IT System Upgrades
Upgrading your company IT systems is a confusing and stressful time for a small business. However, Marcus Computers are different from other IT companies as we have only specialised in working with small businesses and working with them on IT system upgrades with ongoing support for over the last 25 years. This has allowed us to develop the skills to listen to what you would like to be able to do with your IT and from this build a cost effective solution that meets the requirements of your business. We believe that communication is key to the sucess of any upgrade, so we will keep you as informed as possible about the products and systems available to you. We are aware that understanding this information is often difficult so we are happy to discuss this with you and explain any terms you are unsure of so you can make an informed decision.
Once you have decided on your hardware and software, we offer a full installation service. Our rates are cost effective, and an efficient way of having your IT systems set-up. We offer a full package from cabling, installation, configuring the PC’s/Servers and loading business applications to PC User training for your staff. We also provide comprehensive support and maintenance for your IT sytems and flexible contracts to meet your specific business needs especially when home or remote site workers need help out of hours! Having a support contract means there is always someone there to help not matter what the issue. We fix 82% of all issues within 35 minutes of being reported and we respond imediatley to all business critical IT problems.
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server powers many of the worlds' largest datacenters, enables small businesses around the world, and delivers value to organizations of all sizes in between. Windows Server 2012 redefines the server category, delivering hundreds of new features and enhancements spanning virtualisation, networking, storage, user experience, cloud computing, automation, and more. Simply put, Windows Server 2012 helps you transform your IT operations to reduce costs and deliver a whole new level of business value.
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Server Virtualisation - Windows Server 2012 with Hyper-V provides a complete virtualisation platform, providing increased scalability and performance with an elastic and flexible solution from the datacenter to the cloud. It’s now easier than ever for organizations to realize cost savings from virtualisation and to optimize server hardware investments.
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VDI - Virtual Desktop Infrastructure in Windows Server 2012 makes it possible for users to access IT from virtually anywhere on popular devices, providing them a rich Windows experience while ensuring enhanced data security and compliance.
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Networking - Windows Server 2012 provides an array of new and enhanced features that help reduce networking complexity, making it easier to connect users to IT resources, efficiently manage your datacenter and private clouds, and easily link your infrastructure with public cloud services.
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Access and Information Protection - Windows Server 2012 makes it easier for administrators to protect corporate resources, build strong data access management and protection, and simplify the deployment of identity management infrastructure.
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Storage - Windows Server 2012 provides greater efficiency, performance, and innovation through diverse storage choices. New features and enhancements for disk, network, and storage area network storage solutions provide greater choice and flexibility while ensuring high availability and uptime.
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Server Management and Automation - Windows Server 2012 offers excellent total cost of ownership as an integrated platform with comprehensive, multi-server manageability that provides increased management efficiency, simplified deployment of servers and server roles, and resilient automation.
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Web and Application platform - Windows Server 2012 provides enormous flexibility through hybrid, symmetrical, and web-based applications on-premises and in the cloud, increased scalability and elasticity for applications, and enhanced support for open frameworks and open source.
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Google Apps
Google Apps is a cloud-based productivity suite that helps you and your team connect and get work done from anywhere on any device. It's simple to setup, use and manage, allowing you to work smarter and focus on what really matters.
Gmail
Bring the ease and reliability of Gmail to work
Get a professional email address with the same familiar interface hundreds of millions of people use every day. Business features include 30GB of storage and 24/7 support.
Calendar
Integrated online calendars designed for teams
Spend less time planning and more time doing with shareable calendars that integrate seamlessly with Gmail, Drive, Contacts, Sites and Hangouts so you always know what's next.
Drive
Store, sync and share files with ease
Keep all your work in one secure place with online file storage. Access your work whenever you need it, from your laptop, tablet or phone.
Docs
Word processing for teams
Create and edit text documents right in your browser—no dedicated software required. Multiple people can work at the same time, and every change is saved automatically.
Sheets
Advanced, fast, online spreadsheets
Create spreadsheets in your browser—no dedicated software needed. Handle everything from simple task lists to data analysis with charts, filters and pivot tables.
Slides
Beautiful presentations created together
Create and edit polished presentations in your browser—no software required. Multiple people can work at the same time so everyone always has the latest version.
Forms
Easy to create surveys and forms for everyone
Create custom forms for surveys and questionnaires at no extra cost. Gather everything in a spreadsheet and analyze data right in Google Sheets.
Google+
A social network designed for business
Google+ makes it faster and easier to share and collaborate with your customers and team members.
Hangouts
Meet face to face with co-workers and customers
Connect with the people that make your business run via HD video, voice or text. You can save money and time on travel, but still get all the benefits of face-to-face contact.
Addition to your IT department
In the world today companies rely heavily on their IT systems. Even a small amount of down time has the potential for a high financial impact. Because of this, many companies have internal IT staff to resolve issues as they occur. However these IT staff generally have other roles within the company and IT often takes a back seat so small issues can turn into big problems if they are not detected and action taken to resolve them.
Marcus Computers are dedicated to helping companies make the best possible use of technology. We offer support and maintenance contracts to businesses with internal IT staff, this gives you peace of mind that if your IT staff are busy with other projects, sick or on holiday that there will still be someone at the end of the telephone whose number one priority is your IT system. Adding Marcus support to your team will be a huge advantage to your IT staff if they have complex issues that they are not sure how to solve, new hardware or software to install or any other IT issue they may be unfamiliar with. Having Marcus support available will mean issues will be resolved faster and more efficiently which will often translate into lower costs.
Any issues that we solve we will be happy to talk through with your staff, growing their knowledge so that if the problem re-occurs it can be dealt with in-house.
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Marcus Computers support and maintenance is sold in blocks of 2 to 20 hours, however for companies with internal IT staff we normal recommend 5 hours as we find this provides ample ongoing cover especially staff holidays or illness.
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Our standard support and maintenance contracts are based on office hours (Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 5:30pm) telephone, VPN and dial in are based on 4 hour response and on site time is bookable in advance. Telephone, VPN and dial in are charged at a minimum of 15 minutes and 15 minutes increments thereafter. On-site support is charged at a minimum of 1 hour on site and 15 minutes increments thereafter. However this is just our standard support and maintenance contract and we are happy to discuss your requirements to come up with a solution that suits your company’s specific needs.
As well as using Marcus Computers to help you maintain your IT systems we can provision all your hardware and software at a very low cost, often beating the recommended retail price, and have your hardware or software delivered straight to you. Most of the companies we deal with are not just impressed by our levels of service but also by the fact that all your IT requirements are handled in the same place.
Peer to Peer Networking
Have you ever thought about your IT and wished that it could be working better for your company? Your current IT system fulfilled your requirements when it was installed, but as your business has evolved you have found you need something more substantial and efficient. But like many other small and medium companies you are worried this would come at a high cost and further costs could be incurred in maintaining your new IT systems.
A Peer to Peer (P2P) network is a perfect solution for this. You receive all the benefits of a network, but at a low cost. With a peer to peer network you can share devices like printers and scanners, store files in a central location, and all share internet access and email facilities without the cost of implementing a dedicated server-based solution.
Files, information and documents are stored centrally on the network and can be used by anyone at any time regardless of which PC they are working on. This accessibility means people can work with the documents they want, and obtain the information they need far more efficiently than would have been possible before.
Peer to Peer networks are effective up to around 10 users, and are relatively easy to install. Once installed, it is easy to add new PC’s to the system, or upgrade to a larger, server-based system using existing infrastructure. This means the network can grow and adapt as your company does.
Implementing a network offers many benefits to small and medium business, some of which are outlined below:
1) Share Printers, Scanners, Cameras and Fax devices between all PC’s
2) Increased performance and reliability.
3) Centralised storage and back up of all important data.
4) Instant, convenient access to all of the company’s files and documents.
5) Scan incoming and outgoing E-mails for spam and viruses.
6) Share Internet access between all your PC’s
7) Share workload easily.
8) Remove need for duplication and repetition of data entry
A Peer to Peer network works by having 1 PC acting as a “Server”. In this PC there is normally a faster processor, a larger hard drive and more memory, than the rest of the PC’s on the system. This PC is where all the documents, files and information are stored in one central location and this can be easily backed up at night. Although this PC does a lot of work in the background it can still be used as a normal computer to carry out office tasks.
Other devices, such as scanners, printers and fax machines can be added to the network, and once configured everyone on the network will be able to use these resources. We would always recommend the attachment of a backup device to the “server” PC, which will give protection against accidental data loss. There are several options for this, allowing for daily or weekly backups, with the option to store the backed up data off-site. Tape back up is not the only solution, there are many cheaper options that may be more suitable for your business needs.
Shared internet access requires a router, which connects everyone to the internet through one broadband or ISDN connection. These routers can limit access to specific PC’s or users, and control what information people can access on the internet. Routers also have a built-In firewall to protect your companies’ computers from hacking and other internet related threats. The result of this is internet access for every user which can be easily controlled or monitored.
Since Marcus Computers began trading we have installed many Peer to Peer networks and we have found they are the perfect solution for small and medium companies who want a better use of IT but at a reasonable cost. If you are interested in what we could do for your IT then do not hesitate to give us a call or email us for further information.
02380 632841
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