What is Cloud Computing?

The word 'Cloud' is used as a metaphor for the internet. Cloud Computing is the provision of reliable, scalable and secure internet-based IT services such as Email, File Sharing, Applications and VoIP. There's no need to install hardware and software yourself, all you need is a connection to the internet.

Cloud Computing has become extremely popular with businesses. The advent of low-cost, high-speed internet coupled with huge leaps in Internet technology, means that highly secure and highly reliable IT is now a reality to even the smallest of businesses.

Here’s just a few of the reasons why people are moving to Cloud Computing...

• No Upfront Costs - no servers to install or software to buy.
• Access applications and data from anywhere, on any internet device.
• High Reliability
• Built-In data backup

Cloud computing is still in it's infancy though and is a very fast moving area which can be confusing and time consuming for any business owner to keep abreast with.

What we offer at IT Soho is to provide a one-touch service provision leveraging these powerful new cloud based technologies, while presenting a simple to manage and consistent experience  for our business clients.

Small Business Accounting Software

There's a new kid on the block in the world of accounting software. It's bang up to date in following the cloud web-based paradigm and is refreshingly simple and painless to use - even fun.

My past relationships with accounting software have been disappointing, first with all Accountants' favourite: Sage (all the accountants seem to love this, a de-facto standard), then Quickbooks and lastly Microsoft Accounting Professional.

With Microsoft withdrawing support for Microsoft Accounting Professional in November 2009, I decided to look at what was on the market, and being a cloud fan I looked at hosted solutions as well as the old-fashioned install-locally variety. After a few weeks of trial and error I chose Xero as my chosen platform.

The huge benefit I found with Xero is that it heavily automates these two time sinks: sales invoicing & reconciliation.

With the 'repeating receivables' invoicing function you can set up an unlimited amount of repeating invoices that will be emailed automatically each month (or whichever period you work with - quarterly, semi-annually, even yearly). This means that in my case all I need to do each month is add any new client invoices, and modify the invoices for any clients that change their monthly service plan. Xero then automatically emails the sales invoices out on the first of each month.

Reconciliation is the other big time eater and Xero will automatically open your bank's statement download (in my case I use Lloyds Bank's .QIF statement format). Xero then lists the statement details on the left side of the screen and on the right what it helpfully guesses to be the correlating transactions that you have already entered into the system. If you are like me and post the payables directly from the statement, then Xero allows you to enter the transactions right there on the same screen. Over time it learns what you have done, and pre-fills whatever it can.

These two things alone have saved me at least one day's bookkeeping costs each month so it's a significant saving.

Xero's support team are also very good, at least the few times I have needed to email them. I have asked them a few questions via email during the first few weeks of using the software, and each has been answered satisfactorily within a day or less, even over this holiday period.

So for my first few weeks of using Xero I give it a full five stars, or in the nomenclature of their website, a green smiley face - it almost makes accounts fun!

10 Early warning signs of imminent computer failure

Computers rarely stop working overnight. In most cases, there are early warning signs that problems are brewing. Below are 10 surefire signs that you need to get a professional to investigate your network ASAP:

1. Your workstation or server starts running very slowly, freezes up, or crashes.

2. Your web browser has been changed to another strange browser you’ve never seen before.

3. You are getting an unusual amount of pop-up windows, even when you aren't surfing the web.

4. You don't know if every computer on your network has the most current virus definitions.

5. You don't know if you have a firewall in place or the last time it was updated.

6. You haven't attempted to restore your data from a backup tape or other storage device in a while, and you aren’t checking your backup log for errors.

7. You receive e-mails accusing you of sending spam, and/or you find e-mail messages in your “outbox” or “sent” folder that you didn’t send.

8. Your computer starts making a grinding, clicking, or loud whirring sound.

9. The fan is constantly running.

10. You are getting a growing number of error messages, and you are forced to create work-arounds to complete certain work tasks.

If any of these signs are present, you should contact a pro immediately to investigate further!

The old saying of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is especially true in the world of computers and all things digital; and if you are like most businesses, your computer network is critical to the operation of your business so make sure you don’t procrastinate if any of these signs are present.

Ideally, you should perform regular health checks and maintenance on your network to make sure problems don’t crop up. Here’s why:

Critical security updates need to be applied at least once a month to protect you from a constant flow of new hacker attacks.

Firewall, virus and spyware protection need to be monitored and updated on a daily basis because new attacks are released daily.

Your data backup system needs to be monitored and tested frequently to ensure easy data recovery in the event of loss. The rate of tape drive failure is 100%; that’s why you need to frequently monitor your backups.

Servers and workstations need regular tune-ups to keep them running fast and error free. Monitoring of disk space is important to avoid data loss, crashes, and storage problems. Server event logs need to be monitored for early alerts to network issues.

One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is taking a reactive approach to network support and maintenance rather than a proactive one.

In other words, they wait until something stops working and THEN they call in the professionals to fix it. This approach not only costs more in the long run, but it also leaves you vulnerable to more devastating crashes such as data corruption and loss, virus attacks, and extended downtime. Even NEW computers and equipment need regular maintenance because new threats are constantly evolving.

Fortunately, there is an inexpensive and easy way for you to completely avoid - even anticipate and prevent - these problems while making your network far more secure, reliable, and problem free.

We call it our GOLD plan and it’s designed specifically for the small to medium business owner that doesn’t have the time, expertise, or staff to perform this regular network maintenance.

Thanks to advancements in support technology, we can now monitor your network 24/7/365 days a year and provide all the maintenance your network needs for a fraction of the time and cost.

For a flat, monthly fee, you’ll get 24/7 remote monitoring of your network to not only ensure that it is running at peak performance, but also to guarantee that your data is being backed up and secured, that your virus definitions are up-to-date, that your firewall is configured properly, that your server is optimized, as well as keep an eye on over 100 system processes and alerts that could spell problems brewing.

If you hired a technician – even a junior one – to perform these basic network tasks, it could easily cost you £25,000 in salary, insurance, and hiring costs. If you were to outsource this type of service, it would easily run you £800 to £1000 a month in hourly, on-site fees. However, thanks to the Hassle Free IT Support product we’ve invested in, we can deliver all of these services to you for a low monthly subscription. Call 020 7494 2121 for more information.