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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.

Lost Revenue/Business due to Snow/Ice and Remote Working for Small Business

 Bad Weather, Broadband, Business Advice, Computers, Internet, Online Software, Remote Working, Security, Software as a Service, Uncategorized  1 Response »
Jan 072010
 

With the snow and ice causing havoc all over the country, the conditions are putting pressure on businesses that are already hard pressed during the current recession. People cannot get to work and are sitting at home doing nothing. Somebody said that there was no point in trying to get in to work as none of the customers or businesses they deal with would be in either.  But there are always many admin and management tasks to do, that you don’t normally have time for, If you could get to the office or If you could get access to your computer systems.

Well you can very easily get remote access to your computer systems and indeed communicate with your work colleagues.

The only thing you require is a Broadband Internet Connection. To access your computer systems you can either;

  • Access your existing computer systems using a secure remote connection such as GoToMyPC. This is a hosted implementation of Citrix, which is a well established system used by many larger businesses to access their systems remotely and can cost as little as €12 per month.
  • The second option is to consider using Software As A Service (SAAS)  for your main systems. SAAS means that your Integrated Accounts System / CRM systems are not installed on a computer in your office but are installed on a secure server in a Data Centre, which you access remotely using a secure connection. Examples in Ireland are Mamut and Eircom SAAS.

To keep in contact with your work colleagues all you require is Skype and you can talk, and if you have a webcam, have video calls for free.

So if you want to make sure that the next period of  bad weather doesn’t bring you business to a halt why not contact me in Glasgorman Computer Services HERE.

P.S. There is also a very strong argument that a small business can dramatically reduce it’s recurring infrastructure costs, regardless of weather etc. , by using technology to implement Remote Working for employees.

Practical tips to keep your children safe while on the Internet

 A How to Guide, Child Safety, Children, Computers, Internet, Security  No Responses »
Dec 212009
 

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.

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.

The Martians have Landed! (Allien Irish Banks P.L.C , Your ABI CODE CARD is about to expire.)

 Email, Internet, Phishing, Security, Spam/Junk Emails  No Responses »
Dec 042009
 

For all you Extra Terrestrials out there that have an account with Allien Irish Banks please do not respond to emails form the following;

From: Allien Irish Banks P.L.C <account@AllienIrishBanks.ie>

Subject: Your ABI CODE CARD is about to expire.

It is a Phishing attack. ( Note the misspellings.) As we get closer to Christmas these type of scams and phishing attacks are going to increase so beware.

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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