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What Advancements In Technology Have Enabled Laptops To Become Cheaper In Recent Years?
October 1, 2011 | 
Author At one time, laptops were very expensive and mostly used by business persons. In recent years, advancements in technology have helped to greatly reduce the costs of laptops. Now, laptops are the fastest growing computer sales area showing no signs of slowing down. Almost everyone seems to have a laptop today. Now, consumers have more choices when searching for a laptop and the technological advancements is making them more popular than desktop computers.
Current technological developments have made laptops the top selling computer. Every time new and more efficient technology is introduced, the price of laptops will drop. The development of new technologies has made the costs of producing laptops much cheaper and the savings are passed on to the customer. The improvements in portability have made the laptop more appealing and cheaper. You can now buy laptops as light as 2.2 pounds. In addition, you do not need a power outlet to connect a laptop to the internet. You can connect to the internet anywhere there is Wi-Fi. This is very advantageous for people on-the-go.
New technology is emerging faster than ever before which means new laptops are always being released. When a new laptop model is introduced with new features and functions, within just a few of months, the prices of the older models will drop. Sellers will reduce the prices of older models to make room for the new models. Extended warranties and support also make the laptop more appealing and worth the investment. Also, the smaller size of laptops is making these computers more popular. You can get laptops that are small enough to be carried around with great ease. They are not just lightweight, they are ultra-thin. You can easily carry them in a carry bag. Screen displays can be as small as 10 inches. Also, the quality of laptop screens has increased so that there is now almost no difference between laptop and desktop computer screens.
Even though laptops are small, they still have all of the performance and functions of a desktop compute at lower costs. You still have high processing capabilities, large memory, and ability to handle intensive videos and graphics, while being able to browse the internet and use word processing. Smaller CPUs makes laptops cheaper and there is enough space to employ more options such as on-board wireless connectivity, DVD burner, multiple USB ports, on-board webcam, on-board microphone, and digital and audio input/output.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology have allowed for wireless Internet for laptops. Wi-Fi networking has allowed for the development of networks across similar wireless devices such as mobile phones. Browsing via mobile wireless Internet with 3D laptops is now seen as technology that will soon be used by a great number of consumers. There are even forecasts that predict battery technology will be replaced by solar power and micro fuel cells. Technology and competition are the two major factors that have caused the price of laptops to decrease. These two factors are expected to continue so laptops are going to remain very affordable for quite some time.
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Tags: Advancements, Become, Cheaper, Enabled, Laptops, Recent, Technology, Years | 
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Five Reasons Why You Will Love a Left-Handed Keyboard
If you are a frequent computer-user and a leftie, you should have heard the news – a keyboard designed with you in mind. Left-handed keyboards have special features engineered for the convenience of lefties, but even right-hand users would find these features practical and sensible.
What’s wrong with the Standard Keyboard?
For right-handed users, the use of standard keyboard, even for long hours, would not be a cause for alarm; provided, proper posture and keyboard positioning of the fingers on the keyboard platform are observed. This experience may not hold true for a left-handed user who has to exert more effort when using a standard keyboard, as he has to conform to its layout that suits right-handed users.
The Risk of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
A lot has been said about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but its actual cause has yet to be determined. However, many factors have been considered as possible triggers, and two of these are work-related stress and repetitive motion of the wrists and fingers.
Can you imagine the amount of effort that a leftie has to exert each time he reaches for the mouse, using his right hand that does not have his natural strength? What about those arrow keys he has to press using fingers of the same right hand?
At the workplace, stress may be caused by tools you use, such as your keyboard and mouse. To protect your hands from the onset of CTS, make a shift. If you are left-handed, use the appropriate keyboard.
Five Key Features of a Left-Handed Keyboard
Anyone can own this keyboard. With its practical and convenient layout, even right-hand users would prefer this keyboard over the standard type. Here are five reasons why it is fast becoming everyone’s favorite nowadays:
Sensible Layout. Throughout the years, the use of the keyboard has evolved with the mouse now frequently used than the numeric keypad. This perhaps gave the idea for designers of left-handed keyboards to set-up the numeric keypad on the left, and the mouse positioned closer to the keyboard on the right, for more convenience. This also minimizes stress as it limits the distance the arm has to reach out for the mouse.
Practical Placement of Keys. For ease of use, arrow keys, including Page Up, Page Down, Home, End, and Del keys are located on the left side of the keyboard; this means the user can still move the mouse on his right while pressing on directional keys on his left.
Lightweight and Portable. It has a mini look to it, but has the full features of a standard keyboard.
Modern Keys. Flat, notebook-style keys do not require much effort to press and do not make noise.
Prevents Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI). Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which is a type of RSI may be avoided by reducing stress on the arms and fingers. You can do this by using only office tools that promote your natural inclination and do not require you to exert lots of effort.
With its features and benefits, both left-handed and right-handed users would find a left-handed keyboard the perfect office tool to-date.
Left-handed Keyboard, Mini Keyboards and Specialty Keyboards are available at ErgonomicsMadeEasy.com. Use an ergonomic keyboard, custom-designed for your specific needs to lessen stress on your hands and fingers as you type. Repetitive stress on your wrists causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which is a disabling and deforming work-related injury.
For all the lefties in the world, left-handed keyboards were engineered with you in mind. However, even right-handed users would find left-handed keyboards easy to type on because they retain the features of a regular keyboard, but with the numeric keypad placed on the left so your mouse is located much closer to your body on the right to minimize reaching out for it, and the stress that goes with the effort.
Document Management Software: Helping Financial Services Companies Stay Profitable
The financial services industry often uses papers, but as it’s become highly and more closely regulated, businesses large and small are starting to implement document software solutions to increase efficiency and security, without sacrificing profitability.
Small- to medium-sized financial institutions such as investment services and wealth management firms, credit institutions, mortgage companies, and brokerage firms all need to reduce costs while increasing service levels and operational efficiencies. They must also meet various compliance and regulatory laws. Accounts and Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) have the same issues.
A comprehensive document software package can easily and affordably accomplish all of these objectives.
For businesses still relying on paper, manually storing, copying, printing, faxing, and mailing of these types of documents becomes an exponentially larger part of operating budgets every year. Consider, for example, the ever-increasing cost of paper, on-site and off-site storage space, filing boxes and cabinets, ink, toner, and postage. With an affordable and simple to use document software, these expenses are reduced dramatically, so ROI is quick and sustainable.
Perhaps most importantly for financial services companies, complying with SEC, NASD, The Patriot Act, and Sarbanes-Oxley regulations is easier and less expensive with the right document software. Capturing, processing, storing, and sharing client information electronically with document management software is a secure, cost-effective, and practical alternative to the administrative hassle and logistical nightmare of maintaining paper files.
Unless you installed document management software already, your business is probably generating thousands of documents – forms, invoices, receipts, files, e-mails, presentations, and spreadsheets for example. As your business grows, the job of managing, filing, storing, and retrieving these physical paper files becomes a huge time-consuming hassle, not to mention a major operating expense. So if you are still pushing paper, here are the top five reasons you should implement a document management software system in your business as soon as possible:
1. To Increase Efficiency
Document management software increases productivity immediately because document filing and retrieval is done in seconds with employees never having to leave their workstations. Lost or misfiled documents are a thing of the past with customized indexing options and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) features.
2. To Improve Security
Unfortunately, many small- to medium- sized companies are still relying on file cabinets and bankers boxes to store even the mot sensitive information. Document management software enables businesses to customize security settings, set strict password access, and track every time a document is accessed or updated.
3. To Maintain Compliance
Businesses and organizations are under tremendous pressure to properly manage information for risk-reduction purposes. Non-compliance with privacy and security regulations can result in severe fines, penalties or other legal consequences that are easily avoidable with document management software.
4. To Reduce Operating Expense
Maintaining paper files costs your business money, time, man-hours, equipment, and space. Filing, retrieving and processing paper files is time intensive – 3 to 4 minutes per file. That starts adding up quickly and exponentially. Document management software can also greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the expense of paper, bankers’ boxes, file cabinets, ink, toner, copy and fax equipment maintenance, etc.
5. To Improve Accessibility
Document management software enables authorized employees to view, share, modify, and store documents quickly and easily from anywhere, even remotely.
Posted in Other | Tags: Companies, Document, Financial, Helping, Management, Profitable, Services, Software | No Comments »
Is CD Duplication Becoming Greener?
We live in a world that is concerned about the environment. People are being more careful about the things that they do. It makes sense that this mindset would eventually reach the world of music reproduction. In this case, we are talking about CDs and the process of duplication.
Making an environmentally friendly compact disc is not an easy task. The very materials that are used to make them are not compatible with nature. However, there are some things that can be done to make the duplication process greener.
There is conscious level that is rising in the CD manufacturing community. Some of the changes that are being considered and suggested include using paper foam or cardboard packaging instead of the traditional plastic.
Another possibility is to use soy-based ink. The regular petroleum based inks are more desirable because of their faster drying time. Soy based inks dry slower and cost a little more. However, the trade off is better for the environment.
Still more strides are being made to make the process of creating the disc more eco-friendly. Some companies are using recycled plastics in manufacturing. They cannot use 100 percent recycled plastics in the disc, but they can use a good percentage of recycled materials to make the CDs.
Making the disc leaner and doing this by cutting the size of it in half makes it easier to pass through the scanning machines in the post office. The industry is also taking the regular CD packaging and reusing it to make packaging that is eco-friendly.
They are also using as much recycled material as possible on the front end, which is where they use only recyclable items and on the back end using discarded materials that can be reused for manufacturing CDs.
The general idea is that the music community wants to go green, and they are taking steps to make it happen. The main push is to find ways to make the process more green and eco friendly.
More and more companies are taking those extra steps to produce a quality item that is compatibility with our environment. They are very aware of the importance of not polluting the earth, and they take it seriously.
While the consensus indicates that it is impossible to make a completely environmentally friendly CD disc, the overall packaging can be made of environmentally friendly. Education and promotion are two ways that the industry is looking at supporting the move to green.
The CD Duplication industry will continue to look for ways to keep the distribution and manufacturing of CDs as eco-friendly as possible.
Information on Computer Support Job Roles and Qualifications
Since the world is becoming more dependent on technologically advanced devices, there is a greater need for computer support personnel. More companies are creating computer support departments and IT positions and more IT companies are started every day, increasing job opportunities for technology related careers. If you are looking for a job in the computer support and IT industry, it’s possible to start your own business or apply for open job positions in companies from all different backgrounds. However, to be considered for these specialty positions it is important to be knowledgable in the field.
Computer support is not just about helping people with their computer problems. Many firms need to hire someone who can be put in charge of data and network security. IT support will also be needed to make sure that everything is running well within the company and that new email addresses can be set up for new employees. Even if you start your own company, you will need to make sure these services can be offered.
Someone who wants a role in IT support will need knowledge about computers. The best option is to have a degree in Information Systems or Computer Science. However, not all jobs do require degrees. Many people can now take Microsoft courses to gain the skills, qualifications, certifications and knowledge needed to become successful in the IT business. Experience will also be needed to get a job with a good firm.
There are different types of support personnel, depending on job title and what needs a particular company may have. One of the most common titles is a specialist – specialists are the people who offer advice and tips on fixing computers. Other names for this position include help desk personnel and technicians. They are the people that answer the phone when you are having computer problems and they are able to troubleshoot problems over the phone and tell you what to do to make sure that everything is in full working order.
System administrators are the next level up. These people will work within a company and monitor how well a system is working. It is up to a system administrator that everything is working exactly how it should be.
The systems are all designed by a Computer Networking Systems Administrator. These are also the people that work with the intranet and internet settings within a company. This is a large responsibility so a degree is needed for this, as well as a lot of experience in the job role.
Security specialists also come under IT support and these are the people that will monitor how well the security of the computers is. This will involve keeping an eye out for anybody hacking into the system as well as people getting into areas that they are not supposed to. This is much harder when it also involves the internet. The security personnel also need to install the security software onto the computer networks.
So computer support jobs are widely available but you do need proper training and qualifications to gain a position in this field. Take the time to research available Microsoft courses you can take to gain needed knowledge and certifications, but make sure that you sign up for legitimate courses that offer the certifications you need based on the job you are looking for. Double check with the course provider and the Microsoft website to find out more. The last thing that you want to do is waste money on courses that are not recognized or accredited.
Seven Guidelines for Using Flexible Circuit Technology in Your Product
Flexible printed circuits offers design choices that can reduce your product cost, enhance products features as well as improve the robustness, if the right steps are taken in your product start up. Following these guidelines will help a designer or engineer more successfully utilize flexible circuit technology into packaging solutions.
Do a little research on flexible circuit terminology as this will help with supplier communication and result in a better design. Many terms used by your suppliers are industry specific terms. There are many sources for design guides or terminology including the IPC (see “Terms and Definitions for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits” IPC-T-50 Rev. H). You don’t have to become an expert, but understanding the proper terminology will go a long way in improving the design process.
Choose the right supplier for your needs; there are many flex circuit manufacturers that would gladly do business with you, but not every supplier is going to be able to fill your specific needs. You need to ask a lot of questions about your future supplier. Does the potential supplier have experience in your industry? Can they demonstrate proficiency in the design your are trying to build? If it has fine lines, what is their demonstrated capability for line width and spacing? How long have they been building flex circuits, what is their long term viability, is the management team committed to continued investment in this technology. These and other questions should be part of your due diligence in selecting the right supplier. You should also talk to other customers of your prospective supplier; insist on getting customer references as a condition of doing business. Talking to a few of the suppliers customers can give you a ton of insight on what it is like doing business with them.
Follow design input from your supplier. Your supplier understands how to make a reliable circuit and knows the limitations of its manufacturing capability. Forcing your design on your flex circuit supplier is a sure way to reduce the reliability and increase costs. Sharp conductor corners create stress points; radius turns will have a longer life. Cracked conductors at solder joints are very common in poorly designed flex; this issue can be mitigated during the design phase. Filleting the intersection point between a trace and a pad tends to distribute stresses that might occur when the circuit is bent. Many suppliers will offer comprehensive redesign to insure that common reliability issues are addressed and the design is manufacturable.
Developing a technical contact at your flexible circuit supplier can dramatically improve communication and smooth the product introduction process. A strong relationship can help assure mutual investment to the success of the program. Communication with a contact that can explain the processes, materials, design guidelines and cost implications will make the project more likely to succeed and improve the experience.
Make sure that your supply chain team understands that a flexible circuit is custom designed and engineered with unique features specific to the end use application. Assuming that this product is a commodity that can be purchased anywhere will often lead you to higher costs, poor delivery and reduced reliability.
Allow enough time in your total project to take advantage of your suppliers expertise so that you can incorporate cost savings ideas and improve the design robustness. An overly compressed time line will result in higher costs and lower quality as the supplier is forced to produce a poorly designed product in a quick turn environment.
Analyze the entire cost of ownership as opposed to just looking at the product price. Using an off-shore supplier might look like you are saving money, but communication issues, lack of timely technical support, travel costs and delayed project start up costs can quickly eat up any piece part savings that an overseas supplier gives. Some of the lowest cost flexible circuits are made in the United States. These companies are using highly automated equipment and can compete with anyone in the world. Other US suppliers specialize in lower volume with high product mix production, an area that many overseas producers will struggle at.
While most of the above items seem like common sense to the experienced flex user, many times, buyers seem to dramatically under estimate what is involved in successfully utilizing flexible circuits in their electronic packages. Utilizing some of the guidelines given in this article will hopefully improve your chances of a successful start up.
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How Automation Can Make You Money
Businesses face an automation challenge. Our world now functions with the use of automation. It’s become a way of life. Firms that do not integrate technology with business practices will be less competitive. Many companies mistakenly think that they are automated by implementing sales force automation software. Staffing firms using this type of software suffer from large functionality gaps. Usually a heavy amount of customization occurs in an attempt to adapt it to the organization. Still, it is unable to do the real job. This underscores the importance of implementing a fully integrated software model that is specifically designed for the recruiting and staffing industry.
It’s no big secret that technology enabled businesses are more successful. Those that strategically use technology to position themselves in the marketplace will capture more business and do better planning. This is especially important now that everyone is scrambling to revitalize revenue growth after it’s been stalled by the recent poor economy.
How do you know if your technology needs an overhaul? Do you question the effectiveness of your current software solution in terms of supporting your business goals and objectives? Is your software architecture disconnected with different groups using totally different software? Is there little communication between temp, direct hire or other groups such as medical staffing and accounting? Are a lot of your processes still manual? Are you unable to get detailed business reporting? If the answer is yes, then it is time to take action.
First, senior management must take control and define how the company will do business as a “digital workplace” to address the needs of a “digital economy”. Let’s face it – even grandma is on Facebook®. Your customers and candidates want to do business with a company that is efficient, timely and offers appropriate self-service tools to facilitate transactions. Your employees want and need software tools in order to be able to make the digital connections that are necessary to allow them to compete. You should use technology to transform business processes rather than just adding features to the same old processes.
A huge part of transforming business processes is “Customer Relationship Management” or “CRM”. CRM means an integrated process throughout the organization. This means that it spans across marketing, sales, operations and back office. This creates “standardization”. When the entire company operates in the same way, the total customer experience is consistent.
Another key is making sure that your digital strategy is actually implemented. Someone needs to take responsibility for implementation, or the strategy will fail. Often committees are set up for this purpose with no one “owner” that will take responsibility for the project. This is why automation projects so often fail.
What ensures success in a digital workplace? Although the concept may seem new, the reason for success is not. The most successful companies in the digital age are those that select digital applications that will provide the data needed to make business decisions. Productivity and profitability will naturally fall into place. It is all about the information. Are you ready to be data driven?
Improved business performance is the goal. When making technology decisions it’s not about the pretty screens, whether you want to be “in the cloud” or “out of the cloud”, how much it will cost or if your people want to make a change. Either way you look at it, your information needs must be addressed.
B2B marketing has changed. B2B relationships focus on people rather than companies. People do not want to “be sold”; they are looking for trusted business partners that could help them solve their business problems. Business to business marketing is different from consumer marketing. Consumer marketing does contain some solution selling, but B2B marketing is all about solution selling. The main emphasis is on providing value. So, the natural consequence is to implement a technology solution that will provide value to your customers.
It is important that you have the toolkit to enable the organization to become “digitally adept.” You need an integrated environment that bonds your front and back office operations and reaches out to candidates and customers. Your software solution should offer a harmonious relationship with social media, job boards, onboarding of candidates, portals to retrieve information and more. Some customers prefer emailed invoices. Can you offer that? Can you send out a text to candidates the moment their direct deposit is transferred? Can customers approve time on-line? These are all service items that people expect.
A “digital workplace” is no longer the workplace of the future. This is the way companies are operating now. A competitive company cannot afford to be without information. That information must be procured, housed and utilized to the full extent. Business forecasting models, electronic storage of documents, virtual communication, complete client and candidate profiles and more must all be available digitally in order to foster the most profitable and customer enabled environment.
So Cometh Windows 8!
With the unveiling of Windows 8 Transitional Computing Inc. finds itself reminiscing about Microsoft’s previous OS releases and musing about how this next release will affect IT professionals and the businesses we support.
Microsoft began its journey into market dominance of the PC world in 1985 with its release of Windows 1.0; an interface management system that would eventually be followed by several iterations of the OS and become an integral part of how we do business today. Though Microsoft is clearly a market leader for its operating systems support of business applications, they have on occasion released operating systems that have been a source of frustration for IT professionals and the businesses we support.
This is no more prevalent than in Microsoft’s release of Windows Vista. Though the OS was touted to have many improvements over its predecessor Windows XP (mostly in the arena of security features) it was plagued with performance issues. Benchmarks tests showed that Vista executed applications more slowly than Windows XP with the same hardware configuration. Further issues such as software bloat, software compatibility, poor power management on laptops, and the price to upgrade from XP to Vista all combined to make Vista an impractical solution for business owners and IT professionals alike. This had the unfortunate result of leaving business owners two generations of OS behind.
When Microsoft released Windows 7 in July of 2009 nearly 3 years after the release of Vista most business owners still found themselves running on an XP platform. Windows 7 was met with mostly positive acclaim. It easily out performed its predecessor Vista in the areas of usability and functionality with most reviewers saying Windows 7 is what Vista should have been.
In the eyes of IT professionals and business owners upgrading to Windows 7 however still had its drawbacks. With the general impression consumers and corporations had that Windows Vista was a stumble along the OS road, most consumers were reluctant to upgrade to what some considered a dressed up Vista. Upgrade fees were rather steep even for users upgrading from Vista to 7. Upgrades were available for users still running on an XP platform but only in the form of license upgrades.
What did this all mean for business owners?
Well, the small percentage running Vista could install Windows 7 over top their existing OS with no need to back up their applications and data or fear that their Vista applications would not be compatible with Windows 7. On the other foot XP users found that they had to perform “clean installs” and actually do all of the above listed things Vista users were not required to. From the perspective of Business owners this made the prospect of upgrading from XP to Windows 7 a daunting task. Even with the positive acclaim Windows 7 had received most did not see any meaningful advantage to upgrading.
As of April 2011, nearly 2 years after its release, Windows 7 has finally overtaken XP in the US market share. The “what” and the “why” of how Windows 7 finally replaced it’s twice removed predecessor can be attributed to several factors. One notable reason was Microsoft’s release of XP Mode for Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate. Initially available in Oct. 2009 as an application that launched a virtual XP environment, XP Mode allowed users to run legacy software that did not run natively inside Windows 7. This first iteration of XP Mode required microprocessors with hardware support for virtualization. Ironically the target audience that Microsoft was trying to reach with XP Mode, namely small to mid-sized businesses, now found themselves required to update their hardware in order to upgrade to Windows 7 making the cost prohibitive. Microsoft has since released an update that removes the hardware requirement for XP mode making it available to a wider range of users.
So where we are we at now with Windows 7?
Stable efficient OS – Check
Legacy software support – Check
A market share larger than XP – Check
Compatible with a larger array of hardware specifications – Check
Just when we feeling we are in good a place with Windows 7. So Cometh Windows 8! Well technically that’s not true. At recent press conference when Microsoft gave us all our first look at the upcoming Windows OS they did announce that Windows 8 was not projected to be released until late 2012.
As IT professionals however it is our responsibility to keep abreast of these developments and try to predict what impact this will have on our clients.
At first glance Windows 8 looks to be Microsoft’s big bid to enter the “post PC era”. If you’re not familiar with the term “post PC era” well its actual definitions seems to be a subject for open debate, but in reference to Windows 8 “post PC era” seems to refer to the switch over from desktop and laptop computers to the wider use of mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones.
The interface for Windows 8 is in fact based in part on the current Windows 7 phone interface. If you’ve never seen it before don’t feel bad. The Windows 7 phone was poorly marketed and made barely a squeak on a mobile device stage that has been recently dominated by Apple and Android based smart phones and tablets.
As one would expect since the new OS is based on Smartphone technology it leans heavily towards touch screen based interactivity. Most of the demos Microsoft has put forth thus far tend to focus on the touch screen features. This is not to say Windows 8 is going to leave mouse and keyboard users out the cold. Though it is designed for the “post-PC era”, Windows 8 looks more to us as though it is a bridge between device and dedicated PC users.
With such a drastic shift of focus some of you may be wondering how much consideration Microsoft put into compatibility. Microsoft has assured consumers that Windows 8 is not abandoning the Windows 7 usability model, it is expanding on it. Windows 8 will be able to run current Windows 7 applications on a comfortably familiar Windows Desktop. The Windows 8 Desktop will have expanded control for multi monitor displays allowing deeper customization of the view controls for each screen. What could throw some desktop users for a loop is the Windows 8 start menu, primarily because it is no longer a menu. Windows 8 will feature a customizable “Start Screen”, a full screen tiled display that allows you to group apps together and swipe through several tiled groups. While this may be familiar enough for Windows 7 users to get the hang of, those migrating from XP might have a slightly steeper learning curve with this feature.
Can your hardware handle it?
For those who have updated their hardware within the past year the answer is a happy yes. If you are currently running Windows 7 without performance issues Microsoft touts that Windows 8 will run just as well if not better on the same hardware.
What’s our verdict?
What we’ve seen so far leads us to believe Windows 8 is an upgrade that takes into account many of the headaches previous upgrades did not handle as successfully. Microsoft seems to have put the user experience under a microscope while developing their latest OS considering ease of transition and feature improvement. Whether the new features and cost of upgrading will prove to be a practical solution for IT pros and business owners still remains to be seen. We’ll be keeping our eye on this product as it approaches its ultimate release, that’s for sure.
Hosted IP Telephone Service: Why it’s a good option
Scratch that. Hosted IP telephone service is not just a good option; it’s the best option right now. Here’s why:
Tomorrow’s forecast says so
If you have foresight, you’ll opt for complete hosted IP PBX over its traditional digital counterpart. Enterprises are now moving towards IP telephony and more and more businesses are making known their intentions of shifting to a hosted cloud service. A Microsoft study indicates that within the next 3 years, 39 percent of SMBs are expected to adopt cloud computing (source: TMCnet). An IBM study also shows that 60 percent of 3,000 global CIOs surveyed are moving to the cloud in the next five years. You’ll also be able to observe on your own that data storage has grown in capacity over the years. Sharply illustrating this is how abysmal and laughable 3 ½ floppy A seems now compared to 1 terabyte storage. It won’t be long before most of our data will be stored online. If you want to keep ahead of the game and avoid getting stuck with an obsolete phone system, choose a hosted IP phone service.
It’s the smarter move
If the idea that traditional PBX equals dinosaurs is too exaggerated for you to handle, the far superior benefits of Internet phone systems should convince you. Before you slam me on the superlatives, I’m sure that a minute of commonsense will lead you to the same conclusion. Internet fax, long distance PC to phone and PC to PC calls are definitely cheaper and more convenient (if not, someone please explain the popularity of Skype and Google Voice). We can also see that virtual meetings save you time, money and effort. Imagine smartphones, virtual lines, and tablets easily connecting to your communication system…this is exciting sci-fi stuff made real.
Undeniably, IP telephone service is a step-up from traditional phone services. Why go for less when you can have the best?
Online Data Backup Service And How To Choose The Best One
If you are in any kind of business, then you are probably using the web quite significantly. Storing your electronic files has probably replaced the storing that you used to do in boxes and filing cabinets. While the electronic age has made this much easier, you should not make the mistake of thinking that, just because it’s “out there” for all to see online that the information is safe. Your data must be stored on a server in order to be seen, and servers are subject to erosion over time. They can break down and fail you when you least expect for them to. That’s why it is important that you seek an online data backup service that knows how to handle your delicate information, and will protect it at all costs. What should you look for in an online data backup service? Consider the following attributes:
Multiple storage points
It is not enough that a data backup service has the most protected infrastructure in the business world. It must also exercise the concept of redundancy. See, what makes the web so much safer and more convenient is that it’s easy to set up multiple sites where data is stored. That way, should something happen to the one, whether through system failure or natural disaster, your information is still out there for recall. Most businesses today see the value in having multiple storage points across the country. The cost of building redundancy when compared to how things operated prior to the Internet is relatively small. Just imagine copying every shred of paper and storing it in its own box across the country. The web has made this concept popular, and you should be using a service provider that exploits this fact.
Disaster protection initiatives
If Hurricane Katrina taught you anything, it’s that even the major US cities are not exempt from catastrophe. Imagine if you had been a business with no redundancy for your online storage, or perhaps you used two servers located across town from one another. Then, Katrina hits, and both are wiped out. Your company should have some kind of disaster protection initiatives in place. They should not assume that the worst will never happen. They should plan their businesses around the idea that the worst has happened. Where will your data be then? If that’s how your data backup service operates, then you’ve picked a good one.
You never know if you will need online data backup storage, but it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Before you do another thing associated with your business, make sure that your pertinent data is locked away for safe keeping with a storage service that values it as much as you do.