Providing Customized IT Support for Small Businesses in Singapore

Your business may be small, but your IT issues can’t be. Even a small IT issue can bring your all operations to the halt, leading to a huge loss to you and your customers as well. On the top of that, many small businesses can’t afford latest IT infrastructure to pace up with today’s technology. The last thing they can worry over is having limited resources.

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Top Tech trends to watch out in 2015

Technology is pushing forward at a very vast pace, and so are its related applications. So, what are the technology trends that one needs to watch out for in 2015? Let’s have a look at them briefly.

1)   Internet of things (IoT)

The inter-connection of embedded computing devices within the internet infrastructure is becoming ever so popular. Connecting every aspect of your life to the internet to make life easier for you. For example home automation systems, interconnected business applications or even payment methods.

2)   3D printing

3D printing has taken the manufacturing and industrial design world by the storm. With its unique capabilities to manufacture products and designer goods to millimeter perfection, the 3D printing industry will dominate in the upcoming year 2015.

3)   Cloud computing
The focus on synchronizing user content in at one location is the trend to watch out for in 2015. Cloud Computing gives a new dimension to storing, accessing and updating content that is synced across all your gadgets.

4)   Risk based security

This is a hard known fact that providing a 100 percent secured environment is not possible in current times. Therefore, individuals and organizations have to look for security-aware application design, runtime application, active context-aware and adaptive access controls.   

How to Secure Your File Sharing and Sync Process

For last couple of technologically advanced years, IT Support has undergone several changes and so have file synchronization and sharing techniques. The result is a huge variety of platforms that can serve the purpose equally efficiently.

While options are numerous, from Box and Google Drive to Dropbox and Microsoft SkyDrive, you should choose what is right and can meet your unique requirements! The best way would be to compare them on the basis of different objectives that you may have.

Here is how different tools can help you secure your file sync and sharing process:

Efficiency in Terms of Storage Space

Regardless of which file sync and share platform you are using, your ultimate purpose is storage. So, it is important that you know how much storage space you are getting with different platforms.

SkyDrive leads the charge in that case. Dropbox and YouSendIt can provide you with just 2GB at the best. Unfortunately, this is less than the half of total storage space average file-sync services offer! Also, there are several other reasons other than the storage space to give SkyDrive a try.

Cost-Effectiveness

All of the popular file sync and sharing tools offered by IT Services charge on monthly basis. Again, SkyDrive from Microsoft is your most cost-effective platform. Interestingly, its yearly rates are less compared to virtually all major competitors.

SkyDrive and SugarSync are the only tools that provide users with most options for plans to choose from. YouSendIt comes with probably the worst plan – you are forced to either keep sticking to the $14.99 plan or pay $9.99 for 5GB. Google upgrades Gmail accounts of paid users only.

Safety

When choosing a file sync and sharing platform, another big requirement from users is security. This is always a big concern for those who need to share or upload files with personal information. So, whatever your requirements, make sure you know what different companies are doing to secure uploads and downloads.

Even if you don’t have much idea about what to look for, you should ask questions about SSL support at least. This is a technique used to encrypt your data so that only the sender and the receiver can read it.

Most of these platforms provide you with a SLL connection. And when it comes to encoded storage of files, SkyDrive, Google Drive and Box are going to disappoint you. Give one out of Dropbox, YouSendIt or SugarSync a try, depending upon your needs and keeping other features in mind.

Mobile Device Support

You’ll always want to be able to sync your systems with mobile devices and access data and information. Amazingly, SugarSync supports more (almost all!) mobile devices compared to other platforms!

While most of them really like iPhone, Blackberry is hardly supported by half of them. Box which’s supporting most mobile devices is another great option here.

Top 5 Best Practices for Small Business IT Support

Businesses, big and small, need tech support. No exceptions.

Without an in-house expert or a dedicated IT support service focusing on a small business’s technology needs, it will soon struggle to keep afloat or just fail to stay competitive in the target market due to increased operational costs, delays etc.

Whether you intend to hire a small team of your own or hire outsource IT support tasks, keep in mind the following pointers:

• Short term solutions like an in-house employee with some tech know-how looking after the health of IT systems don’t always work. A small business must establish IT support as a well perceived need within the organization and list out the tasks that need to be taken up on a routine or emergency basis.
  
• Installing new software or fixing an obnoxious computer bug isn’t everything that a tech support professional can do. Those are just basic tasks. Any small business entity trying to grow and scale should get on board a managed IT support service provider or team of professionals with relevant certifications and hands-on experience.
  
• Customer support of any kind is best delivered by people who can empathize with those who are at the receiving end. Make sure to always choose IT support companies or professionals who can offer the much needed human touch.
  
•  IT support should always be proactive. If tech support guys are visiting your office every week or keeping some employees busy on a daily basis, while trying to fix an ongoing problem, what’s the point of getting managed IT services?
  
• Prepare a monthly, quarterly and half-yearly review plan for IT support whether you've an in-house IT department or have hired another company for the job. The tech support team must be accountable and it is up to you to ensure that the investment actually pays off. 

5 Ways to Protect Your Data on Your Mobile Device

Using phones for shopping and surfing socials sites are making them vulnerable to attacks. We trust our phones more than our best buddies on some occasions, so it’s high time we took some steps to protect them.

The first thing that we all must pledge is to not to go to the aftermarket next time we need APPs. Protection will not cost money at all, but getting out of a mess can be a torrid affair.

Follow these steps and make your phone your friend for life:

1. Keep It Locked

Always feed a code in your phone and don’t share it will all. In case if it is stolen, you will buy time to save your data on the phone, while the swindler tries to break in.

2. It’s A Phone Not a Safety Vault

Just because it sleeps with you, doesn't mean it has to keep all your secrets. Limit confidential information on a phone. It should not be the default location for all sensitive information, especially not data that you cannot lose at any cost. Be smart - use a secure server or a hard drive for that.

3. Beware of an Espresso Attack

Before you plug into an open Wi-Fi in the coffee shop next time, first read about the risks. An unsecured network is a hacker’s playground. In an airport, in a multiplex there are people snooping for passwords and other data all the time. Always use a VPN and open mails in secure options only. But if you really want to out run them avoid important work in the public.

4. Be an Apps guru

Always download your favorite Apps from a trusted source like Google Play or App store only. You can be assured that once you get it from them, it comes with inbuilt safety features and will have guards against malicious attacks. The biggest mistake you can make is to download them form a third party source.

5. Have an Updated Antivirus in The Phone

People who come with the foresight of an antivirus program for the phone stand to benefit in the long run. Besides Apple users, who feel no need for it, other phone users stand to benefit by installing one today. An added layer of defense never hurts anybody.

6. Take a Trip on Remote Protection Apps

Besides taking a backup of your data, installing an anti theft APP can make you sleep peacefully at night. These APPs make it very difficult for any spamster to break into your phone. They also pin point the exact location of the phone and allow you to delete all information remotely.

Choose Right IT Support for your Business in Singapore

It’s vital for business companies to deploy state-of-the-art technology for smoother operations. After all, they’re growing every second and hiring new talent with every passing day. Advanced IT solutions help employees to get comfortable with their company by having access to services such as real-time messaging and online work groups. But all this is possible only if you have the right IT partner with you.

Make sure that you trust your IT partner and your employees feel comfortable with the offered or deployed IT solutions. When choosing an IT support for your business in Singapore, you should consider following points:

1. Test Your Trust

Before finalizing your IT service contract, it’s necessary to gauge the trust level between you and your IT partner. Both parties must reach a certain level of understanding in order to avoid discrepancies that may arise in future. Remember talking to each other can largely prove beneficial in building a stronger trust in your relationship. To solidify this bond, the best way is to sign a written contract with every detail precisely mentioned.

2.  Explore Options

It’s important to look out for support skills that you want from an IT support service provider. You should conduct a background check on the company’s experience and the skill-sets, or domain expertise of the vendor. The skills of an IT service company must match with your requirements otherwise it can cause great trouble in future. A good service provider has facilities for professional training as well as technical forums for remote IT support. So, look for a partner who has valuable knowledge about IT system set-up and troubleshooting.

3. Cost-Efficiency Is Good

Some good IT service companies have a good track record, but they’re too expensive. Small businesses have limited budgets for deploying IT resources. So, choosing a cost-efficient IT service provider will help you to keep your expenses in check.

4. Work Culture

If you are new to Singapore, you may well need to communicate in English. There are many IT service companies who provide support services in English language. There are four official languages of Singapore such as English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. If you are familiar with any one of these languages, there is no fear of communication lack. But, business entities from outside Asia may find trouble during communication unless they’re fluent in English.

5. Working Strategy

Did company management turn up on your calls? Does an engineer pro-actively check your IT records? What is the work-policy there? These are some of the questions, which need to be asked by a client and answered by an IT service professional. It would immensely help for the growth of both business entities.

The Vital importance of Backup System

Although, latest operating systems are being embedded with enhanced features for system resonation and backups, chances are there, you might suffer a system crash or an attack on data costing, which will meet out your business with a tragic lose. 

Therefore, it’s important to understand the significance and benefits of a backup system.

Cloud Based Backup Solutions

This is preferably the most reliable and guaranteed backup solution, which is advocated by experts around the globe. The explanation to its prestige is the protection it offers against different sorts of threats like system crashing, cyber attacks and even natural mishaps. Moreover, the solution offers essential advantages of designing the solution as demanded or required by the business.

Secured Protection

Cloud based backup solutions are probably the most secured. They ensure on time recovery of all the different kinds of data. Moreover, you can customize such solutions to suit your needs.

Effortless Use

With cloud based backup solutions, users can effortlessly learn to work with numerous types of interface and management systems, which are easy to set up and operate. This indeed helps emerging businesses to enhance their services without worrying about the threats of data loss.    

Quick and User Friendly

A crucial aspect of cloud based backup solution is that it is equipped with configuration and setup wizards that ensure development of systems rapidly. Moreover, these solutions are designed to deliver off-premise data storage alternatives and great options for eco-conscious individuals.    

IT Services - Helping Small and Medium Businesses To Grow

It’s by incorporating technology into everyday business operations that is driving the businesses economy of Singapore.  Modern IT services help SMEs in easy product transition and business expansion. They also have much better understanding of device capabilities meant for community and industrial skill training programmes.

IT-enabled SMEs have witnessed 15% more revenue growth and double job creations as compared to non-IT SMEs, providing tremendous job opportunities. A faster pace of employee productivity and scalability is achieved by adopting productive software tools available in the IT space.

Feeling curious? Thinking of adding some agility and a business turnover feature! Here are some benefits introduced by IT solution services for SMEs

Simple & Fast, yet Cost-Effective

The introduction of cloud technology offers friction-free business operations to SMEs. Previously it was considered as unsafe and a much costly alternative. Small business owners now can have on the go (24*7) service access by having an account with a cloud service provider.

With cloud computing services, one can start with near to zero investment in IT that otherwise requires bulk purchase of hardware equipments, bundled softwares and modern networks with skilled professionals. Now you need not to acquire special skills for operating within organisation and skip terrible installation experiences. So in fact, it is a good platform for SMEs to gain competitive advantage over their rivals.

Trimmed Solutions

Customised solutions available on the cloud provide perfect fit services for nearly entire verticals under SME segment. These solutions find exact match to SMEs unique needs and completely address the glitches without any business break.

New Vistas of Data Storage and Retrieval

Advance tech incorporation into SME business will definitely lead to easy conversion of data stored in legacy systems or cross-platform storage arrays. Business boundaries defined earlier can see new expansions and open up vibrant opportunities, without any serious doubt.

Optimum Network Security

Cloud ensures trustworthy and reliable data delivery to SMEs transmitted through secure hops. A Service provider ensures high speed and well-functioning (low downtime) Internet connectivity that contributes in digital-economy growth of company.

Little Maintenance

Software upgrades is considered to be the most expensive affair in system maintenance. In this model, entire work is done on server and client needs not to pay any money for change in version or hardware installation.

Cuts down Overall Cost

On ‘Pay per use’ subscription basis, cash-strapped/strained businesses can afford gaining valuable insights, otherwise nearly impossible. It drastically reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) and alleviates associated risk factors/components, making business less severe to volatile environment present outside. 

Revamped Work Environment

Cloud computing services helps to establish collaborative teams that work on different platforms. Now different team members can consult each-other through online platforms. Such work structure helps in better brand building and quick service access for customers. The concept of prompt delivery in new markets is not a day-dream anymore with such IT solutions onboard.

Customer Feedback Is a Gift; Don’t Waste It

Feedback's are valuable reactions, comments or opinions your customers have about your services or products. Appraising them in the right manner can help you and your business reach positives you have desired for.         

A happy satisfied customer service means a successful productive business. Being in the business industry, I guess you understand the importance of the last phrase. However, the question still remains the same, to know how one you achieve customer satisfaction? Well, don’t be surprised if I tell you that feedback is one of the magic ingredients that can help you grow business and also add more customers to your kitty.

It opens a direct gateway in the psychology of the customer and their wants and expectations from a particular product or services. So, here’s telling you what makes feedback a gift for every business and one that shouldn't be wasted: 

Open Interaction with Customers

The biggest advantage a feedback is that you can openly interact with your customers. With a committed response to valuable response to the feedbacks from your customers, you get to learn about the things that the customers like and dislike about your products and services. 

Successful entrepreneurs encourage feedback, and consistently work upon their offerings to make them meet the exact needs of the target customers. Customers also remain happier and more loyal, if their opinions and feedback is taken seriously and worked upon.

Privileging Your Customers

As a part of business cycle, you must get involved in several trade procedures and must have felt the privilege of being classed as the special one in some cases. Similar is the importance of feedbacks for your customers and business. Feedbacks make the customers feel important and involved as a vital component in your business. The way you appraise feedbacks makes the customer feel that you really value their opinions and look out for the services they desire. This is one special treatment you can give your customers and make them feel more involved with your products or services. 

Appraising Customer Value

It’s not just that the feedbacks that are always the way you want them to be, sometimes they are good or say positive feedbacks and sometimes they come as negative feedbacks. Negative feedbacks are more importance than the positive ones. Because, positive feedbacks are like an overview of your business, negative feedbacks are the one that will guide through the loopholes and let you know where improvement is required. Therefore, work on the negatives effectively to convert them into positives for a successful business.                          

 Get Ideas on How to Improve

In the chase to become a successful entrepreneur, hunger for better products and services never get quenched. The demand to what your customers require can brilliantly be managed or monitored through their valuable feedback. Reach out to the customers and ask them about the scope of improvement they would like to see with your services.

Getting regular feedback from your customer means you have a regular familiarity with their demands and you can effectively work on them. Once you understand what the customers requires, you can work on those services and accordingly enhance your sales and achieve higher customer satisfaction and loyalty as well.                

Latest Trends in IT Service

Like any other sector, tech trends too are determined by demand and supply both. While small, medium and large scale companies are now increasing their IT spending, IT service companies in Singapore and elsewhere are now keen to offer more cost-effective and useful services.

Listed below are some key trends in managed IT services in Singapore that businesses are likely to embrace this year:

Increased Cloud Adoption

By the end of 2014, as many as 50% of all small businesses would be using some sort of cloud service. The adoption is likely to skyrocket as small and medium scale businesses have been keen to have a solid cloud strategy.

Several medium scale companies are also mulling private cloud strategies.

Disaster Recovery is more important

Regardless of where a business is located in Singapore, it cannot afford to ignore potentially devastating natural tragedies. From 2013, an increased number of business owners have shown interest in investing on the deployment of recovery systems.

IT services in Singapore already are offering numerous IT support packages with disaster recovery options and we can just hope that more businesses would opt for such failsafe mechanisms.

Organization Wide Content Management

It’s likely that more midsized businesses in Singapore would seek IT support for the management of enterprise content management systems. Several businesses are already using systems such as Microsoft SharePoint for content management.

Ten Reasons to Outsource your IT Services in 2014

Outsourcing IT services is ideal for all small and medium scale businesses that need Information Technology solutions but are not in a position to afford an in-house team or private hardware. Even large scale companies such as banks, hotels etc. in Singapore and elsewhere outsource some IT functions to dedicated firms. 

Listed below are top 10 reasons why you too should outsource your IT services in 2014:

1. With a dedicated IT support company in Singapore, you gain access to a vast pool of IT resources without having to shell out a great deal of money. You’d have the smartest of IT support engineers, cloud computing experts and other such professionals merely a call away when you need them!

2. Achieve higher productivity by having all your staff concentrate on core business activities and not downtime, network connectivity, data integrity or other such issues.

3. You can eliminate the possibilities of downtime and other such inefficiencies which result from technical failures, operating system errors, network connectivity issues, manual backup systems etc.

4. When you opt for dedicated IT support in Singapore by partnering with a credible company, you also gain access to a host of services and solutions through their supplier network. Such services and solutions are made available (through group purchasing power) at a relatively cheaper cost.

5. Network security threats, as you know, are very real. Also, there’re complicated security regulations & compliances regulations that need to be adhered to. With a partner IT support company by your side, you can be assured of the fact that all such legal requirements are being taken care of.

6. You gain immediate access to a wide range of consultancy services. For example, if you’d like to know about high availability systems or whether they are suitable for your business, you need not spend a week carrying out online research. An expert would be a call away.

7. You will have resources that are not otherwise available in-house. Budget restraints will no longer keep you from trying out a better service or deploying an advanced IT solution.

8.  Managing potential risks with a dedicated IT support company in Singapore is easy. From data backups to network security, an IT services partner would take care of all issues of importance for your business.

9. IT costs are often variable but a service provider can be paid monthly. That means, it’d be possible for you to plan your budget more easily.

10.  When you outsource your IT services to a good company, you can be assured of being ahead of the competition. For example, if you start using some technologies today and manage to cut costs, your competitors (who’re not in partnership with a good IT company) may take another year or more to do the same. 

Top Strategies on How to Backup Your Data Successfully

Don’t keep waiting until the disaster strikes! Have you ever imagined how your operations would be affected if few data volumes (documents, multimedia files etc.) are destroyed, stolen away or rendered useless by a malicious program! The importance of hiring a professional IT support company cannot be denied but you on your own need to be aware of top strategies on how to backup data as well. Professionals can help you better if you know what you really need for your business.

Listed below are the top strategies on how to backup files and other data –

Brainstorm and Plan Early

Make it a point to discuss raw ideas for a data backup plan with system administrators and other professionals at your company. Everyone can come up with unique ideas and help in strengthening your company’s data backup strategy. If you’re living in an area where floods or hurricanes are common, make sure backups are never stored in basements. Choose at least the 2^nd or 3^rd floor. If digital data is the lifeline of your business, it’s a good idea to take online backups. Such backups are easily accessible through web interfaces and keep your data safe from all imaginable disasters including break-ins, fire accidents, floods, earthquakes etc.

Have a Rock Solid Backup Routine

Running a business successfully demands all of your focus & energy. In the process, it’s easy to lose track of backups or other such processes that are actually very important for the health of your income stream in the long run. Even if you know how to backup a computer or understand the importance of email backup, you’d still need to have a backup routine in place. Make it a part of the daily task list assigned to a system administrator or network engineer. Never count on each employee in your organization, big or small, to take backups on their own. They might do it for a day or two but eventually, they’ll stop doing it.

Have a Personalized Data Backup Strategy

The best data backup strategy is not exactly like the one recommended by an expert. It’s the ‘modified’ strategy that has been tailored to your business’s exact needs. If data on your company workstations changes every day, you need to backup hard drive on a daily basis, for example. It’s advisable to have full as well as incremental backups. For example, you can take one full backup on every Saturday and incremental (data changes) backups on week days.

Test Your Backup on a Regularly Basis

Don’t rely blindly on backup software whether it’s online or installed on a server on your local network. IT support companies (if you’ve hired one) will do it on its own but it’s important to inquire about data backup testing. Try to recover the data backup to an alternate location on your network at least once in a month to check if the integrity of data has not been lost. Also, make sure you check ‘backup logs’ at least once a week to find out if some backup operations failed.

How to Recover Deleted Files

At times, important files get deleted due to human error, viruses or malfunctioned software programs. In some cases, antivirus programs can also delete important files. The file can be restored directly from the backup, if you’ve any. If there was no backup, you can try using a freeware or proprietary software for restoration. You can also have a look out on this article regarding hidden tips to successfully restore your files.

However, If deleted data is very important, it’s prudent to have a competent IT support services company look into the matter as they’ve expertise, tools and software for data retrieval.