Network's Unlimited Blog

Networks Unlimited would like to welcome the newest member of our team, Robert Burkey. Robert is a Grand Junction native who attended high school in Palisade. He received a bachelor’s degree from Colorado Mesa University in management and marketing. Robert has 13 years of experience in the technology industry . He has a wonderful family which includes his wife Liz and two beautiful young girls named Cadence and Leah. Robert enjoys the outdoors, camping, fishing and hiking. He is an avid sports fan and enjoys going to Rockies, Broncos and Nuggets games.

There are a couple of things that have transpired in the computer industry in the last month that we believe are worthwhile to note.   First, a typhoon caused massive flooding to parts of Thailand at the end of August.   This flooding has covered about one-third of Thailand’s surface area.  What does this have to do with technology you ask?  The flooding has had serious impact on the country’s manufacturing business, notably the manufacturing of computer hard drives.  Thailand accounts for approximately twenty-five percent of the world’s hard drive production.  Supply chains for hard drive manufacturing in other countries will be disrupted as well.  Factories that produce components used in over 70% of worldwide hard drives produced by Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi, Toshiba and Samsung have been damaged as well.  Industry analysts are noting that the reduced manufacturing capacity will cause inventory constraints and increased prices throughout the end of the year and into the first quarter of next year.  Please keep this in mind. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Gayland at our office. 970-243-3311

Networks Unlimited Inc., named as “One of the fastest growing companies in the US” by Inc. Magazine, is in search of candidates for a new full-time Technical Services Administrator. This new position is integral to Networks Unlimited’s mission to be the IT solution provider of choice for clients whose technology is critical to their business operations. This unique position’s benefits include: Health Insurance, Supplemental Insurance, IRA, Paid Vacation as well as opportunities for career advancement and technical training in our growing team environment.

Qualifications:

•        College Degree preferred but not required

•        Excellent analytical, oral, and written communication skills

•        Computer Networking familiarity

•        Strong customer service skills

•        Strong time management and organizational skills

•        Ability to learn, manage and maintain business/systems processes

Please respond with cover letter, salary history and resume to:

HR@ITSABOUTACTION.COM

Speaking of “it was just a matter of time,” the online-backup company, Mozy is no longer offering an “Unlimited Backup” service plan.  This comes with little shock to industry insiders and competitors.  As we have been saying here at Networks Unlimited, Managed IT Services have to provide customers with tangible benefits AND exist in a self-sustaining price model.  While there are economies of scale, whereby the more you buy the cheaper the price per unit you pay, “Unlimited” simply doesn’t compute.  It appears that Mozy is going to honor their current “Unlimited” service contracts, however for all renewals and contracts moving forward, tiered pricing will apply.  Networks Unlimited offers a fully managed, Automated Online Backup Service, and in the summer of 2010, actually REDUCED the service price to our customers.

Like all things, it was just a matter of time- Anti-X software as a service. Networks Unlimited has partnered with Trend Micro to provide Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware protection for Microsoft Windows Servers and Workstations as an IT Service.

Why should the marketplace welcome the idea of an Anti-X Service? According to Robert Benjamin, Managed Services Director, “The benefits are simple, pay-as-you-go, only for what you use, and allow Networks Unlimited to manage and monitor your Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware protection, all for basically the same price you pay now.”

If you are interested in learning more, please contact Mike Porter, Account Manager, Networks Unlimited.

How expensive can spyware be to your company?  How about hundreds of thousands of dollars?  A recent AP article details how cyberthieves are using spyware to extract business information from infected computers with the sole purpose of plundering the bank accounts of small and medium-sized American businesses.  If you thought dealing with the clean-up of an infected PC was an expensive nuisance, imagine finding your bank accounts emptied with payroll due…Read the full story at: http://yhoo.it/aQWUwO 

Contact Rob Benajamin directly if you would like to discuss your company’s digital security  – 970.243.3311

Well, it’s time again to consider life without Microsoft Windows XP.  Of course we’ve all been through this once before with the release of Windows Vista, but this time it is for real.  With the warm reception of Windows 7 and it’s compatibility mode for older applications, Windows XP is quickly falling out of favor and support.  Nevermind that Microsoft has promised to support XP until sometime in 2013/14, the fact of the matter is that the third-party manufacturers which make hard drives, video cards, printers, etc. are not promising to deliver XP drivers either now, or in the future.  The challenge for most businesses will be upgrading your current business applications to Windows 7 compatible versions, or testing your current application on Windows 7 compatibility mode.  In either case, Networks Unlimited is here to help.

High definition video conferencing will save your company time and money. Attend our exclusive seminar to see how we can help you change the way you do business.

• October 21, 2010
• 11:30 – 1:30
• Remax 4000 Conference Room

Check back for more details, or call 970-243-3311.

As you may or may not already know, Microsoft has ended support and updates for three of their older operating systems effective today, July 13th, 2010.  These older operating systems include: Windows 2000 Server (all versions), Windows 2000 Professional (all versions) and Windows XP (all versions with Service Pack 2 or older.) 

What does this mean?  Well, Microsoft will no longer provide updates for these operating systems.  Microsoft updates can include bug fixes, security updates, and feature enhancements.  More importantly, when Microsoft retires support, most third-party software and hardware companies also follow suit, meaning specialized software and older hardware devices may need updating as well.  In some circumstances, unsupported software can continue to operate for many years without any major issues.  But in most cases, upgrades (hardware and software) must be done in order to ensure ongoing operability.  Most businesses should have a technology refresh plan which cycles every 36-48 months, which helps to take these support cycles into account.  This particular upgrade cycle for Microsoft hits after a lackluster rollout of their Vista Operating System, and with many businesses still using Windows XP.  

It is strongly recommended that businesses formulate a plan to move to Windows 7 sooner rather than later.   — Robert Benjamin, Managed Services Director, Networks Unlimited.