The Orange County Small Business Owner’s Guide to VoIP

For many Orange County small business owners, switching from traditional phone lines to VoIP makes a lot of sense. VoIP phone service costs considerably less than land lines, and you get a lot of additional features that would cost a small fortune to add to conventional phones. If you’ve never set up or used VoIP phone service before, the process might seem intimidating at first—so we’ve compiled this brief guide to help newcomers to VoIP handle the learning curve a bit better.

Managed IT Services 101

Unless you are a technology company or a computer geek, you would likely be better off focusing on what you do best and leaving your Orange County business’ IT matters to a professional. The problem is, neither your budget nor your infrastructure is large enough to warrant hiring a full-time IT person. In situations like these, managed IT services can fill the gap so your system remains stable, secure and up to date. If you’re new to the idea of managed IT, the following quick primer should help.

What are the Most Important IT Services to Get Managed ASAP?

Businesses today rely more heavily on technology than ever before—but unfortunately, many companies still operate on a “wing and a prayer” when it comes to their IT services. They cobble together a system that works only somewhat—largely because they don’t understand the technology itself—and they only call an IT professional when there is a problem. However, by being more proactive with managing your IT services, you can save your company a lot of money and grief, letting the technology work for you instead of against you. Let’s look at a few aspects of your IT for which you should set up effective management as soon as possible.

Data Loss Can Cause You to Shut Down

Small and medium sized businesses today are relying more than ever on IT systems to efficiently run their business, support customers and optimize productivity. These systems house sensitive digital data ranging from employee and customer information, to internal emails, documents and financial records, sales orders and transaction histories. This is in addition to applications and programs critical to daily business functions and customer service.

While corporate-level data losses and insider theft are well publicized, many smaller businesses have also become casualties of data loss and theft. Following a significant data loss, it is estimated that a small-to-medium sized business can lose up to 25% in daily revenue by the end of the first week. Projected lost daily revenue increases to 40% one month into a major data loss.

According to The National Archives & Records Administration in Washington, 93% of companies that have experienced data loss, coupled with prolonged downtime for ten or more days, have filed for bankruptcy within twelve months of the incident while 50% wasted no time and filed for bankruptcy immediately. Finally, 43% of companies with no data recovery and business continuity plan actually go out of business following a major data loss.

Still, a survey conducted by Symantec SMB revealed that fewer than half of SMBs surveyed backup their data each week. Only 23% of those surveyed said they backup data every day and have a business continuity plan in place.

Businesses play on a much bigger playing field than they did two decades ago. Any disruptive technological event – even the smallest of incidents – can have an amplified impact on day-to-day business and profitability. Being proactive with data recovery solutions, and having emergency response procedures in place prior to a disruption or data disaster, is the only way to minimize downtime and soften the impact of such events.

IT Security Tips for Orange County Businesses

The Internet and the Digital Age have opened up amazing possibilities and opportunities for small business to grow and thrive—even competing with large corporations on an international level. At the same time, the digital space sometimes also feels like the new Wild West. Cybercriminals lurk in every corner of the web, inventing new ways to hack into our systems and steal data, money and other assets. How can businesses protect themselves from becoming victims in the digital world? Let’s look at some key IT security tips that Orange County businesses like yours should always practice.