So you are a small business and you need somebody to maintain your computers and provide IT and network support.
#1 find a good IT consultant IE somebody that has experience designing, installing, configuring and maintaining networks, servers, workstations, etc. You want an experienced and passionate consultant or employee. After these things are discussed and you come to an agreement get the project underway in a written agreement and make sure the IT consultant is EXPERIENCED and answers all of your questions. Do NOT low ball the consultant or hire someone just because he or she has the lowest price. I have seen many IT consultants and IT firms low ball projects just to get hired and many of the super cheap are clueless and do a poor job....you get what you pay for. Myself can speak from experience of having to come in and re-design and re-configure poorly designed and configured networks that were setup by many local IT consultants - IT support companies and they were originally hired because of one reason....low low price.
#2 Meet with this person face to face and discuss all of your needs, requirements and budget considerations. Ask for photos and references from other clients this consultant has helped. Be sure to include a GOOD BACKUP - DISASTER recovery solution. Do NOT cut corners on server hardware or a backup solution. The golden rule I have followed is cheap is not good and good is not cheap.
#3 After the network - servers - workstations are in place, installed, configured and up and running you must have someone proactively maintain this equipment to help prevent problems from occurring. Don't assume after the network, server and computers are up and running that you can just set it and forget it.
Servers and computers must be properly and proactively maintained to keep things running smoothly. If you question this here is something to think about.
Would you drive your car all year round without getting your oil changed? or would you eat everyday and wait until your teeth rot before seeing a dentist? I hope not....
Proactive maintenance is very important with computers for any business small, medium or large.
Everyday: Check server and workstation logs, check hard drives for performance and storage performance, scan for viruses, verify all nodes have the latest security updates installed, schedule a time for reboots, and much more. Most importantly test the backup system and make sure it works correctly. A good IT consultant will offer to proactively maintain your equipment where a not so good consultant will usually just set everything up, get paid then disappear and wait for something to break down then charge an arm and a leg to get you back up again. NOTE: servers and computers should be proactively maintained to prevent problems from occurring in the first place.
#4 Do not try to figure everything out on your own and do not experiment on your live - production network. A good IT or computer consultant should have a test network to experiment with.
Hire this person or company to get the job done and proactively maintain this for you. If you really want to learn then ask to help this person to explain and allow you to assist him or her. Read books also and ask many questions. Formal education is highly recommended however real world experience is the bottom line.
If you have any specific questions or concerns you are welcome to contact me and I will offer to help you if you have specific questions or concerns. I never steer people wrong and I am passionate about technology and helping people.
Chris Ondo - Central Florida Computer Engineering
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Ondo