IT Modornization

Premise Wiring

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Premise Wiring

Premise Wiring can be something that is either trouble free, or an endless source of headache.  It all depends on how well your premise wiring is planned, installed, organized, and finished.  Investing in quality wire, connectors, and mounting will insure against future problems and make maintenance much easier. 

If you are building a new office, you want to get us involved in your wiring project as soon as possible, preferably in the initial design phase well before the walls go up.  Most electricians will do exactly what you tell them to do with no concern for design or how well the network system will turn out.  We are designers, implementors, and maintainers who hope to keep you as a satisfied customer on a maintenance plan for a long time supporting your mission critical operations.

We have access to the best available, commercial grade, wire, supplies, panels, and finish to do the job right.  Your customers will notice right away whether or not your wiring was installed professionally.

If the wiring in your office is a product of evolution and looks like a disorganized mess that nobody understands, we can help taim your jumble of wires and bring back a reasonable level of reliability.

Premise Wiring can include: Computer Network, Alarm System, Surveylance System, Telephone, Audio, and Video, Satalite, and Cable.  We do it all.  Not only do we do the wiring, but we also work with your service providers to make sure that their services are brought in and connected to your network.

We build, install, and maintain servers taylor made to match your business needs.

Servers do much more these days than simple file and printer sharing.  Your business computing needs can be broken down into services.  These services include file and print sharing, but also may be more specialized like database application servers, or servers dedicated to a major software you use to run your business. We can help you determine what type of server you need, build, implement, and maintain.

We are not a computer store, and we typically do not sell equipment directly. We can, however save you a lot of money.

We recommend the equipment we use and know works well.  As far as Servers and Workstations are concerned, we have a relationship with Dell that allows us to pass volume discounts along to our customers.  We have been working with Dell for many years and when we send a customer to one of our Dell sales representatives, they know we are the ones who will be installing your systems.  Dell knows that by the time you go to them, you have our recommendation and there is no expensive sales process or questions to answer so the savings are simply passed on to you.  Dell knows to treat our customers well because we send them over a million dollars a year in business. They also know that we can do much of their field work as far as warranty and replacement goes, so they give us high priority access to support and parts.  Dell sees us as an asset, saving them a great deal of money for each system they sell.  We pass that savings along to you as part of the value of our consulting services.

There are many choices that need to be made when designing, and setting up a server.

With our experience setting up hundreds of servers over the years, we can navigate the many choices and arrive at a practical solution.  Servers can be expensive and most businesses cannot afford to buy the wrong equipment. Servers require experienced professionals to design and set up, otherwise they can lead to pure misery for all involved.  Since we specialize in small and medium sized business computing, we will have a good idea of what server is right for your business, based on our experience working with other companies like yours.

Change is not Optional. Is change being forced on you? Are you several versions behind? Is your system at a dead end and in need of rescue? Are you afraid to make a change?

The world of computer technology is constantly evolving. Eventually that old system of yours will become Not Supported and Obsolete and nobody will be able to maintain or fix it when it breaks.  You do not want to be in a position where you are stuck with a dead end system that nobody knows how to work on.    Obsolete systems, by nature, become more and more unreliable every day.  Software programs keep changing their minimum required specifications, leaving you behind.  Servers fill up and slow down.  While your system may become obsolete, it is more important than ever to keep your business running.  How you go about implementing a major IT Modernization project in your computing environment can make or break a company. It takes a lot of experience and skill to plan for major change or rebuilding of your entire computing environment, while preserving the major investment you have in the data you have accumilated over many years.

An old computer system is like an old used car.  Eventually it will not perform the way you want it to and it can become expensive and unreliable.  There is always a point where it just makes good business sense to go through a well planned IT Modernization project.

We recommend what we know and use based on our own experiences.

We have experience setting up both Windows and Linux Servers.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both and they each have their own place in your computing environment.  We view a server as a tool which is used to perform a particular function or functions, usually serving as a platform to run a specific program like an accounting system, or practice management system.  Software companies like to sell their own servers to customers who do not have any IT Support, but these servers are generally overpriced and under powered.  Have them quote you a price and we will show you what we can do for the same money and will exceed their requirements.  In other words, with us, you get more bang for the buck!

A server is generally a more powerful computer that is designed to run continuously for years. Windows Server is the most common and most expensive.

Recent versions of Windows Server include Windows Server 2008, and the newer Windows Server 2012.  Your major software package may require one of these Windows Server Operating Systems.  Windows Server Operating Systems require licenses from Microsoft, or something they call CAL's (Client Access Licenses). The cost and number of CAL's you need to buy is based on things like the number of users who will be using the server.  Different features within the Windows Server Operating System can be turned on or off, and often require their own CAL's.  Just to illustrate the complexity of Microsoft Licensing, check out the following information from Microsoft Licensing CAL's. If that information does not give you a headache, you can then look at the pricing involved and start shopping!   These are all waters that we have navigated and are familiar with, based on servers we have installed.  We will save you a great deal of time and money by simply showing you what you need to buy and prevent you from making costly mistakes.  The major software application that you need may require that your server runs Microsoft Windows Server.

Nothing Lasts Forever. Even the best software packages reach the end of their life.

Software companies bring about their own changes.  You may receive notice of a mandatory upgrade stating that your software is being sundowned.  All software packages eventually become obsolete and no longer supported.  Technology moves forward whether you do or not.  It is possible and often happens that software companies go out of business, leaving you with a program that is working for now, but who knows for how long in the future.  Maybe you are not happy with your current software and are looking for something better.  We can help with all of these situations.

The other type of server we commonly set up, the one that Microsoft would rather you did not know about, is called a Linux Server.

Linux is based on, or is derived from an older operating system, much older than Microsoft, called Unix.  Unix is still around today and is used for running things like supercomputers in educational environments.  Linux has evolved over the years to the point where it is a highly reliable business server operating system.  It is generally much more efficient than Windows Servers in terms of the size or amount of power the server needs, and does a much better job performing certain functions or services.  The most wonderful thing about Linux Servers is that the Linux Server Operating System, as well as all the Services or Programs we use on Linux Servers are absolutely FREE, as in NO COST.  FREE is a radical concept for those used to dealing with Microsoft Servers!  Sorry but although the cost of the server and its software is free, we do not set them up for free.  We set up Linux Servers to perform the following:

Internet Mail Server  with features like Spam Filtering, Virus Filtering, and WebMail.  You can have an internet domain like YOURDOMAIN.COM and set up an unlimited number of mail accounts or addresses. You may be paying someone to do this now.  Having your own mail server can save you a great deal of money, while also assuring that nobody can snoop, spy, or otherwise have access to the messages on your server.  This is a big issue in the news these days.  The programs we use to set up a Mail Server include Debain Linux, Postfix Mail, SpamAssassin, and CLAM Antivirus.  If you send or receive e-mail with us @Computing-Management.com, our mail is hosted on a Linux Mail Server as described above.

Internet Web Server  You may be paying someone to host your website http://yourdomain.com and http://www.yourdomain.com.  The price of this hosting probably depends on the size of your site and the amount of traffic or data throughput.  The disadvantage to having someone host your domain, especially if they want to do it for free, is that your website may be judged by the company it keeps.  In other words, your legitimate business site may be penalized in the search engines because you are sharing the hosting services on a server that may also be hosting sites of a less desirable nature.  These days, if you want to have a legitimate business website, and have it perform well with search engines like Google, it is best to have your own server.  We can set up a Linux Web Server and help promote your site with Google.  Our Linux Web Server includes Debain Linux, Apache Web Server program, and Clam Antivirus.  The website you are viewing now is running on a Linux Web Server as described above.

Database Server Microsoft has their SQL Server program but Linux has their own Database Server Programs that can perform just as well.  The most common of these programs is called MySQL.  MySQL is now supported by a big database company you might recognize, named Oracle, and is a very capable database program.  We can help you design and program a database, as well as convert and manipulate data.  This may be integrated into your company website for either internal or external use.

File and Print Server  These are basic servers for both Windows and Linux Servers.  The only difference is that Linux can do it a lot cheaper because there is no CAL's  or licensing to  buy.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) Server  You may have been hearing a lot about CLOUD, or CLOUD Servers lately.  There is a lot of hype and marketing involved here.  If you need a shared and secure area to store files and make them accessable to you, or possibly to your customers to upload and download, the easiest way to do this is with a FTP server. 
This is one of the most basic services of Linux and again, there are no licenses to buy.

There is a long, ever growing, list of other services available for Linux.

Give us a call so we may meet and discuss your needs. We can put together a price quote and estimate the time needed to complete your upgrade..

With big projects, we quote the cost and that will be your cost regardless of the the number of hours involved.  Typically our customers will pay half to get their project started, and then the remainder once the project is complete.  Our quotes are based on actual experience installing systems all around town.  We know what it takes to get the job done and we will not take on a project unless we feel we can do the job right and be proud of what we accomplish.  In the end, we want our customers to be happy and feel that their computing environment is greatly improved.