Newsletter Vol. 6, 2007
Well done to those of you who implemented some "keeping in touch" strategies since our last newsletter. With the end of the financial year approaching, now would be a good time to undertake a quick and simple IT Health Check.
In this issue:
- 5 minute IT Health Check
- Trial Voice Over IP
- Who Says You Can't Get Fit Online? [online service delivery]
Best wishes,
Heather Maloney
Approaching the end of the financial year is a great time to re-assess the health of your IT systems. The 4 questions below cover off the basics of keeping your IT systems running smoothly:
- Are you regularly backing up all transactions, communications and documents stored electronically? Don't forget your email, accounting transactions, price lists, product images etc. It may be impossible to recover or reproduce some of this information in the event of a hardware failure. Your backups should be stored at a location remote from the source of the information, and you should be checking regularly that the backups are actually usable.
- Do you have a disaster recovery plan so that you know what to do in the event of a major hardware loss or failure? This may be a simple document describing where to find the backups, how your server / computers are to be configured, and how to restore your information from backup.
- Are your computers / network protected by a quality, up to date firewall? Definition of a firewall: A system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network. Don't allow your computers to be used by criminals to attack other organisations electronically.
- Are you scanning all incoming files and emails for viruses, malware and spyware? You need to ensure that your computers aren't infected or damaged, wasting many hours restoring your systems.
Well done if you answered 'Yes' to all 4 questions. If you didn't, or you are not sure where you stand on any of the questions, we can put you in touch with an excellent service provider to help you.
"Prevention is the Best Cure" - unknown
We've been keen to try out Voice over IP (VoIP) for some time due to it's cost effectiveness and the flexibility it affords. Not to mention just because it's a new technology!
We are very pleased that we have now in place a VoIP service, via this number: (03) 8525 2082. The installation was very easy, and initial tests have shown that the sound quality is excellent, despite all of our experiences with overseas call centres and market research companies!
So what is Voice Over IP? VoIP is simply sending your voice communications (telephone calls) over your broadband connection rather than down the telecommunications copper wire. A more technical definition is: "a set of facilities used to manage the delivery of voice information over the Internet. VoIP involves sending voice information in digital form in discrete packets rather than by using the traditional circuit-committed protocols of the public switched telephone network (PSTN)."
Our use of VoIP is still very much a trial. We will be measuring the increase in our broadband usage, call quality and cost. If you would like to hear the results of our trial, please let us know. And of course, if you would like to experience the quality of a VoIP call for yourself, feel free to call us on the above number.
Our first international eNudge SMS subscriber, based in Dubai, joined up in May. They have been very gracious in providing a testimonial.
Who Says You Can't Get Fit Online? [online service delivery]
When I first heard about an online fitness service, I was puzzled as to how you could possibly deliver fitness over the internet. Don't you need running machines and other equipment to help us burn up those calories?
Glow Women's Fitness Online is paving the way to help you get and stay fit in an innovative fully online manner. Check out this unique service at: www.glowwomensfitnessonline.com.au
Are you constrained by the way it's always been done before?
Contact Point - Helping businesses to reach their potential through Information Technology