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Data recovery is one of our most common requests. Data loss comes from a myriad of sources:
- 44%-Hardware or system failure
- 32%-Human error
- 21%-Software program malfunction or malicious software/virus infection
- 3%-Site disaster
Data loss can be costly not only in the time your systems are unavailable but in the time it takes to recreate your work.
Data recovery can also be expensive. Depending on the depth of the recovery procedures, recovery labor can run close to $500 p/hour.
There are some simple things you can do to prevent data loss and save money in the process.
Implement a full system backup plan
With the purchase of an external hard drive and an imaging software program, and using those items on regular intervals, you can recover your system from a catastrophic failure within minutes and save the repair costs that we would normally charge to recover your data. Or if you don’t feel comfortable recovering it yourself, you perform the backups and we can perform the recovery with your hardware and you still bring the repair time down from 3-4 hours to 1 hour in most cases. This can be a savings of almost $300 in one repair.
What to buy
We suggest Acronis True Image Home. It can be purchased online or from Tomina Consulting for around $59.99.
For backup storage, we suggest a Western Digital 500GB External hard drive as a minimum. These run around $110 at your local office supply store or again are available through Tomina Consulting.
We can install and configure them for you at your convenience. Your data is much too valuable to lose.
Please consider these simple and inexpensive steps to protect yourself.
If you have further questions, please call Tomina Consulting at 602-478-3534.
We would like to thank you for using Tomina Consulting for your computer needs. We know there are many choices available for solutions providers so we take your business very seriously.
The Arizona monsoons are upon us again. With the monsoons come much needed rain, exciting thunderstorms, and beautiful sunsets. But there is a darker side to this time of year. Arizona and Florida are the two most active states for lightening strikes. In fact, your chances for being hit by lightening are higher in Arizona than winning the Power Ball!
With lightening strikes come power interruptions. Most computer users are familiar with power surges. A power surge protector is standard equipment for many users just because they provide more outlets. A surge protector only protects from voltage spikes (voltage that is too high). What many don’t know is that lack of power (power sags or brownouts) is more of a concern than surges. Lack of power will damage your equipment and can also corrupt your data while you work. For instance, if you have a “brown out” while you are working on that important spreadsheet, the power may not completely drop to zero but will drop low enough to cause all of the devices in your computer to stop functioning. In typical Arizona fashion, your power may come back on within seconds. Your computer will try to recover itself but the damage may already be done. Your spreadsheet is corrupt and a days worth of work is lost. This short lack of power can damage LCD monitors, computer power supplies and even motherboards.
The answer is an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) or “battery backup”. These devices incorporate protection for surges and sags by using an internal battery system (very similar to how a laptop works). A UPS will also automatically monitor your system and allow it to run on battery for 5-10 minutes allowing you to close programs and shutdown your computer if the power does not come back on. If you are not there to shut down your system manually, it can be programmed to do it automatically.
These units can be purchased from Tomina Consulting or from your local office supply store for around $75-$110 depending on the load they will be carrying. This is a small investment in the protection of your valuable data and equipment.
Call us today for more information.
Let’s face it. You can’t do business without email. More and more your business is relying on communications with clients, vendors, employees, potential clients, experts, etc. Email and the Internet have become essential tools of your day. Because of the importance of this data, backing up and maintaining the data for email is just as vital. Unfortunately, this can be very costly.
Exchange is the Microsoft server product that moves 92% of the world’s email. The cost of maintaining an Exchange server is usually twice the cost of maintaining your standard file server. The cost of backup software for Exchange is also about 2-3 times the price of backup programs for file servers; and that doesn’t include adding anti-spam and anti-virus software to the mix. Where does it end?
Tomina Consulting has partnered with one of the leading Exchange Hosting companies in the world to allow you to Keep Exchange but Lose the Server! Hosted Exchange gives you all of the benefits of Exchange AND MORE without the high cost of maintenance and upgrades.
Why Hosted Exchange?
- Your Own Team of Experts 24x7x365 Support
When you turn to a hosted solution, it’s as though you suddenly have an entire staff of experts working for you-serving as an extension of your IT department. - Automatic Backups & Easy Data Recovery
Data is backed up every 2 hours and remains retrievable for up to 14 days. - World Class Spam and Virus Protection Included
- Automatic Software Upgrades
You don’t have to worry about security patches and software upgrades. They are constantly up-to-date. When a new version of Exchange comes out, you are automatically upgraded at no cost! Want the newest version of Outlook or Entourage? It is supplied to all of your mailbox users at NO COST! - Data Access Anywhere
You benefit from a wide range of options from Black Berry sync, iPhone sync, Windows Mobile sync, Microsoft Exchange Anywhere™, and Mac support.
You get all of this for $12.50 per user! Call us today for more details.
So where do you go now? What is the REAL cost?
If you decide to go with a Hosted Exchange program, figuring the cost is simple. Let’s look:
Email boxes are $12.50 ea. p/mo.
Blackberry users add $10 to utilize wireless sync*
iPhone users and Windows Mobile add $10 for wireless sync*
*Wireless sync allows the user to sync calendar, contacts and email to mobile device anywhere at any time without cables or another computer.
Company A has 10 employees who will need email. Their monthly charge will be $125.
Company B has 6 employees who need email and 5 Blackberrys to sync.
Their monthly cost will be $75 + $50 = $125.
There is about 24 hours advance time needed to switch your DNS settings from your current email host.
Again, if you have any questions, please call us!
RACKSPACE CLOUD DRIVE
Stop Dealing with the hassle of managing a file server. Store, share, sync and automatically backup files for individuals or teams. Easily set up multiple drives that can be accessed from any desktop or on-the-go through a secure web interface Rackspace Cloud Drive is fast, secure, and scalable with pay as you go pricing.
- With 24x7x365 support by phone, chat, or ticket, your complete satisfaction is our sole ambition—anything less is unacceptable.
- Worried about storing your files on the cloud? Keep files secure with robust AES-256 encryption and admin-controlled keys.
- Store your files and share across your business. Enjoy all of the functionality of a file server without the hassle of management and maintenance.
- Ensure your users have their files securely stored in the cloud. With automatic, secure file backup, you’ll never worry about data loss again.
- Get industry-leading technology that allows users to sync files across multiple teams and workstations. File synchronization means you’ll never work on an outdated document again.
- Each user adds 10GB of online file storage that pools across the customer account. Unlimited storage is available with simple pay-as-you-go pricing.
- Cloud Drive’s online data storage frees you from your desktop. Work from anywhere with quick and easy access to your files through a secure web interface for computers and mobile devices.
- Fully control your secure file backup solution; back up your entire hard drive or only select files and folders. You choose date, time, and frequency.
Cloud Drives start at 10gig for $4 per month! Call us today.
Why Do You Need Server Maintenance By Tomina Consulting?
You rely heavily on your server and computer systems for the day to day operation of your business. The server provides the heartbeat of the network; storing your critical data and managing network essential processes that keep your office connected. If you lost these important resources temporarily, it would be costly for your business in lost production and downtime. Worse case scenario is that if you lost your data permanently, it would result in immeasurable damage to the reputation of your business and your ability to recover.
Tomina Consulting can provide peace of mind with monthly server maintenance. This gives you reduced exposure to business threats such as virus’, hardware failures and backup failures.
What Is Included?
- All Microsoft security updates
- Perform monthly baseline security audits
- Test backup logs monthly
- Perform monthly backup restore from actual backup media
- Update security software if necessary and rollout update packages if using Windows Vista or Windows 7 OS
- Check for Microsoft Hotfixes and vulnerabilities not listed on Windows updates
- Check Application logs, Security logs, and Performance logs and diagnose when necessary.*
*Additional labor may apply for repairs not included in typical monthly maint. Any additional work must be approved by customer before completed.
Questions To Ask..
- When was the last time the backup logs were checked on my server?
- When was the backup media last tested for restore integrity?
- When were Windows Updates last performed on my server?
- How often are my performance logs being monitored?
- When was the last security audit performed on my network?
- Is my firewall software up to date?
Don’t wait for a disaster to happen, your data is much too valuable to lose!
If you would like to know more about Tomina’s Server Maintenance Plan, please contact us at 602-478-3534 or tcanthony@tomina.net
We would like to thank you for using Tomina Consulting for your computer needs. We know there are many choices available for solution providers so we take your business very seriously.
Finding the right backup solution can be a daunting task. There are important questions that need to be answered before you can determine which solution is best for your company.
- How much data do I have?
- How much data do I need to backup and how often?
- Can I archive some of my older data to save space?
- Do I backup or synchronize?
- Should I use an online backup solution?
- How about off-site storage?
- Do I need redundant or mirrored servers?
- Am I prepared for a disaster?
Answering these questions is a good start but now how do you find the right hardware and software solution? Let us simplify the search.
Tomina Consulting specializes in finding a reliable, secure, and simple to use backup solution that will give you confidence and peace of mind. Whether you have 10 gig of data or 10 petabytes of storage needs, let us custom design a solution for you
Print to any printer on your office network with your iPad or iPhone. It’s EASY!
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to print your notes from the meeting you just finished in your conference room?
Forget your laptop? It’s ok. Just print your document from your Dropbox account with your iPhone.
How about printing the agenda for the meeting you worked on last night? Normally you would have to email it to your machine at the office or to someone else’s machine so they can print it. Then you can hand out copies before the meeting. Not anymore.
- Show up, click print from your iPad or iPhone and print as many copies as you need to. It is that easy.
- Print emails, websites, notes, anything that has a print command.
Call Tomina Consulting today for a free demonstration.
