by David Moorman

As 2010 comes to a close, it may be a good time to take an inventory of your business successes over the past year. What goals did you meet, which did you miss? As I have stated in the past, DynaSis strives to help you meet your business goals leveraging technology as a tool. Having a plan is half the battle. If you don’t have one already, consider taking advantage of a strategic roadmap analysis. This year, I have seen clients flourish even in a down economy because they knew where they were going and they made the necessary changes to their IT to get there. The analysis helped to bridge the gap that existed between their IT and their goals, and laid out a structure for how to budget for the necessary changes.  An IT strategic roadmap may be just what you need so that this time next year the goals you met will outnumber those you missed.

by Chas Arnold, VP Sales and Marketing

What business risks do you have? Reducing a significant amount of business risk can be as simple as implementing the right IT practices. Security, downtime, and data loss are among the biggest concerns for companies when considering their liabilities, but a well built infrastructure with solid procedures in place can help mitigate those concerns. Security A hole in your network security is cause for huge concern considering the many mutations of spam, viruses, spyware, and even internal attacks from disgruntled employees. Your IT network should be protected on both the server and client side of your network, meaning you need enterprise level firewalls, anti-spam packages, and anti-virus software both on servers and employee computers to make sure your network is protected. Physical access to server room equipment should also be guarded, and a detailed security policy should be published for all employees to follow. Downtime Downtime in a company is not often calculated as a hard risk, but the impact of losing productivity can cost your company thousands if not hundreds of thousands in lost revenue. Avoiding downtime means having constant monitoring in place to know when a server is being overloaded or other resources are over capacity. Processes must be in place to make sure the IT network is stable, and levels of redundancy should be implemented so failover is automatic. Proactivity and planning is the key to minimizing downtime and decreasing lost productivity and revenue. Data Loss Companies that lose all their business data have a very small chance of surviving without a reliable means of restoring data. Avoiding data loss starts with a reliable backup system. Data should be backed up regularly and stored at a secure offsite location. Instead of relying on an employee to change tape drives, backups should be disc based and happen automatically to minimize human error. The same goes for email archiving, as it is the most common form of communication and is often used as evidence in legal proceedings. If reducing risk is important to your business, examining your IT liabilities should be your top priority. DynaSis provides managed security, guaranteed uptime, proactive monitoring, and reliable backup systems. Contact DynaSis today to learn more at 770.882.2432

by David Moorman, President DynaSis

Just as a company as a whole grows to maturity, so does its IT capability. The more mature an IT department is, the more integral IT becomes as a business advantage. IT maturity is measured in different stages according to the Gartner Model of IT Maturity. Let's take a look at the different levels which the Gartner model of IT maturity breaks down to create a better understanding of where a company's IT departments are at.

Chaotic (Level 0)

This is the lowest category that IT function can fall under. Under this category, IT is basically non-existent, and is used on an as-needed basis. The company itself is more concerned about their turnaround time for their products and the resources that go into their overall product.
IT functioning is not valued, nor is it given the resources that the department needs to carry on everyday activities that keep the company solvent. If the IT department is called upon, it usually is due to something that is end-user related. If one of the users calls and has a problem, then (and only then) is IT called upon to remedy the situation. Otherwise, the business would probably not have any IT personnel on staff because they are viewed as too big of a business expenditure. Usually at level 0, the company is not functioning at maximum capacity and therefore, they are not recognizing as much profit as they possibly could be.

Reactive (Level 1)

At the "reactive" level, IT is only slightly more valued than they were at Level 0. The IT infrastructure is monitored but problems are not addresses in a timely fashion. A basic ticketing systes is in place but most of IT’s time is taken up end-user issues. Problems are mainly addressed on-site instead of using remote management tools that save on costs. This level still puts the IT department at a relatively low level within the company, as their main objective is to "react" to situations occurring within the company.

Proactive (Level 2)

Unlike Level 1, Level 2 has IT much more involved in the day-to-day operations of the business. Monitoring the network is a primary focus and issues can be addressed remotely through advanced management software. Processes are defined and staff work on incorporating quality control principles into the company's technological presence. They are also working closely to set up programs to assess the amount of risk the company's assets are currently under. By weaving these ideas into the technology of the business, the IT department is allowing the company to become more efficient through the use of a checks-and-balances system within their company's technological intranet.

Managed (Level 3)

Level 3 is finally where a company's Return on Investment (ROI) really begins to recognize the benefits of having a competent IT department who is involved with every aspect of the company from the lowest department all the way to corporate officers of the company. IT is allowed to function freely, which affords them the opportunity to setup programs, databases, etc. that are necessary for the company to run smoothly.
Unlike the lower levels, company's that are incorporating their IT functioning at this level are certainly reaping the financial benefits that a well-oiled IT department can help to recognize.

Utility (Level 4)

This is the level where you probably find most highly profitable companies who have enjoyed long-term success with great products, phenomenal customer service, and the best turnaround times in their industry. Something all three of these business aspects have in common is that they are centrally controlled by a competent IT department who has instituted the correct monitoring systems, databases, and security measures to allow the company to operate at its full capacity. Advanced technologies such as virtualization are implemented and processes are automated. This level will also find the IT department incorporated at every level of the business, and the residual income that results from their involvement puts these companies amongst the top firms in their trade.

A quick ROI analysis will give you a good idea of just how healthy your IT functioning is within your company. By estimating just how much your IT department means to the well-being of your company, you can begin to recognize room for improvement. Doing a short exercise in company evaluation, like ROI analysis, is certain to improve not only your IT functioning but also your business as a whole. Contact DynaSis at 770.882.2432 for more information on an ROI analysis of your business.

by David Moorman, President

Virtualization is a proven software technology that is rapidly transforming the IT landscape and fundamentally changing the way that people compute. Virtualization lets you run multiple virtual servers or desktops on a single physical machine (host), sharing the resources of that single computer across multiple environments. Virtualization works by inserting a thin layer of software directly on the computer hardware or host and then loading multiple versions of the operating systems on top of it. Multiple operating systems run concurrently on a single physical computer and share hardware resources with each other. You can safely run several operating systems and applications at the same time on a single computer, with each having access to the resources it needs when it needs them. So what are some other benefits of virtualization?

Increase Infrastructure Utilization
Typical server deployments achieve an average utilization of only 10% to 15% of total capacity, according to International Data Corporation (IDC), a market research firm. Organizations typically run one application per server to avoid the risk of vulnerabilities in one application affecting the availability of another application on the same server. With virtualization, physical machines can run many separate virtual machines, maximizing capacity of existing resources while still maintaining high availability.

Decrease Physical Infrastructure Costs
The operational costs to support growing physical infrastructure have steadily increased. Most computing infrastructure must remain operational at all times, resulting in power consumption, cooling and facilities costs that do not vary with utilization levels. Virtualization allows a business to make the most of the physical equipment they do have and put off purchases.

Decrease IT Management Costs
As computing environments become more complex, the level of specialized education and experience required for infrastructure management personnel and the associated costs of such personnel have increased. Organizations spend disproportionate time and resources on manual tasks associated with server and desktop maintenance, and thus require more personnel to complete these tasks. Controlling a distributed desktop environment and enforcing management, access and security policies without impairing users' ability to work effectively is complex and expensive. Virtualization minimizes the time spent on everyday maintenance of desktops and servers by centrally controlling security settings, updates, and patches.

Failover and Disaster Protection
Organizations are increasingly affected by the downtime of critical server applications and inaccessibility of critical end user desktops. The threat of security attacks, natural disasters, health pandemics and terrorism has elevated the importance of business continuity planning for both desktops and servers. Virtualization allows for redundancy, meaning if a server fails, the data and applications on that machine are easily offloaded to a functioning server.

When Briot Network Administrator Tommy Orr needed a third-party opinion on network strategy, he immediately thought of DynaSis. Orr had been impressed by DynaSis when he attended an event the firm hosted, and he was quick to contact them when he needed help. As Orr discussed the network with DynaSis's expert engineers, he realized ITility by DynaSis would be a great fit for Briot. With 14 out of 25 employees working in the field, and the CFO traveling between the Atlanta and Canada offices, ITility by DynaSis support for workshifting and remote access sold Orr.

As a cloud-based, hosted solution, ITility by DynaSis delivers Briot's data and applications over the Web from the DynaSis hosting servers to Briot workstations or any other Internet-connected computer. Employees access the network seamlessly, using a dedicated, secure online user interface. This not only enables Briot employees to access work from any of their offices, or from home or other locations, but it also gives Briot's road warriors a flexible, convenient and fully provisioned work experience no matter where they travel. "ITility by DynaSis has changed our business by making it easier to connect remotely, which has been key to servicing our clients," says Orr.

Beyond workshifting flexibility, ITility by DynaSis also incorporates 24/7/365 monitoring and maintenance of the equipment and automated backups of Briot's cloud server. This has enabled Orr to eliminate his network maintenance schedule. "I no longer have to buy or maintain server room equipment, so it takes a lot of worry out of my job," says Orr. "Plus, I am free to work on improving the performance of our products and invest my time in other high-level tasks."

When asked how he feels about the level of DynaSis's expertise, Orr replied, "I am very pleased with DynaSis. There is always someone available to answer my questions, and if they cannot answer right away, they work to find the answer until the problem is solved. They address my tickets within 2-3 minutes and always check with me to make sure everything is working before they close out an issue."

Briot has been working with DynaSis since 2009, and Orr says they have always stayed on top of any needs or concerns that arose. "ITility by DynaSis gives me the freedom to work on other business tasks, and it saves us money," says Orr. "I would absolutely recommend DynaSis and ITility by DynaSis to other clients going forward. In fact, I already have."

by David Moorman, President

Technology should not be considered a cost center but, rather, should be viewed as a way to gain a competitive advantage in your marketplace. Day-to-day management of a company’s infrastructure should be just a small part of what IT staffers do.

An IT spending survey from Accenture reveals that most companies spend 70 cents of each IT dollar on continuing operations and maintenance, but the ideal ratio is 55 cents for maintenance and 45 cents of each dollar on value-added IT services that can bring a competitive advantage.

If you’re not already, here are a few projects you should be working on:

1. Conducting data mining of your customers or your market. Data mining is the process of finding patterns in your data that can help identify your target demographic, Web site traffic trends, and what types of products or services are most popular. That information can be used to tweak your offerings to hit the “sweet spot” of the market and identify likely new customers. This can be much more effective than renting a list for direct marketing or e-mail marketing.

2. Planning for a disaster scenario. Data varies by year (and the prevalence of terrorist attacks or major natural disasters), but few companies have comprehensive business continuity plans in place. While a major incident is unlikely to occur, the simple loss of communications or data could put your company out of business if you’re not adequately prepared.

3. Exploring a CRM solution. Customer relationship management solutions have been making inroads into the small- and medium-sized business market. Deploying an effective CRM product can result in more sales and happier customers. Isn’t that what every business wants?

Deploying technology for technology’s sake will not gain you the competitive advantage that you want. Before investing in any product or service, you should determine your ROI, a fancy acronym that simply means, “Will I get my money’s worth by making this purchase?”

That should be the job of your IT staff, to make those determinations so you can make wise business decisions. In today’s lean and fierce marketplace, the success or failure of your business could ride on the outcome.