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    How to Trim the Fat From Data Center Costs   When smaller businesses look to cut costs, they commonly take shortcuts that are risky to their bottom line. They may go out of their way to avoid upgrading dated hardware, buying software licenses, or increasing bandwidth. In some instances, they layoff in-house IT support, or avoid hiring new help, even as the business grows. This often leads to a very cranky and disgruntled "IT guy" with a bad attitude as he or she runs around the office putting out one fire after another – feeling overburdened and underpaid.   Operating even the most basic data center today means recurring operating expenses that aren't affordable for most small-to-midsize businesses.   Unfortunately, SMBs just have to accept that keeping their data center alive and kicking means significant overhead and expenses. That's just the way it is.   Or is it? There are actually several ways to reduce data center infrastructure costs without sacrificing the

Multi-Channel communications: are they enough?   Do you use the multi-channel communications model? This approach toward communication with customers and prospects is very important, but are you recognizing the limitations that this model has for today’s digital users? This blog will outline what is meant by the term “multi-channel communications” and discuss the limitations of this model for encouraging effective and responsive communications with your customers.   Multi-channel communications means that you have more than one channel available for communications with your customers. At its root, it is a model that creates extra channels for customers to communicate with the organization so that they can meet you on the channel that is most convenient for them. For instance, you may have an 800 number that they can use to ask product questions or place an order. The multi-channel communications model develops when you add an online order form, or perhaps a chat box for questions. Toda

    Click, Click, BOOM – You're in Business But Is Your Technology Ready?   It's a fast business world. Brilliant business ideas can be conjured up at some hipster-filled vegan coffeehouse, a website is thrown together, and poof... in no time at all there is a living, breathing, small business venture accessible from anywhere in the world.   But as your head hits the pillow at night, with visions of becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg dancing in your head, understand that many obstacles will greet you on your road to entrepreneurial success. A fresh innovative idea is merely a start. For every successful startup like Groupon, there are even more that have faltered. Some great, even revolutionary, business concepts that just faded into obscurity; leaving behind nothing but tales of what could've been and insurmountable debt.   Failed business technology is often a big reason for this. Many startups think big but tend to operate small-minded to keep overhead and costs down. The

    Three Steps To Fix IT Management for SMBs   Small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) tend to have a more difficult time managing IT than larger enterprises. Despite being as technology dependent as larger enterprises, SMBs have tighter budgets and fewer resources to devote to IT management. This leads to a more reactive "break-fix" approach to their technology that never does any smaller company or organization any good.   Here's what break fix most often leads to. If the burden rests on the shoulders of hourly or salaried in-house IT support, and they're too busy putting out fires all day, then their skills and talents are essentially wasted.   If there is no in-house tech support, and many smaller companies and organizations don't have even one onsite "IT guy", SMBs are commonly taken for a ride by some of the more unscrupulous on-call IT consultants.   Although "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is a popular saying, it should never

    Inquiring SMBs Want to Know... What's the Difference Between a Help Desk and NOC?   It's no secret that any growing small-to-medium sized business must monitor and manage its business technology in the most cost-efficient way. The tricky part is figuring out how to do this without sacrificing the overall experience of the end-user. End-users can be clients and customers or employees. Both rely on the efficiency of a firm's network, servers, and applications, and the availability of the company's data center.   Thanks to the evolution of managed services, it's actually possible these days to reduce costs, which strengthens IT support and infrastructure. It's just a matter optimally integrating all available resources.   It's a Staffing Conundrum for Most SMBs   Most SMBs tend to be short staffed. This isn't just another reference to the many SMBs with little to no onsite tech support. While that's true, and problematic, it's actually all opera