January 2009
In this issue:

● Notes from Mike
● Social Networking
● Tips for Effective Email
● Get a Second Chance
● Watch What You Install

Most business people receive dozens, even hundreds, of e-mails each day. Without question, e-mail is now the primary means of communication in the professional world. That’s why it’s very important to create messages that effectively communicate your point while presenting a professional image. Here are eight helpful tips for writing e-mails that achieve both goals.

1. Set clear, concrete deadlines. If you’re sending a task or a request for more information, don’t just say, “Hope to hear from you soon.” Make it clear by what time or date you need a response and write the deadline clearly, for instance: “Please respond by next Thursday, January 15th.”

Read on for more tips

Just for Laughs

Quote of the Month

The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.

–Bill Gates

Notes from Mike . . .

Happy New Year! All of us at StrategicFusion want you to know that we appreciate your trust and confidence in us. We look forward to helping your organization meet its technology needs in 2009.

One of our team sent this link to me the other day.
The headline in part reads “Worm Infects 1.1M Windows PCs in 24 hours“. SFI clients who have our StrategicFusion Maintenance Agreement can rest easy. We had a 99.999 success rate in applying this patch to all of our clients. After receiving the call from Microsoft we deployed this “out of band” patch in less than 24 hours. It is nice to think you have done something good for someone who has trust in you.

For those not under the StrategicFusion Maintenance Agreement, please install updates as directed in the article.

I am so excited about 2009! Yes, I know, there is a lot of negative talk about the economy, but to paraphrase something I read recently “I refuse to participate in the downturn” there are still plenty of companies making money and plenty of opportunity for them to leverage technology to advance their business.

So what about resolutions for 2009? We usually think about getting in shape (The gym has been packed the last few weeks!) volunteering more, all of these good things and I recommend them. However, my focus is technology in small business, so I’ll give you a few that will help move your business forward in 2009:

1. I will get a secure firewall
2. Backup my data and take it off site
3. Create a backup & Recovery plan in case of fire, theft or other damage
4. Hire someone to patch, monitor and maintain my Servers and Desktops
5. Update my website
6. Create an Acceptable Use Policy for my business
7. Review my phone and Internet Access expenses

This is just seven, I could think of more but Rome wasn’t built in a day, there is always 2010.  Please call or email if you have any questions or comments!

Mike
mikego@sf-it.com

Make Social Networking Work:  7 Tips

Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter connect millions of like-minded people every day through the Web. But did you know they also can help your small business connect with customers?

“Social networking can help promote a small business in two ways,” says Susan Barnes, a professor and associate director for at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Lab for Social Computing. “Loyal customers can create small networks and provide testimonials for the business and employees can share information with each other through social networks.”

More than half of all small-business owners believe social networking sites have a place in the business world, according to a 2008 survey by SurePayroll. And one in five companies has generated business from a social media site. What’s the appeal of social networking? There are practically no barriers to entry, for starters.   Read on for the 7 Tips

Watch What You Install on Your Server

Download warning: Watch what you install on your server. Today’s server operating systems, including Microsoft Small Business Server 2003, are so user-friendly that you could be left with the impression that anyone with the ability to put a CD into a computer disk drive could successfully deploy a new application.

That is the wrong impression. When it comes to adding any new software — and particularly third-party applications — you need to be extra vigilant about what you’re putting on your server and how you’re doing it.

A server isn’t as forgiving as a desktop computer. Take it from someone who just spent the better part of a week trying to recover data from a server that had been hopelessly corrupted by several applications that, in retrospect, were probably incorrectly installed by yours truly.

Here are a few things I wish I had done

Get a Second Chance when your PC Crashes

It’s a common scenario. You’re working at your computer when all of a sudden, with no warning, the PC freezes. Nothing seems to be working. The screen goes dark. You may even be unlucky enough to see the dreaded blue screen informing you that a critical error has occurred and Windows® will be shut down.

You’ve just been the unfortunate victim of a system crash. If this happens to you, it’s likely that you’ve recently added a new program, device, driver or application that your machine doesn’t like, and this is its way of making its feelings known.

Sometimes, a simple reboot of the PC resolves the issue. But sometimes it doesn’t. You reboot, Windows loads and the computer crashes again, or continues to behave weirdly. What can be done to end the recurring nightmare and return your computer to a more stable state?

How System Restore works
System Restore is a tool in Windows Vista and XP that allows you to turn back the clock. It takes snapshots of your computer’s configuration over time, so that if you find yourself in the midst of an installation or configuration gone wrong, System Restore can roll Windows back to the state it was in before the trouble started, without affecting any of your data.

System Restore takes system snapshots every day the computer’s on during idle time, as well as before system changes, like Windows Automatic updates, driver installations, software installations and system restorations.

It is similar to the Last Known Configuration function, which allows you to go back to the most recent set of settings known to have worked, but System Restore allows you to choose how far back you want to go in undoing changes to the system, based on the available restore points.

Read on for more.