By spazzzy May 10, 2014
Management is basically disconnected from the day-to-day, depending on which department you are in, and can provide little to no guidance or support. I would be very cautious about using this company to manage your servers, website, or create custom software for your business. There are little-to-no quality control processes, projects are not scoped out properly before contracts are signed, and getting needed information from higher-ups is a dead-end. ...read more
By jcnolan March 26, 2014
This place is great! My computer was at a snails crawl with so many errors, viruses and worms, I couldn't do any work at my home! They are great people and very prompt in their service. I told them to take as much time as they needed and they had it done the next day! I highly recommend them, especially for the college students when they need professional results. Thanks University Computers! ...read more
By Chair Caning & Wicker Repair December 26, 2013
Thank you for connecting, we wish your business to have continued growth and success. Let us help on any Chair Caning or Wicker Repair needs. Services Include: Rush - Fiber or Natural, Pressed Cane, Hand/Strand Cane, Splint, Blind Cane, Danish Cord, and Wicker Repair. Visit our website www.chaircaning.webs.com for photos of recent repairs and current specials. Mention Merchant Circle - receive a discount - offer good for you & your clients. By Appointment Only! Call 704-235-8171 for appointment. ...read more
Why you need “Hands on Tech Support” By now everyone has use the remote desk support somewhere and as someone who takes over desktops every day I am a big fan. I no longer have to drive half way across the state to do something that takes five minutes. So why do I limit myself to actually going to the clients site and touching the computer when I can just log in and have everything right there in less than ten seconds. 1. You hear and see things when you are on site you would never know about if you remote in. 2. You get to talk to the employees who use the system. Ok we are going to look at this because too many times I hear management tell employees to tell them what is wrong and they will get it to the IT Staff. I think this idea ranks right up there with sending my wife to the auto parts store. There is no telling what she is coming back you can be sure it’s not going to be close to what i need. Employees deal with the problems in the network daily they know what all the problems are. 3. You find out more things that need attention. Remember I am the guy who once was installing a computer for a client and was evacuated because the building was on fire. I assure you the persons QuickBooks problem wasn’t the priority anymore. 4. You need to know who is controlling your system and yes I mean personally. Before I remote desktop I have been to a client’s site. I have met the managers and usually the owners. I can usually tell you either their wife’s / husband’s name and or their dog’s name. Not only so I know more about them but so they can get to know me. My personal belief is that a computer is like your house…you just don’t go letting everyone in. My basic rule I tell clients, when they ask who should be able to remote into the system “have you had lunch in the past two months with them”, if the answer is no the access has to go. This includes employees, System Engineers, Programmers, etc. I know that you can get tech support in India for less than a coffee at Starbucks. If all you use your computer for is to post cat photos to Facebook then by all means use them. If however your one of those people that actually use your computer for Banking, Shopping, Email, have a customer list or just have a problem with someone around the world having access to everything you have on your computer then you need a local tech support person. You need someone that you can visit if there are problems and someone who you can call if you need them who you know that they will answer. This leaves me with one last question for you. Since the data breach at Target, Home Depot, and almost every other outsourced company. How much money do you think those companies saved compared to how much trust and business they lost. ...read more
By Sites And Software October 01, 2014
An Introvert Gets the Inside Scoop on Networking Success From introvert to outspoken BNI enthusiast Submitted by Meaghan Chitwood, Executive Director – BNI Alabama When Michael Partain’s boss sent him to a BNI meeting, Michael expected to sit and watch things happen. He was taken aback when he had to stand up and talk to a room full of strangers. “People usually keep computer programmers hidden away,” explains Partain. “I only shared my name and company name. I didn’t know what was going on.” He made it through that first meeting, and became a member of the Gardendale Aspire chapter in Alabama. Much to his introverted relief, Partain quickly discovered that 1-to-1 meetings are the heart of BNI. This was something he felt like he could excel at, so he quickly began scheduling face-to-face meetings with chapter members, and everything changed. Suddenly, relationships developed and Partain had lots of referrals. “You have to do 1-to-1s, and not just one or two, but three or more a week; otherwise you never will get anywhere,” says Partain. When Partain parted ways with the company with no job on the horizon, he planned to visit his chapter to tell them he was unemployed. Following a phone call the next day with chapter member Linda Neely, Partain arrived to find that all the chapter members had pitched in to help him start his own company—the attorney filed legal paperwork, the banker helped him open a checking account, and Neely brought in a check for Partain’s work that helped cover start-up costs. Before he knew it, Sites and Software, LLC was born. “Opening my company was the easiest thing I’ve ever done,” says Partain. “But I still have no idea how to start a business.” But the magic didn’t stop there. Partain credits BNI for his success in quickly building the business. “Most of my clients come from word-of-mouth,” he says. Today Partain is so busy that he’s had to hire help and give up the 80-mile round trip to attend the Aspire chapter meetings. But, Partain hasn’t left BNI; he’s busy helping start a new chapter much closer to home, where he’ll serve as chapter vice president. The Velocity chapter in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, is scheduled to launch with over 30 members on September 16 at The Egg&I restaurant. As for the introvert who first visited BNI, Partain says, “I am probably the most outspoken person in BNI. I bring people to the chapter because I love it. I like being able to walk into a room and know that someone will have the answer to any question I ask.” That’s how Partain knows he has the inside scoop on how to succeed in business! Bonus Scoop: Michael Partain recommends that business owners try to have several different staff members in different chapters. “Think about what one person in a chapter can do,” says Partain. “If you have several people, it’s the best thing you can do.” For more information about the Velocity chapter, contact Michael Partain at 205-913-2781 or michael@sitesandsoftware.com. About this author: Meaghan Chitwood is celebrating her 10 year as the Executive Director of BNI Alabama. She is widely recognized as a Word-of-Mouth Marketing and Business Networking Expert. In addition to her expertise in these areas, she’s also a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and holds a Civil Engineering degree from Auburn University. On a daily basis she works hand-in-hand with nearly 850 professionals to generate business worth over $40 million in annual economic impact for the Alabama area. Visit BNIAlabama.com to learn more about Team BNI Alabama. ...read more
By Sites And Software October 01, 2014
Cloud video conferencing technology enables end users to cost effectively collaborate via video with standard HD conference room systems, desktops/laptops, web browsers, tablets and smartphones. Interoperable cloud video services require zero hardware and is easy to use. Cloud video conferencing can improve productivity within an organization and enhance collaboration like never before. Cloud video conferencing allows users to communicate face-to-face without travelling anywhere. With applications spread throughout all industries, video conferencing has been shown to dramatically increase performance for individuals who perform any tasks associated with relationship building, customer service, consultative sales, education, technical assistance, training and more. This is driven by the fact that video conferencing allows individuals to interact as if they were in the same room. Individuals retain significantly more information when verbal communication is combined with visual cues. Thus, video conferencing takes a traditional phone call to an entirely new level and is just as easy to initiate. Traditional video conferencing is very expensive and prohibitive for most small and mid-sized companies. Cloud video conferencing, on the other hand, has caused a paradigm shift making this type of communications tool affordable for any business regardless of size. Plus, cloud video conferencing solutions are interoperable with traditional video conference room systems so if larger companies that have already made a significant investment in hardware can still reap the rewards of reduced utilization costs by connecting it to the cloud. Video conferencing has been available for a while but being able to do so from "the cloud" has opened up an opportunity for more business to take advantage of the technology. The costs for this caliber of communications technology was previously and exclusively available for large enterprises, but now every small to mid-sized business, organization or institution can benefit from it. This technology is radically changing the way we interact because it is based on a very simple premise – there’s no better way to communicate than by looking someone into the eye and expressing your ideas. People who try it once, instantly see how powerful it is, and begin to explore ways their business can leverage this tool to gain a leg up on their competitors and increase their profitability.” ...read more
By BTS Technologies, Inc. April 18, 2014
Designing and setting up a network itself can be a time-consuming job. Once you have determined the type of network which is to be installed, components which allow it to be built need to be assembled. Here's how to get going: ...read more
Networking is not always an easy thing to understand when a business owner or personal computer owner is new to the game. There are things and terms that a person might not understand. To be able to run a network smoothly and properly there are very basic things that any owner needs to know. ...read more