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One of the most expensive and detrimental experiences for a business is when their computers or network goes down. Business often shuts down, and income ceases, leaving business owners at the mercy of computer service companies.

The most cost-effective way to deal with crisis is to prevent it.

Computer PRO offers an outstanding maintenance contract to their business clients. For a set monthly fee, Computer PRO will come to your business each month to check out and fine-tune your computers and/or network and oversee your IT Security. Microsoft updates, security updates, and data backup are professionally managed for you, computers are kept running lean and fast, and a careful watch is kept for potential hardware issues, so that they can be resolved before an expensive computer system crash, down-time and data loss. Even if your computer goes down, we maintain an outstanding computer repair facility, which serves all of SE Texas, including Beaumont. Additionally Computer PRO can assist you will all of your business tech needs, including web design and developing a professional Social Network presence in Facebook and Twitter, as well as access and address your business technology security needs.

How much is peace of mind worth?

Computer PRO is available for your business tech support, computer repair, and IT Security needs for all of SE Texas, including Beaumont.

For a quote on your individual business tech support needs, please fill in our quote form or contact us personally on our contact page.

more about business technology.....

If you're not particularly tech-savvy, the prospect of purchasing, maintaining, and securing technology for your business can be confusing and alarming. Though you may have a pretty good idea of what to do

Everything from not backing up your data, to using social networking tools incorrectly (or not at all), to working with pirated software can affect your bottom line in a bad way. Here are 15 tech mistakes that small businesses frequently commit--and what you need to do to prevent them.

1. Relying Too Heavily on the Online Backup:

Online backup is an excellent resource for small businesses. It's affordable (for most companies most of the time), and it allows you to access data when you're away from your office. Relying too heavily on online backup can be dangerous, however, as it means placing all of your important data in the hands of another company or person.

Even Yahoo's Flicker accidentally deleted one user's account--which had over 4000 photos stored on it--due to simple human error. Luckily, Flickr eventually managed to restore the account fully, but you may not be so fortunate.

Though online backup is a great place to visit, you shouldn't make a permanent home there. Always save your important data in several places, including on physical drives--preferably ones that are virtually indestructible, such as a high quality external hard-drive.

2. Failing to Back Up Appropriately

Speaking of backing up data, backup strategies are useless if you don't use them. Unfortunately, many individuals and businesses neglect this crucial step, and sometimes it comes back to bite them. Remember, having a physical hard drive or a online backup storage account won't help you if you fail to keep your data backed up and your technology relevant. The good news is that backup programs will handle the operation for you. Set up frequent, regularly scheduled automated backups for your data, so you don't have to remember to do it manually. The need to establish a good backup strategy is especially critical if you run a small business with no dedicated IT staff to handle the process; data recovery is a painful, expensive process.

3. Not Protecting Employee's Phones

As smartphones get smarter, securing these miniature, pocket-sized computers becomes ever more important. Because smartphones carry so much sensitive data, it's crucial to do what you can to prevent both your own and your employees' phones from getting lost or stolen. Huge business secrets have leaked out because thoughtless employees have gotten a little tipsy.

Ensure that your company's smartphones are password-protected (Passwords like 1234 and 9999 don't count) have remote wipe capabilities enabled, and have a secure operating system (BlackBerry allows users to encrypt SD cards, for instance), just in case someone leaves a handset in a bar somewhere. For more-granular controls, check out smartphone management software, such as NotifyMDM.

4. Taking Too Many Trips

Business trips can be expensive, even you're airfare ninja. Instead of hopping on a plane to meet your business partners, consider using technology to create a virtual meeting environment. Various web conferencing and videoconferencing tools enable you to hold a virtual conference and save on time and transportation.

Studies show that telecommunicating isgood for both employers and employees. Employers get better-quality work in less time and for less money, while employees enjoy a less-restrictive schedule.

5. Disposing of Old Technology Incorrectly

You can't just toss unwanted computers, smartphones and other data in the trash, because they contain hazardous materials that can damage the environment. In a worst-case scenario, disposing of old tech improperly can cost you in fines. But you don't have to spend a lot of money for someone else to dispose of it properly.

Instead, consider cleaning up and reselling your old tech. Obviously, your gear has to be in working condition, though some companies will take phones with cracked screens, remember to wipe your data before sending the items along. You may end up with a decent-aize check to put toward your office upgrade.

6. Failing at Social Networking

For small businesses, Social network sites such as Twitter and Facebook are excellent for developing an online presence. But they're not so excellent if you never use them, if you automate them, or (worst of all) if you use them to engage in public spats with customers.

Using a Twitter account exclusively to tweet impersonal, promotional one-liners is almost as bad as having no Twitter account at all. After all, the key to social networking is the "social" part--not the networking.

Twitter can be dangerous, too. Just recently,Kenneth Cole made light of the recent situation in Egypt with a tweet that said: "Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo." This tweet offended many people, and posting something similarly insensitive could spell absolute disaster for a small business.

Social networks are a great, free way to build relationships with customers, so it's absolutely worthwhile to do some research before you jump into the fray.

7. Not Researching Your Printer

Many small businesses do a lot of in-house printing, but that doesn't mean you should choose a printer for your company strictly on the basis of its sticker price. Researching printers before purchasing one can help you save a lot of money. For starters, should you stick with a laser printer workhorse, opt for an inkjet, or buy both?

It's important to know how much the replacement ink or toner will cost, because in the long run the cost of consumables is the deciding factor in whether the machine is a good deal. Many "cheap" printers gradually leach money from your business through jacked-up ink or toner prices. It's also a good idea to look into refilling your ink cartridges instead of purchasing new ones each time.

8. Taking the Groupon Way Out

Groupon and other social-shopping Websites can seem like a godsend for a struggling business. Just offer your product or service up at a deeply discounted price, and watch as hundreds or thousands of brand-new customers crowd into your store.

But if you run a small business, be careful. Many such businesses are finding that offering Groupon like deals can be a nightmare. Various things can go wrong, especially if you don't have the staff, time, or budget to accept hundreds of new customers who are eager to purchase your services for a fraction of the usual price. Offering a Groupon deal that you can't deliver on can cost you money, and it can ruin your reputation.

9. Slacking on Security, Security, Security!

Your business may be small and unassuming, but that doesn't mean that crooks aren't ready to steal your secrets. Along with safeguarding your employee's smartphones, it's important to make general IT security a priority.

Make sure that you know the ins and outs of your operating system's security features, and that you have updated firewalls and antivirus programs in place.

It's also important to practice safe computing. E-mail and social-networking sites are particularly vulnerable to viruses and spam, so keep different passwords for different accounts and don't click sketchy links. This might seem like common sense, but more than half of small businesses have no IT security guidelines in place, according to protection from AVG.