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10 Handy and Free Software Programs

Monday, September 21, 2009 by Chad Whaley

An article in the September 2009 Inc. magazine offered 10 free software programs worth checking out. The author had the following to say in the opening comments of the article:

Paying is Passe
Use free software programs instead

Free is a lovely word; unfortunately it's often followed by a disappointing product. We have found 10 great free apps that will help you run yoru business. Some are so good, you might even be willing to (shudder) spend money on them. -Mark Spoonauer

-Click here to read the full article-

We've been using a few of these free applications throughout the shop and have found them very handy in our computer support Indianapolis practice. Although I'll refer you to the Inc. article for the full list of 10 applications, I wanted to highlight a few of them in this blog article.

2. Basic Accounting Program

Most people have heard of Quickbooks becuase it is the defacto Small Business accounting package of choice. What I learned from the article was that Quickbooks offers a version called Quickbooks Simple Start. The free version lets you create invoices, print checks and figure payroll, but it does limit the user to 20 customer accounts. This is a great option if you are starting up a small business. It only allows the import of data from Excel, so it would not be a good fit for someone who already has their data in a Quickbook's company file.

3. Organize Your Outlook Inbox

If your Outlook inbox is as overflowing as mine typically is, then you'll really benefit from installing the free Outlook plugin by Xobni which happens to be "Inbox" spelled backwards. This allows for enhanced email search as well as an easy way to find attachments. It also offers contact info on the message sender, while allowing you to discover connections to popular sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook. We've found throughout our computer support Indianapolis practice that many people battle their Outlook Inbox. Xobni's Outlook Plugin will allow you to take back control over it.

6. Making VoIP Calls

If you have not heard or used Skype yet, then it is time to check it out. It is an awesome application for making free voice and video calls across the Internet. I use this application both for business and personal use. In fact, I hooked up one of my computers to my inlaws big screen TV and the whole family Skyped with extended family that live in Southern Italy. Although the application works just fine for voice only, I would recommend hooking up a web camera to enhance your experience by communicating with voice and video.

10. Automatic Backup

Offsite backup is a smart idea for everyone when dealing with both business or personal data. We strongly recommend our Offsite Backup Service for business customers with normally sized data sets, but Mozy offers a free service for users with up to 2GB of storage needs. For a nominal monthly fee, one can upgrade to Mozy's unlimited account if 2GB of storage is not enough. This service does not work with more advanced data sets such as found in system state backup sets for servers, but we can cover those clients with our business class offsite backup service. Mozy is a great solution for home or small business users.

Check out the full Inc. article, Great No-Cost Software. There are a few other applications that could to be useful in my business. BTW, I strongly recommend the Inc. magazine for any of you readers that are business owners or are a key member in a small to medium business. I read the magazine cover to cover each month. It is chalked full of usefull information.

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Fax Over IP (FoIP) Is A Reality

Thursday, September 17, 2009 by Chad Whaley

Due to equipment upgrades over the past quarter, we are finally able to offer Fax over IP (FoIP). Our T.38 implementation drastically improved the relability of FoIP network. As VoIP Specialists, we've implemented several Business Phone Systems over the past several years utilizing the Voice Over IP (VoIP) technology, but often had to keep a couple POTS lines for outbound fax reasons. Faxing over a VoIP line typically resulted in about a 50/50 success rate, but the T.38 standard has allowed fax tranmissions that rival those sent over a POTS line.

We can now take our clients to a full Voice and Fax over IP implementation. The only reason they would need to keep a POTS line would be for an alarm or elevator emergency phone in most cases. This typically equates to further flexability and cost savings.

Our preferred implementation is utilizing an ADTRAN Total Access 900/900e Series of IP Business Gateways. Just recently, we revisited a Financial Services customer which we implemented a VoIP Business Phone System last year. Utilizing the TA904 unit that was previously installed by our VoIP Specialists Technicians, we implemented two FoIP lines on the ADTRAN and interconnected it to the client's two fax machines. The service has been working flawlessly.

On a side note, we did some testing using a Grandstream Analog Telephone Adapter prior to the ADTRAN FoIP implementation. We had nothing but problems with the Grandstream device. The device looked to have a lot of promise, but was very buggy. It pays to stick with a quality device such as the ADTRAN TA904! If you are interested in implementing a quality VoIP/FoIP Business Phone System, then please keep The Interconnect Group in mind for your VoIP Integration Indiana needs.

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Computer Support Indiana - Destination The Middle of the Lake

Wednesday, September 16, 2009 by Chad Whaley

I've provided Computer Support throughout the state of Indiana and beyond, but a service call I had last Friday took the cake for the all time best location thus far. One of our business clients was at his wits end with trying to get the two manufacturer recommended service shops to support his TracVision Marine Satellite TV Tracking system aboard a recently purchased ~42' Sea Ray boat (the boat was already a few years old). Each shop kept giving him the run around, so he called on us to help him figure it out as he typically does when it comes to his Business Computer Support Indiana needs.

The issue was that the Satellite TV system worked just fine while docked, but wouldn't work while out in the lake. This put a major damper on his weekend boating trips. This particular client has experienced an uptick in his business over the past few years and is now able to enjoy taking his family out on the water over the weekends to relax and unwind. His little girl wasn't able to watch her cartoons and most importantly he wasn't able to watch his Formula One races.

The TracVision Marine Satellite TV Tracking system utilizes GPS to track the given satellites and contstantly rotate the dish (housed in a dome atop of the boat) to keep it aligned. While docked, the system uses a fixed mounted antenna system. The system basically needed reprogrammed. To do so, I had to connect to the system via a serial cable which gave me access to the command line interface. After a quick call to the manufacturer to acquire the correct satellite codes, we were able to watch Satellite TV while cruising the lake.

I program routers and switches all the time through a serial connection. Luckily, I always carrier an assortment of DB9 gender changers and Null Modem adapters, because it took three such devices connected together to allow me access to the device. In the end, I was happy to help my client out and he returned the favor by allowing us (BTW, I brought my wife) to cruise the lake for the next couple hours while taking in the beautiful views, sunshine and atomosphere. It was a very good end to the week and another example why its good to keep Computer Support Indiana contacts such as The Interconnect Group in mind. Computers are everywhere and we enjoy helping our clients with their Business Computer Network Support needs at the office or while at play!

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Help Us Help The Mooresville Chamber!!

Thursday, August 27, 2009 by Chad Whaley

Since our store is the primary place for computer sales and services in Mooresville, we are proud to support the Mooresville Chamber in addition to constantly trying to reach out to our fellow Mooresville Chamber Members. I learned yesterday that the Chamber was running into some issues while trying to use their Quickbooks 2001 version. My immediate response was that we needed to get them updated to a new version. Poof, an idea of a friendly challenge was born. Read on to see how you may help.

Mindy Taylor, the Mooresville Chamber's Executive Director, does a super job for the Chamber. As with a lot of Chamber Members, she has been utilizing the social media web page Facebook to help stay in touch with her clients, Chamber Members. The Interconnect Group has the same goal of obtaining more Fans on its Facebook page to help distribute helpful information about Small Businesss Telecommunications and IT Support for Small Business. The Interconnect Group's blog is linked to both Facebook and Twitter, so once a new blog post is published TINCG Facebook Fans get notified of the new content.

Therefore, I made a friendly wager with Mindy and the Mooresville Chamber. I agreed to reduce the cost of a new copy of Quickbooks Pro 2009 by $1 for every Mooresville Chamber Member that Mindy could get to become a Fan of The Interconnect Group's Facebook page. Ideally, the Mooresville Chamber would wind up with a free Quickbooks Pro 2009 copy and the Interconnect Group would have 170 new Facebook Fans while having a bit of fun during the process.

HELP US HELP The Mooresville Chamber! If you are a Mooresville Chamber Member or work for a company who is a Mooresville Chamber Member, then become a Fan of The Interconnect Group's Facebook page. This can easily be done by visiting the TINCG Blog Site and scrolling down on the right-hand margin to the Facebook badge. Click "Become a Fan". By doing so, you'll be helping the chamber out.

In return, The Interconnect Group will be posting useful information on subjects such as computer network support, small business telecommunications and computer sales and services. If there is a topic you would like help with, then drop us a comment on the blog or email bizsupport@tincg.com a topic and we'll do our best to provide a helpful response via a future blog posting.

Ways to SAVE MONEY now and always on your IT spending!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 by Chad Whaley

As an Indianapolis IT Support Firm, we've consulted with clients worried about current economic times. The common reaction is to cut spending, but we're suggesting that our clients implement a cost savings strategy versus an outright cutting strategy. The following are a few areas we recommend focusing on.

Review Monthly Phone and Internet Service Fees

Look into consolidation of voice and data traffic onto a single Internet connection. Our strategic partner, an Indiana Telecommunications Provider, offers blended circuits which are more efficient use of Internet resources. If your company requires multiple facilities to be interconnected, then look into MPLS network connectivity through a single carrier. Be sure to review the contract deadlines on your existing T1, PRI, or Centrex contracts. If there are 3-6 months left before your contract renewal, start shopping around now to find more affordable pricing or consolidated product options that meet your needs. READ THE FINE PRINT! Many carriers have automatic renewal clauses in their circuit contracts and require written notification of your non-renewal.

Use Technology To Increase Productivity and Efficiency

If your budget requires the reduction in headcount, then look into utilizing technology to make your business operations more efficient for the remaining staff. The following are a few solutions that our Indianapolis IT Support Firm customers have found helpful.

Workflow Automation (ie. Microsoft Sharepoint Services)
Remote Worker Solutions - Flexibilty can save on overhead costs
Hosted Services - Reduce upfront costs and Cap-X spending
Exchange Server - Shared Calenders, Contacts and Control
Virtual Meeting Solutions (ie. Microsoft Live Meeting)

Take Advantage of Great Offers

Many equipment and software vendors are offering great deals to entice IT spending now. One can find offers from deferred montly payments (ie. 3-6 months same as cash) to great leasing incentives. Leasing companies sometimes allow for the inclusion of the installation services in with the equipment lease which eases cash flow.

Volume Licensing and Software Assurance

Microsoft and other software vendors offer volume licensing discounts for most major products. Generally speaking, it is cheaper to purchase licenses in this way for quantities as small as 3-5 licenses, depending on the specific product. In addition, Microsoft Software Assurance can be purchased. Microsoft's Sotware Assurance (SA) allows for the spreading of license payments over several years while also including free upgrades to newer versions.

Centralized Printing Resources

Although multiple printers are convienant for employees, it is very costly to have "personalized" printers strung throughout the office. Multiple printers use more ink cartridges, power consumption and support spending. As an Indianapolis IT Support Firm, we encourage our clients to centralize printing to a few heavier duty printers/copiers and save money.

Virtual Servers

Studies show that standard multiple server deployments typically include under utilized equipment while consuming full power and rack space. Virtualization of some servers onto a single server typically increases hardware utilization while decreasing power consumption, cooling costs and often support costs. Our Indianapolis IT Support Firm recently migrated a client from five standalone servers down to two servers, one which was using a Hyper-V deployment that allowed for four virtural servers to be running on one machine. This new hardware signficantly increased performance across the board while reducing power consumption, cooling requirements and rack space. Virtualization technology is one that every business with multiple servers should be exploring.

Discover New, Low Cost Marketing Channels

With the growing popularity of Twitter, Facebook and other social media websites, a new affordable marketing channel has emerged. If you haven't started venturing down this road, then we would suggest starting with your own personal Linked-In page and Face Book (FB) page. Once you get your feet wet, then create a Fan Page for your company. Twitter is also very easy to start, but it can get a bit overwhelming for someone new to social media sites. The pay-off really starts to happen when you utilize the social media sites to notify customers and clients of new content, products and services that can be found on your static website or blog. If all of this is way too much for you, then ask one of your younger employees to help, becuase most likely they are updating their status on Facebook as you read this. Be aware that it takes time to reach a critical mass with these new social media marketing endevors, so start now!

Promote Your Business While Offering Guest Wireless Internet Access

Thursday, August 20, 2009 by Chad Whaley

I get the opportunity through frequent prospective sales calls to sample wireless inbuilding solutions for all shapes and sizes of companies. I find very often that my request for guest access results in the following:

No wireless access is offered for employees, guests or both
Wireless access is available, if you can find someone that knows the security key
Wireless access is available to the whole world via an unsecured wireless router

Neither of these options are necessary in today's environment. Wireless Inbuilding Solutions are plentiful and fairly easy to deploy. One particular solution that I prefer is offered by MikroTik. MikroTik RouterOS includes a HotSpot Gateway service that is very easy to implement. It provides a splash page for the business to promote itself on while providing an opportunity to include acceptable Internet use language. You can then have the user enter a username and password to be granted access to the Internet.

The MikroTik HotSpot Solution offers a few things to the businesses who implement it:

Presentation - This differentiates you from your competition by presenting a very enterprise level image to your guests and vistors.
Security - Provdies a customizable solution which offers security while not impeding proper use. It also keeps parking lot squatters from utilizing your corporate resources.
Flexability - If deployed correctly, the MikroTik router can also provide employees secured wireless access to network resources off of the same access point without requiring additional hardware.

This system is used in airports, coffee shops, and hotels throughout the world. Due to its flexability, this product can be utilized to beef up your wireless inbuilding solution without breaking your IT budget. We've been using this same system as a key component to our WISP equipment currently deployed in our WISP business. We've also deployed this for bandquet hall facilities and other Corporate clients interested in wireless network solutions.

Hotspot pop-up status page seen after a successful login

In addition to the HotSpot Gateway, the MikroTik RouterOS also offers advance QoS services that could help limit and de-prioritize the guest wireless traffic over more critical types of network traffic. This promotes efficent use of your Internet resources.

If this type of work is not your cup of tea, then please consultant a professional before making any purchases. There are many wireless inbuilding solutions available by most of the major equipment vendors. The MikroTik HotSpot Gateway solution offers a very good blend of customization, security and price. If you need more information on this system or its deployment, please contact us.

Don't Over Pay For Your Router and Network Hardware

Wednesday, August 19, 2009 by Chad Whaley

There are several Affordable Router Solutions available to both the carrier and enterprise level markets. Like any name brand item, one pays a premium for the "name" behind the product and sometimes sacrifices support and performance. I've been a network integrator since 2004. I'm comfortable with many brands of routers, but typically try to select the right product for the application. I wanted to briefly review a few common router implementations and my logic behind selecting vendor A, I, or M over C. The following three routers are my top Affordable Router Soutions for the specific application.

My Top Router Picks

Wireless Applications - MikroTik RB433AH Routerboard
VoIP Integration - ADTRAN TA904 and NV3448 Routers
Enterprise Workhorse - Imagestream Rebel Router

Wireless Network Solutions

I've owned and operated an Indiana Wireless Solutions and Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) since 2004. From the beginning, we operated on a very tight budget which forced us to review some of the Linux Router Solutions available to the market. We began using MikroTik routers from day one. We utilized them because of affordability, flexibility, and wireless performance. These routers have a very good GUI in addition to command-line interface (CLI). MikroTik manufactures there own brand of routerboards for their RouterOS or you can load the RouterOS on a x86 PC. Each routerboard is a full blown router and firewall. If wireless access is required, then one can add a mpci based radio card to the board for an integrated wireless AP and router solution.

Although MikroTik offers various routerboard solutions that meet different needs, I prefer the RB433AH routerboard. The architecture allows for plenty of throughput. In fact, I have a full duplex 5GHz N-stream solution running for a given client which is reliably pushing 28-30M full duplex throughput across the system which links their annex facility to their main building almost 1 mile away. These routers also offer advance firewalling, QoS Services, and scripting abilities. Most important is the Hotspot solution that is included in MikroTik's RouterOS.

VoIP Integration

I prefer the ADTRAN router line for all VoIP Integrations. I use both the Total Access 900 and NetVanta lines. ADTRAN has integrated switch ports into some NetVanta models to minimize the amount of devices required to manage in the network. ADTRAN offers both a "IOS" style CLI and a GUI. I prefer the CLI for setup and troubleshooting, but utilize the GUI a lot to check status. The Voice Quality Monitor (VQM) feature is very nice for VoIP Integrations. It allows me to trend voice quality statistics over time while also reporting key metrics such as MOS scores, delay, jitter, and packet loss. The ADTRAN product has superior SIP messaging troubleshooting. With other products, I would have to perform a packet capture and then export it into Wireshark for analysis. In ADTRAN's CLI, I can view the SIP level messaging in real time.

Hands down the best thing I can say about ADTRAN is the professionalism and helpfulness of their Technical Support. Guess what? Their support comes with the purchase of their product unlike the Big "C" brand. ADTRAN offers a 5yr. warranty on both of these product lines as well as most of their other products.

Affordable Router Solutions for the Enterprise

I've also been very happy with Indiana based router manufacturer, Imagestream. The Imagestream solution is based on a Linux OS platform. It currently does not have a GUI interface, but they do promise to release one soon. In a recent conversation with Imagestream's Lead Software Developer for the GUI Project, he mentioned to me the advance monitoring capabilities integrated into the GUI. After getting a sneak peak of the first GUI version, I think they are on the right track.

The Imagestream Rebel router is in my opinion the "jewel" of the Imagestream product line with the proper blend of price and performance. It out performs a lot of other routers in its class, including Cisco. It comes equipped with six Gig-E ports while having the ability to route ~100Mb Ethernet at wire speed. Imagestream offers a wide variety of interface cards to handle fiber to T1 termination. The ability to implement advance QoS Services and Firewalling Filters allows for some very advanced controls of the data streams. I've seen clients with a little scripting/programming talent do some really advance automated monitoring tasks with these routers. Imagestream also offers superb support for their routers which is included with the purchase.

IT Networking Support and Equipment Selection

Please consult your IT Networking Support professional before purchasing equipment. If you currently do not work with someone in this area, then feel free to contact The Interconnect Group for assistance with any of these router products and more. The key to this article is that you do not have to overpay for the right router solution. There are several affordable router solutions that will meet your needs on performance and price.

Plenty of Choices in Business Phone Systems

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 by Chad Whaley

The days of being stuck with an antiquated business phone system is becoming a thing of the past. As recent as three to five years ago, call routing options and advanced call features were only found in larger corporate phone systems. This is not the case in today's market. The Small to Medium sized Business (SMB) market now has plenty of options and affordable telephone system solutions, thanks largerly in part to the commercialization of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones systems.

Several Indiana Telecommunications Providers offer their own varieties of both premise based and non-premise based solutions. Both options have their place and the following factors should be evaluated with your VoIP Specialists when looking into purchasing a new business phone system:

Number of physical locations serving
Quantity of users and stations per location
Are remote worker solutions required
Are call center features required
Business Phone Support options

There are several affordable premise based phone systems available. Microsoft's Unified Communication has been getting a lot of publicity, but we prefer ADTRAN's NetVanta 7100 solution for systems serving less than 50 users. There are also some great Open Source solutions, but again it must be the right fit for your organization.

As VoIP Specialists, we've been integrating a Hosted PBX VoIP solution since 2005 which is based on the Broadsoft Softswitch platform. Although the Hosted PBX platform lends itself very well to multiple premise companies, it also provides these key benefits:

Lowered Total Cost of Ownership
Feature Enriched Call Routing Options
Superior Business Continuity Features
Remote Web Based Administration

If your company is in the process of moving to a new location or perhaps your old phone system is working against you versus with you, then now is the perfect time for you to review the options available in today's business phone systems. I would recommend working with a VoIP Specialist to determine the right solution for your company.

Since business phone systems are no longer separate from your IT network, I would recommend engaging your IT Department from the beginning of the process. Significant cost reduction may be realized if the new business phone system allows for blended voice and data Internet connectivity.