3-Step Technology Assessment
Getting to Sea Level ™
Many businesses are running older equipment, outdated software, and aren’t adequately protected from today’s onslaught of viruses, spam, Trojan horses, and other threats that can hinder your computer system. Getting To Sea Level is a service we designed to bring all of your systems up to par. Axonus engineers continuously update our par standard based on experience, knowledge, and our own research into baseline acceptable performance and the tools and configuration necessary to accomplish it. A Sea Level system will function at current industry standards for reliability, security, and performance. Your headaches will go away: staff won’t complain about the system, backups will be known to work, and most of all, you’ll minimize work-stopping downtime. This flagship service is designed to use your budget as efficiently as possible. Our Getting to Sea Level ™ Service involves a 2 to 4 hour review of existing systems during which we:
- Analyze hardware specifications of current servers, workstations, firewalls, hubs, switches, and other equipment
- Check operating system versions and service pack/hot fix levels
- Check for correct operation of firewall
- Validate internet connection reliability and performance
- Review remote access solution
- Evaluate email system
- Determine existing solution for antivirus, antispam, and antispyware
- Verify that backups are in place and functional
- Review existing documentation
- Check license compliance
- Establish a general understanding of system security
Following this on-site review, we’ll go back to our office and produce a document detailing our set of recommendations for bringing your system to Sea Level. We’ll then schedule a meeting with you to discuss these recommendations and the best way to move forward. In some cases, everything will look fine and our recommendations will be minimal (congratulations on the bill of good health!). In most cases, however, there are a number of items that need attention and we’ll help you determine the urgency of handling this deferred maintenance. If you have any questions or are interested in our Getting to Sea Level service, we would love to speak with you! Please contact us to get started.
Keep it Stable
The Keep it Stable stage is where the rubber really meets the road. It is here where you establish the long term viability of your network. At this point, you’re already at Sea Level – systems are up to date, functional, and reliable. Now it’s time to make sure they stay that way. Keep it Stable can be described by the following steps. See below for more info on each topic.
- Develop a technology plan: includes purchasing, hardware rotation and regular upgrades
- Ongoing maintenance: keep systems fully operational and documentation up to date
- Upgrade as new versions of software are released
- Ongoing evaluation of new product offerings
- Focus on reliability
- Implement Axonus Realtime Care (ARC) on every computer and server
Develop a technology plan Technology is complex. Purchasing technology is even more complex. That’s why you need a plan. We can help you establish a reasonable budget for technology spending and a rotation schedule to maintain equipment at its peak. We’ll help you determine how much it costs to maintain your technology on a yearly or monthly basis. Businesses that value their technology and depend on it need to know that it’ll perform, and in this world of rapidly aging equipment, it’s important to replace systems on a schedule.
Ongoing Maintenance Ongoing maintenance and support is a critical element to your day-to-day operations. Who will you call if there is a problem? How will you know that it can get fixed quickly? Choose a partner who can be there in a flash to assist with any issues that come up. Check out our ongoing maintenance packages for more information about how we can help.
Upgrade as new versions of software are released Many businesses are running old versions of Windows, Office, and other programs that they rely on every day. Often, the older software meets the needs of the user and there isn’t an apparent reason to upgrade. Here’s the problem: Older software increases your exposure to viruses or other security risks, incompatibilities, and in most cases, it’s very expensive or even impossible to get support! In the long run, we believe that keeping software versions up to date is less costly than paying to support older software.
Ongoing evaluation of new product offerings As time passes, new technologies are released that can solve problems or assist in ways that older technologies haven’t been able to. It’s a great idea to keep your eyes open for new technology like this. We do, and when we come across something great we let our clients know!
Focus on reliability Nothing makes people lose confidence faster than a system that doesn’t perform the same way every day. When people lose confidence, they find more reliable (and usually less efficient) ways to handle things. We focus on making you system reliable and functional for the long haul.
If you have any questions or are interested in our Cruising service, we would love to speak with you. Please contact us to get started.
Set Yourself Apart
The Set Yourself Apart stage is where you begin using technology as a tool to separate your organization from the rest – as a “weapon” for doing business. Set Yourself Apart can be described with the following:
- Disaster recovery and business continuity plan
- Online backup to facilitate nimble disaster recovery and offsite backups
- Constant monitoring of systems
- Security Review
- Customized Training courses
- Network Optimization and Tune Up
- License compliance
- Review HIPAA, SEC, and Sarbanes Oxley compliance
- Backup system testing and review
- Sharepoint Portal for better collaboration
- Remote access – Citrix, Outlook Web Access
- Blackberry Server to wireless synchronize Email, Contacts, Calendar
- Windows Mobile phones to wireless synchronize Email, Contacts, Calendar
- Add e-commerce or online billing
- Configure your copy machines to scan to the network
- Secured wireless network
- Focus on using technology as a tool for advancement
If you have any questions or are interested in any of these services, we would love to speak with you. Please contact us using the form below to get started.
