Things that no business should be without:
If your business uses computers, there are several things that you absolutely must have or you risk losing one of your most important assets, YOUR COMPUTER DATA.

• Antivirus Solution – Computer viruses have cost businesses around the world billions of dollars every year. The cost of lost production, the cost of cleanup, the cost of replacing damaged data, all of these add up quickly. Your business cannot afford to be without a comprehensive antivirus solution. If your computers are connected to a network, I recommend an antivirus solution specifically designed for networks. Those off the shelf antivirus programs from the discount store can cause problems on your network or may leave gaps in your virus defense.
• Firewall – If you connect to the internet, you should have some form of firewall protection. Computer hackers are everywhere. Some just want to look around, others may steal or damage information stored on your computers and still others will commandeer your computer resources for their own use. A firewall is designed to isolate your computers from the internet, allowing only the “GOOD GUYS” access to your data.
• Power Protection –A nearby lighting strike or a cut power line can destroy your computer and more importantly the data it stores. Every computer in your business should at least have a quality power strip with surge protection. Critical devices such as servers and switches should be protected with a battery backup system. Battery backups will keep your computer running during power brown-outs or short power failures. In the case of long power failures, your computers can be configured to shut themselves off. If the power supply to your business is not very reliable, you may want battery backups for all of your computers. Don’t forget your phone lines. Power surges through unprotected phone lines are a common cause of damage to computer systems.
• Backup Solution – The safety of your computer data depends entirely on a tiny motor, constantly spinning at, at least 5200 rpm. This motor is in your computer’s hard drive, where all of your critical business information is stored. When your hard drive fails, all of your data will be gone… unless have you performed proper backup operations. No matter how good your intentions, if your backup procedure is not quick and painless, it won’t get done. We recommend a backup method that will automatically backup all of your critical data with minimal user interaction. A backup system with removable cartridges is preferred so that the cartridges can be stored in a safe location is best. This will protect your data even in the event of fire or other natural disaster. Ask about our offsite data backup. Your data can be backed-up onto our server through your high-speed internet connection.
• Dedicated Server – If your network has four or more users, you should probably have a dedicated file server. Simply stated, a dedicated file server is a computer that is not used as a workstation but has the purpose of distributing files to the other computers on the network. Using a workstation as a server can create many problems including lock-ups, corrupted data and general slow computer performance.
  
  Another reason to utilize a dedicated server is that it gives you a central location to deal with file security. You can set security on your files so that only authorized people have access to specific information stored on your server. Gathering the information in a central location also simplifies backup procedures.
  
  If possible, we also recommend that you utilize a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives (RAID) in your server. There are several levels of RAID protection ranging from simple mirroring (writing information to two hard drives simultaneously) to RAID level-5 which utilizes multiple (three or more) hard drives to continue operation even in the event that one hard drive fails. A properly configured RAID system gives you almost instantaneous backup of your data. RAID is not a substitute for regular data backup. RAID offers no protection from corrupted data or data lost due to user error, vandalism, or natural disaster. RAID should be used in conjunction with a comprehensive backup system.