Newsletter - June 2006

Disaster Recovery

Yes it’s that time of year again when everyone packs their bags and goes off to a sunny beach for a well deserved break, after working all year round. You leave all your troubles behind and look forward to your holiday. But what happens if you have your own business? How do you know everything is going to be running smoothly whilst you’re not there? Can you rely on your staff? And what happens if there’s a power cut or the computer system goes down? Have you got a back-up plan? Will you be able to retrieve everything that you’ve lost? You may already have a strategy in place in case of emergencies but how can you be sure that they work? Have you ever tested them? Would you know what to do if everything stopped working?

These questions and so many more will be going round in your head. You need to know that your company is going to be working like clockwork when you’re not there running it.

Here at Alpha Omega Computers Ltd we can provide you with a complete disaster recovery plan to suit your personal and business needs, where we can show you how to do regular back-ups and to restore a back up system if the need ever arises. We will also install virus protection that can be updated on a regular basis. And finally we will be involved in auditing your system to make sure its doing its job so you’ll always know what you’re paying for. For more information contact us.

World Cup Fever

Football World Cup is finally here. Everyone will want to take part in supporting their country by watching all the live action. And what better way to watch them than when you’re at work on your computer? The BBC has announced they will bring live action from Germany straight to your desktop, providing that you have broadband facility, of course. They will be showing live coverage of all their games including commentary and will also have four minute highlights for all world cup games which will be available on demand.

There could be a downside to this though, especially when everyone in the office is trying to log onto the broadband broadcasts. Management firm, Packeteer, have warned that the availability of having online broadcasts could cause network congestions and bring corporate networks to a halt. It could also affect employee productivity. Businesses will need to ensure they have mechanisms in place to control non- sanctioned internet traffic, protect the network from overload and prioritise bandwidth for most critical business applications.

Another potential problem of watching the World Cup at work could lead you into hot water especially if you’re business does not have a TV Licence. The TV Licensing Authority has said that they will prosecute in cases where TV is watched on a PC regardless of how it is received. “If you are watching TV at the same time as its being broadcast in the UK you need to be covered by a valid licence.” Only one licence per company is required regardless of the number of people who watch it. Any business that is caught watching TV without a licence risks a fine up to £1000 plus court costs. Don’t be one of them!

Millions wasted on network over- design

Research by Gartner has found that many organisations have out-of-date network designs resulting in over priced and under working infrastructures. Most firms have a tendency to install ‘bigger and faster’ networks, usually at headquarters’ and larger locations that don’t actually serve the user population. The advice that has been given is that organisations would be better off investing in technologies for remote users, especially when there is such an increase in people working from home or on the road. The areas that should be concentrated on are security, data control, application optimization and mobility services, instead of getting into the trap of buying the next new thing.

Printer Consumables

We are all aware of the modern technology that we use in our offices. We rely on our computer systems to work and make our everyday working lives easier to manage. For a reliable computer network, we also need reliable printer consumables for the office. Without these two functions, our businesses may work very slowly or come to a standstill. This is the last thing any company needs, which is where we can help.

At Alpha Omega Computers we’ll take the hassle out of ordering new computers and printer goods for the office by doing all the hard work for you. We will search around and get the best deal for you. It doesn’t matter if your office only has two users or over fifty users. All you have to do is say yes and sign on the dotted line. Give us a call on 0845 345 2820 if you want us to do this for you.

.mobi Domain Names

There’s a new type of service that is available from 22nd May 2006. You can now register .mobi domain names for the mobile internet services which are being offered by phone operators and service providers. This will follow in the similar format of the .eu domain names which were on offer earlier this year. Up until 12th June 2006 trademark holders from the mobile industry have a chance to register their trademarks as .mobi domains. Between 12th June and 22nd August 2006 all trademark holders will be able to register for the .mobi domain and finally from 28 August 2006 anyone can register for this service in the Landrush period.

The .mobi is said to appeal to phone operators, content providers, service providers and handset manufacturers, which should make mobile internet addresses easier to market and remember and increase the volume of customers surfing the web on the move.