by Chelsea Williams | Mar 28, 2016 | Manufacturing
Unless mobile computers, associated bar code readers and labels have been designed with features required specifically for use in cold environments, the level of their reliability will fall right along with the temperatures.
Standard device models deliver less-than-sub-standard performance if they are consistently used in freezers or exposed to frequent temperature changes.
Increase efficiency with cold-storage specific hardware for:
- Longer battery life for mobile computers
- Zero condensation on screens of mobile computers and vehicle mount computers
- The most detrimental result of cold storage environments in the short and long term is condensation.
- Quicker read times due to specialized heaters for scanners, specifically for use on fork trucks
Practically every component of a device, from the casing to the internal circuitry, can be optimized for use in cold conditions. Without these adaptations, your devices will not thrive in cold conditions that require the ability to adapt to the environment.
Products to consider in cold environments:
- Mobile Computers
- Engineered specifically for cold storage environments with a cold storage battery
- Vehicle Mount Computers with built-in defrosters
- Scanner heaters for Vehicle Mount Scanners
- Cold temperature specialized adhesive for labels
Workers shouldn’t have to work hard to keep their mobile computers functioning. Contact Informs for more information on how we can help adapt your devices to their environment.
by Chelsea Williams | Oct 22, 2015 | Uncategorized
For some companies, managed services seem like a luxury. Why let another company be involved in every step of your enterprise technology implementation? The reality is that managed services are the only way to get the most out of your devices. From planning to deployment to ongoing analytics, having a managed services provider on your side boosts the value of the technology systems you’ve worked so hard to create.
- We Know Tech: Your company thrives in your industry because you bring years of experience and are passionate about your work. That’s how we feel about technology! By using a managed service provider (MSP), companies get to focus on their business while leaving the complexities of technology to companies like Informs who bring experience and passion to your business technology.
- Good Product Fit: Because we love what we do, it’s natural for us to stay on top of industry trends and product releases. Informs learns about the benefits of certain products over others and how they fit into the technology plans of companies with certain budgets or in certain industries. All of this knowledge is passed on to you, allowing you to save time testing products and solutions that may not be the best fit for your business.
- Decreased Spending: A recent study by CompTIA showed that 46% of businesses using MSPs have reduced their security budgets by at least 25% or more and 13% of those who reduced their budgets did so by more than 50%, a significant savings! Where does that savings come from? Outsourcing the IT work included in a managed services offering is far less expensive than hiring additional employees. MSPs don’t need benefits, vacation time, or training, which adds up to huge savings for you.
- Stay on Schedule: More than ever, internal IT teams are reporting that they have too many tasks and not enough manpower. Partnering with an MSP is a good way to remedy this complaint. MSPs focus their time on monitoring your devices, running analytic reports, and diagnosing issues. This ensures that tasks happen on time and are given the time they need to be done well.
- Comprehensive Support: If something does go wrong with your devices, we have data and automated analytics to diagnose the issue with speed and precision. The sole goal of an MSP is to keep your device in working condition to reduce downtime and errors at every stage of your device lifecycle. We stay attuned to the status of your devices from configuration to deployment, from security to repair, and on to analytics and optimization.
Informs’ managed service programs are highly customized to fit your unique business needs. Visit www.informsinc.com/managedservices to view our 6-step outline and sign up for your integrated technology planning session.
by Chelsea Williams | Oct 22, 2015 | Uncategorized
Most people enjoy access to Wi-Fi in their homes, and they also expect it to also be available when they travel, shop, and work. The standard today is that we should be able to connect almost anywhere; we’ve all taken advantage of networks at restaurants, airports, hotels, etc. As customers, we can enjoy that the advancement of Wi-Fi technology now allows us the luxury of connecting anywhere, but as business owners, we have to acknowledge: wireless connections have become an integrated (and often assumed) part of doing business.
So, as a business owner, you know you need to provide Wi-Fi, but how exactly do you do that? Well, it’s important to note that the Wi-Fi technology used in the home is not suitable for the workplace. Seems plausible, but why? Although most Wi-Fi products generally work the same (this device will connect to this network), there are small, important differences between wireless products designed for enterprise and personal use. Understanding these differences is especially important for small or medium size business (SMB) owners. The price of your home router or AP probably seems like an attractive option, especially if you think your business isn’t “that big,” but chances are, your business needs enterprise class Wi-Fi.
The term “enterprise class” carries with it some important features and options every business should consider:
- Support for mobility: Think about your business. There are probably employees who spend most of the day at their desks, but there are probably many others who roam between different parts of the building as part of their work tasks and communication. The average home access point (AP) provides Wi-Fi coverage to about 6500 square feet. So, if your business has multiple floors, outdoor areas, or simply spans larger than those 6500 square feet, you would need multiple APs. Unfortunately, when users roam from AP to AP, their wireless connection is often dropped or delayed, which causes apps to pause, stop working, refresh, etc, ultimately causing delays for your workforce.
- Security: It’s common knowledge that Wi-Fi networks should be secured to prevent information from being stolen and uninvited guests from using your wireless connection. At home, your AP offers encryption options and perhaps user authentication as well. Do you think this is enough for your business? A couple well known national home improvement and retail chains would join us in saying “No!” They’ve been victims of hackers, who find their way into networks through holes in security. Enterprise class Wi-Fi eliminates these holes by supporting different security options for the variety of client devices using your network and by offering intrusion detection, which proves you with information when unauthorized users do attempt to compromise your data.
- Guest Access: Wi-Fi is crucial for your employees and business processes, but it’s also come to be expected by your customers. Sharing some of your bandwidth is one of the greatest ways to increase the amount of time a customer spends in your store and a sure way to improve the customer experience. Enterprise class Wi-Fi not only supports the added users, but it also separates guest traffic from business traffic, keeping speeds up and security threats down.
These are just a few examples of the difference in Enterprise Class Wi-Fi. And although most SMB owners can agree they are important, the decision to choose an enterprise solution often comes down to price. Informs partners with Zebra Technologies to offer an option specifically for this concern. WiNG Express is a new solution that provides the same enterprise-level technology at a price and scale made for SMB owners.
Does WiNG sound like it might be what your business needs? Did you know about all the benefits that enterprise class Wi-Fi provides? What other concerns do you as a SMB (or not so SMB) owner have about implementing a wireless solution?
by Chelsea Williams | Sep 20, 2015 | Retail
In our last two blogs, we talked about some of the pains IT professionals feel in the tough retail industry, where maintaining POS systems is a constant, everyday task. Today’s final blog of the series will explore even more of those pains and how Informs, Inc. can help. Let’s dive into those pain points.
Remote Security and Backups Are Annoying: We hear you. Retail IT environments are inherently distributed, complex and mixed. Perhaps you feel like you don’t have the time or staffing resources to be everywhere your POS systems are deployed, and you don’t have to be. However, these devices absolutely must be backed up and secured as reliably as possible due to strict regulatory and compliance requirements. The solution? Centralized the management of your data protection, security strategies and compliance. Backups should be able to be conducted automatically or manually on demand, and security breaches should be dealt with quickly and efficiently.
I Don’t Have the Time or Budget for Virtualization: You need to ensure the availability of POS systems says that IT resources (such as storage, applications and server capacity) need to be pooled across the business and shared between users who are geographically distributed. Having an architecture like this can save money, increase productivity and create efficiencies, but it can also be expensive and complex to migrate and maintain. You need a holistic view of all IT resources and virtualization and cloud computing to be affordable for your company.
My Company’s Decision Makers Don’t Understand IT: Corporate decision makers don’t always understand IT, and this can lead to miscommunication and missed opportunities. It’s important that you are careful to articulate the work your team has done to support your organization’s goals. You need easy-to-read reports that keep decision makers informed of your department’s ongoing and needs. They also help you plan for scheduled maintenance, upgrades and expansions. Reports can be run with a simple push of a button.
Working in IT for the retail business doesn’t have to be as difficult as it is today. Contact Informs Inc. for information on how we can help.
by Chelsea Williams | Sep 6, 2015 | Retail
In our last blog, we talked about some of the IT pain points in the retail industry, where managing POS (Point of Sale) systems seem to take up the majority of IT professionals’ time. In today’s blog, we’ll focus on even more pain points IT professionals in retail face and how we can help.
Downtime is Lost Revenue: The time it takes to update your organization’s POS software can mean making a sale (or several sales) and losing business to a competitor. Gartner estimates that one hour of network downtime—planned or unplanned—costs the average company $ 42,000. Some form of planned or unplanned downtime will happen to your POS systems during business hours, and you need a solution that two people can use a computer at the same time. A web-based console can be operated remotely in the background, and it keeps a POS device up and running throughout the maintenance process. It’s non-disruptive and shows that no lost sales can be attributed to the IT department.
Users Need to Be Up-and-Running Quickly: New IT users need to be educated and trained on your company’s IT policies and procedures. Salespeople need to be finished quickly so they can behind the cash registers as soon as possible. To streamline this process, you need to apply pre-configured user profiles to new employees. Use workflow technology to build user profiles and automatically apply them to new users remotely and with the push of a button. This allows you to focus on more pressing matters.
Not All Users are Experts: IT professionals are often plagued by “hobbyists” who’ve taken a computer courses or played around on their personal laptops. These users believe that they can install patches and run security scans, or even fix simple problems with the POS system. These users mean well, but they can pose a huge risk for your organization if a user downloads a virus that wipes out the POS system. You need a serious, enforceable approach to security.
Stay tuned for our final blog on IT pain points in the retail industry, and in the meantime, don’t hesitate to contact the retail IT industry experts at Informs, Inc. to help
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