CIO Solutions
February 2011- Issue 17 
Find It Fast
Check with the Tech - USB Backups
CIO Update - Engineering Meeting
App of the Month - SB Axxess
CIO in the News - CIO and Walpole Partnership
Server Consolidation
Employee Spotlight: David Beltran
Quicklinks


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February Birthdays 

 

FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS

 

CIO - February 1st

 

David Beltran - February 18th

 

Craig McClellan - February 26th

Happy Birthday CIO!

Dear (Contact First Name),
 

CIO Solutions celebrated its 25th Anniversary on February 1st, 2011. This anniversary is a great achievement and gives testament to the dedication and persevarance of this organization.

 

We are proud have such a long-standing presence in the community and look forward to what the next 25 years will bring.

 

Look foward to a 25th Anniversary bash this summer, details to be announced at a later date. 

 
Cheers,
John Petote
CEO, CIO Solutions

Check with the Tech -  USB Backups

Check with the Tech   

 

Question: Will my data be safe if i am using an external USB harddrive and my computer dies?

 

 

 

Answer: Like everyone else in Santa Barbara, you've probably found yourself at CostCo with a USB harddrive in each hand literally weighing the options of each. The left hand has a software application that regularly backs up my data to the drive automatically. The right hand works on PC and Mac!  It all sounds exciting, but can also be confusing. The danger lies beneath the surface, however. 

 

If you are choosing a backup drive, it is recommended that you do just that - use it to back up only. Using a drive like this for regularly-accessed data is not recommended and will lead to eventual drive failures and data corruption. The extra software that comes with the drives are typically sub-par and often don't work after the first run.


If you do have a good backup to USB drive and your computer spontaneously dies, you're in a good spot. This means that your data is recoverable from a new system. You will still have to go through the effort of getting a new system or rebuilding your existing computer, but your data is safe.


If your computer dies of power problems, your USB drive might be taken down with the computer. This last winter, CIO Solutions saw a number of computers that experienced power spikes after an outage. Despite the use of surge suppressors, the power spike can break a computer and any devices attached (like your USB drive). Even offices that have regularly good power can be at risk - plugging in fans or space heaters can destroy nearby computers faster than a toddler with a watering can. 


The best-case scenario is a home or office that has a good surge suppressor ($50+) and plugs in only their computer.  This computer would have a USB backup drive and regularly checked the scheduled backup for accuracy. This computer would also have a cloud backup solution such as carbonite or mozy.  This type of protection would be ideal for any home or office computer.

 

-Mike Shinn

CIO Update - Engineering Meeting Moved to New Day and Time

 Calendar

The weekly CIO engineering meeting has been moved to Thursdays from 8:30am-11:00am.

 

During this time the engineering team will meet and review current projects and client issues. Engineers are only available for emergencies during this time. Please feel free to call our main number 805-692-6700 to leave a message or have Samantha pull an engineer out of the meeting.

 

The Central Support department will hold their weekly meeting from 10:30am-12:00pm on Thursdays as well. The brief overlap will allow our Remote engineers to discuss client projects with the rest of the engineering team.

 

Please send any concerns regarding this change in schedule to Hannah.

 

Thank you, CIO Solutions  

App of the Month - Santa Barbara Axxess Card Mobile Directory

SB Axxess

 

Free iPhone app for Santa Barbara Axxess members. The Axxess Card Mobile Directory is a mobile version of the Axxess Community Savings Directory. It provides on-the-go access to the complete list of current Axxess merchants and offers. Features include:  View list or map view of merchants nearby - View list of 2-for-1 dining offers- view list of new offers- view merchant info including location, phone number, hours of operation, and cuisine type- view dining merchant menu, photos, and website.

CIO in the News

Read All About It!

 

CIO AND WALPOLE PARTNER TO BRING TRI-COUNTIES BEST OF BREED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY


 
 

CIO Solutions and Walpole and Co. have announced a strategic partnership which will provide Tri-County businesses with expertise in Information Technology and Financial Software.


February 7, 2011 - Santa Barbara - CIO Solutions, Santa Barbara's premier IT consulting firm, and Walpole and Co., a local CPA and Consulting firm with over 35 year of experience, have announced a partnership focused on providing the business communities of Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties with the most complete and comprehensive IT solutions available.


CIO and Walpole operate according to similar principles and values, both of which provide consulting services that focus on relationship, education and community. By leveraging each organization's expertise, CIO and Walpole will be able to provide their clients with complete IT solutions and support.
 

Read full Press Release on our website

 

Read a PDF Version of the Press Release 

 
Server Consolidation - Sean Gill, Field Engineer

 Sean Gill

Server Consolidation affects the bottom line in a positive manner for companies large and small.  Where before, companies would have to purchase new hardware for each new server they required, today, companies are able to purchase one piece of hardware to potentially run four or five servers.  

 

Virtualization is the abstraction of operating system from underlying hardware.  On a virtual server, the operating system, perhaps Windows Server 2008, now sits upon something called a hypervisor.  This hypervisor is responsible for talking to the actual hardware of the server, while presenting an abstracted version of that hardware to Windows.  In this manner, it is now possible to have multiple servers running on the same hardware and the hypervisor supplies the abstracted hardware to them all.

 

Read more about Server Consolidation

 

Employee Spotlight  - David Beltran, Remote Engineer

David Beltran

 

Full Name: David Beltran

 

Where you grew up/When you moved to SB:  I grew up in lovely Ventura and moved to SB in 1992.  After some time here working with various tech companies, I moved back to Ventura in 2004, but continue to spend a lot of time in SB, working in the tech industry and growing with it.

 

 

What you like best about SB:  The climate, of course.  Beautiful town, beautiful weather.

 

When did you start working at CIO: January 2011 

 

Your position at CIO:  Remote Engineering Consultant 

 

What you like best about working at CIO:   The cool and casual professionalism is most attractive to me.  These people do amazing things with technology and have a genuinely great time doing it.  The sky is the limit here at CIO. 

 

Dreams/aspirations: To be the best dad that I can for my son Sam.  When I grow up, I want to be just like him! 

 

Favorite color: Blue, green, black. 

 

Favorite food: My wife's beef stroganoff.  Absolutely delicious! 

 

Favorite book/movie: I'm a big sci-fi and fantasy fan.  Favorite book is a series by Jack Chalker titled "The Rings of the Master".   Movie choices are too numerous to list, but the sci-fi genre is very important to me. 

 

Motto/quote: Pain is inevitable.  Suffering is optional. 

 

Anything else that is interesting about yourself:  I am your typical computer guy, video gamer (I prefer PC gaming over console gaming) and music lover.  Brewing my own home brew is a great hobby too.  Currently, I am brewing a spicy Belgian brew named Witty Monk that goes great with a wedge of orange in the frosty glass.   

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