Tag: small businesses

Article

Snapchat, Seagate among companies duped in tax-fraud scam | Mashable

My Comments

Spear-phishing email doesn’t necessarily have to have links or attachments

An issue that has come to highlight lately is spear-phishing where an email is sent to particular departments within a business to extort critical financial or other information from that business.

This recently happened to a number of American businesses including Snapchat and Seagate where the human-resources departments were told in an “official manner purporting to be from the CEO” to turn out W-2 tax forms about their employees.

For those of you in countries other than the USA, this is a statement provided by your employer which states what you earned including the taxes that are withheld and would be known as a P60 in the UK and Ireland or a Group Certificate in Australia. When in the wrong hands, these statements can be a goldmine of data that can be useful for identity theft and tax fraud.

But this may be different from a garden-variety spear-phish attack because there isn’t a requirement to visit a Website via a link or open an attachment that comes with the email. Rather this is to prepare the information in a specified computer-file format to be sent as an attachment with the email’s reply.

What was highlighted was that the spear-phish email used the look of official company correspondence such as use of the company’s trade dress (logos, colour scheme, typography) and disclaimers associated with such correspondence. As well, such emails appear to come from someone high up in the business. The spear-phishers were able to identify “who’s the boss” by performing Google or LinkedIn searches and this data could simply be found on “About Us”, shareholder-information or similar pages on a company’s public-facing Website. Such correspondence also can surface at certain seasons like holiday seasons, tax-filing seasons or special events.

This is a classic form of social engineering in the business and the staff were caving in to human error and weren’t vigilant. Here, if they see an email with an important request coming from their boss, they would follow up on this request forthwith as expected for business life. This is similar to the classic distraction-burglary or burglary-artifice scam where a householder is under pressure to let people who look like officials in to their home and these bogus officials commit crimes against the household. It can also affect small businesses as well as larger businesses and organisations, because such a request could also come from the business’s owner, a franchisor (in the case of franchised businesses) or someone who is higher up in the business’s food chain.

A similar scam which is known as “whaling”, targets business owners, managers and other known organisational figureheads with email purporting to come from partners, suppliers / service-providers like your landlord or officials such as the taxman or the Trading-Standards officials. It has the same effect as spear-phishing where you are subject to trickery to divulge sensitive information. This situation can affect businesses and organisations of all sizes from the small pizza shop on the corner to the large business in town.

The red flags to be aware of with spear-phishing or whaling are: is the request out of the ordinary whether for your business or for normal business practice; whether the domains for “reply” or “origin” email addresses match the known domains for the business;  or whether the writing style reflects the purported sender’s style or the accepted norms for business correspondence in the locale.

But most importantly, verify the facts from the horse’s mouth. This means sending a separate email to the proper source at the address you know them to be at or, preferably, making a phone call to check those facts. It is more important if the request happens to come “out of the blue”.

As well, be wary of out-of-the-ordinary correspondence you receive by email around the critical occasions like tax time.

Once you know what is in the norm for your organisation and industry, you should then rely on your “sixth sense” to identify if something is suspicious and report it straightaway.

Article

The Pantiles at Royal Tunbridge Wells – representative of a shopping strip with small businesses

My Comments

All too often, when there are discussions about assuring Internet service quality, these discussions focus on consumers who are primarily downloading content from the Internet. But small businesses and telecommuters are easily left out of the equation.

These users have particular needs as far as Internet service goes. For example, they frequently upload data; whether to transfer data between colleagues using an online file exchange like Dropbox or BitTorrent Sync, to use a cloud-computing service, or to use IP-based telecommunications services like Skype to talk with colleagues in town or across the world. Similarly, they rely on these Internet services to “keep the pot boiling” and if these services underperform or fail, their earning potential is reduced very heavily and the “pot doesn’t boil”. But they don’t have the bargaining power that a big business has because they work on a very small cash flow and have fewer employees with some relying on one who is the “chief cook and bottle washer”.

Decent internet at a reasonable price is essential for small businesses

ISPs have often forgotten about this class of user by having them either use consumer-grade Internet services or prefer them to sign up to a leased-line or similar “big-ticket” Internet service for their business needs. This is typically shown up by product lists for small-business Internet service having the only action that a potential subscriber can do is to request a quote for their service rather than looking at a tariff chart to compare costs. It is even though some services like leased-line services have prices that are particular to the business’s location and needs. Similarly, small businesses, telecommuters and similar users may not have the need or be able to afford a “big-business” service like a leased-line.

The main ISPs in the UK have taken this head-on by working on a code-of-practice for provisioning Internet to a small business or similar user. This factors in upload speeds, the availability of next-generation broadband “at the door” and service-level agreements. As well, at the moment, ISPs that use BT Openreach’s infrastructure have the ability to sell a service-level-agreement option with faster repair times but it is not always that quick to have problems remediated.

There is a call in the UK for certain small-business Internet services that can be provisioned on a self-install basis using existing infrastructure like ADSL2, fibre-copper (FTTC/VDSL2) and the like to have the tariffs and packages listed on the ISP’s Website. Similarly, Ofcom is requiring ISPs who use the Openreach infrastructure to support the simplified switch-over arrangements for their small-business services where these services use the same infrastructure. As well, they want Broadband Delivery UK to set targets for the level of reach for business-grade next-generation Internet.

Personally, I would like to see small-business broadband that uses existing infrastructure be offered at reasonable prices and these services to come with a decent bandwidth for uploading and downloading along with a service-level agreement that covers the contracted throughput and the time it takes to remedy service faults. If the service requires new infrastructure to be pulled from the street or the building’s infrastructure hub such as FTTP fibre-optic or cable Internet, there should be a published quote for this kind of requirement.

As well, small businesses, whether working from home or other premises such as a shopfront should be factored in when it comes to assessing the quality of Internet service and the level of competition available to these users. Similarly, multi-tenancy business developments like office blocks or shopping areas need to factor in access to business-quality broadband service for their tenants as a key drawcard feature.

At least there is somewhere where action is being taken to provide proper value-for-money Internet service to small businesses, start-ups, telecommuters and similar users.

This is an updated version of the article I had published in February 2012

Most small organisations such as micro-businesses and other small businesses will place an expectation on desktop-style computer printers to be used as an “organisational short-run printing press”.

HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 Series – a desktop multifunction printer that has been pitched as something that can turn out flyers and brochures

This expectation has been brought around through the availability of software with varying levels of desktop-publishing functionality at prices most people and small business can afford. This ranges from software in a typical office-software package offering elementary desktop publishing functionality like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, through to dedicated mid-tier desktop publishing software of the Microsoft Publisher class that is at a price most people can afford and is easy to understand.

The same expectation has been underscored by the various printer manufacturers with their recent desktop-printer designs, especially with the high-end business models of their product range like HP’s OfficeJet Pro lineup. Here, they are bringing printing abilities, output speeds and document quality associated with workgroup-grade freestanding printers to this class of printer with such examples as Brother offering business-grade desktop inkjet multifunctions that can turn out A3 documents.

It has been underscored in the advertising that these printer manufacturers provide and is more evident with Websites and, especially, TV commercials that are run on prime-time TV which reaches most consumers more easily. Examples include a recent Canon TV commercial for their PIXMA printers, HP’s website for their OfficeJet Pro inkjet printers highlighting their prowess with turning out brochures, or Brother underscoring their business printers’ prowess with desktop publishing through a series of TV commercials.

What features does it need to have?

High-yield printing

The printer should have separate colour ink cartridges and be able to accept high-yield cartridges

It should be feasible for customers to purchase high-yield ink or toner cartridges as an option for the printer alongside the standard-yield cartridges. Some vendors like Brother are known to offer “super-high-yield” cartridges for some of their printers alongside the high-yield and standard-yield cartridges. This is more important for inkjet machines because the ink cartridges are typically very small and aren’t able to hold a lot of ink.

It is worth noting that most of the equipment pitched at business users like the HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 will typically have the larger-capacity ink or toner cartridges even for their standard-yield variants and have a higher duty cycle therefore being able to do this kind of work.

Another direction that high-yield ink or toner supply is taking is in the form of tank-equipped printers instantiated by the Epson EcoTank approach. Here, the printers are equipped with high-capacity tanks and the user manually adds ink to these printers’ tanks to replenish them. Brother even uses the tank approach with very high-capacity cartridges in order to combine the best of both worlds and simplify how you manage your printer.

As well, you should prefer to use an inkjet printer that uses individually-replaceable ink tanks for each colour. These printers also become more cost-effective to run because you only need to replace the colours that you run out of when you run out of them.

The print mechanism has to be able to support large print runs without failing mid-job. This includes having it perform advanced printing functionalities like auto-duplex or use of anciliary trays. It also has to work reliably with jobs that are based around media other than regular paper.

Automatic duplexing

This brings me to automatic duplexing. An increasing number of home-office printers and small-business printers are being equipped with an automatic duplex mechanism so that the unit can print on both sides of the paper. This is usually to permit you to save paper but people may find this function useful for turning out booklets, brochures, greeting cards and the like where they want to print on both sides of the paper. For that matter, most of these printers have a “booklet printing” function built in to their driver software where they can use the duplex functionality to turn out booklets such as a four-page booklet on one sheet of paper. Similarly, automatic duplexing may come in handy for making flyers and signage that is to be seen on both sides such as a sign that is fixed to a window, or a sign used in a freestanding sign holder.

A Brother desktop printer that can print on A3 paper

A common problem with some of these mechanisms is that they don’t print to the narrow edge of Letter or A4 paper during a duplex print run especially if the paper size determined in the driver software or print job doesn’t match the paper in the printer. The problem has been more so with most Hewlett-Packard inkjet printers except the OfficeJet Pro 8600, which was pitched as a brochure-printing machine. This can cause problems with registration shifting or a requirement to have large margins on the document. Some Canon printers such as the PIXMA MX-870 have improved automatic duplex mechanisms that can work to the edge of the paper.

In the same case, you may find that some automatic duplexers in the home or small-business printer class may have problems with page registration. That is where the page is lined up properly on both sides of the paper and can be of concern if you are turning out work like luggage tags, door hangers or bookmarks where it is critical to have the back of the document lined up with the front of the document. You can work around this by allowing a margin on both sides of the design.

Another problem is that there is a time penalty of up to 15 seconds per page with inkjet printers when they use automatic duplexing with this happening when the front side of the document is being printed. This is to allow the ink to dry on the front side of the paper before the printer draws the paper in to print on the back and is being reduced with newer equipment that uses quick-drying ink. As well, the automatic duplexing cycle is even being optimised to slowly retract the document in to the printer after the first side is printed so the printer can start the other side sooner.

Another limitation that I have found with automatic duplexers is that they don’t handle card stock or similar paper easily because they have to turn the paper around one or more rollers. Here, you may have to use manual duplexing where you reinsert the work in the machine with the other side facing the print head to print it double-sided.

Something yet to be seen for automatic duplexing in the context of desktop publishing and presentation-grade printing is the availability of coated paper that is coated on both sides of the sheet alongside duplexer mechanisms that can handle such paper.

Issues concerning use of the printer

Special printing media requirements

Plastic-based media

Plastic-based media like overhead-projector transparencies, back-print film and vinyl stickers / decals have special requirements when it comes to printing them on your printer.

They range from being able to “hold” ink that is sprayed on to them by the inkjet process or passing through a heat-based printing process such as the xerographic process used in laser and LED printers.

Laser printers and special media

Brother HL-L8350CDW colour laser printer

If you use a laser printer, you need to use laser-optimised media for plastic-based media and stickers. This is because the printed documents have to pass through “fuser rollers” that are heated at a very high temperature in order to melt the toner on to the media. This can be a problem with the adhesive and plastic backing associated with stickers or the plastic media melting inside the machine and causing damage that is costly in both money and serviceability terms.

It also can extend to glossy or silk-look “presentation / brochure” paper which uses some form of glazing to provide the sheen, and this can cause problems with different printers.

So you have to use special media that is designed for laser-printer or xerographic photocopier use. This media is designed to work at very high temperatures so it can pass through the hot fuser rollers without damaging the printer.  Some of the media that is made by particular printer manufacturers is designed for the printers made by that manufacturer and, in some cases, printers based on a certain print-engine type. This is due to the manufacturer knowing the operating temperature for the printers in question.

But there are some kinds of special media that is made by third parties and pitched at a range of printers offered by many different manufacturers. Some of these also may be available under the private labels that different stationers and office-supply stores use. For example, Avery make a large range of laser labels that are compatible with most laser printers that are in circulation nowadays.

Inkjet-compliant plastic media

To get best results out of inkjet printers with plastic media, you have to use inkjet-optimised plastic media that has a rough surface on the printed side. This is to catch the droplets left by the inkjet printer as part of its printing process and avoid the ink smearing over the medium as it passes through the printer or is handled by the user.

As well, you will need to set the printer’s driver software to work with “overhead transparencies” or “back print film” when you print to plastic media. This is to allow the printer to optimise its printing process for the media such as slowing the print-head action so as to make sure the ink ends up properly on the medium.

When you load the media, you have to make sure that the rough “printing” side faces the print head as it feeds through the printer. This may be harder to understand with Hewlett-Packard and Brother printers because they use a U-shaped paper-feed path and eject the printed document above the paper storage trays. Here, you would have to put the media in with the rough side facing down when loading the printer.

Card stock, art board and similarly-thick media

“Manual-bypass” special media tray in a colour laser printer

Another medium that may prove itself to be difficult for desktop printers is art board, card stock and similarly-thick papers. Most of these papers can cause problems with printers that implement any paper path that has a U-turn in it like most desktop printers.

Here, you may have to use a “straight-through” paper path on them for these papers to work properly and use manual duplexing if you are printing on both sides. Most inkjet multifunction printers have a rear-mounted multifunction tray where you load this paper while laser printers will require you to use a “manual bypass” tray or slot at the front as the loading tray and have a drop-down door at the rear as the output tray.

Increasingly, budget and some midrange printers will have a limit on the number of sheets of paper that you can load through this way with some of them even requiring you to load one sheet at a time in to the printer.  This can be an inconvenience to you if you are turning out multiple copies of the same document.

Use your printer or outsource your printing for that print run

HP LaserJet Pro 400 Series colour laser printer

The main question that a lot of users will end up asking will be whether to have the print runs made by an outside printing house or print the documents with their printer. Some of you may prefer to outsource your printing rather than use your printer especially with public-facing documents like brochures and flyers. This is because the print shop that you use has better equipment than what you would have and it is increasingly true of large office-supply chains like Office Depot, Officeworks or Staples who provide on-site printing and copying facilities.

I have talked with two men who pastor churches with medium-sized congregations about this issue through the time I was reviewing the Brother MFC-J5720DW desktop inkjet multifunction printer. This is a class of user who could be tempted to use one of these printers to turn out flyers and tracts as a way to make the offering dollar go further. One of these men, who happens to be my pastor, raised the issue of output quality from outsourced work versus work turned out on one of these printers and remarked that the outsourced work is of much better quality. The other pastor raised the fact that these printers wouldn’t work well for turning out large print runs like what would be expected for promoting an upcoming special event at the church.

Brother MFC-J6720DW A3 desktop inkjet multifunction printer

One factor to consider is how many copies you will be eventually needing for your design. If you are turning out up to 20 to 40 copies of your design at a time, you can get by with using your machine. If you end up running more than that, you would need to outsource your printing. This is because of the cost of ink and paper involved in the large print runs, the costs associated with the wear and tear on your machine and the time it takes to run the large print jobs on the typical home-office or small-business printer. This last factor will be of importance with fax-enabled printers serving as fax machines that have to be ready to receive faxes or printers that are required to turn out hard copy as part of business processes.

Another factor worth considering is how often your design is likely to change. This also includes situations where you want to adopt a “print-as-needed” policy such as to run a small-enough quantity of flyers for an appearance like a house inspection. If the design is likely to change frequently or be suited to an occasion, you may have to use your printer for the short runs or outsource larger runs to a print shop that supports quick-turnaround printing such as a copy shop that relies on inkjet or xerographic technology or a printing house that uses digital presses.

Examples of this may include a café, restaurant or bar turning out menus or drinks lists that are centred around particular food and drink specials, a church or funeral home turning out an order-of-service for a particular occasion or an estate agent or auctioneer running flyers about the property that they are auctionning to hand out to customers.

Other factors worth considering include the printing cost per copy if you are intending to use a premium paper stock like coated paper, glossy paper or art board when you are wanting that special look for your public-facing documents.It also includes using finished-document page sizes and forms that are out of the ordinary document-paper sizes like A4 or Letter.  Here, you may have to factor in any extra handling that you our your staff may have to do for manual duplexing or cutting to small sizes.

It is worth knowing that your machine would keep its worth in the equation as part of the design-approval process before you commit to having them printed. This is where you would be turning out proofs so you are sure they are what you want them to be; or to turn out short “test-runs” to assess the effectiveness of a design.

Your printer can also complement the print shop you use for outsourced printing by being able to provide short supplementary print runs of the final document on request. Here, you may want to:

• do a preview run which you would give to special customers or partners while the main print run is being turned out;
• turn out a short “infill run” of the documents when you find that you have run short of copies and you don’t want to commit to another large print run due to cost or turnaround-time reasons; or
• want to keep some copies on hand and ready to distribute so you can get your campaign off the ground without waiting for the printing to be finished especially if you find that your print job has been delayed for some reason.

Conclusion

Here, small businesses can consider the use of a desktop printer as the “small-business printing press” if they know what their machine is capable of and they are using the right media for the job. This includes whether to work it hard on a large print job or assign the job to the local print shop.

Updates:

7 February 2020: This document has been updated to cater for the high-capacity tank-based inkjet printers that are now on the market.

Article – From the horse’s mouth

InFocus

Press Release

Product Page

IN118HDa (3000 lumens, standard throw (104.6” / 2.7m distance for a 70” / 1.8m image), USD$649)

IN118HDSTa (2700 lumens, short throw (34” / 0.9m distance for a 70” / 1.8m image), USD$749)

My Comments

A small church that runs on a hairline budget

InFocus have released two new cost-effective projectors that are pitched at small businesses and non-profit organisations who are thinking of equipment that is cheap to buy and run. Here, the applications I think of would be something like a projector that is used in a café, bar or similar place for showing TV or video content from a Blu-Ray player or pay-TV set-top box, or a projector used in a small church to show song lyrics and video content during worship.

These units run with a 15000:1 contrast ratio and 3000 ANSI lumens for the standard-throw IN118HDa model or 2700 lumens for the short-throw model. They both will have a 10,000 hour lamp life if used on the “Eco Blank” mode and are operated properly.

What impresses me about them is that they implement a 16:9 native aspect ratio with Full HD resolution which satisfies their use with currently-issued video and computer equipment along with currently-produced video content.

The main connection on these projectors is an HDMI 1.4 socket which is a connection type that is being expected of currently-issued video and computer equipment. There are also the legacy connection types like the VGA connection and component, S-Video or composite video connections. The projector has its own amplifier and speakers for the legacy audio connection and a built-in digital-analogue audio converter for the HDMI connection. This latter option comes in to its own with achieving a simplified setup if you have a stereo amplifier and speakers or a PA system located near the screen because you can connect the amplifier to the projector’s audio output and run one HDMI cable between your laptop and the projector.

Personally, I would like to see these units implement the HDMI-CEC functionality so as to allow a person to use the projector’s remote controller to navigate content held on suitably-equipped consumer video equipment like most of the Blu-Ray players.

But what I see of this is the ability to provide projectors that can work with today’s video content and equipment at reasonable prices for this kind of user group.

Article

Replace Your Outdated Windows XP File Server With Network Attached Storage | Lifehacker

My Comments

ASUSTor AS-204TE 4-bay NAS – “Data central” for a small business

Some of you who run small businesses may be trying to get that last bit of mileage out of that beige-coloured “white-box” computer that is running as a file server. Typically the old computer may be running Windows XP Professional as its operating system which is approaching end-of-life and you may find that many components, especially the mechanical ones, are starting to wear down.

Today’s small-business desktop NAS units are about the size of half a loaf of bread for small units or the size of a large toaster or a toaster-oven for the larger units, and are built from the ground up to work as data servers for a small workload. They are even engineered to be able to run reliably for a long time without issues concerning overheating or vibration. As well, most of today’s small-business NAS units are even optimised to run the fans and hard disks on an as-needed basis to allow for quiet operation and reduced energy needs.

Although the news article focuses on Synology equipment, it can hold true of similar devices offered by QNAP, WD, Seagate, NETGEAR ReadyNAS, ASUSTor and the like. Most of these are increasingly running multipurpose operating environments that the manufacturers build on Linux or, in some cases, licensing Windows Server 2012 Essentials Edition from Microsoft. As well, they have a lot of the essential server applications like database servers, Web servers and the like that you can install from the vendor along with the essential file servers and can even work with Microsoft ActiveDirectory setups. This can make for some small-business NAS systems that can be truly multifunctional like some properly set-up file servers.

Western Digital Sentinel DS-5100 Windows Server NAS

The advice about considering a NAS as an upgrade path for your small-business’s old “white-box” file-server computer may not apply to those of you who have a lot invested in this style of “regular-computer-based” server system, especially where an application server is concerned, and have kept it up to date with new hardware and software. But it can be of use for those of us who are heading towards a more efficient computer setup for the small office..

Article

Ex-Beats, Spotify Execs Form Soundtrack Your Brand To Sell Spotify To Businesses | TechCrunch

Spotify-based service puts an end to lousy coffee shop music | Engadget

Previous Coverage

Make Spotify and Shazam work with your favourite bar or cafe

From the horse’s mouth

Soundtrack Your Brand

Product Page

My Comments

Spotify – to be available as a legitimate business music service

Spotify is now moving in on the commercial-music-playout game by working with a firm founded by the founder of Beats Music to offer businesses access to the Spotify music library for a subscription.

The main issue that was being considered an obstacle for Spotify to enter this game was copyright implications concerning playback of music in a commercial setting like a bar or a shop. This involved the concept of making sure musicians, composers and record labels got their public-performance royalties when music is used this way and has been sorted out in Stockholm before the service went to launch in that market.

They want to offer features like scheduled music so you can have particular music to set a venue’s mood for a particular time of day; along with offline play so that slow Internet connections don’t impact on music playout. This also allows Spotify business customers to establish their presence on the Spotify service which may, hopefully, allow either a “take it home” service for the music or the ability for regulars to influence the playlist and is part of allowing that business to cement their position on Spotify like they can do on other social media.

A small church that runs on a hairline budget

A situation that comes across any small organisation, including non-profit organisations, is the need to purchase capital equipment such as computer equipment. This happens typically at the start of the organisation’s life, when the organisation is embarking on a newer effort or as the time comes to replace older tired equipment.

There is a great risk of buying the cheapest equipment around and finding that the equipment may not do the job adequately through its service life. In a lot of situations, you may find that the equipment won’t satisfy newer requirements like newer connectivity types or newer versions of the same software. The worst case is when you deal with equipment that fails too early thus requiring you to consider replacing it with newer equipment too soon.

A typical low-end data projector used by a small church – only has VGA for advanced video connections and uses 4:3 as native aspect ratio

Just lately, I had moved to a newer church congregation and the pastor asked me for assistance regarding specifying a newer computer to replace the existing unit that was being used to show song lyrics and other video material during services. This happened quite a few months after another church pastor whom I know very well approached me for assistance to confirm he was on the right track when purchasing a colour LED printer. He also approached me again regarding the purchase of a newer projector for the church because the existing projector was at the end of its useful life.

I have previously covered this issue in a few articles about the availability of hardware and software that answers these organisations’ needs at a price they can afford as well as being easy to operate. One of these was about low-end data projectors that didn’t come with HDMI connectivity even though most current-issue video peripherals implement this connectivity while another was about the availability of AV playout software that answers the needs of these organisations at a price they can afford.

It is so tempting for organisations that run on hairline budgets like both these congregations to buy just on the cheapest price without factoring in the right specifications for the equipment or the equipment’s durability. This leads you to buying equipment that falls short of your current or future usage requirements or, at worst, purchasing equipment that won’t last for the long haul.

Determining the specification

Choosing the right equipment at the right price can yield benefits over the long haul

Firstly, you have to determine what kind of equipment should be used for your task. Here, you identify the task you are putting the equipment to and skew the specifications accordingly. For example, a computer doing video-based tasks like video playout or video editing should work with a discrete display subsystem so it performs properly at these tasks.

As well, you place weight on specifications and standards that promote flexibility and avoid rapid obsolescence. These include use of hardware and software interfaces that are accepted for the product’s type. For example, I place weight on HDMI connectivity for display projectors so that they can be used not just with computers but with any video peripheral that is on the market nowadays,

This is also the time you approach others in your community who are knowledgeable about the kind of equipment you are after and ask them for their advice. It is preferable to approach those who aren’t in the position of selling the equipment themselves but who may be involved in a support, media or advisory role such as company IT staff. This is because they aren’t under pressure to sell particular equipment.

In both cases, I looked for and specified up-to-date equipment that is to serve their needs properly for a long time so that the equipment is cheaper to run over the long haul. The factors that I thought of as being important was the ability to work not just with existing equipment but with newer equipment and to newer specifications. For example, in my congregation, I pushed for the computer to have HDMI connectivity and a graphics subsystem that can work at 1080p resolution. This is due to the fact that newer projectors offered at price ranges affordable to small businesses and community organisations will support these standards by the time the existing projector is due to be replaced.

A bit of homework now can save you money and sustain you for the future

Obtaining multiple quotes

Working from the same minimum specification that you have determined for your equipment, you then also identify a budget that you can afford but allows you to obtain reasonable-standard equipment. Then you go about obtaining price quotes from different vendors.

I obtained two quotes for the equipment with the same specification and passed the cheapest one of these on to my pastor who also obtained another quote for similarly-specified equipment. The idea behind having the many quotes allows for him to “haggle over” the right deal which is focused on value when it comes to purchasing the right equipment. You may also find that the just-superseded model that is being offered for clearance may become the option to go for as a way of saving money. This will typically happen as newer models are just being launched and the shopkeepers have to get rid of the older-model inventory to make way for the new models.

Sony MDS-JE520 MiniDisc deck working as an audio playout deck for a church

In some cases, you may find that particular vendors are consistently offering the right level of functionality and reliability for the right price. This may apply all across their product range or to a particular model in their product range and its successor models. Two examples that come to mind for me are the Sony MDS-JE520 MiniDisc deck and the Sony BDP-S390 Blu-Ray Disc player. Both of these units had the right functionality for their tasks with the MiniDisc deck being a reliable affordably-priced well-built unit having a comprehensive display and “auto-pause” which increased its appeal as an audio playout deck for churches, drama groups, community radio and the like; and the Blu-Ray player having full DLNA and Internet video functionality along with reliable Blu-Ray playback at an affordable price.

Sony BDP-S390 Network Blu-Ray Player – a Blu-Ray player that adds DLNA to an existing TV

It is infact a better practice to spend more time going about the process of purchasing the equipment than responding immediately to the first cheap offer you come across. Firstly, you are able to determine the specification that suits your needs, including the ability to call a minimum specification that you won’t go below. Here, once you have determined the specification, then you obtain different and competitive quotes for equipment of that specification.

As well, this kind of specification and purchasing encourages suppliers to answer the call by these organisations to supply equipment and software that fits these needs at a price they can afford. For that matter, if you have questions about purchasing the right equipment for your needs, please don’t hesitate to contact me by using the Contact Form on this site.