Small Businesses, Startups, Home Offices all require distinct services from IT Professionals - This has led us to describe here the items you need in higher levels instead of talking about the underlying technologies needed.  We think of this as our "office space" versus discussing bricks, shingles, windows, drywall, etc. 

There are a LOT of different things our building blocks can be used for - Think of us like the general contractor who can build whatever building you need combined with a real estate agent who can find what things exist already and can assist you with that.

We have pages in the menu above for various popular applications, if you want a more technical description of how our services work then feel free to explore the IT PROs section of our site - However please realize this is geared towards TRUE IT Professionals and as such does NOT talk about the higher levels - Instead we discuss the bricks, the type of mortar used, why our buildings are better than the next builder, etc.

The most common things that almost every small business asks us about:

• Basic Web Site - This is a site you've already had built and want us to make sure it's available 24/7 worldwide.
  • Consider upgraing to a Web Portal - A web portal allows you to easily update wording on your site without involving a designer, but not update the look and feel of the site usually (we DO allow you to update that, however generally we recommend a professional handle that to make sure it continues to work with all browsers / visitors).
• EMail Solution - A lot of small businesses may have a web site but don't use their "domain name" in the email - You should strongly consider the added professional image of an email address like feedme@INeedSpam.com (that's there for spammers to find, do *NOT* email it!).

Things every business SHOULD have:

• Blog - Blogs are just quick simple "notes" or "stories" sharing something for the day - Instead of being highly organized like a site (or at least like a site SHOULD be) they are generally only ordered by date.
• Audio/Video - In today's world people want to be "shown" not read about things - Consider using audio and video to get the point across.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - Following up and staying in touch with your customers and prospects is critical - When your business slows down who better to ask if they need your services again than a repeat customer?
  • EMail Campaign Management - EMailing customers is a great way to follow up, we have solutions both that integrate with your CRM or simpler systems for newsletters and such.
  • Mailing List Management - Who doesn't wish they had a better mailing list of past customers? It takes a little investment in time to enter each customer, but the long term benefits are WELL worth the cost.

If you have a small business with multiple employees you should consider:

• Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) - This gives you all the solutions a larger business has, in-house dedicated EMail server, database server, intranet for information sharing, etc.  There's two ways to get SBS: 
  • Buy a computer with SBS pre-installed (various manufacturers offer this)
  • Hire a consultant to install SBS and configure it for you (it's quite affordable and doesn't require much time)
  • Allow BitShop to rent you a dedicated (only yours) SBS Server - You may still want a consultant for customizations.
• Run My Software: Would it be cheaper to have your computers managed by someone else? Today there are technologies to allow you to utilize, over the internet securely, other larger systems for your day to day tasks instead of your local computer.  The advantage of this is if your local computer breaks you just grab another one (a spare, a replacement, etc.) and continue working.  Your data is backed up by experts and software patches are applied by experts in a timely manner.
• Discuss with a consultant how to better utilize technology in your business
  • Don't view technology as PURELY a cost - If utilized correctly it produces a wonderful return on your investment - For example if it can save you time finding who owes you money then an accounting / bookkeeping package immediately pays for itself.
  • Unfortunately many consultants don't understand the value of the business data and therefore they simply take your money, provide their time, but don't look at the return to YOU.
  • Realize the larger your business the faster the return on the investment in technology - Continuing our example of finding who owes you money - If a SINGLE customer owes you $100 then account software won't pay for itself, however if 100 people owe you $100 each ($10k) and you aren't sure which have paid, which need past due letters, which need to be turned over to collection agencies, etc. then the return is almost immediate - collection only a few customers pays for the software (versus not collecting at all, I know you don't operate at 100% profit per sale - But not being paid cost you 100% of the sale).