Expertise

Our expertise is concentrated in the following services:

Help Desk & Support Management

If you’re a small business, having an in-house help desk is extremely expensive. It costs too much to pay someone full-time, and using a computer repair shop doesn’t provide a reliable turnaround and quality of service. What’s the result? Low productivity and a lot of frustration. Etnacom can help set up and manage a help desk that works for you and doesn’t cost more money than it should.

By thinking progressively, Etnacom leverages business and technology solutions to keep your systems running smoothly when issues arise. Some of our proven strategies include:

• Online Knowledge Base: In many cases, there isn’t a major problem occurring. Why spend money on a support call when your employee can just look up the answer? By having an online help service, many quick issues can easily be remedied without technical assistance.
• Remote Help Desk: Dispatching a technician to your place of business is time-consuming and expensive. Many problems can be resolved remotely by having an expert talk with you over the phone and even take control of your computer remotely.
• Quick Technical Dispatch: In the case of physical hardware problems that can’t be solved remotely, technicians who know your systems can be dispatched to your location.
• Escalation to an Expert: Although not a common occurrence, sometimes an issue is so complex that it requires special attention from an engineer that knows your computer systems inside out. By recognizing a large problem quickly, the support request can be escalated and resolved.

These are just some of the options that we recommend when setting up a help desk solution for your business. The important thing is that we are not help desk technicians – we don’t look to “keep you on the phone” for as long as possible to make money. Rather, we screen and establish relationships with support providers for you to ensure that the most experienced technicians are taking care of your needs.

IT Security

Many business owners believe that IT Security is a problem for large businesses. They think that it’s too expensive, takes too much time, and offers minimal reward. After all, what information security concerns does a small business have?

Nothing could be further from the truth. Small businesses need to worry about their security just as much as anyone else.

Whether it’s the Intern that can access your Quickbooks or other financial files, or the threat of spyware that can bring down your computers and affect productivity, assuring that your systems are secure is an important aspect of your business. It’s just like physical security – you wouldn’t want to leave your place of business unlocked or without a burglar alarm. Remember, it’s much easier to break into a computer than a building, especially when you’re using the Internet.

Security is a process, not a product. Although it might seem attractive to purchase security software that claims to solve all problems, a more practical approach is to assess and confront each security risk, with periodic audits to ensure that security needs continue to be met.

Keeping your IT infrastructure safe doesn’t have to be difficult. Our staff knows how to look at security from the business level down to the detailed technical level. That means that we can look at your risk and reccomend the best solution without compromising your budget.

New Equipment & Upgrades

One of Etnacom’s core specialties is handling new equipment and upgrades for business. By incorporating cost-effective equipment with best practices and proven deployment strategies, we can deliver efficiency and modernization while still being conscious of the bottom line.

When shopping for new equipment, it is easy to be distracted by new features. Computer sales associates always try to sell these features, even though they are expensive and the customer may not even have any use for them. At the same time, it is also important not to be too strict on requirements, that way the equipment is still useful if the business grows and demands more productivity. Our consultants analyze your equipment usage in detail and make sure that our clients are only paying for what they actually need, while also considering scalability concerns for the future.

In a typical equipment deployment, our consultants will first analyze a small business’s equipment usage and create a custom architecture to meet their needs. After discussing and agreeing upon this architecture, our staff oversees the ordering, configuration, and deployment of this equipment, if necessary. Additionally, we may recommend that our clients undergo training to use the new system, and we ensure that a solid support plan is in place should there be any problems with the new hardware in the future.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is Etnacom’s core service and the greatest asset to your business. We leverage our extensive expertise and our own knowledge of how a small business works in order to be trusted advisors.

When we provide strategic consulting to our clients, we first start by examining their current business environment. We then examine both short-term and long-term goals and the financial outlook of the business. Now, we have a picture of how your business operates.

From that point, we can help you leverage technology to help reach your business goals. For example, if the business is a sandwich shop and one short-term goal is to reduce the amount of time that a customer is paying for items, we might notice that the cashier has to use a separate system on the other end of the counter to process credit and debit cards. In this case, we might recommend implementing a terminal that has credit/debit processing capabilities right at the kiosk.

Of course, this is a simple example, and one that business owners might be able to figure out on their own. Our strong suit is in helping you identify and address the situations that aren’t as clear on the surface. Perhaps your competitors are seeing a better influx of customers and you’d like to know if there is any electronic means to even the playing field. Or, you think an independent assessment of your current systems is worthwhile in order to identify and eliminate inefficiencies.

It doesn’t matter what the specific project is – if our expertise is there, we’ll be happy to help. If your issue is not in our area of expertise, we’ll gladly recommend another reputable company that can provide the service that you need.

Even if you’re not sure if you need help but are curious to know if any aspects of your IT systems can be approved, call us. We’ll come in and perform an impartial, independent assessment.

Training

All too often, a small business owner will invest in an expensive new technology that is designed to increase efficiency and make life easier for employees and staff. The project will be a complete success, and yet the business never reaps the benefits of the system. Why?

The answer is that the small business owner and consulting firm are the only parties that are involved with the new system. Employees (and customers, if applicable) have no training on the new system, and have difficulty adopting it. Perhaps some staff use it and others don’t. After a while, frustration mounts and the system is abandoned. Great amounts of time and money are wasted.

This can be avoided if a training program is adopted as a part of the system rollout. Training should not be an afterthought, but rather an integral part of the deployment of any project. By training the users of a new system or process, it not only educates them but involves them in the system implementation. It is our experience that a sense of involvement is the key to a stakeholder having a vested interest in seeing the project succeed.

Additionally, training doesn’t have to eat up the entire project budget. Etnacom performs training in many ways that range in cost. Some of our proven training techniques involve one or more of the following:

On-Site or Off-Site Training: Depending on the suitability of your facility, interactive training can be performed on-site or off-site. An instructor will work directly with staff. Sessions are usually half or full days.

Remote Training: A more cost-effective approach is to run remote training. This involves an instructor interactively working with staff over a conference call and the Internet. The instructor can present using his own computer, which all users will be able to view over the Internet. When it is time for the users to try, they can work and the instructor can monitor their progress.

Online Tutorials & Knowledge Base: These interactive systems allow users to view information and instruct themselves on demand, without the need for an instructor. This solution can stay in place permanently for reference and for new hire training.

Documentation Sheets: Online or paper documentation can also be provided as reference to the product or process being deployed in your business.

Websites, SEO & Online Marketing

Presenting a business on the Internet is where Information Technology and Marketing come together. On one hand, there are technical concerns that must be properly addressed for a website to be successful. On the other hand, having a website is largely a marketing venture. A website can be anything from a large, interactive advertisement to an entire business venture. So, not only are the technical aspects important, but the “people” aspects are too – what information will appeal to prospective and current customers? How will people find your site? Even if visitors do get to your site, how can you “close the deal” and be sure that they will follow through by purchasing your products or services?

Large enterprises employ multiple firms to design, manage, and deliver marketing for their websites. Small businesses can’t afford to do that. We understand this – our consultants are trained in all areas of websites and online marketing, and can handle the entire project. We can do this because of our small size, diverse staffing and attention to detail.

Features of an Average Website

Most websites contain the following components:

• A domain name such as www.yourdomain.com. This is how users can access your site. Your site can have as many domain names as you would like, but you must have at least one.

• Some type of web hosting, which is the system that keeps your website online and accessible via the Internet. Depending on the size and usage of your website, this cost might be very small (around $4 per month) or very large ($100 or more per month). For example, a simple informational site may require inexpensive web hosting, but a large e-commerce site might require special features which introduce added costs.

• The website itself which would be created to fit business and customer needs. Perhaps it would be a one-time informational site, or it may be constantly changing. The site can even be configured so that it can be self-updated.

• If applicable, an e-commerce portion which handles online shopping on your website. This could include buying products and services, a shopping cart, and payment processing.

• An SEO, or Search Engine Optimization plan, which ensures that search engines, other websites, and Internet users visit your website. This is the most important piece of the puzzle!

Our expertise in website management is unique – not only will we put your site online, but we’ll help you develop the vision for your site, and how it will help your business and customers.