UK business Hardware
Overview
Imagine if you could minimise the
cost of ownership of your IT equipment. With many setups,
the herculean task of getting it to work eclipses the real
benefits that could be acheived if it did all actually work.
Usually this whole situation arises from breaking the second
rule of Internet usage: cutting corners. Information Technology
is an immature art, and the technology itself is far from
perfect, but with a little forethought, system reliability
can be maximised, downtime minimised, and your valuable data
protected.
The key is to plan your requirements
step-by-step, starting from scratch, to make sure that everything
is covered.
Problems
It is a truism that IT can save on
costs, especially wages. However, experts suggest that those
same costs often end up being called IT costs instead of staff
wages, so that in fact most small and medium enterprises make
little or no net savings at all. The computer revolution has
come about so quickly that most companies have put their systems
together piecemeal, and then wonder why it isn't very reliable
and why it costs so much to run.
Furthermore, in all the current hype
about the 'white heat of technology,' many people forget that
machines are only capable of replacing the more menial labour.
Wherever intelligence is required to get a job done well,
the machines are there to act as a facilitator, not as a replacement.
The invention of the telephone undoubtedly caused many postal
workers to be replaced, but the explosion in business it facilitated
created many more jobs in the long run. The Internet has a
similar potential, again, in the long run: its big advantage
is that customers can come to you more easily, 24 hours a
day; you don't have to work so hard to seek them out: your
website can do the work for you.
Many people look at IT with some trepidation,
either with a straightforwardly Luddite mentality, or just
a simple fear of the admittedly steep learning curve that
a new setup can involve. But it is important to remember the
potential benefits that can come from putting in a little
short-term effort and a bit of cash (and remember too that
lease-purchase is a handy tax-deductible option for most businesses).
In a way, perhaps it all comes down to confidence: can you,
personally, see yourself benefitting from the increased control
over your business that comes from an efficient web portal
and computerised database? Can you benefit from extra enquiries
from customers who have found you through your professionally-produced
web site?
Solution
It is said that the first loss is
the least loss: in other words, by investing in a good system,
your long-term costs are minimised. A good system will usually
consist of these things:
- One brand: your computers will
be from a single, large manufacturer that offers worldwide
support and a consistent level of service. The machines
will therefore all be compatible with one another, and
their software will be set up in the same way, minimising
your administrative overhead;
- Service: one phone call should
suffice to get someone on the case if any problems arise;
- Telephone Support: many problems
can be fixed over the phone; why wait for an engineer
if the problem can be sorted out with a short conversation?
- Accountability: your maintenance
contract must limit your costs for any repairs that may
be needed.
The point about computers and the
Internet is that they are intended to lead not to reliance
and dependence but to liberation and independence. The aim
of all business tools is to make things easier! The
easier your work, the more you can achieve. The more you can
achieve, the greater your potential profits.
Specification
To get the most out of your set-up,
each person will need a reasonably well- specified PC. Generally,
the PC's will not have to be ultra-high performing machines
of the sort used by developers or games-players. On the other
hand, they must be able to keep up with new innovations in
software and any new demands you may make on them for a reasonable
period of time. In other words, mid-range PC's, perhaps with
a little extra memory and more than adequate storage space,
will do the trick for most business users.
Your network server must have plenty
of storage space for your database and it must be fast enough
to handle requests from several users simultaneously. This
is not a big problem for most servers: this is what they are
made for, after all. The server will probably also be responsible
for handling your backup software, and some people may feel
that they would be safer still if they had an entire backup
server, ready to jump into the breach should their main server
break down. This decision depends on how much you feel a couple
of days' downtime would cost your business. Probably, it would
cost more than the price of a low-specification secondary
server.
Your Internet connection must be fast
if you don't want staff sitting around and twiddling their
thumbs while modifying your Internet business database. On
the other hand, it must be cheap to run. For most businesses
with around 5-15 staff, this narrows it down to an ADSL connection,
or perhaps a leased line for the busiest, or those with multiple
offices wanting a multi-site internal phone system. The smallest
offices might make do with a simple telephone modem, but that
can be very slow for anything other than collecting and sending
e-mail. For more speed an ISDN connection can be used, but
this can quickly get expensive as you are charged each time
it dials up to the Internet.
You will need to protect your network
from unauthorised access, so a firewall is essential, whether
it be hardware or software based. A recent study showed that
a typical unprotected network was cracked on average once
every three days, and probed by potential crackers up to 14
times a day!
Your database must be fast, easy to
update, and easy for your customers to search. Your web site
must be attractive, but not over-specified: customers want
meat not lard. The web site mustn't waste their time by making
it hard or time-consuming for them to get the information
they are looking for. Many designers just don't realise how
annoying time-wasting flashy animations can be for people
in a hurry. People don't want to see your brand adverts -
they've already found you.
Configuration
The PC's will need a familiar operating
system, and some basic office software to provide word-processing
and spreadsheet capability. On top of that, an Internet browser
will be required. Your database will have to be accessible
to all authorised employees too. After this, in a world where
some 1,000 new viruses hit the Internet each week, some cast-iron
virus protection is essential.
Management
One of your staff will need to be
the 'System Administrator,' responsible for ensuring that
your backups are done daily, and that your anti-virus software
is kept fully up-to-date. Your latest backup should always
be stored off-site; usually, someone takes it home with them
overnight and brings it back the next day. They will also
need to download any security updates or bug-fixes released
by the operating system or software producers, and apply it
to all machines. This needs to be checked perhaps once a month
for adequate levels of security.
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