Running a business · 10 guides
Information Technology: problems and fixes, explained by Anthony
Anthony Omini is the only information technology member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- What managed IT really costs a small Dallas office, and what moves the number Managed IT is priced per user or per device each month, and a handful of factors decide the number. Here is how to read a quote and when hourly support costs less. The short answer on priceSeven things that push a quote up or downPer user or per device: comparing quotes in the same unitWhat to gather before you ask anyone for a number
- The cyber insurance questionnaire: what it asks about your IT and how to answer truthfully Cyber insurance applications ask about multi-factor sign-in, backups and endpoint protection. Here is what each question really means and how to make sure every yes is true. What the application is really askingWhy a wrong yes is worse than an honest noMulti-factor authentication: the question with the most fine printBackups: separate, protected and tested
- Texas storms, freezes and outages: keeping a small office's IT running through them Battery backups, surge protection, a cool closet, tested offsite backups and a written plan for when the office is unusable. Here is how to keep working through North Texas weather. Plan for the outage, not the stormWhat North Texas weather does to office equipmentBattery backup buys minutes, and minutes are enoughThe surge when the lights come back
- Seven questions to ask an IT company before it gets the keys to your office Before an IT provider gets administrator access to your office, ask who does the work, what is excluded, how backups are tested and how you leave. Here is what good answers sound like. Ask these before you sign anythingWho will actually be working on our computers?What is in the monthly fee, and what costs extra?What happens when we call with a problem?
- Moving offices in Dallas: the IT timeline from signed lease to the first Monday Start the IT side of an office move six to eight weeks out, with the internet order first. Here is the week-by-week timeline and what a well-run move weekend looks like. Start six to eight weeks before the moveWhy the internet order comes before everything elseEight weeks out: walk the space and decide what changesFour to six weeks out: cabling and the IT room
- Microsoft backs it up, and other backup myths that leave small offices exposed Cloud email is built to stay online, not to undo a deletion, a ransomware attack or a compromised admin account. Here are the backup myths I correct most often, and what actually works. Not in the way most people thinkMyth: our files are in the cloud, so they are backed upMyth: the software says the backup succeededMyth: the external drive on the server is our backup
- Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace for a small office: how to choose and how to switch The better platform is the one that fits the software and habits your office already has. Here is how to decide, what each costs you in setup and security, and how a switch works. The answer depends on how your office already worksStart with the software you cannot changeHow each one feels day to dayA quick way to decide
- Is a staff mailbox hacked? The warning signs and what to do in the first hour Rules you never created, replies to emails you never sent, a client asking about new bank details. Here is how to tell if a mailbox is compromised and what to do first. How to tell, and the first movesWarning signs inside the mailboxWarning signs that arrive from outsideThe first hour, in order
- Can you set up your own office network and Wi-Fi? Where DIY works and where it fails A two-person office can get by with a careful do-it-yourself setup. Past that, cabling, firewalls and Wi-Fi coverage are where invisible mistakes pile up. Here is where the line sits. Yes, up to a pointWhat a small office network is made ofThe parts that are reasonable to do yourselfWhere weekend setups usually go wrong
- The office is down and the IT ticket is two days old: what a small firm actually needs Slow computers, a backup nobody has tested, and a vendor who answers in days. Here is how to diagnose your office's IT situation and what a properly run managed service does differently. The morning the front desk cannot log inWhy small offices end up with IT that does not fit themSix things an office manager can check this weekWhen the current setup is good enough