NEMSYS Blog

How an Old Machine can Affect Your Productivity

Posted on January 9, 2012 by jesse

I’m sure you’ve all had this situation:

It’s late in the day, you’re working on a document, and your computer starts acting up.

Whether Word locks up, your keyboard isn’t working right, or you’re having trouble going online, small problems that you have with your machine can often cause large problems in your productivity.

Now I’m sure you’ve wondered why we recommend replacing computers regularly. There are many reasons behind this, but here are the two main ones:

A little time can add up to a lot

If your computer has a small problem that isn’t that big of a deal, you need to think about how that affects you in the long run. Say for example, your Outlook takes 10 seconds to open. Imagine that you open it twice a day. 20 seconds per day, over the course of a normal week over a minute. Over the entire year that’s an hour of time you spent waiting on your Outlook to open. Imagine you have to wait an extra two or three seconds when browsing the web, or looking at files on the network. Small things like this can add up fast.

Warranty considerations

When you buy a new machine, it often comes with a warranty. The nice thing is, if you buy a machine through us most often this is three years. When this runs out it is very costly to renew the warranty. Repairing a machine that’s out of warranty can quickly also become an expensive endeavor. You have to worry about locating, waiting for parts to come in, and the possibility of losing data should an old machine break on you. Regular replacement gives you a smaller window to avoid these problems.

So a new machine might be a significant price for you up front, but in the long run you can be more productive and be less worried about unexpected costs and downtime.

What are some small things you can think of that happen regularly that could hurt your productivity?

Posted in Best Practices, Nemsys, Productivity, Users | Leave a comment

Why Virtualized Server Equipment is Your Friend

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Jacob

The server is the backbone of your business network.

Most businesses do not give a second thought to their server except when they are causing problems or when they need to add a new feature to their business. Server lifespan is recommended replacement every 4-5 years. Now normally this means replacing all the hardware and software on the server, but a new trend is towards virtualization.

Virtualization is taking a new server and installing a host or parent Operating System (OS), and having this OS playing host to other servers. This can be done by using many different products but the one in which I am going to refer is called Microsoft Hyper-v. Microsoft Hyper-v is a role inside Server 2008 and allows the server to share networking and hard drives with its Child Systems. When you create a Hyper-v Server you will need newer server hardware with a lot of ram and also a lot of storage space. I recommend 8GB of ram for every server 2008 Child and 4GB of ram for every server 2003 OS installed plus allow 4-8 for the host itself. Also, if you are going to virtualize an existing piece of hardware you will need more storage space on the new host server than you had on the old physical box. The child systems will be stored in single files on the host box and will have 1 file per hard drive on the old physical box. There is software that will allow you to back up the old server and save it in a format that will allow you to virtualize it. Now, even though this all sounds pretty complicated it is used for a very good reason.

When a server is virtualized it simplifies backup procedures. If you had multiple servers you would need a backup solution for each one and hardware to back each one up independently. With Hyper-v you back up the host server and it backs up all of the child servers and the host box at the same time. Having Hyper-v also simplifies troubleshooting as there is a tool that allows you to manage all children from any connected Windows 7 or Vista machine. When you have multiple servers with multiple drives it creates multiple points of failure. With Hyper-v there is one server and the files, as long as they are backed up, can be moved to new hardware in case of a failure. During this, the only down time is what it takes to copy the child OS files (1 per Hard drive) and the time to configure the network. So rather than reinstalling to new hardware and hoping everything works, Hyper-v is universal and not hardware dependent.

Reducing the number of servers in your infrastructure also will lower power and cooling costs, as there are not as many pieces of hardware running. In theory, you could take 10 running servers and, depending on size, you could virtualize them down to 3 or 4 servers. This will lower operating and cooling costs as the hardware will need to be replaced eventually and you will need to buy less servers.

So, overall, virtualization makes sense in many areas. If you are looking at replacing servers soon I recommend you look into one of the many virtualization techniques available on the market, you may be surprised on what it can save you in the long run.

When was the last time you thought about your server? Would it benefit your business to move to virtualized servers?

Posted in Hardware, Nemsys, Productivity | Leave a comment

Happy Holidays!

Posted on December 23, 2011 by holly

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you and yours a great holiday season.

We hope your holidays are full of blessings, safe travels, happiness and cheer!

Thank you for all of your support over the past year. We look forward to serving you in 2012 and many years to come.

Posted in Client Relations, Nemsys | Leave a comment

The Facebook Business Trend

Posted on December 1, 2011 by stephanie

Would your business benefit from a social media presence?

Almost everyone knows what Facebook is and, more often than not, have a personal Facebook page. But what about the business aspect of it? There are millions of users on Facebook all over the world. It has never been easier for a business to reach an audience and show what you have to offer. Online social media is this generation’s form of advertising and the best way to get ahead of the game is to jump right in. Creating and maintaining a Facebook page for your business can be as simple or as hard as you make it. Here’s a quick run-down of how to get started.

First thing to know is that in order to set up a page for your business, you must have a personal account to be the owner and/or administrator. The next step is to define what your business is and what you stand for. There are six general categories which a page can be created under including the three that your company is most likely to fall into: Local Business/Place, Company, Organization, or Institution, and Brand/Product. This classification can’t be changed once the page is created so choose wisely. Now it is time to complete the basic information about the company including a brief description of what your company does and what it stands for. Then expand that information to include everything a client would need to know, including the URL to your webpage. Don’t forget to include a visual representation of your company, most often the company logo, so that you can be easily recognized when searched.

Now the fun part begins. Reach out to your client base and your friends. Let them know why you are a wonderful company and the benefits of keeping in contact. What do you have to offer? You can promote the company by posting status updates and sharing special events that you have hosted or taken part in. Offering deals exclusive to your fan base is another great way to promote the business. It gives your current fan base a reason to start talking about your company. The best advertising is word of mouth, especially in the small to medium business world.

Now you have begun a journey that leads you into the future. Technology is constantly evolving and so should your business practices. Facebook makes it easy to measure and analyze the impact that your page has made. Make sure to optimize your Facebook presence for maximum results. Promote your page and attract new fans. And don’t forget to engage with business partners. We can all learn from each other!

To get started with the set-up, Facebook has a page dedicated to help you. And don’t forget, we are here to help if you need it! Just leave a comment and tell us what you are having trouble with. You can also check out our webinar focusing on social media.

Take the time to “Like” us on Facebook and stay connected!

What social media outlets do you currently use? Which do you think helps promote your business best?

Posted in Client Relations, Nemsys, Networking | Leave a comment

Why Archive?

Posted on November 17, 2011 by andy

Ever heard of archiving emails?

Some people don’t know that archiving email even exists; let alone the reasoning behind it. Archiving emails is something users want to get in the habit of doing, especially if you’re using Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express.

The file that stores all of your emails is called a Personal Folder (PST) file. Most enterprise environments use Microsoft (MS) Exchange. MS exchanged give you a 200MB size limit. If you exceed this 200MB limit it could corrupt your PST file. This in turn will result in losing all or most of your emails. Old items or a cluttered PST file can make Outlook preform slower, finding items can become increasingly difficult, and decrease your work efficiency.

Archiving is a feature that can help you to maintain a respectable size for your PST file. As a result, the efficiency of searching for email is increased and valuable server space is freed up. To archive, you need another place to store a PST file or older items that are important but not frequently used. Archiving transfers old items into a different file then delete it from its original folder in Outlook. Another benefit is the archived PST file can be stored in a safe location that can be backed up at a later date if needed. Therefore you never have to worry about losing emails.

Depending on the Email software you use, it’s simple to archive your emails. Outlook is the most used email software used in an enterprise setting today. It is very simple to archive your email using outlook. Within Outlook 2010 you will see tabs at the top; the first tab you see is File. Under this tab, you will find an area described as Mail Cleanup. You can simply click the Mail Cleanup and it will give a few options, Cleanup mailbox, Empty Delete Items Folder, and Archive. Once you click Archive it will bring up a new window.

From this Archive window you can choose the items or folders you wish to archive. You can also specify to only archive items older then a specific date you select.

Archiving email is simple. There is no reason why it shouldn’t be done. Some versions of Outlook will even allow you to set it up to be done automatically.

How often do you think one should archive? Every year? Every month? Every week?

Posted in Best Practices, Nemsys, Productivity | Leave a comment

Increase your computer’s memory by adding a USB Flash Drive

Posted on October 24, 2011 by mike

ReadyBoost is a little known technology that is available with Windows 7 and Windows Vista that uses free disk space on a hard drive, normally a flash drive. Increasing a PC’s computer memory is simple and cheap. You can increase the speed of a PC by using a Flash Drive. The flash drive you want to use should be high speed access with 256mb or more of space and preferably 2 to 4 times the amount of RAM in your system. So, if your computer has 1GB of built-in RAM, a hard drive with 2-4 GB of free space is ideal.

ReadyBoost is designed to help when your PC’smemory is running low. Low memory can make your computer slower and less responsive; this is because Windows needs a place to store data so it goes to the hard drive. Flash memory is an easy solution to boost memory space. ReadyBoost is a great way to make your computer faster and more efficient.

In Windows 7, ReadyBoost can handle more flash memory and even multiple devices—up to eight, for a maximum 256 gigabytes (GB) of additional memory.

There are 2 ways to start:
1. Just plug your USB Flash into your computer and when autorun starts click on Speed up my system (the bottom option in the following screen).
2. If the auto play is not working you may need to right click the USB Drive, and then click on Properties. At the top left you will see ReadyBoost.

After opening up the ReadyBoost, click on Use this device and then use the slider to set the amount of space you want to allocate for ReadyBoost. The more space you allocate the more you improve your computer speed. You are all set.

Posted in Hardware, Productivity | Leave a comment

Thank you to our Clients

Posted on October 10, 2011 by holly

Thank you to everyone who joined us on September 16, 2011 for our “You Will do Better with Nemsys” customer appreciation event.

The event was designed around an old saying from the city, “You Will do Better in Toledo.” This slogan has become very important to our company as we believe that small businesses in the city of Toledo do their best when they work together. (Click on this link to learn about the history of the slogan, You Will do Better in Toledo.) Nemsys decided to use this event to help our customers network with each other, to learn what each other does, and to see how one could help the other and vice versa.

The day was a great success as we heard from different speakers. The event began with a welcome and introduction of our very own Web Developer, Paul Hirsch. He went on to introduce the first guest speaker, Michael Wholehan Sr of Wholehan Marketing. Michael discussed how his company has benefited from his membership in the University of Toledo’s Center for Family and Privately Held Businesses.

Next, Steve Heaney of Minuteman Press walked from guest to guest and told each of them how he and his business have benefited from his membership in the Toledo Rotary.

Lastly, Stephen Vasquez from the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce joined our guests. He informed them of numerous ways that the Chamber can help small businesses in Toledo.

Throughout the day, food and drinks were passed around. Pam’s Corner did a beautiful job with our food spread and kept bellies full and happy. Guests took their first rides ever on segways and learned how Nemsys employees build such strong relationships with each other using our teambuilding games.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success, and to all of our Clients who have stood by us through the years. We value each and every one of you and if it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be here today.

THANK YOU!!!

Posted in Client Relations, Nemsys | Leave a comment

What proper routers and firewalls mean to your network

Posted on October 3, 2011 by John

I will try to keep this blog in terms that all readers can understand. If you have any questions while reading this, please leave them in the comments and I will answer them.

Few people give thought to how their machine and data gets to the internet or the reverse when they are working remotely. They know “it just works”. In fact, it is impressive how all of these connections work to get you from point A to point B. That is another discussion. We will be focusing on just one point.

Your router is the device that communicates or “passes information” from your internal network to the internet and visa-versa. Some routers have firewalls that will protect your network. If the need is there, you can purchase an additional advance firewall device that can do in-depth filtering and reporting. Picking the router requires knowledge of the device and how it will be used. Routers made for home or home offices do not offer the same security and functionality as ones made to protect and move the amount of data as corporate models.

Your router is what you could call the “Gatekeeper”. This keeper decides who goes where. We want this Gatekeeper to be able to handle the amount of information. Small businesses have on average ten computers or more. This is more than your average home where they have one or two PC’s. A gatekeeper that can keep up with this additional information from a business network is a necessity. Businesses also want their Gatekeeper to have a suite of armor, or in the case of some of our clients, a tank he sits in to guard the gateway. I am sure you may have just chuckled at the vision of that statement. J

Businesses have sensitive data that usually composes of financial information, account numbers, Social Security numbers, credit cards, and personal data of its employees. This data we will want to keep safe from the outside. I personally want to make sure all data is secured and put myself into the shoes of the client when choosing these components.

The Gatekeeper for a business may in some cases have multiple gates to protect. This happens when a business has multiple external IP addresses. This would become too much for your more simple home type of router and also not even possible using a single device.

Picking the wrong router can mean weak security. Some cases may not even function for your needs. Many home routers do not pass VPN connections correctly to the inside network, however they will allow you to connect to a VPN from your PC to an outside network. If you are using multiple external addresses your home style routers will also not work, as they are designed for home use which is highly unlikely to need more than one external address.

I have seen on many occasions a business using a home router and creating issues; either with overheating due to excessive use, not being able to pass VPN traffic and a shorter life.

Do you remember any time where you got a device that you thought would work, until you tried it and it would not meet your expectations because it was not designed for business use?

Posted in Nemsys, Networking | Leave a comment

How an Account Works

Posted on September 28, 2011 by jesse

We generally get a lot of tickets to set up users on computers. I thought that I would take this time to explain how user accounts work, as often it seems like our customers get confused on what a user account actually is and how it works. I will explain how a user account works, both if you have a server and if you do not.

A user account is simply a collection of information saved on a server or computer that lets you log in. Now if you are on a network where there’s a server, when you type your information into the login box, your workstation will look to the server for this information. Why do I mention this? There is a common misconception from users that there needs to be some work done to set up their account on a computer, and in many ways this is not true. If you have a server, and assuming the machine you are on is able to connect to the server, you can log into any machine with your information. Now outlook, or any special programs you had set up or anything you use that’s saved locally wont be present, but in most cases your network drives and in some cases all settings will migrate over.

If you have no server this is stored on each computer. In addition, it is possible to log into each machine locally and not to the network. This would exclude you from use of network drives set up under your network account, for example.

What exactly does this all mean to you? If there is a problem that prevents you from doing something on your computer, such as getting to the web, or printing, or for instance if we’re working on your machine, you can use your user information to log into another machine. This doesn’t take any special setup to do, and you can do any basic work that you need to do until you can use your own machine again. The only exception to this is if you do not have a server. Then you would need login information to the machine you are trying to use specifically.

I hope that this was informative. I look forward to hearing any comments or questions you might have about how this works.

Jesse Emmerich

Posted in Nemsys, Users | Leave a comment

Educational Tools

Posted on September 21, 2011 by marisa

It is very important to us that all of our clients are as well educated about technology as possible. We have found that there is a lot of how-to information out there and it is changing every day. Therefore to serve our clients better we created educational tools for them to utilize.

The easiest one to use is going to be our educational videos located on our website under the about us section. Here we have created many videos about best practices as well as tips and tricks. This is a great tool to utilize if you are interested in learning more about Microsoft Office or Windows. We also want to give you the opportunity to have a say in what videos are made. Each quarter our Customer Relations people visit current Managed Services customers and they will present to you a sheet that asked if there is any education videos or how-to you would like to see. This is an opportunity for you to get involved and give us your feedback.

Another good tool that we have created is monthly best practice webinars. Each month we hold a webinar that you can find out about the information we have posted under events on our website or if you have subscribed to our newsletter. These webinars will walk you through recommended best practices. They are filled with information about things like Outlook, Microsoft Office, The Cloud, Windows 7 and Computer productivity. If you would like to attend, we will be holding Best Practice 1.3 Wednesday September 28. You can RSVP here BEST PRACTICE 1.3.

Furthermore, we are always here to answer any questions you may have. So please make the most out of technology and learn something new today!

If there are any videos, webinars or how-to you would like to see made feel free to leave a comment and tell us about it.

Marisa Kitzmiller

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