| October 2008
In this issue: ■ Open House
■ Moving your Office
■ Case Study Video
■ Economic Rollercoaster
■ Financial Yardsticks
■ You Need a Pro
■ Case Study
■ New Uses for Old PCs
■ Opportunities
| Riding the Economic Rollercoaster
reprinted with
permission from HP
Stephen Minton, vice president, Worldwide IT Markets and Strategies, IDC, offers insight on how outsourcing can help you ride out the economic downturn—and maybe even gain a leg up on the competition along the way. Rising gasoline prices. Falling consumer confidence. Subprime mortgages. Inflation. Budget cuts. Currency fluctuations. Floods, droughts and crop shortages. Each day’s news seems to add to the torrent of challenges heading our way. No business is immune—but outsourcing can offer a way to leverage technology to help stem the negative tide. Here, IDC’s Stephen Minton shares his expert views and experience on the subject 10 Financial Yardsticks for Your Business
by Joseph Anthony
reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center Recently I’ve been doing some work with a nonprofit organization. Somewhat to my surprise, I’m discovering that many of the money issues confronting this nonprofit are similar to those faced by small, for-profit businesses. Things like: Understanding and keeping track of how much is really spent on various programs. ►Connecting expenditures to the revenues that result.
►Coping with basic cash issues (in its early years, the organization relied on loans from the people who started the group to carry it until money actually started to come in). ►Determining whether fundraising efforts actually cost more money than they generate. Read on
Sometimes You Need A Pro
Buying and installing a new server
So, you’re going to run to your favorite PC store and slap in a new server? Unless you are a certified IT person, allow us to politely offer this piece of advice: “No slapping without a professional, please.” In past issues of eMazzanti’s Technologies Newsletter we have offered advice on when to upgrade your server. This time we focus on avoiding the big mistakes once you do. There are decisions to be made about hardware, software, network connections and, perhaps, most important of all, whom to entrust with getting it up and on its feet. These are a few ways you can really screw it up: | | Open House Celebration
Join us in celebrating the new home of
November 5, 2008
4:00 – 9:30 PM 701 Grand Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030 To RSVP, please visit: www.emazzanti.net/events |
| Moving your office?
5 tips for Staying Productive
by Christopher Elliott
Reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business CenterEven if you are only moving to another floor in your building, the thought of relocating probably sounds about as appealing as going totally without carbs for a week. After all, moving your business or home is widely considered one of the single-most stressful life events for an individual. Add to that the prospect of losing valuable work time, and you can understand why small-business owners like Michael Hirschfeld try to get out of town when the business remodels, relocates or redecorates. “I have always been scheduled to be out of town for the day before, day of, and day after moving day,” says Hirschfeld, the managing partner of a real-estate company in Westport, Conn. “Simply put, less is more.” Leaving the office entirely is, of course, the best way of handling any relocation. Step aside and let the movers do their thing. But how do you keep your business productive even when your office is in pieces? At this point in many articles, I’d turn to experts on the subject. But I am the expert on moving. I’ve moved an average of once every two years — about 18 times altogether, counting my home and my small business — and I’ve done it all. I’ve moved within cities, counties, states. I’ve moved coast-to-coast and continent-to-continent. In fact, even as I write this piece, I’m sitting in a hotel room in Orlando, Fla., while I wait for the paperwork to wrap up on my new office. So here are the key things I have learned about how to make a move with a minimum of down time. 1. It’s impossible to plan too far ahead. If it’s a minor move, then you should know in advance where the cubicles will get set up and where the Ethernet connections will get wired through. Leave nothing to chance. Relocating an entire business — and don’t think it can’t happen to you, because small businesses do grow — can also mean moving a local-area network or a wireless network, numerous PCs and printers. It can mean shipping equipment and inventory. Line up your proverbial ducks well in advance of the big day. Tip: With careful planning, and depending on the size of your business, you can ensure that the actual move happens over a weekend. That gives you enough time to install and troubleshoot any technology that has migrated. If there’s any down-time, it will be on Sunday and Monday, minimizing the impact to your clients and customers. 2. Be prepared for the unexpected. A move of any kind forces you to think on your feet, to be ready for anything. If you travel frequently, you probably already know how to do that. For example: Where do you go to buy a box of RJ-11 wire at 1 a.m. What if you need to make copies, but don’t have any of your machines set up? It forces you to take nothing for granted, even little things like power and phone service. Tip: You don’t have to be a frequent business traveler to know how to think like a nomad. The Small Business Administration’s handbook, “Take the misery out of moving” (www.sba.gov/gopher/Business-Development/Success-Series/Vol7/moving.txt) , can help. It’s available online at no charge. Read on for more |
| eMazzanti Technologies Case Study
with The Original SoupManWith a comedic link to a TV show and the famous “Soup Nazi”, Soup Kitchen International concentrates its efforts delivering customers lines rather than laugh lines. The company wanted technology solutions which provided growth and agility so it could respond to new marketing and franchise opportunities. With the IT expertise of eMazzanti Technologies, the company re-built its user network around several Windows Server products and Windows Vista. See the Video Case Study |
| | Just for Laughs
| | | Windows Vista Accelerates Productivity in IT Consulting Business
eMazzanti Technologies is an IT consultancy that primarily serves the midsize business market in the Northeast U.S. As part of its persistent pursuit of new technology to enhance its own and its customers’ operations, it migrated to Windows Vista more than two years ago. As a result, eMazzanti has fine-tuned its use of Windows Vista to run its own company and converted 90 percent of its customers to the new operating system as well. Read the Case Study
| | New Uses for
Old PCs
reprinted with permission HP
We’ve got some good news and bad news. The good news? Computers and technology have changed our lives in amazing, life-altering ways. The bad news? The latest technology stands atop a mound of yesterday’s outdated or unwanted technologies and hardware. The constant cycle of innovation begs the question: what do I do with my old or unwanted PC now that I have a new notebook or desktop? Reuse
Resell
Reward
Recycle Continue | | Opportunities at
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www.emazzanti.net/store.
Qualifying applicants
must receive full time
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