Over the last several years, cloud computing has been one of the fastest growing areas in MyITpros’ IT services business. All of our company’s servers have been in the cloud since 2009, and we love the flexibility, security and competitive advantages the cloud provides.

In 2012, we installed more on premise than cloud servers. Why? Because our focus is always on what is best for our clients, and sometimes, the cloud is not the best choice.

Here are some of the reasons cloud servers may not be the best choice for your organization:

1. When Your Headcount Is Small, The Cost Per User May Be Too High

Certain resources must be in place for any company to have its server in the cloud. We have seen organizations with less than 10 users have a much higher cost per user. In this case, an on premise server may be more cost effective.

When you have 10-20 computer users or more, a completely managed solution like Cloud7 can cost close to what many companies spend for support of on premise IT infrastructure.

2. Some Of The Applications You Use May Not Be As Effective In The Cloud

Some applications are very resource intensive, meaning they require a lot of computing power. CAD software (Computer Aided Design) used by many engineering and architecture firms is a great example. The most widely used CAD programs demand computers with very powerful processors, fast hard drives and a lot of memory.

With cloud servers, applications are run on a virtual server in a data center, not on local computers. While it is fast and easy to add resources like additional processing power, memory or hard drive space monthly cost could increase.

While you may be able to run your line of business software, accounting software, email and Microsoft Office applications in a cost effective fashion, some software is just better suited for local computers. At least for now.

3. You Have A Single Office With Few Remote Or Mobile Users

One of the most compelling reasons to implement cloud servers is the superior performance and agility available to remote workers. A single office with little need for remote or mobile computing may not preclude you from moving your server to the cloud, but there will certainly need to be other good reasons to do it.

4. You Have A Static Workforce With Standardized Devices

Many of our CPA clients have standardized computers across all staff. One firm we have served for 20 years is very similar in size now to what it was when we first started supporting its network.

Cloud computing has distinct advantages for companies that are dynamic, especially in periods of growth or cyclical demand. It is much faster, easier and far less expensive to scale up or down when your servers and applications are in the cloud.

With the latest cloud computing technologies, working on Windows based applications from anywhere – on any device including PC, Mac, iPad, Android – has never been easier.

5. You May Not Be Ready For Such A Change

Moving all of your servers, applications and data from your office to the cloud means change, and some organizations – like some people – handle change better than others.

If you’ve had bad experiences with IT projects in the past, you are likely to be very cautious about a change like moving to the cloud.

If you’ve recently invested a lot of money in on premise servers, all of the benefits and agility in the world may not persuade your CFO to change until you’ve amortized that capital expense for a few years.

If you’re wondering whether cloud computing is the best choice for you, I strongly recommend you work with a knowledgeable advisor that understands your business and has your best interests at heart. Talk to other companies like yours. They don’t have to be in the same business, but should be similar in size and in the way they use computers in their work.

If you’re interested in learning more, please subscribe to view my upcoming articles. Our goal with this blog is to answer the questions you ask. If you have any questions about cloud computing or any topic please leave a comment below or email me at chris@myitpros.com.

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1. Are you due for a server upgrade?

This is the opportune time to switch to a cloud solution. The savings on hardware, software and support can be significant. We can show you the exact savings and ROI you can expect.

2. Do you have seasonal workers or employee fluctuations?

It’s frustrating to set-up IT for temporary employees. Cloud computing allows you to simply add or remove as many users as you need. This works particularly well for start-ups.

3. Do you need predictable IT costs?

For small business that want to be smart with their IT budget, cloud computing offers a predictable monthly payment. If you add or remove users, your monthly payment is adjusted so you only pay for what you use.

4. Do you have remote employees or multiple offices?

Cloud computing allows any employee anywhere to access the applications and files they need. Your employees can use any computing device that runs a web browser and has a high-speed internet connection. It couldn’t be easier.

5. Do you want a single source IT solution?

All of the office productivity and email applications you use are available in the Webtop. Cloud computing is a fast and secure single source solution.

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, contact us for a free onsite analysis at info@myitpros.com.

Our goal for this blog is to answer the questions you ask. If you have any questions about IT service providers or any topic please leave a comment below or email me at lori@myitpros.com.

To learn more about cloud computing, managed IT services and how IT services influence small to midsized businesses subscribe to our blog.

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When open-book management is done well, a business is operated in a way in which every employee is focused on making the company money. They are educated in the principles of business and finance. They are regularly exposed to the company’s financials and other metrics that are critical to the success of the organization. Finally, they share in the success of the company.

In his book, The Great Game of Business, Jack Stack states: “The more people know about a company, the better that company will perform. This is an ironclad rule. You will always be more successful in business by sharing information with the people you work with than by keeping them in the dark.”

In open-book management companies, employees at every level are expected to take on the role of business owner, in addition to the role for which they were hired.

If you are interested in open-book management because you want to achieve a culture of ownership in your organization, please understand that simply opening the books will not accomplish this goal.

The same is true for employee ownership plans or profit sharing. Many businesses that have expected an Employee Stock Ownership Plan or a profit sharing bonus would inspire ownership thinking, have been disappointed when little or nothing changes. Often the results are worse, and the ESOP or bonus comes to be considered an entitlement.

Successful open-book management companies understand that in order to think and act like an owner, every employee must have access to the same information owners do, and that information must have context for them, and it must be meaningful to them. Finally, there must be a material stake in the outcome – good or bad – for everybody in the organization.

Furthermore, successful open-book management companies educate all of their people in business finance, empower them with consistent and honest accounts of the true results of the business, and engage them with a meaningful share in those results. When these three main elements are executed properly, a culture of ownership thrives.

Of course, this does not happen overnight. For many companies, it takes a couple of years.

In the next installment of this series, I’ll tackle the question, “When should a company start with open book management, and how?”

If you’re interested in learning more, please subscribe to view my upcoming articles. Our goal with this blog is to answer the questions you ask. If you have any questions about open-book management or any topic please leave a comment below or email me at chris@myitpros.com.

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In his groundbreaking book, The Great Game of Business, Jack Stack states:

“What lies at the heart of the Game is a very simple proposition: The best, most efficient, most profitable way to operate a business is to give everybody in the company a voice in saying how the company is run and a stake in the financial outcome, good or bad.”

After introducing the reader to “The Higher Laws of Business,” he devotes an entire page to “The Ultimate Higher Law.” Stack states: “When you appeal to the highest level of thinking, you get the highest level of performance.”

I read those words in 2009 and could not agree more. It inspired me to read three additional books on open-book management. At that time MyITpros was in the early stages of  the Game, which in our case began with our leadership team of three people.

As we have built our financial management skills through the last five years, we have grown an average of 25 percent per year in the midst of a recession. In 2012, we blew away our budget targets by growing our top line revenue by 36 percent.

Of course, open-book management is not the only piece of the puzzle, but it’s a very powerful piece.

Since Jack Stack published The Great Game of Business in 1992, SRC Holdings has hosted more than 4,000 companies from all over the world to teach them the essential concepts of open-book management.

This month, I visited Springfield, Missouri for the SRC Experience. It is a two day, full immersion into the Game held six times each year. I met Stack, toured an SRC facility, attended workshops and learned a lot about taking open-book management to the next level in our business.

One more quote from Stack: “Ownership is not a set of legal rights. It’s a state of mind. You can’t give people that state of mind in one fell swoop. You can only nurture it through a process of education.”

That’s why I’m here. It’s one thing to teach financial statement management to your leadership team – it’s quite another thing to open your books and present financial information – both good and bad – with the proper context to make it real and meaningful at every level in an organization.

If you’re interested in learning more, please subscribe to view my upcoming articles. Our goal with this blog is to answer the questions you ask. If you have any questions about open-management or any topic please leave a comment below or email me at chris@myitpros.com.

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In the video above Chris Boyle, CEO of MyITpros, discusses why it is best for small businesses to outsource their IT services. Below is a revised transcript:

Most of MyITpros’ clientele are small businesses like yours without internal IT employees. There are many reasons a managed services provider would be a better selection for a small business than hiring an internal IT person. Firstly, good IT people are very expensive which is why you don’t see too many small businesses with their own IT employee. In Austin, Texas a Senior Systems Engineer makes $70K-100K a year. A small business of 4 to 50 people generally can’t afford even one person on their staff, let alone the number of people who can act as a sufficient IT department.

Secondly, it’s hard to get an all-in-one person who has such an extensive variety of knowledge. One day you may need PC help, the next day you may need server help or firewall help. You need a company that you can trust who knows how to manage an IT department.

Thirdly, this internal employee suddenly has the keys to the kingdom of your business. What if that person gets sick or goes on vacation? What if they quit? What are you going to do?

Most small businesses choose to outsource an IT services provider like MyITpros. We install technology on systems that automatically updates, manages, monitors and alerts us when something goes wrong. For example, when a hard drive of a desktop gets up to about 90 percent full, it can start affecting the operating system and you can have problems. Ten years ago a client would call us up and say “my computer is running very slow” or “it won’t boot up” and we would come out and fix it.

Today we will know if it gets up to 90 percent full because an alert goes into our system and creates a ticket. We’ll call you up and say “Your hard drive is getting full. Do you want us to fix it for you?” Or if you’re on our ProCare services, we’ll just fix it. And if it’s your server and it’s in the middle of the night, it’s going be to fixed when you come in in the morning. So there is no time loss; no break and fix; it just runs.

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Cloud applications have been around for years. The first application I used was a hosted email back in the 1990s. Online banking is an example of cloud computing. Other examples are hosted applications like QuickBooks or Salesforce.com. Those applications have been served over the Internet for many years.

Many of you in this room laugh when you see the slide of a crowded server closet because you see yourself in it. Some of our larger clients may have nicer looking server racks but they still have servers on premise.

Before the cloud the traditional IT model for servers was you buy and you maintain. The hardware and software it uses, you either have internal staff or a company like MyITpros that supports it for you.

If we were going to spin up four servers and a firewall for you in our data center, we could literally do it in less than an hour. In that amount of time it would be able to receive applications and data and have a fully functioning, updated, Windows server ready for the application installs. There’s time involved in installing the applications, moving your data, getting your users connected. That’s all going to be about the same.

Historically, there was the mainframe era. Which was the predominant computing model for about three or four decades. Then in late 1970s, early 1980s, the PC era was born. First desktops on peer-to-peer networks, then desktops and servers were what we called client server networks. Through many iterations for the last 30 or 40 years we’ve been in the PC era.

Those of us in the industry know and we’re here to share with you today cloud computing, the new technology era, is already under way.  There’s a lot of businesses like yours that are in the cloud now and it’s a fundamental change we predict is going to drive us for the next 20 years.

Electricity is a great analogy for cloud computing. In 1851, in a field in upstate New York, manufacturer Henry Burden had a factory. Like all the factories at that time, they needed electricity to run their manufacturing operations. So this was Burden’s wheel. It would put out about 500 Hp. And generated enough electricity to run through a complex series of gears and pulleys and wires; the tools needed to run his manufacturing.

Fast forward about 50 years and that wheel was rotting in the fields. Of course it was the advent of electricity as a utility which caused that to happen. Because companies no longer had to produce their own power and it became a competitive necessity to get connected to the electric grid.

In the 1960s, a hard drive was selling for $60,000-85,000 and it was huge. They had to fork lift it up onto a PanAm airplane. Those hard drives were state of the art at a whopping 10 Mb. When I started with MyITpros, I remember a 10 Mb hard drive was around $2,000.

I hope none of you guys were needing a 160GB hard drive, because I pulled it out of the room next to my office last night but I’ll bring it back. It’s a lot less than $85,000. It is 16,384 times the space of that $85,000 1960s hard drive. Currently, there are little thumb drives that you can attach to your computer that are bigger than this. This is 96,000 times the space of the 1960s hard drive.

If you have a trusted advisor, a provider who helps you make the right choices as technology evolves, then you’re ahead of the game.  At least 50 percent of people understand what the cloud is and think it’s important to their business. So what’s the cost of doing nothing? Well it all depends. Depends on whether cloud servers, cloud backup, cloud mail, cloud applications is right for you or not. But if it is right for you, some of the consequences of doing nothing is you’re spending a lot more on IT than you should.

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Below are questions that take your IT services candidate interviews to the next level. For more introductory questions read our previous blog,  Best Interview Questions To Ask Your IT Services Candidates – Part One.

1. What are your core values?

This may or may not be important to you. A company’s core values are the foundation on which employees perform work and conduct themselves. You can tell a lot about a company by its culture, and a strong culture is a reflection of core values. Does your company have core values? If so, you probably want to work with a company that shares similar ideals.

2. How easily can we terminate services?

Certain types of professional services may require months to show a client results but managed IT service is not one of them. You should start to see improvements in your IT environment right away. If you ever find you are not satisfied with the level of service, or if things change in your business, it should not be a hassle to change or terminate your managed services plan.

The best managed service providers don’t need lengthy contracts because they rely on high quality results to keep you around. If the managed service agreement your are considering requires a lengthy term you may want
to continue looking.

3. Can we come tour your office?

Many IT service providers offer similar service plans at similar pricing. Visiting the office is a great way to see the differentiation. You can tell a lot about a business by visiting its office. You get a sense if the business is organized or chaotic. You may witness a culture of high job satisfaction or quick turnover.

It may feel time consuming to take the trip but so many unasked questions are revealed and answered. You may discover that there is a reason one provider promises service levels at half the cost and that the savings isn’t worth it.

Further Thoughts

These questions are a great start but you also want to evaluate your relationship with current vendors. What do you wish you had asked them when you were interviewing them? What are the characteristics of your excellent vendors? If you don’t have many vendors ask your peers or friends.

Good luck! Remember a good service provider will love that you have an excellent list of questions. If you need any help or have any questions contact us.

Our goal for this blog is to answer the questions you ask. If you have any questions about IT service providers or any topic please leave a comment below or email me at lori@myitpros.com.

To learn more about cloud computing, managed IT services and how IT services influence small to midsized businesses subscribe to our blog.

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1. How long have you been in business?

Most people assume the more established a business is, the better. But in IT services, age may not be a strength because technology changes so rapidly. An IT service provider’s business model may change significantly every two to three years. In our history we have changed our business model at least four times.

The latest shift in IT services is cloud computing. Every time one of these shifts occur some more established companies resist the transition. Also because the cloud is maturing so rapidly many who have been in business for awhile have a harder time adopting it.









So while you want to find a provider that is financially secure and has a strong foundation in professional services you also want to ensure they are adaptable.

Follow up questions:
How do you stay informed of current trends?
How have you adapted your business to changes in your industry?
How have you helped your clients during these shifts?

2. How many clients do you have like me?

If businesses like yours are satisfied with an IT service provider there is a good chance you will be happy working with them too. How many clients does the candidate have in your industry? If you work at an accounting firm you want an IT provider that is familiar with CPA technology needs.

However, don’t limit yourself to industry. Think about the characteristics of your company. If your prospective IT provider focuses on law firms that have very little fluctuation and you own a dynamic start-up, it might not be the best provider for you. A start-up that is growing rapidly needs an IT provider that can take on new users with ease.

Follow up questions:
How do you keep those clients?
May I talk to those clients?

3. How many systems engineers do you have?

Don’t hesitate to ask this question. Almost every prospect asks this. IT providers understand it is because you want  to determine how fast the response time will be when you need assistance.

If you have less than five employees you probably don’t need an IT service provider with 10 technical staff.  However, if you have company with 25-50 users an IT company with around 10 technical staff may be able to support you very well.

Overall, the number of systems engineers is not reliable criteria. A larger provider may have far more clients than the service staff can handle. Furthermore, their service professionals may not be as high quality as the service engineers at a slightly smaller company.

Follow up questions:
What is your average response time?
How fast are you growing?
How good are you at hiring quality people in advance of demand?

Before you interview your IT service candidates we recommend you determine what type of IT services is best for your business.
Our goal for this blog is to answer the questions you ask. If you have any questions about IT service providers or any topic please leave a comment below or email me at lori@myitpros.com.

To learn more about cloud computing, managed IT services and how IT services influence small to midsized businesses subscribe to our blog.

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Furthermore, some business owners asked great cloud computing questions that pertained to their specific industry. For example, many accounting firm representatives asked questions specific to CPA technical needs.

This is a revised transcript of the questions and answers that are a little more technically and industry specific. For more introductory questions read our previous blog, Cloud Computing Q&A – part 1.

1.    Is every firm in the cloud on one server? For example, if one company’s information was subpoenaed, how would they know where one company starts and one company ends?

Every company gets their own unique application server that is locked down to your company. Everything is always separated logically by company using permissions and is clearly separate from any other company’s data.

2.    How does bandwidth influence cloud computing? Will standard business class cable work?

A standard business class cable modem is on the low end but it could work for a five user company. When assessing your connectivity, the important number to pay attention to is the lower number, 10MB down and 1MB up. This means that your upload speed is only 1MB which is low. It’s best if your lower number is greater than 5MB. That may not be enough but we would assess your company to figure out what you need.

3.    Wouldn’t the data center servers get bogged down if everyone was working at once?

Server utilization is something we monitor. We can add resources on the fly to adjust for performance spikes.

4.    What are security concerns with the cloud?

Data stored at a data center offers greater physical security compared to a traditional onsite server that someone could pick up and take out the door. In regards to digital security the same security for a physical server is used on a cloud server (data encryption, etc). The biggest advantage of cloud computing is the storing of data in a data center instead of your local device. Your data is more vulnerable when stored locally.

5.    Are you audited on your cloud services?

The data center goes through audits, and is SAS 70 compliant, but MyITpros  is not audited since we do not own the data center.

6.    From a CPA perspective, is it more affordable for larger companies?

Early on, it was for enterprise level companies. MyITpros has made it affordable so that small companies can use this enterprise level technology.

7.    How is the cloud PCI compliant?

We have a PCI compliant login that you can pay extra for. You would log in and it will send a code to your phone that you would use. Most clients don’t use this as they see it as a hassle.

Our goal for this blog is to answer the questions you ask. If you have any questions about cloud computing or any topic please leave a comment below or email me at lori@myitpros.com.

To learn more about cloud computing, managed IT services and how IT services influence small to midsized businesses subscribe to our blog.

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Our audience was comprised of mostly business owners and they asked some excellent questions about cloud computing services. Below is a revised transcript of the Q&A session.  The answers were supplied by our COO, Bill McCharen. Enjoy!

1. Do cloud services essentially entail having your own server but instead it’s off site and managed by someone like MyITpros?

Typically, the decision to move to the cloud is more related to a business’ model than just the location of the server. There’s a lot more to it than the server location. Such as virtualization, utilization and cross-platform functionality. But basically you have the right idea.

2. Can you talk about servers and how age affects them? I know we laughed at eight year old servers but I don’t even know how old mine is.

The hardware manufacturer will only warrant a server up to a certain time. Typically it’s five years. We interpret that as the expected life span of the system. The longer you operate that server after warranty expiration, the greater the risk of it failing.

The greatest cost of a server failure is productivity loss from the employees. You’re better off in investing in new hardware or looking into having your data hosted in the cloud. We’re pretty adamant about keeping warranties on servers up-to-date but not so much on desktop warranties.

3. Where would my data be if I was using MyITpros cloud services?

One data center is in Kansas City, Missouri and the other is in Austin, Texas. If you want to see the facility, you can come to our premise and take a tour. Google will not even tell you if it’s in the United States. Probably because they have no idea where your data is.

4. How is cloud computing affected if the Internet goes down?

First of all, Austin has good internet connectivity. It’s affordable and reliable. Fast and reliable is key to quality cloud computing performance.

If you lose connectivity at the office, you can go home or to a Starbucks to continue working. You can work anywhere with Internet.

5. What if one data center goes down?

The data centers are synced in real time so if one goes down then your data can be brought back up from the other data center.

6. How do you add software?

You would have your own virtual server that you can download your software to and use on almost any device.

7. Is network hardware, like a router, still necessary with cloud computing?

Those still need to be on site to help with connectivity to the cloud.
 
For more technical and industry specific questions check out Cloud Computing Q&A -part 2.

 
Our goal for this blog is to answer the questions you ask. If you have any questions about cloud computing or any topic please leave a comment below or email me at lori@myitpros.com.

 
To learn more about cloud computing, managed IT services and how IT services influence small to midsized businesses subscribe to our blog.

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