Newsletter September 2008
The ‘E’ Words
by John Stephens
In recent months, it’s been hard to avoid hearing more than a fair share of coverage in the media about two separate topics: the economy and the environment-you all probably thought I was going to say the Election, but I’m not going anywhere near that! We’re all feeling the effects of the economy, whether it be in the form of higher gas prices or the inflated cost of groceries and other must-haves, and at Convergence, we’ve even talked about it in our newsletter, offering advice on how businesses can reduce costs through IT. In recent weeks, we’ve been working behind-the-scenes on an initiative to bring relief to both of these causes, providing relief to our customers’ energy bills and allowing them to be green.
While it takes a great deal of effort and planning to keep computers running efficiently, Convergence Networks has allowed our clients to enjoy success while avoiding down-time by scheduling patching, security updates, and other maintenance overnight. This allows the necessary work to be accomplished while respecting the productivity of each and every employee. It was a winning schedule for everyone involved. But, as with all things, success came with a price, and that price was the need to keep all those workstations running overnight every night. Leaving the computers powered on overnight meant higher energy costs, possibly adding stress to already-stretched budgets. And, of course, it meant we all weren’t able to be as green as we’d like to be. Doing one thing was fine, so long as that one thing wasn’t turning off the computers to help the environment because this would interfere with productivity and/or security. It was a good system, but it wasn’t great.
At Convergence, we always strive to improve IT to make a positive impact on our customers’ businesses. While that usually translates into efficiency through things like managing customer information, fostering faster communication, or providing alternate remote connection methods, we also pay attention to the other things that affect our clients as well. We knew our previous patching methodology forced a requirement to keep computers on overnight, so we’ve worked to improve it. We’ve moved away from the older Microsoft-based patching control system (Windows Server Update Systems) to a newer, more efficient software package. We’ve devoted time and resources in our NOC (Network Operations Center) to develop this system so that we can now schedule patching, updates, and general maintenance on a single day of the week. Now, instead of desktops and laptops running every night of the week, driving up energy costs and missing the chance to be green, we can now invite our customers to turn down their equipment on most days-contact your Technical Services Director if you’re not sure which day is your day for updates. We’ll even help by scheduling a little pop-up reminder close to quitting time on your “patch day” so you don’t have to remember when your computer is supposed to be left on.
While it may not seem like a big deal, every little thing helps, both in the economy and with the environment. We can work together to reduce energy costs while still maintaining high productivity, and we can help the environment as well. So, tonight, when you’re wrapping up for the night, feel free to shut the system down and go home assured that you’re doing your one thing to both reduce energy costs and to help the environment. It may be a small thing individually, but together we can make a big difference. And, I’m still not saying anything about that other ‘E’ word.
If you would like to receive more information simply contact us.
What People Are Saying
- “I appreciate the technicians’ patience and respect when walking me through something that seems so simple to them (I’m sure), but NEVER once have they EVER made me feel dumb—just the opposite in fact. I love everyone there…thank you for making what could be an impossible nightmare for a computer illiterate, such as myself, a breeze!”
- Karin Boggess, Tucker Capital