Posts Tagged ‘StoneHill’s Website’

Integrated Backup & Recovery Platform

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Businesses of all sizes are witnessing an explosion in the volume of data they hold. Whether it is the result of the internet, email, or increasingly heavy and media rich application software, there is a massive growth in the volume of data all around. Data is increasingly being recognized as one of the real assets of a company, and losing this data would cause severe damage to any organization. An effective back up strategy is essential if your business is to be safe from the effects of data loss.

Companies big and small are under constant pressure to manage and protect critical data in complex environments, both in the data center and across multiple remote locations. Limited resources, complex IT environments and hyper data growth are inevitable no matter what size the business. Integrated Backup and recovery offers unparalleled data protection giving companies the ability manage the hyper growth without the hassle or drain on resources.  Data duplication, remote storage, remote content management, and enhanced data security are just some of the benefits of such system.

StoneHill’s system, Backup & Recovery Server (BRS), provides this solution by providing a backup disk product that sends data offsite to multiple information centers and turns itself into a virtual server in the event of a client hardware problem. It saves time and effort with an “install in minutes” feature as well as reducing back up storage capacity requirements up to 95%.  This recovery platform is incredible since it hacks backup windows up to 90%. The method provides a cost effective data security solution and is executed on an off-site disk backup system for rapid disaster recovery. The BRS system provides tremendous operational benefits since it is cost competitive, fast and secure.

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Google’s Super Speedy Network

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Google claims it’s new, experimental ultra high-speed broadband network will serve as a playground for developers, giving them the bandwidth they need to dream up next generation, data hungry online apps. But, Google may have other motives for its speedy network as well.

The whole transition from dial up to broadband has brought so much innovation to the internet, and now Google plans to make the delivery process for new applications even more intriguing and deliverable.

There are already concerns with the limitations on Bandwidth as businesses and consumer become more internet dependent.  Internet applications such as video conferencing and telephoning are becoming so popular and accordingly so is the demand for bandwidth . As more businesses adopt internet related practices, traffic jams may take place and could affect the net.  Google’s new super network may address these bandwidth concerns.  As of now, the super network is in an experimental phase as Google looks to see how smaller businesses, consumers and institutions as well as the local government will utilize this high speed access.  While Google promises new enhanced applications to increase the technology system on the net, the super network may also be the answer to the bandwidth troubles that currently face already existing applications.

But Google may also have ulterior motives for its super network.  Google has been a frontier in providing internet services to consumers and stealing away consumer from other carriers.  The new internet based technology, some say, may allow Google the opportunity to take control of internet services in the market as well.  This may be a bit skeptical, but there is no question that a faster-speed super network will displace other carriers, and cause a shift in internet service carriers. 

As the idea is still at its inception, Google has not yet completely figured out how it will deal with information ownership and privacy issues.  Additionally, Google may have to figure out a way to work through the conflicts its new idea may cause with other carriers and providers that form the backbone of internet services and data communication.  Such issues might be determining factors on the success of the super network.
So while the new super highway might provide the promise of new applications, and added support for existing applications, it’s still unclear how Google will address certain issues, and how the new super highway will effect other competitors in the market.  We all know that faster is better, but what will the cost be to the market and consumers is yet to be determined.

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Backups Backups Backups

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

After living through the tragedy of my friend Kristen’s computer crashing last week, the internal conversations at StoneHill ignited a list of questions. My brain is dominated by the right side and does not operate even a little bit in a logical let alone technical sense. I have worked with computers my whole life, but in the last two months I have learned more than I ever imagined being around my brilliant co-workers.

Unfortunately, I not only had to report back to Kristen that due to her lack of knowledge about cleaning her computer had led to the death of her hard drive, but also had to tell her that because she failed to back-up her data there is a very good chance that all of her research, work, and personal items may be lost forever.  It seems backing up data is not only one of the most important components of maintaining your computer’s health, but also the most neglected.  In the midst of this conversation that not only intrigued, but inspired me to write this, another one of my co-workers Zach Hart made the statement “If there is not a backup system in place it can costs 10’s of thousands of dollars with no guarantee that all the data will be recovered.”

It’s amazing to me how much we think we know, but don’t. Therefore I wanted to share with you some tips and resources to prevent any suffering to you personally or professionally from data loss. This information caused me to inquire about how to effectively back-up data from the individual station to your businesses network.

  • Purchase a Zip Drive and back-up daily. Although this is the cheapest method it can be very time consuming and has limited memory.
  • Purchase and external hard drive that you can back up to regularly. Christos recommends: Western Digital.
  • Back-up online. This has become a very popular option where you rent virtual space to upload your data on.

StoneHill  offers an affordable service to our clients called BDR; this system is recommended for small to medium sized businesses. BDR is very affordable and has many great functions including, but not limited to the following:

  • Very frequent backups              
  • Optional off-site data storage
  • Multiple restore points
  • Standby server capabilities
  • Advanced restoration options 

With StoneHill’s BDR backups are performed as frequently as every 15 minutes, providing clients with numerous restoration points compared to traditional tape backups.

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IT Keyboard Shortcuts and Outsourcing Tips

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Keyboard Shortcuts – the not so obvious ones
Task Manager = Ctrl+Shift+Esc

Lock your computer = Windows+L

Close Current Program = Alt+F4

Shows the desktop = Windows+D

Copy image of current window to clipboard = Alt+PrtScn

Is IT in your budget?
So one of the first things you would learn in any beginning finance class is that you need to have a budget. Budgets are invaluable tools for helping you run your business smoothly and efficiently. Have you budgeted for IT?

Rarely has there been technology available like there is today that can help reduce your total cost of ownership of your technology infrastructure. Options like:

- Remote Support plans
- Managed Service plans
- Server virtualization
- SaaS software applications that never need to be “upgraded”
- IT Automation

Regardless of who is doing your IT right now, these are the things that deserve serious evaluation to ensure your being a good IT buyer. Also choosing an IT provider that is Microsoft Certified at minimum and hopefully is a Microsoft Gold Partner will ensure that their technicians are skilled and efficient which translates to you spending your money wisely.

So many facets of your technology infrastructure can now be supported up to a point with level costs. This makes setting your budgets easier. The age of your infrastructure should also be considered when setting a budget. Plan to spend more money to support older systems.

So take some time to budget for IT spending. Who knows maybe you don’t need to spend as much as you fear you do.

New Verizon Wireless Device
Verizon Wireless is about to release a fantastic device! The MiFi. From Novatel wireless, it’s a portable wireless router that will deliver a wifi hotspot to you via Verizon’s 3G wireless network. Much like the usb adapters from Verizon and other wireless providers the MiFi connects to the cell network for DSL like speeds. The difference is that the MiFi doesn’t need to plug into anything and it is a wireless router and WiFi hotspot. So just configure your laptop to connect to the Mifi’s wireless network and you are done. No extra software on your computer or dongles to attach. It’ll give up to 4 hours of connection time and sleeps if not used for 30 minutes. It will be available later this month.

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