By Chas Arnold

By offering our fully hosted cloud based service ITility by DynaSis, we have shifted the way managed services costs are charged. In the old days of break-fix, managed service providers were paid based on how much support you used, so it wasn’t in their best interest to make recommendations to get your network operating efficiently. Clients were allowed to creep along using outdated equipment and software that resulted in additional fees for support. Today the cloud based network model changes all of that. Now, DynaSis offers the major network equipment to keep you up and running, getting you out of the datacenter business. There is no longer a need to upgrade equipment or standard Microsoft software. Unlimited support is included as a part of the monthly charge, so it is in our best interest to keep ticket volume down. The benefit to you being a fully optimized network infrastructure with limited support issues.

by David Moorman, President

So as an IT pro, you might be asking, “What does my job look like as the technology industry and my company move toward managed services?" “Why would we use a managed IT company if the internal IT pro can handle it?” In the same way you may hire a maid to clean your home, or a gardener to landscape your lawn, you may hire an IT expert to handle basic chores for your business. The maid and the gardner afford you more time to dedicate to activities that are of higher value to you. Just like tasks around the home, technology tasks can also be broken down into those that offer you value and those that don’t. Those technologies that offer you value are said to have competitive advantage.

A technology that offers a competitive advantage is one that offers a higher value to the company, and helps outperform the competition. Technologies such as capacity planning and forecasting, customer relationship management, data mining, and enterprise resource planning are some of those technologies that can give a company an edge over what the other guy down the street is doing. They provide additional intelligence that allows the business to operate smarter and more efficient.

Those technologies that do not offer a competitive advantage include email, network monitoring, spam and virus protection. These technologies have become par for the course in today’s business climate. Today, all companies are expected to have a website, with an easy to use contact form and email. Their systems are expected to be up and working around the clock with no downtime. Using internal resources to maintain these technologies takes away from time that could be spent developing advanced technologies and processes that can further the company in the long run.

So to answer the questions above, IT pros should focus their time and skills on developing advanced technologies that offer the company additional benefits over the competition. A managed services company can then be leveraged to perform routine maintenance and basic services for the company, the “housekeeping” if you will, while the internal IT pro is free to further develop advanced skills. Their value to the company will be equal to the competitive advantages they can bring to the table, and in turn IT pros can secure their jobs. So instead of fearing the possibility of a managed services company, IT pros have the opportunity to further secure their place in the company by offering value that will far outweigh the cost of a managed IT provider.

by David Moorman, President

Dear Business Professionals,

Economic reality has undergone a fundamental shift over the course of the past 12 months. After years of economic expansion fueled by unrealistic rates of consumption and unsustainable levels of private debt, the global economy has reset at a lower baseline level of activity. Today, people borrow less, save more, and spend with much greater caution.

This is the “new normal” and it will be with us for some time to come. The issue now is how to respond. I believe the new normal requires a new kind of efficiency built on technology innovations that enable businesses and organizations to simultaneously drive cost savings, improve productivity, and speed innovation.

The New Efficiency: With Less, Do More
In the new normal, one thing is clear: cutting costs is extremely important. But cost cutting by itself is not a long-term winning strategy. To build a sustainable competitive advantage, companies must ultimately do two things- increase productivity and find ways to deliver new value to customers. The issue, then, is how can businesses take costs out of their operations, increase productivity, and expand their capacity for innovation all at the same time?

At DynaSis, we react to the new normal with a solution called “ITility by DynaSis”. ITility by DynaSis is Software as a Service (SaaS), and delivers all your IT over the Internet, providing your email, applications, and files from one central location to your employee desktops. ITility by DynaSis achieves new efficiency with less by:

• Cutting Expenses: Instead of investing in hardware, software and regular maintenance for your computer network, ITility by DynaSis delivers everything to you for one monthly price for predictable spending and decreased total cost of ownership.
• Increasing Productivity: ITility by DynaSis is built on the state-of-the-art equipment that adheres to best practice standards to minimize unplanned outages and downtime. With ITility by DynaSis workers simply use any device to connect to the Internet to retrieve files and work just as they do at the office, increasing productivity.
• Expanding Innovation: With daily IT maintenance tasks covered on your ITility by DynaSis plan, you are free to focus on your businesses core strengths and explore advanced technologies that deliver new value to your clients.

Ideal Conditions for an Era of Innovation and Growth

Despite the challenges posed by the global economic reset, I’m optimistic about the long-term opportunities that lie ahead. Achieving the benefits of the New Efficiency is possible with ITility by DynaSis TODAY. This powerful combination of greater productivity and improved capacity for innovation is how IT enables businesses to do more.

I believe we are entering a period of technology-driven transformation that will see a surge in productivity and a flowering of innovation. The result will be a wave of innovative products and services that will jumpstart economic growth as companies deliver breakthroughs that solve old problems and serve as the catalyst for new businesses and even new industries. Information technology will play an important role. I look forward to seeing the progress that results.

by David Moorman, President

Many IT providers in the market today claim to offer “managed services,” and for rock bottom prices. But just what qualifies a provider’s service as a “managed IT service” and what distinguishes one managed IT provider from the next? According to Wikipedia, “Managed services is the practice of transferring day-to-day related management responsibility as a strategic method for improved effective and efficient operations. “ A good definition, but a lot of room for grey area.

In my time in the IT industry (over 20 years, wow I can’t believe its been that long) I have come across what we affectionately call in the business “trunk slammers”. A trunk slammer is often a small shop that offers IT services for low low prices and can sometimes go under the name of a managed service provider, hosting it all from the back of his, that’s right, trunk. Ok, in all seriousness they may not actually be working from their trunk, but they may not have the greatest equipment or practices in place when you consider the importance of your business data. It’s not hard to identify these knock-off managed service providers if you know the right questions to ask:

This first one might be easy, but how long have they been in business? Also, how long have they been offering this particular service? Did this company or service plan pop up over night or do they have a background to match their extensive offering? Often when new technologies hit the market, some providers are quick to add it to their menu without first testing and ensuring quality.

What equipment are they using? Along the same lines as above, make sure the company is using the latest hardware and software to provide these services, rather than scrambling to create a service built on a mishmash of what is in their server room.

What reporting do they provide? A true managed service company will offer you detailed reporting on the monitoring and management they provide. Reporting offers you insight into how much actual management they are doing.

Are they in it for the long term? A managed service provider should act as a trusted advisor and offer advice for both the short term and the long term, identifying your business goals and creating a plan so that IT helps you reach those goals.

What’s in the fine print? When comparing managed IT providers, compare apples to apples. Some providers leave off necessary services that come included in other plans. Similarly, things you may not need now like extra helpdesk support, or increased storage maybe charged at a premium outside of the contract, while other providers offer a service that is easily scalable.

So, the bottom line here? Not all managed services or providers are created equal, nor can they be compared on price alone. Asking the right questions up front can save you time, money, and hassle down the road.

by David Moorman, President

So you’re managing the company’s IT and trying to keep up with your own duties? One of the great things about working for a small or medium sized business is that you get to wear many hats, but it’s a double edged sword. Your knowledge of IT or the ability to lend a hand has helped you become an invaluable resource for the company, but as the company grows your main priorities suffer. Sound familiar?

The need to hire outside consultants is a fact of life in the small business. The good news is, outside consultants can offer huge value to your company, improve processes, allow you to focus on your primary responsibilities, plus save the company money over the long term.

Here are a few things to think about when considering making the switch to an outside provider:

Consultants Increase Productivity
Large companies have IT staff with specialists in each area – desktop support, server administration, infrastructure maintenance, application programming, web development and a host of other specialties. In an SMB environment, your focus should be on what you do best, allowing the experts to handle IT issues and strategy. This approach can help you get more accomplished without wasting time learning how to manage a secondary role, saving the company time and money.

Explore New IT Resources
When you have your primary job functions plus co-worker PC issues, you can hardly manage your day, let alone think about IT strategy. New technologies like virtualization, ERPs, or data mining can improve company processes and save money in the long term. Using a consultant frees you to focus on your job while experts handle the day-to-day and make recommendations on the latest technology.

So you’re sold, but what about your boss? Presenting the need for an IT partner is best explained in dollars and cents. DynaSis can help identify the true costs involved with managing your own IT and the value of an outside vendor.

by David Moorman, President

Many IT providers in the market today claim to offer “managed services,” and for rock bottom prices. But just what qualifies a provider’s service as a “managed IT service” and what distinguishes one managed IT provider from the next? According to Wikipedia, “Managed services is the practice of transferring day-to-day related management responsibility as a strategic method for improved effective and efficient operations. “ A good definition, but a lot of room for grey area.

In my time in the IT industry (over 20 years, wow I can’t believe its been that long) I have come across what we affectionately call in the business “trunk slammers”. A trunk slammer is often a small shop that offers IT services for low low prices and can sometimes go under the name of a managed service provider, hosting it all from the back of his, that’s right, trunk. Ok, in all seriousness they may not actually be working from their trunk, but they may not have the greatest equipment or practices in place when you consider the importance of your business data. It’s not hard to identify these knock-off managed service providers if you know the right questions to ask:

This first one might be easy, but how long have they been in business? Also, how long have they been offering this particular service? Did this company or service plan pop up over night or do they have a background to match their extensive offering? Often when new technologies hit the market, some providers are quick to add it to their menu without first testing and ensuring quality.

What equipment are they using? Along the same lines as above, make sure the company is using the latest hardware and software to provide these services, rather than scrambling to create a service built on a mishmash of what is in their server room.

What reporting do they provide? A true managed service company will offer you detailed reporting on the monitoring and management they provide. Reporting offers you insight into how much actual management they are doing.

Are they in it for the long term? A managed service provider should act as a trusted advisor and offer advice for both the short term and the long term, identifying your business goals and creating a plan so that IT helps you reach those goals.

What’s in the fine print? When comparing managed IT providers, compare apples to apples. Some providers leave off necessary services that come included in other plans. Similarly, things you may not need now like extra helpdesk support, or increased storage maybe charged at a premium outside of the contract, while other providers offer a service that is easily scalable.

So, the bottom line here? Not all managed services or providers are created equal, nor can they be compared on price alone. Asking the right questions up front can save you time, money, and hassle down the road.

by David Moorman, President

Although you may not realize it, Software as a Service (SaaS) has become an important part of your business.
Salesforce.com pioneered the online software platform for customer relationship management, and all of Google’s offerings, from search and e-mail functionality to document storage and calendar functions, operate in a SaaS environment. If you check your e-mail through a Web site, that’s also a SaaS application.

But what about SaaS for centralized computing for your business? While that might sound scary at first, many small- and medium-sized businesses are moving to centralized computing with anywhere/anytime access as a way to help workers become more productive and to leverage critical business assets more effectively.

In smaller businesses, the owner or a trusted employee keeps the computers running along with attending to dozens of other duties. Larger companies may well have an IT director or even a small staff, but day-to-day maintenance and putting out inevitable fires arising from the help desk often take precedence over protecting a company’s critical business data.

As more companies become comfortable with the SaaS model, centralizing data center operations makes business sense and financial sense, too.

Here are three reasons why centralized data storage may be the answer for your business:

1. Your IT staff can spend more of their time performing value-added functions to expand business opportunities like data mining and analytics instead of manual computer updates.
2. Employees can work from anywhere there’s an Internet connection.
3. Centralized computing means less hardware and utility costs associated with a data storage room.

What’s more, virtually all software can operate in a SaaS environment, saving a company up to 50% of IT operating costs—not to mention cost savings on office rent through the need for fewer workstations (see previous column on hot desking).

Who could have imagined 15 years ago that any company hoping to stay in business needed a Web site? Likewise, centralized computing represents the next wave of IT functionality that could well separate the vibrant, profitable companies from the average.

by David Moorman, President

It’s 10:30 a.m. on a weekday. Do you know where your employees are?
According to workplace consulting firm DEGW, chances are that only 50% are in the office and that 30% are at their desks. The rest are teleworking, on sales calls, attending a conference, traveling, out on vacation, or otherwise occupied.

If you have a workstation for each employee, you may be missing out on an opportunity to save money on office space and computer hardware by “hot desking.” The name is adapted from a naval term called either “hot bunking” or “hot racking,” where sailors share limited bunk space because ships and submarines operate on a 24/7 schedule. Since one sailor gets up just before another lies down, the bed is still hot.

An increasingly mobile workforce and technological advances have made hot desking, also called location independent working, a viable option for many companies. Do your outside salespeople really need a workspace at the home office? Those employees likely can access company data remotely, making a physical connection at the office unnecessary.

Although the concept of hot desking dates to the late 1980s, the prevalence of Software-as-a-Service offerings, centralized data servers, and smart telephony solutions that don’t require a physical phone have combined to give the concept new life. If your company works on multiple shifts or has staff members who spend most of their time out of the office anyway, hot desking could save up to 30% on office rent.

In a managed services environment, employees can access any information they need from anywhere, eliminating the need for a dedicated workstation at the office. Of course, that begs the question of where an employee puts the photos of the spouse, the kids, the dog, or that prized boat.
But that’s what screensavers are for.

When Electric Cities of Georgia broke away from its parent company, they were faced with building an entire IT solution from scratch.“Our startup dollars were limited and we felt ITility by DynaSis was the best solution for us so we didn’t have a huge capital expense up front. The infrastructure was purchased and is maintained by DynaSis. This guarantees us the best technology available for a fixed monthly cost. Considering we operate on a strict budget, the monthly fee is perfect for our situation,” said Ellen Richardson VP of Business Development.

Allan Freiman, Director of Operations, recalls a recent experience with DynaSis that warranted recognition. “I never understood the extent to which DynaSis was monitoring our network until I received a call from the network operations center." Frieman explains his great customer service experience with DynaSis Digital Veins.