November 2010
In this issue:
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Unlock Business Insights |
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Employee Internet Use |
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Appreciation May Be Contagious |
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Staying Safe and Mobile |
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Business Continuity Tip |
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Make a Referral |
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Just for Laughs |
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Business
Continuity Tip
Be decisive.
Too often during interruptions, we see businesses take a wait-and-see approach to executing their established disaster recovery plan. If your plan calls for you to "pull the trigger" within the first 12 hours, but instead you second guess yourself and wait, you put your business at risk. Delays in executing your recovery plan can set in motion a cascading series of failures that are difficult to stop once they've begun. During a disaster, the domino effect is magnified.
We understand that putting your recovery plan in action is not an easy decision; the manpower, resources and expense can be intimidating. But that's where the benefit of planning and testing shines. A detailed plan will help you make a solid rational decision in a very emotional time.
Trust your plan. It'll save your business.
We're Thankful You're A Customer And Hope You'll Help Us Find More Just Like You
Know anyone struggling with their technology? We can help. To thank you for the trust you have put in us we will send you a special gift for each referral you make to us. This months free gift is a $100 gift card to South Coast Surf Shops.
Make a Referral Here
Quote of the Month
Gratitude consists of being more aware of what you have, than what you don't.
- Author Unknown
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Happy Thanksgiving
from all of us at Crown Computers!
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Simple Steps Can Unlock Business Insights
by Steve Strauss
Used with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center
 About a year ago, my cousin gave her father a smartphone for his birthday. My uncle smiled indulgently at his tech-savvy daughter and uttered the expected words of gratitude. Weeks later, he quietly confided in me that all he'd really needed was something to make phone calls "instead of doing everything short of diapering a baby." I showed my uncle some of the great things he could do with that phone: surf the Web, do his email, check his calendar, shop online . . . all tasks that I knew he did regularly on his PC. Oh, he said, I didn't know it could do that stuff. Now he wouldn't part with that smartphone for anything.
It's surprising how many small and midsize businesses are like my uncle, not taking full advantage of the technology they already own. They know they have powerful reporting and analytical tools in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and the 2007 Microsoft Office system (especially Excel) – but they aren't sure how to maximize their value. More's the pity, because the tools built into SQL and Excel can provide insights that can help make the difference between profitability and penury.
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Do you know what your employees are doing on the Internet?
By Brian Renter, President, Universal Information Systems
 The importance of the Internet to the daily operation of businesses and organizations has increased significantly over the past few years. Most companies have one or more critical business functions that depend entirely on the speed and availability of their Internet connection. Ensuring a reliable and fast Internet connection has become an almost universal priority for companies.
Unfortunately, many new recreational (or non-business) uses of the Internet have been developed that compete directly against a company’s desire for a fast Internet connection. Streaming music or audio, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, on-line banking, fantasy football, among others, consume the bandwidth intended to run critical business applications. Recent studies have shown that even though bandwidth has increased substantially in recent years, actual Internet speed experienced by companies today is more comparable to the Internet speed of five years ago – a time when connections were smaller and slower.
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Warning! Appreciation May Be Contagious
used with permission from HP Small Business Site
 When times are tough, it’s tough to stay positive — particularly if you are surrounded by gloomy people.
But rather than fall victim to negative attitudes, resolve to take a different approach. Stay positive and channel your optimism to create a healthy, more productive environment. One idea you can start using right away is peer recognition.
Expressing your appreciation to a co-worker is one of the simplest, most rewarding efforts you can make. Giving credit where due, or just telling a co-worker you appreciate their work, can give an unexpected boost — and it has an additional benefit: it improves their perception of you.
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Staying Safe and Mobile: 8 Reasons to Buy a Server
by Christopher Elliott
used with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center
Worried about hackers, viruses and malware? Are you concerned that your employees can't access their data when they're on the road?
These are common concerns among small-business owners. The average annual loss reported by United States companies more than doubled in 2007, to $350,424 from $168,000 the previous year, according to the CSI Computer Crime and Security Survey. That ended a five-year run of lower reported losses. Average losses dropped somewhat in 2008 but remained alarmingly high, at $289,000 per respondent.
And a recent survey of 400 small-business owners by Hewlett-Packard found that small businesses place mobility high on their priority list, because nearly one-third of their time is spent outside the office.
It's possible to address both of these issues with a single solution: upgrading your company's computers from a peer-to-peer network to one that's managed by a server. A server is a dedicated computer that stores and manages information and acts as a hub to connect other computers and devices.
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