Why Off-Site Backup of Your Data Is Important

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As business files are digitized and today’s work environment runs on data, off-site backup is essential. Duplication of your information and the ease with which it is accessible are two key factors in any solid data protection plan. An off-site backup solution provides the necessary redundancy needed in the event that your primary, on-site data storage system fails or is compromised. This physical location (or cloud storage) is separate and apart from your firm’s headquarters and the location where your IT solutions are stored. Read more

Save Time, Space, and Money with Digital Archiving

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There’s no doubt that digital archiving saves you time, space, and money. It is effectively a death sentence for maintaining paper stacks and managing files in a physical location. With digital archiving, you don’t have to store thousands of documents in boxes in storage or sift through 10 years of files to find a specific piece of paper.

Digital archiving allows you to attain greater convenience for keeping client records and tracking business information safely. Technology has changed the game for businesses. No longer must you rely on outdated, labor-intensive business practices that take up time. Instead, companies can easily manage their records over the Internet through the cloud. This helps eliminate the costs and hassles of archiving records physically, while increasing ease of accessibility.

If your business is struggling to maintain its records, then you should consider digital archiving.  Not only will it help improve efficiency and accuracy, but you will gain the following benefits:

• Greater document security
• Cloud-based storage negates the need for copies
• Easily accessible data from any place at any time
• Enhanced compliance

With digital archiving, the days of drowning in piles of paperwork are over. This modern equivalent of recordkeeping provides a scalable, affordable, sustainable solution to your filing needs.

Implementing digital archiving

A lot of businesses are keen on the idea of digital archiving, but most of them don’t really know how to go about it. If your goal is to reduce the amount of paper your office uses, consider the following beginning steps to digital archiving:

• Acquire a digital storage option that offers high server capacity
• Consider scanning options that will allow you to properly archive every document digitally
• Adopt a document management system that will do all of the hard-work for you
• Create electronic signatures for employees to access the documents virtually

For help following the above mentioned steps to adopt digital archiving for your business, contact Infomax today.

Maintain Business Continuity with Digital Archiving

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Whether it’s an angry hurricane or a destructive fire, disasters can and will happen. Sadly, most businesses that suffer through a disaster will fail within two years. Digital archiving is one effective tool you can use to help protect your organization’s long-term health against the threat of a disaster.

What are digital archives?
Digital archives are electronic versions of your company’s historical assets. Archive content is fixed and not needed for current operations; its main purpose is long-term storage and retrieval. Archives can provide an automated mechanism for regulation-mandated records retention, and typically have extensive metadata attached to allow for search and retrieval of even the oldest records.

How are archives different from backup?
Contents in your digital archives don’t change to reflect your daily operations. Archived data is not in current use and will be kept essentially as-is over the long term. Backup for disaster recovery, however, generally involves up-to-date copies of operational information that can be restored quickly. In fact, you’ll even want to back up your archives to protect yourself in the event something should happen to the original files (a safety net not available with paper-based archives). Remember this rule for backing up: three copies, on two types of media, in one additional location.

Why are archives needed?
Digital archives go beyond operational recovery (disaster response) and organizational recovery (business continuity). Your company doesn’t want to lose regulatory records or long-term, institutional history. Corporate governance, litigation, and regulatory compliance all demand data be archived past three, seven, or even ten or more years. Digital archives also provide security and traceability, with audit trails recording who accessed what, when, and what they did.

What else should I consider?
Since digital archives are for the long term, don’t forget to address issues such as life expectancy (of the software required to read data and the storage technologies themselves), increasing capacity needs over time, and the eventual disposal of the data.

A disaster could strike at any time. If you want your business to be one that bounces back after the worst happens, it’s time to get started with digital archiving. Contact Infomax today to learn more.

Are Servers Extinct? Making the Case for Dedicated Servers

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As computing technology gets faster, smaller, and more affordable, companies are increasingly turning to shared or virtual servers for their business needs. While you can save money by going that route, some companies would do better to take advantage of a dedicated server’s powerful benefits. What makes dedicated servers a strategic choice?

Outstanding Performance
● Security — The greatest benefit of dedicated servers is their strong security, with options for specialized security measures and better protection against malware and adware—especially important for companies dealing with sensitive data.
● Reliability — Crashes on dedicated servers are less likely to occur than on shared servers, minimizing downtime and maximizing availability.
● Exclusivity — A dedicated server eliminates service-slowing bandwidth competition. Companies with high traffic or large, data-heavy files like high-definition video or images will appreciate the boost in performance that comes with dedicated bandwidth.

Dedicated IP Address
● No Guilt by Association — Spammy or adult sites that share your IP can damage your ranking in search engine rankings. A dedicated IP prevents you from being blacklisted as a result of others’ bad behavior.
● ECommerce — The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) dictates that ecommerce sites must have SSL-enabled, dedicated IP.

Complete Control    
● Customizability — Configure the CPU, RAM, disk space, and platform however suits you best: manage a database, host a website, or act as a mail server.
● Growth & Scalability — For companies looking for long-term stability and growth opportunity, dedicated servers are ideal—growth doesn’t require migration to a new server.

Other Considerations
● Technical considerations — Some IT knowledge is necessary to run a dedicated server, which managed hosting services can handle for you.
● Cost — A dedicated server is a bigger investment than a shared server, so your company’s needs and growth plans are important as you weigh the options.

Dedicated servers can be the best choice for companies that need top notch performance along with excellent security, have ecommerce options, or need a customized system that can grow with them. If a dedicated server sounds like a good fit for your business, contact Infomax Office Systems today.

Data Backup and Disaster Recovery – What’s the Difference?

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When a computer glitch strikes and you get the “Blue Screen of Death,” your heart leaps into your throat. Then you remember your automated backup program. Whew, everything is safe.

But is it?

Backups can give us a sense of security, yet there’s a significant difference between backing up your data and recovering it after a disaster. Despite their distinctions, both are critical for a healthy information technology system.

Data backup is a standard and sometimes simple process—saving a copy (or multiple copies) of information in case the original or working copy has a problem. Backup may occur as a process automated by software, a physical action required of a human being, or as part of Managed IT or cloud services. Backed-up data might be stored in an external hard drive on your desktop, on CD- or DVD-ROM, on an offsite server, or even with a cloud-based service. Regular data backup is an essential part of business, often done on a daily basis to keep copies of records.

But data backup alone isn’t enough. Backed-up data is like a parachute: good to have, but not very helpful if you can’t use it! A recovery plan is the parachute pack and deployment system. A tested, staged, and properly deployable pack is mandatory if you hope to survive disaster.

Disaster recovery includes the processes and people that make backed-up data usable. Since disasters happen at any time, it’s essential that your recovery system be ready and available whenever needed, and your staff must know how to activate that system. Disaster recovery is about the outcome.

There are numerous failure points (human or software), and faith in untested systems can provide a false sense of security. Moreover, everything must be accessible when you need it. Do you know who to call? How to get your data back into use?

Using a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can be a critical part of a robust backup and disaster recovery system. Through service-level agreements, your provider becomes an extension of your company, but one with industry-specific expertise and tested recovery systems. A relationship with a Managed Service Provider also functions across your organization, rather than through isolated departments or individual sets of files.

To make sure you’re prepared to bounce back if the worst ever happens, contact Infomax about backup and disaster recovery solutions.

Making the Best of a Bad Situation: Why Backup & Disaster Recovery Are Essential

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Have you taken the time to plan for the worst? Everyone likes to think they are immune from disastrous situations like fire, flood, or security breaches. But the truth is, without a backup and recovery plan, your business is at risk.

Backup and recovery is a crucial aspect of any company’s business model. It simply refers to strategically protecting your business documents and programs from any type of data loss, and developing a plan to retrieve or reconstitute files in the event they are lost or destroyed. Typically, backup and recovery focuses its plan around electronic databases that are networked across your organization.

Here are a few reasons to design and implement a solid backup and recovery system into your business plan ASAP.

Preemptive protection – A backup and disaster recovery strategy literally safeguards your livelihood. Would your business survive a week if a flood destroyed all of your computers, servers, and hardcopy documents? How would you get back on your feet? By working with a trusted IT provider, like Infomax, you can determine a plan that best fits your company’s needs before disaster strikes. That way, if and when some unforeseen disaster happens you’ll be able to get your business back up and running in a timely manner.

Guaranteed coverage – If you are put in the position of having to rely on your backup and recovery plan, you can lean on your services provider to get you up and running quickly while you deal with the other inevitable aspects of clean-up, like rethinking deadlines or contacting your insurance company. Whether you’re a mom-and-pop shop or enterprise-level business, your IT services provider will ensure that all aspects of your business are included in your backup and recovery plan. For example, Infomax will back up your data automatically through cloud computing every 15 minutes, guaranteeing you uninterrupted workflows in almost any emergency situation.

Peace of mind – Let’s face it, you’ve got enough to worry about. Your day-to-day tasks can be overwhelming enough, without having to consider how your data would survive a disaster. Working with an IT service provider to determine a plan that works for your business will ensure that you have one less thing to stress about, giving you peace of mind when it comes to your company’s data.

Interested in having your data backed up every 15 minutes? Contact Infomax today to get your backup and recovery plan started.

Archiving Solutions for Optimal Protection

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If your organization has large volumes of data—and let’s face it, most businesses do—you’re probably in need of digital archiving solutions. Digital Archiving provides a secure method for storing and accessing your electronic content, so you can easily find what you need, saving you time and resources.

Digital archiving provides the ultimate in asset preservation, so you never have to worry about your files disappearing or being unavailable in the event of a crash. Here are some of the ways digital archiving protects your data.

Be prepared for an audit. Audits are an unfortunate reality in today’s business world. By implementing digital archiving solutions, you can ensure that you have everything you need in the event of an audit. Although audits are never enjoyable, being prepared for them makes all the difference. Digital archiving means your data is retrievable in an instant, should your business find itself under the microscope.

Reduce server crashes. Data left uncontrolled can flood your networks and cause huge headaches. Those years-old files are not helping anyone. In fact, obsolete files can clog your servers and cause crashes. By removing these files across your servers and archiving them instead, you can save around 60-70% of your server space.

Reduce your backup window. No one likes to watch a pot of water boil. Similarly, waiting around for your data to be backed up can feel like a lifetime. Instead, bundle your data and don’t backup duplicate files, so your backups take less time.

Get compliant. The devil is in the details, and your business must remain compliant. Everyone wants to think their data is compliant, but without proper storage and security measures, many businesses simply drop the ball. But many industry and governmental policies dictate just how long documents should be saved. Digital archiving will help ensure your documents are securely stored for the right amount of time, so you can avoid financial or legal penalties.

To learn more about digital archiving and how it can free up space and resources, contact Infomax today.

Streamline Forms with Digital Solutions

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Data is a vital part of any business, so the method with which you collect that data must be carefully considered. Many businesses rely on forms completion to keep track of information such as customer history, inventory tracking, and client invoicing. Ultimately, these forms can create a headache-inducing paper chain, while eating up valuable resources and negatively affecting your bottom line.

Wouldn’t a simpler solution be to digitize your forms, thereby streamlining your manual processes? By converting your forms to digital versions, you can easily keep track of them and share them instantaneously.

Here are some of the ways forms solutions from Infomax can simplify your data collection processes.

  • Rapid deployment. With electronic forms, you can create all of your forms quickly, and deploy them just as fast.  No more waiting for print services or a form order to come through. Your workflows will be streamlined and more efficient, as well.
  • Mobile functionality. By capturing forms information digitally, you can easily access it from anywhere. Custom templates and version controls provide the same functionality of your physical forms with the added benefits of file syncing and digital mobility.
  • Paper and forms cost savings. By converting your forms to digital versions, you are drastically reducing the amount of paper your company uses and receives. You’ll save on form production and printing, which can add up to tremendous savings for many businesses.
  • Easier signature capture. If your workflows require signatures as part of the approval process, online forms make it easy to digitally sign documents and keep the workflow moving forward. By streamlining the signature process using digital applications, you can save an immense amount of time and frustration.
  • Instant Access to Data. With digital forms, your data is instantly accessible, in real time, and can be easily updated from anywhere. You can make quick and informed business decisions with all the information you need.

To learn more about how streamlining forms with digital solutions can help nearly every area of your business, contact Infomax today.