Backing Up Data

Backing Up Data - What & Why?

“From the Fence with JP”

Data data data – what happens if it disappeared? For some people this is not a concern, yet for others it would be a problem – ranging in intensity of a minor inconvenience to an apocalyptic nightmare.

Everyone has more and more data – every day we accumulate lots of information from varying sources – email, calendars, phones, chats, texts, facebook, twitter, MSN, tax software, documents, etc (the list goes on)!

In the “old” days we had physical filing cabinets filled with paper, which many people used as reassurance of physical originals someplace – if soft copies disappeared. Now – even though there seems to be more and more paper there seems to be less reliance on this form for original documents.

So what does this mean?

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Choosing a Stylus for your Touch Screen Device

Do you Need a Stylus for your Touch Screen Mobile Device?

 

Perhaps you own a tablet. Since the day you brought  your device home, it has been a whirlwind love story of epic proportions.

You and your touch screen mobile device have become inseparable. Together you create the ultimate productivity machine, able to email, browse and accomplish innumerable amounts of tasks with the apps available at your disposal.

And then suddenly, while you’re enjoying a large and rather sticky pastry (with your crafted hot beverage), an urgent email comes and, alas, there are no napkins at your disposal. Uh Oh – Now what?

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Frustrating Customer Service

Frustrating Cellular Customer Service

In the course of a day I likely speak to a majority of the Cellular Communications Carriers several times each, and it still baffles me the frustrating things that I continually encounter.

 

My favourite of course is the SCHEDULED upgrade or maintenance in the middle of a business day that prevents them from being able to see or do anything on any account! Seriously – Who schedules an upgrade or maintenance at their busiest time the of day?

I can understand that systems go down and there is little you can do about it, but why schedule it that way – why not wait until less busy hours?

 

Or how about the representative that has no common sense at all? [Read more...]

Horror Story Of The Week: Removing IT Policies From a BlackBerry

2 Simple Strategies to Remove an IT Policy From a Used BlackBerry

Hopefully you never find yourself in a situation like this: 

 

A few days ago, one of your employees came to you with a broken Blackberry that needed replacing. 

 

Unfortunately, they were not eligible for an upgrade yet. 

 

Fortunately, you were able to secure a used device from the neighboring business, who had recently switched carriers and mobile devices. 

 

You wiped the device (removed the previous stored information), swapped the SIMs (removed the previous card & inserted your  user’s SIM) and then had that user set a device password. 

 

So far all is good.  

 

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Horror Story Of The Week: When Phones Don’t Work.

Simple Troubleshooting – For When Your Mobile Device Stops Working

Mobile devices have become an integral part of today’s business. Whether it is mobile phones for the fleet, or a variety of smartphones or mobile internet devices for sales people, they are indispensable tools for staff away from the office.

Imagine then, what would happen if suddenly a phone stopped working:

Sometime during your workday, one of your users was forced to return to the office from the field because their phone has stopped working. They are getting told all of their calls are going  to voicemail, and they are unable to place any outgoing calls from their phones. [Read more...]

Horror Story of the Week: Surprise Pay-Per-Use Charges.

Surprise, Surprise – You Have Pay-Per-Use Charges

Having the right plan for your company’s mobile devices can hugely impact your mobile expense management. The right plan, can help reduce overage charges, or, in the case of features, pay-per-use features. What would happen if the features or plans you had in place, were to disappear?

 

Here’s the Situation:

While going over your company’s bills, you notice a user who would benefit from a higher messaging plan. You email your corporate rep with the change you would like to make and leave it at that. A couple days later you receive your confirmation from the carrier that the change has been made. 

 

The next month your receive and open your bill, then nearly die of a heart attack. Where you had expected to see savings from changing the plan, you are now seeing thousands of dollars in usage charges on the same line. Somehow the users data plan had been removed, and has been paying for the 200+ MB of usage at pay-per use pricing!  Maybe it’s a mistake you think.   [Read more...]

Travel Pack Combos

What’s In Your Travel Pack Combo?

As the Cellular Carriers continue to tweak their mobile plan offerings, one thing they are selling a lot of  is the Travel Pack Combos for travellers going to the US from Canada.

These combos offer Voice and Texting, Voice and Data, or Voice, Texting and Data allowances, at reduced rates.

 

But are these offerings the best option? 

 

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Horror Story of the Week: BlackBerry Enterprise Server Activation Problems

3 Simple BES Tips for a Smooth Activation

There are a great many benefits to using the BlackBerry Enterprise Server in your company, including helping to improve IT productivity, the ability to sync and manage your corporate email, and the advanced security that it offers.

 

If you are the IT designate managing the cellular device fleet for your company, you may have had to handle a BES email activation a time or two, and chances are they have gone smoothly.

 

But what happens if it doesn’t go so smoothly? Heaven forbid you find yourself in this situation:

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What to do When You’re Not Eligible for an Upgrade.

Ineligible for Upgrade – 5 Tips to Reduced Cell Costs!

 

Is one of your fleet’s cellular phones broken, worn out, malfunctioning, or just completely not working?

Lets face it cell phones just do not seem to last the full -2 or 3 years of the contract – when you would normally be eligible for upgrade.

However – don’t despair. There are a few things that you can often try – so that you can avoid having to pay the full price of the replacement costs of new hardware.

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Cellular Customer Service Tips

I am sure that everyone has at one point in time experienced first hand a mobile customer service horror story when having to deal with their cellular carriers.

 

We know that dealing with Mobile Carriers is not always a positive experience! However – if you are prepared, know what to ask the Cellular Customer Service Representative and have a general idea of what to expect – it does not have to be all negative.

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