The 4-Letter Word That Increases Cash Flow And Saves On Taxes

VOLUME 1  ISSUE 5
 AUGUST 2013
“Insider Tips To Make Your Business Run
Faster, Easier, And More Profitably”
The 4-Letter Word That Increases Cash
Flow And Saves On Taxes
“As a business owner, I know you
don’t have time to spend on technology
and performance issues. That’s where
we shine! Let us help put an end to
your IT problems finally and forever!”
- Kevin Gray, EnvisionIT Solutions
Inside this Issue:
4-Letter Word
PAGE 1
If you dread writing checks for a network upgrade
because it hits your cash flow in a big way, then
you’ll want to look into HaaS or “hardware as a
service.”
HaaS is becoming a more common option for
businesses because it allows you to pay for ALL your
IT services – hardware, installation, security, backups,
applications, Internet, etc. – as a flat fee service,
thereby eliminating the heavy cash-flow hit for
upgrading or expanding a computer network and giving you the ability to write off 100% of
your IT expenses without having to depreciate those assets over time. Additionally, your IT
provider takes total responsibility for the maintenance of your network.
Shiny New Gadget
PAGE 2
Bring Your Own Device
PAGE 2
10 Ideas to Succeed
PAGE 3
Struggling Butterfly
PAGE 4
Client Spotlight— Sawmill
PAGE 4
HaaS is particularly popular with startups who need to direct the majority of their cash
towards marketing, but many businesses are opting for HaaS over installing a traditional
network because:
1) No More Expensive Surprise Upgrades. With HaaS, your computer s ar e
automatically replaced with new ones every 3-4 years, ensuring compatibility with almost
any software refresh. No end-of-lease buyouts of outdated equipment or ever having to release equipment again.
2) Warranties Are A Thing of The Past. With a HaaS pr ogr am, you get your
equipment AND the service included in the monthly cost. Anything that goes wrong with the
computer (like the inevitable computer crash just days after your warranty expires) is our
problem to resolve. Plus, since HaaS computers are replaced on a regular schedule, you don’t
have to settle for refurbished parts or old computers for long.
3) One Easy Invoice. Pur chasing via a HaaS pr ogr am is like having a condo. You get
control of what goes in it, but don’t have to worry about maintenance, building code issues,
or updating the façade. Everything in one low monthly fee.
Looking to upgrade equipment while saving cash? Call us to learn more about HaaS
and find out if it’s right for you.
505-923-3388
Get More Free Tips, Tools, and Services At Our Web Site: www.envisionITsolutions.com
Page 2
Shiny New Gadget Of The
Month:
Magic Wand Universal
Remote
Harry Potter might be
over, but your magic show
is just beginning.
This is no ordinary
universal remote control.
The Magic Wand
Programmable TV Remote
will learn up to 13
commands from your
existing remote controls
and map them to particular
magical motions. The
Wand can learn from any
remote in your house, and
once you master its 13
movements, you can
mastermind a symphony of
electronic enjoyment from
the comfort of your couch.
With a little practice
you can flip the channel
with a flick of your wand
and twist your wand to turn
up the volume. It’s compatible with almost all makes
of TV, DVR, or really
anything with a remote!
No more boring
channel changing, now you
can be the wizard you’ve
always dreamed of being!
Bonus—this one is a lot
easier to hide from the kids
than a regular-sized remote.
You know you want
one...learn more and order
yours at
www.thinkgeek.com.
Bring Your Own Device To Work: Excellent
Money-Saving Idea Or Security Disaster
Waiting To Happen?
Maybe you’ve heard the term “BYOB” (bring your own bottle) when you
were invited to a party with some
friends. Now a similar trend is
happening in business called
“BYOD” (bring your own device) where
employees are bringing their
smartphones, tablets and other devices
to work.
Considering the cost of new
hardware, this trend seems pretty
attractive for small business owners. Employees show up already
equipped with the devices they need to work; you just give them a
username and password and you’re off to the races without as many out-of
-pocket expenses as before. Plus, the employees are more than happy
because they get to continue to use their device of choice. Cool? Maybe…
Based on surveys and chatter online from IT managers and executives,
how to effectively monitor and manage employee-owned devices is murky
at best; in many cases, this “wild west” device strategy is causing IT
departments to work overtime to keep their network secure and data out of
the wrong hands. For example, IBM started allowing employees to BYOD
back in 2010. Approximately 80,000 of their 400,000 employees started
using non-company owned smartphones and tablets to access internal
networks. But instead of IBM saving money, this situation actually
increased costs in certain areas, namely in the management and security of
those devices. Because of this, IBM has established guidelines on which
apps the employees can or can’t use. In addition, employee-owned devices
are configured so that they can be wiped remotely in case devices are
stolen or misplaced prior to being granted access to internal networks.
Cloud-based file-transfer programs such as iCloud, Dropbox and even
Siri, the voice-activated personal assistant, are not allowed. Employees
with greater access to internal applications and files will also have their
smartphones equipped with additional software that performs the
appropriate data encryption.
The bottom line is this: If you ar e going to allow employees to use
their own personal devices to connect to your network, you need to make
sure they aren’t a conduit for viruses, hackers and thieves; after all, we
ARE talking about your clients’ and company’s data here! That means
written policies need to be in place along with 24/7 monitoring of the
device to ensure that security updates are in place to watch for criminal
activity. We also urge you to establish a policy for all employees who
bring mobile devices into the workplace about what they can and cannot
do with their devices. They might already be using their smartphone or
tablet to access e-mail or company files without you even knowing it,
leaving you exposed.
For more information on how we can monitor and manage ALL the
devices connected to your network, give us a call: 505-923-3388
Get More Free Tips, Tools, and Services At Our Web Site: www.envisionITsolutions.com
Page 3
The Lighter Side…
Never Argue With
A Woman
One morning the husband returns
after several hours of fishing and
decides to take a nap.
Although not familiar with the lake,
the wife decides to take the boat out.
She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book.
Along comes a game warden in his
boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says, “Good morning, Ma'am.
What are you doing?”
“Reading a book,” she replies,
(thinking, “Isn't that obvious?”)
“You're in a Restricted Fishing Area,” he informs her.
“I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading.”
“Yes, but you have all the equipment.
For all I know you could start at any
moment. I'll have to take you in and
write you up.”
“For reading a book?” she replies.
10 Ideas You Need if You Want to Succeed
1. Do what you need to do now so you will eventually get
to do what you want to do later.
2. Discipline is the ability to get things done regardless
of how you feel about doing them.
3. Passion only pays off when channeled into productive
effort.
4. Others may believe in you, help you and support you,
but ultimately nobody will do it for you. You are
responsible for your own life.
5. If you don’t do your job any differently than anybody
else who does it, you won’t get paid more than anybody
else.
6. More often than not, you succeed in spite of, not
because of, your circumstances.
7. If you think a little better and work a little harder you
will always accomplish more than others.
“You're in a Restricted Fishing Area,” he informs her again.
8. If you can’t control it, get over it.
“I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading.”
9. If you don’t appreciate where you are at, you won’t
appreciate where you are going.
“Yes, but you have all the equipment.
For all I know you could start at any
moment. I'll have to take you in and
write you up.”
“If you do that, I'll have to charge
you with Sexual assault,” says the
woman.
“But I haven't even touched you,”
says the game warden.
10. Get clear on what really matters to you and then get
busy pursuing it.
If you want more insights into how to turn the ordinary
into the extraordinary, go to Mark’s site at
www.marksanborn.com
“That's true, but you have all the
equipment. For all I know you could
start at any moment.”
“Have a nice day ma'am,” and he
left.
Get More Free Tips, Tools, and Services At Our Web Site: www.envisionITsolutions.com
Page 4
The Struggling Butterfly
Client Spotlight: Sawmill Community Land Trust
A man found a cocoon of a
butterfly. One day a small opening
appeared. He sat and watched the
butterfly for several hours as it
struggled to squeeze its body
through the tiny hole. Then it
stopped, as if it couldn’t go
further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the remaining bits of
cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily but
it had a swollen body and
shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch it,
expecting that any minute the wings
would enlarge and expand enough to
support the body.
Neither happened!
In fact the butterfly spent the rest of
its life crawling around. It was never
able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and
haste did not understand: The
restricting cocoon and the struggle
required by the butterfly to get
through the opening was a way of
forcing the fluid from the body
into the wings so that it would be
ready for flight once that was
achieved.
Sometimes struggles are exactly
what we need in our lives. Going
through life with no obstacles would
cripple us. We will not be as strong
as we could have been and we would
never fly.
“Sawmill Community Land Trust is a nonprofit
membership organization that owns and holds land
“in trust” for the benefit of the community while preserving the affordability of the housing on the land
permanently. All the while, homeowners on the land
trust enjoy essential benefits of ownership: lifetime
security, a reasonable rate of return on their investment and a legacy for their descendants.” www.sawmillclt.org
EnvisionIT Solutions has been contracted by Sawmill
Community Land Trust to upgrade their existing
server infrastructure. This project will consist of
hardware upgrades, migration of email services to
Office 365 and implementation of Microsoft’s
Remote Desktop Services Server. This project will
be completed over a weekend to minimize productivity downtime. Sawmill is looking forward to the new
technology to better serve their employees with remote access tools and by cutting costs on email
maintenance with moving all email functions to the
Office 365 platform. With Sawmill being a nonprofit entity, the Office 365 platform works best due
to a very generous price discount from Microsoft.
Sawmill employees will have remote
access capabilities to email and file storage through
this product along with new features of remote
communication by using Microsoft’s Lync product.
We look forward to implementing this project and a
long term business relationship with Sawmill to fully
utilize technology to better their organization and
their members online performance.
Get More Free Tips, Tools, and Services At Our Web Site: www.envisionITsolutions.com