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The first quarter of 2015 is almost done so let’s get straight into it.

Cloud Management Tips – Who Owns the Cloud?

cloudLast newsletter prompted a question of “Who owns the cloud?

The answer is it depends – on what sort of cloud you are talking about.

Common public cloud scenarios like drop box, or Flickr, or Office365 the infrastructure is owned by the company involved. The data is always yours. Always check the terms and conditions!

Common private cloud ones like all your online banking for instance are owned by the bank – but you can access your data – though I suspect it’s not actually ours.

And then you can own your own private cloud. For as little as a few hundred dollars, the right router and some hard drives you can create a private cloud structure where you can access your data anywhere – while it is stored right at your house or office. Mind you this is not a safe a scenario as using something like Office 365. For instance your encryption layers will not likely be anywhere near as good as Microsoft’s. Neither will physical access to your premises be anything like as secure as theirs.

We can sit down with you and talk about your current business technology usage and what cloud services you could be using that could benefit you in one or more of these areas – cost reduction, efficiency, data security and access, and business continuity. Call me to discuss today on 0414 770 002.

Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

windows8I think all of our customers are finally off Windows XP. Hopefully there are none left using Vista – please contact me if you are! We still have quite a few customers using Windows 7 and in some cases we have plans to migrate them to Windows 8.1 soon. However many people don’t like change and think Windows 8.1 is strange, scary or confusing. So this section is a little bit about why you should be thinking seriously about upgrading to Windows 8.1 now and Windows 10 soon.

First of all here are some of the major reasons Windows 8.1 is better than Windows 7.

  • Improved Start-up times – the same PC will boot up a LOT faster with Windows 8.1
  • Better Battery Life – laptops get longer battery usage with Windows 8.1
  • Faster PC – your existing PC will run faster with Windows 8.1
  • More stable – Windows 7 was pretty good – Windows 8.1 is even better
  • Synchronisation – Windows 8.1 synchs your data, settings and desktop through OneDrive – it’s the same on every PC you log into
  • More secure – Free antivirus and anti-malware built in
  • Designed for Touch – if you have a touch screen or device you will rapidly find speed gains over using the mouse – especially useful for tablets

We recommend Windows 8.1 Pro for all businesses as there are some significant additional features over the standard (consumer) edition including:

  • Join a domain – required to network to your company server
  • BitLocker – encrypt your hard drive against theft – very important with laptops
  • Remote desktop application – connect to another PC remotely
  • Hyper-V – ability to run virtual machines inside your computer

Windows 10

http://blogs.windows.com/business/2015/01/21/windows-10-an-exciting-new-chapter/

Office 2016

http://blogs.office.com/2015/02/04/next-chapter-office-windows/

Skype for Business

http://blogs.skype.com/2015/03/17/welcome-skype-for-business

Windows 10 builds on Windows 8.1and according to Microsoft “is their best enterprise platform yet enabling our enterprise customers to be more productive, simplifying management and deployment, working with all of their existing apps, and helping to protect corporate data better than ever.”

More on Windows 10 in another edition. Right now we are trialling the developer previews of Windows 10, Office 2016 and Skype for Business in a virtual machine and learning about them.

Typically we upgrade a computer to Windows 8.1 from Windows 7 for $150 plus the cost of the software - $189 for Pro and $129 for Standard. All your existing programs and data will remain in place.

Special Deal – mention this newsletter and get a 5% discount off our Windows 8.1 upgrade price. Call us and we will help you identify exactly what you need and what benefits you can achieve with an upgrade to Windows 8.1.

Using Paste in Excel

excelCopying and Pasting is an important PC skill to know and learn. Office 2013 has built on previous versions of Office and provides many options for pasting.

Some examples include just pasting the formats, just he values, just the functions or more esoteric things like column widths in Excel, and even utilising mathematical functions. This article gives you some great tips and information about pasting in Excel.

http://spyjournal.biz/pasting-office-2013-newsletter

If you want to know more about improving your spreadsheet design for more efficient use and ensuring your results are accurate then give us a call.

Other office 365 News and Updates

Office 365 continues to pump out updates, improvements and features.

The latest news is that OneDrive for Business comes to Mac and iOS devices

onedriveSometimes One Drive stops synching correctly. If you have One Drive folders that are not synching correctly try this Repair tip.

Right click the blue cloud in the task bar and click Repair. Follow all the prompts.

Social Media Tips and Information

Today we are just going to give you a list of some great information that has come across our desk in the last 2 weeks. If you want to get more regular updates, follow us on twitter, or our daily or weekly newspapers.

If social media seems like foreign world or nightmare to manage (and it can be) then try out sourcing it to us. Our global team of social media experts can work with you to successfully represent your business in social media with cost effective measureable results

Web Design - What should your website be trying to achieve?

Many websites are confusing. Why do I say that? Because if you stand back and look at the site there is no clear purpose or intention of the site. A businesses website should be very obvious. Either its purpose is to inform and educate, sell product, or provide a mechanism for the enquirer to quickly and easily contact the business. Sometimes it is a mixture, and when that occurs the separation should be clear. E.g. a blog should be used for the education and information component. It should be used as a tool to drive customers to calls to action either on the site or directly with your business. Sales and shopping pages should be obvious and easy to navigate.

When considering a basic website for a small business the primary purpose of the website is effectively marketing. It is to create a way to bring customers into the business and add sales revenue and profit. If the website does not do that it should be retrained or sacked just like you would with a non performing sales employee.

Spending sometimes several thousand dollars on a “brochure ware” site that contains some outdated historic information about the companies past, a google map and some very bland generic product or service statements is basically a waste of money. The first and foremost goal is to create a way for prospective customers to actually contact you. This should be done through sales messages, advertising images and text, calls to action and contact forms. Showcase your company’s offers, deals and discounts, provide easy access to virtual sales people, real world online chat or at the very least a telephone number and email address.

The first marketing action we perform is to first find out what exactly the clients goals are. We ask the client about what they want the website to deliver to the business in terms of sales, contacts or enquiries. We then do some market research – search keywords, audience insights from social, competitive analysis. This allows us to set the site up correctly for SEO analytic tracking and measurement. Finally the customer has something that can be used to effectively replicate them in an online world.

webdesign

Here are our basic design principles:

  1. Keep it simple stupid – KISS - Don’t make it hard to find things. One layer of navigation, front page calls to action, side bar enquiry forms and information.
  2. Clarity, Conciseness and Care - Short simple sentences work best. Say exactly what you mean. Spellckecha evyrething!
  3. Use The Correct Heading Hierarchy - Websites have structure. We use this because SEO loves it and it reads better.
  4. Limited use of colours - We use colour palette generators by much smarter people than us who have thought these things out already. Readability for vision impaired is smart as well as thoughtful.
  5. Keep people on your page - We use content sharing tools to recommend further content from within the site
  6. Keep people coming back for more - Regular updated content is extremely important for SEO, and keeps people coming back. It is a great driver for ongoing social engagement and interaction.
  7. Be Social - We use simple recognisable tools to make it easy for people to like and share your content as follow you on social media

Contact us today if you need help fixing your site, or for a whole new refresh! Mention this newsletter and we will provide a free site review – normally worth $199.

Follow us on Social Media

As always we are your web, cloud and technology specialists. I am constantly learning new things and spending time researching, playing and testing new systems and reading about other people in the IT world doing the same thing. If you want to follow along with what I share in various spaces then connect with me on these platforms:

Did you know that in a study of 200,000 ostriches over a period of 80 years, no one reported a single case where an ostrich buried its head in the sand? Yet we use that expression to describe people who want to ignore the future. In technology the future is in cloud. Most of the major growth that is occurring in technology (above industry trends) is in the various cloud services out there. We talked about that last newsletter and it has sparked numerous interesting discussions with a number of our clients.

As always I am available to respond to your requests, queries and provide you with information.

I don’t charge by the phone call – and as I often say “it’s cheaper to ask me then it is for me to fix something after its done wrong”.

Cloud Management Tips – Where is my data? Is it safe?

clip_image002We are going to keep writing tips on cloud management as there is just so much misunderstanding out there as to what the cloud is and how to leverage it in your business safely and effectively.

One of the biggest fears our customers have is storing their data off their PC. There are various questions around who has access to it, if it’s safe, and so on.

Let’s bust a myth but also add some words of caution.

Is it safe? The easy answer is not only a resounding yes – but also its much safer. Your PC has a single point of failure – the hard disk. And they fail all the time – in fact more than any other PC component. We deal with them all the time – I have two clients pcs here right now with failed drives from the last week. So storing your data on your hard drive is not safe. Even having a local backup may not ensure your data is safe if that gets destroyed, e.g. in a fire or theft.

The cloud is designed to be always accessible, always backing up and constantly redundant.

Different organisations do different things but the big ones (Microsoft, Google Amazon etc.) all have geographic redundant storage duplication ensuring your data is spread all over the world for safety sake.

clip_image003Security. Now don’t be alarmed by that last statement. The word document you just made with all your user names and passwords in it cannot be seen by technicians in data centres all over the world. Microsoft Office 365 data duplication is done at a very basic level – way below encryption. No one could steal drives from a data centre and recover your data. It’s just not physically possible. Physical access to centres is tightly controlled and access is never given to physical entry as well as user information. In fact user access is only ever granted to an engineer with your specific permission. Any other technician can only ever see data as encrypted information for which they have no access.

If you want to read more about Microsoft’s security then check this website. Other storage providers have similar security in place. Check their sites if you want to know more.

http://products.office.com/en/business/office-365-trust-center-cloud-computing-security

We can sit down with you and talk about your current business technology usage and what cloud services you could be using that could benefit you in one or more of these areas – cost reduction, efficiency, data security and access, and business continuity. Call me to discuss today on 0414 770 002.

PC Patches – managing your computers’ security.

clip_image005Many of our customers wonder why they constantly have to patch their Windows PCs. Often they think that Apple Macs don’t have patches. They find it frustrating and confusing.

Hopefully I can explain some points here.

Microsoft has committed to delivering an operating system in Windows 8.1 that is extremely flexible, and has world class security levels (e.g. hackers find getting access to these systems very difficult compared to previous OS (Windows XP for instance). However with millions of lines of code there are always going to be flaws. Code is written by programmers with not enough sleep and too much caffeine after all. Someone once said a programmer is just a tool that converts caffeine into code! As hackers look for flaws and ways to exploit them so Microsoft is constantly releasing patches to resolve those flaws. However that’s not all. They also release patches to provide updated driver lists to pcs for ease of adding new hardware, provide upgraded options, speed and performance updates and new features.

For individual users running patches once a month (Microsoft have what is called Patch Tuesday when the bulk of patches are released) it isn’t too onerous. By the way Apple also releases patches for Macs and their other products. See this website https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT1222

However for business users with more than one pc on premise – and particularly those with upward of 5 – who haven’t implemented a pc management strategy will definitely notice their internet slow to a crawl as 5+ machines simultaneously attempt to download and update.

Businesses with multiple computers should either be using WSUS – a patching tool that resides on a local server and downloads the patches once and then distributes them to the pcs on the network, or a cloud delivery service called Intune that is the new way of doing this. Both options also have many other features and benefits that business users can take advantage of to improve their users’ productivity.

Special Deal – mention this newsletter and get a 1 hour PC Management consultation free. We will help you identify exactly what you need and what benefits you can achieve with either an on premises server or Intune Subscription.

Using SUM in Excel

clip_image007 Have you ever used Excel? It is the most used business intelligence tool in the world. It is an extremely powerful spreadsheet tool but often people use it as little more than a glorified back of the envelope scratchpad.

We have hundreds of articles on www.spyjournal.biz relating to using Excel in many scenarios.

Today I want to show case just how to use the Sum function and the Sigma short cut in the ribbon.

The article was written for Office 2010 but is still current to 2013. http://spyjournal.biz/excel/SUM

If you want to know more about improving your spreadsheet design for more efficient use and ensuring your results are accurate then give us a call.

Social Media Tip – image sizes and advertising for Facebook

Facebook is the world’s largest advertising platform. If your business is not active and advertising on Facebook then you are definitely falling behind your competitors – they are!

However there are some tips and tricks to advertising effectively in Facebook. As a Facebook Agency account we have access to be able to help you manage your advertising, and if you have a budget of over $1500 per month then we can get you access to a Facebook account representative to assist you to maximise your results.

For the rest of you – there are some tips and tricks.

clip_image009

Links

https://www.facebook.com/ads/tools/text_overlay

https://www.facebook.com/business/ads-guide

If you need us to manage this for you just give us a call. We would be happy to assist you with your advertising, graphic design and photography needs and questions.

Web Design – are your contact details easy to find on your website?

One of the most frustrating things about websites is not being able to contact the company. Having an easy to find phone number, email address doesn’t seem too hard. But many business websites do not display them at all or hide them away in multiple menu layers.

If your website doesn’t have an easy way to contact you – then we can guarantee you are sending your potential customers away. And your opposition with a clear phone number and a fast response time on emails sent is happy to have them! See out site for an example of an easy to find phone number, email and multiple ways to contact us. www.jethroconsultants.com

Contact us today if you need help fixing your site, or for a whole new refresh! Mention this newsletter and we will provide a free site review – normally worth $199.

Follow us on Social Media

As always we are your web, cloud and technology specialists. I am constantly learning new things and spending time researching, playing and testing new systems and reading about other people in the IT world doing the same thing. If you want to follow along with what I share in various spaces then connect with me on these platforms:

Twitter https://twitter.com/spyjournal technology, cycling, social media, management, business, and web

Linked In http://www.linkedin.com/in/jethromanagement

Delicious https://delicious.com/jethrocon saved links

Blog http://spyjournal.biz/ all sorts of stuff including personal and family updates

Spyjournal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/spyjournal.biz tech, cycling, and other stuff

Jethro Management Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JethroManagement business, management, web

Jethro Marketing Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JethroMarketing social media, marketing

Dreamcoat Photography Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DreamcoatPhotography

Dreamsport Photography Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DreamSportPhotography

Red Hot Snapper Facebook https://www.facebook.com/redhotsnapper roller derby

Where did February go? Is your year ripping along? I hope you have time to glance at the headings below and if anything is of interest read the whole piece. And we would love your feedback on how to make these newsletters more informative and useful to you.

As always I am available to respond to your requests, queries and provide you with information.

I don’t charge by the phone call – and as I often say “it’s cheaper to ask me then it is for me to fix something after its done wrong”.

Cloud Management Tips – what is the cloud?

We are going to keep writing tips on cloud management as there is just so much misunderstanding out there as to what the cloud is and how to leverage it in your business safely and effectively.

In laymen’s terms “the cloud” is just part of the internet. Specifically its part that provides a service. There are some common acronyms that are used. These are SaaS (Software as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) or PaaS (Platform as a Service). There’s a bunch more as well but these three are the most common. All they really mean is that you can buy something from an online service provider using their “cloud” technology.

Let’s look at the different types of cloud, and then come back to these acronyms to give you some examples.

There are three types of Cloud – Public, Private and on Premise. These are best explained using a transport analogy.

clip_image002

Public Cloud is like riding the bus. You have to put up with everyone else on the bus, you can’t choose where it goes or what route it takes to go there, how fast it goes or anything else about it. You pay a small fare to use it but pay nothing else.

Private Cloud is like hiring a car. You pay more to rent it than the bus, but you can drive it where you like when you like and choose who goes in it with you. You are responsible for petrol but not for the insurance, registration, tyres or maintenance on the car. You can do minor customisation – e.g. change the radio channel, the aircon temperature etc. but you can’t put mag wheels on or repaint the car.

On Premise is like owning a car. You buy it outright (or lease it) and then pay for all the running costs, registration and insurance etc. Regardless of whether you use it or not you pay for it. You can do whatever you like to it – respray it, upgrade the engine, or never maintain it and trash it; your call completely.

There is also a hybrid model which can combine elements of each of the others.

See this presentation for a bit more information

So the Cloud Service acronyms can all fall into one of these cloud categories.

SaaS or Software as a Service is simply a licensed software that is delivered over the internet. Common examples will include the Office 365 subscription to install Microsoft Office on your PC or Mac. Many other examples include Photoshop Creative Cloud, gaming software, accounting software and more.

IaaS or Infrastructure as a Service provides virtualised hardware systems – servers, virtualised networks and security systems amongst many other systems. For many businesses virtualising servers reduces the cost of physical hardware purchase and maintenance, reduces power consumption and when they are in the cloud can provide better BC (Business Continuity) and DR (Disaster Recovery) solutions.

PaaS or Platform as a Service is a development platform for software developers and used heavily by mobile application developers.

So how can your business utilise cloud? There are many ways. However the primary drivers for your decision making should be around cost reduction, efficiency and productivity, data security and business continuity.

This presentation has a section about migrating to the cloud cost effectively.

We can sit down with you and talk about your current business technology usage and what cloud services you could be using that could benefit you in one or more of these areas – cost reduction, efficiency, data security and access, and business continuity. Call me to discuss today on 0414 770 002.

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity.

clip_image004Last newsletter we talked about building a plan for disaster recovery. Since then we have had a cyclone and considerable flooding affecting many businesses including a number of our customers. There are not always rainbows after a flood. We have had to assist many of them with temporary solutions to solve internet and phone connectivity issues. The main reason being that in many cases they had never invested in Business Continuity. That is the ability to keep working when services (power, phone, internet) are cut, access to business premises is compromised or equipment is lost or damaged. Don’t wait for the next disaster to strike before ensuring your business is able to cope. It’s too late then. We are able to help you identify your critical failure points, develop a plan, and test it.

This presentation will give you some details about building a digital strategy that can include DR and BCP.

Special Deal – mention this newsletter and get a 1 hour DR consultation free. We will help you identify exactly what you need and what it will cost you to do it versus the cost of doing nothing.

Windows Server 2003 is nearing end of Support

clip_image00614 July 2015 is the deadline. What that means is after that date Microsoft will no longer issue security updates for any version of Server 2003. If you still have a Server 2003 machine in your business then we can replace that for you – ether by shifting its load and applications into a virtualised server (either in the cloud or on premise) or by replacing it with a new server running Server 2012.

Contact us immediately so we can begin planning this.

Social Media Tip – protecting your name

clip_image008Have you thought about protecting your brand in social media by claiming your business name or brand name? It’s often forgotten. When helping one of our clients setting up a business we always search the domain names and help them secure them. And when we are helping then develop a social presence we also do the same in the social spaces Here is the website we use to identify if your name has been already claimed or not – and we recommend that if you find your name isn’t taken that you grab it now! You don’t have to use it – but by creating an account you can ensure someone else can’t squat there or worse use it for their business. http://knowem.com/

If you need us to manage this for you just give us a call

Web Design and Marketing

Would you trust your web design to a tech who can write code or a marketing expert who can design a site that delivers results? The back end mechanic work can be done by any competent web developer. However the structure and layout of the site, its purpose and its alignment to your company’s sales goals and strategies are completely different. Our expert marketing professionals can guide you in the decision making process around the structure and function of your website. Don’t just make another boring “brochure ware” website, but create a sales and marketing tool that delivers results.

Here are some questions to ask yourself if you already have a site or are thinking about a refresh or a new site.

  1. Does my site duplicate me (or my best sales person)?
  2. Does it clearly explain the specific things / products / services my business does or sells?
  3. Does it answer the common objections or sales hurdles I cross when talking face to face to a prospective buyer?
  4. Does my website have a clear sales path, call to action, cross-sell and upsell components?
  5. Does my web server / developer / host provide measurement and analytics showing engagement by customers and incorporating social media connectivity?

Contact us to day to see examples specific to your industry and we will provide a free 1 hr consultation.

Follow us on Social Media

As always we are your web, cloud and technology specialists. I am constantly learning new things and spending time researching, playing and testing new systems and reading about other people in the IT world doing the same thing. If you want to follow along with what I share in various spaces then connect with me on these platforms:

Twitter https://twitter.com/spyjournal technology, cycling, social media, management, business, and web

Linked In http://www.linkedin.com/in/jethromanagement

Delicious https://delicious.com/jethrocon saved links

Blog http://spyjournal.biz/ all sorts of stuff including personal and family updates

Spyjournal Facebook https://www.facebook.com/spyjournal.biz tech, cycling, and other stuff

Jethro Management Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JethroManagement business, management, web

Jethro Marketing Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JethroMarketing social media, marketing

Dreamcoat Photography Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DreamcoatPhotography

Dreamsport Photography Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DreamSportPhotography

Red Hot Snapper Facebook https://www.facebook.com/redhotsnapper roller derby

CB104853_LoRes

Three simple questions:

  1. Can you measure how much your website is worth to you?
  2. Does it drive sales to your door? Does it bring new members to your organisation?
  3. Are you able to update it yourself?

If the answer to any of those is no then you need a Content Management System Website designed by Jethro.

What is a CMS Website?
A content management system (or CMS) is a tool that allows an organization to make changes to its website without having to work with HTML code.

In the 1990s, many web designers built their business model around designing websites for an organization, and then charging the organization a fee every time the website needed an update.  However, this is just not acceptable today.  Your customers expect your website to be constantly up-to-date.  If it's not, they will be much less likely to do business with you.

The 1990s website approach is a waste of your time and money. In the time it takes you to email your web designer to request a change, you could have made the change yourself using a CMS.  Most web designers who used this outdated business model are now impossible to contact, because they have dozens of clients tying up their phone lines asking for changes, and they simply can't keep up. Or their customers come to us asking for a rebuild with “a site that we can update ourselves!”

A CMS site built by us has these benefits for your business or organisation built in.

  • We only need to design one template, and that is used for the generation of every page. This makes the website considerably smaller and allows pages to be displayed quicker. Site refreshes are as simple as changing the template.
  • Your authorised users can modify content without knowing any HTML. The page structure and other technical information do not get in the way of entering or modifying content. Non technical users can manage complex sites with no technical expertise required.
  • Built in SEO features like connection to Google Analytics, sitemaps, submission to search engines, page titles and meta tags, plain English urls and more
  • Social media integration – share content easily, connect to your business or organisation Facebook and Twitter accounts and more.
  • Contact Us Forms
  • Menu Navigation

How can Jethro assist you to develop a CMS based website?
First of all we can be a one stop shop for your website.
We can purchase your domain name for you (if you don’t already have one), supply the DNS Hosting and the web hosting, install and configure the CMS system, develop the templates and graphic logos if required, or incorporate your own graphics, train you in the use of the site and provide written documentation and ongoing follow-up.

Secondly we have experience in building CMS websites and developing online communities, and have built lots of CMS sites. Our staff members are experienced in the CMS System we use ourselves and prefer, Drupal. We also build and support Wordpress and Joomla sites if requested.

 

STANDARD ALL INCLUSIVE PACKAGE $4,400

Suits most business and uses a standard template (available from a broad selection) with custom work to incorporate your logo and colour scheme.*

 

Contact us for a detailed quote.

*Terms and Conditions apply

2012-02-19 Cosplay Erica Shaun Sin 089There is no use in hiding your website from your customers and potential customers. Here are twenty things that if you incorporate into your website correctly will help make it more visible and friendly to use for your site visitors.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Every website we build has built in the following SEO Components:

  • Plain English URLs
  • Page Titles
  • Title Tags
  • Meta Tags for keywords, page information and business information
  • Menu Navigation
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Simple Contact forms
  • Keyword tags
  • RSS feeds
  • Human readable Sitemap
  • robots.txt file
  • Google Analytics
  • XML Sitemaps - and auto verification and submission to search engines
  • Contact information for your business

Ease of use

  • Every website we build using a CMS can be setup for you to enter /edit content using a WYSIWYG entry.
  • We can also build in revisions and version control as well as security levels for publishing if you have staff writing content.

Social Media

  • Like / tweet / +1 etc. buttons
  • Follow us on links
  • Share this content links
  • Connection to Facebook, twitter etc. via sidebar plugins or modules

Contact US

If your website is missing these components, and you don’t know how to include them or configure them correctly then talk to us. You might be surprised just how easy it is to include these things.

Our standard sites include them all.

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What people say..

Valuable information from both an online and business aspect spoken in everyday terms.
Thanks and Merry Christmas

Free Business Seminar Feedback Nov 2012

— Jodie - Social Entrepreneur

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