With today’s smart devices, we take internet connectivity for granted. Now that we’ve untethered ourselves from large, immobile computers, we’re used to accessing websites, social media and emails no matter where we are. So how is “mobile computing” impacted if we travel? Can we expect the same connectivity overseas that we have at home? This varies from country to country and may be expensive if you want to use your own mobile phone. Here’s what to keep in mind when accessing the internet abroad:

Before you go – Set your “out of office” email message before you leave, to notify senders that there may be a delay in your reply. Change your phone’s voicemail greeting as well and leave the details of an alternative contact person. You may even be able to set your voicemail so callers cannot leave a message, if interested. Check with your phone provider in case you need to enable “international roaming” so your phone will work overseas and ask them if they have any arrangements with providers in other countries for preferential rates. Also remember that the governments of countries like Mainland China, Syria, Iran, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates block access to some internet sites, so additional research prior to travel will be helpful.

When you arrive – Your phone may automatically connect to an available network upon your arrival in a new country. It may be worthwhile to manually choose the provider you prefer to use, as the automatically chosen one will likely not be the most cost effective. It is suggested that you check whether your phone automatically changed to local time, which can alter your calendar entries. You should also confirm the call and data costs of the network you are now using. If the data charges are high, you might want to turn off “mobile data” on your phone and instead rely on WiFi access when it’s available. This should help guard you from large unexpected bills when you return home. Remember that incoming calls and SMS/MMS messages will be charged to your account at international rates and therefore it may be cheaper to buy a local SIM card for calls and other messages. The local tourist information center will be a helpful resource and will offer SIM cards in most countries.

Be wary of free internet – Watch out for free internet access offers and instead opt to use known, trusted organizations. Internet connections can be monitored to capture login names, passwords and credit card details, particularly if you use their computers instead of your own device. Be careful about websites you visit on shared connections, especially when accessing your personal information and always take caution to sign out.

Talk to Computer Troubleshooters of Hoover for more advice on internet access overseas and how to get friendly, local support from our network of franchisees in 25 countries.

The IT industry may shout that Cloud Computing is the way of the future and that all businesses should move their IT to the Cloud.  The reality is that any IT solution should be investigated and planned, whether it’s within your office or accessed via the Internet.  So, what factors will you need to consider? The following guidelines address some of the pains that can be experienced with a hurried, unstructured move to Cloud computing.

Identify what you want in the Cloud – Cloud computing doesn’t need to be an ‘all or nothing’ project.  Start with a picture of your current IT setup and the functionality that it gives your business.  If you’re only just starting up, this will be different than if your business is already established with historical information.  Is there something new you want to explore, like email marketing or a prospect database?  This could be perfect for the Cloud. But if you are looking to only move pieces of your existing IT capability, consider any flow-on effects to other systems.  Make sure that a move to the Cloud won’t hinder any future integration opportunities

Confirm your ongoing costs & savings – Cloud providers will point out the cost savings from using a centrally owned and managed system.  Certainly this may give your business access to IT at a fraction of the cost of owning it yourself. However, can your business handle a cost on an ongoing basis instead of a one-off purchase when you do have the cash to invest?  If there is still a large amount of technology needed in your business, Cloud computing may not significantly decrease your support costs.  Do your homework and know the costs you will be committing to and where the savings will be coming from.

Confirm the flexibility – Cloud solutions can be cut-down versions of the full software, so if you are getting ‘email’ (for example), make sure you know what functionality is included and what isn’t.  How flexible is the hosted system if you want to make changes, like increasing attachment size limits? Are you locked in to what you can change and what you can’t … and are you OK with that?

Prove the Backup & Disaster Recovery plans -Debate rages on whether businesses with their information in the Cloud also need their own local backup. Thoroughly reviewing your provider’s agreement is only the first step.  Ask about their last Disaster Recovery test. Include offsite backup testing reports in your contract. Plan how your business will survive if your Cloud provider fails and ensure your plan is implemented and tested on a regular basis.

Review your Infrastructure – Your Cloud solutions still have to be accessed via your local computers with your internet connection.  If your PC is slow, or if you are significantly increasing your internet usage, then your Cloud application may be slow or unreliable.  Consider your local IT components and plan for any necessary upgrades.  Also consider additional redundancy, like a backup internet connection or spare internet modem, as any failure in your connectivity will have a larger impact.

Ultimately, Cloud computing must deliver increased business benefits or reduce IT costs overall without reducing functionality, unless your business is prepared to make sacrifices to improve your bottom line.

Talk to Computer Troubleshooters of Hoover to cut through the hype and make your Cloud adoption a success.

Audit – it’s a very painful word that conjures up images of the taxation department.  If done correctly though, an audit of the technology in your small business should be quick and painless and yield you with some valuable information.  Here are our top 5 reasons why your business would benefit from a technology audit:

1. Find immediate areas for improvement – If you’re thinking of replacing your computer, an audit may reveal that upgrading the memory would give you a significant performance boost.  It could also highlight incorrect system settings or poor security configurations that could easily be fixed.  With a clear picture of what technology you have, it might be easy to find some quick, inexpensive areas for improvement.

2. Budget for longer-term areas of improvement – An audit may reveal out-dated hardware that should be replaced with newer, faster components.  It could also highlight disks that are close to their capacity, but still have some spare space.  You can then plan and budget to address these areas in the future, instead of having to react tomorrow to an unforeseen full disk.

3. Know what software is on your computers – If your employees are able to install software onto your computers, do you know what they have been installing? An audit will reveal if your computers have illegal file sharing software or other programs that may be relevant to their hobbies, not their work (e.g. share trading).

4. Know you have the correct software licenses – In some cases, it is a software manufacturer’s right to randomly audit your business and check that you have the correct license number and the right kind of license for their software.  If you’ve taken on more staff since you started, or you’ve had employees installing software on your computers, an audit can reveal where your software licensing might need some attention.

5. Compile an asset register – Your business will have certain assets listed for accounting purposes.  That audit may not include many of your IT devices that are under a certain monetary value.  If a theft or natural disaster hit your business, wouldn’t it be great to have a full list of all of your technology components? Ask your I.T. guy to store a copy of your audit results, off site, in case you need to refer to that asset list to make an insurance claim.

The outcomes of your audit should be a comprehensive list of your I.T. assets and recommendations for improvement that fit in with your business plans (both short and long term).  If your I.T. guy uses your audit as an opportunity to sell as much of his products and services as he can, call Computer Troubleshooters of Hoover for an independent trusted second opinion.

Google has recently completed the biggest change to its service in at least 5 years.  This will impact how your website appears in the search engine’s list of results.  The impact is being felt the most by small, local businesses who may have suddenly disappeared to page 2 or beyond of the search results. Continue reading →