a greater chance it might end up on a list of stolen passwords. And the more accounts you have that use that password, the more data you might lose if that password is stolen.

Giving an account its own, strong password helps protect you and your information in that account.

Make your password hard to guess
“password.” “123456.” “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!” These examples are terrible passwords because everyone knows them – including potential attackers.

Making your passwords longer or more complicated makes them harder to guess for both bad guys and people who know you.

Complex and lengthy passwords can be a pain – the average password is shorter than eight characters, and many just contain letters. Analysis shows that only 54 percent of passwords include numbers, and only 3.7 percent have special characters like & or $.

One way to build a strong password is to think of a phrase or sentence that other people wouldn’t know and then use that to build your password.

For example, for your email you could think of a personal message like “I want to get better at responding to emails quickly and concisely” and then build your password from numbers, symbols, and the first letters of each word—“iw2gb@r2eq&c”.

Don’t use popular phrases or lyrics to build your password—research suggests that people gravitate to the same phrases, and you want your password to be something only you know.

Keep your password somewhere safe
Research shows that worrying about remembering too many passwords is the chief reason people reuse certain passwords across multiple services.

But don’t worry – if you’ve created so many passwords that it’s hard to remember them, it’s OK to make a list and write them down. Just make sure you keep your list in a safe place, where you won’t lose it and others won’t be able to find it.

If you’d prefer to manage your passwords digitally, a trusted password manager might be a good option. Many web browsers have free password managers built into them, and there are many independent options as well.

The Advantages Of Managed Services Over Traditional IT Services

June 17, 2013

By Tech Experts Staff
Of all the important aspects to a successful business, your company’s IT systems are arguably the most important since these systems can impact all aspects of a business.

Many companies handle their IT resources in different ways, from having an in-house IT employee, to not having anyone, to managed services.

What exactly are all of these ways of taking care of your IT systems? With all the different approaches to taking care of your business what’s the best option?

Some businesses choose not to have in-house IT staff as it’s too expensive and instead go without IT support and try to fix problems on their own or ignore the issues all together.

The biggest problem with this approach, also known as a “Break Fix” approach, is that you generally always have downtime and issues with your IT systems since they are not properly cared for.

In addition to the high costs of downtime, when businesses finally break down and call for help the support can be very expensive since they are not on a support contract.

While many larger companies choose to have an in-house IT employee, or several for very large companies, this is not always the best option either.

One of the biggest problems with in-house IT staff is that they tend to have a knowledge base that is centered on one business’s network so when problems arise it can be difficult for them to figure out what the issue is.

When you use a service provider like Tech Experts, you are getting an IT tech that has a broad base of knowledge and can very quickly adapt to your network and use knowledge of similar issues other organizations have had to correct your problem much faster.

For small to medium size businesses the cost of having an in-house IT employee is simply too expensive so they tend to go with the first option.

It is possible for small to medium sized businesses to get the same level of service or higher than having one in-house IT employee at a fraction of the cost as well.

The third option and the best option is called Managed Services. Managed Services give the IT provider the ability to proactively monitor the important aspects of your business’s workstations and servers to prevent major issues before they cause costly downtime.

With our Managed Services platform, we offer a large number of software and hardware checks to keep your servers and workstations secure from hackers and running great for years.

We also offer several other benefits when combined in an all-inclusive, unlimited support, service contract. Our Managed Services platform offers the ability for us to connect to your computer and work with you remotely.

In most cases, we can solve your problem quickly so you don’t have to wait for a tech to travel to your location.

We also offer offsite backups as an option to protect your business from a catastrophic data loss that can cause a company to go under in a few months after such an event.

Managed services are simply the best option for small to medium sized businesses due to the flexibility they offer and the high amount of protection offered.

If you would like to see what Managed Services can do for your company give us a call and we can setup a meeting to take a look at your current systems and get you a quote on what this would cost your business today!

Why Are Windows And Software Updates Important?

June 17, 2013

by Jeremy Miller, Technician
Everyone who owns a computer running Microsoft Windows has seen that pop-up alerting you that you have updates to install or that they have been installed. Updates are fixes for a known issue.

Microsoft uses an application called Windows Update Service to look for new updates, and then it categorizes the various updates by how critical they are.

There are security updates which patch vulnerabilities that can compromise your system.

Critical updates fix major issues found with Microsoft products that can cause errors or unusual behavior. Software updates are non-critical issues such as more features and minor bug fixes.

Service packs contain all updates and patches prior to the service pack. You can install a service pack to apply a large amount of updates at once. Also service packs can determine which software you can run.

It is important to update your computer to keep your computing environment stable. If you allow your computer to get too out of date such as not installing a service pack, you may not be able to run a lot of software.
Even worse if you do not install security updates you will have a larger “known” attack surface for exploits.

Windows is not the only software that updates. You have probably seen Adobe Reader, Flash Player, or Java letting you know that there are updates available for install in your system tray. They update for the same reason that Microsoft updates Windows.

Updates are important to keep your system secure and relatively issue free. Updates can also cause issues sometimes. It is better to install the update on a computer to see if there will be an issue before deploying it to the entire network.

A good example of this is if Internet Explorer 10 has just been installed on your computer and now all of a sudden you cannot print a report, the latest update may be the issue. You should first attempt to work with the new update.

Internet Explorer 10 has compatibility mode to work with older websites, if that does not work you may have to uninstall the update and use Internet Explorer 9. This happens because the company you are printing the report from is not compatible with the new Internet Explorer 10 browser.

You will have to wait until either the company updates their server to be compliant with Internet Explorer 10 or you will have to wait until Internet Explorer 10’s compatibility will work with the site.

Keeping your software up to date is an important part of secure computing. Threats and security holes are discovered every day; it is critical you apply any updates the manufacturer releases.

Not all updates apply to every environment, which means that not everyone will get the same updates; it is based on the software you have installed and when you installed it.

The only software that you should always update would be any anti-virus software. This software usually updates automatically several times a day. The moment your anti-virus gets out of date you are not protected with the latest anti-virus definitions.

If you are having trouble with updates and patching or if you have any questions give us a call. We can make sure your computers are up to date and keep you worry free.

Advertising Via Social Media Sites

June 17, 2013

For all the hype that surrounds the use of social media when it comes to small businesses, many owners have learned the hard way that a Facebook or Twitter account alone is not going to drive up sales.

Successful social media campaigns need forethought, planning and skill and using a few tips can assist you to give more traction to your social media campaigns.

Advertisers often see Facebook as the social media site of choice but other social networks might actually be more effective for your particular brand.

LinkedIn for instance offers a wide array of users from the world of business while B2B clients might find Slideshare the ideal vehicle.

Advertising a niche product in a magazine aimed at the mass market is an obvious ‘no-no’ and the same applies to social networks.

Profile pages offer an amazing amount of data about users and this can be used very effectively to target the audience that best fits the demographic that you are targeting with your product or services.

Make use of video marketing
Seventy two percent of business executives watch videos that are related to business on business websites a minimum of once a week, according to Forbes. This means that you are seriously missing out on what may be one of the greatest lead generation techniques ever devised.

The bottom line is that creating an informative and compelling video is an excellent method of attracting attention from other businesses and indeed today video marketing is almost essential as a lead generation technique.

The main thing when it comes to using video marketing is to have a plan.

Think about the audience that you are attempting to reach with this video, as there are likely to be different approaches and language used when trying to reach executives as opposed to average people.

You also need to think about the benefits that targeted viewers can glean from the video as without benefits there will be not much in the way of follow-up!

Keep things short, make sure the sound quality is good and include the logo of your company at both the start and end of the video.

Content publishing tips
Having a good hold on content generates a lot of opportunities before you have even started promoting your business due to the fact that you can create and edit and then even publish that content by yourself.

When you have become efficient enough to be able to cope with B2B content you will then be able to help the online reputation of your business grow. Publishing content leads to increased exposure over the internet and results in more and more potential clients paying a visit to your website, so making sure that there is a good representation of that business is obviously going to help you generate and keep a good reputation.

The website’s content should be free from errors and feature appropriate and accurate material. The accomplishment of the website, and by extension your business, is dependent on the content being of the absolute highest quality possible, which means there should be no comprises made of any kind.

There are a number of different techniques, both classic and decidedly offbeat, that can be used to help turn customers into subscribers and even passionate advocates for your business and brand.

One tried and trusted method is to give special treatment to your subscribers. This can take the form of office perks, offering services to subscribers (plus their networks) or one-day specials on products via your social media channels, providing online recognition by asking your followers to post their own stories about your services and products.

Client Retention Tips For Small Businesses

May 17, 2013

You make a sale and get a new customer – that’s good, right?

But do you know what is even better? It is when they come back the second, third and fourth time around to do business with you again.

There is an art to getting your clients to continue with your service – and this is why you need to ramp up your client retention techniques.

As a small business owner, there are many things that you can do to improve client retention and have them return to you again and again and again. Here are a few ideas you can put to use right away:

Admit mistakes and address issues immediately. A study shows that 84% of customers will tell their friends (and even blog about) a negative experience with a certain business.

Imagine how many potential customers you can lose if this happens to you. The key is to admit the mistake and address the complaint as soon as possible – and your client will most likely remain loyal and tell their friends about the service.

Keep your customer service top notch. Did you know that more than half of all consumers are willing to pay more money for better customer service?

True, customer service will always make or break your business. Always seek to provide stellar service because this will benefit you in the long run and will encourage your clients to choose you over cheaper alternatives.

Remember your clients and they will remember you. Customers are just regular people, too. They are human beings who want to feel valued and appreciated.

Show your loyal clients that you remember them by sending personalized greeting cards. Christmas is a good time to send cards but if December seems too far away, you can always start a customer appreciation mailing program anytime.

Learn about your client’s needs. One of the main reasons why clients stop availing of certain services is because they no longer need them.

People’s needs evolve over time, so you may also want to improve your products or services to cater to their new needs.

Keep them in the loop. It is also good to keep your clients informed about new things going on in your business.

Do you have new services? Have you updated your products? Do you have a new branch that is somehow closer to them?

You can keep them informed through in-store presentations, brochures, regular e-mails or even print newsletters (like this one, going strong every month since October, 2006!).

As a small business owner, you do not have to spend thousands of dollars to retain customers. These are simple things that you can do (most of them for free) to keep your customers happy and coming back to you.

The Benefits Of Proper Networking For Your Business

May 17, 2013

By Tech Experts Staff
Many times a company’s network tends to be a difficult part of their infrastructure to decide what they really need.

There are many different ways of configuring a network depending on the company’s needs.

A network can be as simple as having your Internet Service Provider’s modem connected directly to a workstation or as complex as having thousands of workstations and servers connected to a company’s network around the world.

Deciding on what is needed for your network is completely dependent on the intended uses of it. Many factors contribute to this; security, size of network, locations, speed necessary, etc.

For most small companies, they can usually get by with a simple router that has a built-in firewall solution.

While the simple routers take care of giving access to users hardwired to the local network, and in some cases via a wireless connection, they don’t offer the features that a higher end router would.

Many companies have multiple sites that they want to have access to all the same files. One solution is purchasing cloud storage to accomplish this.

While that would be a great idea if you needed access when you are not on your companies network, a much more economical solution is to have a virtual private connection (VPN) setup between sites.

If a VPN is setup between sites the traffic is encrypted with a shared key between the routers which allows the two of them to pass traffic to each other without anyone being able to see what it is.

This allows you to safely send confidential information to members at a different site.

The biggest advantage of a VPN between sites is the ability to have one server at a centralized location and allow all of your sites to have access to it.

This alone can save thousands of dollars when it comes to the network build, you only need one server.

When it comes to having a server, if properly configured they can provide a significant amount of security on the network.

Servers improve security by offering centralized management and providing a means to allow or deny access to files on the network.

For instance, you may have accounting files on a network that you only want certain employees to have access to, with a server you can assign specific users access to these files.

Some routers also have the ability to manage bandwidth. This provides companies the ability to manage the amount of data users can use for different applications.

Many large companies need the ability to control how much bandwidth is being used and what is using it. With higher end routers you have the ability to do this.

On the business class firewalls we generally install at businesses they offer a large package of security tools to help protect your network.

Our business class firewalls offer all of the routing capabilities of the simple, home user routers but also offer antivirus, web filtering, antispam, intrusion prevention system (IPS), and vulnerability management.

The business class firewalls drastically improve a business’s security as well as offers many of the features listed above.

If your business is in need of network improvements to increase security and employee productivity, give us a call and we can offer you a network diagnosis to determine what your company’ needs are and where your networks weak points are.

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