Across almost every industry, computers are essential to keeping a business operating smoothly. Computers improve employee efficiency, accuracy, and can speed up many work processes. As a business owner, knowing when to replace your work computer can be challenging. If you wait too long, you can incur expensive support and service costs, and if you replace desktops and laptops too soon, you aren’t maximizing your original investment. So, how do you know when to keep or replace your older PCs? Let’s take a look at the average lifespan of computers, our recommended refresh cycle for a business, and key indicators a computer is starting to fail. Like all electronics, computers will slow down and become less useful as they age. Environmental conditions, accidents, and normal wear and tear take their toll on both PCs and laptops, causing functional issues. Computers don’t last forever and having a replacement plan in place can help business owners plan for IT budget needs. The average lifespan of a computer is typically three to five years. Desktop computers should last at least three years, and laptops, between three and five years. There are several factors that contribute to how long a computer will last for an employee including: At Everound, we recommend business owners adopt a 25% refresh cycle with their computer inventory rather than replacing all computers at the same time. Essentially, instead of purchasing new computers for all workstations at once, business owners can replace 25% of them each year. This cost-effective strategy allows for hardware capital expenses to be budgeted over four years instead of one. There are several key signs to watch for when considering if you need to replace your work computers including: If your PCs or laptops are experiencing any of the key indicators they need to be replaced, a managed IT service provider can help you determine the best path to replace hardware in a cost-efficient manner. Everound offers monthly managed IT service plans that help business owners assess and determine how to replace computers to maximize efficiency and productivity. At Everound, we work with small businesses to large corporations on their IT needs including computer procurement, installation, hardware and software maintenance, and computer refresh plans. Our team of experienced IT professionals can help you determine the best course of action to keep your computers operating at peak performance. Reach out today for a free hardware assessment for your business. We focus on your IT, so you can focus on your business.Average Lifespan of Computers
Key Signs You Should Replace Your Computer
Everound for Your Hardware Needs
Category: Innovation
While the shift to a remote workforce had been gradually evolving over the last decade, 2020 accelerated the move to remote work. Many businesses are now embracing either an entirely work-from-home culture or a hybrid model where employees split their time between an office and a remote location. A recent survey from PwC reinforced what leaders and business owners have been hearing from their own teams – more than half of employees who were sent home to work during the pandemic prefer to continue to work from home at least 2 days a week. Nineteen percent of all employees surveyed prefer to work remotely entirely. The old paradigm of a 40-hour workweek, bookended with a morning and evening commute, is quickly changing. The key to a successful remote workforce is a solid technology infrastructure and IT support. Technology plays a critical role in access to resources, collaboration, and most importantly, security. What current technologies can help a remote team? Let’s look at how technology supports a remote workforce. A successful, efficient remote work platform requires several key technology resources that provide a seamless, secure work experience. With the staggering increase in cybercrime in 2020, the highest technology priority for any business, especially those with a remote team, is cybersecurity. Last year more than 90% of companies worldwide experienced some form of a cyberattack whose aim was to steal passwords. For businesses with remote employees, a solid, strategically developed infrastructure can help prevent cyber threats while also providing ways for employees to work efficiently and stay connected. Several technologies that are critical for a secure IT infrastructure include: One of the challenges of the abrupt move to a remote workforce in 2020 was the immediate disruption to face-to-face communication and routine day-to-day conversations. Because nonverbal communication makes up 60-80% of communication, it’s important for businesses to integrate a visual platform for communication in addition to digital communication products (think chat programs like Slack). Successful remote teams have several information technology resources available to them to encourage communication including: A robust remote work program not only includes the apps and services employees need to perform their job but also supports technologies challenges and backup and disaster recovery. Several approaches to IT support services include: At Everound, we understand the unique information technology challenges of businesses with a remote workforce. We can help identify areas of improvement and customize solutions to help meet the needs of a fully remote or hybrid business model.Critical Cybersecurity for Remote Workers
Communication Technologies for a Remote Workforce
Support Services for Remote Workers
Managed IT Services for a Remote Workforce
Interested in learning more? Reach out today for a free assessment to see if your current IT infrastructure is fully supporting your remote team. Let us focus on your IT, so you can focus on your business.
How fast does hardware become outdated? Let’s look at a piece of hardware almost everyone is familiar with – the iPhone. In the last five years, there have been 7 different versions released. With the average cost of an iPhone sitting at around $750, many people often skip a few generations of iPhones until they can afford the next “new” one. No big deal, right? Even the oldest model of an iPhone still makes calls and sends text messages. For business IT hardware, though, (think firewalls, servers, and networking equipment), having an old, outdated version can create a risk for business owners, and hinder efficiency. If you are a small or mid-sized business owner operating on a tight budget, how do you keep your hardware up to date without a huge capital expenditure? The answer is Hardware as a Service (HaaS). Hardware as a Service, or HaaS, is a procurement model that is similar to leasing or renting equipment. In the HaaS model, businesses essentially “borrow” their IT hardware from a managed service provider (MSP). The MSP owns the hardware and is responsible for maintenance and upkeep. The service model can be set up in different ways. For some businesses, it makes sense to pay a monthly fee for the hardware, and in other cases, HaaS is incorporated into a broader managed service agreement that includes other services like help desk support and IT consulting. In our fast-paced technology world, owning hardware can be expensive, cumbersome, and challenging for business owners. HaaS offers an alternative approach to hardware and IT infrastructure needs that can help business owners reduce the stress of keeping up with how quickly technology changes. There are several ways HaaS can benefit businesses including: At Everound, we understand the challenges businesses face with keeping their hardware operating at a level that meets and exceeds their business goals. We offer both HaaS as an independent service and as part of a monthly managed IT services plan. Our HaaS packages can be customized to meet the specific needs of a business and often includes: Curious if Hardware as a Service is right for your business? Reach out today to learn more about how we can help. Let us focus on your IT needs so you can focus on your business.What Is Hardware as a Service?
Benefits of HaaS Solutions
Everound: Your Hardware as a Service Partner
Big companies almost always have an information technology department. The IT team not only helps the organization with troubleshooting errors and issues but also provides long-term planning and overall business support and strategic planning. If you’re a small business owner, though, chances are you do not have an IT department. So how do you manage your information technology to keep your business running smoothly? Do you need an IT department for your small business? And when do you hire someone to take on the IT functions? Before you hire an IT manager, it’s important to understand the role of an IT department, the financial investment in hiring, and when to scale up the IT team as your business grows. The IT department is typically known as the team that “fixes things.” When a computer crashes, the printer has an error, or someone forgets their password, they call the IT guys. In reality, though, an IT department does much more than troubleshooting (although they do that, too). The IT department is a critical component in overall business success. The team has three areas of concern – governance of a company’s technological systems, maintenance of IT infrastructure, and monitoring and improving the functionality of all systems. IT governance is the ‘big picture’ of how IT integrates into the overall business. It examines all the ways IT can provide a return-on-investment for a business owner and its stakeholders. For example, if a business goal is to increase customer service response times, the choice of software to meet that goal would fall under IT governance. IT governance ensures businesses have appropriate decision-making processes and controls in place so that the interests of all stakeholders are balanced. IT governance is essentially a set of policies and procedures designed to align IT functions with overall business strategy and success. Having a formal set of standards in place helps to maximize value, set IT strategy, reduce risk, and measure performance. Most businesses understand this function of an IT department – maintaining the IT infrastructure. This includes many of the ‘behind-the-scenes’ tasks such as: IT departments just don’t “set it and forget it” when it comes to IT infrastructure. The IT department continually monitors and improves functionality to minimize loss and maximize return. Using tools, employee feedback, and documentation, the IT department refines and improves the current systems. Small businesses can hire an in-house IT professional if they have the financial stability and resources to grow their staff. The financial investment varies widely depending on the type of IT professional needed to support the business. According to Indeed.com, the average salaries of the most common IT professionals are: The cost of hiring an IT professional extends beyond the salary. According to the Society of Human Resources Management, the average cost of hiring a new employee can exceed $4,000. For any business, having the right people in place can make all the difference in the success of the organization. How do you know when it’s the right time to add an IT team? What works for some businesses may not work for others, so it’s important to first assess your situation to determine when – and if – you should hire. If you own a small business, ask yourself: If you answered yes to these questions, you should consider adding IT support to your small business. But what if you cannot afford to add a full-time team member to your staff? The good news is you can get the IT support you need through Managed IT Services. Many small business owners are operating on tight budgets and cannot financially support an in-house IT team. Managed IT Services is a way to get the IT support you need that works with your budget and goals. Managed IT Services allows business owners to delegate their ongoing information technology processes to a third-party company like Everound that specializes in the IT industry. For a fraction of the cost of hiring an IT professional, Managed IT Services improves overall organizational efficiency and productivity while also reducing operating expenses. As a Managed IT Services provider, Everound offers IT support including: If you own a small business and are ready to add IT support in a cost-efficient way, reach out today to discuss how we can help. We can work with your budget to support you and your IT needs. Let us focus on your IT so you can focus on your business. Role of the IT Department
Governance of Technological Systems
Maintenance of IT Infrastructure
Monitoring and Improving System Functionality
Financial Investment to Start an IT Department
Scaling IT as Your Business Grows
Managed IT Services for Small Businesses
Choosing an IT provider and hiring the right information technology consulting company is paramount to ensure both short- and long-term business continuity. A strong proactive information technology strategy and approach can create efficiencies, improve communication, and ensure sensitive business data is secure. As an IT consulting and managed IT services provider, we know there are many companies that provide similar services. With every IT company promising the same thing, how do you choose an IT provider? As a business owner, it’s critical to understand what to look for when choosing a partner to help you with your IT needs. Nothing is worse than having to track down your IT support team when you are having a critical issue that needs quick attention. A reputable managed IT services provider should be available and on-call to respond to issues quickly. When choosing a provider, ask about guaranteed response times, direct access to the IT support team, and if they offer 24/7 support services. Even though remote work is becoming standard for businesses, brick-and-mortar companies still need onsite support for IT challenges. IT consulting firms and managed service providers should offer onsite support included in their scope of services to help employees with their IT needs. From hardware and software installation to general troubleshooting, onsite support is critical in an ongoing IT support relationship. Many IT support companies will use a cookie-cutter approach to IT services for their clients. For some functions like software installation, using the same approach is most likely appropriate and even efficient. But individual businesses have specific challenges that are best solved through innovation and custom solutions. Ask your managed IT services company if they understand your specific needs and how they will approach problem-solving as your IT partner. Are you prepared for an emergency such as a cyberattack, network failure, power outage, or even a fire or other facility loss? When you choose an IT service provider, be sure they are properly helping you plan for an emergency or disaster with cloud services, cybersecurity planning, and proactive disaster recovery and response programming. Above all, your managed IT service provider should be relationship-focused. Many companies push their client into an annual service level agreement and then once signed, forget about the relationship. Business owners should feel like their outsourced IT team is not outsourced at all, rather as an extension of their own staff and team. We do things a little differently at Everound. We believe relationships and trust are the drivers of a successful partnership. We work diligently to build, maintain, and improve upon relationships in all that we do. How are we different? If you are interested in improving your IT infrastructure and programs, reach out today to learn more about how we can help. Whether you are frustrated with your current provider or are considering choosing an IT provider for the first time, we are ready to listen to your needs and help you make an informed decision. Here are 5 key qualifications when choosing an IT provider for your business:
Availability
Onsite Support
Innovation & Outside the Box Thinking
Disaster Recovery and Response
Relationship-Focused
The Everound Difference