Frequently Asked Questions

•    How can our company find a software solution that will work with our business model?

  The key here is on focusing not so much on what IT can do, but upon how IT can reflect what your business does (while staying out of its way). With numerous software solutions available today, sometimes an existing software package – or combination of them – can address your company’s needs. Quest IT Outsourcing can help you find and implement the right fix or, if it doesn’t already exist in the marketplace, we can custom-build one to your company’s exact needs and specifications.

•    How can our company make its IT network more green?

  Whether the motivation arises from a need to lower costs or a desire to be more environmentally conscious, a comprehensive approach to energy efficiency is the key to a greener IT network. A sensible first step is to look for opportunities to reduce the electricity usage of your network’s physical components and surroundings (including servers, switches, cooling systems, lighting, etc.). Depending upon your network’s configuration and physical layout, this might entail switching to paperless office practices, improving the airflow cooling your company’s data center, instituting a recycling program or other changes. Another step which can significantly reduce your network’s overall electrical usage is server consolidation. Many IT networks are designed with a one application per server configuration, which often leads to excess capacity and corresponding electrical usage and heat production while keeping all of your company’s servers operating all the time. Consolidating underutilized servers can significantly reduce this effect. One more way to reduce your energy costs is to switch from regular rack-mounted servers to newer blade servers. Blade servers can use less energy to operate and are designed to be easier to cool than their standard counterparts.
  
  In addition, virtualization can be used to add additional virtual servers to physical ones – allowing your company to run multiple servers for each unit it uses the electricity to power and cool. Of course, we can assist your business in finding the best green IT solutions for your network.

•    How can we keep our system protected from malware, spyware and viruses?

  Unfortunately, keeping your company’s network protected from malware, spyware and viruses isn’t something that you can just fix and forget. Vigilance really is important, though there are a number of steps that you can take to reduce the risk to your system:
  
  1) Install antivirus software right after you get a new computer. If the computer is used and comes with Windows already installed but no (or outdated) antivirus software, start by uninstalling and then reinstalling Windows to avoid any latent virus issues.*
  
  2) Enable automatic updates and regular scans through your antivirus software or run updates and scans at least weekly (preferably daily). While these measures won't prevent viruses from infecting your computer, they will alert you to the problem. Early intervention is vital to stopping a virus infection effectively.
  
  3) Utilize the real-time protection feature in your antivirus software to scan files as they download. This feature can noticeably slow your computer's performance, but it can also identify infected files before they can harm your computer.
  
  4) Enable automatic updates on Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7. On earlier versions, run a Windows Update at least weekly. Malware, spyware and viruses spread by exploiting software errors. When those errors are fixed, the malware, spyware and viruses can’t use them to infect your computer.
  
  5) Regularly update other programs (especially those that don’t feature automatic software updates). Like Windows, they can become infected through their software errors.
  
  6) Open only links or files you expect from people you know. Attached files or links to websites from people you don't know or unexpected files or odd links from people you do know shouldn't be run or opened. When you do receive a peculiar link or strange file attachment from someone you know, ask the sender what the link or what the file is supposed to be. If the sender says he or she didn't send it, his or her computer is could easily be infected with a virus which actually sent the link or file to you. If you open it, your computer would likely become infected, as well.
  
  7) While surfing websites on the Internet, do not download or open files from unverified sources. Malware, spyware and viruses are often embedded within innocuous-looking pop-up ads or downloadable audio or visual files. If you don’t know where it came from, you also don’t know what type of damage it can inflict upon your network.
  
  Of course, these steps will not make your network impervious to infection, though they will reduce the chances of it happening. And if you do encounter malware, spyware and viruses, contact us. We can help.
  
  * The steps outlined here reference the Windows operating system, though they should be followed with any operating system in use at your company.

•    How can our company keep its confidential client or patient data secure?

  There are a number of steps to take and methods to use to effectively keep data secure. With proper access rights management, sensitive information can only be viewed by users specifically given permission to access it through your company’s fileserver. Different permission levels can be tailored to different users. Remote access control can be used to oversee which users are permitted to connect to your system remotely and to secure the connection (via data encryption, etc.) between the office and any remote location. Permission management is another type of control that can be used to manage the type of data that can be accessed through specific hardware, such as a PC, mobile device, foreign server or printer.
  
  In addition, limiting transmission of and physical access to sensitive data are simple but effective practices. Though it may seem obvious, policies should be put in place to limit what types of data can be sent via e-mail (i.e., no passwords, personal or confidential information) and remind workers not to leave sensitive data lying on a desk in an unlocked office. Another important consideration is accessibility to your company’s back up files. Many of the technologies used to back up your data may not include the same access rights management protections found on your company’s fileserver. In practice, this can mean that anyone who has access to the back up files can read what’s on them. If you have concerns regarding your company’s data, contact us. We will evaluate the state of your business’ security measures as part of our free Network and Security Assessment.

•    How can we make our data more accessible for our own personnel to review and search through?

  In many business entities the biggest challenge to making internal data readily accessible is actually organizational consistency. This often comes up when a structure to retain and access data is put in place but not really followed. While it’s important to clearly reflect your company’s data retention structure within your network’s fileserver, it’s also essential to keep that structure consistent and perform regular checks on the integrity of the data. This is especially so when dealing with larger fileservers. One relatively simple trick is to move older files into a separate subfolder rather than deleting them when a newer version of a given file is put in use. That way, the primary folder will always have the latest files available, while older materials are still readily available, if needed.
  
  There are several effective tools on the market which can help you search through a large fileserver, though having a clear folder structure helps. Navigating and searching through a few folders is much easier than searching through a whole directory structure.

•    How can our company connect remote and mobile users with access to applications, company data, e-mail and voicemail?

  In today’s marketplace, there are several different approaches available which can be used to establish remote access. When selecting the right one for your business, the primary factors to consider in most cases are the degree of security needed, data accessibility and cost of implementation. For example, if your business requires a high level of security (beyond a standard Windows authentication) when data is accessed off-site, a security token keyed to a specific login and generating random number codes at specified intervals could be incorporated into your company’s remote access system. In addition, depending upon the software package you choose, your company can determine the degree of access permitted through webmail for computers outside of your office or through various mobile devices. This is a consideration when determining whether users accessing your system remotely will be limited to viewing business data which remains on your office server or whether they will be able to download, attach and/or make changes to data from outside the system. If you need help selecting or implementing a remote access system that’s right for your business, contact us. We can help.

•    How can we integrate our satellite offices with our main office’s IT network?

  The key to successfully integrating your company’s satellite offices is planning. While that sounds simple, paying attention to your network design/architecture as it relates to your business strategy and future plans can pay significant dividends in the future. While a poorly planned design might work in the short term, your company can find out the hard way that it isn’t compliant with a new branch you would like to open. Your business should be able to expand with your company’s existing network and not require extensive reworking of your network design/architecture as you grow.
  
  The best approach is to take your time, have a professional look over the layout and don’t forget to discuss topics such as backing up the remote sites’ business data, access security between the sites and ownership of files. Quest IT Outsourcing can address these issues.

•    How can our company manage the flow of incoming data necessary to satisfy regulatory reporting requirements?

  The need to generate report content out of incoming data from a variety of sources (which may not be compatible with one another) means that it’s important to find a common format to aggregate the diverse data that allows you to efficiently extract the information needed to satisfy the reporting requirements. Before selecting a specific tool to accumulate the pertinent business data, be clear on your expectations. One very helpful approach is to create a ‘must have’ list, and compare any potential software solutions to the needed characteristics on that list.
  
  If an existing software package suiting your company’s exact needs cannot be found in the marketplace, a customized software solution can be put in place. This will: 1) create the common format within your network to keep the data from various sources organized and readily accessible, and;
  2) make that data aggregation an automated process in order to prevent manipulation or human error. Of course, if you need one, we can build such a solution for you.

•    How can we cost-effectively back up our business data off-site?

  Traditionally speaking, off-site back ups would involve back up tapes, which would be picked up and then stored at a location at least 25 miles away (in the best-case scenario). With today’s technologies, several other proven solutions are available. The best back up solution is dependent upon your network infrastructure, budget and security requirements relating to the data in question.
  
  Another important consideration with regard to back ups is the accessibility of the actual back up files. This is because back up tapes and similar technologies do not necessarily include the same access rights management protections found on your company’s fileserver. In a worst-case scenario, anyone who has access to the back up tapes can read what’s on them. If you have questions or concerns about your network’s back up structure, contact us. We will evaluate the state of your business’ back up system as part of our free Network and Security Assessment.

•    How can our company track our inventory, accounting and sales figures?

  This particular question defies a simple ‘that’s it’ answer, since different business models require different solutions. While a smaller company can try and keep track of its basic sales numbers on a simple Excel spreadsheet and produce invoices in Word, that type of set up wouldn’t allow it to see how many sales leads turn into orders, or how sales calls relate to client satisfaction and repeat business, etc. In a general sense, it’s better for your business to track your data through a more centralized software package. That sort of arrangement will allow you to see your company as a complete entity and to simultaneously analyze information as it relates to different departments and aspects of your business, instead of bits of data viewed in isolation. One type of integrated solution is called an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), and is also referred as back-office software. It can help give you a much clearer picture of how your business is performing and, of course, we can help select and/or install the right type of ERP software for your company if you need it. When tracking inventory, accounting and sales figures, being organized is the key to success.

•    How can we make our newest business applications run seamlessly with our preexisting hardware and software?

  While it’s generally easier to integrate new software that is already compliant with your company’s existing IT network infrastructure, sometimes that option either isn’t available or turns out to be more difficult than expected (i.e., when a product that should be compliant turns out not to be or when compliant software fulfilling the functions your business needs simply doesn’t exist). When that happens, the best solution is to design and implement a software ‘bridge,’ which acts as a conduit between the older and newer software packages (or hardware). Of course, we can do that for you. With such a connection in place, your network will perform as it should and you can focus on running your business.

•    How can we create a successful website for our business?

  Successful websites come in many forms. The style best suited to your business depends on the purpose of the website, its target audience, the products or services supplied by its owner and the type of information it needs to convey. A website’s effectiveness is closely tied to a proper balance of three main complimentary components: content, design and technology. A user visiting your website will spend more time there if it’s easy to navigate and features well-written content. That content should be useful and interesting, designed for your target audience, and presented with appropriate technological flourishes to enhance your visitors’ experience.
  
  Your website is essentially your company’s ‘calling card’ on the Internet, and it can give a potential new client or customer either a good or bad first impression of your business. Quest IT Outsourcing’s design team can work with you to create an effective website that fits your vision of your company’s online presence.