Posts from — December 2008

Outsourcing has gained popularity over the last few years as companies around the globe have turned to outside experts to deploy sound technology strategies. Once reserved for larger companies, outsourcing is now viewed as a cost-effective alternative to in-house solutions for companies of all sizes. Recent findings from market research firm The Yankee Group found that over 50 percent of small to medium-sized businesses (SMB) now employ some type of outsourcing to fulfill their information technology (IT) needs. [Read more →]

There are millions of web sites on the Internet today with thousands more being added each day. The competition is fierce and in order to be successful, you must stay one step ahead of the game.Although designing a professional web site is an important part of your strategic plan, it is only the first step. Before you begin the actual design process, you must first determine your overall strategy and design your web site accordingly.

Internet marketers have basically two choices:

-> Design a mini web site that focuses on just one product or service, with no other content of any kind.

-> Design a content web site that includes not only your products and services, but also information and resources that will be of interest to your target market. [Read more →]

Guide To Managed HostingMany businesses (especially SOHO’s and SME’s) are unable to meet the resource requirements required to manage their systems 24X7. In order to be successful, a company whose online presence is an integral part of its business must successfully implement and maintain the following:

- Web Site Hosting
- Remote application monitoring and support
- Database back-up, maintenance, and recovery Bandwidth measurement and scaling
- Server hardware and software
- Router(s) and other communication equipment that connects your server to the Internet
- Firewall, and other security hardware and applications
- Racks, cabling, and server-friendly facilities
- Uninterruptible power supply and generator to ensure backup in case of power failure

Hiring an in-house staff to maintain all this is prohibitively expensive, so outsourcing these infrastructure needs to a third-party can be a very cost-effective option. However, as more and more organizations claim to offer “managed services” it becomes difficult to determine between a MSP (Managed Services Provider) and a managed host. [Read more →]