I need some IT support

[RedlineBrett]

Hi guys,

So my office is up and running and we are now interviewing for our first employee. Sales numbers are starting to turn around and our units are almost fully leased. So things are going great with the business which is awesome.

However, I am not an IT guy and this weekend I spent five hours screwing around with telus and a new router trying to get my network up and running. Not my strong suit!

I have a list of `IT` things that I need some help with. They include stuff like the following

1. Upgrading me from outlook 2000 to outlook 2007 and link up my blackberry as well

2. Setting up a consistent backup of our three outlook email accounts to an external hard drive or our server space

3. Getting our multi-function printer/scanner networked properly with our three PCs

4. Check up on our three PCs to make sure they are all running/working as fast as possible

There are some services in the yellowpages like geeks on wheels or nerd patrol or whatever... has anyone used these guys for stuff like this? Am I looking in the right place?

Provided I have all the software how much time should this take an expert to do? What should I expect to pay? Keep in mind I receive over 100 emails a day from various sources and couldn`t have the office down for more than a couple days max.

Thanks in advance!

 

[KevinMatwichuk]

To do what you have described should be a simple task for most any IT person. All work should be able to be done with a minimum amount of interruption to your business. I would estimate the work should only take someone a day or a day and a half max.

 

[vandriani]

Brett,

As you know, through our conversations, that this is what I do. Unfortunately, I live in the meca called "Vancouver`. In my expert opinion, I would think that it would not take more than a day. Fees will range from $50 to $100+ per hour. What type of support that you are getting at $50 is usually a newbee (usually quite young) with limited experience. At the higher level, you are getting a seasoned support person that will not only correct your issues but also provide with those nuggets of invaluable information. Either will work but it`s up your comfort level. What you are asking for is quite simple and easy to resolve.

Contact me if you have any questions

Vince

 

[TodorYordanov]

All good advice above and i agree. make sure your set up i scalable for future expansion and everything is properly documented.

 

[bluesky]

Give Andrew Anderson with Stable Networking a call 403-200-6112. I am sure he can help you.

 

[NorthernAlex]

These are easy tasks and what I do here, too.

Task 1: Check with your domain space provider if they offer push/pull functionality for RIMs. They often offer it for a few $ extra or include it with their services.

Task 2 can be even done automatically thru the MS Backup Software to safe thru the network on a local server or external hdd.
As a Backup solution I would also highly recommend www.mozy.com. It is a very safe, reliable and inexpensive online backup solution. I am using it for 99% of my clients and receive as their IT Consultant an email if a backup went wrong, so I can even double check and solve with their machine before they notice that their server had an issue.

Task 3 is in total a 15 min job. You can do it, too. Check http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/arti..._a_network.html

Well..... Task 4. ;-) ... it is M$. Have a Virus scanner running (I recommend BitDefender), use common sense and don`t install 8420 programs on every systems, have the M$ updates installed on a regular basis, make from time to time "Restore Points". From time to time you could run "Spybot - Search & Destroy" to look for Spyware.

All here are my suggestions and of course there are other solutions, but I noticed that this is an inexpensive, but also very reliable solution for SOHO til Midsized Companies and works good for my local clients and me in maintaining it.

 

[RedlineBrett]

Thanks guys!

A fellow REIN member and networking guru Wade Graham is going to give this a go for me. If you don`t see me on the forums for a while I guess you`ll know why!

sorry wade couldn`t resist!


QUOTE (NorthernAlex @ Apr 29 2009, 08:28 PM) These are easy tasks and what I do here, too.

Task 1: Check with your domain space provider if they offer push/pull functionality for RIMs. They often offer it for a few $ extra or include it with their services.

Task 2 can be even done automatically thru the MS Backup Software to safe thru the network on a local server or external hdd.
As a Backup solution I would also highly recommend www.mozy.com. It is a very safe, reliable and inexpensive online backup solution. I am using it for 99% of my clients and receive as their IT Consultant an email if a backup went wrong, so I can even double check and solve with their machine before they notice that their server had an issue.

Task 3 is in total a 15 min job. You can do it, too. Check http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/arti..._a_network.html

Well..... Task 4. ;-) ... it is M$. Have a Virus scanner running (I recommend BitDefender), use common sense and don`t install 8420 programs on every systems, have the M$ updates installed on a regular basis, make from time to time "Restore Points". From time to time you could run "Spybot - Search & Destroy" to look for Spyware.

All here are my suggestions and of course there are other solutions, but I noticed that this is an inexpensive, but also very reliable solution for SOHO til Midsized Companies and works good for my local clients and me in maintaining it.

 

[vandriani]

Although Alex`s comments are valid, I strongly recommend that get someone to do the work for you. Do want you do best and do not try to be the one-man show. I`m sure a couple of hours of work within your area of expertise is worth more than the amount you will be paying for consulting fees.

 

[NorthernAlex]

Vince: 100% ACK. It really pays in a long term to have a GOOD IT guy around. Documentation is one of the most important tasks!