How to Make Your Computer System More Reliable and Cut Your Costs
Are you finding that your Microsoft Windows computer system is taking a lot of maintenance. Maybe you have heard people talking about the benefits of Apple or Linux instead of Windows.
I am getting tired of people complaining about Microsoft Windows and urging that Windows is unreliable and complicated, and that the world should move over to Apple or Linux.
Let’s push the smoke and mirrors away and get down to brass tacks.
Fact One: Windows totally dominates the worlds computer market
Fact Two: The biggest problem with Windows is not a problem with Windows at all. The real problem is the thousands of hackers and virus developers attacking the Windows operating system.
Now think about it… Back when the Aztecs had an El Dorado of gold, and the Africans had a small pile of gold, which way did Cortes head with his Conquistadors? Opportunists will always go looking for the biggest pile of riches, and in this day and age, hackers and virus criminals go chasing after Windows users because that is the most lucrative source of loot.
If Apple or Linux were to reach number one in the market then who do you think the criminals would go after?
So, let’s just accept that there will always be criminals and the best way to fight them is to make it so difficult for them to attack you that they go looking somewhere else to make a living. Don’t blame Microsoft for the crime wave of viruses and other security problems. That would be like buying a new sports car and blaming the car company when it gets stolen. You simply need to protect your assets, whether they are computers or any other kind of property.
So, let’s just acknowledge that to use a computer in this day and age it is almost certainly going to be a Microsoft Windows based computer, whether it is XP, Vista, CE, Windows Mobile or whatever other version of Windows that suits your device.
Now, how are you going to protect your Windows computer?
Now let’s forget about technology for a minute and think about another real world situation as a metaphor. If you want to protect your new sports car you can either hire a security guard, or invest in some clever technology so that the criminals find it too hard to steal your car and simply go somewhere else.
Now, let’s apply this diversionary method to your computer system.
You can engage a computer expert to come and fix your computer, or to regularly come around and check your computer. Or, you can subscribe to a service which protects your computer, which is a lot like connecting your home or office to a security monitoring and response service.
You may have heard the term “Managed Services”. Personally I find this term quite meaningless. It should like some kind plumbing service to look after the drains. Anyhow, in the Information Technology industry, the term “Managed Services” is used for a service which provides constant connected protection and updates for your computer system.
I have learned about Managed Services the hard way, and I am hoping by publishing this article that
I can help you to find the easy way to learn and benefit from the Managed Services method.
My company is an importer and distributor of manufactured products. We have a website which promotes our products on the internet and all our PCs at each of our state branches are connected to the Internet. So, it is a fairly normal setup.
Since our company was established in 1987 we have used the services of a small IT company to fix problems when they broke. We also got them to come and visit us every now and then to check that our systems were working correctly.
The problem with this service model started a few years ago. The rate of system updates, security patches, anti-virus updates etc. has increased dramatically every year. Fortunately our IT support company has come up with a couple of solutions which provide us with the protection we need.
A few months ago we joined up with a service named Net2, which is provided by Communicat in Melbourne. Previously we found that our systems would start to have problems and we would then call Communicat for a visit. They would come out and fix our problems and everything would be running smoothly. A month or two later the problems would come back and we would call Communicat for another visit.
In other words, the more problems we had, the higher our cost and the more we would be paying Communicat.
So, when Communicat came to talk to us about Net2 they told us that they presented a completely new model for their service. Instead of paying them more and more money, they wanted to charge us less money. Communicat said that instead of a situation where the more problems we had, the more we paid them, they now had a new service where we would pay Communicat a fixed fee to ensure that the system ran smoothly.
In other words, there is a financial incentive for Communicat to keep our problems to a minimum. On top of that, Communicat would offer a virtually unlimited support service at a low monthly fee.
So, we tried out the new support system for one month and it is just fantastic. Our costs are reduced and now our systems are running more smoothly than ever. In fact it feels as though we have a new system now that everything is running faster and the crashes and hitches seem to have vanished.
I am sure there are other Managed Service providers out there who provide a similar service to the Communicat Net2 Managed Service. All I am saying is that this is definitely the way to go.
So, if you are having problems with your computers, don’t blame Microsoft. Blame the criminals who are constantly attacking your computer system and them go out and sign up with a managed services provider such as Net2 to provide protection for your system. It will be one of the best business decisions you can make and you will might just reduce your costs as we have.
Best regards,
Robert
