As of the time of this writing, Google cloud is experiencing issues. Specifically with their cloud-based calendar product. The current error message reads as follows:
“We’re experiencing an issue affecting less than 0.125% of the Google Calendar user base. The affected users are able to access Google Calendar, but are seeing error messages and/or other unexpected behavior.
We will provide an update by February 23, 2011 12:52:00 PM UTC+1 detailing when we expect to resolve the problem.
Please note that this resolution time is an estimate and may change.
Affected users may be missing entries in their calendars.”
This begs the question of course, when your cloud solutions provider experiences problems, who can respond to the issue in a more speedy manner? A beheomith such as Google, withs its millions of users, or a locally based IT company that managers your private cloud?
Deciding if whether or not to hire a full time IT person (or persons) or to outsource your IT support to a managed services company poses a few challenges. Monetarily, access-wise, knowledge-wise and other; the decision can have far reaching implications for your business. Let’s look as a few pros and cons.
Outsourcing IT vs Hiring In-House IT personnel comparison
Pros of outsourcing (Cons of hiring fulltime IT personnel)
1. Reduced costs (It will cost more, generally to hire just one full time IT person)
2. 24/7 Support Ability (A full time guy still needs to sleep )
3. Potentially greater consulting expertise (A managed services, IT support company can draw on more experience and expertise)
4. Full utilization of resources (Often, in-house staff will have lots of downtime, and their complete abilities may not be fully used).
The primary con, of course, is that a managed service company will find it more difficult to give you an exact personalized response. But, if the company is large enough, it can often assign certain staff top certain accounts, thus providing a more personalized response. If a certain IT engineer that you prefer isn’t available, at least you can still have access to other knowledge staff, even at odd hours of the day.
The larger your company, the more sense it makes to go with a managed services company, rather than hiring in-house IT support personnel. With each employee, you have to factor in benefits, vacation time, as well as scheduling. The costs can add up quickly.
As a side note, we often do find that many companies still like to have a semi-technical liaison that coordinates with us. They can often handle very simple issues, and keep communication between the company and a managed service provider smooth.
This article really only touches the surface of this very important question for businesses. If you’d like to get more detailed information on how managed services can benefit your business, please give us a call at 877.635.4837.
Fall In Love With The Cloud and Microsoft 365
February is the month of love, and it might be time for you to be introduced to a new partner: Microsoft 365. Let’s examine some of the key benefits, and you can decide if you love for it is as intense as many peoples.
3 Reasons Your Workplace Should Get on the Cloud with Microsoft 365
Cloud computing is all the rage these days, and in the workplace, it is increasingly becoming a de-facto standard. The ability to access your key data, and documents, from anywhere, and collaborate with team members seamlessly and securely provides great benefits to businesses as they seek to become more streamlined and efficient. Microsoft 365, the latest Office product from Microsoft, helps businesses in these ways by letting you work “on the cloud”.
The Agility to Work Anywhere
With Microsoft 365 you can access your key data and documents anywhere that you have an internet connection. Data hosted “on the cloud” isn’t stored on your local machine. It is stored in a central repository, remote from your location. This means you will be able to, for example, access key Excel spreadsheets anywhere, anytime, even from your smart phone. Whenever you can access the internet, you can access your information.
Team Collaboration on Steroids
With the addition of Sharepoint, collaboration between team members becomes a breeze. You can easily keep team documents, lists, and calendars synced, in addition to staying up to date on key business updates, news and events. Real-time communication with colleagues can be enabled directly and easily. Instantly respond to challenges in a team-based environment with Microsoft 365.
Enterprise-Class, Robust Security
One benefit of the cloud is that it makes enterprise level security and reliability available to smaller businesses with tighter budgets. The simplicity of the cloud models simplifies IT management, allowing you to have more control over your data, and confidence that it is being kept safe.
Summary
In this era, businesses need every edge they can get to remain competitive. Microsoft 365 helps your business in this by allowing you to use enterprise level technology, even on a small budget.
Microsoft 365 promises to be a boon to business of all sizes, but especially small and midsized ones. With Microsoft 365 you can be “on the cloud”, with increased business agility, enhanced ability to collaborate, and peace of mind knowing your critical data is safe and secure.
Microsoft Online Services are subscription-based, on-demand applications and hosted services, providing your end users with a consistent experience across multiple devices.
NetworkElites is now providing full installation, management, and customization support for Microsoft Online Services. In addition, we provide custom Sharepoint development to make your business more agile.