Mid-Sized Business Support

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Category: IT Processes, IT Support, Latest.

Why should IT Support be part of your business strategy?

Q. Why should IT Support be part of your business strategy?

A. Because your whole business may depend on it!

  • If you sell online through your company website or even just use email to receive orders or send quotes then downtime due to IT failure most certainly means lost sales and revenue
  • Unplanned IT support can be a quite hefty expense you hadn’t planned for!
  • Attempting to secure an IT expert to call out at short notice to fix a serious problem can be a problem in itself.
  • A serious data loss incident could put you out of business altogether
  • Slow or unreliable computers mean slow productivity and frustrated staff

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5 Warning Signs That It’s Time To Upgrade Your PC

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Category: IT Support, Latest.

5 Warning Signs That It’s Time To Upgrade Your PC

You only bought it a couple of years ago, so it can’t be time to upgrade your PC just yet.

Can it?

Well, for a start, it was probably much longer ago than you think that you purchased your latest desktop, and even so, there are no cast-iron assurances that your hardware will stand the test of time year-after-year.

Unfortunately for your wallet, technology runs in cycles. What was considered “mod” and revolutionary five short years ago (you know, 2009) might just be well past its sell-by-date.

Like any diagnosis, discovering you have a problem early can help you when it comes to finding the cure and limiting the damage.

So, if you’re sensing a little sluggishness or noticing some nasty noises, it could be a warning sign that all is not well with your computer.

Here are five signs it’s time to upgrade.

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Cabling Issues

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Category: Computer Maintenance, Computer Networks, IT Support.

Is your office computer network costing your business money

Is this a familiar situation with the data cabling in your offices?  Is there just one of these or are there multiple situations throughout the building, hiding under desks, in cupboards and above ceilings?

The reason for the appearances of these “Mini Switches” is usually that as a company grows or invests in new equipment they find they don’t have enough IT cabling outlets to support what they need.

Additional staff will require extra data cabling outlets for PC’s and phones and as new equipment such a telephone systems are installed, new dedicated IT cabling outlets are required but not always available.

The quick fix approach shown in the photographs is to find 1 spare data cabling outlet and add on 5/8/16 way mini switches and plug all the new requirements into that.  These can number 1 per room if the equipment installed needs a lot of new IT cabling outlets.

However, the more of these mini switches are installed, the greater the bottlenecks down the IT system.  In a lot of cases these mini switches will then link from one to another.  In some businesses we’ve seen (for example) a main switch linking to a floor serving switch to 4 mini switches in a row in each office.  Several of them also had 2 connections between switches creating a loop on the network almost shutting it down completely.

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Category: IT Support, Microsoft Office.

Microsoft Office 365: What it means for your Business [Infographic]

With their latest Office 365 suite, Microsoft has certainly made a bold statement when it comes to the future of home and business computing, while also throwing down a challenge to competitor products.

Their innovative office suite differs greatly from previous versions of Microsoft Office – from how you use it, what you can do with it and even how you pay for it.

And though change for change’s sake isn’t always a good thing, it certainly seems like this latest software has real potential.

But before you decide to install the suite to your own machines, here’s a look at just what Office 365 can offer you and your business, as well as how we at The PC Support Group might be able to support you in this process – we call this infographic Office 365: What it means for your business.

Want to demonstrate how Office 365 can benefit a business you know? Feel free to share our infographic using the HTML code below. You can also click to enlarge the image.

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Extend iPhone Battery Life

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Category: IT News, IT Support, Mobile Computing.

9 Top Secret Ways to Extend Your iPhone Battery Life

Unless you’re still using that faithful old Nokia 3210 you’ve had since the turn of the millennium, you probably find yourself constantly checking the battery life of your iPhone to make sure you’re not stuck on a desolate hillside in the middle of nowhere without being able call for help or (more importantly) left out of social plans, unable to see what your friends are up to or play Candy Crush Saga.

Battery drain for smartphone users isn’t a new phenomenon but since the launch of Apple’s iOS 7.1 mobile operating system iPhone users in particular have complained about dwindling battery life.

But according to former Apple Genius Bar worker Scotty Loveless, it’s not necessarily iOS itself that is causing batteries to drain quickly – but all the Apps that are running on it.

So does this mean we need to change the way we all use our phones and access the Apps we value so dearly or simply change our phones full-stop?

Here are nine tips you can try that might just increase the battery life of your smartphone:

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SEO DIY or Outsource

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Category: IT Support, Online Marketing.

Search Engine Optimisation – DIY or Outsource?

Search engine optimisation (or SEO) is one of the key aspects in driving traffic to your website.  As a business, generally speaking, you have two options; learn and perform SEO in-house or choose to outsource to a suitable SEO company.

Here are some tips to help you make the right decision for your business.

DIY IN-HOUSE:-

Use your writing skills

Keeping your website content updated and relevant should be a priority.  Inactive content (if your blog hasn’t been updated in months or years, for instance) can be an indication that your information might be outdated – or simply that the website is no longer in use.  Writing news or blog posts on a regular basis is a good way to stay updated. Not only is this an advantageous SEO strategy but it also sends out the right signals to your audience.

Submit your website to the main local search directories

It can be relatively straight-forward to submit your site to Google Places, Bing Local and Yahoo Local.  Sign up and choose categories that are relevant to your business. Upload a few photos and videos if you can. Once you’re listed, ask satisfied clients to leave positive reviews. By doing so, you are adding credibility to your business online and enhancing your reputation.

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Spam Protection

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Category: IT News, IT Support, Latest.

7 Ways to Protect Yourself from the Latest Bug Scare

With the recent news that online users ought to be braced for an incoming cyber attack, many people will be wondering what they need to do in order to keep their personal details secure.

Unsurprisingly, the Get Safe Online website has been inundated with people wanting to find out more information and advice. With that in mind, and following on from our blog last week, here are some pointers to take a note of that could help protect that valuable data and financial information from possible attack.

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Cyber Attack Prevention

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Category: IT News, IT Security, IT Support, Latest.

Two Weeks to Prepare for Powerful Cyber Attack?

The National Crime Agency have announced that online users have two weeks to prepare for a “powerful cyber attack”. Two pieces of malware software known as GOZeuS and CryptoLocker are at the centre of this alert and are reported to be responsible for hundreds of millions of pounds of fraud globally.

At The PC Support Group, we’re putting together an action plan to best protect our customers

All computer users are being warned to ensure their security software and operating system are both up to date, and to run scans to check for any problems. Important files should also be backed up.

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The eBay Hack: Should you be worried?

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Category: Business, IT News, IT Support, Latest.

The eBay Hack: Should you be worried?

Ebay, the world’s biggest internet auction site, is the latest large organisation to be the victim of a cyber hack.

Blaming what they call an “Achilles heel” for the encrypted user information being taken, the company quickly advised users to change their password in order to prevent personal information falling into the wrong hands.

It’s thought to be the biggest reported hack ever in terms of the number of people affected (approximately 223m worldwide). Although it’s believed that financial data is not at risk, it’s still a major concern that data such as phone numbers and email addresses could be exposed to hackers.

So how does this news affect you, the eBay user?

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PC Support

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Category: Customer Service, IT Support.

Does a start-up or small business need computer support?

By Guest Blogger Peter Dean of Debayne Web Design

When setting up a new business the emphasis is often on costs. Thanks to the recent re-emergence of EU funding, there may be some help available and many small banks are now onside offering free banking whilst you find your feet – even small loans to help you on your way.

Because the focus in these early days is often on watching every penny going in and out, there is a temptation to ignore or skate around some issues that, in time, could prove to be a huge blow to the business. One such potential issue is that of protecting the data stored on computers.

When you think of it, many business computers get rather a bad deal, every day they pop into life and perform all of the many tasks that you throw at them with ease and precision, day in day out, many for years at a time.

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