Internet » GLASGORMAN Computer Services

Do Local Online Business Directories deliver Value for Money?

Blogs, Business Advice, Directory, Internet, Search Engines, Uncategorized No Responses »

Jan 292010

The basic answer is yes, but it comes with the usual health warning, BUYER BEWARE!

I was recently contacted by a sales person for a local business directory here in Gorey, GoreyBiz, who wanted me to pay €300 exVAT to be listed. The first point he made to me was, that the cost of the annual listing in the online business directory was comparable to the cost of one ad in the local newspapers. While this is very true, it only represents value for money if your business can be found on the Internet. So the first thing I did was get on to Google and type in “computers gorey” to see how effective the directory was. Now I had expected GoreyBiz to show on at least the first page, but to my surprise GoreyBiz still had not appeared after 10 pages, at which point I gave up. I then typed in “accounts gorey” and GoreyBiz only showed up on page 4.

So I would not regard paying €300 ex VAT for a directory entry that cannot be found on the first 4 pages of Google, at best, as good value for money.

While I was doing these searches on Google I noticed that in all cases another online business directory, GoreyLinks, always came up in either 1st or 2nd place. When I checked the price, I discovered that a listing on GoreyLinks cost €40 ex VAT annually.

Now €40 exVAT for a listing on GoreyLinks, that always shows up in 1st or 2nd place on Google, IS great value for money.

The most important point is that, if you are going to spend money getting listed on an Online Business Directory, then check out their claims before you part with any money. If you are unsure, then contact your local Independent Computer Services provider.

Internet Traffic, The Recent Cold Spell and School Children

Bad Weather, Broadband, Children, Internet No Responses »

Jan 122010

In 1982 for the last “Big Snow” everybody, particularly school children spent most of their time outside enjoying the fantastic snowy conditions that are so rare Ireland. Mind you, at that time there were no XBox’s, PS3′s, WII’s or for that matter the Internet.

Today things are very different. While walking the dog twice a day over this last cold spell, I very rarely saw children playing in the snow. It was only when I was talking to a collegue in Alpha Broadband (a fixed wireless broadband provider in North Wexford), that I realised what they were all up to.

He proceded to show me the traffic graphs and the traffic rose by over 60% for the period of the cold snap. There was also a corresponding drop in traffic today when the kids went back to school. He did also note that based on his graphs most school children don’t get up until at least 12:00.

Morning After Pill for PC’s ?

Buying Computers, Security, Virus No Responses »

Dec 222009

Sorry but there is no Morning After Pill for PC’s. So for all those people who receive computers as presents for Christmas, if your PC gets infected with a Computer Virus it is not necessarily an easy job to get rid of the virus and clean up your PC (not to mention the cost of getting somebody to do it for you).

So as they say Prevention is Better than Cure. If your new PC comes with Anti Virus software, then make sure to enable it. If the computer has no Anti Virus software then the VERY FIRST THING you should do when you connect to the Internet is to install Anti Virus software.

Here is a site reviewing the most popular Anti Virus Programs. I personally use Nod32 from ESET but any of the top 10 reviewed would be fine.

Have a great and safe computing time over the holidays.

UK Government to provide Online Safety Lessons” for children as young as five.

Child Safety, Internet No Responses »

Dec 082009

Came across this in the Guardian today. The plan is called “Click Clever, Click Safe” and will be unveiled by Gordon Brown today. The idea is that kids as young as five will be taught of some of the dangers of the Internet and social media sites.

This seems like the equivalent of our Stay Safe Program in National Schools but applied to the Internet. Introducing age appropriate information about the potential dangers of the Internet through the school system and the Stay Safe program could only be a good thing.

Are you Paying Too Much for your Recurring IT, Telecommunication and Maintenance Charges?

Business Advice, IT Audit, Maintenance, Software, Uncategorized No Responses »

Dec 032009

As we get closer to the end of a very challenging and turbulent year, most businesses will be reviewing their business plans, budgets and forecasts for the coming year and no doubt IT, Computers and Telecommunications will form part of those reviews. But before you finalise those plans I would strongly advise you to do an audit of your recurring IT, Telecommunications and Maintenance Charges.

We have already come across several situations where companies have reduced their staff and have not reduced their corresponding recurring costs.

Are you in a contract with your Mobile Phone provider that is designed for 10 phones and now only have 5 reps on the road.
Are you paying annual Software Licenses, Software Maintenance and Hardware Maintenance for systems are no longer used.
Do you still need the highest speed Broadband Connection when you have half the number of people using the connection?

So before you finalise those budgets take the time to review those costs, and if you feel that you are out of your depth, then talk to your Computer Services provider and they can conduct a Business Technology or IT Audit for you.

Online Backups and Computers Don’t Float

Online Backup No Responses »

Nov 232009

I’ve had my first call from a friend of mine who unfortunately is a victim of the recent flooding. When he started off the conversation by explaining how he knew that computers definitely did not float, I knew that things were not good.

I then asked the key question, “Do you have your backups?” and luckily he had kept his backup tapes stored off site and only lost one days data. However when I started to go through what he needed to do to get himself back up and running, I realised it wouldn’t be straight forward.

His backup tape drive and software were over four years old and the software CD was also damaged in the flood. So after much researching on the Internet and several phone calls we established that the new software would restore the old backup, but it was going to take a couple of days to get hold of a new tape drive. So we still have yet to see how good his backups are as he has never tried a test restore since he installed the tape drive.

If ever there was a case for Online Backups then this is it. If he had been backing up his data online, then the only thing he would have had to do would be to get hold of a suitable server, connect it to the Internet at any location, download the backup software and restore his programs and data. No messing with tape drives and tapes of unknown quality.

Needless to say I am actively trying to persuade him that one of our online backup solutions would make all our lives a lot easier.

Concentrating on the “Day Job”

Blogs, Newsfeeds, Twitter No Responses »

Nov 182009

Recently I installed a couple of utilities (add-ons for Firefox) to help me keep up with the various Blogs, Newsfeeds, and Twitter accounts. Brief for the feeds and Echofon for Twitter and I have to say they are great at organising everything and preventing information overload.

But there is a problem, because the information is being presented to me in an organised, readable format and most importantly on a regular basis, I find myself being distracted by really interesting snippets of information and not concentrating on the task at hand. As a result I have had to dramatically reduce the number of times these utilities update each day.

Now don’t get me wrong keeping up-to-date with what’s going on in your business sector is really important, but you have to achieve the right balance.

Software as a Service (SaaS), How you can compete with the Big Boys, Without Big Costs

Business Advice, Business Startup, CRM, Internet, Networks, Online Software, Software as a Service 1 Response »

Nov 172009

I came across and advertisement today by eircom for their Online Software or Software as a Service. While I along with others may have issues with eircom’s monopoly position in the Irish Telecommunications Infrastructure Market, Software as a Service (SaaS) is something that SME Businesses should be evaluating.

When your business is small and you are starting off in business it is very easy to keep track of all your communications with your clients and for that matter communications between employees, but as you grow and start to expand your business that’s not so easy any more. That’s when some things start to fall through the cracks and you don’t keep in contact with your customers quite so often. Studies have shown that the main reason customers stop doing business with you is that they perceive that you don’t care or don’t value their business.

This is where a good CRM (Customer Relationship Marketing) system comes in. A good CRM system will allow everyone in your organisation too maintain those contacts with your customers and not only retain customers but grow the business.

Similarly in these recession times your employees can be spread much thinner on the ground and particularly if you have people on the road it’s difficult to work as a cohesive team and get that pool of knowledge and skills to be passed around between employees. That’s where good collaborative software can really help.

Unfortunately both CRM and Collaborative software systems can require significant amounts of IT and computer infrastructure to run effectively and apart from the capital costs to install them these systems, they require expertise in terms of IT Personnel to keep them running efficiently. That means extra recurring costs that your business can ill afford at this time.

But there is an potential answer, Software as a Service or to put it another way rent the software . That way all those complicated bits like servers, firewalls, networks, ups, databases, backups and the IT people to keep it all running smoothly are in a hi-tech data center and all you need is remote access via a broadband connection. From a business and budgeting point of view you don’t have any capital outlay and have predictable monthly costs.

It is these things that can give you the edge over your competitors in tough times.

For Business Broadband in Gorey and North Wexford check out Alpha Broadband

Safe/Secure Computing for your children.

Children, Internet, Security No Responses »

Nov 102009

While Glasgorman Computer Services primarily deal with business users, I often get asked questions about how safe the Internet is and as the father of three teenagers I am always very conscious of the risks that the Internet can pose to our children.

One of the biggest risks children face is the approach to and lack of knowledge of parents to the real dangers of the internet. Now don’t get me wrong, I am one of the biggest fans of the internet and all my children go online daily. When used correctly the Internet is a fantastic resource and represents tremendous opportunities for our children into the future, but there are risks and by taking a few simple, common sense steps, we can eliminate a lot of the risks.

For a lot of parents they think their children are safe and secure when they are in the house as opposed to when they are out on the streets, but they fail to realise that via the broadband connection in the house they can potentially be exposed to many more dangers.

Here are some simple precautions that you can take to protect your children;

Don’t let your children use the Internet in their bedrooms. If the computer is located in a public space then your children are much less likely to try and access questionable sites.
If you have young children, then I would recommended using some parental control software such as Net Nanny. It’s not that ten year olds are going to look up porn on Google, but sometimes an innocent search can produce questionable results.
Educate yourself about the Internet. If you feel that all this computer stuff is too complicated then do a course. There are evening computer courses in every town and ECDL courses are widely available.
Talk to your children, ask them about BEBO, Facebook, MSN etc.. and get them to show you how it works. Better still get an account for yourself and see first hand how it works.

There are also some good guides and programs in secondary schools that give some Good practical advice like Teen Safe Computing and childwatch.ie

I also came across an article in the Irish Examiner which said that primary way kids are being bullied is not face to face but is through social networks such as BEBO and Facebook, so it’s in your interest to find out more.

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