When you build a website, you need a place for it to live and breathe in a digital universe. Web hosting companies provide data center space and Internet connectivity for your website to make this possible. There are various web hosting companies out there, and it may be difficult or confusing for small/new businesses to know what to look for when researching web hosting services. Here are the most relevant areas businesses should know when determining which web hosting provider is right for you.

Types of Hosting - There are two basic kinds of hosting, shared hosting and dedicated hosting. Shared hosting is sharing space on the same server. Most shared hosting plans consist of personal and small business websites. It is also cheaper, because the cost of buying and maintaining the hardware is shared among all users. However, if you have a small hosting plan, you have a limit on the amount of memory or storage space your website can take up.

Dedicated hosting is another type of hosting, which is where your website has its very own server. This kind of hosting is more expensive, but it gives you more space and often more speed too, because there isn’t anyone else’s stuff on the server to slow it down. Dedicated hosting is the best choice for large businesses or anyone in need of a large website or ability to run a company database on the server.

Space – What amount of space will your company website require? It is good to be generous in estimating how much memory your website will need. Be sure to leave plenty of room to grow. This could make or break a business. (Note: Keep files updated and delete whatever you don't need. Extra files take up valuable space.)

Bandwidth – Another major element of web hosting is the amount of traffic or bandwidth your website is allotted. Every time someone visits your website, the files on the server must be downloaded to their computer. That is how they see your webpage on their screen. In order for this to happen, the server sends a copy of the files across the Internet. Most small and medium-sized hosting plans set a limit on how much traffic or bandwidth you get per month, and that determines how much information can be transferred to your visitors. For this reason, it is important to estimate how much traffic you think your website will be getting. Personal websites and very small company websites will most likely get minimal traffic. However, larger business websites (for example, sites with embedded blogs/audio/video or sites that will experience quick growth) should plan ahead for spikes in traffic. This will ensure that service is not interrupted.

Speed - Speed is not always discussed on a web host’s website, so it is best to research for user reviews, especially for positive comments regarding speed, outages, etc. Look for patterns in reviews rather than the number of positive versus negative reviews to get a better sense of the speed. Seeing what other customers have to say about a service will help you decide which web provider is best suited for your company.

Costumer Service – Customer service is another very important factor that comes into play when searching for the right web host. Before you choose one company over the other, be sure to contact the support desk to see how responsive they are. If your website is down for any reason, you will want to get the issue corrected as soon as possible.

Business owners must know that these items are very important to review when researching web hosting services. Other items to be aware of include domain registration, site setup, and site-building tools. Overall, there is obviously a lot to consider before making a decision and you may find after a year or two, the provider you chose is not quite right for your needs anymore. However, researching your options and understanding what to look for will protect you from making any major mistakes that will endanger your business.

VB Consulting offers a variety of website hosting options with fast, responsive customer service. For more information about our hosting plans, contact us today.

Many businesses have discovered why VoIP (Voice over IP; also known as digital phone service, digital telephony, or broadband phone) is such a powerful tool for maintaining a competitive edge. VoIP replaces your company phone line with a high-speed Internet connection. It is that simple. When a company switches to an IP-based unified communications system, they find that it increases productivity by combining and simplifying their communication tools. VoIP secures your voice and data, while making it easier for employees to maintain access to a company’s network, whether at work or at home.

A world without VoIP is becoming less and less desirable, since it opens up the opportunity for significant change in the way that people communicate.  There are still the usual basic telephones to communicate in real-time, but now we also have the possibility of using pure IP-based phones, including desktop and wireless phones, as well as videophones. Rather than calling into the office for a quick conference call, a person can call the office and see the conference happening as they take part in it. Another example of this is voicemail. Right now, your company probably has some kind of standard voicemail messaging system with an old-school telephone. With VoIP voicemail, you get the improved functionality of voicemail (for instance, the ability to call someone back directly and easily), plus you can get each voicemail emailed to you as an audio file attachment. You can even use your email to track missed calls or call the person back & directly from your email. In short, VoIP enables people to communicate in more ways and with more choices, while being cost efficient.

Still not convinced? Here is a top 10 list why many businesses have made the switch to VoIP.

1.   Less expensive phone service

2.   Affordable local and long distance

3.   Free calling features with optional advanced features

4.   Convenience

5.   Mobility

6.   24/7 monitoring of your phone system by IT professionals

7.   Save money by combining your phone and data networks

8.   Increase in employee productivity

9.   Gives you time to focus on your business and not your network

10. No charge for incoming calls.

From businesses that have made the switch, VoIP has proven itself to be a quality successor to the average, everyday telephones we’ve all grown up with. It also saves you money on your monthly phone bill without sacrificing quality or convenience. A misconception of VoIP is that it slows down your internet by running on the same cable, however this is not true. Your broadband Internet and ISP (Internet Service Provider) can handle the slight increase in traffic. In fact, VoIP makes it easy to add extra phone lines and allows you to send multiple phone calls across your IP network with no interruptions or connectivity issues. Without slowing your company down, your employees have more ways to stay connected. The result is again simple…With a unified communications system, you'll spend less time focusing on technology and more time focusing on what matters - your business.

As of 01 Oct, 2013, primary care physicians in the United States will be required to adhere to a new standard of Health Information Technology. These standards go far beyond individual diagnoses in that each diagnosis recorded in an Electronic Health Record, (EHR), will be just one small part of that patient’s cumulative Electronic Medical Record, (EMR). Coding of all diagnoses and procedures will be per the new ICD-10 guidelines, (which go into effect simultaneously).

For many of us, these guidelines are a mixed blessing. On the one hand, they require us to evolve away from traditional paper-based records, (recognized as a significant factor in skyrocketing healthcare costs in the US),and  into the digital realm; the security involved in the transmission of patient records will be enhanced; researchers nationwide will even have increased access to statistical data in real-time. In the words of chief administrator Dr. Donald Berwick, MD, "With the start of registration, these landmark programs get under way, and patients, providers, and the nation can begin to enjoy the benefits of widespread adoption of electronic health records.”.

On the other hand, there are significant downsides. There will be a learning curve, and that will apply to your entire staff. You will need to design a strategy to transition into the new environment without disrupting daily duties. And, it certainly sounds like getting all of that up and running would be expensive, complicated, and time-consuming.

All HIPAA "covered entities" must make the change.

Congress enacted the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, (HIPAA), in 1996, and, Title II of HIPAA requires “the establishment of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans, and employers.”  These provisions also address the security and privacy of health data. (These standards are meant to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the nation's health care system by encouraging the widespread use of electronic data interchange, (currently EDI/4010), in the U.S. health care system).

Fast-forward to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, (HITECH) Act of 2009, (itself a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009). This Act scheduled- and established the new standards for- HIT in general, as well as allocating $20Billion in the form of incentive payments to physicians. For Medicare providers, these payments are to be spread out over a 5-year period, and are maximized to $44,000 per provider, (with Medicaid spread out over six years and capped at $64,000 per provider).  So, (for example) a practice of 6 Medicare providers will be looking at about $264,000 in incentives. And, if that practice is in a “health professional shortage area”, you’ll be adding a 10% bonus, (~$26K), to that figure!

THERE ARE THREE THINGS YOU WILL WANT TO BEAR IN MIND CONCERNING THESE INCENTIVES:

• The amount you receive will be tied to how soon you successfully demonstrate “meaningful use” as defined by Congress. The scale is incremented annually, begins 01 Jan, 2012, and ends on 01 Oct, 2013. The greater bulk of payments are scheduled for disbursement during calendar year 2012.
• The reporting period is 90 days for the first year, and one year for the second year.
• To meet certain meaningful use objectives, 80 percent of the physician’s patients must have records in the certified EHR.

Further, a prerequisite to ICD-10 is the adoption of the Electronic Data Interchange, (EDI), Version 5010, by January 1, 2012.

Due largely to the fact that “trading partners”, (the EDI term for all parties that are approved to send or receive information packets), tend to use different protocols, the planning, implementation, and maintenance of your EDI/5010-compliant system will be most effectively administered by a “Value Added Network”, or “VAN”, usually a dedicated server which functions as both translator and gatekeeper between trading partners. Of necessity, this VAN will administrate all of your EHR/EMR requirements only. You will still need a different vendor to address all other I/T needs, such as email, website hosting, digital phones, and so on.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THIS: “An ideal EHR system will have record standardization but interfaces that can be customized to each provider environment. Modularity in an EHR system facilitates this. Most, if not all, EHR companies employ vendors to provide customization”.  There are well over 900 EHR service providers that have been certified to date by the three entities named by the federal government for certifying EHR technology under this incentive program. The sooner you implement, the more you, (and your patients), will experience these benefits:

• Version 5010 corrects many of the flaws of the current 4010 version. Since Version 4010’s launch in 2003, software developers have tweaked and patched it to its limits. Version 5010 incorporates hundreds of changes the medical industry has asked for.
• You can begin to realize the administrative simplification and subsequent savings that HIPAA promised. For example, authorizations will be streamlined, saving time and hassle on the phone for you and your staff.
• Version 5010 is a vital component for true standardization and interoperability, smoothing the way for widespread use of electronic health records.
• It will facilitate reporting of clinical data for quality performance measures, which are poised to become a driving factor for payment of claims and performance bonuses.

The deadline for all of us to convert to HIPAA/5010 is 01 Jan, 2012. You should already be discussing your practice’s strategy to ensure this evolution occurs seamlessly with your IT director, as well as any 3rd party IT service providers you may use. Increasing bandwidth needs should be an integral part of these talks, as well as the more obvious hardware-related needs inherent to the increase in networking.

Again- you could wade through and do the research on the more than 900 EHR service providers available- if you have virtually unlimited time and resources. Remember, all of these services have already been certified by the federal government, and uniformity of protocol is the order of the day! That being said, there is still a somewhat broad range of both price and capabilities available, but there are four things I would be asking my network administrator.

• Which EHR should I choose?
• What type of training will my staff need?
• How do I install an EHR with minimal disruption to my practice?
• How do I make meaningful use of an EHR so it helps my patients and earns me a Medicare or     Medicaid incentive bonus?

Once you’ve upgraded to HIPAA/5010, you’ll be able to have an EHR platform installed to your specifications; layouts, workflow- every single detail customized to your satisfaction. Seamlessly.

After that, (of course)- you’ll want to go here to register and start that 3-month clock:
(CMS) registration and attestation web page.

Further reading: Travis Medical Society, as well as Bexar County Medical Society, and the Medical Society of Virginia, each helped to provide and/or clarify various points of fact. I would also strongly recommend reading any source document, (HIPAA, HITECH Act, etc.), referenced herein.

In any line of work, people that own and run a business aim to be successful and want to grow. Companies that see growth and expand themselves with new employees, larger offices and updated office equipment, have a lot to consider and many details to plan to avoid any down time or glitches in the office. One important aspect in this planning process is technology. Many small to medium-sized businesses have experienced growth at some point. Technology planning helps companies understand, evaluate and prioritize their IT needs as their business progression happens.

So, where do you start? What IT information do you need to know, to prepare for a business expansion? One solid starting point is with your employees. How many employees are currently in the company vs. how many will be working at the company? Forecasting this number helps estimate what kind of IT services and management a company will require.  Below are a few more examples to consider, that will help ease office growing pains.

Internal Communication Software – Companies should review how much internal communication software they use daily and evaluate whether or not they need more or less, before hiring new staff (Emails, Text, Instant Messaging, Intranet/Portal).

Office Software – Make sure you have the correct office software needed, that will keep your staff working efficiently without any down time (Customer/Business Management Software, Spreadsheet Software, Word processor Software, Presentation Software, Document Management Software).

Hardware Evaluation – Many companies ignore their hardware needs, thinking they can continue to run on old systems. When you develop your tech plan, take time to look at the hardware your company has and be honest with what the needs will be as the business grows (Hardware age and warranty, Hardware vs. current software in use, Random slow downs, Power failure, Disk failures).

IT Service Support Costs/Budget – Most growing companies want to make sure they are cost efficient and can afford all the needs and wants that come with business growth. It is important to evaluate your company’s finances to plan for future IT costs (Current status of outsourced or in-house IT support costs, Forecasted IT budget).

These points are just a few detailed items you can use to begin building a tech plan. Your company will want to ensure a smooth transition during a growth period. Some businesses may have more experience in IT planning than others, but it is always good to keep in mind what areas need more focus, when expanding your company. 

With all this planning, comes the big question of cost. How much will it take for a growing business to run with ease, without breaking the bank? As mentioned in the list above, companies need to evaluate these costs. An IT budget is different for each company. It all depends on the company’s software, hardware, IT support and technology planning needs at any given time. Make sure to thoroughly evaluate your current technology conditions and build a realistic tech plan for future growth. You will want your tech needs taken care of efficiently and at a reasonable rate.

It is important to remember, technology planning is a crucial ingredient to effectively using technology in your company. This preparation process will help minimize technology-related crises, use staff time efficiently, and avoid wasting money on equipment. If you have questions or would like further information on tech planning, contact VB Consulting in Austin Texas, to help create a plan and pin-point your priorities, in order to use technology in a way that directly furthers your mission and growth.

Tags: austin business, business technology, it services, techonology planning

The internet is a part of everyday life. Whether we like it or not, the World Wide Web has become a tool most people cannot live without, or at least without using each day. With this tool, like any other, you have your ups and downs, pros and cons, good days and bad days. One pesky circumstance that happens to come along with using the internet is…junk.

Everyone who has an e-mail address, whether work or personal, knows the constant struggle to maintain a clean inbox. At VB Consulting, one of the most frequent questions we get asked is how we can help maintain a company’s spam/junk mail. While you may have been given some spam advice in the past, it is always good to refresh your memory or possibly hear a new take on filtering these unnecessary messages. Below are a few of VB Consulting’s current tips on how to ease the pain, living in a virtual world of junk.

• Secure your computer:  If your PC is running a mail server (such as Zimbra or Exchange) it may be used by spammers. Spammers often hijack innocent machines. Check yourself at MXToolbox.
• Never reply to junk/spam mail: Replies verify to spammers that your email address is valid and you will continue to receive, if not get even more, spam messages or be subject to a computer virus
• Use care when joining a new site using your company email address or posting to a message board:  Adding your email address to message boards, social media outlets or online media subscriptions, enhances your chances of junk/spam emails
• Unsubscribe from mailing lists, you no longer use to avoid a clogged inbox:  Make sure to take actions to remove your email address from newsletters, sites, and online subscriptions you no longer use to eliminate unnecessary emails
• Filter your junk mail, by only opening emails from contacts you know: Make sure you know who is sending you mail and what looks fishy, as well as adding new contacts to email list
• Remove any malicious programs causing spam on the local computer:  Pirated programs increase your chances of junk/spam and viruses on your computer and should be removed
• Invest in an internet security/real-time protection software package:  Online internet security packages are an extremely useful way to monitor and eliminate junk/spam/viruses on your computer systems, below are a few top packages to review and keep in mind:
  • AVG Internet Security 2011 – Business Edition
  • Kaspersky Small Office Security
  • Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro
  • Webroot Antispyware Corporate Edition
• Discover real time protection:  Online Real Time, or On-Demand services, help reduce junk/spam on a daily basis and will eliminate any “computer down time” you encounter in the office. Services such as:
  • Google Message Security
  • MxToolBox Spam and Virus Protection
  • MxToolBox Emergency Mail

These tips are important ways anyone in business can battle online junk on a day to day basis. It is beneficial to review updated IT junk/spam tips in company meetings, so employees know what they can each do to clean up an ‘online mess’ in the office. VBC also offers in-office training for users and companies on proper email practices. We remove current junk/spam contributors on workstations, servers, and the network environment, and also have hosted Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam services which ensure maximum local machine protection. Contact us, 512-233-4714, if you are experiencing continuous internet junk and spam issues at your company and visit our News site again for more helpful and updated IT tips, resources and information.

VB Consulting has recently become a member of the Austin Chamber of Commerce.  The Chamber offers a connection to other small and medium size businesses in the Austin area.  VB Consulting looks forward to expanding their network of business owners in the area.  They hope to introduce their IT support and services to businesses relying on technology to manage their daily workflow. 

The Austin Chamber of Commerce is made up of more than 2,500 member companies, all representing a group of diverse businesses.

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