Small Business Owners

My Internet Connection is Slow, Should I Change Providers?

By : Joaquin Hernandez |August 31, 2017 |Internet, Small Business IT |Comments Off on My Internet Connection is Slow, Should I Change Providers?

Top 10 Small Business IT Questions

#10 ? My Internet Connection is Slow, Should I Change Providers?

There are several reasons your internet connection may seem slow. Before you jump to the conclusion the problem is with your internet provider you need to do some investigation.

First, run a speed check of your internet provider. This is actually quite easy to do. A speed test program will test the speed of your computer connecting to the Internet – called the “upload” speed. It will also test the speed of copying data from the website onto your computer – called the “download” speed. There are many speed test programs available. You can search by typing “internet speed test” into your search engine. One I found on Google is http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/.

After you run the speed check and have both the upload and download speeds, compare them to the contracted speed of your internet provider. Most of the time you’ll find the internet provider is not the problem. If yours is not, continue the investigation.

The most common cause of a slowing computer is a virus or malware. Check your virus protection or malware program status. You may find your computer is infected and needs attention. Take steps to clean or quarantine the problem.

Another possibility can be a problem with a specific program or website. If one program seems slow, log in to a completely different program to determine if the problem is widespread or limited. I use Quickbooks to manage my accounting so I’d log in to Quickbooks to see if I still notice a similar response time problem. If the slowness only occurs in one program, you have probably found the culprit. If the slowness affects multiple programs, your computer may be to blame.

After investigating all of these without finding any issues, your computer itself may be the source of the problem. You will most likely need help from a local computer expert who can evaluate further. If you live near Torrance, I’d recommend PC Parlor run by Tony Musorafite. Ask for his bench rate which is very reasonable.

Hopefully, these tips will help you find the problem and get your computer back up-to-speed!

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I Have Some Old Equipment Still in Use, What is the Typical Lifecycle for This Equipment?

By : Joaquin Hernandez |August 24, 2017 |Security, Small Business IT |Comments Off on I Have Some Old Equipment Still in Use, What is the Typical Lifecycle for This Equipment?

Top 10 Small Business IT Questions

#9 ? I Have Some Old Equipment Still In Use, What is the Typical Lifecycle for This Equipment?

The typical lifecycle of computer equipment is 3 to 5 years. Your computer becomes obsolete because the manufacturers no longer support your computer’s hardware, software, or both. Even though your computer may continue to function past its expected “life”, finding a replacement for a broken or failing component becomes difficult. Software that fails beyond its expected life is no longer supported by the manufacturer. And failures always seem to have a way of happening at the most inopportune times! In these instances, maintaining an older computer, especially if you don’t have the expertise yourself, becomes more costly than replacement.

Disposing old equipment is a subject for a later column. However, for the basics, follow your local e-Waste guidelines as computers contain toxic components and have to be disposed of properly. Also, be sure to eliminate all personal information from your computer. You certainly don’t want a hacker to find your information on a computer they found in the trash!

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What Email System Should I Be Using?

By : Joaquin Hernandez |August 17, 2017 |News, Small Business IT |Comments Off on What Email System Should I Be Using?

Top 10 Small Business IT Questions

#8 What Email System Should I Be Using?

As a small business, you have many email options. If you have a website, your website hosting provider most likely offers at least a few free email addresses. Start by investigating this option.

AOL, Outlook, Yahoo, and Gmail are just a few companies that offer free email services. These free services work well but usually have limited storage and features. Also, using a free service means you will have the standard email suffix (such as @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, etc.) depending on the service you choose. If, like me, you prefer to use a suffix with your own company name you’ll need to use a paid service.

Most paid services are reasonably priced, ranging from $2.00 to $5.00 per user per month. Some of the more popular email service providers are Office 365 (Microsoft), Gmail (Google), Rackspace & Zoho. These are only a few of the many options available.

 

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What is the Best Method For Backup of My Data?

By : Joaquin Hernandez |August 10, 2017 |Security, Small Business IT |Comments Off on What is the Best Method For Backup of My Data?

Top 10 Small Business IT Questions

#7 What is the Best Method for Backup of My Data?

Backing up data should be a priority for your business.  All businesses depend on documents and data to function. Even small business, like mine, need to protect their information. This is especially critical if you’re ever victimized by ransomware or viruses.

Financial records, significant documents, and communications are some of the basics a small business needs to back up. For these needs, an online backup solution will suffice. Several of the most popular options available are identified in this recent article: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/maintenance/tp/online_backup_services.htm.

Online backup services provide you a built-in capability to retrieve files or documents, without having to figure out some complicated process on your own. Also, these solutions are incremental, meaning only the changes are transmitted to the cloud. The system “knows” it does not need to back-up identical information over and over again.

To me, the best feature of online backup services is that offsite storage is already built into the solution. You no longer need to be concerned with moving portable disks or backup tapes to a secure offsite location. In my case, I no longer need to remember to take them home with me!

One of the oldest companies, used by many of my customers, is Carbonite. It is ranked third in the report evaluation above. Its ease-of-use makes it a popular choice. However, if your backup requirements are more extensive, Consumer Reports wrote a nice report which identifies several options available for backing up your data: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/computer-backup-systems/buying-guide.htm.

Don’t forget to test your backup solution as part of your annual maintenance plan. Once your information is backed-up and secure, make sure you know the steps to recover you company’s information and that you actually “practice” how to do it!

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Do We Need A Website?

By : Joaquin Hernandez |August 03, 2017 |Small Business IT |Comments Off on Do We Need A Website?

Top 10 Small Business IT Questions

#6 Do we need a website?

Yes. If you own a business, you need a website.

Most people use a company’s website to learn basic information about that company. If you don’t have a website you are portraying your company as very small or living behind the times. Neither one makes a good impression on today’s customers.

Most websites are informational, letting your potential customers know about you, your team, and your philosophy. Twenty years ago, people learned about your company by your business card and company brochure or tri-fold. Today, people expect to find this information on your company’s website.

Some companies make their websites interactive, allowing their customers to log in to access or receive information. Our CPA’s website is an example of an interactive website. After completing our tax returns, our CPA posts them as PDF documents on their website. Using a secured login, we can then access both business and personal tax returns throughout the year.

Your marketing plan should also incorporate your website, especially if you’re using social media like Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or others. All of these tools work together to write the story of you and your company for potential customers.

Make sure you have a website so it can tell your story!

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Top 10 Small Business IT Questions

The Top 10 Most Common IT Questions Asked by Small Business Owners

By : Array Systems, Inc. |December 02, 2014 |Small Business IT |Comments Off on The Top 10 Most Common IT Questions Asked by Small Business Owners

Below are the top ten most common information technology questions we hear from small business owners.  Over the next couple weeks our President Sid Kato will be answering these questions here on Tech Talk with Array.  If you are a small business owner and you don’t see your question listed here, please let us know by submitting an article suggestion to the right –>

We’re here to help!

  1. What is the Cloud?

  2. How can Social Media help me find potential customers?

  3. I’m concerned about identity theft, how do I protect myself?

  4. How do I protect myself from hackers?

  5. What is the best way to protect against viruses?

  6. Do I need a website?

  7. What is the best method for backup of my data?

  8. What email system should I be using?

  9. I have some old equipment still in use, what is the typical lifecycle for this equipment?

  10. My Internet connection is slow should I change providers?

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