July 2007 - Custom Software Design - Is It Time to Get Exactly What You Need?

Do you ever think as you use software that "this is not exactly right for my business" or "I need something that is not so generic".  Maybe you are thinking "there must be something out there better than this!"  In some cases, the answer is no, as of now, there has not been a demand to create the perfect software to meet your needs.  You may be surprised to know how common an issue this is.  Every day people and companies are using software that was designed either too broadly or by someone that does not understand how you or your business operates.  This causes you to use something that lowers the efficiency of your employees thereby reducing your profitability.

With that being said, would it make since to pay more for software that could save it's cost over a few years period?  Maybe, you could automate things that employees are doing manually which would reduce your labor requirements.  With more efficient software, you might be able to ship more units or be able to handle more service thereby allowing growth in your company.  Webpage enhancements can drive more business to your site and interactive content can make customers decide to buy.

Infinity Office Equipment has recently partnered with HiNet Software to assist with design and implementation of custom software for our customers.  Call us to discuss your needs.  There is never a charge for consultation and we can nail down a "not to exceed" pricing schedule with just a few consultative sessions.

May 2007 - Outsource Computer Support Can Save Your Business $$$ and Headaches -

Small to medium sized businesses place a large importance on computers and networking but many times do not have the in-house know-how or enough employees to warrant a full time support person to install and maintain these highly technical and sometimes frustrating items.   The fact is that we have come to depend on our computers, servers, networking and the myriad of associated gadgets and devices more than ever before.  From wireless routers to portable computers and PDAs; email, file and terminal services servers; CRM, billing and inventory software; the list goes on, and on, and on.  

Many companies that have ten to forty computers think they must have an in-house expert to help design, install and maintain these items.  This is not always the case and in most situations not advisable.  A full time IT (Information Technology) employee is expensive.  If you can find an experienced and competent person to do this for your company at less than $60k per year you are very lucky.  Not to mention taxes, benefits and the other costs associated with having another person on staff, you can easily be into into it for over $80,000 on a yearly basis.

Yes, you guessed it, we have a solution.  Outsource IT is a cost effective alternative to keeping this full-time employee on staff.  Hiring another company for this has many advantages to trying to do your computers and peripherals in-house.  You should know, there are a few disadvantages to outsourcing as well.

Advantages:

• You will save 70% to 90% of the costs vs. a full time IT employee.
• Small business managers can let someone else worry about the computers and networking issues that seem to crop up on an almost daily basis.
• Outsourced IT is a tax deduction.
• Reduced liability.
• No taxes, medical benefits or retirement matching that you would pay an employee.
• Outsource IT companies have a proven and effective set of standards that most likely will enhance your computing situation.
• Professional Outsource IT companies have more experience with security issues and protection of your valuable data.

Disadvantages:

• No on-site worker able to respond to immediate hardware needs.
• Costs are higher on a per hour basis.
• In most cases outsourced IT personnel will not be as tightly integrated with your business a full time employee.

This is something that must be thought about thoroughly before you decide which method is right for your business.  These are some of the things Infinity Office Equipment can provide for your IT support:

• Coverage zones include; Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Bothell and Woodinville.
• Unlimited telephone and on-site service and support.  Our technicians can remotely and securely access servers and workstations to respond to service requests immediately.
• We support all recent Microsoft operating systems including Windows, 98', 2000, NT, XP and Vista.  Windows 2003 Server and Small Business Server.
• Support for Exchange Server, and SharePoint or other intranet web site configurations.
• Support for Windows components, Microsoft Office and any other software including various CRM, Billing, Inventory and other software packages agreed upon at the time of hire.
• Antivirus, Spam reduction tools and Spyware protection are always implemented
• Addition and removal network users as needed per customer request. 
• Software support includes all remote and on-site service to keep computers working with servers and network infrastructure as well as maintenance to keep the software up to date with service packs and patches installed as needed.  
• Computers supported under the maintenance agreement will be maintained free from slowdowns and viruses.
• Network security will be implemented to ensure hackers have no chance of accessing your data.
• User files and email will be safely stored on the server and pre-designated managers will have administrative rights to view user email and information. 
• Back-ups and redundancy implementation. 
• Installation and support of network infrastructure including wireless routers.
• Installation and support of wireless devices including PDAs and Notebooks.

If outsourcing your IT services seems like an interesting and economical function for your company, contact our knowledgeable Sales Engineers to discuss how this can work for yor business.  You may be surprised at how cost effective it is.  Our service agreements can be configured so that you have a pre-determined monthly, quarterly or yearly payment.  We can also do IT support by the hour. 

February 2007 - Infinity Office Equipment New Mobile Showroom Brings Product Demonstrations to You -

You are busy, we know that.  When it comes time to start shopping for new office equipment, it can be difficult to find the time to travel to see various vendors for different products.  We have a solution!  With the new Infinity Office Equipment Mobile Showroom we bring the products to you.  Whether it is a new C3 Color Panasonic copier, a refurbished unit, a phone system or just a small fax machine; we can bring bring the demonstration to you in style.

Our sales approach is never aggressive.  We are there to educate you on the products and functionality not with high pressure tactics.  There is never any obligation for our visit.  If you are impressed with the product that you see, it can be installed immediately.  We will install and configure the unit right away so that you do not have to wait to begin utilizing your new equipment.

Our mobile showroom is also a high speed WiFi hotspot thanks to the ClearWire wireless internet access.  You are welcome to step inside and check your email or have a cup of coffee on us.

Call or email to arrange a visit.  If you are unsure of which model is right for you, we can bring a variety of machines to test so that you can get hands-on experience.  Our on-board generator ensures that it is always comfortable inside and all machines are powered up and functional.  Look for us in your neighborhood soon!

July 2006 - New Jobs Posted - We are growing!  Infinity Office Equipment is looking for new talent to fill our Sales and Service openings.  Please see our Employment section for available positions.

April 2006 - Residential Lending Group System Deployed - At Residential Lending Group (RLG) of Kirkland, WA business is booming and with the new growth comes more advanced communications requirements.  Infinity Office Equipment helps fill the void with a complete turn-key system including Phone Switch, Copiers, Facsimile, Networking and a Server.  Since the equipment was purchased as a bundle from a single source, there was no doubt about compatibility and interconnections.  Infinity Office Equipment was able to bundle all of these items together along with a year of on-site service for a single low monthly payment.  We installed all of the equipment without the hassle of coordinating multiple vendors.

Lending companies tend to use a lot of paper.  Loan documents, contracts and and general printing to name a few.  RLG has offices in Kirkland, Olympia and in Eastern Washington as well as employees that work from home.  It was becoming impractical to transport paper between these locations in a timely and cost effective manner.  John Juge, the owner of RLG was looking for a solution when he came to Infinity Office Equipment for advice.  We proposed a near paperless office where scanning documents to PDF and allowing employees to use his Virtual Private Network (VPN) would allow anyone access to any document at any time.  John uses a Xerox CopyCentre 128 Multi-function copier.  This unit is capable of Copying, Scanning, Faxing and Printing to and from any computer in the network.  Each employee of the company has a button on the Xerox touch-screen interface that is linked to that employees private "Scanbox" folder on the network.  If a remote employee needs a document that is currently in paper format, administration in the main office will scan it into the private folder where the employee can access the PDF immediately.

Another headache RLG experienced with the old system was unavailability to audit the client database of each employee.  The company uses Calyx Point software for loan origination and tracking.  It keeps customer information, does credit look-ups and helps to process the mortgage loans.  The RLG administration was unable to review the daily activities of the employees since the database from this software was on each users remote PC.  We were able to solve this problem by relocating these databases on John's server and mapping "Virtual Drives" through the VPN.  When an employee makes a change to the Point software the changes are saved onto the server allowing RLG administration to review the current databases in real time.

February 2006 - The New Infinity Communications - Infinity Communications announces a new focus on complete business communications solutions.  Migrating from just copiers and fax machines, we have expanded our portfolio to sell and support phone systems, computer networking and servers.  This will allow a customer to have a "single point of contact for all of their business communications needs." 

We have been watching the market and as most of the copier and multi-function products are more tightly integrated with PCs and Servers, it makes since for us as a company to support and maintain that portion of our customers business. 

New ownership has brought on-board telephony expertise that will allow Infinity Communications to expand our product offering to encompass this product line as well.  As with copiers, telephony products are more computer-centric than ever before which supports our basis for complete communications solutions.

We are a factory authorized dealer for some of the biggest manufacturers in the industry including; Xerox, Sharp, Samsung, ESI, Panasonic, NEC and Brother.  We are also a certified HP repair facility. 

If you are a new customer and are starting a new office or rebuilding an existing office with aging equipment, consider a turn-key system from Infinity Communications.  We can save you time and money.

If you are an existing customer, let us reintroduce ourselves to you all over again. 

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Did you know that much like a car, your copier looses about 20 percent of its value when it is installed and used for the first month? (read more)

Do you ever think as you use software that "this is not exactly right for my business" or "I need something that is not so generic  (read more) 

Small to medium sized businesses place a large importance on computers and networking but many times do not have the in house know-how or enough employees to warrant a full time support person  (read more) 

You are busy, we know that.  When it comes time to shop for new office equipment, it is difficult to travel to see different vendors for various products.  We have a solution! (read more)