All aspects containing software and hardware in a business environment should not be taken lightly. Many people tend to underestimate the importance of having their systems in optimal condition. For us, you should not have a tight budget as far as hardware and software are concerned. When you make an investment for something that you are going to make use of every working day, you should be looking forward, preventing problems before they arise.

One principle we always follow, is what kind of software and hardware we are going to need in order to perform our everyday operations in order to have as few problems as possible in our own working environment. Quite frankly, if we have to deal every so often with problems in our own network, we are going to have much less time available to address our customers’ issues. As a result of that, we do not invest based on a tight budget.
We also maintain a constant look at the future. We do not buy equipment for our own company, nor we encourage our customers to buy equipment based on the principle of “as long as it gets the job done”. In the future, we are going to have to invest again in order to take advantage of new technologies and to address the volume of the data involved.

HARDWARE

We always prefer and encourage our customers to buy “brand name” products. Why? Because, according to our opinion, “brand name” products offer better quality materials than the “no name” ones. Take into account a data cable for a hard drive. If it has a loose contact with the drive itself, it will give you a headache till someone finds out what the problem is. We also always prefer hardware that is accompanied with On-Site warranty. As long as possible. We do not see as a viable option for a business environment, the process of sending the product back to the manufacturer in order to get it fixed. We see it as a luxury.

SOFTWARE

Before you buy some software licences, it would be wise to have a look at it thoroughly and test it in your own working environment before purchase. We strongly advise you to make sure that it is suitable for your own needs. Also, we encourage you to have a look at the cost, the time to respond and the kind of aftersales support by its developer. It would be wise to spend time on this matter. You will save on unnecessary expenses in the future!

Generally speaking, think what the needs of your business are going to be in the future and adapt your infrastructure accordingly, now! Stop thinking only about today’s needs, invest in the future. You will save on time and money!

We consider that all the above, require very careful planning. A bad plan can create an additional cost on the allocated budget. It can also set you out of schedule (time-wise).