COMPUTING SERVICES EXAMPLE
To
provide an example of who might use our
computing services, see if you can picture
anyone you know in this short fictional
story:
BOOTSTRAPPING
Jane started a business running out of her
home 3 years ago. It has since grown to
23 employees and now has a payroll, accounts
payable, and an elaborate accounts receivable
since she has had some success in sales.
Like most of us, she bootstrapped it-she
pieced together some computers that her
family had around the house. To save money,
her computer network was put together by
a friend--Bill, from IBM who was between
jobs and her son, Tim who is also great
with computers.
OUTGROWING THE STARTUP INFRASTRUCTURE
Jane "gets by" on the setup she has as she
reaches for the next level and the next - right
up until she encounters her first disaster.
She never saw it coming-the P.C. she used
as a server (not designed for this purpose)
that hosted the data file for her off-the-shelf
accounting program, Fast Accounts, underwent
a hard disk failure.
The extent of the disaster
doesn't hit her right away since her first
reaction is to be the calm business owner
and recommend that they get down the discount
computer shop and purchase another computer.
"It's OK folks, it's just a computer, relax-we'll
get it replaced."
BEING DEPENDENT ON SOFTWARE AND COMPUTERS
Meanwhile, her husband Paul is frantic.
Paul explains to her the work he has lost.
He is acting as the accounting controller,
and reminds her that the commission payroll
was prepped in Fast Accounts and ready to
be paid out tomorrow. This is now lost,
and they have to re-calculate the payroll
in the next 24 hours, or it will be wrong.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BACKUPS
At this point-Jane recalls all the times
she went to the Chamber of Commerce Meetings
for networking, where all those irritating
over-priced "techie people" urged her to
get a server with a backup system. Her response
to them was that she didn't need that--the
new jump thumb-drives can now hold a gigabyte
and would easily accommodate her Fast Accounts
accounting file.
Then she remembered they
stopped doing Fast Accounts backups over
a year ago--it seemed such hassle since
they hadn't had a problem in years. It was
evident now that Jane did have a problem.
THE IMPORTANCE OF IT SERVICE PROVIDERS
Jane knew what to do--she pulled out her
rolodex (since the computer was crashed)
and dialed Bill's number.
She was greeted
by Bill's wife, who enlightened Jane to
the fact that since the market had improved,
Bill got a new job with Cisco Systems, and
that he's out of town on training for a
month.
To Jane's dismay, she calls her son
for help (who set up the system originally
with Bill). Tim is now away at college,
and reminds Jane on the phone that she should
have been backing up. Jane, frustrated,
reminds Tim of the critical situation and
that this was no time for back-talk and
asks what to do. Tim replies that he simply
doesn't know--there's little he can do without
proper backup.
Have you or someone you know
been through anything like the example above?
Protecting your business from disaster, fire, flooding, or
equipment loss is critical, regardless of the size of the business.
And it doesnt have to cost a fortune to develop a system to make sure
this happens, or to have a knowledgeable support partner keep watch over
your systems to make sure everything stays available.
Even if you dont work with us, make sure you dont become a
story like above. Make sure you: