Be2X Information Technology Blog

Is your Information Technology infrastructure the right solution for you?

admin@be2x.com — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:44:00 GMT

Ever wonder if your IT investment is complete, or delivering you everything you expect? Wonder if your IT provider is overcharging and under-servicing?

Unfortunately, it has been my experience that although there are honest IT companies, it is far too easy for someone even slightly more knowledgeable about technology to "pull the wool" over someone's eyes, especially someone focusing the majority of their attention on their business. Sometimes, it's not intended dishonestly, but like they say, everyone has got to make a buck. How can you tell the difference between a project that is estimated at 3 hours or 30?

Having an independent IT Consultant in your contacts could mean the difference between several hundred and several thousand dollars. This consultant will give you a layout of the territory, the factors involved, and several clear choices to reach your desired goals.

Technology has become so prevelant, and for the most part, much more affordable, enabling small and medium sized business to seize and empower themselves with tools once only available to large corporations: Business Intelligence, Enterprise Messaging, Commerce Solutions, Global Distribution, Resource Planning, etc.

In this time of economic difficulty, businesses require every edge they can attain over the competition, technology offers an almost unlimited selection of business solutions that can not only improve productivity, but also increase profitability; maximum efficiency.

Be2x offers 2 decades of corporate IT experience across numerous markets, offering a unique blend of business and technology principles which can help guide any business through the maze that technology can sometimes become.

Don't hesitate, contact Be2X for any questions, concerns, issues you may be experiencing; phone consultations are always free.

Onsite and Video Conferencing services available.
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Tags: it consulting,projects,infrastructure,network,LAN,wan,service,support,be2x

Category: Information Technology

Technology enables Small to Medium Sized Businesses to Become more Mobile and Competitive

admin@be2x.com — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:42:00 GMT

Better connections with customers, more efficient use of resources will drive future IT investments.

Small and medium-sized businesses intend to expand their use of technology to improve customer interactions, mobility options and operational efficiencies, according to a new study released recently by CompTIA, the non-profit trade association for the information technology (IT) industry.
Seven out of ten small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) surveyed said they expect to increase their technology spending over the next 12 months, according to CompTIA's Third Annual Small and Medium Business Technology Adoptions Trends study.

A full third of the companies surveyed expect to increase their IT budget by 10 percent or more. This may reflect large, one-time purchases, which is still a good sign for technology vendors and solution providers. In the aggregate, expect SMB IT budgets to increase by an average of slightly over 5 percent, with some firms' growth rates much higher and some flat.

"Technology is more accessible, more affordable and more available to SMBs than ever before," said Seth Robinson, director, technology analysis, CompTIA. "SMBs may not have an abundance of capital to invest, so they have to make every dollar count. But the majority is willing to spend money on new technologies, especially solutions that give them capabilities on par with a larger enterprise. Technology plays an integral role in the life of a small business."

Among the factors driving SMB technology buying decisions over the next 12 months are desires for better network efficiencies and robustness; improved connections with customers online and in a mobile environment; enhanced resource management and tracking; and more business analytics.

The desire to become more mobile - for both customer interactions and employee productivity - is a clear trend identified in the CompTIA study. For medium-sized businesses (those with 100-499 employees), 42 percent currently have technologies in place - tablets, laptops, smartphones and other devices - that allow them to interact with customers and give employees access to applications, data and networks in a mobile environment. Another 33 percent plan to do so in the next 12 months.

Among small businesses (10-99 employees), 25 percent use mobile solutions and 43 percent expect to start in the next 12 months. Even micro businesses (one to nine employees) expect to significantly increase usage of mobile technology, with current usage at 12 percent and planned usage at 22 percent.

Another example of how SMBs mirror their larger counterparts in technology usage is in the "consumerization" of IT in the corporate environment. A full 85 percent of SMBs surveyed said their employees use personal tech devices for work purposes. Laptops and smartphones are the most popular options, but 38 percent of companies see employees bringing in tablets.

While the use of personal devices may offer convenience and productivity benefits, the CompTIA study suggests that the trend is cause for concern among the large majority (82 percent) of SMBs.

"The top concerns are security-related, whether in the form of a virus being brought into the company network or some breach related to customer data," Robinson said. "The time supporting these devices is also cited as a concern, whether it's time spent by IT staff or by individual employees attempting to access corporate networks and applications."

SMBs may be seeking to mitigate these risks by purchasing tablets, laptops, smartphones and other devices their employees use, bringing them under corporate control.

More Cloud Computing in the Forecast

Nearly one-third of SMBs have adopted cloud computing technology, with medium-sized businesses (42 percent) showing the highest utilization. Another 35 percent of all SMBs plan to use the cloud in some form in the next year.

Storage and backup solutions are the most heavily used cloud applications with 71 percent of SMBs using the cloud in this way. Email (62 percent), document management (59 percent), collaboration (56 percent) and customer relationship management (53 percent) are other popular options.

Among SMBs now using cloud computing, 92 percent of firms say their experience has been positive or very positive; and 97 percent report that their move to the cloud has produced the desired result, with cost and flexibility most frequently cited as the benefits of a cloud solution.

Source: CompTIA
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Tags: smb,information technology,enterprise,business intelligence,mobile,efficiency

Category: Information Technology

A new journey begins

admin@be2x.com — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 04:27:00 GMT

Twenty years? Well, I guess technically longer, I first made money using my knowledge of computing by writing a simple accounting and inventory application that ran on a TRS-80, (remember those?) at the age of twelve. Seeing as I am on the wrong side of thrity, it has been at least that long.

Computers, from very early on, became an obsession. Not only could you program it to do pretty much anything you wanted (within certain limits of course, but the possibilities were endless), it played games, and even better, it was a tool, for reaching out into the world. Prior to the Internet as we know it, there were any number of BBSs (Bulletin Board Services) all across the globe, many actually sharing in on of the first messaging relay system, FIdonet. I quickly began to share and participate in discussions of ideas that were pushing the boundaries of technology, learning more and more. And of course, the more I learned, the more I needed to learn.

The pursuit of technology is an quest which never ends, but a journey I have and continue to enjoy regularly.

Time to go to sleep and dream in zeroes and ones.
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Tags: decades,technology,journey,information technology

Category: Information Technology