CELEBRATING OUR
10TH ANNIVERARY IN
OCTOBER 2013!
FlexITechs is now in its 10th year of serving Sussex County residents and businesses!
After two years as the computer services arm of our sister company, Sussex County Online, FlexITechs was formed to better define the computer services offered by owner Eric Magill.
We thank all of our customers who have made it possible for us reach our 10th anniversary! |
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Sincerely, Eric Magill, FlexITechs |
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FlexITechs' 10th Anniversary!
As we've celebrated our 10th Anniversary here at FlexITechs this month, I've taken some time to reflect on all the changes we've seen in the past decade, which in turn offers food for thought for changes to expect in our next decade.
Tools of the Trade
I remember starting out with a rather large computer technician's bag in October 2003, filled with everything from spare parts to driver CDs to various computer tools.
I still remember the excitement I felt when the bag arrived via UPS and how much fun I had filling every nook and cranny with computer technician stuff.
As time went on and computer prices dropped dramatically, that bag was reduced to a laptop, then to a Netbook, and now to a SmartPhone, as the price of a new computer doesn't often justify the cost of a bag full of parts, and driver and software downloads over high speed Internet have relegated driver CDs to the dust bin.
Rise of High-Speed Internet
The single largest technological change has been the rise of high-speed Internet. We still have a long way to go in Sussex County for high-speed Internet, especially in remote areas, but it has driven many changes in the way Sussex Countians work and play.
Back in 2003, high-speed Internet remained a novelty here, enough so that we still had a dialup Internet business at our sister company, Sussex County Online. That changed around 2005, as high-speed Internet prices began to drop and it became a viable alternative to dialup.
As elsewhere around the globe, the increased access to high-speed Internet gave rise to the explosion in Internet-connected devices we see now, as well as allowing businesses to market their products and services regionally, nationally and globally.
In our business, we now have immediate access to volumes of technological information via Google anywhere we have Internet, as well as every single note and ticket I've ever entered for our customers.
We're Getting Smaller
As I alluded to above, everything in technology has become smaller, much smaller. From computers to monitors to peripherals, we can hold more computing power in our hand now than major corporations had in their huge computer rooms 40 years ago.
Even in the past 10 years, computers have evolved from big, clunky desktops with large, heavy monitors to smaller desktops with thin LCD monitors to laptops to thin laptops to Netbooks to today's SmartPhones and Tablets.
Prices have slimmed down, as well. Ten years ago, computers hovered in the $800-$1,000 range. Now, you can find more powerful computers in the $400-$500 range. LCD monitors were a novelty 10 years ago at $400 apiece. Now at $100-$150, it's jarring to walk into an office or home that still uses an old-fashioned CRT monitor.
And You Thought No One Cared About You ...
Along with the rise in high-speed Internet has been an increase in hacker attention to individual computer users rather than just large corporations, financial institutions and government agencies.
While hackers have always looked for ways to break into computers, the shift from dialup to always-on, high-speed Internet has made their "jobs" easier and given rise to all types of attacks from social engineering to drive-by infections.
Now, hackers have uninterrupted access to millions of computers world-wide in their never-ending quest to scam money out of unsuspecting computer users.
On a positive note, consumers have become more security conscious. Ten years ago, when home and office wireless networks were in their infancy, I took a test drive from Fenwick Island to Millville one day and found 75 percent of the wireless networks I could detect were not secure. Today, that figure is more like 20 percent.
Our Customers
Our customer demographics have remained basically the same over the years. During the off-season, we work mostly with retirees and local businesses as they gear up for the summer season. During the summer, technology-dependent tourists consume a lot of our time.
One thing that has changed -- retirees are relying more on technology now as their computers or phones or tablets are their main line of communication with children and grand-children living hours away.
And at least in our case, retirees have become less techno-phobic, even if they don't like having to change computers every few years.
Alternatives to Microsoft
One of the other major changes in the past 10 years has been the steady erosion of Microsoft's influence with Apple's hand-held devices and Google's applications cutting into the tech giant's market share and mind-share.
Combined with the massive hacking efforts aimed at Microsoft products and Windows computers and Microsoft's own self-inflicted struggles with Internet-based devices and applications, Apple and Google are as well-known as Microsoft and both have surpassed Microsoft in market capitalization.
The Future
I would expect tablets and smartphones to continue chewing away at desktop computer market share as more traditional applications become tablet-friendly.
This will be especially true for less typing-intensive tasks, but a traditional keyboard will probably still be the best option for tasks involving a lot of typing unless voice to text becomes a lot more efficient and accurate.
I also expect wireless connectivity to nearly completely overtake wired connectivity. I know Verizon is anticipating this as it invests billions in its wireless network while putting next to nothing into its legacy land-line and DSL Internet services.
Likewise, I believe that in the next 10 years, it will be common for small businesses to use mobile, wireless hand-held devices inside and outside the office rather than be tethered to desktop computers anchored on wired networks.
So if you think you're connected now, think back over the advances of the past 10 years, and just imagine the possibilities 10 years from now.
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Those Annoying Windows Updates
I'm going to offer a brief explanation of the Windows Update process as a number of customers have been affected by the bad updates Microsoft sent out in September, with October not looking much better after "Patch Tuesday" issued a new round of updates overnight on Oct. 9.
I go into more detail on my blog at http://flexitechs.wordpress.com, but to put it succinctly, in an ideal world, you should just be able to set Windows to update its security and bug patches automatically and never have to think about it.That's the ideal. The reality is much different, as anyone using Microsoft Office 2010 Starter Edition can tell you after last month's updates crashed Office Starter and tried to force the end user to buy one of the Office 2013 versions. Those who didn't know you could repair Office Starter after the update probably spent money unnecessarily on Office 2013.Why does this happen? Sometimes, Microsoft causes the problems itself by not properly testing its own products against its updates. Often, the updates can affect other software on your computer, and even a company as big as Microsoft doesn't have the resources to test its updates against every piece of software that could be on end users' pc's.What do you do? If you're a business, you should consider a monthly maintenance plan with a Managed Service Provider like FlexITechs that checks the updates for you before allowing them to be installed.
For consumers, that isn't all that practical. For you, you'll need to keep running automatic updates because the consequences of not being properly patched could be far more severe than the occasional Windows Update glitch.
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BizTech -- Upgrade from Windows 2003
If you're one of the small businesses still running some flavor of Windows Server 2003, you should, if you're not already, be making plans to upgrade to one of the latest versions of Windows Server.
Microsoft will end support for all Windows 2003 era products, including Windows Server 2003, Small Business Server 2003, Windows XP and Office 2003, come April 8, 2014. That's barely five months away and not a lot of time to plan and implement such an upgrade.
It's not a simple matter of plugging a new server into the same spot as the old server. The transition must be planned with your software developers, and your line of business applications, email and peripherals.
Failure to figure out the potential incompatabilities beforehand could cause massive headaches once the new server has been installed.
And then there is the cost. If you have to upgrade Windows Server and workstations with Windows XP and Microsoft Office, you're looking at a significant investment that you may not have anticipated.
It's unlikely, for instance, that you can just upgrade your existing server or workstation operating system to the latest Windows OS's because your existing hardware probably won't run the newer operating systems. Moving from an on-premises server to a server in the Cloud is another option, but will incur a monthly bill rather than a one-time bill.
And what happens if you don't upgrade?
Count on hackers exploiting your network and possibly costing you money, downtime and productivity, potential fines if your industry must adhere to state or federal regulations, and potentially your business.
If you're still running one of the old Windows products listed above, don't hesitate to start your upgrade plans. The time to do this is NOW.
FlexITechs can help you sort it all out with a virtually seamless transition from your old network to your new network. Contact Eric Magill at 302-537-4198 or ericm@flexitechs.com.
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We thank you for your past business the past 10 years and hope we can continue to fulfill your technology needs in the future. If you have any questions about current technology issues, feel free to contact us at 537-4198.
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Sincerely,
Eric Magill
FlexITechs
Microsoft Small Business Specialist |
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