Small Business Software and Hardware Tips

101 Small Business Software and Hardware Tips

What Your Computer Consultant Doesn’t Want You to Know is based on dozens of related computer support topics and challenges faced by most small businesses.

The tips are presented as easy-to-digest, well-organized nuggets of knowledge you can refer to over and over again, as needed.

Each tip provides either an opportunity to save money on a direct technology expense or the background to mitigate a soft cost, such as the time spent on a given task. In addition, many tips warn of potential pitfalls.

 In Part I, Hardware Cost-Saving Tips, we’ll dive right into more than 40 money-saving tips on common PC hardware issues with desktop PCs, notebook PCs and servers (Chapter 1). Then, in Chapter 2, we’ll concentrate on two PC peripheral devices that can cause an astonishing amount of support headaches: modems and printers.

In Part II, Software Cost-Saving Tips, we’ll shift our attention to money-saving opportunities with Microsoft Office (Chapter 3) and Microsoft Windows (Chapter 4). We’ll round out our look at software with Software Purchases and Maintenance in Chapter 5.

Part III, Data Protection Cost-Saving Tips, is all about reducing costs by protecting your company’s information assets from the “bad guys” and various other significant risks. First we’ll delve into saving your data from malicious and accidental losses in Data Backup (Chapter 6). Next, we’ll survey techniques to prevent your computers from getting fried by utility power damage or your data from getting zapped out of existence (Chapter 7). Then, we’ll wrap up in Chapter 8 with an overview of virus prevention techniques.

At the conclusion of What Your Computer Consultant Doesn’t Want You to Know, you’ll find a comprehensive glossary that pulls together more than 160 terms used throughout the book and contains both extensive cross-references and chapter references. There’s also a consolidated resource directory recapping suggested Web sites.

You’ll not only learn how to achieve world-class tech results on a small business budget, but you’ll also gain a much better understanding of how to approach many common computer support issues – without always having to call in an expensive professional computer consultant.

Cost-Saving Emphasis

Each tip begins with a summary of whether you can expect to save money on soft costs, out-of-pocket expenses, or both.

Soft costs are any expenses that cannot be directly accounted for and itemized as out-of-pocket expenses for product and service purchases. In addition to installation, configuration and troubleshooting, soft costs encompass needs analysis, product selection, procurement, testing, customization, training, documentation, ongoing maintenance and upgrading.

Out-of-pocket expenses are much easier to quantify as direct product or service purchases – such as buying a desktop PC, monitor, modem or a year of Web site hosting.

In areas where alternative solutions are presented, you’ll find a Relative Cost Indicator, in addition to a discussion of each solution’s pros and cons.

What You Should Already Know

What Your Computer Consultant Doesn’t Want You to Know is written primarily for the small business internal guru: someone whose IT endeavors are basically part-time and sustained with little, if any, formal classroom training on hardware, software or networking.

Many of the people who can benefit from this book often don’t give themselves enough credit for as much as they do know about computers.

If you’ve picked up this book and feel comfortable using a PC, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office and a Web browser, you can learn a great deal from What Your Computer Consultant Doesn’t Want You to Know.

And, better yet, you’re already well on your way to becoming a more effective, cost-scrutinizing internal guru!

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