Service

Computing Management, Inc.'s Mission

Computing Management, Inc. (CMI) is an Information Technology Consulting Service located near Indianapolis, Indiana, providing outsourced computer system support and consulting services.  CMI services include computer and server installation, implementation, repair, support, and maintenance.  We work on all types of computer equipment, networking, and software running on both Windows Server and Linux servers.  Servers today may exist at your location or in the cloud.  Established in 1983, we have over 30 years of Information Technology experience, installing and supporting systems all around central Indiana.

Our mission is to help small and medium sized businesses manage their computing needs by taking advantage of the best available technology.  We provide reasonably priced consulting services to design, build, implement, repair, and maintain business computer systems.

Help Desk Technical Support

In the ever changing world of technology, users are expected to be more and more self sufficient in adapting to and using new technology.  The problem is that your business may rely on employees who are more creative in nature or managerial and technology does not come naturally to them.  A question or technical issue can stop a user's  productivity and lead to frustration, unless they have somewhere to turn for assistance from Help Desk Technical Support and Problem Solving.  In larger corporations, this is called the Help Desk, where an entry-level IT person would answer questions and solve problems on technical issues.  Unfortunately it is rare, especially for a small or medium sized business, to have their own Help Desk.  We can fill this void by serving the role of Help Desk Technical Support and provide assistance with problem solving.

Your computer network is the most used, most relied upon, most critical asset for running your business..... but it is probably the least appreciated.

There are two types of computer networks in business today. Those that were designed and installed well by competent professionals, and those that were not.  Most likely your network falls into the second category because you are looking for help and reading this!  Most networks that we encounter are a product of evolution.  When you first set up a network, it was a simple matter of running some wire around from computer to computer until the lights started blinking.  You either installed your first network yourself, or gave a deserving kid an opportunity to earn some money and gain experience while on summer vacation.  Maybe it was your own kid or relative and nobody wants to criticize their work.  It all seemed simple enough, but then you started adding more computers and eventually a server to share files.  You added Internet and maybe some multi-user software, printers, and other devices.  At some point, you added a wireless router so that your employees could use their laptops, smartphones, and tablets.  Somehow it all magically worked,,,, until it didn't!  This was all great until things started slowing down.  Strange error messages started appearing on your screens, and some computers could not get reliably connected.  Data got corrupted and you started having some real problems.  You can see from the variety of types and colors of network cable lying around that different people have come through and expanded or repaired your network, spendng no more than what it takes to get by.   You lost track of what goes where and what is actually being used. Employees come and go and nobody today really knows exactly what you have or understands how it all works, nor do they care. Eventually something breaks and you find out that the company, or individual who installed your network is out of business, or grew up and moved on.  Now you have a mess and you want someone to come in and straighten it all out.  Yes, we have seen it all before.  It is time for a new network, this time professionally installed!

Training is a great opportunity to receive user feedback.

Successful computer system administrators address the concerns of users.  Users have a unique perspective that can only come from real life experience using the system everyday.  They will be the first to notice problems or come up with ideas to make the system better. They care about their jobs.  They will let you know what should be done to make their job easier, more efficient, and help them meet expectations.  Users ideas and suggestions need to be fully appreciated and used to make improvements.

Give us a call so that we may evaluate your entire computing environment. We will recommend a IT System Administration and Maintenance Program that will keep everything running smoothly and reliably.

Every customer is different.  You may have a complex computing environment in desperate need of rescue, or you may just need someone to stop in from time to time to maintain a well running system.  Our objective is to make your systems run smoothly and perform maintenance on them so they will be reliable and capable of running your mission critical operations.

Companies need someone who is familiar with their entire computing environment. Computer systems need Administration.

We provide guidance to help navigate your business through a sea of technology.  We can perform a management, decision making role as a member of your team.

Decisions need to be made, and right or wrong decisions can make or break a business.  Without consistant administration, your computer system will be adrift and eventually show the signs of neglect.  Your system needs someone to keep a watchful eye on changing technology and innovations in Windows, Linux, network security issues, as well as all the hardware and software in use.  Someone needs to make practical recommendations on how to utilize new technology to your best advantage.  Someone needs to be looking down the road at emerging technology and the future of your company.

Many companies no longer have the luxury of their own IT Departments to, or even dedicated, qualified, IT Personnel as a result of downsizing or recent economic hardship.  Your computing environment is unique and it is wasteful to have different technicians come in from time to time and try to fix or maintain a system they are not familiar with. By performing regular maintenance and IT Technical support, we build a level of familiarity that will allow us to diagnose problems and implement solutions much more quickly, thus saving you a lot of money over time.

We have many years of experience successfully installing networks for small and medium sized business all over Central Indiana.

Typically a network install is the beginning of a long relationship with our customers.  We take the care and time to plan and do the job right.  We do not compromise quality on something that will wind up being so critical to the running of your business.  We stick to well established wiring and installation standards and follow best practices, which will make your network reliable and easy to expand and maintain in the future.  The last thing we want is for a poorly installed network to come back and haunt us.

Maybe there is still room for improvement in your existing computers.

The two most common upgrades we do to servers and workstations is adding as much memory as you can afford, and replacing your Mechanical Hard Drive with a newer and much faster Solid State Drive.

 

What may have seemed like a lot of memory at the time you bought your computer has gradually slipped below today's minimum recommend specifications.  The speed of your computer is highly dependent on having enough memory.  These days, having 4 GB of memory is average, and 8 GB is needed to make the newer versions of Windows run well.  Every update that is pushed out by Microsoft, seems to put more and more demand on the limited resources of your computer.  Windows XP, with all its updates, is an entirely different animal than what you started out with.

 

Solid state drives have come of age in terms of size, reliability, and affordability.  Solid State Drives, or SSD's run about eight times faster than your existing drive, so everything you do wll run faster.  We have the ability to upgrade your drive, without the need to reload your programs and data. Solid State Drives are also much more reliable than the older "mechanical" hard drives.

We like to build long lasting relationships with our customers.

We always keep our customer's best interest in mind and earn trust over time.  We know our customers and they know us on a first name basis.  We are not shy about telling you how and where to spend money for equipment and upgrades if it is something you truly need.  We spend our customer's money carefully as if it were our own, making sure it is spent wisely, finding a balance between too cheap and too expensive.  Our goal is to save our customers much more money than we charge them.   We want you to feel that your relationship with us is a valuable and profitable one.  We want to be a member of your team.

There is a lot more to user training than punching buttons and manipulating screens.

Users need to understand their role and how their part in using the computer system effects others.  They need to understand the importance of the information they put into the computer system and how it will be used.  They need to see the overall picture and how they are benefiting the company.  Users need to be trained on how to react to different situations and recognize when something is not right.  By catching and reporting problems early, they can be more easily fixed before they become major problems.  Users need to be trained in their particular role, as well as have a understanding of the roles of others through out the system.

Once the problem is identified, we can quickly get the resources you need.

We consider all the resources available to us whether it be placing a temporary server, offloading services to our own network, or knowing where to quickly obtain a critical replacement part.   We do whatever it takes to get you operational as quickly as possible.  An example of this is a customer who runs QuickBooks Enterprise on their server that crashed.  In order to buy time to build a new server, we installed their QuickBooks on one of our servers for the customer to access remotely.  Once the new server is up and running, the QuickBooks and Data were transferred to the new or repaired server.

We have loaner Servers, Switches, Routers, Hard Drives, and pretty much anything else to get your system back up and running so your business will not suffer.

Most major software companies will offer user training. We should go through the training with you.

By making us part of your team and having us go through the software training with you, we will be in a position to provide a first line of support helping your users get the most benefit out of the system.  We are used to learning new systems and should be included in any training offered by your software vendor.  By being trained ourselves, we are in a better position to train and support your users.  It is not uncommon for us to attend training on a Practice Management, Accounting, or maybe a Point of Sale / Inventory system in order to better understand the software our customers use.

Why do we not sell the hardware ourselves you ask.

The answer to that is mainly because of sales tax issues.  We are purely consultants.  We will recommend the hardware and software you need and then point you in the right directions so you may make your own purchase.  We do not profit from hardware sales so our advice is honest.  We make our money by consulting and installing computer systems.

Priority Service goes to our existing customers on Maintenance Programs.

This is one big advantage of being on a Maintenance Program with us. Not only do we provide you with Priority Service, but we would also be familiar with your overall computing environment.  This is like a firefighter being familiar with a building before fighting a fire there.  If you are not one of our regular customers, give us a call anyway.  We charge on an hourly basis at the rate of $150/hour with a minimum of three hours per incident.

There is a silver lining in every cloud.

Emergencies are unfortunate, but usually our customers are better off once the problem is solved.  You may wind up with a better system than you had before.  You may learn and take corrective actions that will make your system more reliable.  When we fix something, we fix it right and leave our customers in better shape as a result of the experience.