WingSwept is dedicated to delivering the best service possible to their customers. One way they do this is by having partnerships with industry leading providers like Microsoft, Dell, and many others. Recently, WingSwept has earned the Information Worker Solutions Competency. The achievement recognizes WingSwept’s commitment, expertise, and superiority using Microsoft products and services. To see WingSwept’s other partnerships, please visit http://network.wingswept.com/wci/network/partners.html
Archive for September, 2009
On September 21, WingSwept’s President Jay Strickland was honored at Business Leader Media’s Movers & Shakers Awards ceremony. For the sixth consecutive year, this award has been handed to deserving business leaders in the Triangle chosen from over 300 nominees.
To qualify for the award, nominees had to either be up-and-coming leaders within companies with more than 100 employees or C-level executives leading rising companies with fewer than 100 employees. WingSwept is the leading technology solutions company in the Garner, NC area and employees just over 20 staff members.
Jay has been at the helm of WingSwept’s operations as its founder since 1995. Steady company growth and achievements since its inception and despite a brutal economy help to make WingSwept unique among competitors.
“Being honored as a Mover & Shaker means a great deal, and it’s a pleasure to be recognized amongst all these innovative leaders.” says the award recipient, Jay Strickland. “I am blessed with substantial support from WingSwept’s staff, the community, and my family, and they are what make such achievements possible.”
Jay Strickland and WingSwept have no plans to slow down now, but continue to look for new staff members, new customers, and new ways to make a difference in the community.
As this Fox News story reports, business owners need to prepare for how business will run with the absence of employees who have come down with 2009 H1N1 flu strain as well as any sickness. How would it affect your business if 1, 2, or 10 people were unable to get to the office for a couple of days or even weeks? According to Homeland Security, outbreaks of H1N1 are expected to coincide with the upcoming flu season and it’s time to become proactive.
The latest report from the President’s Council on Science and Technology (Aug. 24) describes a “plausible scenario” in which 30-50% of the U.S. population becomes infected with H1N1 this season. Three to six million Americans could be infected at the same time on the pandemic’s peak day, estimated to be in mid-October.
Employers will confront many state and federal regulatory challenges in this pandemic. Current assumptions about H1N1 push the boundaries of most existing absence-from-work policies.
WingSwept has some good news to offer. A major outbreak doesn’t have to drastically affect your business if a significant portion of your workforce are unable to access their desktops and network from a secure Internet source and easily continue working from the safety of their own home. WingSwept can setup your business so that employees have the ability to work away from the office. With this strategy in place, you will not have to risk everyone’s health by urging staff members to come back to the office before they are fully recovered.
As a small business in this economy, you cannot afford to let your business slow down due to this for this type of situation. Be prepared. Also consider other occasions you will be happy you have the option to stay connected, like days staff cannot come to the office due to inclement weather, a sick family member, or a disaster occurring while on vacation.
If you would like to hear more on how we can help your business get prepared and stay connected, contact our helpdesk by phone (919.600.5100) or email (help@wingswept.com).
WingSwept Team
Note: To read the flu preparedness guide for business and individuals put together by the Centers for Disease Control, visit http://www.flu.gov/.
WingSwept was just announced as the #5 spot on Triangle Business Journal‘s Internet Marketing & Design Firms. We have been on the list in the past, but this year WingSwept ranked higher than ever. Congratulations to all the staff and clients that make such success possible!
The current economic downturn has challenged many business owners to re-evaluate existing business models, operational efficiencies, and capital expenditures. Many forward thinking organizations are finding unique opportunities and looking past near-term challenges to position themselves for success when market conditions calm and return to vibrancy.
Doing More With Less
A critical role information technology firms play in uncertain economic times is to help clients manage costs and identify inefficiencies. Taking advantage of technologies that are already owned can create returns through reduced management costs, more effective compliance with regulations, and increased efficiencies in operational execution. Cost savings and efficiencies free cash flow for investments and capital expenditures that competitors may not be positioned to leverage.
WingSwept applies best practice solutions that are unique and optimized to our specific customer’s needs. IT is not a one size fits all business and through investments in technology and people we are able to deliver unique strategic solutions, exceptional customer service, and timely technical support.
In 2008 Gartner released a study of the total annual cost of ownership of workstations and laptops in an unmanaged environment versus a managed environment. The study took into account all direct (hardware, software, support consumables, network-related costs, facilities, and administration) and indirect costs (downtime, suboptimal functioning, user-induced problems, user-to-user support costs, non-business computer usage, time spent customizing desktops, time spent researching technology purchases, getting quotes, and dealing with vendor problems). The cost savings on a well managed workstation was nearly $2,500 annually while the savings on a laptop was nearly $3,000. These are real cost savings for companies, achieved by minimizing time spent by employees trying to make their systems work, minimizing downtime, and extending the life of equipment through proper maintenance. Ultimately, as the Gartner study show, well managed technology not only saves money, but provides you the freedom to manage your business.
Personal Anti-virus (PAV) is becoming one of the newer types of malware that is not being caught by most programs. The trickiest part of this “scareware” is that it starts as a pop-up window that coerces the user to click and accept the installation, which itself looks like a virus scan. The reason many anti-virus programs don’t catch PAV is because it does not act like a typical virus behavior and your anti-virus programs assume that most installations are allowed by the user.
This article claims one of the only defenses you really have is your common sense, which is exactly why we are blogging on this topic. Beware!
WingSwept‘s technicians recommend this reading to help you further understand PAV.