Removing the jargon out of IT Networks - Frequently Asked Questions
about IT
Introduction
The purpose of this page is to help clients, staff and others gain a better understanding
of the technology that helps drive our businesses. At Sentry Networks we talk
to business people regularly who are confused about what they need in a technology
solution, or what their current IT provider actually does for them, or doesn’t
do for them. By removing the jargon we hope to empower people to make smart
decisions. Technology is very important but can put an enormous strain mentally,
physically and financially on business, and we believe the best decisions come through
sound understanding and knowledge.
What does Sentry Networks do?
Sentry Networks core business is Comprehensive Management of IT Networks for clients.
What is a ‘Network’?
Sentry Networks defines a Network as any system containing any combination of severs,
computers, printers, audio or visual display devices, or telephones interconnected
by telecommunication equipment or cables used to transmit or receive information.
Generally a network is found in a multiple computer situation and one computer is
designated as the ‘file server’ & all other computers connect to
the file server. This is called a Local Area Network (LAN).
Multiple USERS can link to the server giving the ability to exchange information
from a central location. The number of users/clients who can connect to the server
depend on the servers capability. In situations with a lot of users, more than one
server is used.
What is a ‘Server’?
At the most basic level, a server is a technology solution that ‘serves’
files, data, print, fax resources, and more to multiple computers. The word ‘server’
often refers to the specialised computer (or hardware) that the server software
runs on. The server is optimised to perform services for other computers or ‘clients’.
Clients can be computers as well as printers, faxes, or other devices that connect
to the server. Together, a server and its clients compose a client/server network.
A client/server network provides routing systems and centralised access to information
and resources, stored data and more.
What is a ‘USER’?
In a computing context the word USER refers to one who uses a computer system.
As opposed to ‘client’ being the hardware that connects to the network.
What types of clients retain Sentry Networks services?
Ranging from 1 user in a simple home business or home user situation, to thousands
of users across multiple locations, Sentry Networks is able to scale to the clients’
needs.
Sentry Networks manages clients from various industries including the Finance, Education,
Medical, Industrial and Retail sectors.
What does Management of an IT Network involve?
Sentry Networks Comprehensive Management System provides maintenance & administration
to the following:
1. Hardware (which includes but is not limited to)
- Servers
- Computers
- Printers
- Faxes
- Phone Systems
- Other Peripherals (any auxiliary device that works in conjunction with a computer)
2. Software (which includes but is not limited to)
- Computer Operating Systems (Microsoft XP, Vista etc)
- Server Operating Systems (Microsoft SBS 2003, Linux etc)
- Peripheral drivers (software that makes devices such as printers operate on a computer)
- Other drivers (software that enables hardware to operate on a computer)
- Updates & testing of software as released
3. The Network
- Any system containing any combination of severs, computers, printers, audio or visual
display devices, or telephones interconnected by telecommunication equipment or
cables used to transmit or receive information.
Why outsource the management of an IT Network?
Sentry Networks enables its clients to outsource critical and time-consuming
IT functions while simplifying the management of their infrastructure. Sentry
Networks empowers its clients to reduce the administration overhead while providing
an up-to-date, stable, and secure infrastructure to run their organisation.
Increased Operational Efficiency breakdown:
Lower IT staff costs.
IT staff costs are often perceived as excessive (in a lot of cases rightly so) and
can be difficult to justify. Sentry Networks proactive IT Network Management means
that your IT resources can be reduced, restructured or better still redirected into
profitable projects for your business.
Increased IT cost predictability.
IT management can be an increasing part of an organization’s costs. Comprehensive
managed services can enable small and medium-sized organizations to predict and
manage IT costs more accurately and successfully. Guaranteed system-wide software
and hardware compatibility can simplify decisions about future directions for the
organization.
Lower maintenance costs through standardization.
Sentry Networks builds systems built on strong security standards that require less
long term cost due to proactive maintenance and monitoring.
Opportunity to focus on core tasks.
Sentry Networks clients benefit by focusing their IT staff on productive projects
rather than ongoing maintenance and support. As technology grows more complex, specialized
knowledge becomes more important and the cost of maintaining in-house IT staff grows.
Through comprehensive managed services, Sentry Networks clients can benefit from
technical specialisations at a much lower cost than they would pay to maintain the
same level of expertise in-house.
What about existing IT Staff?
Small and medium sized organisations can stop spending time on routine maintenance
and troubleshooting requirements and instead focus their internal IT staff on strategic
projects that will effectively help that organisation grow.
In some cases internal IT staff requirements can be scaled down or redirected giving
additional savings or increased productivity.
How does Sentry define a ‘small’ business in IT terms?
A small organisation is a client with 75 or fewer desktops and up to two servers.
How does Sentry define a ‘medium’ business in IT terms?
A medium sized organisation is a client with 50-500 desktops and an average of 9
servers but can be less than 5 servers
What is Network ‘down-time’?
‘Downtime’ refers to a period of time or a percentage of a time span
that a machine or system (usually a computer
server) is
offline or not functioning, usually as a result of either system failure
(such as a crash) or routine maintenance.
The opposite is uptime. (Wikipedia.org)
What is the cost of ‘down-time’?
According to market research, medium sized organisations fritter away anywhere from
2-16 percent of their annual revenues because of losses associated with network
down-time.
A business with a $1million revenue base would lose $20,000-$160,000 per year directly
associated with network down-time.
What is a ‘Service Level Guarantee’?
A Service Level Guarantee or a Service Level Agreement is a standard that the service
provider offers (whether it is an IT Company or a phone service provider)
gives to a customer indicating the level of UPTIME they are prepared to guarantee.
Generally a concession, discount or rebate is given to the customer if the level
is not met.
There are other specific terms of engagement and the rules that govern the relationship
between the client and the provider usually found in the SLA.
What is Sentry Networks Service Level Guarantee?
Sentry Networks SLG to fully managed Network clients is 100% UPTIME.
What is the ‘Break-Fix’ model?
Break-fix is a model of Service and Billing used traditionally in the IT industry.
The only time that a business would utilise the services of an IT company
that operates on this model is when something ‘breaks’ or goes wrong.
The most common ‘break-fix’ model is time & materials.
An hourly rate is charged to fix the issue plus parts whether it is a whole
server replacement or a mouse.
Pros
Only cost is when something goes wrong. Once off hourly charge.
Cons
Without ongoing scheduled maintenance the cost of the breakdown to rectify
is generally very high. No incentive for provider to put in place changes
that will prevent future breakdowns. No way of budgeting IT costs for the future
accurately.
What is Managed Network Services?
In contrast to the break-fix model, Sentry Networks Managed Service model is pro-active.
Sentry Networks act as consultants who advise clients of the appropriate hardware,
software and services to meet their business requirements.
Sentry then works hard to ensure that clients enjoy uninterrupted service by constantly
monitoring and up-keeping the clients systems on a day-by-day basis. Sentry Networks
Managed Services is like having your own office full of IT technicians but for a
fraction of the cost. All charges are stated clearly and payable on a month
by month basis.
Pros
24x7x365 Proactive Network monitoring, Remote diagnoses of problems before
they occur, Predictable IT spend, 100% Network uptime, constant system monitoring
to ensure optimum performance, not just uptime, scheduled maintenance when it is
least inconvenient, Guaranteed response time, reduced cost in IT spend in most cases,
Unlimited Support at no extra cost. (This level of service may be exclusive to Sentry
Networks)
Cons
Possible initial hardware outlay (easily managed on a per month basis or
financed by Sentry Networks or Finance partners.)
What is ‘Remote Management’?
Sentry Networks uses ‘Sentry Networks Intelligent Management’ to remotely
login to a computer or server system securely over the internet and troubleshoot
or monitor the devices without having to go onsite in 99% of cases. This provides
instant and cost effective 24x7x365 service and support to Sentry Networks clients.
What is ‘Virtual Private Networking’ (VPN)?
Sentry Networks defines a Virtual Private Network as the extension of a private
Network that encompasses links across shared or public networks like the internet.
Put simply, with a VPN you can send data between two computers across a shared or
public network in a manner that emulates a point-to-point private link. Put
even simpler, you can be at another computer away from the office but look and feel
like you are in the office.
Applications like Outlook operate exactly the same as if you were in the office,
specialised software as long as the client program is installed on the computer
away from the office (if required), will work like you are plugged into the network
in the office.
The benefits are fantastic for those employees or business owners who do business
away from the office, work from home or just require to keep their finger on the
pulse at all times.
What is ‘Data’?
Data in everyday language is a synonym for ‘information’. (Wikipedia)
Every business that has customers would have information about the customers they
deal with, the transactions taken or taking place, correspondence, or the products/services
they sell. In today's electronic-age, computers have become a necessary part of
doing business and businesses rely on them more than ever to supply the information
they need.
Whether it is comprised of emails, business plans, financial information, customer
databases, product inventories, transactions, marketing, or advertising materials,
data is highly valuable, its actual financial significance is dependent of the type
of business.
What is ‘Data Loss’?
Sentry Networks defines Data Loss as the unforseen loss of data or information.
This can be caused (but not limited to) by:
- Intentional actions such as deletion of a file or program.
- Unintentional actions such as accidental deletion of a file or program, misplacement
of backup mediums, or administration errors.
- Failure of power or hardware, software crash or freezes, software bugs or data corruption.
- Disasters such as earthquakes or floods, cyclones or fires.
- Crimes such as theft or hacking, sabotage or malicious acts.
How does a business prevent Data Loss?
Although there are no guaranteed ways to prevent data loss, Sentry Networks recommends
that every business has a Recovery Plan in the event of data loss.
What is a ‘Recovery Plan’?
Sentry defines a Recovery Plan as a system that enables a business to be
able to back up their data, database or server data and subsequently restore it
if the current data becomes corrupt or inaccessible.
The sources of data corruption or loss can range from a program error to a disk
failure (crash) to a disaster that damages the entire facility (natural disaster,
fire, external attack etc). Sentry Networks Recovery Plan enables clients
to recover data already lost due to such mishaps.
What is a ‘Backup’?
Sentry Networks defines a ‘backup’ as a copy of one or more storage
spaces and/or logs that a server or computer maintains. The backup copy is
usually written to a secondary storage medium such as disk, magnetic tape or optical
disc or stored on a backup storage system over the internet.
In the event of a ‘crash’ or loss of data, the backup copy can be used
to restore the data.
Why should a business have a Recovery Plan?
40% of Small and Medium sized businesses do not back up their data.
31% of computers will suffer a complete failure in their lifetime causing all data
to be lost. Just this statistic alone should be enough to encourage businesses to
initiate a Recovery Plan.
The major cause of data loss (44%) is hardware failure. eg the Hard drive
on a computer fails but a good percentage (32%) is caused by human error.
Recreating data from scratch is estimated to cost between $2000 and $8000 per Mega
Byte. (MB)
Data loss cost business $4 Billion dollars in Australia in 2003. (Research by Computer
Economics)
89% of businesses which lose all their data go out of business within 12 months.
60% of companies that lose their data close down within 6 months of the disaster.
What is an online backup?
An online backup is a system that enables Sentry Networks clients to back up their
data automatically everyday using the internet. Data is encrypted (made secure)
and stored on an online repository vault that only the client has the ‘key’
for. The system is automatic which eliminates human error.
Clients can still choose to backup their data on other mediums such as DVD’s
or tapes, however having an online backup means that Recovery can begin as soon
as the cause of the failure is rectified. (eg hardware failure).