Archive for the ‘Computer Business’ Category

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Way to go, Kaseya!

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

I figured that this blog was mostly me blowing hot air and that people rarely pay any attention.  Ha!  I guess I was wrong.  This whole saga of trying to find RMM software apparently is being followed by a few key people.  Among those and one of the first to contact me is Kaseya.

Not only were they first to get in touch with me, but they bent over backwards and got me a trial version of Kaseya 2 after reading about my frustrations.  I just logged in, downloaded my first agent and I’m in love with it already.  I’ve only had a few minutes to play around, but it looks very promising.

Thanks, Chad!  Thanks, Chris!  Thanks, everyone who contacted me and is helping me try to figure it all out.  I apologize if I ruffled some feathers along the way, but at the moment I couldn’t be happier.

The saga is not quite over yet, though.  I promised a couple of vendors a trial and I’m still trying to keep an open mind, but I have to say Kaseya is the lead horse at the moment.  I’ll post more once I’ve had a chance to “kick the tires” a little more.  Right now I’m running out the door to see a client who isn’t (yet) on a managed services plan.

I didn’t realize what a stink some of those posts were going to cause and I hope by writing this and upcoming reviews that everything will settle back to more or less normal.

Thanks again, everyone.  Stay tuned!  More to follow….

Posted in Business, Computer Business, Tech Talk | 1 Comment »

And the search continues….

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

I started testing a pay as you go hosted version of Kaseya.   It started out really well - the agent installed easily, it quickly gave me great information, the built-in reports look good, but then I went to look at the ticketing system to see if it will integrate with my Autotask GO, but got an Error 500 - Internal server error.

I thought maybe it was because I was using Firefox, so I went at it using IE8, but had the same problem.   AARGH!!  I’m hoping that it’s nothing I did while playing around, but I suspect it really is a server problem at their end and that they’ll have it fixed by morning.  Should I call them on a Sunday afternoon and see how good their tech support is?

I was pretty impressed anyway, so I started searching for Kaseya best practices and tutorials.  I found tutorials that didn’t look at all like the Kaseya I’d just started testing.  Then I found out it’s Kaseya 2.  WOW!  Looks great.  I found another company that plans to offer a hosted Kaseya 2 and they say they’ll give me a deal based on my membership in ACRBO, but as of right now, pricing is unknown.

ACRBO logo

Posted in Business, Computer Business, Tech Talk | No Comments »

I just can’t make up my mind

Friday, February 19th, 2010

After my recent nasty divorce from ITControl Suite (don’t get me started) I’ve been looking for an affordable tool  that allows me to manage more computers & servers with less effort.   That’s the whole idea behind RMM software isn’t it?     (For those who may not know RMM=Remote Monitoring and Management)

I’ve been doing some testing and can’t decide what to do.

Hound Dog is now GFI Max - I had high hopes for it, but it hasn’t grown much in the last couple of years.  Not a lot of capabilities, but their claim is they have 90% of what the big boys offer at 10% of the cost.  Yep, they’re cheap and easy to get started with, but I had trouble interpreting the icons on the screen and the reports were pretty basic.  Not a bad product, but not very inspiring either.

Packet Trap looks very promising, but I had some troubles there, too.  It’s kind of like Kaseya light.  It’s a sizable investment (but a fraction of the price of Kaseya) and does some really cool stuff that Kaseya doesn’t appear to do, but their community forum is a ghost town, the Tips & Tricks section doesn’t exist yet, the documentation is a little sparse and it makes my spidey sense tingle.  After my problems with ITControl Suite, I don’t think I’m ready to deal with another young company.  I really like the product, though - it’s not perfect but it has potential to rival the king of the jungle, Kaseya.  There’s something to be said for jumping in now and getting grandfathered in and maybe even win preferred customer status as they grow.  I feel like a fish….  They’re trying really hard to get me to bite and I want to, but there’s something just not quite right about that morsel and I’m still sizing it up.

Like I said… I can’t make up my mind.  I loved the ITControl Suite product, but just couldn’t handle all of the billing mistakes.  In the past I’ve been an N-Able customer (when they were brand new) and LPI (the problems I had with them were probably my fault because I hosted it myself).  What’s a computer consultant to do?

I just ran across Apps4rent.com and they do a hosted Kaseya for $5.95 per seat and it gets cheaper after 250 seats.  I’m signing up for that trial tomorrow.  That may well be the answer.  Cadillac tools at Toyota prices.  (Yeah, I know… it costs more in the long run, but right now renting 2o seats at $6 per month that I can cancel any time sounds better than committing to $8-15 thousand).

To be continued at a later date….

Posted in Computer Business | 3 Comments »

Free Microsoft Exam

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

OK, so the product isn’t even out yet, but it’s free, so I decided to go ahead and sit for this exam. I don’t stand much chance of passing, but figured I’d give it a shot anyway. This is a 4 hour test on EBS2008 and there are no study materials available that I’m aware of. There wasn’t a study guide for the SBS exam when I first took it either and I somehow managed to pass that one.

If I have time tonight, I’ll download EBS and start playing. Are you feeling crazy enough to join me and take the free exam?

Here’s the link with instructions on how to get it for free….

http://blogs.technet.com/essentialbusinessserver/

It’s only through prometric and only for a limited time.  I signed up for the last time-slot on the last day of the exam.

Posted in Computer Business, Tech Talk, training & education | No Comments »

Newest domain in the collection

Monday, June 16th, 2008


Brush And Mug.com

Posted in Computer Business, Marketing | 2 Comments »

What do you HATE about computer consultants?

Friday, June 6th, 2008

If you’ve used a computer consultant in the past, please take my poll and tell me what you hated the most about the experience.

Posted in Business, Computer Business | No Comments »

Thirty Day Challenge 2008

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

I discovered the 30 Day Challenge last year about 1/2 way through it.  I tried catching up, but just couldn’t.  Even with the frustrations of not being able to get things done in time to work with the group, I learned an incredible amount about Internet Marketing.

This years challenge looks even better!  I downloaded FLOCK as a result of watching the first “pre-season” video and I love it.  Can’t wait!!  Join me.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Posted in Business, Computer Business, Marketing | No Comments »

Merchant Circle

Friday, January 25th, 2008

Late this afternoon I received a recorded phone call. Short and to the point - (paraphrased) “Someone wrote a review of your business, please go to www.merchantcircle.com and enter your business phone number into the box to see your listing.”

MerchantCircle.com

So what? I’ve been listed in Who’s Who before when they wanted to sell me a book, too. I was curious enough to go check it out anyway. (more…)

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Posted in Business, Computer Business, Marketing | No Comments »

Marketing plan 2008

Friday, January 18th, 2008

Yesterday was the last of a 3 part teleseminar with Robin Robins on developing a marketing plan for 2008. I’m so glad I finally bit the bullet and ordered her stuff. Not only is she good at marketing but she motivates me to get things done.

Of course I haven’t finished my own plan yet, but I have the tools to do it. I’ve reserved Sunday afternoon to work on this.

If you’re a computer consultant and need more business, I highly recommend you order the Technology Marketing Toolkit - it will change your business. It’s not cheap and it’s no “magic bullet” that will fix everything that’s wrong with your business, but if you need more clients this toolkit will more than pay for itself - in fact she guarantees it.

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Posted in Computer Business | No Comments »

New online listing for Technoid

Wednesday, November 14th, 2007

This blog is starting to grow into the story of building a computer consulting business. Along those lines, I found a relatively new website today where freelance techs can post their availability. Check it out:

FreelanceLocalTech.com

Of course I listed myself and commented on one of the blog posts. Right now there aren’t any jobs listed, but I’m the first network consultant in Illinois. I’m only aware of two others from Illinois at this site, but they’re not small business consultants at all.

Posted in Computer Business | 2 Comments »

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