Sunday, November 16, 2014

Which Phone Should I Buy?

There is not a week that goes by, sometimes not a day, in which we are asked “Which phone should I buy?”

More often than not, our answer is simple: "An iPhone."

iPhone: For the smart "non-geek"

Consistently, we notice that non-technical business professionals, artists, trades people and retired workers who get an iPhone quickly become proficient users of technology.

While we are not partial to Apple, we do recognize their brilliant design: not only in the technology itself, but in the user experience it allows. Its interface is intuitive and reliable: What ever magic has been baked in, it works. Non-technical people consistently find the iPhone extremely user friendly.


"Phone store said I should get the _______"

Yes, but here is why: The average phone store employee understands some technology, and maybe even has a love for it. They may say "This one is the best, this is the phone I would get!” However, their needs may not the same as yours.

The needs, wants, and experience of the average phone store employee are typically very different from the average entrepreneur, manager or professional. Similarly, the phone that works best for each group is likely different -- for example, cool versus functional.

What you might not also realize is that the store management will also provide incentives to selling anything but iPhones. The margins are terrible because Apple keeps all the profit. Also, because the iPhones are more expensive they mean more capital investment and more risk of break-ins and robberies. Other devices are less expensive but provide better margins. They push anything but iPhones and they only carry iPhones because they have to. 

The exceptions

We admit it: Not everyone is suited for an iPhone. There are some really compelling reasons why someone who is both smart, and non-techy, might benefit from the purchase of a non-iPhone:
  • Support System. Your informal tech support is using something else. If you get your tech support from your spouse and they use an Android -- you might want to get one too. Of course, you won't need much support with an iPhone once you get going.
  • Apps. If you need a particular app and it is not made for iPhones. This is a pretty good reason to consider a different phone.
  • Another Device. If you already have a Samsung tablet and love it, you might also consider a similar Samsung phone.
  • Budget Constraints. The manufacturers of non-iPhones are struggling to sell their devices against both the iPhone and the hordes of Android phones on the market. These phones will be cheaper. Tight on cash? This may be the way to go.

It's a tough decision, we know.

Some things to consider before you take the plunge:

Given our recommendation on the purchase of an iPhone, not one person has later felt they made a mistake.

And, occasionally, people who have ignored our advice later admit their regret, or after the contract expired, switched to an iPhone.

Which phone is best for you? You need to make the decision. But don’t hesitate to ask for our advice.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Plan B: Now Is The Time

Email a critical system? How about phones, web site, point-of-sale systems? Could you unplug your server and stay open for business?

If not, now is the time to figure out your Plan B.

Step 1: Inventory Critical Systems

Your business is more vulnerable than you realize. The first step in responding to any emergency is to know what is important. Make a list. Many owners and managers benefit from simply recording the critical systems. 

When you make you list, some items to consider:
  • Email
  • Important files or programs
  • Anything on a server
  • Accounting or point-of-sale systems
  • Phones and faxes -- both phone lines and phone systems
  • Internet connection and electricity
  • Roads -- what happens if the street in front of your business is closed?
  • Suppliers -- how long can you survive without deliveries?
  • Often overlooked: employees. What happens when key employees cannot come to work?

Step 2: Score Each System

Not all systems are created equal. There is a simple tool for ranking your systems: Likelihood-Impact-Risk. 

What is the likelihood of system going down or being unavailable? Score it from 0 - 10. Then, if that system does become unavailable, what is the impact to your business. Score it from 0 - 10. Take the likelihood and the impact scores and multiply them together for the risk score. You might need to score each system multiple times -- once for each length of time it might be unavailable. 

For example, if your organization has an ecommerce website which accounts for over half your business. You might score it as down for one hour, one day and one week. 
  • Likelihood of being down one hour: 8, down one day: 4, down one week: 1
  • Impact of being down one hour: 3, down one day: 7, down one week: 10
  • Risk score for one hour: 24, one day: 28, one week: 10.

Based on this example, you should first focus on what happens if your ecommerce site is down for one day, followed closely by one hour. Being down for a whole week may be disastrous but the odds of that happening are pretty low. 

Step 3: Make Your Plan B

You now know what is important and in some ways this part is the easiest. Email can't get lost, sign-up for an email backup system. If you need near 100% up time of your Internet connection, get a backup connection. 

Part of a successful Plan B is to document it and communicating it to your team, customers and suppliers. Do not keep it a secret!

Step 4: Test It!

Step 3 was the easiest, this Step 4 is the hardest. Test your Plan B. Pull the plug from your server or turn off the electricity to your facility. The wrong time to know your Plan B does not work is when you need it most. 

When you test your system, make sure the people who will actually implement Plan B will be the ones testing it. 

Conclusion

Most micro and small businesses have done little or no work on preparing for business interruptions or system failure so even if you only do the first step you will be far ahead of others. Take that step today.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

You Don't Want to Know Your Employee's Passwords

Regularly when setting up a new system for a customer, the owner or manager will want a list of all the users' passwords. We then will explain they do not want the passwords.

Administrative Override

First reason: You don't have to. Most modern systems will allow an administrator to reset a user's password so you can get access. Why add to your list of responsibilities?

Responsibility in the Right Place

Consider this: two people have regular access to the same user account. One of them does something inappropriate, how do you know which one did it?

If you have a policy where all staff must be the only one to know their password, anything that happens with their user account must have been them. If they say someone else had the password, they have violated the password policy. Either way, they are solely responsible for their account.

What about the ability for the administrator to reset the password? The user will know. When the administrator changes the password, the user will not be able to get in until the administrator provides them with the new temporary password.


Thursday, July 10, 2014

Introducing Google Drive for Work

A Premium Option for Apps Users

Do you want more from your Google Drive? More control and security, more visibility into how files are shared? Google has just release Google Drive for Work — a new premium offering for businesses that includes unlimited storage, advanced audit reporting and new security controls for $10/user/month.

 

Check out some of the of the major improvements and features:
  • More control, more visibility
    Google Drive for Work combines the familiar storage, sync and share experience of Google Drive with new admin controls, advanced file audit reporting and eDiscovery services. New fine-grained controls let admins customize the Drive experience, such as which employees can install the desktop sync client. With the new audit view you can see activity like moving, deleting or sharing a file within or outside the company. If you're interested in Google Apps Vault, a solution for search and discovery for compliance needs, it is also included with Drive for Work, expanding to cover all content stored in Drive, including your Docs, Sheets and Slides, and any other file type.
  • More than enough space for all your work
    Your business is growing! Each day more and more data is passed through Google Drive. With Google Drive for work, you get unlimited storage for each user, and you can store up to 5 TB of data. That's a lot of storage!
  • More security
    With the introduction of Google Drive for Work, all files uploaded will be encrypted, not only from your device to Google and in transit between Google data centers, but also on Google servers.
  • More productivity
    You can now open your files in their native format using Office Compatibility Mode directly on Android and Chrome browser. No need to buy additional software or decide how to open your file.
Google Drive for Work is ready for your business and it's available today! Give us a call at 613.344.2068 to upgrade your Google Apps account and get new features like unlimited storage! 

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Printers Engineered for Business

Weehooey is introducing the Epson (R) WorkForce Pro C Series workgroup colour printers. These exceptional printers are designed to help reduce colour printing costs, while improving workgroup productivity. The WorkForce Pro C Series printers are available in single-function models, as well as multifunction models that can copy, scan, and fax.

Increase Productivity

The C Series printers feature high-yield cartridges, large capacity paper trays, automatic 2-side printing, and a high volume maximum monthly duty cycle for high productivity with lower user intervention.

Complete Integration

No matter your office network, you can choose from versions that offer Ethernet connectivity, or those that also include wireless networking or PCL/PostScript support.

Protect Your Investment

All C Series printers are backed by the best-in-class 3-year limited warranty for added reliability and assurance.

Why Weehooey?

Weehooey understands that the purchase of your printer is just the first step, it has to work in your office environment too. Weehooey's IT services will ensure you have access to the right advice and expertise to maximize the potential of your new printer, no matter the complexity of your network environment. We call it the Weehooey "Worry Free Setup." Leave it to our networking professionals to deliver and set up your new printer in your office, install any necessary software on your computers and even train you and your staff on it's use.

But we don't stop there! Weehooey believes the best way to get the most out of such an economical-to-run printer is keep it running all the time. That's why Weehooey is proud to offer Genuine Epson XL & XXL Ink Cartridges. Just like our Epson printers, these high capacity ink cartridges are not available at Staples. Instead, they are designed for professional office environments where you need to keep your printing running, trouble-free, at all times.

If you have any questions, or are ready to take the next step to a finely tuned offce... call Weehooey at 613.344.2068 today!

Monday, June 2, 2014

Weehooey Secure Cloud Backup

Weehooey Secure Cloud Backup

We are pleased to announce our new Secure Cloud Backup service. After many years of providing online backup solutions from a number of third party partners, Weehooey has launched its own branded backup solution. Secure Cloud Backup has all of the features you would expect:

  • Secure: All data is encrypted before being sent to the offsite storage. For those technically inclined, the data center is certified to a number of standards including: SOC 1/SSAE 16/ISAE 3402 (formerly SAS 70 Type II), PCI DSS Level 1, and HIPAA. 
  • Automated: No worries about forgetting to run the backup. Configure it to run on a schedule or configure it to run in real-time.
  • Backup Databases: Many backup solutions have difficulty with programs like QuickBooks and Microsoft Outlook. Our solution will effectively backup these databases and many more.
  • Monitored: Sleep soundly knowing the Weehooey team reviews the results of your backup on a daily basis to ensure everything is working as planned.
  • Local Option: You don't have to send all your data to the cloud. Some data can be backed up to other computers in your office. This is great for slower connections and those companies with a monster amount of data. 
  • Scalable: Have a lot of files? No worries our storage is virtually unlimited. 
  • Affordable Protection: Plans start at $5 per month. 
We have started deploying Weehooey Secure Cloud Backup to our customers. Contact us today to find out more