5 Ways MSP IT Support and Network Support Can Help Your Business on Long Island, NYC, and New York

Have you been trying to manage your business IT yourself?

With today’s rapidly changing technology and IT support needs it’s increasingly difficult and time consuming.

Today, more and more businesses are hiring managed service providers rather than having a full IT department of their own to manage their technology needs.

If you don’t want the hassle or expense of dealing with technology issues in house, consider hiring an MSP.

Since most systems today can be managed remotely using the internet, MSPs can monitor, protect and support their customers computer systems and networks from a separate location.

Here’s 5 reasons to use an MSP:

* Receive On Demand IT Support
* Save Time, Money, and Space In-House
* Simplify Your IT Expenses & Billing
* Take Advantage of Expert IT Knowledge & Expertise
* Experience Proactive Management of Your Systems

You have enough to do without staying up nights fixing or worrying about your IT problems.

As an MSP it’s in our best interest to make sure that your systems are up and running smoothly at all times.

We offer a range of services that will save you time, money, and frustration and will help you focus on making your business more successful through better technology.

Contact the AE Technology Group and our experts will evaluate your businesses technology needs and show you how you can benefit by working with a managed service provider.

Outsource the IT Department: The Growing Demand for Managed Services

outsource the it department the growing demand for managed services

Business owners know just how costly downtime can be. If your business suffers from technology problems, and your staff isnā€™t able to properly do their job, then you could be spending a whole lot of money with little or no reward. There is a solution to mitigate technology problems, and we will discuss every aspect of it in this five-part series. Today we discuss how to outsource the IT department, and how being proactive is the proper approach to business technology.

WHAT ARE MANAGED IT SERVICES?

Picture this: Your business suddenly encounters an IT-related issue. Your primary business system is no longer working. What do you do? You call your IT department and hope that someone can resolve the issue. So what benefit do managed IT services have that traditional approaches cannot bring to the table?

Well, traditional IT departments typically are comprised of a couple employees who know their way around a computer. However, these individuals typically do not know effective business solutions. Managed IT providers use state-of-the-art tools to constantly monitor your businessā€™ network and hardware. Certified technicians are able to determine the operating state of your technology, and repair concerns before they become an issue. Remote management platforms allow technicians to repair individual software concerns, without the wait times of traditional IT departments.

So where is the value in these managed services? Simple. You arenā€™t paying an hourly rate for members of an IT staff to wait around for something to break. Providers handle IT in a proactive manner, meaning not only does your hardware last longer, but it is able to perform better.

If constantly paying your employees to sit around because your technology is slow or constantly breaking is the business strategy you prefer, then a re-evaluation may be necessary. Some of the money you are spending on employee downtime could be put towards a cost-saving IT solution, increasing business profitability. Managed IT services offer businesses a strategy which can keep their technology up and running effectively. Maintaining up-time increases productivity, efficiency, and overall organizational effectiveness.

PROACTIVE > REACTIVE

Proactiveness is the deliverable that managed IT services provide. The proactive approach is the sole reason why the service provides so much value. Having experienced professionals available at the push of a button (or click of a mouse) is what AE Technology Group has to offer. Actively monitoring your business, and doing so for a fraction of the price you would be paying with onsite IT technicians, allows you to focus on the true aspects of your business.

Do you really want to walk around your office reminding your employees to constantly patch and update their computers and other devices? Managed IT services offer comprehensive patch management. It is more important now than it ever has been to update your software. With the overwhelming cost of a data breach, shortcomings in security are no longer an option. Can you really afford the sensitive and personal data of both your customers and staff being breached? Will you be able to overcome the effect a breach will have on your businessā€™ reputation?

Managed IT services provide an immense value to any size business. AE Technology Group has trained technicians whose primary concern is your businessā€™ security. If you would like to learn more about what managed IT services can offer, fill out a form to speak to one of our technical advisors.

What is cloud computing? Finding a trusted partner for cloud application management

what is cloud computing finding a trusted partner for cloud application management

Cloud computing allows an organization to take advantage of a wide range of new services to address its needs. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) gives acess to powerful web-based applications that are updated automatically and require no installation.

Platform-as-a-service (PaaS) provides a portal from which a business can install or develop solutions for its IT needs (such as web applications). Infrastructure/hardware-as-a-service (IaaS/HaaS) allows resources such as storage and servers to be provisioned remotely so that an organization does not have to worry about physical resources.

There is a cloud-based technology to meet any of the challenges that a business must face: SaaS applications likeĀ ZarafaĀ andĀ iceCRMĀ for productivity, PaaS platforms such as Heroku for deploying Ruby on Rails, IaaS/HaaS services likeĀ ASK4CloudĀ for storage, and countless more examples.

Of course, with this proliferation of technologies comes the added complication of managing them, and ensuring interoperability between vendors. Cloud solutions can typically engage parties from all over the world and across many private clouds.

In fact, for the cloud PaaS layer, technology providers have come together to introduce an open cloud application managementĀ standard. It has been taken up by theĀ organization OASIS, which is a consortium that drives open information technology standards. The goal of the standard is to introduce an API and set of tools to allow multiple vendors to take advantage of common features from PaaS solutions.

However, the problem of application management with cloud computing is greater than just the ability to use standardized tools for platform management. Though such a standard will help organizations move and adapt their systems more easily, there are other aspects to the challenges that can be best met by finding anĀ experienced cloud computing consulting partner. The savings and efficiency that can be realized through adopting cloud solutions can only be realized through the following steps:

  • Assess the migration of current IT implementations to cloud services
  • Implement and extend those solutions with cloud-specific capabilities
  • Maintain and monitor the cloud transition effort with an ongoing, proactive relationship

It is best to think of cloud computing as a change that occurs most effectively through an intelligent, guided process. Look for an experienced andĀ trusted consulting partnerĀ to learn how to manage cloud applications for optimal success.

Watch this video for more information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txvGNDnKNWw

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How do I choose the right MSP Managed Service Provider?

how do i choose the right msp managed service provider

You know that choosing the wrong managed service provider can result in a company not only not growing at its projected pace, but can actually take a firm backwards.

So, extensive research into the types of support and management available is essential, as is some way to make sure the decision results in obtaining everything necessary, but not a bit or a byte more. While your needs are unique in many ways, there are some things that all companies in need of a managed service provider have a lot in common.

Do some or most of these issues sound familiar?

  • You’re working within a complicated web of vendors, whose individual components may or may not ā€œplay niceā€ with each other.
  • You have your own proprietary products, designed to interface between various pieces of purchased software and/or equipment, as well as some created to do specialized things required for the production of your specific product or service.
  • Every day you seem to need faster ways to diagnose and resolve different types of challenges.
  • Your company keeps growing, which creates a constant need for vigilant assessment of areas of strength to work with and areas of weakness to compensate for.

The levels of complexity in your specific industry and in the world of IT seems to be increasing exponentially. Budgets are constantly shrinking, requiring you to constantly ask more and more of your already overworked IT teams. So how do you as the CIO or head of IT make this essential decision?

According to Pat Patterson there are seven essential questions that need to be asked and answered by any potential partner:

  1. Will the proposed service partner support your business strategy now and in the future?
  2. Do you trust them to have the necessary expertise and bandwidth to provide maintenance, deliver support services or assume managed-services responsibilities?
  3. Will they become trusted advisors that stay engaged and serve as an extension of your IT organization and business?
  4. Do they provide a portfolio of offers that span the entire service continuum and have the necessary flexibility to ensure a smooth deployment of managed services?
  5. What applications, diagnostics checks or analytic tools do they leverage to anticipate any problems or hidden issues?
  6. Do they provide a single point of contact that can quickly swarm experts to resolve an issue in your network?
  7. Do they really know you? Understand your solution?

Now that you know what types of questions to ask you can rest easy because we have all the answers.

Contact AE Technology and we’ll help you design and implement an infrastructure that works for you. Weā€™re dedicated to helping you make the right decision for your individual companyā€™s distinct needs both for today and tomorrow.

What is VoIP? Why is it Changing Business Telecom?

what is voip why is it changing business telecom

Up until recently there has always been a major bottleneck to the growth of a company: communication. In theory it is possible to have hundreds of thousands of employees distributed all across the globe helping you achieve your business goals, but as more people enter into your talent pool the costs of keeping them connected can quickly add up.

Traditional phone systems, such as PBX, have been able to address the needs of businesses with large numbers of personnel, albeit with relatively high cost. However, scaling them is not all that economical and international phone communication has always been costly. The proliferation of web technology has lead to businesses investing in IP networks, which can now be used for telephone and not just internet access.

We are now living in the age of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Rather than use dedicated lines for voice communication, VoIP allows a business to use it’s IP network for voice as well. This is the same IP network that you use to talk to other computers in your network and surf the web, and designing and creating this technology has been an amazing technical challenge.

Originally IP technologies were not designed with any real-time communication in mind. But with research and new hardware this technology has matured and now delivers the same quality of service (QoS) as traditional phone lines that businesses all over the world with MORE options. Businesses with employees all over the world have made the switch to VoIP phone lines.

For employees, the transition is pretty seamless. A business can use VoIP handsets that use digital-to-analog conversion and operate just like a conventional phone. For the business, the cost of maintaining separate phone and IP networks goes away, and the VoIP network is always cheaper and far more scalable.

The first step in making the switch to VoIP is to examine your business needs: make sure that making the transition is worth the investment by talked to a trusted technology partner that can help you implement a VoIP system to better achieve your business goals.

If you are interested in VoIP for your business you can contact sales, or callĀ 877-771-AETG.