acrbo december magazine
DESCRIPTION
Magazine for Computer Repair Business OwnersTRANSCRIPT
The Owen Lea Foundation….
Let’s Make A Difference!
December is Preferred Vendor
Month!!
ACRBO MAG
WHAT’S INSIDE Computers, Networking, Websites, Advertising, Marketing & Sales
ISSUE 012 | Dec 2012
Read about what the ACRBO Preferred
Vendors have to offer and how they just
might be able to help your business grow.
Comptia
SurfRight
CallThatGirl
Gillware
FutureStar
ScreenConnect
GFIMax
CallThatGirl
6
9
10
14
16
21
25
26
Association of Computer Repair Business Owners
CONTENTS
CONTENTS Ninite
FiberCloud
TechinLine
TheForceField
Rebit
BeAnywhere
28
29
30
31
33
34
ACRBO
Are you a writer? Do you enjoy writing down your
experiences?
If so feel free to contribute to the magazine. Credit
is given to all writers in the form of links to your
website or any other way you would like.
Share your experiences!
Editor’s Note Welcome to the latest edition of the
Association Magazine. I'd like to welcome
our new contributors this month.
This month’s magazine is dedicated to our Preferred Vendors. Their support is much appreciated by all members of the Association. In this issue you can read all about what they have to offer and how they can benefit your business
A publication like this would not be possible
without the support of our valued Preferred
Vendors who are advertisers. Please visit
our Preferred Vendors as they know what
you need to help you with all your
endeavors.
I hope you enjoy this month's issue of the
magazine, and as always please email me
if you have any comments, contributions or
feedback.
Dan ACRBO Keep your valuable feedback coming. I try to reply to every email, I appreciate your input as it helps to make the ACRBO magazine possible. Write to me at: [email protected]
ACRBO Magazine Fredericksburg Virginia
Advertising enquires: Send an email to [email protected]
Contribute articles: If you would like to be a contributing author for the magazine then send an email to [email protected] and let us know what you would like to write about. Copyright 2012 ACRBO. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated or converted into machine-readable form or language without the written consent of the publisher. Articles express the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher
ACRBO Magazine
Director: ACRBO [email protected]
Contributors Various experts in their fields
The instructions and advice in the
Magazine is for entertainment purposes only. The creators, producers,
contributors and distributors of the ACRBO Mag disclaim any liability for
loss or lack of results from following the advice expressed herein
Do I need a ticketing system
for repairs?
Of course you don’t need on
you could always use those
carbonless word order forms
and run your business.
But, in reality the best thing
to do is start out right and use
a system that is developed for
computer repair businesses
so in the future you do not
have to try to migrate all your
customers’ information.
The time you put into
researching what program to
use will save you countless
hours in the future.
Dan
ACRBO
Should I offer phone
repairs?
I assume what you mean are
things like screen
replacements and things like
that for iPhones and Android
phones.
I think it depends on a few
things. Are you doing this to
generate “more” business
than you already have? Or are
you doing this in order to just
generate revenue in general?
If you are already doing
rather well then adding
services like this are good but
there is always a cost
involved and a learning curve.
Very important to know what
you are getting into with this
venture.
Dan
ACRBO
TO
P E
MA
ILS
TO
P E
MA
ILS
ACRBO inbox
Have a question? If so email it do
[email protected] and we will be glad to
answer it.
It can be business related pertaiing to
marketing, setting up your business, growth of
your business or anything you can think of.
ACRBO 6
CompTIA: Building Success for
IT Solution Providers
When you hear about CompTIA, you probably automatically think certification. Yes, CompTIA is the world’s largest provider of vendor-neutral certifications. You may even be one of the 1.6 million IT pros who have a CompTIA certification. But certification is just one of the four main focuses of CompTIA. As the voice of the world's information technology (IT) industry, CompTIA builds programs in four main areas: education, certification, advocacy and philanthropy. Driven by IT channel company members and led by an elected board of industry professionals for 30 years, the association:
• Educates the IT channel: Its educational resources, comprising online guides, webinars, market research, business mentoring, open forums and networking events, help members grow their businesses and become “best in class.”
• Certifies the IT workforce: It provides technology-neutral and vendor-neutral IT certifications for the entry-level to expert IT pro.
• Advocates on behalf of the IT industry: On Capitol Hill, CompTIA brings the power of small- and medium-sized IT businesses to bear as a united voice.
• Gives back through philanthropy: Its foundation enables disadvantaged populations to gain the skills they need for employment in the IT industry.
With more than 2,000 members and 2,000 business partners, the association reinvests the dollars it marks from certification in programs that benefit its valued members and the industry as a whole. For example, CompTIA offers a full portfolio of channel training, including live workshops, printed and downloadable training guides and business credentials. Our training content and materials are the result of a collaborative, CompTIA community-led development effort. The association adheres to this industry-leading development process to offer the IT channel relevant, timely content presented in an interactive format that caters to the way adults learn best.
With coverage of 10 main market areas from mobility and cloud computing to providing IT services for government and legal firms, you get a quick lesson on how to expand your business. There’s even a quick-start session and guide on just how to enter a new market vertical. In the CompTIA session, learn 10 steps to help you build an effective plan to assist your company in becoming a dominant provider of IT solutions for your chosen vertical market. You’ll hear best practices on selecting a target vertical market and creating a profile for clients in that market, as well as identifying key influencers in the market and creating a positioning statement. For those looking to hone their current business practices, CompTIA offers a wealth of legal, HR, sales and marketing tools made especially for small IT businesses. There are 11 different legal templates offered. For example, the managed services legal template allows members to customize a contract template to meet their needs when their company is providing a managed service such as SaaS, cloud computing, data management, website development or network monitoring. Last fall CompTIA also debuted a business assessment tool designed to allow small businesses candidly assess their current position in a variety of business disciplines and define which areas would benefit most from improvement. The amount of resources located in the CompTIA member resource center can seem daunting at times. This tool helps solution provider members navigate through these resources in order to find which ones would be most beneficial to their company. Tools like these reinforce CompTIA’s commitment to providing technology-focused solution providers, vendors and distributors with the knowledge they need to address challenges they may face. To find out more about CompTIA, check out www.comptia.org.
This month’s winner will receive the
eBook “Computer Repair Business
Lessons Learned”.
We will randomly choose a winner and e-
mail the winner.
Just send an email to [email protected]
and in the Subject line put: WinBook
Last Month’s winner is: Eric Metzner
from No Ware Computer Repair!
Visit
www.Podnutz.com
ACRBO 8
Antivirus shortens the life-time of
financial malware
Herbert Weustenenk [email protected]
This sounds pretty obvious, but most financial malware or banking Trojans are actually designed by cyber criminals to avoid detection and hide for antivirus programs. The main goal of these digital bank robbers is to steal your money by manipulating online bank transactions.
Research by SurfRight shows that the average life-time of a banking Trojan on a computer is 81 days for computers that do not have an up-to-date antivirus program. And the average life-time of a banking Trojan on a fully protected computer, that has an up-to-date antivirus program, is 25 days.
Statistics
These statistics are based on scan results from new users that run HitmanPro for the first time. And since it is based on a user’s decision to find a second opinion and download HitmanPro, these numbers should not be taken as exact science. Nonetheless, it is a clear indication that using an up-to-date antivirus program dramatically reduces the life-time of a banking Trojan.
Antivirus program catch rate
Many people will now ask “why didn’t the antivirus program catch the banking Trojan right away? 25 days is still a long time.”
That is a valid question. If the banking Trojan is stopped right away, HitmanPro will not detect one on that computer because it has never been there. Antivirus programs are the last line of defense and will stop the vast majority of malware attacks, but not 100%.
Similarly you can ask yourself:
� Does the police prevent all robberies? They should, but they don’t. � Does the coast guard stop all drug transports before entering the country? They should, but they don’t. � Is a doctor’s diagnosis correct every time? It should, but it isn’t.
In other words: Using an antivirus program on your computer will stop most malware attacks, and will reduce the life-time of malware that has slipped the defenses and silently installed itself on the computer.
BBC Click
BBC Click, a Britisch television program on technology, broadcasted an interesting episode earlier this year: How banking Trojans go undetected and steal your money. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUGTlVSefeo for a recording of this episode.
How did we measure?
2,465,497 users scanned their computer with HitmanPro between October 2011 and October 2012 (1 year). The above mentioned statistics are not based on a laboratory research but are derived from real-world computers. The HitmanPro agent reported back the date the banking Trojan was installed on the computer, including which antivirus program the user was using (including its status) before HitmanPro removed the banking Trojan. The specific banking Trojans we counted for this statistic were Zeus, Citadel, SpyEye and Tinba.
Case: the Dorifel outbreak
Last August, our HitmanPro agent discovered Citadel Trojans within the Dutch government during the Dorifel outbreak. We also discovered that these Trojans were active on fully protected computers for roughly three to four weeks, without being detected. This period – shocking for most people – was clearly not an incident but is in line with our research results.
For more information on HitmanPro, and a free download: www.surfright.com.
ACRBO 9
CallThatGirl Lisa
In 2010 I happened across a website called technibble.com for the whole year of 2010 I spoke highly of remote support and what my business did to offer to clients. Many of the members on technibble were doing remote support and many didn't see it as a value add to their services list. I was out there cheerleading remote support constantly and finally had enough people that said I should put together an e-book about the topic. In September 2010 I published a social media e-book that sold online very nicely, and then the fall of 2010 I started to also sell my manual operations. So it just made sense to offer remote support book to the members of technibble. While I was trying to put together some ideas on how to help the purchasers of the e-book learn my strategy for writing the book was to write out a how to list and my first version of the remote book was just that. It was just a how to do it list there was very little I have to admit that the first version of the remote e-book was quite then what the how to list was quite exact. The sales were great and people were giving me awesome feedback, I was thrilled to provide a product to help people add on a service to their list and make money within one or two calls. After a few months of people giving me feedback, I had realized that I could write a second edition and make it more robust and have it be a better sale. A better sale for me means that people are very happy with the product and send me more email saying that they learned from the product and they're making more money and they opened the doors to many more opportunities than what they could offer in the past.
In November 2011 I launched the remote support
second edition and sales were exceptional, I was
thrilled to see so many people being excited about
remote support as I truly have a passion for working
with people remotely. As things change though, I
have found in the past few months the need for a
third version and I will add more about sales and
marketing because remote support has changed
dramatically for us in the past year, dramatically
mostly in terms of what we can do with remote
support.
It's not the remote support tools that we've changed so much is more what we’re doing with it and working in the unmanaged IT world. I have coined the term unmanaged IT to complement the managed IT companies out there. As well many of you know managed IT companies want monthly contracts to manage and maintain workstations of businesses. In unmanaged IT system includes cloud support cloud products and moving clients from a server to the new cloud systems, and getting them focused on doing everything online. If you have a computer shop or your home-based business and you're looking to add new revenue streams for your company the remote support book that is currently out that you can buy the three ebook bundle I offer right now through ACRBO for $75. In January 2013 I will be having a third edition come out and you will get this at no charge if you purchase are three book set now. Until the end of the year we are running in ACRBO special for all three books for $45. This is an unheard-of price especially since the remote book alone is priced at $89. So not only are you getting all three of these books for $45 you also get the updated versions this winter when they come out. This is a holiday special only for ACRBO bowl members. \The new addition will include sales cloud opportunities, new affiliate partnerships you can create, and all of the cloud services you can offer. The three ebook bundle includes: Call That Girl’s Guide to Remote Support Call That Girl’s Guide to Social Media Call That Girl’s Manual of Operations Visit: www.callthatgirl.biz/publications
ACRBO 10
ACRBO Deals
View and control remote
PCs from anywhere
without preinstalled
software. Full featured,
up to 10 concurrent
sessions, branded with
your company logo.
Subscription or one-
time prurchase. Easy
for your customers.
Powerful for your
business
Free Trial:
www.instanthousecall.com/free-trial
More Information:
www.instanthousecall.com
Contact: 1-888-838-4050/
Visit
www.LaptopRepairVideos.com
Thinking about
working on
laptops? Then The
Podnutz Latop
Repair Video
Collection is
exactly what you
need.
This month we added a new
Preferred Vendor offering
her products:
Call That Girl Plublications;
Lisa from Call That Girl's
publications
Call that girl's guide to social
media
Call that girl's operations
manual
Call that girl's guide to
remote support.
Not only do you get a
discount on the entire
package, but $10 of each
sale will go directly to the
Owen Lea Foundation the
charity of the ACRBO!
You will receive the
following:
Call That Girl's Guide to
Social Media
Call That Girl's Operations
Manual
Call That Girl's Guide to
Remote Support
URL: Click Here
http://callthatgirl.biz/acrbo/
ACRBO 11
In business time is one commodity that you do not ever have enough of. There will always be enough projects, meetings, loose ends, appointments and more, but never enough time. How to make time for things that you never found time for before.
How to not stress out at the end of each day because you did not finish what you started.
Start Today “Time Is Precious”…www.TimeIsPrecious.info
ACRBO 12
Inside this article we are going to examine what
needs to be implemented to be successful
online. This system is really easy and one that
people don't bother about too much. By telling
you what to search for online, this is going to
be a smart way for you to master how to set up
a small online business.
ACRBO 14
When is Data Recovery Impossible? By Lee Sensenbrenner
Director of Product Marketing
Gillware Data Recovery
When someone confronts you with a failed hard drive or electronic storage device, one of the key questions is the possibility of data recovery. Apart from cost and timeline, the first question many want answered is: Is it even possible to get my stuff back? How likely are data recovery efforts to succeed?
For us at the Gillware data recovery lab, the answer depends mostly on whether the data still exists.
The data on a hard drive is stored on an extremely thin mirror-like coating of magnetic material that was applied over the platter substrate, which is either glass or aluminum. This surface has tiny individual areas each of which has two possible states. The state is changed by the hard drive’s read/write heads when a small electrical field is applied, creating an incredibly dense matrix of magnetized or unmagnetized spots — 1s and 0s. That, of course, is the data.
The magnetic material that holds the data on the platters is durable considering how thin it is, but in absolute terms it is delicate and will scratch if metal contacts it with any significant force. Under normal operation, the read/write heads are positioned over the platter by an arm on a swivel and they quickly move anywhere across the platter without contacting the platter surface. They float on an extremely thin — as in 10-20 nanometers — cushion of air. An oxygen molecule, to give a sense of scale, is about a third of a nanometer. When the hard drive spins up, the motion of the platters creates airflow. The read/write head assembly is like a small wing and the airflow generated inside the drive lifts the heads off the platter.
In some situations the read/write head loses its cushion of air and touches platter surface. This action is commonly referred to as a head crash. In most situations the head will briefly make contact, immediately lift back up, and the drive will go on working with no noticeable impact to the user. Unfortunately, sometimes a head crash damages the head. Instead of lifting back up, the heads may remain in contact with the delicate platter surface.
. The platter spins at some constant, high rotational speed, usually beyond the redline of an engine. A common rotational speed is 7,200 revolutions per minute, but drives range from 5,400 to 15,000 rpm. This rotational velocity combined with contact from the heads is what causes rotational scoring.
When that magnetic material gets scored, the magnetic coating is turned to dust. The data it carried is lost.
In extreme cases of rotational scoring, we have seen large portions of laptop hard drive platters exposed as bare glass.
Some minor rotational scoring can be overcome by advanced techniques to recover data elsewhere on the drive’s platters. But any significant scoring is very likely to remove key parts of meta data necessary to make sense of the remaining binary code. You never want to lose any of the magnetic coating, for not only does it mean the loss of data, but it also makes the surface uneven and affects the ability of read/write heads to fly over the surface.
Rotational scoring is a serious and often insurmountable obstacle to data recovery. That is why we are careful to recommend caution when dealing with a failed drive. If the drive does not detect in the BIOS, there is no sense in trying recovery software. Stop running the drive.
If the drive is making unusual clicking noises, grinding or other unpleasant sounds, do not run power to it. These are all strong signs of internal mechanical damage. Avoid any action that will increase the risk of the heads scraping the platter surface, which includes experimentation and the many tricks of data recovery (the freezer, for example) that may have once worked for some older drives some of the time, but have now persisted well past their relevance and their ability to help.
Lastly, do not be tempted to open the drive to look for rotational scoring. Drives should only be opened in a clean room. With care, the data recovery cases that come to you will avoid further platter damage, and the odds of data recovery can be optimized.
Email Lee at [email protected]
ACRBO marketplace
PC Dice Contact: [email protected] A great gift for that tech you know. Or even better take them on site with you and amaze your customers.
Linux For The Rest Of Us
- Do you want to stay ahead of the computer curve so that you don't feel left in the dust?
- Do you want to expand your knowledge so that YOU are that technician who people go to for advice?
- Do you want to learn an operating system so powerful and fun you'll wonder how you lived without it?
Your Ad here Contact
[email protected] Let Us Know
> Want to see your ad here? Drop us an email.
www.FutureStarSoftware.com
Let’s face it the computer repair industry is quite
competitive and maintaining a profitable business,
not to mention growing the business, can be a big
challenge. If you accept these assumptions; here
are some ideas to foster efficiencies and growth for
your company - sort of a list of business building
best practices.
Practice 1 - Make a commission plan for your
technicians. Why? Well, from our experience at the
Chicago Computer Club the average number of
repairs a single tech performed each day was 2.5
without a commission plan. When a commission
plan was implemented, though we slightly
decreased their hourly rate to encourage and offset
cost, what we found was that average increased to
5 repairs per day, and some techs even reached 7
repairs per day. Which improved the efficiency
dramatically, each tech actually made more money
which encouraged them to stay longer and be
proactive in performing more repairs and work more
quickly. By using a system to create and track
commissions and a tech’s work will improve
customer satisfaction, create more revenue while
improving the turn-around time, and speed up the
payment process on the repair.
Practice 2 - Sell refurbished computers! They are
low in cost purchase and provide a higher profit
margin when sold. There is a need for these
computers if you target-market your customers
appropriately, such as students or elderly, charity
organizations and non-profit business. Also, given
they are refurbished, the more computers you sell,
the more repair business you can potentially create.
Because if the customer bought the computer from
you, most likely they will go back to you for any
repair or accessory they need. And, you have the
opportunity to sell a warranty with the refurbished
computer. There is a huge market for off-leased
computers which usually are business models and
are of a better quality than consumer products.
Practice 3 - Sell compatible inks for printers or
any accessories for products you sell. But inks
cartridges for printers are used up fairly quickly
and therefore the need to purchase new ones.
The genuine brand ink usually costs 5 to 8
times more than compatible inks. So, sell a
printer for a low or zero profit, and make the
profit on ink cartridges. But what’s also
important is to get the customer back into the
store. If they need replacement items and stop
in the store it’s a great opportunity to build a
bond with the customer to assure they come
back, and besides give them a coupon when
they purchase, but most importantly get them
coming back to the store.
Practice 4 - Sell warranties. There is no cost to
create the warranty and they generate a good
cash flow for the company. And, if there is an
issue later on, it provides an opportunity for the
customer to come back to you; which offers the
repair shop the opportunity to make-up for the
issue and bond with them, but also consider
cross selling them items they need . Remember
selling is not a “bad” thing – it’s about meeting
needs, wants and solving problems. Think of
yourselves as problem solvers. Use a system
that helps create and track warranties.
Practice 5- Always ask for referral! It's the best
way to get new customers. How much do you
spend on yellow page or other advertisements?
By asking the customer if they are happy with
the service, suggest they refer a potential
customer to you. You can do this by offering a
(tracking) coupon to the current client. Ask the
client to give the coupon to friend or potential
customer. The coupon can be tracked (with a
bar code) to the current client, and to the new
client providing a benefit to both parties. The
coupon can be customized to be anything you
want to offer – a percentage discount, a dollar
amount off, or even a free accessory or a
drawing of some sort. Use your imagination to
create what you want to offer. Have a system
that tracks this process.
Practices for Computer Repair Shops
ACRBO 16
Practices For Computer
Repair Shops
ACRBO 17
Practice 6- Recycle computers. Create an image as an environmentally friendly company. This program brings the
potential of new customers who may not have ever come to your store if not for recycling. When in the store give them
a coupon and a business card. Get them to come back again is the key. And, some of the recycled computers are
fixable for resale or you can use it for parts in other refurbished computers. Find local recyclers for pickup on a weekly
basis and use this process to help clean up the repair and storage space.
Practice 7-Use a big sign for your retail company. You might not have the money for a good location, but if you can
afford it get a big sign so you can be seen. This is especially important if you promote locally or are located in an urban
environment. People need to see you to know that you exist so consider using a neon sign, it stands out better. It’s your
biggest piece of advertisement so make it noticeable.
Lastly, using these practices revolves around the mindset of being a business manager versus just a technician. To
grow and manage your company you need two important items: think like a business owner, and use business
management software as a tool to help make better decisions. The MaNova system by Future Star Software was
designed specifically for this purpose; to be the management tool to help grow your company.
If you would like to know more about how the Chicago Computer Club grew from a single store to eight stores using
these practices, give us a call or visit our website at http://www.futurestarsoftware.com/ and read “our story” under the
company tab.
Have an article you
would like to submit or
an advertisement?
Contact us today
The Industry
Site: www.TechNibble.com
Who Is Technibble For?
Technibble is a free resource for Computer Technicians and Computer Business Owners.
Technibble helps computer technicians with information and how-to-articles published a few times
a week and has a strong community of Computer Technicians to help one another.
Technibble helps you by covering topics such as:
- How to start a Computer Business
- Advertising, how to get clients and keep them
- Business and legal issues
- Streamline your computer repair work
- Technician related product reviews and discounts
- New opportunities to look out for
- Stories from “the trenches” from your fellow Computer Techs
Technibble also has a large database of Computer Repair tools and adds a new on to its database
every week.
Be sure to check out the Archives, Computer Repair Tools section and the Computer
Technician forum. .
www.Technibble.com
ACRBO 21
We don’t want to bore you with a bunch of
marketing hoopla or buzz words about the new
ScreenConnect release. First off, we’d like to
thank our loyal customers for your continued
support; we hope that you are enjoying
ScreenConnect 3.0. For those of you unfamiliar
with ScreenConnect, here is a run-down of the
product.
Features—ScreenConnect supports an array of
features including reboot & reconnect, multiple
monitors, chat, file transfer, screen recording,
UAC , and much more! Additionally
ScreenConnect has unique features including a
custom toolbox repository that allows one click
access to support tools and advanced video
auditing. ScreenConnect has three use models
by which a host can interact with a guest:
Remote Support – For ad hoc remote
support sessions you have the option of
directing your customers to your
ScreenConnect web application or sending
them an email with a URL. Once they join the
session you can view and control their
computer.
Remote Access – A persistent client is
installed on the customer’s workstation so
you can connected to the machine at
anytime, even if no one is present on the
other end. Once connected you can perform
routine maintenance, updates or diagnose
issues.
Remote Meeting – This use model is NEW
to ScreenConnect. Remote Meetings
provide an online outlet for training,
meetings, and presentations. Meetings use
the same technology as the other
ScreenConnect remote applications but it
allows multiple guests on a session.
ScreenConnect Advantages
• A self-hosted solution with NO monthly
fees. Once you buy it you own it!
• Multi-platform, compatible with Mac,
Windows, and Linux.
• Android and iOS host clients included
with purchase.
• Branding allows you to aesthetically
change the colors and logos of your
installation to fit the look and feel of your
company.
• Utilize the open architecture to create
integrations, plugins, and other
customizations. We have hundreds of
examples on our forum. Host the central
web application on your own computer,
server, VM, or VPS. Once configured,
access your install from any computer in
the world.
We hope the new additions to ScreenConnect
have excited our customers. We have huge
plans for 2013! If For new customers wanting to
get in on the fun now we have a 30-day fully
featured trial available at our website. If you
have any questions please contact our sales
team at [email protected]. Thank you
from the ScreenConnect Team
Hello and Happy Holidays from the
ScreenConnect Team!
At GFI MAX, we eat, drink and sleep
MSP software and we LOVE it.
At GFI MAX, we eat, drink and sleep MSP software and we LOVE it.
Everything we do is focused on helping busy IT support companies and MSPs to grow. Our customers tell us that our software isn’t a cost to their business - they see it as a revenue multiplier.
We offer IT support companies and MSPs an award-winning suite of Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM), Email Security, End Point Security and Managed Hosted Back Up software that’s designed for companies of any size, from the large ambitious MSP to small hungry start-ups.
Our way of thinking is simple. We give you something that fits your business and that is flexible to change as you grow. We’ve made it pay-as-you-go and only for what you use. No contracts, no money down, and no quotas. And because our systems are hosted, there’s no hardware or software to maintain and the systems are accessible anywhere you happen to be.
What sets us apart from other MSP software companies is that we are more than just software. We help you grow your business. Free to customers, our Building Blocks to Managed Services program helps all companies grow their Managed Services business.
GFI MAX solutions:
• GFI MAX RemoteManagement – Manage and monitor servers, workstations and networks, deliver remote support either attended or un-attended. Offer asset/inventory tracking and reporting, Managed Antivirus, Managed Online Backup and proactive maintenance with automated tasks, scripting, patch management
for Microsoft and non Microsoft applications and
client reports which can be branded as your
own. Integrates with PSA, help desk, ticketing
and other systems.
• GFI MAX MailProtection – Email security and continuity compatible with any email system. Cloud based protection with zero hour AV defense. GFI MAX MailArchive – Hosted email archiving solution - easily archive email messages to geographically distributed datacenters for subsequent search, reference and retrieval.
Intelligent, flexible MSP software used by over 6,500 IT support companies just like you:
• Comprehensive - but not complex
• Get up and running fast
• Pay as you go
• No contracts
• Never outgrow the system
• Local support
• Put us to the test, sign-up for a 30-day FREE trial @ www.gfimax.com
GFI MAX Building Blocks™ help you build managed services revenue!
GFI MAX’s Building Blocks Program is all about making managed services easy and practical - and making the transition fast. We don’t believe that implementing and selling managed services should involve lengthy and time-consuming training, complex business models and/or complex software to implement. We do believe it can be easy - and with Building Blocks to Managed Services Program you’re able to get going TODAY! For FREE!
www.gfimax.com
ACRBO 26
Lisa Hendrickson of Call That Girl Computer Repair and Support based out of Minneapolis Minnesota brings you an article on cloud support or “Unmanaged IT” as Lisa calls it.
What is unmanaged IT? It’s where the clients have responsibility for buying all of their own cloud software products and services, they retain ownership and you play the role of fulfilling administrative duties, implementation and ongoing support for such software. Of course, you can purchase the software and mark it up, or affiliate sell it (which is what we do, we prefer our clients to own everything). In the last 10 to 15 years there has been a difference between computer repair and managed IT support businesses. Until the past couple of years, there really was no middle ground. Either a client had a server that required a monthly support contract, or they needed less frequent break fix options. Both were nicely serviced by small computer shops or managed IT companies. With the explosion of the cloud, the ongoing recession and so many qualified technicians leaving the corporate world to go on their own, a whole new world of support has popped up and it’s putting a few of us in a great position to create, grow and win. Those of us that run smaller firms are finding new ways to make money and compete, and the cloud is the winning equation. Managed IT businesses usually only want to work in the cloud with their larger contracts. They have no interest in moving 20 people off an old server to hosted exchange and setting up online backup. Working with cloud applications and offering remote support fills that nice hole for those a bit bigger than a computer repair shop. If your company wants to get in the game, reading the list of services below of cloud support options your company can offer will help you get in. After you complete your game plan of services, you not only put yourself in a great position for new marketing, but you can start to talk to the Managed IT companies in your area and let them know you are servicing cloud-only support for smaller companies that they do not wish to support anymore.
I will start with some examples of cloud services that we resell here at Call That Girl.
1. Do a full interview and assessment for the company - What solutions do they have now, what they want changed and how you can save them money?
2. Hosted Exchange: First service that we offer is a hosted exchange. We happen to really like GoDaddy for their support, packaging and their pricing for the hosted exchange packages. The clients also get a copy of Outlook 2010, which is a nice benefit, and I usually recommend upgrading to the latest version anyway. This is a nice, one-time sale for you all because of all of the work involved. You can be an affiliate for the hosted exchange sale, support the end-users by backing up all of their current PST files off their old server, administrate the transition and of course, set up and import back in the PST files. All of this can be done remotely by the way; my company has done every single transition without going onsite. This service averages about 1.5 hours per end user and a1-3 hours to do the admin set up. Depends on what the company needs.
3. Online Backup: The next service that we sell is
Mozy Pro. What we do is determine how much data a company has to backup. This is usually done by going to each workstation and figuring out the data on each computer. We are an affiliate of Mozy, so we ask the client to purchase through our website which has the affiliate link. We then install Mozy on each computer and configure in the admin panel on Mozy enough space for each person. This typically can run about 30 minutes per computer.
File Sharing: The next online service that we offer is
Dropbox. For a smaller company under 10 employees,
we ask the owner of the company to pay the $99 fee to
get the 100 gig plan and then they will manage out the
shares on the Dropbox files to the employees. Many
owners will sometimes have one other person set up with
a 100 gig Dropbox account. This is a nice way to share
files in a manner that allows companies to move off file
servers. The clients can also view their files on
Smartphones. This set up is usually 15 minutes per
computer……Continued
cloud support or
“Unmanaged IT”
…..Lisa
5. Antivirus Protection Plans: We also offer our home grown antivirus protection plan and it sells for $69 a year. We install and setup for that price and it includes a lifetime license of Malwarebytes, installation of Microsoft Security Essentials and no virus removal fees if they get a virus and are on our plan. Every quarter we send these clients an email to remind them to update their java and flash and AV products. This is a yearly renewal of $39. 6. Communications: The fifth thing that we offer companies is Google chat. Google chat is a nice communication tool that can help businesses communicate and send files instantly. It’s taking away the extra emailing and phone calls going on. It allows employees to multi-task and be more productive because a Google chat window can be open while they do other things. Cost to install this depends on their Google set up; it can be up to 15 minutes per end user. 7. Ongoing Support: The fifth thing that we offer is a prepay ticket for ongoing support. Since we are not a managed IT company, these prepay tickets are quite nice and can be changed to fit each client’s needs. Our best seller is the $1000 package which includes onsite time, remote support and shop visits. Our other popular prepay is the $396 four hour remote support prepay.
To close, If you go onsite to do an assessment and offer all of these cloud services, you will find yourself with a nice invoice and a prepay ticket. Unlike Managed IT, it is not a rolling monthly fee, but if you want to roll the invoice into 12 months and ask your clients to pay a monthly average for that invoice, that’s your way of creating a nicely monthly invoice
ACRBO 27
This box could be an
article you write and
have published. If you
would like to have
something published
drop me an email
Software installation sucks. You click Next
Next Next through a bunch of meaningless
screens while staying just alert enough to
notice a toolbar. Then you try to decipher
any double or triple negatives in the fine print
before unchecking the proper box or clicking
the correct button. Then it’s back to Next
Next Next.
Assuming you have the latest installer.
Which might mean you have to track boring
release notices too.
Then you repeat for each program.
We made Ninite to rescue you from this
nonsense.
Ninite is a program that installs multiple
programs at once. Or it will update them if
they’re already installed and out-of-date.
Ninite runs installers in hidden offscreen
windows and simulates all the clicks to install
programs. We’re careful to have it uncheck
toolbars or other included junk, and we
watch for new versions of apps as they’re
released and update the configurations.
Ninite installs apps just like you would, but
fully automated. It makes a chore disappear.
There’s a free version for home use at
http://ninite.com. Many technicians refer
customers to the site to make it easy for
them to install software. You can even add
app names in the url to skip the selection
step, like http://ninite.com/chrome-java-
skype.
For businesses we have Ninite Pro
https://ninite.com/pro. Pro starts at
$20/month for 100 machines and includes
extra features like a download cache that
lets Ninite Pro run 3 times faster, and
options to turn off desktop shortcuts or the
annoying built-in update notifications from
apps like Java, Flash, or Adobe Reader.
Those options are great for basic repair
work, but if you’re doing ongoing
maintenance Ninite Pro’s remote mode lets
you audit or update the software for a whole
network of computers at once. Or if you just
want a hassle-free way to keep machines
updated for a customer you can create a
startup script to run “Ninite.exe /silent
c:\ninite\log.txt /updateonly
/disableautoupdate” and the apps on the
machine will be checked and updated on
each reboot.
Check it out with a free trial from
https://ninite.com/pro. If you like it and sign
up, send me a note at [email protected] and
I’ll give you a free month as an ACRBO
bonus.
Ninite
ACRBO 28
Exploring New Cloud Frontiers
In the 1960’s, renowned computer scientist John
McCarthy anticipated the advent of cloud
computing when he speculated that “computation
may someday be organized as a public utility”.
We’re seeing this happen today with more and
more businesses choosing to handle their IT
needs by shifting to the cloud, where they can pay
for the exact solutions and technological capacity
they need – the same way they do with metered
household water and electricity -- and avoid
making costly investments in new hardware and
the in-house staff to effectively run it.
Solutions in the cloud give businesses access to
more and better resources than they would
otherwise be able to afford, and offer the ability for
you to move your customers out of the break/fix
cycle while adding to your revenue stream. As a
trusted advisor to your customers, you can assess
their needs and map out the best solution for
them.
Lift Off with Cloud Servers
Virtual server infrastructures that can be used to
host and run business applications, or for hosting
websites, Cloud Servers are built on secure and
redundant hardware. They are scaled for growth,
and include secure options for firewalls and VPNs.
CPU and memory upgrades can be done more
easily on Cloud Servers than on physical servers.
They are a good option for businesses that need
new servers, or whose server needs are short-
term and project-specific. Cloud Servers also
enable IT professionals to respond quickly and
flexibly to changing business needs, rather than
investing time, energy and capital into purchasing
and configuring new hardware themselves.
Cloud Servers also support the movement from
break/fix to managed services. Our customer
Ness & Campbell Crane, a large crane service
with offices across the Pacific Northwest, lost
access to their file server and all their critical
business applications and data, including
customer information, accounting and operations
software when their main server crashed. Even
when it had been working, the performance was
incredibly slow. Their managed service provider
operated on a break/fix paradigm and was
inaccessible when issues came up. Ness &
Campbell Crane’s server environment frequently
performed poorly because of long-neglected
network and hardware issues.
Instead of spending the $30,000 it would take to
purchase new server hardware, software, and the
IT resources and time to implement them, they
decided to run everything on Cloud Servers which
resulted in much faster, smoother application
performance than they had previously had with
their old hardware. The time it took to run a
monthly accounting report went from 15 minutes
to 15 seconds.
In addition to providing a stable monthly revenue
stream, Cloud Servers also provide a good
foundation on which to add additional applications
and services that can provide you with additional
recurring revenue. Not only was Ness Crane a
great candidate for Cloud Servers, they also
streamlined their entire IT infrastructure by adding
Online Backup, Hosted Exchange Email, and web
access. Ultimately, they benefited considerably by
increasing the overall reliability and speed of their
systems, and they gained the additional
reassurance of having business continuity should
something go wrong on premises because their
critical applications are regularly maintained and
managed off-site, and available in the cloud.
Managing Cloud Servers for your clients also
provides you with a great opportunity to
continuously engage with your customers and to
increase your profit margins. You can monitor,
update and patch the servers yourself, as well as
installing and managing applications and data on
the server, and performing routine system
administration.
As awareness of the advantages of cloud
solutions grows, more and more small and
medium business will be looking for ways to take
off for the Cloud. This is a great time to help them
get there.
FibercloudCloud
www.FiberCloud.com
ACRBO 29
Techinline: A Cost-Effective and Reliable
Remote Support Solution for IT Pros
In today’s ultra-competitive IT environment, a
simple Google search will turn up numerous
remote support applications that vary based on
price, functionality, performance, and ease of use.
Whether you’re a one-person shop or employed
by a large IT company, you’re able to select a tool
which best meets your needs, budget, and
preferences. One tool that deserves some
consideration regardless of the company’s size is
Techinline.
Techinline delivers an effective feature-set along
with reasonable and flexible pricing, thus making it
an attractive fit for an IT company of any size and
budget, as well as for those looking to use remote
assistance for personal matters.
Let’s briefly review some of the benefits of using
Techinline:
Simple Connection Process and Intuitive
Interface: Techinline is entirely browser-based,
which implies that users at both ends of the
remote session are not required to install or
download any software. The Client is simply
required to launch a webpage where a 6-digit
Client ID number is displayed. The tech uses this
number to connect to the Client’s computer. The
entire connection process is summarized in
Techinline’s Quick Start Guide.
The interface provides an intuitive and user-
friendly layout of available features and options.
Pricing: Techinline is a commercial-use product
which provides a number of payment options,
including a flexible “pay as you go” Per-Session
plan which is specifically designed for infrequent
or personal usage. Depending on the volume of
remote support cases, an IT professional is able to
use Techinline either on an unlimited subscription
basis or purchase a specific number of sessions
that may be used whenever the periodic need for
a remote connection arises. This freedom and
flexibility make Techinline an effective alternative
to some of the high-priced remote desktop
applications on the market today.
The pricing options are displayed on Techinline’s
Buy Now page.
Feature-Set & Performance: Techinline delivers
a wide range of valuable features such as file and
clipboard transfer, auto-reconnect upon reboot
(including safe-mode), extensive branding and
integration, reporting, video recording, and many
more. Another neat feature is the ability to not only
connect to and control a remote user’s computer,
but also share view and control of your own
computer with the remote party.
Security: All data exchanged between the
session participants is transmitted through secure
HTTPS protocol with 256-bit SSL encryption.
Furthermore, Techinline also provides 2-Factor
Authentication, making it fully compliant with PCI’s
Data Security Standards.
Conclusion
Techinline is a very capable application which
should meet the needs of both small tech
businesses and large IT companies alike. Its
simple connection process and intuitive interface
make it an effective solution even for users with
limited IT knowledge and skills. Register for a 15-
day fully featured free trial of Techinline and start
experiencing its benefits today.
CONTACTS Phone
US & Canada (1) 617 381 4349
United Kingdom +44 (0) 20 8144 7131
Australia +61 (0) 3 9016 3460
New Zealand +64 (04) 889 2151
Email [email protected] [email protected]
Skype techinline
The pricing options are displayed on Techinline’s
Buy Now page.
ACRBO 31
Working for National IT Contractors and Service Platforms By Rick Savoia The Force Field
The typical IT technician starts a computer repair business by searching out those in need of their services on a local level, building a customer base primarily from referrals or word-of-mouth. However, many take a slightly different route and perform contract work for national IT service companies and web-based servie platforms, either as "filler" work between servicing their own customers or as a full-time operation. There are some obvious advantages to contracting yourself out to a national or platform, of course. First, it saves time and money on advertising and marketing campaigns in an effort to find your own customers. Second, it frees you from some of the responsibilities of managing your own customers, allowing you to concentrate on performing strictly as a tech. Overall, it is a quick and easy way to start a repair business from the ground up. However, there are also some disadvantages. Contracts are somewhat restrictive and usually one-sided (and not in your favor). Once committed to a contract job, you must fulfill it to the satisfaction of the contractor or you may not get paid in full or at all. Although you can often negotiate rates somewhat, you don't always get the rates you want or need. And most importantly, contract or no contract, sometimes collecting the payment for services rendered can be a very real problem. There are some very good nationals and service platforms out there. Unfortunately, there are also some very bad ones. There are also good and bad techs. This is an unregulated field that comes with some serious risks for players on both sides of the business. For this reason, the relationship between the nationals and the techs have become somewhat strained, especially in recent years with the advent of internet based platforms. This past summer, The Force Field conducted a survey of techs who work for nationals and platforms and asked them to rate these companies from best to worst. The purpose was to take the pulse of the IT service industry and provide a benchmark for techs who are trying to profit in the field. The results were published in a 20 page report that is believed to be the first of its kind in the industry. The report was released Thanksgiving Day 2012 in tandem with a special episode of The Force Field Podcast.
The report includes demographic data on the techs who work for these platforms, such as the types of businesses they have, where they are located and the total amount of revenue generated from contract work. The report also lists the ten best national contractors, the three best platforms, the seven worst national contractors and the five worst platforms in the industry. The Force Field Episode 62 features a detailed analysis of the report and comments from the host. In addition to the stats, the podcast also includes comments from survey respondents who contributed to the report. The comments provide insight why some of these companies were ranked best or worst and assess the state of the IT service industry in general. The comments were not included in the 20 page report. You will only hear them on the show. If you're an IT service technician who performs contract work for nationals and platforms, you will definitely want to read it. If you are new to the field or even thinking about performing contract work for nationals and service platforms either full or part time, you should read this report first before you sign up with any of the companies listed in the report. The National Contractor and Service Platform Survey Report is FREE and available for download at http://www.theforcefield.net/reports/2012/index.html The Force Field Episode 62, which includes detailed analysis and comments from survey respondents, is available on demand at http://www.theforcefield.net/podcast/?p=345 For a list of national IT service companies and
platforms, complete with comments and ratings
from service technicians, visit The Directory of
National Contractors at
http://www.theforcefield.net
Visit The Force Field Today
www.TheForceField.net
Rebit Inc.
Rebit’s time tested CDP (continuous data protection) technology eliminates the need to set up backup schedules by automatically backing up all changes that occur within the system every 30 seconds. Proprietary algorithms figure out when the system is idle to eliminate any impact on system performance as part of the CDP process. For those who prefer to manage their backups with a schedule Rebit Pro also includes an easy to use scheduling capability.
“When I moved from a break fix to a managed service offering, I needed something that was comprehensive but also affordable” says Dave Ross at Premier-Computers located in Boulder, CO. “If my clients have a hard drive or PC problem, they just want it back to its original state as soon as possible. Rebit allows me to do this with minimal effort allowing my company to service more clients on a monthly basis”.
Accelerate your business – join the Rebit partner program!
Rebit offers a competitive partner program for IT consultants and resellers. With a recurring revenue opportunity, margins at 20% and a comprehensive backup solution, the Rebit partner program can accelerate your business growth. With annual subscription prices ranging from $19.99 to $699.99, Rebit offers a range of products to meet the needs and requirements of many small offices. Become a Rebit reseller and receive a special ACRBO offer for a 5 user license. Learn more about our program at www.rebit.com/partner/benefits or contact us directly at 866-635-5784.
Rebit Fills Reseller Void with new Rebit Pro
Rebit Inc., founded in 2007 and based in Longmont, Colorado, develops backup software solutions for consumers, professionals and small offices. Well known for its award-winning Rebit5 software, Rebit has built a reputation for providing innovative, “ridiculously simple” backup solutions that are both comprehensive and cost effective. With the recent introduction of RebitPlus and RebitPro, Rebit has expanded its product offerings to meet the needs of small offices and professionals looking for a seamless hybrid backup solution that supports both Windows Servers and clients.
Why choose a hybrid backup solution?
Many small businesses need the speed and security of a local backup solution, but also want the redundancy offsite cloud backup offers. Current solutions require the user to run two separate systems, which means duplicate resources, costs, and unnecessary complexity. Rebit believes local and cloud are synergistic, not competing, technologies. Local backup delivers immediate access to files and the ability to do a full system restore if necessary. Online backup provides data redundancy in the event of a disaster plus the ability to access data from anywhere with any device. Combined, these two technologies deliver comprehensive data and system protection.
Why is Rebit unique?
Plus and Pro are based on Rebit’s innovative hybrid architecture that allows users to manage local and online backup for both Windows Servers and clients with a single backup engine and single user interface. This easy to implement and easy to use comprehensive backup solution meets the requirements for professionals and small businesses that don’t have the time or resources to manage multiple complex solutions. This means one service for local, cloud, clients and servers.
By nature, a remote support solution arrives at a client’s
computer bearing exactly that medal in its chest: it is the
solution. In the face of a computer problem, the remote
technician will bring the needed solution and all will be
fine once again (and “bring” it’s not definitely the correct
way to put it, since no one will actually need to get up
from their desks and physically carry anything).
The “solution” definition is not, by all means, wrong. But,
at least when looking at BeAnywhere’s Suport Express
features, it’s a definition that finds itself way too short. A
solution for clients? Yes, of course; but also a business
solution for managers, tech centers and IT companies
searching for income where many others are already
looking. So, anticipation – get there first – and branding –
be remembered over others – become key concepts.
Because, despite the economical crisis the world is
submerged to, and despite the domestic users migration
to mobile equipment, companies will always need their IT
structures up and running. The market is there, you only
need to grab it first.
So rather than expecting for a client to perceive a
problem and to later cry for help at a moment of choice, a
truly integrated remote support service – rather than just
a simple technical tool – should be able to keep a close
eye on a customer’s system and to raise a red flag up in
the air whenever a technical issue begins to surface. So
BeAnywhere inSight Lite Ed., a free remote monitoring
package that is included with Support Express, is for
itself a prospector of income... From the service provider
perspective, the ability to detect a technical glitch is the
ability to detect an income source – and to easily arrive
first than others sitting and waiting for support requests to
fall on their laps. That’s anticipation (and also a job well
done).
Branding, on the other hand, is all about memory.
There’s a reason why everybody automatically relates
three sequential numbers with emergency calls – 911
stands for a particular service related to specific
situations. That’s the mindset you looking for when those
specific situations fit on the “computer technical problem”
marker. Your brand should be the first one popping up in
the “person in need” brain – and that’s achieved by
For instance, a company can ensure the placement of its
logo in the customer applet, right there for him to see
during the entire remote support intervention. Another
example: the Exclusive link feature, the one that allows
the insertion of your URL or any other set of words that
you find memorable, transforming this link for help in
something unique, easy to identify and, most of all, quick
to remember even during a moment of stress. And the
examples carry on. Providers can also raise their brand
awareness through Support Express Calling Cards, a
true business intelligence tool that enables the complete
takeover of their support service management: apply
different price ranges for different periods of the day,
week or month; charge customers up to the minute or fix
your fees regardless the time any problem takes solving;
pre-charge services until the expiration date is reached
or pre-sell a specific number of support minutes (or
hours) that can be used at any given moment – think of it
like a business card your clients can get out of their
wallets when a virus hits their folders, ready both as a
solution for their problems, but also as business solution
for your company.
Advanced Remote Solutions
Phone: +351 210 441 550 Ext. 210
Fax: +351 707 500 787
Official Site: www.beanywhere.com
Support Online: www.beanywhere.com/support/2/BASE
Beanywhere
Remote Support