Cell Phone Safety Tips

Due to their growing popularity, cell phones are fast becoming a favorite target of thieves. To reduce your chances of becoming the victim of a cell phone theft, the New York City Police Department offers you their safety tips.

1. Always be aware of your surroundings. Thieves may be watching you.
2. Avoid becoming distracted by your cell phone conversation when walking on the street.
3. Keep your cell phone out of site. Don't hang it from your purse of jacket.
4. Switch the ringer off to avoid attracting the attention of thieves.
5. Never loan your cell phone to a stranger. In case of an emergency, offer to make the call for them.
6. Consider using hands-free technology.
7. If your phone is lost or stolen, report the loss immediately to your cell phone service provider and the police.
8. Keep details. Make a record of all your phone information and keep this in a safe place. Include the following elements in the information:

• Your phone number
• The make, model, and serial number.
• Color and appearance details
• The pin or security lock cod
• The IMEI number (on GSM phones)

 Other Good Preventative Advice

Add a security mark. Use an ultra violet pen to print your post code and house number onto both your mobile handset and battery. This makes it easily identifiable as your property if lost or stolen. It would also be good if you write your alternate contact number or email id on your phone. This would help the finder of your handset to contact you if he or she intents to return it. The ultra-violet pen marking will wear off every couple of months, so reapply it when you feel necessary.

 

Use the security lock code, or PIN feature, to lock your phone. This will make it less valuable to a thief and deny them access to personal numbers stored on your SIM card.

If Your Phone is Stolen

Have your phone number disabled. In addition to reporting your phone lost or stolen, you should also disable your phone number (not account) so that no further charges can be applied. This is in case the thief figures out how to access your account through another hand set, or in case the carrier is unwilling to block the handset. Remember that, as mentioned earlier, many thieves stand to benefit from using your service rather than selling your phone, especially between the moment they steal it and the moment you realize your phone is missing.[4]

 

Keep in mind that once the phone is disabled, it may not be able to be used again, even if you get it back. [2] Keep records of this call--the date, time, name of the person you spoke to, what they said, and their extension. Ask for confirmation in writing that your phone has been disabled.[3] This is important in case the thief makes fraudulent charges on your account.
 

File a police report immediately. Time is money, literally. A thief can add over US$10,000 to your cell phone bill in just hours by making international calls, and you might end up being asked to foot the bill.[6] Some phone companies may require proof that the phone was actually stolen, versus it having been lost. A police report serves as evidence, which will make your wireless provider more cooperative, especially if insurance is involved.

 

If you continue to encounter problems with your wireless provider in that they are not disabling the phone or your account in a timely manner and insist that you cover the charges made by the thief, let them know that you intend to file a complaint with the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), your state attorney general's office, and your state's public utility commission (PUC) (or the equivalent authorities in your country).

 

Request an immediate, formal investigation from your carrier. Sometimes this can prevent (or at least delay) the carrier from launching a collections effort and tainting your credit, if things get ugly.

TeamLogic IT Offers Mobile Device Support Services

We would rather be proactive about the use of personal mobile devices used at work. Business data is being accessed and transferred through mobile devices at a staggering pace.  We can help improve the productivity of your mobile workers while keeping your corporate security practices in place.

 

10 Tips to Protect Your Computer from Viruses

Computer viruses are often a hassle and can be a real time-consumer. In the worst cases they can mean a total reinstallation of your operating system—and sometimes damage to your hardware. While the only absolute defense is to totally unplug from the Internet, here are some tips that can lessen the odds of infection.

1. Delete unknown emails: Seems like a no-brainer, but people who make a career out of spreading viruses have become pretty sophisticated in disguising the emails they send. Bottom line: Delete all emails from unknown sources, and never download or open an attachment unless you are sure it’s from someone you know.
2. Update your software: Keep all of your software up-to-date, especially your Windows operating system. Keep Automated Updates turned on to download and install updates automatically.
3. Only install software from trusted sources: Stay away from downloads from unknown sites. If you are asked to install other programs to ensure another piece of software works, stop and do a bit more research. In many cases, additional programs contain spyware.
4. Run virus scans habitually: Set up a schedule for your computer to run antivirus software. Do scans late at night or whenever you don’t use your computer, as it will run slower. Everyday scans are best, but at the very least do it once a week.
5. Back up your drives: CD-writers make it easy and relatively cheap to back-up your hard drives and network drives. Or, you can automate your back-ups with back-up software.
6. Activate your firewall: A firewall limits the ports on your network that are open to the public; so having one in place is critical. If you use a wireless router, make sure it has a built-in firewall. A software and hardware firewall is more effective than just having one or the other.
7. Lock your wireless network: Wireless routers usually have no security settings in place when you install them. You must log in, and at the very least establish a basic, password-required security setting to prevent others from gaining access to your network.
8. Steer clear of P2P file sharing: Some people with savvy tech skills can download P2P files without incident, but if you aren’t careful you might end up downloading a file with a keystroke logger attached. Keystroke loggers can transfer anything you type on your computer to another computer, and are difficult to detect without a quality antivirus or anti-spyware program in place.
9. Stay away from trashy websites: There’s no other way to say it. If you look at trashy websites, you will get a virus or spyware, period.
10. Install software that takes snapshots of your system: Regular snapshots of your system can help you analyze for infected files or changes in your system or drivers. It’s also a helpful tool to recall and recover all of your files in the event of a crash.

10 Ways to Stretch Your IT Budget

If you have a small business, there are ways that you can make your budget work harder by implementing some cost-cutting measures. Budgets continue to shrink, so spending on your business technology can be smarter by taking advantage of today's methodologies and products. 

1. Alternatives to Microsoft Office 

Most businesses hold onto Microsoft Office as if their work-lives depended upon it. The truth is, it doesn’t. Google Apps and LibreOffice have both evolved into business-class productivity suites that can easily replace the de facto standard, Microsoft Office. This move will especially help small businesses that don’t benefit from bulk-purchase prices from Microsoft. And since most users tap into only about 10 to 15 percent of the features and power of their office suite, why not save nearly one hundred percent of the cost of the proprietary solution? Besides, a tool like Google Apps makes collaboration between teams even easier.

2. Consider Linus for Your Terminal Server

The Microsoft Terminal Server is a powerful tool — and it comes with a powerful price tag. The more users you need, the more costly that option will be. Replace that box with a Linux machine and you can have the same kind of power at a small fraction of the cost. And adding more users won’t wind up costing you the entire budget. So long as your hardware can handle it, you can add as many users as you like — at no cost.

3. Bring your CRM/ERP/HRM Solutions Inhouse

If you go to SourceForge and search for CRM, ERP, or HRM, you’ll be astounded at the hits you get. Not only are these solutions plentiful, they are powerful. With the likes of Drupal, Joomla!, OrangeHRM, and countless other tools, you will have your business-to-customer-to-vendor-relationship in perfect harmony. And since these are mostly Web-based tools, you’ll be able to work that magic from anywhere that can reach the server housing the tool.

4. Migrate to Networked or Cloud-based Storage

The benefits of this might not be immediately apparent. But migrating your users’ storage from their machines to a centralized location can help save your budget by reducing strain on the client machine (less writing to drives and more over the network). This will also help save costs because you can more easily back up all end-user data from a single location.

5. Consider Linux for Some Users

 There are always certain desktops in a company that have a limited usage. And because much of business has migrated to Web-based tools, a Linux box makes perfect sense. With those machines, you won’t have to worry about virus infections, corrupt registry entries, or users installing malware-infested applications. Some machines will need Windows (such as those that use proprietary software or software with no Linux port, like QuickBooks). And there will be users who refuse change. For those instances, simply stick with what works best. But for the machines and/or users that can make use of Linux, make the switch and you’ll save.

6. Have a Solid Back Up Strategy

It’s inevitable: Hardware is going to break. That means every machine in your company, at some point, is going to give up the ghost. When that happens, so much time can be lost recovering data — be it user-level or company-level data. One of the most critical tasks is to make sure backups run and run consistently. With a solid backup plan, you will save quite a lot of money in the end, even if only in time.

7. Implement Strict Antivirus and Anti-Malware Policies

A big issue with end user machines is the “accidental installation” of malware or the infection of viruses. One of the best ways to help yourself out is to use an antivirus solution that can be managed from a centralized location. Regardless of what you use, it is crucial to make sure that all antivirus and anti-malware software is up to date (both the application and the definitions). It might also behoove you to make sure that end users aren’t installing extra “features” for their browsers — such as coupon finders.

8. Creative Solutions for Your Business

Encourage the use of creative thinking to solve issues with client computers and servers. Most every computer issue has multiple paths that can arrive at a solution. Sometimes the creative solution is the one that can help save money in the end. Not all administrators can think along these routes, so don’t press them if they aren’t capable. But encourage those who can think creatively and on their toes.

9. Document the Details

You want to save time? Document your hardware, your network topology, and your software. Document your users, your users’ PCs, your backups — anything you can possibly think of that will help you save time and make transitions from one software/hardware/administrator to another as smooth as possible. This documentation will also go a long way toward helping you see how everything on your network is used and what can be used more efficiently.

10. Implement a Help Desk Solution

Many smaller businesses use an employee whose job isn't IT to help employees. At some point, the employee can't be efficient doing his/her own work. In addition, the ability to track progress on issues and to review previous issues (and how they were fixed) can really save you time and money. And enabling end users to submit tickets will help ensure that issues are better managed and resolved more quickly. 

Talk to TeamLogic IT, Your Local Expert

Whether your business has dedicated IT staff or whether you use a consultant, you should consider meeting with a full-service IT company that can meet with you, learn about your business, and make recommendations such as these, based on your specific needs and goals.  TeamLogic IT is the trusted IT advisor for a growing number of small businesses in the Bay Area.   We can be your IT dept; augment your IT staff, or help out with specific projects.

Protecting Your Business Data

In our last blog, we talked about malvertisements, a type of virus that is capable of stealing your computer data without any overt action on your part.   In this blog, I will go over the high-level elements of the small business backup strategy, which is part of your overall business continuity plan.

Data Backup is Part of Business Continuity Planning

It’s much easier to build in storage resiliency when data storage is conceptualized, planned and deployed than it is to bolt on protection afterwards. The advantages reveal themselves at many layers of the continuity planning process.First, we strive to avoid preventable disasters by doing such things as monitoring and managing infrastructure. That way, we can spot burgeoning error conditions and resolve them before we’re hit by an outage.

In addition to doing something about disaster prevention, continuity planning aims to develop strategies for coping with disasters we can’t prevent. This is where data protection comes in. Because data can’t be replaced, it must be made redundant as a safeguard against corruption or loss, whether caused by user error, application faults, malware and viruses, equipment malfunctions and so on.
How data would be protected could make all the difference between a smooth recovery or lots of delays and disappointments and, well, disasters. Hardware lock-ins, which are created when relying on proprietary on-hardware snapshot, mirroring and replication technologies purchased with the storage rigs themselves, are problematic over time. For the functionality to work at all, you usually need to buy two copies of the rig from the vendor: one for the primary site and another for your recovery facility. These specialized pairings get in the way of coherent data protection and recovery, especially as data storage infrastructure grows more heterogeneous.

The good news, is that software-based storage virtualization can help to alleviate this problem by enabling delivery of protection services such as continuous data protection (CDP), snapshot, mirroring and replication services on a cross-platform basis -- irrespective of hardware brand. Preventing hardware lock-ins from the outset is key to making disaster recovery efficient. A good storage virtualization approach can provide a more unified way to deliver the right data protection services to the right data at the lowest possible cost.

The complexity of recovery is made worse by the proliferation of data protection service lock-ins. If you think it through from the start -- when building infrastructure itself -- you can create a rich, built-in, hardware-agnostic, data protection-enabled infrastructure that will cost a lot less than bolting on various mirrors, replicators, clusters and backup processes after the fact.

What to Include in Your Disaster Recovery Plan

• Inventory all IT assets.
• What applications are running on what systems.
• Don't omit standalone data from the recovery plan. 
• Increasingly, business-critical data and documents are stored on laptops and desktop compute
• Prioritize the data and applications and assess their varying criticality. 
• The data recovery plan should explicitly state the recovery order of data and applications.
•  Maintain offsite data backups.
• A comprehensive tape or disk archive strategy is crucial.
• Formally document the plan.
• Create checklists and procedures. Know who is responsible.
•  Test the solution.
• In any complex system or process, what works in theory often fails in practice.
• Maintain multiple communication methods and channels.
• Normal communication channels, such as email and phone, may be disrupted.
• Automate as much as possible.
• Human error is almost inevitable under these stressful circumstances Don't neglect security.
• It can be tempting to bypass normal security policies in order to simplify and speed the recovery.
• Rely on DR experts and consultants with extensive knowledge and experience in the field .

Rely on TeamLogic IT

At TeamLogic IT, we can help you design and implement your data backup solution so that you can minimize the risk to your critical business data. It only takes one occurance of losing and not being able to recover your data to realize that disaster recovery is a much more significant hit to your business than implementing the right solution.

Data Security in the News...Again

Here we are again on the perennial topic of viruses, malware and data security.   The recent incident with the Flame Virus in the Middle East is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to stealing information from computers.   These viruses are increasingly sophisticated, can cover their tracks, and require teams of experts to research and develop new protections to stop further attacks.
The takeaway is that once your computer is infected, the damage has been done. The best protection is to prevent infections in the first place.  Here are some tips for helping you avoid common types of attacks.

Tips for Avoiding 'Malvertisements'

Malvertisements are pop-up ads on websites that can steal bank account passwords, slow down or disable computers,and prevent your computer from getting .  We unwittingly expose ourselves to malvertisements just by visiting an infected website.   This type of scam is getting more popular and has already affected millions of users.  The ads are insidiuous because you don't even need to click on them to activiate them.

• Make sure your computer is set for automatic updates for your browser and applications.
• Employ an pop-up add blocker. There are many choices out there;  some are built into your browser and others are available as third party software.     
• Protect your computer with robust antivirus software, such as Kaspersky or AVG. 
• Be aware of pop-up ads that sell antivirus sofware. These unsolicited ads can be infected with malware or are scams that entreat you to buy software from the cybercrooks themselves.  

Tips for Avoiding Text Scams

Now that texting is a preferred form of communication, scams are increasingly on the rise.   We receive texts that tell us that we are "the winner of the day" or that we have just won something desirable if we just respond with a code or phrase.   To claim your prize, you'll have to divulge personal information that the spammer will sell to marketers or use to access your bank account.  In the U.S. last year, something on the order of 4.5 billion spam texts were received by cell phone owners.  Here's some advice on how to deal with text spam.

• Don't reply with "STOP" or other requests to remove your number.  Any response will confirm that yours is a working number that can be sold to telemarketers.
• Make sure your mobile number is registered with the FTC "Do Not Call" list.  This makes it illegal for telemarketers to call or text you without permission unless they are exempt.
• If your carrier is AT&T, Bell Mobility, Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon, you can report spam by copying the original message and forwarding it to 7726 (spam) free of charge.
• You can file a complaint with the FCC by filling out their form.
• Check your cell phone bill monthly to see if you have incurred any charges from unwanted third-party spam. Call your carrier immediately and they should remove the charges from your bill.
• And finally, you should investigate the many spam-blocking apps that are available.

When it comes to choosing which anti-virus solutions works best for your business, TeamLogic IT can assess your systems and find out what anti-virus software you have, whether the licenses are still active, and if the scans are happening on a regular interval.  We are experts in virus removals and can recommend what software should be put in place so that your computers and mobile devices are protected.

TeamLogic IT of Mountain View, CA, is part of a nationwide network of computer consultation and managed services businesses providing outsourced IT services. Small- to medium-sized businesses rely on TeamLogic IT to handle a broad range of services from urgent computer repair and proactive maintenance to the installation of entire networks and more. For more information, contact Jon Simms at JSimms@TeamLogicIT.com or visit www.TeamLogicIT.com.

A Primer on Password Security

As the number of sites and devices you access multiplies, so do the number of passwords you have to manage over time.  One thing is for sure, we probably don't spend enough time making sure our passwords are safe once we establish a new account,login to a new website, or set up a device to connect to the Internet.

Easiest to Guess and Steal 

If "password" is your online password, you're in good company, and that's bad.  As the single most popular log-in used to access online accounts, it's also the most easily hacked by cybercriminals. Changing the "o" to a zero - "passw0rd" is not much better.  It ranks as the 18th most common, according to SplashData, a company that produces SplashID, a secure password management software.  And with more websites now requiring passwords to include both letters and numbers, you may think you're safe with "abc12."  Think again.  That password ranked fifth.

Top 25 Most Common Passwords

#1. password
#2. 123456
#3. 12345678
#4. qwerty
#5. abc123
#6. monkey
#7. 1234567
#8. lemein
#9. trustno1
#10. dragon
#11. baseball
#12. 111111
#13. iloveyou
#14. master
#15. sunshine
#16. ashley
#17. bailey
#18. passw0rd
#19. shadow
#20. 123123
#21. 654321
#22. superman
#23. qazwsx
#24. michael
#25. football

Some interesting trends have popped up with SplashData's analysis of millions of passwords. Joining the longtime "don"use" password, "qwerty" the top to bottom sequence on a keyboard is "qazwsx."

There's also an increased use of common names.  Officials, however, are baffled by the popularity of "monkey" and "shadow."  But what's clear is that using any of these passwords significantly increases your risk of identity theft. Although cyberthieves sometimes apply sophisticated hacking software, they're more likely to depend on repeatedly trying common passwords to log into your account.

Create Strong Passwords

There are lots of resources on the Internet about how to choose a strong password. For example,  Microsoft's Safety & Security Center shows you how to create strong passwords. In brief, here's a few tips:

• Go long.  Use at least 12 keystrokes. One study shows that a good 12-character password would take hackers more than 17,000 years to crack.
• Mix it up.  Use upper- and  lowercase letters, punctuation, symbols, and numbers.
• Finesse your favorites. For easier recall, base your passwords on foods you like, TV shows, or first letters of a song, but with tweaks, symbols, and conscious misspellings.
• Think different. Don't use the same password for everything, particularly on your secure sites, such as banks and shopping sites

Security threats are a growing issue for businesses of all sizes. There’s a lot at stake—your computers and network systems, your information and your customers’ data. We stay on top of the latest security hazards and employ a variety of technologies to keep all systems and data safe. At TeamLogic IT our security services ensure your business is always protected. We help by selecting, implementing, and managing IT security services for you.

Is Cloud Computing Right for Your Business?

Cloud Computing may finally be compelling for small to medium sized businesses. To get an idea of the size of the expected market for SMBs, CRN has published a recent survey of more than 3000 SMBs at http://tinyurl.com/7d8v2aj.

There are advantages and limitations to Cloud Computing. As such, you will want to assess your company's situation carefully to ensure Cloud Computing is a good fit as part of your annual business plan. Businesses that would benefit from several of Cloud's advantages without being impacted by the limitations, make good candidates for Cloud Computing.

Keep in mind that when you do engage an IT company, it should not be trying to sell any specific solution. Instead, your consultant should engage you in a discussion about yourself and your business. As a trusted IT partner, your consultant should  make recommendations that meet that your company's specific needs.

Good Cloud Candidates:

• A company that has remote employees, road warriors, mobile device users and business partners, who require access to critical applications, from wherever they are on multiple devices
• A company that is experiencing rapid growth or retraction
• A company that houses sensitive or proprietary information in its systems, but has weak physical security
• A company that houses proprietary data but has concerns about the physical protection and security of their systems
• A company that suffers frequent downtime and poor systems performance as a result of aging infrastructure
• A company that would rather have a monthly operating expense rather than make a large capital investment

Poor Cloud Candidates:

• A company who wants local control of their data and feels they lose that control in the cloud
• A company with applications that have large files that need to be accessed with little or no latency
• A company with limited options for Internet access
• A company with limited remote access or mobile access needs
• A company with proprietary software applications that must be hosted on-site

We are a premier IT services company who can help you make the determination whether a cloud implementation is right for you. Our team is MCSE-certified, experienced, and knowledgeable about many solutions. Our core value is to give you great customer care and communication while we take the worry out of your technology.
For more information, contact Jon Simms at  MountainViewCA@TeamLogicIT.com or visit  www.teamlogicit.com/MountainViewCA.

Are Unified Communications Right for Your Business?



Unified communications (UC) solutions refer to a combination of voice, data and business applications that enable employees to access and utilize communications without regard to location or type of device. The biggest benefit for small- to medium-size companies is the cost savings that comes from consolidating equipment and services and centralizing network management for data, video and voice. In this way, you can integrate real-time communication services with non-real time communication services.

In addition to cost savings, UC solutions increase employee productivity in several ways. For instance, employees with smart phones, as well as those working at remote, distributed locations, are able to access complete business telephony capabilities using a common interface regardless of the device they use. Making mobile devices extensions of the enterprise network helps enhance employee responsiveness to customers. Also, higher quality voice, video, and web conferencing enhances the overall conferencing experience for employees as well as customers. The wide range of products available in the network communications space provides a unified user interface and user experience across multiple devices and media types.

UC solutions can also help your company increase innovation across the enterprise by integrating collaboration into applications and business processes. This can lead to shorter sales and customer service cycles, reduced time-to-market and the ability to adapt more quickly to market changes. Integrated communication methods help to accelerate business processes and help your business more efficient, with faster time to revenue.

According to technology research company, Gartner, most enterprises take a longer-term approach to UC. They start by defining strategy and direction, then determine the most effective way to deliver this while controlling costs and leveraging existing investments. In the coming year there will be much progress on what business processes are being communications-enabled and where the potential remains untapped. It is truly an exciting and up-and-coming space to investigate for your business.

At TeamLogic IT, we understand how staying on top of new technology can imporve the efficiency of your business. We've been helping other business owners and CEOs with their technology planning for years. We partner with best-in-class vendors to offer the right Unified Communications solution for your business. TeamLogic IT can help your business move fast and spend less. For a free 1 hour consultation, please contact us at 650-204-3150.



What’s Driving Managed Services Adoption

CompTIA Blog: IT Industry Insights & Perspectives by Carolyn April on November 10, 2011

For many in the IT channel, managed services ushered in the Holy Grail of recurring revenue. The model also helped fulfill growing demand from cash-strapped customers to shift cap-ex IT spending to a more predictable operational expense. CompTIA’s recent study, Trends in Managed Services, finds managed services growth among both end-users (adopting) and channel companies (selling) is expected to continue apace in the next two years. Additionally, planned investments in these services by both constituencies are expected to increase.

Shifting to a Predictable Operational Expense

Our study, fielded to both channel companies and end-users in July, examines the managed services market, adoption rates, usage patterns, business model challenges and future buying plans. Today, 4 in 10 channel companies report offering managed services. Half of solution providers who do so consider themselves dedicated MSPs. Dedicated doesn’t mean 100 percent managed services, which is rare, but rather refers to companies garnering more than half of annual sales via the MSP model and whom consider it their primary business model. Another 37 percent operate what they characterize as a hybrid business that includes a mix of managed services (typically less than half of overall revenue) alongside more conventional IT product and services offerings.

How can you reap significant annual savings?

What’s driving managed services adoption? In many respects, customers are — and for good reason; they are saving money. The CompTIA study finds that end-user organizations that rely on MSPs for some or all of their IT needs are reaping significant annual costs savings. Among current users of managed services, 46 percent of firms have trimmed their annual IT expenditures by 25 percent or more as a result of their shift to managed services, including 13 percent that have slashed annual IT expenditures by 50 percent or more on the IT functions they are outsourcing. Another half of organizations have saved between 1 percent and 24 percent in IT costs annually on what they have moved to an MSP-managed environment.

The ability to deliver cost-savings is fantastic, but the levels identified in the study are pretty staggering. Fact is, the MSP market is far from saturated. While 68 percent of end-user organizations report some managed services in their organizations, the vast majority of their IT functions remain handled by in-house IT staff. With so much outstanding opportunity – especially to sell higher-end managed services around applications, security and data – it stands to be fair game for MSPs to continue charging competitive, non-bargain-basement prices based on value. And yet the opposite seems to be happening: MSPs discounting on price, which creates a fast track to commoditization in a market with lots of room still left to expand. It’s awfully hard to then raise prices once you’ve set the bar at a certain level.

Managed Services -  a Growing Market

A few factors are at play here. The down economy, fierce competition and uncertainty about cloud computing’s impact have driven many MSPs to sell down instead of up, essentially undervaluing their businesses to snag customers. The most successful MSPs adhere to best practices and understand that pricing on value – even it’s higher than your competitors – in the long term is best. Easier said than done in this economic climate, however, when resisting the urge to discount is difficult if not impossible.

How can MSPs articulate value and justify normal market prices? Data from the CompTIA study point to some best practices and actions that resonate with customers.

1. Activity reports: Communication is key to a successful MSP-customer relationship. MSPs doing their job right are often invisible to the customer who is experiencing no downtime, glitches or other technology problems in the course of the contract lifecycle. The irony though is that the out-of-sight, out-of-mind situation can hurt MSPs when it comes time to renew contracts – when customers are most likely to demand stagnant or lower prices. CompTIA’s study found that among end-users companies that are highly satisfied with managed services, three-quarters say their MSP provides regular activity reports on all of the steps they take monthly to avert downtime, security breaches, performance declines and other measures to keep the customer up and running.
2. Quarterly business reviews (QBRs): These meetings go beyond activity reports and should be held in-person, ideally, and include C-level executives from both the MSP and the customer. QBRs encompass more than technical reports on actions taken, but are more prescriptive in nature, identifying places where the MSP can help support a customers’ ongoing business objectives through new services and initiatives. Done well, these meetings can cement the MSP as the trusted advisor and an extension of the customer’s staff.



Communication is Key to Customer Success

3. Certifications and training: Understand MSP best practices so that pricing and discounts are the go-to way to collect and retain customers. CompTIA, among other associations and vendor organizations, offer ways for budding and existing MSPs to get both the technical and business acumen they need to succeed.

We recognize that our valued customers are making sure that their IT budgets are working harder than ever to keep their businesses working efficiently and cost-effectively. We strive to help you with the best service and recommendations to make your IT dollars count.  We pride ourselves on honesty, personal service, and doing the right thing for your business.

For more information, contact Jon Simms at  MountainViewCA@TeamLogicIT.com or visit  www.teamlogicit.com/MountainViewCA.