We're excited about our new free ebook and invite you to download At Least 25 Vital Questions to Ask When Planning Your Next IT Project.

Years of work alongside business owners and IT managers have taught us that even when comprehensive planning takes place, many companies embark on IT projects without thinking through every detail.

Unfortunately, incomplete planning can allow your IT project to go horribly wrong, potentially causing a myriad of problems including unplanned downtime, loss of user access and connectivity to network resources, unexpected costs and poor user adoption.

We want you to avoid all of these issues – and other unforeseen crises – when implementing your next IT project. That's why, for the good of all IT projects everywhere, we're sharing this free ebook with you.

What You’ll Get

It's a quick read, just 14 pages, but the information is powerful. Here’s what we share with you:

• Why following industry best practices means your network, your technology systems and your business will run more smoothly and reliably.

• The four major pitfalls to implementing a new technology and how to avoid them.

• More than 25 vital questions to ask – and answer – presented in logical order to enhance your planning process.

• Where to find more help, if needed.

You can download the new (and free) ebook here: At Least 25 Vital Questions to Ask When Planning Your Next IT Project.

“Complex information technology projects can go wrong in many ways. It’s sort of like: “The operation was a success but the patient died,” wrote DocuTech President Howard Podgurski in a recent blog post. "Our new ebook is designed to help business owners and IT managers become more strategic about the process and think through the requirements of a complex project before the work begins," he said.

Here at DocuTech, we take our responsibility seriously to keep you up to date about vital issues concerning support of your information technology systems. While we work diligently to make sure that your network is ready for any challenge, we are also are eager to share our knowledge to help you improve your IT planning practices. That’s why we created and are making At Least 25 Vital Questions to Ask When Planning Your Next IT Project available free of charge as a service to the broader business community.

Now more than ever, this new DocuTech ebook helps you figure out where to start when considering technology projects. More than 25 questions, presented in logical order, can help you experience smooth sailing during implementation and over the life of your IT project.

Download our ebook, At Least 25 Vital Questions to Ask When Planning Your Next IT Project, to ensure that you’re doing everything you can to properly plan and safeguard against network calamity.

As always, if you have any questions about IT support or any other technology issue, please send us an email or give us a call at 215-672-7060 in Philadelphia, or 410-793-0301 in Baltimore.

If you thought we were onto something with our recent Best Practices Guide to Supporting Technology, we invite you to sample our new and improved Best Practices Guide to Supporting Technology 2.0.

Now, in response to demand for a more comprehensive version, recent updates have doubled the size of the guide. Eighteen pages in length, this free ebook will help you make critical decisions and implement technology strategically to meet a challenging and ever-evolving IT climate. The best practices guide will help you:

• Recognize how adhering to industry best practices can increase system availability to your employees, accompanied by corresponding gains in efficiency and productivity.

• Discover how a strategic shift from a disaster-response mode to an engaging, proactive technology model could save your company 65% on IT costs.

• Learn how employing best practices can elevate your IT department to become an asset to your company rather than a cost center. Leverage technology to propel your business forward.

You can download the new (and free) Best Practices Guide to Supporting Technology 2.0 here.

“Our new guide, Best Practices Guide to Supporting Technology 2.0, is even more accessible and easily digestible than before, and we encourage everyone with critical network operations to read and follow the steps very carefully,” said Howard Podgurski, DocuTech president.

Here at DocuTech, we take our responsibility seriously to keep you up to date about vital issues concerning support of your information technology systems. While we work diligently to make sure that your network is ready for any challenge, we are also are eager to share our knowledge to help you improve your IT support practices. That’s why we created and are making Best Practices Guide to Supporting Technology 2.0 available free of charge as a service to the broader business community.

The world of IT support can easily be overwhelming, particularly if you really need to be focusing on what you do best — generating new business, taking care of your customers and planning for new endeavors. That's where DocuTech’s guide comes in — point-by-point we make it simple to guard against network failure, giving you the peace of mind to focus on what’s most important to your business.

Now more than ever, the new DocuTech guide helps you figure out where to start. Twelve simple steps, given point-by-point, navigate the ever-changing complexity of IT support.

Download our new Best Practices Guide to Supporting Technology 2.0 today to ensure that you’re doing everything you can to support your IT systems properly and safeguard against network calamity.

As always, if you have any questions about IT support or any other technology issue, please send us an email or give us a call at 215-672-7060 in Philadelphia, or 410-793-0301 in Baltimore.

Implement best practices today and elevate your IT department from a cost center to a company asset.

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Consider this example:

Nearly every company has Exchange or POP email, an accounting package like Quickbooks, and a multifunction printer/copier/fax/scanner. Then, for example, a company purchases a VOIP phone system with a list of customers and a timer function, which sends a timer to the accounting system, which keeps track of services and auto-generates an invoice, which is then sent out through a fax machine.

In this situation it's likely that multiple IT solution providers or manufacturers are providing support for the separate components. If APIs or batch file programs are linking any of the devices or applications, there probably is no single point of responsibility for managing the work flow process.

Every deletion or addition to a singular component needs to be cross-managed across all applications. In addition, upgrades to one application demand compatibility, alignment and continuity across all systems. Complete redundancy may be unrealistically expensive, but it is the only way to ensure system-wide stability.

Even when a support team is in place, managers usually discover there are gaps between duties where it is unclear exactly who is responsible for identifying and resolving support issues. When this happens, it is usually because an integrated system has already unraveled.

"I call this the 'in-between zone' – an area for which no one is collectively responsible," says DocuTech President Howard Podgurski. "In large organizations, support teams are built around the skills and processes needed to provide this coverage. Each device has a dedicated, expert support person, and a manager oversees all members of the support team. For most small and medium size companies, building this team in-house seldom justifies the return on investment."

If the benefits of technology convergence are important to your business, be sure to maintain a realistic outlook on proper maintenance and oversight. Unless a system is managed with complete redundancy for every, add, change or delete request, then it can lose cost-effectiveness or even become a liability.

"To be realistic, expect a four to six hour response time for issue resolution even when you are using the best managed service processes in the absence of a fully redundant solution," says Podgurski. "Approach the support of integrated devices and applications with clear expectations. Understand the pros and cons. Be realistic about supporting converging technologies."

The Stunning Results of Our Network Assessment Audit
Download Our New E-Book

Every time we partner with a new client at DocuTech, we evaluate all existing network components and IT processes by performing an IT network assessment. Our engineers have assessed hundreds of networks over the years, and recently performed a cumulative audit of all reports to identify trends in an effort to improve our ability to achieve overall network reliability, security, and swift resolution of problems to meet our contracted Service Level Agreements.

Here at DocuTech, we know that most clients choose to partner with us because they feel the need to improve the security, stability and efficiency of their network operations, but even we were astonished by the results. We assess each IT network according to eight categories of security and performance, and in every category, we found that the same eight problems arose 100% of the time.

On 100% of assessed networks, there were incomplete backups, missing antivirus definitions, and incomplete patch management on servers and server operating systems. Network devices such as routers, switches and firewalls were missing operating system updates and drivers, as well as backup configurations. Critical network devices were out of manufacturer quick replacement warranty, and system documentation was either incomplete or nonexistent.

"The stunning results of our network assessment audit is a call to action. Every IT manager should ask how their network would fare in such an assessment," says DocuTech President Howard Podgurski. "By no means is this list complete – these are some of the minimum IT network system maintenance practices that should be performed on a regular basis."

The results of the assessment demonstrated the need for DocuTech to create a guide to best practices, based on rules set forth by the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library).

This month, DocuTech released a new e-book, the "Best Practices Guide to Supporting Technology." Our findings have been researched and confirmed by independent studies and by several CIOs of large and mid-sized companies. We hope that our comprehensive list, neatly organized into 12 key steps, will help you successfully support your IT infrastructure.

To download your complimentary copy, just click here.

Tech Tip: Link Text Boxes in Microsoft Word


Do you ever work with text boxes to have more control your page layout in Microsoft Word? If so, it might be helpful to link those boxes so your copy can flow from one box to the next. Here's how:

1. Draw at least two text boxes.
2. Select the first box, where the copy will begin, and click on the Create Link button. (You'll find it on the Format ribbon in newer versions, and on the Text Box Toolbar of older versions.)
3. Now, when you add copy to the first box, it will flow into the second one.
4. What if you want to undo the linking? Select the first text box, go back to the toolbar and click Break Link.

Now go ahead and use this tip to fine-tune your page layouts in Word.

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NEED TO SWITCH

For years, Marcella had a feeling that Kelleher deserved better service from their IT provider, especially for such a small company with basic IT needs by industry standards. "It was taking a lot of hours to accomplish a little bit. I had a growing sense was that we were paying too much for too little," she says. "Run-of-the-mill things would come up and wouldn't get resolved the first time."

As she repeatedly placed service requests, often for the same unresolved issue, Marcella felt that she was performing quality control monitoring that any responsible and proactive IT partner would have handled. On top of everything, she adds: "We were spending an inordinate amount of money."

THE SWITCH

Once Marcella determined she wanted to change IT providers, she shopped around for months, considering half a dozen firms. Every company sent an account representative to assess her needs. When DocuTech also sent an engineer, she quickly took note. When she actually made the switch, she realized that DocuTech's approach to IT solutions is a cut above the rest.

Now, a DocuTech engineer visits once a month to proactively engage and monitor her system. She is placing fewer service calls, and receiving rapid resolution when she does request support. No major crises have emerged since she made the switch to DocuTech's Connected Care managed IT services. Marcella feels reassured that her IT needs are covered thoroughly and proactively. She and her representatives at DocuTech have developed a sense of kinship that fuels a genuine partnership — something that once seemed a world away. Superior account management provided by Bill Rossman further assures Marcella that she made the right decision.

AN ANECDOTE

Earlier this fall, Verizon had an outage and Kelleher lost power over the weekend. "This was not a big issue on the service side or equipment side, but without power, I needed reassurance that everything would come up properly on Monday morning," says Marcella.

"DocuTech was very responsive — we made a backup plan." She relates that Justin Drabouski, VP of Engineering, said: "I will clear my calendar for you first thing Monday morning. I'll come in and will do whatever it takes to make sure you're well taken care of."

"I didn't realize how big the difference was until I switched to DocuTech," she says.

In the near future, Justin and Bill and their engineers will be installing a new server and upgrades to Kelleher's computer system, enhancing their high level coaching with equivalent IT capability.

DocuTech is thrilled to partner with Kelleher Associates. Shortly after Kelleher made the switch to DocuTech's Connected Care Managed IT Services, they sent us a strong testimonial outlining the benefits of our services and strategy. The feeling is mutual: DocuTech always recommends Kelleher Associates when the opportunity arises to help an individual or corporation which needs assistance with career transitions, executive coaching and leadership development.

"We believe that DocuTech and Kelleher have a lot in common — we both offer a degree of highly personalized service, and we help clients to unlock their own potential though the strength of our partnerships," said Howard Podgurski, DocuTech president.

Here at DocuTech, we're constantly staying on top of the rapid changes in the IT world, always in a quest to offer our clients the best services available on the market. Likewise, Kelleher Associates navigates the ever-changing corporate landscape on behalf of their clients, specializing in a personalized coaching model facilitated by the low coach to client ratio.

It is Kelleher's mission to maximize the strengths of each client in transition with a genuine interest in their success. This individualized focus results in a highly efficient and effective search campaign.

Kelleher offers on-site amenities to clients, including office support, use of computers, telephones and high-speed internet at their office in the Glenhardie Corporate Center, 1255 Drummers Lane in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Learn more about Kelleher Associates by visiting: www.kelleherllc.com.

DocuTech is offering customers the opportunity to try a new Hybrid Cloud program powered by Intel. Geared towards small businesses, this innovative service offers the best of both worlds — remotely managed cloud-based services available on a pay-as-you-go basis coupled with the responsiveness and security of on-site hardware.

In the Hybrid Cloud program, there are no upfront costs for software and hardware, only a monthly user fee. It's simple to choose your preferred software, or change it according to your needs. Services are scalable, so regardless of the size of your account, you still only pay for what you need. Software is upgraded automatically and hardware is replaced every three years.

If your company is interested in implementing a Hybrid Cloud solution, or learning more about this option, please give us a call at 215-672-7060 in Philadelphia or 410-793-0301 in Baltimore.

The number of remote workers, telecommuters and mobile employees is on the rise and expected to grow exponentially over the next few years.

At the same time, most internal security technologies are network-based. This has created a significant gap because security typically does not extend to off-network activity, and certainly not to smartphones.

In our recently published whitepaper, The Dirty Little Secret About Security in the Emerging Remote Worker Society, author Jason Haddad discusses the increasing numbers of mobile workers and how they are exploiting the limitations of most network-based security systems. The proliferation of laptops, tablets, and smartphones demands new thinking regarding network security.

Learn why your security must now be placed on the endpoint to ensure complete protection and visibility.

Download our free whitepaper today.

As you wrap up the year and plan for 2012, chances are you will be compiling lots of data on your business operations. Charting that data in Excel is easy and helps you visualize your situation.

First, enter your data in a spreadsheet. For this example, we're tracking income earned from selected clients (A through F). Highlight the data and click on the Charts tab or wizard. Select how you want the data displayed and – voila – your chart is automatically generated.  

11 Quick Facts on Insider Security

1. Insiders are responsible for 70 percent of the security incidents that incur losses. (Identity Theft Resource Center)
2. Laptops are the leader for data loss incidents, amounting to 49 percent of all breaches. (Digital Forensics Association)
3. The FBI estimates that the second most common crime, just after identity theft, is laptop theft. Each year, 2 million notebook computers are reported stolen and 97 percent of stolen computers are never recovered. (Processor, May 19, 2006.)
   
4. Nationally, 12,000 laptops are lost or stolen at airports every week. (FlyerTalk)
5. One of every 400 email messages contains confidential data. (Symantec)
6. One of every 50 network files is wrongly exposed. (Symantec)
7. Four out of five companies have lost data on laptops. (Symantec)
8. Half of all companies have lost data on USB drives. (Symantec)
9. At least 46 states have enacted security breach notification laws. (Ponemon Institute)
   
10. More than half (52 percent) of CIOs believe data leakage is a top driver of their security spending. (Gartner, Inc., technology research firm)
11. The overall amount of information available to technology users will grow by a factor of 5.1 next year. (IDC)

More Companies Head to the Cloud

Momentum behind the cloud computing movement continues to accelerate, according to CompTIA, the non-profit trade association for the technology (IT) industry information.

In a survey released Wednesday, CompTIA reports more organizations are moving from limited and trial deployments to comprehensive cloud solutions. More than half (56 percent) of organizations surveyed said they plan to increase their investment in cloud computing by 10 percent or more over then next 12 months.

For the Second Annual Trends in Cloud Computing study, CompTIA in June surveyed 500 IT and business professional decision-makers.

"This additional investment will likely be accompanied by greater complexity in the overall cloud strategy, such as moving to a hybrid cloud model or adopting more advanced services beyond Software as a Service," said Seth Robinson, director, technology analysis, CompTIA. "Organizations may begin exploring options such as Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service, which will allow them to experiment with custom application development."

While IT departments continue to be the prime driver behind the transition to the cloud, the study suggests there is significant momentum building for individual business groups and units within an organization to seek out cloud solutions. About one in five (21 percent) companies surveyed said they have lines of business that pursue cloud solutions independently of the IT department.

"Most Software as a Service applications are easily accessible through the Internet, making it relatively easy for business employees to use them without involving the IT staff," Robinson said. "But there are risks in this approach, as lines of business often do not have the same awareness of security and reliability as the IT department. This has the potential to cause issues with business continuity and data leakage."

For the full story, click here.

Tech Tip: Mark Up a Word Document

Do you wish you could simply mark up a Word document without printing it out or going into full "Track Changes" mode?

Here's how:

Highlight the text you wish to comment on. Then, on the menu bar, go to Insert > Comment (or New Comment). A red box will appear, or a Summary pane will open to the left of the document. In either spot, just type in your comment and click elsewhere to get out of the comment box.

Save the document with your comment(s) intact and share with your team.

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Connected Care Cloud Security Suite provides comprehensive protection for all your IT systems, and endpoint protection is always-on. For ease of use, administrators access the web-based management console over a supported web browser. The service also provides a security audit and customizable reporting.

The new Connected Care Cloud Security Suite offers:

• Advanced protection from the endpoint to the gateway when used with DocuTech's hosted products for email, web and instant messaging security.
• Peace of mind as our security suite is powered by one of the largest global security research networks, Symantec Global Intelligence Network, providing rapid threat identification and response.
• The combined expertise of DocuTech engineers supported by Symantec's more than 18 years of award-winning technology development for antivirus and endpoint protection.
• 24/7 support delivered by a team of security specialists.
• A money-back remedy if 100% web console availability is not met.

To learn more, read about Connected Care Cloud Security Suite. Call our Philadelphia area office at 215.672.7060, or the Baltimore area office at 410.793.0301 or send an email to info@docutech.com.

Do You Know About Our Referral Program?

One of our customers certainly does! After a generous referral to our Connected Care program, they earned an entire month of free DocuTech services.

You and your company can earn up to 10 hours of DocuTech engineering services as our thanks to you for referring a lead that becomes a Connected Care customer. For more information, ask your DocuTech sales rep or send an email to sales@docutech.com.

Tech Tip: Format Painter

The little paintbrush icon on your toolbar is one of the most underutilized, timesaving features in Microsoft Word. Called Format Painter, it allows you to copy the formatting – font, size, font styles, color, effects, shading, borders, indents, bullets, etc. – from one part of your text to another with a single click. This can be especially helpful in documents that have a variety of styles used for the text as it eliminates the need to make changes to the formatting manually.

To use the Format Painter, select the text with formatting you wish to copy. Click the Format Painter icon once, then move your cursor to the text where you wish to apply the new formatting. Format Painter copies the formatting and applies it. If you want to apply formatting more than once, double-click the icon – you then will be able to select multiple words, sentences and entire sections of your document; click once after each selection. To turn off Format Painter, simply hit the ESC key. Now that you know what to look for, you will also find Format Painter in Excel and PowerPoint.

DocuTech was asked to provide the merged companies with a business technology assessment and recommendations. Primary requirements were 24/7 and 99.9% system availability, remote user support, recovery time of four business hours, a single point of technology management and an IT spending decrease of at least 60% for the combined companies.

Recognizing that adherence to IT standards can reduce operating expenses, help expand an organization's focus and vision, and increase a company's profitability in a short amount of time, our goals were to:

• Define exactly which tools and processes were needed to meet the objectives;

• Gain senior level management commitment to meet regularly and provide a clear roadmap of the company's business objectives;

• Convince all technology vendors to buy into being part of this new sharing of information.

The results: DocuTech's Connected Care program was customized to meet all of the technical and business requirements, the merged company utilized its technology to expand business strategies and objectives, and senior management, the IT team and technology vendors are all on the same page and working toward the same goals.

Are your management and IT teams on the same page? Your company's story is being written. What do you want it to say?

Upcoming Webinar
Smart Moves: Integrating iPads and Smart Phones in
Corporate Environments

Who doesn't want an iPad or a smart phone? Cool factor aside, how important are these tools from a business perspective and how can their value be harnessed to incorporate with your current business technology systems?

Tablets and smart phones are changing the way we work. These devices allow employees to stay productive anywhere as they collaborate, display presentations, and access, create and share business information. That's why this topic has been chosen for the first in a series of webinars on adhering to IT standards to be presented by DocuTech and Expert Technology Associates.

In the webinar, you will:

• Review best practices for incorporating iPads and smart phones, such as iPhones, Androids and Blackberrys, into your company's IT structure.

• Define how these tools will be utilized to further your company's business goals and justify the cost in terms of results.

• Learn how to deploy these devices in your technology environment and how to provide a secure connection to company servers.

Please join us in April for this timely webinar. The exact date and time will be announced soon.

Tech Tip: Edit Copy Faster

Day after day, we are all editing our text in correspondence, reports, memos and countless other written communications. Want to speed up your editing? Here’s a tip on how to save a lot of time and effort when editing in Word. Try these text editing shortcuts:

To select a nearby character in a word, press Shift+Right Arrow to select the character to the right of the cursor. Press Shift+Left Arrow to select the character to the left of the cursor. Continue to hold Shift and press on the arrow to select multiple letters within the word.

To select a nearby word, press Ctrl+Shift+RightArrow (or Option+Shift+RightArrow on a Mac) to select the word to the right of the cursor. Press Ctrl+Shift+LeftArrow (or Option+Shift+LeftArrow on a Mac) or to select the word to the left.

 Find Cost Savings With Managed Print Services

Managed print services can save most companies 25-30% in their print and copy environments by identifying resources, improving efficiency, freeing up the IT department, employing the latest technologies, and leveraging an organization's existing investment by shifting printing to the most cost-effective devices.

In addition, according to InfoTrends, most companies spend about six percent of annual revenue on print and output activities, which amounts to $180,000 per year for a company with $10 million in revenue. With managed print services, these funds could be used to achieve business goals or add to the bottom line.

These cost savings were identified as part of a recent U.S. and European Managed Print Services Study conducted by InfoTrends, which also revealed that "going green" or being more environmentally responsible, is a top priority for most companies in the coming year.

"Managing your company's print services supports overall managed IT services, and meshes perfectly with DocuTech's Connected Care program," said Howard Podgurski, DocuTech president. "By partnering with Print Choices, a team of experts in the field of document and print management, we are introducing complete managed print services to all of our customers.

"There's just no reason not to analyze your company's print and copy environment," said Steve Juiris of Print Choices. Savings can be found in printing to your more efficient equipment, optimizing the print environment, saving energy and streamlining the purchasing of supplies while enhancing document security, Juiris said.

Start the New Year off right by analyzing your print and copy environment, and resolve to improve your print and copy environment in 2011. You'll probably save a bundle of money as well. For more information, go to www.docutech.com.

Tech Tip: Just in Case

If you're editing someone's text who tends to be a little CrEaTiVe with their UPPER CASE and lower case, you need not fret over the hours it will take you to go through manually to make it more readable. If you position your cursor in the word or select a sentence and choose format, change case you can easily select uppercase, lowercase, title case, sentence case, or toggle case.

Still not quick enough for you? Try selecting your text and then Shift-F3. Presto! Now you can toggle between upper, lower and title case.

Sharing Our Expertise in IT Outsourcing

Business technology--the full range of information technology services your company needs for business continuity--is a fast-evolving landscape that can be difficult to navigate.

DocuTech has kicked off a blog focused on IT Outsourcing which is intended to become an educational and informational tool for anyone interested in IT issues, the IT industry and IT services.

While we are just getting started, we expect to roll into a regular schedule featuring:

Howard Podgurski President on industry themes	Justin Drabouski Vice President on engineering topics	Bill Rossman Account Executive on a wide range of customer issues.

Check out Howard Podgurski's latest post on Why IT Standards are Important,
and download his free summary of ITIL management components.

We also hope to see you on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Tech Tip: Fast Formatting

A quick way to copy formatting from one area to another in Microsoft Word is to use Format Painter, the paintbrush icon.

First, click on the text formatting you wish to copy, and then click on the Format Painter icon. Format Painter copies the formatting of the area where the cursor is located.

To ‘paint’ the copied formatting, highlight selected text elsewhere in the document, with the paintbrush cursor. The new formatting will apply to the selected area.

If the Format Painter icon does not appear in your Word toolbar (it should appear by default), you can add it by going to Tools Commands, navigate to Format, and drag the paintbrush icon to a toolbar.

• Evaluates your technology in terms of specific business goals;
• Aligns your IT systems with best practices and accepted methodologies;
• Monitors your technology around the clock to provide a proactive response;
• Provides your company with scheduled support and maintenance;
• Builds relationships with your vendors and suppliers;
• Delivers service to remediate a problem, onsite or remotely;
• Prevents future problems by consulting with your company and updating documentation.

ParleeStumpf Embraces Managed IT Services

Traditionally, an advertising agency deals with ideas, pitching them, sketching them, concentrating on client marketing strategies and designing a wide range of materials to further that goal.

How times have changed. Technology is driving business into new digital realms and traditions are falling by the wayside. The advertising agency still deals in ideas, but those ideas are expressed in huge graphic files, files so critical to the agency and client that they need to be managed properly and securely. Web site design and interactive projects, along with search engine optimization (SEO) for clients, are top agency priorities.

Todd Parlee, who began as a graphic designer and rose to head the interactive division at ParleeStumpf—Marketing, Branding & Interactive Consultants in Doylestown, where he is now senior partner, knows the importance of technology management. “We have a ton of huge design files. We need access to that information all the time, and we need to have redundancy on backups,” Parlee said.

Without question, it’s imperative for the agency to have a stable online connection. Parlee notes, “With SEO, which is a large part of our business, we need to pay close attention to systems. The integrity of our client, their files and their success is at stake.”

Five years ago, to manage the agency’s technology, Parlee purchased blocks of engineering time from DocuTech and approached network issues on a project basis. “I would think – why do I even do this? You get lulled into a comfort level,” thinking things are fine with the network, but behind the scenes, there is a lot going on, and you just never know when something will break or go down, he explained.

Parlee said “it made sense” to switch to Connected Care two years ago when DocuTech proposed to convert the agency to managed IT services. This proactive program provides maintenance and network monitoring with continued service improvement to achieve a highly stable, dependable IT environment.

“Our technology is constantly updated and monitored, and DocuTech is keeping an eye on our systems, making sure they are moving and working properly. Essentially, we have had very few issues because of what’s going on” to upgrade, monitor and maintain the agency’s IT systems, Parlee said. Moreover, DocuTech married the company’s PC and Mac-based systems, “getting the two systems to play nicely.”

“Whenever we need updates, or find glitches, we call DocuTech’s phone support. It doesn’t matter who we get, we get an answer right away,” Parlee said.

And more technology leaps may be in ParleeStumpf’s future: Parlee has his eyes on the cloud for backups. While DocuTech currently maintains an internal tape backup system for the agency, Parlee says “we might go on the cloud” some time in the future to backup files online to a secure server.

As to the costs for Connected Care, Parlee says they are level with the block-of-time approach. “It evens out, but the results are much better, with fewer issues,” he said. “I think we are getting a substantial return on investment, and I’m sleeping much better at night to boot!”

DocuTech Recommends

DocuTech makes it a point to recommend ParleeStumpf — Marketing, Branding & Interactive Consultants — to customers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. And ParleeStumpf often returns the favor.

“Our business relationship is supported by a mutual business philosophy that guarantees customer satisfaction,” said Howard Podgurski, DocuTech president.

Todd Parlee, senior partner at ParleeStumpf, agrees wholeheartedly. “We have a great working business relationship with DocuTech.”

For more than two decades, ParleeStumpf, formerly Michael J. Stumpf & Associates, has provided marketing and advertising campaigns to local, regional and international clients.  A strategic branding consultancy, ParleeStumpf offers disciplined consultation and creative services designed to help consumer and business to business companies of all sizes build and reinforce their brands.

Specializing in marketing, branding and interactive consulting, the agency serves a wide range of industries including financial services, healthcare, education, manufacturing, retail, hospitality and not for profits. Using a comprehensive array of integrated creative services, ParleeStumpf helps clients reach their objectives regarding web site and interactive development, search engine optimization, direct mail, collateral, publications and broadcast media.

ParleeStumpf is located at Penn’s Court, Suite 113, 350 South Main Street in Doylestown, PA. For more information about the agency and to review selected clients and projects, call 215.345.7040 or visit their web site at parleestumpf.com.

Tech Tip: Counting One Specific Word in a Document

Maybe you’re optimizing your text or trying not to be redundant, but sometimes you need to know how often you've used a particular word in a Microsoft Word document, or even in a part of a document. Since the Word Count tool won’t search on a specific word, here is a workaround:

1. If you want to count only in a particular area of your document, select the text you want included in the count.
2. Press Ctrl+H, or choose Replace from the Edit menu. Word displays the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
3. In the Find What box, enter the word you want to count. In the Replace With box, enter the same word.
4. Click Replace All.

Word replaces all instances of the word with itself, so really there are no changes made to your document. However, a dialog box indicates how many changes were performed — this is your word count.