We offer the following services..
System Needs Assessment
Pre-purchase consulting is one of the most important but often over-looked steps on the path to an efficient and prudent solution. Most SMBs do not have a dedicated IT team with the specialized technical skills required for today’s IT solutions, or knowledge of the latest technologies. As a result, they typically decide on ill-fated project paths where both time and money are wasted.
Our approach is to couple our technical expertise with your intimate knowledge of your business to develop cost effective solutions that meet your requirements. Working closely with you, we will conduct an assessment of the ability of your existing IT infrastructure to support your business needs. The result is a report that summarizes our key findings and outlines opportunities to better align your IT infrastructure with your business goals and budget.
System Design and Installation
A properly designed and installed solution will ensure the most productive and functional solution for your IT investment. Once we have conducted a needs assessment we will design a system that will meet with your performance, budget, business and scalability objectives and will serve as a solid foundation for future requirements as your business grows.
Whether the system is a standalone computer or a thousand globally connected systems, proper implementation is essential to attaining maximum return on investment. DBS will work collaboratively with you from initial planning, equipment sourcing and delivery through the installation, configuration, testing, and productive operation.
Our highly trained and experienced technicians will ensure that your hardware and software are installed smoothly and efficiently, and with minimal disruption of your IT and business operations. Our System design and implementation service includes the installation of your network’s wiring, physical assembly of your hardware components, as well as the installation and configuration of related software.
We only consider our installations to be complete after intense diagnostic testing to ensure adequate operation. After the installation of a product, we run appropriate tests and diagnostics to ensure that the product has been installed and configured in accordance with best practices and vendor standards.
Post Installation Support
Most clients need substantial support immediately after the installation and require less and less external support as they become more knowledgeable about the new system. DBS understands this growing stage and provides flexible service agreements in response. Some clients request that we assume the role of an external computer department servicing all their system requirements, while others ask us to complement their in house technical team with specialized technical support.
Technical Support
Carefully planned and designed installations prevent critical system down time, however, like all systems hardware and software can fail.
DBS provides technical support coverage for your desktops, workstations, servers, storage systems, mobile computers, printing and imaging devices, and more. In addition to installation support, we will provide you with rapid day-to-day support, assisting you with the resolution of common issues, system upgrades and troubleshooting.
Our flexible and competitively priced service plans enable you to choose the service levels, hours of coverage, and response times best suited to your IT and business needs. Your support options include onsite and offsite over-the-phone software support with service hours ranging from normal working hours to 24x7.
Our experienced technicians provide rapid problem diagnosis and resolution. We also utilize leading-edge remote technologies and tools for monitoring your environment's stability, minimizing downtime, enhancing performance, and ultimately increasing the return on your IT investments.
Internet Access
There are currently a number of high-speed Internet connectivity options for small and medium sized businesses. These Internet access options enable you to communicate by e-mail, download files and share large files at the fastest speeds available within your budget. In selecting a connectivity option for Internet access important considerations include your budget, the location of your site and the reason your require Internet access.
DBS will assist you in defining your access requirements and in choosing the connectivity option that best fits your business needs and budget. We will also assist you in selecting an appropriate vendor to meet your requirements. As your business grows we would assist you in upgrading your connection so it continues to meet your business needs.
To test the speed of your current Internet connection and to calculate your current file download time click here.
System Security - Firewall and Authentication Services
Small and medium sized organizations are most vulnerable to security threats since they have the least resources dedicated to security management. DBS will work with you to implement an affordable quality firewall solution as your first line of defense against hackers. We will also provide other industry leading security monitoring, intrusion detection, and vulnerability assessment software tools to fully protect your network; proactively detect security threats prompting corrective action.
Backup Solutions
Many data backup options have surfaced over the years with quick witted salespeople claiming that their solution is a “one-size fits all” for everyone and of course the best in the market. DBS will assist you in selecting an appropriate backup solution.
We assist you in gathering information about the type of data to be backed up, how much data is to be backed up, the available timeframe in which you have to backup or restore your data and much more. With this information we design and implement solutions with related data recovery capabilities that will protect your data.
We do not consider a backup solution to be complete without a test restoration of the data from the backup source. We will then provide your staff with an orientation on the backup solution and the integration of the backup solution with your disaster recovery plan.
Virus Protection
The costs of a virus outbreak or worm can be devastating to a small or medium sized business and includes lost productivity, damage to your business relationships, damage to your reputation and lost data. Protection from virus infections include anti-virus software, anti-virus script updating, informed users, reduction of spam and the blocking of unwanted e-mail to name a few. We further protect our clients with reviews of their anti-virus logs, news alerts and other tools for early identification of viruses that may evade their protective software. Where viruses evade protective software and infect our clients’ systems, we assist them in cleaning the infection.
New viruses are released all the time; once a new virus is detected the anti-virus software vendor needs time to develop a cure, during this development time you are at complete risk of infection. For this reason, system backups and early identification is essential. DBS will work with you to develop and implement an effective virus protection strategy.
E-mail Systems
E-mail systems have become such an important business tool that most firms can hardly allow sufficient e-mail downtime to conduct routine maintenance. These systems have expanded to include calendars, to-do lists, company contact databases and much more.
In evaluating e-mail systems there are a number of things to consider. For instance, you need to consider how the system will be backed up, access by remote users, synchronization with handheld devices, your recovery plan if the system is down and much more. You will also need to consider your options for storing your e-mail, for instance the option to store e-mail locally versus a third-party remote server. DBS has the knowledge and experience to assist you in defining your requirements, and in selecting and implementing the appropriate e-mail system to meet your needs.
Spam Reduction
Spam is mostly commercial advertising, often for dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or quasi-legal services. Reports have shown spam to account for as much as 60% of all Internet e-mail traffic and that on average users spend 45 minutes a day reviewing spam which equates to 180 person-hours per year. On many of our clients’ sites we have reduced spam by as much as 98%.
Spam attacks slowdown your network and can result in your e-mail domain being blacklisted as a spam sender. Some heavily spammed sites have unknowingly been used as spam relay points even though their e-mail system had mail relay turned off. At DBS we have skilled and experience technicians who understand how to properly eliminate spam and e-mail attacks while ensuring the unobstructed flow of approved mail.
Project Management
DBS provides project management support to our clients for IT investigations, installations, system upgrades, relocations, problem resolution and other IT projects. Our team provides the appropriate level of support to ensure that your objectives are achieved and that the project is delivered on schedule, within budget and with the best results possible.
Network Relocation
Moving even a small office involves a great deal of planning, organization, logistical and technical challenges. To avoid the catastrophic impact of unplanned downtime on their reputation and finances most of our clients leave their network relocation to us.
We make your network relocation smooth and easy. Our relocation services include preparation of all computer systems on the day of the move, designing your new LAN room, and assembly, configuration and testing of all systems at the new site. Our services also include coordination of movers and other vendors to ensure compliance with your IT standards and industry best practices.
Our goal is to ensure that you have a fully functioning network on the Monday following a Friday move. Working through the night and over the weekend regardless of the size and complexity of the move we will have your servers up and running again by Monday morning.
Network Cable Certification
Many vendors install network cabling, however most will never test their work to determine if it passes computer grade certification unless specifically requested to do so. The cable itself, the ends used and other parts may be computer grade but if the installation is sloppy or the cable passes over a fluorescent light it will fail certification testing. For these reasons and others, you could pay for a new cable plant to be installed and still be plagued with cable faults.
When new cable is installed you should have the cable certified and all cable runs that fail certification should be repaired and then retested. Once all cable runs pass the test, the test results should be saved and should serve as a baseline from which future cable testing will be compared to determine how the cable plant is aging. The cable plant is the foundation upon which all network traffic transverse – a faulty cable installation will cause data packets to be damaged, slowdown network performance; corrupt databases and other strange and difficult to troubleshoot failures.
DBS provides a cable testing and certification service. We do not consider any cable installation to be complete and adequate without undergoing the certification process.
Technical Research
As a small or medium sized business, your IT resources are stretched thin. You do not have the time or resources to be everywhere at once or to research and piece together a system that is aligned with your business objectives and budget.
Our technical research service includes the review of technical products, companies and topics. We have researched blood analysis technologies for a large mutual fund, reviewed accounting packages a client was interested in, researched forest scanning technologies on behalf of a client and so on.
Clients provide us with a scope of the information or results they are seeking and the phases of research to be completed. We provide the clients with progress reports and they provide feedback on the projects direction. Clients who use these services are mostly interested in our understanding of technology, business processes and general ability to provide information and results they can trust.
Disaster Recovery
Disaster recovery is the ability to survive following a disaster, which can occur in many forms but more importantly, disturbs your normal business operations. Threats range from communications disruptions to full-scale disasters. For instance a waterline break could flood your computer room, or a crane could hit the side of your building keeping all tenants out for months. A classic example of a full-scale disaster is the 9/11 World Trade center disaster, which put many firms out of business.
We have seen organizations trying to develop recovery plans in the middle of the disaster. When a disaster hits resources are stretched, access to people and systems may be restricted - this is the time to execute a recovery plan not to review options. Do not forget that when a disaster occurs, your staff, their families and the entire city or state may be in a similar state of emergency.
All companies should explore the risk level they have assumed and not just ignore the issue. We help clients assess their risks; determine the options for mitigating them and develop executable disaster recovery plans. Our clients partner with us to reduce their vulnerability to disasters, speed recovery if disaster strikes and to ensure system restoration within the shortest possible timeframe.
Hardware and Related Software Procurement
DBS can assist in the procurement of servers, storage systems, desktops, mobile computing devices, printers, imaging devices, and related software for your business. For a minimal fee we will ensure the correct parts are delivered and configured to start your project on schedule.
We can procure your software and hardware through our sources with resulting cost savings or provide technical advice to assist you in acquiring the products from your own sources.
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