Our team is truly global, and here are just a few photos of our Nerds in action all around the world. Check out the rest of our photos at NerdSpotting.com.

[thanks to Chris Rose, a Nerd in Newfoundland, for this post]

Last week, we had a client decide to go with another I.T. provider for the purchase and installation of a new router and primary network switch. The client bought based on price, and experience that a new hire had had with this provider at previous places of work.

The client has an internally hosted email server and uses a line of business application known as ADP. ADP Has their own Internet connection and equipment in the building which we are not to touch – outside of links to the main office network. The office network has its own Internet connection; so the network configuration is not straight forward.

We knew there were problems with the main router and had recommended replacing it, and had made note of all the configuration.

On Thursday, the client gave the other provider the go-ahead, and things were working. The server was up and the router was functional.

Around 2 PM, the client’s network went dark. The other provider did not review documentation that was on-site regarding the router passwords or the configuration.

Periodically over the weekend, the server was active but the E-mail was inactive. The other provider did not even configure the router to handle the internal server properly.

3 PM on Monday he was asked to leave.

8:30 AM Tuesday morning we were in and working on the problem; I met one of the owners and she wasn’t happy with the situation. We reconfigured a router, re-instated the original switch removing any equipment the other provider had put in place. The e-mail services were back around 10:00 and the entire organization was working as they were previously by 12:30 PM. We even had to re-install software components of the server, which the other provider had removed unnecessarily!

As bad as this situation was for their business, and they DID lose money because of it, I am happy that the client understands we are working to make their technology pleasurable to use, productive, and profitable.

Choosing a provider or solution solely based on price is a mistake. It may seem like a better deal, but more often than not, it ends up becoming a hassle, due to less capable and reliable hardware or software causing a loss in productivity, and costing money to deal with – or replace. Money that could be better invested in better quality solutions from the get-go.

This story also highlights the absolute necessity for keeping proper network documentation. The more the better, and keeping it updated as work and maintenance is done on a regular basis. As a team, we pride ourselves on keeping things organized and information accessible to other Nerds, and to each client. The primary Nerd may not always be available, leaving trusted colleagues to rely on proper documentation to know the history of the work done.

Have something to add to this article? Leave a comment below, or post a message on our Facebook fan page, or send us a tweet!

When we first started offering on site tech services in 1995, we were constantly responding to technology failures. Today, when the right systems are put in place and maintained properly, technology works smoothly and predictably. The focus has shifted from ‘reactive’ fire fighting to ‘proactive’ fire prevention.

While we aren’t responding to many 5 alarm blazes these days, technology still finds a way to frustrate most computer users from time to time. Think “the printer that will print perfectly from ANY program… except the *only* one you need to print from right now.”

These technology nuisances are not only frustrating, they can be major productivity drains. When issues like this do crop up, timely response and solutions are key.

Introducing Nerds Help Desk… Here are three reasons we think you’ll like it:

1. Instant Service
Our Nerds Help Desk service means that computer users within a company can call the toll-free help line as soon there is an issue, and receive immediate help via phone or remote support.

Before Nerds Help Desk:
- Printer won’t print…
- Frustrated employee turns to coworker and says “My printer won’t print so I’m going for a coffee”…
- Employee returns to desk…
- Printer still doesn’t print… and their stapler is missing.

After Nerds Help Desk:
- Printer won’t print…
- Frustrated employee calls toll-free number as says “My printer won’t print so I’m going for a coffee”…
- Employee returns to desk and starts printing! (Employee is so happy they don’t even
notice their stapler is missing)

2. Reporting
Every single issue is recorded and fully documented in our support system and available for review (both the issue and the solution) – this allows everyone to see which issues are reoccurring, how often, and with whom. Spotting patterns in recurring issues allows us to find and recommend permanent solutions to those issues.

3. Cost Containment
Our Nerds Help Desk service provides unlimited phone and remote support for a fixed monthly fee (per user, per month). That means the onus is on us to reduce the number of issues and make sure things continue to work as smoothly as possible. What could be better than a common goal?!

For complete Peace of Mind, bundle our 24/7 Remote Monitoring with Nerds Help Desk.

For a personalized quotation on these services, contact your nerd or call us at one of these numbers.
North America – 1-877-696-3737
Australia – 1800-696373
South Africa – 0800-696373
Great Britain – 0800 836 3737

Plus, sign up for 6 months of Nerds On Site “Remote Monitoring and Help Desk” services before the end of May, and receive 500 BONUS Air Miles reward miles.

* Air Miles offer applicable to Canadian clients
® TM Trademarks of AIR MILES International Trading B.V. Used under the license by LoyaltyOne, Inc and Nerds On Site Inc.

Remote Monitoring of your IT equipment is a simple and intelligent way to ensure the fundamental operations of your business is in good health. Services like your website, email, important servers for applications, your Internet connection, etc.

Here are just five reasons you and your business will benefit from remote monitoring:

• Peace of Mind just like when you get a green light from your doctor after a physical exam. Knowing that unless he/she calls you with an alert, you’re in good shape. IT equipment’s health is very important to the success of any business.
• Early warnings can prevent downtime altogether. Many technology failures show warnings well in advance of noticeable failure. Bringing these warning signs to the attention of the person responsible for IT allows for correction to take place prior to a disaster.
• No surprises makes for a smoother business operation. Showing up at the office on a Monday morning to find out that the Internet has been down since Friday night is not the kind of surprise any of us welcome.
• Less downtime is probably the most obvious. Acting on early warning signs directly results in less downtime.
• More profits due to fewer business disruptions, and when they do occur, they last for a shorter period of time.

If you don’t yet have remote monitoring enabled on your critical IT equipment, we would love to help. Leave a comment here or call our Client centre in your country.

our MISSION is our purpose…

We’re passionate about driving up the Pleasure… Productivity… & Profitability of traditional and leading edge technology for our Clients!

our VALUES are our CHARGE pillars defining our Client & team interactions …
C – confident competent CEO’s (Capability Expansion Orchestrators)
H – Honest
A – Attitudes of humility
R – Responsive & Resourceful
G – Goal & destination focused
E – Engaging & enthusiastic!

… and the vast bulk of our Client comments reflect this!

It’s the year 2012, the last time I checked, and yet here are some of the top issues our first-time clients all over are still facing a regular basis:

• No shared calendars.
  
  Of course this one is only important if you have team members you work with.
  • One member may be on their own desktop calendar.
  • another operates on a mobile.
  • till another likes and uses and old paper calendar.




• Many different contact files.
  
  • The accounting software has the right address, hopefully.
  • The phone contacts have the right phone number.
  • The computer address book has the right email addresses.

  But nothing is centralized with any accuracy.




• Disjointed customer data.
  
  • Accounting software has sales data. Only a few have access.
  • Email is in salesperson’s mailbox. He’s on vacation.
  • Product information is on the supplier’s portal. Who knows where the password is.
  • Serial numbers of installed equipment are in good old-fashioned binders. You’d be surprised how much information is still in non-digital format!




• Islands of information.
  
  • Peter keeps track of customer service issues in a Word file.
  • Everyone’s work schedule is circulated in a spreadsheet.
  • Passwords are safely stored in the accountant’s smartphone.

  
  

• A mobile experience that isn’t mobile.
  
  • Missing contact info.
  • Cannot access office sent items.
  • Cannot preview attachments.
  • Calendar invites don’t work.

Many business owners just assume that this is the way it must be. You just may want to check out MYbusinessOS.com.

Cloud storage services are all the rage these days, as they allow for synchronization of your data across multiple devices and online, effectively also acting as a backup solution. They’re also easy to use and inexpensive.

The Verge did a recently thorough comparison article on this very topic, comparing all of the most well known cloud storage solutions, allowing for an easy to understand approach when it comes to choosing the service that’s right for you.

In a recent Security Now podcast episode, Steve Gibson also did a detailed review from a security standpoint of all the major cloud storage services, which can be a dealbreaker, depending on how security conscience you are, and what type of data you’re adding to these services.

The article was prompted by Microsoft’s revamped Skydrive, which is Microsoft’s entry into the mix. It offers 7GB of free storage (Dropbox and others only offer 2GB).

“SkyDrive starts things off right by offering 7GB of free storage, which is best in class,” explains the Verge article. “If you move quickly (and have used SkyDrive before), you can quickly nab 25GB of total free storage space. SkyDrive really excels at syncing documents created using OneNote and other Microsoft Office products like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.”

[this post is from our Small Business website. You can for more articles like it there.]

Individuals become more frugal as the economy dips into a recessionary period. Businesses who learn how to reduce their operating expenses are far more likely to survive a recession than those who continue to operate “business as usual”. For many business owners, information technology costs are expensive; here are some tips for saving on IT costs during a recession:

Switch to VOIP Phone Lines: Are you still paying high phone bills to make sales calls, handle customer service, or hold teleconferences? This is an expense that almost all businesses can save simply by switching to VOIP lines instead of your landline or cellphone service. From Vonage to Packet8 to Skype, there are numerous options that help you eliminate expensive long distance charges. Most businesses report a savings of around 60% when switching to telephone lines that operate through their internet connection.

Consider Switching to a Less Expensive ISP: Depending on your business needs, you may not require all of the features your current Internet Service Provider is offering. Why pay for something you don’t need? Check other ISP’s to see if you could be saving money.

Consider Dropping Your Merchant Account: Most businesses require a merchant account in order to accept credit cards as payments from their customers. With the increasing merchant account expenses, though, this is often a costly expense. You could still accept credit cards if you switch to an online payment processor, like Paypal, and avoid paying statement fees and monthly fees that are typical of regular merchant accounts. Online payment processors charge a higher fee per transaction than a standard merchant account, but depending on the volume of credit card transactions you may pay less overall than you do with your current merchant account. Run some numbers to see if the savings are significant enough to warrant a switch.

Use a Laptop: If reasonable, use a laptop instead of a full PC. A laptop consumes 90% less energy than the desktop version, and for many businesses, a laptop can do the job as well as a desktop.

Share Stuff: Do you have a computer and printer at every workstation in your office? Sell the individual printers and get a single printer that operates on the network. All computers in the office can print from the same printer and eliminate maintenance requirements on each individual printer, as well as reduce the energy required to power the printers. Think of other computer components that could be networked instead of used individually to further cut costs and set up a more efficient office.

Use Freelancers: When you discover you have a need for someone to complete a project that falls outside the scope of your current employees – instead of hiring another full time or part time employee, consider using a freelancer. Freelancers don’t require office space, do not receive the employee benefits you provide to your current staff, and can be hired on a per-project basis instead of placed on salary.

Downsize Your IT Department or Re-evaluate Your Current Outsourced IT Service: Consider using a flat rate IT support service rather than maintaining a full IT department on payroll, or maintaining a reactive outsourced IT service whose monthly costs are unpredictable. Flat rate IT service providers allow you to budget for and reduce your monthly and overall costs, increase your profits and act as your virtual IT department so you can focus on running your business and not the technology that supports it.

[this post is from our Small Business website. You can check out more articles like it there.]

Ah, those pesky passwords. If you work in the corporate world or in an office, you have one for your PC/Network and, unless there is a password synchronization application that combines them, you probably have more than one for other applications. Add those to the ones that you have for your home Internet, your banking and other websites that require passwords, and before you know it you have a nightmare on your hands in trying to manage them.

Part of the frustration has to do with the different requirements for password formatting. Some systems only require four characters, some require eight. Some need a combination of alpha and numeric characters and others do the same with the addition of a few capital letters thrown in for extra security. It can be positively maddening.

The worst thing you can do with your passwords is to place them in a text document which can be accessed on the hard drive of your computer. Your files are vulnerable – even if you think they are not. If someone is intent on finding them, they can. Even if you place them into a password protected document, those can be cracked, too.

Writing them down has its own vulnerabilities, too, and there are varying opinions on this practice. If you do write them down on a piece of paper, put the document in a locked location whether it is in your home or at work.

Here are 6 tips on how to handle your passwords:

1. Make them complex. People who use easy to remember or short passwords are inviting disaster. Use a little imagination and pick a password that is very difficult to attach to your life. Stay away from birth dates, phone numbers, house numbers, or any other number that is associated with your life.

2. Keep passwords unique. When you change your passwords, make them unique from each other. Do not use the same password on all of your sites. If you do, then you are open to having every site that you have a password to being vulnerable to hackers to log on and steal your identity, money or destroy your reputation.

3. Be obscure. Use a combination of letters, numbers, capital letters and special characters if possible. The more you do this, the more secure your passwords will become. Create an alphanumeric version of a term you can remember. Using this technique the word “Spaceship” becomes “Sp@ce5h!p”.

4. Change regularly. This is the singular tip that can save you if you do not heed any of the other tips. How often should you change your password? How secure do you want to be? The frequency with which you change your password will determine how secure you are from becoming a victim. The more often you change it, the better you are. The longer you leave it the same, the more vulnerable you become. Three months is a good cycle for a password, but certainly if you fear for the security of your identity, then a monthly change is not out of the question.

5. Password-protect your PC. Be sure to give your PC a password on power-up. This will help protect your files unrestricted access to your PC.

6. Password-protect your wireless home network. If you have a wireless home network, be sure to password protect it as well. Use the same principles above in order to secure your wireless network. This will prevent others from accessing your connection and using it maliciously to hack the personal or business PCs and laptops you and your family use at home.

Finally, there are password programs that can help with this important task, but the best advice is to start with the tips above right away. Password software can be useful as an organizational tool, but it is no match for using sound methods to manage and make your passwords difficult to crack.

[this post is from Trever Hollihan, a Nerd in Lethbridge, Alberta]

We just uploaded new photos to the Facebook fan page about our FREE Public WiFi Project with Alberta SouthWest. You can see the map below, which shows the region and how many towns are involved (Current and not installed). You an also see the Splash Page that Chris Rose (a Nerd in St. Johns, Newfoundland) created.

Everyone is very excited about this project! Here is a video interview with the Town of nanton talking about this project featured on Alberta Primetime.

I’ve already quoted the Arena, Pool and Curling Rink for the Town of Nanton.

These radios have been very, very popular, and used very often!

You can see the Meraki WiFi unit on the side of the building (Town of Stavely)

I’ve had multiple towns starting to contact me about putting this in by themselves without having Alberta SouthWest involved, and I’m hoping they want to move forward soon. Some have already stated when the funding is there, it’s off to the races!

We will be moving forward with signage and spreading the word as soon as the last few towns are ready to go to the next step in the plan that we have devised with Alberta SouthWest.

I’m just itching to share more good news with you and it’s HUGE GOOD NEWS but, alas, it must wait. Rest assured,  we’ll share it the moment we can!