TeamIt advantage

NOVEMBER 2013   IN THIS ISSUE   Click to jump to a section: Trends in the Marketplace Personally Speaking In-House or Outsource? Tech Tip   The Logical Advantage is a monthly newsletter published by TeamLogic IT   Call 650-336-7503 Email awong@TeamLogicIT.com Web TeamLogicIT.com/MountainViewCA Taking the Worry  out of your technologyTM Trends in the Marketplace Harnessing the Power of Big Data     If you agree with the statement, "If we could harness all of our data, we would be a much stronger business," you would be in good company. According to a recent CompTIA study, two-thirds of executives either agree or strongly agree. Participants in the Big Data Insights and Opportunities study cited lower productivity, lack of business agility, internal confusion over priorities and reduced margins due to operational inefficiencies as the top negative consequences of poor execution in managing and analyzing data. When asked about areas for improvement, respondents mentioned real-time analysis of incoming data, email marketing campaign effectiveness assessments, customer profiling, and predictive analytics and forecasting at the highest rates. According to IDC, we are creating more data in a single day than existed in the year 2000. This massive amount of data is referred to as Big Data and is characterized by its volume, velocity, variety and value. The continuous exponential growth in the amount of internal, external and social media data on your customers and prospects also relates to Big Data. How effective you are at drawing insight from this immense amount of data can be a key competitive advantage. Not every business will need a Big Data strategy, but just about every business will need a mechanism to manage, process and make sense of its structured and unstructured data. Because data growth shows no signs of slowing, the consequences of lagging behind in a data-driven world may become more pronounced.   Personally Speaking I recently purchased a furnace and air conditioner for our 55 year old home. As I sat down with the sales rep, I looked at his card. His title did not have any form of "sales" in it.  It was "Comfort Advisor."  After all, he wasn't just selling me equipment or appliances: it was a solution to provide a comfortable temperature in our home year round. This included  the appropriate duct system, zoning, and thermostats to get the maximum efficiency and lower the bills. Did I feel he was trying to push the most expensive solution?  No, after due diligence, I felt that he chose the appropriate level of products, and his company would be there in the long run to handle any issues with service and the products.  TeamLogic IT is in a different business, but there are similarities with our being "Your Technology Advisor." We are providing you peace of mind for your business technology. After all, your business depends on technology, and you need a responsive, well-trained staff to keep your IT running in the years to come. Back to Top   In-House or Outsource? Has your IT function become too much for your existing IT staff to manage? If so, you may be contemplating hiring another full-time IT employee. Unfortunately, this often means paying a high salary and providing a plethora of benefits. Some companies in this situation augment their IT function by utilizing outside contractors. As a temporary strategy for a finite project, this approach has a number of advantages. For instance, it can be less expensive to staff higher-earning specialized talent for temporary IT assignments rather than hiring full-time personnel. However, for day-to-day IT services such as help desk activities, this option may end up being more expensive than hiring a full-time person. A smart option to consider is contracting with a managed services provider. With managed services, an outside vendor assumes responsibility for providing a defined set of proactive activities to keep your computer systems operational and employees productive. In addition, most managed IT service providers remotely monitor your systems and remotely access them to troubleshoot and even resolve issues without deploying a technician to your site. On those occasions when onsite support is needed, most MSPs can deploy a technician for as long as support is needed to resolve an issue or complete a special project. Since most MSPs bill an ongoing flat or near-fixed monthly fee, IT support costs are more predictable—a big advantage over some IT contractors. To see if managed IT services is the right solution for your business, call TeamLogic IT. Back to Top   Tech Tip Windows 8: How to Install Windows Media Center (or an Alternative) One feature (or really lack thereof) in Windows 8 users might find annoying is the inability to playback DVDs or Blu-ray discs under the new OS. In Windows 7 this used to be an included feature depending on the edition of the OS you had installed. If you're running Windows 8 standard edition you will have to rely on a 3rd party software. For DVDs and Blu-ray discs you can download and run a 3rd party media player software. If you're running Windows 8 Professional edition, you can download the Windows Media Center feature, which is now a paid feature called "Windows 8 Media Center Pack" add-on (which allows you to watch and record TV and play DVDs). There are a few things that you need to know about the Windows 8 Media Center Pack: 1) This feature adds all the original Windows Media Center functionality back to Windows 8 Pro, which includes the ability to watch and record broadcast TV and play DVDs. (Note: The DVD playback option is not supported in the Windows Media Player which is included with the OS.) 2) If you want to play Blu-rays in Windows Media Center, you will need to get the appropriate CODEC from a third-party. 3) To install the "Windows 8 Media Center Pack" add-on, follow these instructions: Press the Windows Key, then type: "add features" in the search box, and then tap or click the Settings icon Tap or click "Add features to Windows 8" If you already received your product key from Microsoft, then tap or click "I already have a product key", then follow the prompts. If you don't already have a product key from Microsoft, then tap or click "I want to buy a product key online", then follow the prompts. Enter a product key and then press the Next button After reading the license terms, select the check box to accept the license terms, and then press Add features button. Back to Top   TeamLogic, Mountain View, CA  94022 | P 650-336-7500 | F 650-332-3001 | TeamLogicIT.com/MountainViewCA This email was sent to you by TeamLogic IT. Click here to unsubscribe from our mailing list.