IT has many fantastic benefits and one of them is to get your message out to a wide range of people very quickly and there are many ways of doing this from twitter to electronic brochures and everything else in between.

I am a big fan of using IT for communication but how many times have you got the point in an email exchange when you think, “hang on this would be easier if we did this on the phone!”

We often like to think that people don’t want to take phone calls so we will send a message electronically and then maybe they will phone us! Wrong, they will email back and you end up in a time wasting exchange of electronic communication.

Ask yourself “Is this better commutated by phone?”

Resolve to make more calls and send fewer emails for a week, I think you will be so amazed by the results you will never go back…

15th June 2010

I read with interest the reports from NASA that the Earth will be affected by a huge space storm during the next few years. See here http://ht.ly/1YDdu

The article describes how there is a possibility of months without power and what the effect of that would be. For most businesses, mine included, such an outage would be devastating. I hope it does not come to that. What the article does highlight is that we cannot rely on power all the time.

There are various reasons why power would fail and we see it all the time where companies have power failures and it can badly affect their business. All businesses should take step to ensure they can survive a power surge or an outage.

So what does a big business do to protect itself? Corporate businesses spend a lot of money on ensuring they have clean and constant power supplies. I used to work for a company that had its own power station building. Effectively this was 4 massive generators and an underground Diesel reservoir .The power building had huge batteries that took the load as the generators where starting up. That way they could survive for up to 3 months with no power and of course they could top up the diesel. They also had power supplies from the national grid coming in from two directions.

OK so that's a bit out of reach for most SME's but if you understand the ultimate you can consider how you can implement some level of power protection into your business. Therefore you should consider the following.

• 1. Batteries called UPS's (Uninterruptable Power Supplies) to cover all vital equipment, don't forget to protect your telephone system your switch work and of course your server. Some companies also cover the PC's so they can cope with a short blip without crashing.
• 2. A generator (especially if your office is in a remote location).
• 3. As an alternative to a generator, another location you could move to, potentially putting your servers in a data centre and having a system where everybody could work from home.
• 4. Have surge protection on your electrical devices (non-UPS ones)

UPS's as well as providing standby power do 2 other vital things. They smooth out power supply and they will also shut down equipment to stop it just crashing out when the battery dies.

I hope we do not get extreme power outages, but you never know and it's the companies that think ahead and plan that will survive, this is true of all the dangers that lurk out there for us business owners.

"Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning" - Winston Churchill

28th May 2010

24 key questions to ask potential IT Support companies including what answers to look for!

1. Do you have an understanding of our industry?
This one is useful, but not essential, it enables the IT  company to get started quicker, but don't dismiss a great company just because they have not worked in your industry.  Also beware the specialist who only works in your industry, or there is a chance you will end up doing the same as everyone else?

2. Do you get an individual account manager assigned to your business who is directly responsible for your project management?
Essential!  You need to know who is looking after you.

3. What is their approach to systems and can they help you to implement IT systems to support, marketing, sales and customer service systems for example?
There are many IT companies out there who will install a printer, a network or a server.  But what you need is ‘more profit' isn't it? 

4. Are they able to provide you with IT skills training?
It is estimated that 90% of people use only 10% of the capability of the software they buy.  Your IT partner needs to be able to provide you with a full IT service.

5. How much training do their team undertake in order to keep up to date with the latest IT technology?
IT is a bit like Marketing.  What you know today bears no reflection on what you need to know tomorrow. 

6. Can you have a look at their IT systems?
Let me ask you a question.  Would you go to an IT company to get a great email solution, if they can't show you how effective theirs is?  Would you ask a company who had really poor CRM to offer you CRM advice?  I am sure you get the message!

7. Can you hear about results that they have delivered for others? 
The proof is in the pudding!  Remember we are not looking for fancy IT gismos.  We are looking for results.  How well did that IT system improve productivity?  What did it do to morale?

8. Can I speak to your clients?
Any company will portray itself as ‘Outstanding', reality sometimes is not the same, so asking to speak to their clients is often good feedback.

Ask these questions.

1. Did they deliver what they promised?

2. Where they responsive and easy to get hold of?

3. Did they bill accurately?

4. Did they stay within the projected budget?

5. Would you use them again?

6. Would you recommend them to a friend

9. What is their philosophy; ask them what their mission statement is?
It's an interesting question and the important thing is that it links in and is compatible with yours.

10. What are their customer service commitments?
 If they are not committed to customer services and have committed to it in writing in the form of a customer service charter, strike them off your list.

11. Do they back up their business with clear and specific guarantees?
Guarantees are important and they need to be clear to safeguard your company and so you know what you are committing to.

12. What systems do you operate that will ensure continuity of service (e.g. in the event of your main point of contact being incapacitated)?
 If you are thinking of employing a ‘one man band' IT company.  What happens if they break their leg, etc, etc?

13. Do they provide added value products free of charge?
OK not essential, but great if they do, it shows commitment to you, their client.

14. Are they insured and if so how much is that insurance worth?
It should be at least a £500,000 professional indemnity package.

15. How will they communicate with you?
Do they have a written commitment?  Do you have open access during all business hours?

16. Do they have testimonials and case studies from other satisfied customers? Once again getting someone else's comment is very useful.

17. Are they specialist in the size of business you are?
IT can be applied across a range of business to achieve the same aim but the implementation will vary depending on the size of the company check to see if they have experience and qualification in working with your size of company.

18. How can you increase your business efficiency from the use of IT?
If the company can't give you at least 10 ways of doing so, strike them off!

19. Do they have a system for monitoring your IT set-up?
A structured monitoring system that keeps you informed and assured will give you peace of mind and help you keep an eye on things as well as the IT Company.

20. Will they take time to learn about your business?
Preferably by spending time with you at annual reviews and also offer ad-hoc meeting at no extra charge to cope with business change.

21. How comprehensive is their list of services?
Look for a happy medium between the ‘jack of all trades' and the consultant who only works in one niche area, such as PC support. The best IT companies will partner with other technology companies and they will packaging this by project managing everything for you. This ensures you get a full service always delivered by specialists but with a single point of contact.

22. What do they believe makes them unique?
Watch for vague clichés like, quality, value, commitment and service. You want to hear something beginning with, "Only we can ..."

23. Do they research new software and hardware before they recommend it?
Some it companies are keen to test the latest gadgets because IT techies love new gadgets! Make sure that they are not going to test things with your time and money.  And ask them how do they do this and what is process for testing?

24. Can you recommend another IT company or tell me how I might be able to find another IT company to quote?
A company that will help you with finding a competitor shows a great deal of trust in your ability to assess the market. It's important that they are interested in you finding the best fit for your business. If they trust you now, they will in the future and you are more likely to trust them if they are this open.  When partnering with an IT & Telephony the importance of trust should not be overlooked.

By the time you have the answers to these questions you will have a much better Idea of who you are dealing with and it will allow you to compare companies that you shortlist. If you want you hear our answers and add us to your shortlist then please call Julian on 0118 907 0513.

25th May 2010

VOIP which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, basic refers to making phone calls over the internet using lines that previously only carried data not voice. By using data lines to carry voice there are some potential cost savings to be had over traditional phone lines. But this is not always the case.

One myth surrounding VOIP is that calls are free, this myth was created largely by the success of Skype which allows PC/MAC users to make free calls to other Skype users. This ability to make free calls to other users on the same VOIP system is not unique to Skype and is true of most VOIP providers. The reason why all VOIP calls are not all free is because as soon as you call to another voice user on another system/provider then a charge is made just like a normal phone call.

OK so you cannot get all your calls for free but you can make significant savings and you can do this in 3 ways.

• 1. Lower Installation costs
• 2. Lower Line rentals
• 3. Lower call costs

In a business most of us want to make hassle free calls using handsets and not have to worry about the cost of each call; we want to have the peace of mind that the "system" is choosing for me the cheapest way to make that call. This is why modern phone systems now allow us to put rules in place to makes those decisions for us. So a modern phone switch is the key to unlocking the cost saving.

Quality of VOIP calls has been an issue in the past, but modern system set-ups guard against these problems and you can configure systems to be as clear and as reliable as traditional systems.

The installation and line rental savings are greater for larger business, because you can replace expensive ISDN installations with a single broadband line that is enabled for multiple channels (SIP Trunks). Savings of up to 50% can be achieved here.

For savings of call costs you have to be careful and you need to both examine your bills and shop around for the best deal. It can be a good option to take advantage of GSM gateways to reduce the cost of you mobile call costs. The biggest savings will be for people who make large volumes of international calls to multiple locations. WARNING! Some VOIP calls can be more expensive that using a standard phone line. Time spent getting your call routing right will bring the biggest savings.

This is a very competitive market and you should make sure that the solution you are looking at is the best for your business, mistakes can be made and they can be costly. But ultimately when you get this right you can reduce your phone bills significantly and saving can be made of up to 90%. Would you like to pay just 10% of your current call costs? Typically savings are nearer 50%, either way it's worth a review of your system.

26 April 2010

Last week I was "stuck" in France because of the eruption of Eyjafjallajoekull in Iceland. Note I emphasise stuck because it was no great hardship to spend an extra 3 days in the fantastic countryside of south west France and spend some more time in great company. However when you are running a small business you have to keep your eye on the ball and keep pushing otherwise things can unravel pretty quickly.

So what to do? As soon as I knew I would not be getting back to the UK I contacted my office. Most of our systems are either hosted online or remotely accessible from anywhere. It's great to be able to work from anywhere as we found out in the recent snow crisis. But this time I had a new challenge. I did not have my IP phone with me and I had a conference call to attend on the Tuesday. I did not want to incur big costs phoning with my mobile or using my host's landline.

So Positive Computing swung into action for me as we do for our customers. Within an hour I had the software and licence required to run a soft-phone on our own phone system. Using my hosts PC I was able to make calls as if I was in Reading (that confused some people I will tell you!!). I was able to attend the conference call with no problem at all and then able to work pretty much as if I was in the office for the rest of my stay in France.

So I think what Eyjafjallajoekull has taught us is that we cannot prepare for everything, but if you have flexibility in your IT and telephony provision then most things are possible with a little application of knowledge and experience. I was very proud of my guys and now I know just how our customers (they tell me) feel in a crisis. My extra 3 days in France truly where hassle free.

The use of social media sites by employees has become a very hot topic recently in the media so we asked Albert Keeshan from the HR dept to provide us with a sample social media policy. All companies need to be aware of how to use social media in connection with the company they own or work for. 

You can download a sample policy using this link The policy explains the "DONTS" that staff need follow in order to protect the business from the glare of unwanted publicity or worse!

At Positive Computing we recommend that all companies take the following course of action.

1. Work with an HR professional such as the HR Dept to create a social media policy that suits their business
2. Book on a social media course run by experts such as Morgan PR to educate yourselves in how to use social media effectivly in business.

Shelley Fishel's Top Ten favourite Microsoft Office 2007 features

This week I have asked Shelley Fishel to write out her top 10 tips on Microsoft Office 2007. Shelley is the Managing Director of The Training Surgery an Accredited Training Provider - accredited by The Institute of IT Training.

Click on this link to get to the tips!

You can find out more about The Training Surgery on thier website www.thetrainingsurgery.co.uk

23rd February 2010

How to add a video to your LinkedIn profile.(Thank you to Frank Booij )

1. Login to LinkedIn

2. Add the Google Presentations application

3. Click the grey "Create Presentation" button. (Note: You must have a google docs account to do this. If you have a gmail address, you're halfway there.)

4. From "Google Presentation" select Insert > Video from the main menu

5. Search for the video you want (Note: Your video needs to be uploaded to YouTube. I'm going to assume you have knowledge of how to do this for the sake of brevity)

6. Click "Save & Close" in the upper right corner

7. Back in your LinkedIn window select the presentation and click "Post to Profile"

Hope this helps point you in the right direction....

Regards
Julian

Tuesday the 16th of February 2010

Small business are a reflection of the people who run them. This is without doubt true. When I started my business in 1998 with my two business partners Phil and Keith, we had a clear vision about the type of company we would create and the levels of expertise and quality that we would provide.

My recent dealings with Albert Keeshan from the HR Department in Reading have made me realise that my company is so much more than the work I do directly. Albert Provides expert HR advice and documentation, when you need it. If you follow his advice you will keep yourself legal and you will keep on top of any potential HR issues meaning your "staff problems" are minimised. In essence he is our HR director and we know that the HR side of our business reflects our desire for expertise and quality. (http://www.hrdept.co.uk/reading.htm)

What this highlights to me is that all the business decisions we make with regard to 3^rd parties provides need to reflect our core company values.  Every time we commission a printer, a PR agent, a solicitor etc.. We need to ensure that they reflect our company.

Essentially a company is not only a reflection of its owners but of every part of the business and all the people they deal with, business owners make these decisions and so the question I am now asking when looking at 3^rd parties for any involvement with Positive Computing is: - Are they as professional as we are or we want to be?

I am going to be at the Henley back-to basics business surgery on the 26^th of Feb and one of my questions to the attendees will be; Is your IT as professional as you are? It's a great question to ask as we know that our business is a reflection of its parts.

 IT and telephony is one area where I am interested in providing expertise and quality to companies, we become part of the team so that the IT is business class. Maybe there are areas where you need to make improvements in your external team; I would urge you as I am doing to review them all.

Friday the 5th of February 2010

I recently used the services of Fire-Compliance & Safety Reading Ltd (http://www.fire-compliance-safety-reading.com) who carried out a fire risk assessment at my office in Reading and they were very efficient on the day. Before I found FCS I would have fully expected a paper report with a list of things I had to do to be compliant. But what these guys deliver is an online system that you can use to manage your compliance. It guides you, it shows you and it prompts you to be compliant and best of all it has a gauge so you can see where you are at all times. Get your gauge in the green and you're compliant. It's great - simple, effective and above all legal. Real peace of mind for a business owner.

OK so that's all well and good for fire compliance but what about everything else. There are so many rules and regulations that all businesses have to comply with, it can be a mine field. So much so that many companies simply ignore their requirements or complete them only in part.

If the UK Government were to provide every company a simple to use compliance dashboard then business owners would know where they stand. All government agencies could put their requirements into such a system. Business owners would ensure that their companies score in the green in all areas. The overall status of a company could be published publically. How many companies would want to be fully compliant if their status was a matter of public record? Smart companies would publish this live on their website.

The system would work with companies by giving them tools and information to get them to compliance and correct tolerances could be set-up so that an overall (public) green status is only jeopardised by companies who totally ignored acceptable timescales.

Most business owners cannot cope with red tape because they have to go to so many places to find out what they need to do. Once they get the information it can be unclear if they have complied or not. The system could also prompt for VAT, PAYE and NI payments etc... It would become a daily resource for a business owner and give them real peace of mind that when they're in the green they are safe from prosecution or other remedial action.

Other features could be included such as approved service providers who would only appear on the lists if they were in the green and as such would have to be fully compliant with not only the government requirements but also any additional industry compliance requirements that applied to them.

Often small business are in full support with government legislation but in order to cut the red tape they need to get on board and give us the tools to stay compliant in a straight forward way.

I wish you a profitable week!

Julian.