If you are like most people, you keep a good ‘ol Yellow Page phone book handy. Many offices I have been in over the years while repairing computers have used phone books, but not for looking up numbers, they will tape a few together and raise their monitors up on them so they are viewing at a comfortable angle. And without a doubt, if you run a business, you have phone books being pushed on you by at least 3 companies that publish these directories.
Homeland Secure IT decided not to take out an ad in any of the directories due to the fact that our target market is primarily a very tech savvy group and they use their computers to search for phone numbers and addresses or have VoIP packages that allow them unlimited directory assistance calls. A good majority of them have all the contacts they ever need already programmed into their mail client’s address books.
So I guess the question is, when YOU need computer repair, do you search online or do you reach for a phone book? If you use Google, what would you search for to find a computer repair business? “Greenville Computer Repair” or maybe “Greenville Computer Fix”? I would love to hear your opinions…
For your viewing pleasure, here is Greg Varner, our Network Engineer displaying showing just how he feels about phone books:
That question was asked in a webinar a bit ago and was difficult to explain because what we do at Homeland Secure IT is far more than can be explained in a simple response like, “We work on computers”. While that is true, it is by no means the primary focus of our business.
Of course our main site, http://www.HomelandSecureIT.com explains a lot about what we do, but it still does not cover what we do best, which is – we build a relationship with our clients. We don’t just fix or repair their existing infrastructure, we really get to know the client and their needs. Most of the time, we are aware of problems before the client is, and in many instances are able to make corrections before it affects the client. Knowing our client allows us to recommend ways they can get more out of their network and to make recommendations about new technology that may help them WITHOUT interfering with current hardware/software or processes.
We will work with a company from the planning stages onward. Meaning that we will consult with them and their other providers to ensure we build a network which works in harmony. From Voice over IP, to Microsoft Exchange Server, Blackberry Enterprise Server, firewalls and VPNs to networked security cameras, process controls, HVAC, right down to the desktop level. We will handle all the difficult issues and let the business owners do what they do best – run their business!
These relationships extend past the doors of their offices too. We have owners and employees alike calling us after hours, on weekends and holidays, for priority calls, and we also maintain many of their home networks and computers too.
In addition to performing consultation, service, support and sales of all things IT, we also are interested in our community. We have been supporting the Google On Main #GoogleOnMain / #LuckyGVL initiative which is trying to persuade Google to bring their ultra-fast high-speed 1 Gbps connection to Greenville & the Upstate of South Carolina so we can be the testbed for this awesome technology. For more information on how you can get involved to help our community, please visit http://www.WeAreFeelingLucky.com
So what does Homeland Secure IT do? We can do as little or as much as you require. Call us today and schedule an appointment for us to evaluate your needs and determine how we can assist you or your company!
I received an email from a gentleman saying that someone mentioned that I could help him with a computer issue he was having. Thing is, he was not in my geographic service area of Greenville and the Upstate of South Carolina. He was not even in our state. He was from Arizona.
Now it is not uncommon for someone to Google us and call from an area that is not in our service area, but he called at the suggestion of someone who saw my posting on Twitter. They happened to be following the same hashtag that I was posting to and suggested us to the gentleman in their area.
So what did I do? I helped him, of course! Didn’t know what to charge him… 5 minutes to fix a simple problem (the guy had taken it to 2 places and they couldn’t fix it, but fortunately I was able to do so in email)
What it boils down to though is that even though we are using hashtags like #LuckyGVL #GoogleOnMain and #Greenville, which one would think were localized, there are people all over the world watching. It can lead to new friends, new business contacts, and other interesting opportunities. Heck, we recently became a vendor of a product because of a chance online meeting!
There, I said it! “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”….
It has been a long week here at Homeland Secure IT, with everyone tied up on a job almost constantly! Server deployment started today. Four computers sold and to be installed for one client, and another computer sold and going in on Monday… Not to mention a 1 TB RAID array installed in an existing server (Yes, another Dell with limited resources) and all the data moved. Interviews with potential employees, visits from new clients and contacts, and multiple computers with malware.
Never a dull moment here! Thank God for Greg and Scott! Now, who will be the next to join our team? Don’t be shy.. Let us know if you think you might be a fit for us! I have an earlier blog entry outlining what we are looking for.
Homeland Secure IT, LLC has sponsored a couple Microsoft events where we showcased Microsoft products such as Microsoft Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, Microsoft Office 2010 (due out later this year), and Windows 7. Because Microsoft can actually be pretty cool and we partner with them, they gave us some neat promotional products to give away at these events. Unfortunately (for us), we did not fill every seat, but fortunately for you, it left us with a couple items and we want to give them away.
To the first 3 people who leave a response to this posting and are capable of driving by our office at 104 Mauldin Rd, Suite E in Greenville, SC, we will give a Microsoft T-Shirt, size is XL I believe. We might even have a pen or pad left over and throw that in as well. So, click on the comment button and tell us who you are and we will hook you up!
If you are from the Greenville / Upstate area you would have to be living as a Quaker to not know about all that is going on with the effort to bring Google Fiber here. Heck, even Quakers probably are aware of the community effort to catch the eye of Google. It is not just localized either. Greenville is showing up in discussions on blogs all over the world, and in online and print publications you will find mentions of this grass roots effort. Just a few moments ago, we received word that a Time Magazine writer confirmed there will be an article published about Google On Main.
To give you an idea how things happen here… It was mentioned to Fairway Outdoor Advertising that another city had put up some billboards… Within minutes, Fairway Outdoor (@FairwayOutdoor on Twitter) had programmed two of their digital billboards on two very major streets to support the Google On Main / We Are Feeling Lucky movement! People are meeting with the Mayor and City officials, the news media like Amy Wood (@TVAmy) are in touch with what is happening. And those who were involved in last Saturday’s Google On Main event are getting recognition by the community as well. My wife @PamelaHoyt and I have received phone calls, text messages, emails, tweets and facebook messages saying “HEY! I saw you on TV”.
And in some of the most surprising events, those who are active on social networking sites are being contacted by supporters of other city’s initiatives and told how we don’t stand a chance, etc! hahah All I can say to them is, Greenville wishes you the best of luck! This is all in fun, though we are serious about wanting it for our area. We want to keep it positive!
If you want to get involved, please sign our petition at www.wearefeelinglucky.comand join the various social networking discussions taking place on Facebook, Twitter, and an interesting one, the Google Wave forum that has been setup… A link to that can be found at the www.wearefeelinglucky.com website. If you would like an invite to Google Wave, please contact me and I will invite you.
Amy Wood of WSPA TV was asking what the Google On Main event meant to us… In thinking about what Google On Main meant to me, it meant a chance to join with friends and strangers alike in a *community* effort to catch the eye of Google… And I believe we did just that!
Seriously though… To see thousands of people come together and achieve a common goal was a good thing for our 17 year old daughter to see. We made this a family affair, taking my wife, daughter & a friend with us to the event.
I believe it is a true testimony to what Greenville, SC as a community is capable of. Where else would you find a group of great minds who would dedicate their time to unselfishly plan & organize such an event, a city “machine” who is receptive to said event that would throw open the doors to allow it to occur, businesses who would support the event, volunteers who would help with the staging, media who would get so involved, and thousands of people, young and old who took time out of their weekend to do something for Greenville?
And what about why Google Fiber is important to the Greenville area? That’s simple – Because if Greenville can come together to accomplish so much with so little time and resources, imagine what Greenville will accomplish with mind-boggling bandwidth! What strides will be made in medical, industrial, educational & the arts thanks to a fat pipeline? Give us the chance to find out and you will not be let down!
One thing is for sure… Should Google select another city, it will not be because Greenville has sat idly by!
Last night my wife Pamela, daughter Megan and her friend Christina attended Google On Main along with hundreds of others and formed the letters that spelled out “Google” while swinging LED glow sticks over our heads and posing for photos and videos as a helicopter and plane flew over. What a blast!
What does it all mean? It means that the community of Greenville depends on high-speed internet, and feel strongly that if Google were to roll out their ULTRA-High-Speed Fiber Internet to the Greenville, SC area, it would help us to thrive…
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30832021&op=1&o=all&view=all&subj=350492394591&aid=-1&oid=350492394591&id=1569863676 for one of the first overhead shots…. My wife and I were in the big G, while our daughter Megan and her friend Christina were in the red “o”.
Here’s a video of the staging area and some of the setup… Taken with a Flip Mino Ultra HD, which www.HomelandSecureIT.com will be giving away soon. Well not that one, but a brand new one! (See the other blog post about that).
Here’s the video from above…. Thanks to Bobby Rettew this:
Okay, the title is deceiving, as Google has not picked where they are going yet… However, we here in the Upstate are hoping that Google will select Greenville, SC as their test bed for 1 Gig of fiber awesomeness!
This Saturday, many people are planning on meeting downtown in Greenville in an effort to make everyone in the world aware that Google is welcome in our wonderful community. The event is limited to 2000 participants, but don’t let that stop you from turning out. The more the merrier as they say. More information can be found here: http://www.wearefeelinglucky.com/
To anyone from Google who happened to Google and find this posting using whatever search keywords, whether #GoogleOnMain or #LuckyGVL or who knows what… Let me tell you why I believe Google should select Greenville… Greenville SC is already a technology center for the state and the region. So much is going on in the way of technology, from automotive research and development to cutting edge medical products and proceedures. Bringing lightning fast connectivity will cause a mass influx of businesses, and with those businesses will come jobs, and money to an area that was dramatically impacted by the loss of the textile industry to other countries. I believe Greenville has so much to offer the world, and a huge pipe will allow us to share what we have! Thanks for your consideration!!!!
Homeland Secure IT, LLC can assist you with a move to (or from) Google Apps. We are a reseller of Google Apps and can help determine if using an “in the cloud” solution is right for you.
Some interesting news is that Google has made it (somewhat) easy to migrate from your current Microsoft Exchange system to their hosted solution. You can read more about that at InformationWeek http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223900148
Some issues we are seeing are total mail blackouts due to internet connectivity interruptions, if this is a concern for you, then a hosted email solution is probably not going to work out for you, but give us a call and we will examine your needs and go over the pros and cons with you.
On the other hand, if you want to use a Microsoft Exchange server to host your own mail, we can assist with that too.
