Disaster Recovery: Are you protected?

Seras provides computer and IT support throughout the greater Columbia area including Irmo, Lexington, West Columbia, and many other areas.  Among our many services are networking, computer repair, cabling and installation, server upgrades, full network monitoring, and yes: Disaster Recovery Plans.  

Devastating fires have destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses across the Southeast - how prepared are you?

Imagine that you have been worriedly watching the news for weeks and finally get the terrible news that your town is being evacuated.  As you hurriedly try to secure your family, valuables, and protect your personal items, how do you prepare your business so that in the aftermath of the disaster, you can get back to work and rebuild?  Over 90% of businesses use some type of on site backup option, BUT less than 40% of businesses use an off site backup service to secure their data from flood, fire, or other natural disaster.  So...as you prepare to evacuate, you are now tasked with loading computers, external hard drives, or other backup devices and making sure that they have been properly shut down and are stored properly until they are needed during recovery.

Fortunately, if you are located in the greater Columbia, SC area, Seras can help with BOTH electronic AND hard-copy backup systems.

Things are never as simple as "sign me up" for the "standard package".  Each business utilizes varying methods of operation and generates varying sources of confidential, critical-operating, or proprietary data.  For example, a law firm may generate hundreds of boxes of closed paper files every year that need to be kept secure for a minimum of seven years.  The South Carolina bar has stated that electronic records retention is acceptable "as long as it does not affect the integrity of the client information".  However, simply scanning records and saving them on your server does not secure them from damage in a disaster such as flood or fire.

Seras can scan your records for you and the great news is that our IT division can help to provide a solution for the electronic data as well!

Here is another example: A financial management firm creates no paper records, and works with a web-based financial management software.  They also create a few in-house Microsoft Office documents within the office, but most critical information is maintained by their software provider.  This firm's situation is much different than the law firm's, and Seras understand this.  Two completely different disaster recovery plans are implemented based on strategic factors for business continuity.

For a free evaluation of your disaster recovery plan, contact us here today!

How To: Upgrade Memory in your Computer

Seras provides computer and IT support for businesses across the midlands of South Carolina. We are beginning a series of how-to videos which will help anyone at home or at the office. In this video, we will be tackling how to upgrade the memory in your computer.

Is your computer running slow? Do you have enough memory in your computer? If you increase your memory you will increase your computer's speed, especially when running multiple programs at the same time.

How to upgrade memory in your computer

[embed]https://youtu.be/F-haVEStOyU[/embed]

Contact us here to see how we can help your company with computer and IT support.

Pre-Storm Preparation

As I type this Hurricane Matthew is currently off the coast of Florida and headed towards the Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina coastline.  At Seras we provide computer services support to businesses across the Midlands. We want to make sure that everyone is safe and is prepared for Hurricane Matthew.  We have a few simple tips for those who are trying to prepare their computer equipment and other technological devices for the damaging effects of this storm.  

Pre-Storm Preparation

Back up all data and confirm that the backups are complete

Unplug all electronics that aren't critical

Move all electronics off of the floor

Unplug ethernet cables from the back of your computers, phones and fax machines

Move sensitive documents to an attic or a safe place

Have an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) battery backup and surge protectors

Make sure all mobile devices are fully charged

Make sure you have extra flashlights with fresh batteries

For more ways to protect yourself and/or your business from the damaging effects of a hurricane, check out this list here: Hurricane Preparedness.

We hope this helps and we are praying for the safety of the families of those effected by this storm and for the emergency responders who are working so hard to keep everyone safe.

Ryan Vincent Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary

Seras provides computer and IT support services to businesses around the Greater Columbia, SC area.  We also provide records management services, which are successful because of one person: Ryan Vincent.

A little Bit of Everything

Ryan is the service manager for our records division, but that doesn't limit him - he wears a lot of hats and is tremendously helpful with sales and marketing, fiscal planning, operational development, and even assists with specialized information technology projects.  Ryan exceeds customer expectations every time and will walk each customer through the document scanning process from start to finish.  Positive reviews and customer feedback continue to pour in about Ryan every week.

Before Seras, Ryan graduated from Columbia International University and has worked in the records management field for almost 10 years.  He spent time with a records storage and imaging company and with a large law firm managing open and closed files along with a little bit of everything else.  He has been a fantastic addition to the Seras Team!

How to Say Congratulations and Thank You

We have posted Ryan's picture in a recent Facebook post and asked for your comments.  Two weeks from the posting date, we will give Ryan $1.00 for every positive comment that is left about Ryan or Seras.

Computer Services and Support Terminology

Seras provides computer support to businesses throughout the greater Columbia SC area. We know that our service is superior and provides the best value available, but we need our customers to be able to find us.

Computers or Information Technology? Services or Support?

After discussing this dilemma with many of our customers, there really is no clear terminology about what people are typing into their search engines when they need computer help at work. If you had a technology problem at work, what would you type into your search engine in order find a technician that could come out to your office and solve your computer problem?

Family Promise of the Midlands helps families who are experiencing homelessness to achieve sustainable independence. Their mission is accomplished through local faith-based congregations who provide shelter, food, and hospitality to our guest families.

Two weeks from now we will tally the results and donate $1.00 to Family Promise of the Midlands for every relevant comment that we receive.   Help out this great organization and help Seras provide great service to more people throughout the greater Columbia SC area!

Like us on Facebook to be updated on all of our community outreach events and services.

Data Security: Policy vs. Reality

Every company small or big, no matter the industry, has policies and procedures. Each policy has it's own purpose; from safety to marketing, from sales to operational efficiency, from data security to company image. Whatever the purpose, the policies are there to guide the employees toward accomplishing the overall goals and vision of the company.  Often these policies are neglected.

When that happens, at best the goals of the company are not met and at worst the company is dealing with catastrophe that may lead to it's demise.

One such policy which is often not followed by employees is the company's Data Security Policy.  Companies need a data security policy in place in order to help prevent theft, damage from natural disasters, corruption, and much more. There are consequences that are often overlooked until they end in disaster. A few weeks ago we discussed how to enhance your company's data security. Take a look back at that article to see some actionable steps that you can take to help protect your company from hackers, viruses and natural disasters.

Let's face reality.  Are your employees following the policies that your company has put in place to protect it?  That is a question that you will need to find the answer to.  Otherwise your company is at risk.  To put it into perspective, the folks at Code42 have put together this brilliant info-graphic detailing Data Security Policy vs. Reality:

Are you ensuring that your employees are following your data security policy? Or are they ignoring it, either intentionally or even unintentionally?  Make sure your employees are trained and educated on the risks and proper use of their computers and all other technology.   Ensuring your employees are following the data security policy can potentially be the difference between a breach from a hacker, corruption due to malware, or physical damage due to lack of proper storage of equipment.

For help on establishing, reviewing and enforcing a data security policy that will help protect your company from the many dangers out there, contact Seras here or call us today: 803.233.9216!