Service Level Agreement Template Tips For Building Solid Client Relationships By Joshua Feinberg
Do you use a service level agreement template to more efficiently manage client relationships? Templates are essential to running an efficient business with repeatable solutions, and can save you a lot of time and money.
Many computer consultants try to over-customize certain elements of their business. When you spend time re-inventing the wheel for each and every customer and client, instead of customizing already-working templates, you waste a lot of time and miss out on important business-building recurring service revenue streams.
Many computer consultants also mistakenly believe that templates will hurt client relationships because they will be too formal and rigid. But templates done right actually help nurture great relationships because they provide a solid, professional framework, while ensuring that your company gets paid on time, every time, and earns steady recurring service revenue.
The following 4 tips can help you understand the importance of having an effective service level agreement template program in place.
1.Understand Each Element of a Well-Designed Service Level Agreement Template. There are at least 9 important pieces of a comprehensive service level agreement (SLA) package. To make your business efficient, you should have templates in place for (a) annual service level agreement; (b) rate card; (c) non-disclosure agreement (NDA); (d) credit application; (e) credit reference letter; (f) change order form; (g) purchase authorization form; (h) client feedback survey; (i) contract renewal notice.
2.Templates Make You Look Professional. When you consistently use the same templates for all your clients to handle your service contract package, you show you really know what you are doing and that you are a legitimate computer consulting business. And when your clients see you can be trusted to organize and manage important information, they will see you as a credible provider of technology services and be more likely to enter into long-term agreements with your firm.
3.Don't Forget to Have Your Templates Reviewed by Your Attorney Before You Use Them. You must get any official agreement or document you use as part of your computer consulting business reviewed and approved by your lawyer before you use them. Otherwise you risk expensive legal mistakes, and compromising or destroying important relationships with clients. To avoid paying for your attorney to learn on your dime, at a cost of potentially several thousand dollars, consider writing your own first draft that takes into account the marketing and business issues that are most important to you. That way when you go to your attorney, you're mainly just paying for an hour or two of review time. And be sure to ask your attorney for their opinion on whether your service level agreement template is appropriate for (a) your personal financial situation, (b) your company's financial situation, (c) your business entity type, (d) your target client type, and (e) enforceability if needed.
4.A Service Level Agreement Template Protects You from Problematic Clients. Of course a professional computer consultant will have an attorney review any template for his/her business ... but no amount of documentation will completely protect you against the "World's Worst Client". You can't build a firm around one-shot deals. Service level agreements are the exact opposite of that concept. When you have a template in place for service agreements that clearly states your expectations of client relationships, you ensure you only work with those that will follow through and follow the rules.
In this article, we talked about important ways to build a stable computer consulting business. Learn more about how you can attract great, steady, high-paying clients now at http://www.ServiceLevelAgreementTemplate.com
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joshua_Feinberg
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Thursday, February 19, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Information Technology and Its Vicissitudes on the Flexibility of Organization
Information Technology and Its Vicissitudes on the Flexibility of Organization By Benedict Yossarian
The basic organizational values and capabilities of any business enterprise are vastly altered with the dawn of progress in information technology. The changes are not detrimental to the progress of enterprises; in fact the changes have been indeed very beneficial.
As stated by Henry C. Lucas, Jr. and Margrethe Olson from NYU and the DMR Group in Australia:
"Information technology (IT) contributes to flexibility by:
1) Changing the nature of organization boundaries and the time when work occurs
2) Altering the nature and pace of work
3) Helping firms respond to changing market conditions
But, there are also aspects of technology which can decrease flexibility, and there may be second-order impacts of flexibility that are not easily predicted."
Expenditures in the United States
In the United States alone, it has been estimated that capital expenditures for communications technology has reached over 1/3 of the total figure. This means that a sizeable chunk is being devoted to improving communication and data retrievable in businesses.
The picture has been optimistic since the dawn of the World Wide Wed, with the birth of decentralized data retrieval and data processing systems.
Uncertainty and flexibility
The issue in businesses is rooted in the uncertainty of doing business alone. The increased amount of expenditures in communications and other related technologies can be seen as one of the ways to safeguard one's business from financial harm.
In a world drawn completely to the centripetal movement of the global financial system, there is no clear indication what type of system would remain robust. In the long run, those who have been continually improving their systems will be the last to fall. This is manifested in the way the newer startups in the DOTCOM boom and bust have been able to roll with the tides.
Working with little capital, these small merchants have been able to brave and survive uncertain times by implementing strategic communication channels between buyer and seller.
Flexibility is the key term here, and is further is explained by Lucas and Olson:
"All of these observations suggest that flexibility is the ability to adapt when confronted with new circumstances; a flexible organization defends quickly against threats and moves rapidly to take advantage of opportunities. Flexibility provides the organization with the ability to adapt to change and respond quickly to market forces and uncertainty in its environment."
The investments take shape
What kinds of investments are we looking at here? The basic premise is that these investments are intrinsically linked with the improvement of production. Production takes a lot of work; and is now being aided by the most powerful computer systems.
As stated by Lucas and Olson, even the mechanization of basic forms of data is part of the progressive turn to information technology:
"Significant IT investment is for basic mechanization of the records of production and distribution of goods and services (e.g., invoices) or for actions like themselves, electronic money transfer. Technology is also used for manufacturing (such as CAD/CAM) and computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). A centralized database enables production and dissemination of information for management control as a by-product of mechanization."
The author of this article is Benedict Yossarian. Benedict recommends Comm Store for all your networking needs including Cat 5e Cable and also Root3 for IP CCTV systems
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Benedict_Yossarian
The basic organizational values and capabilities of any business enterprise are vastly altered with the dawn of progress in information technology. The changes are not detrimental to the progress of enterprises; in fact the changes have been indeed very beneficial.
As stated by Henry C. Lucas, Jr. and Margrethe Olson from NYU and the DMR Group in Australia:
"Information technology (IT) contributes to flexibility by:
1) Changing the nature of organization boundaries and the time when work occurs
2) Altering the nature and pace of work
3) Helping firms respond to changing market conditions
But, there are also aspects of technology which can decrease flexibility, and there may be second-order impacts of flexibility that are not easily predicted."
Expenditures in the United States
In the United States alone, it has been estimated that capital expenditures for communications technology has reached over 1/3 of the total figure. This means that a sizeable chunk is being devoted to improving communication and data retrievable in businesses.
The picture has been optimistic since the dawn of the World Wide Wed, with the birth of decentralized data retrieval and data processing systems.
Uncertainty and flexibility
The issue in businesses is rooted in the uncertainty of doing business alone. The increased amount of expenditures in communications and other related technologies can be seen as one of the ways to safeguard one's business from financial harm.
In a world drawn completely to the centripetal movement of the global financial system, there is no clear indication what type of system would remain robust. In the long run, those who have been continually improving their systems will be the last to fall. This is manifested in the way the newer startups in the DOTCOM boom and bust have been able to roll with the tides.
Working with little capital, these small merchants have been able to brave and survive uncertain times by implementing strategic communication channels between buyer and seller.
Flexibility is the key term here, and is further is explained by Lucas and Olson:
"All of these observations suggest that flexibility is the ability to adapt when confronted with new circumstances; a flexible organization defends quickly against threats and moves rapidly to take advantage of opportunities. Flexibility provides the organization with the ability to adapt to change and respond quickly to market forces and uncertainty in its environment."
The investments take shape
What kinds of investments are we looking at here? The basic premise is that these investments are intrinsically linked with the improvement of production. Production takes a lot of work; and is now being aided by the most powerful computer systems.
As stated by Lucas and Olson, even the mechanization of basic forms of data is part of the progressive turn to information technology:
"Significant IT investment is for basic mechanization of the records of production and distribution of goods and services (e.g., invoices) or for actions like themselves, electronic money transfer. Technology is also used for manufacturing (such as CAD/CAM) and computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). A centralized database enables production and dissemination of information for management control as a by-product of mechanization."
The author of this article is Benedict Yossarian. Benedict recommends Comm Store for all your networking needs including Cat 5e Cable and also Root3 for IP CCTV systems
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Benedict_Yossarian
Five Reasons Why Your Business Needs an NTP Server
Five Reasons Why Your Business Needs an NTP Server By Richard N Williams
Most businesses these days rely on a computer network. Computers in most organisations conduct thousands of tasks a second, from controlling production lines; ordering stock; preparing financial records and communicating with computers on other networks - often from the other side of the world.
Computers use just one thing to keep track of all these tasks: time. Timestamps are the computers only reference for when an event or task occurs in relation to other events. They receive time in the form of timestamps and they measure time in periods of milliseconds (thousandth of a second) as they may conduct hundreds of processes each second.
A global timescale known as UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) has been developed to ensure computers from different organisations all over the world can synchronise together. So what happens if the clocks on computers don't coincide with each other or with UTC?
The consequences of running a network with computers that are not synchronised can be disastrous. Here are five reasons why all businesses need adequate network synchronisation using a NTP server (Network Time Protocol) or other network time server device.
1. Tasks fail to happen:
When computers are running at different times, events on different machines can fail to happen as often a PC may assume an event on another machines has already happened if the time for that event has passed according to its own clock. And what is worse, when one task fails it has a knock-on effect with other tasks failing to happen and in turn causing further tasks to fail.
2. Loss of Data:
When tasks fail to happen it soon gets noticed but when networks are not synchronised data that is meant to be kept can quite easily be lost and it can go unnoticed for quite a while. Data can be lost because storage as and retrieval is also reliant on time stamps.
3. Security Breaches:
When networks are not synchronised log files are not recorded properly or in the right order which means that hackers and malicious users can breach security unnoticed. Many security software programs are also reliant on timestamps with anti-virus updates failing to happen or scheduled tasks falling behind. If your network controls time-sensitive transactions then this can even result in fraud if there is a lack of synchronisation.
4. Legal Vulnerability:
Time is not just used by computers to order events it is used in the legal world too. Contracts, receipts, proof-of-purchase are all reliant on time. If a network is not synchronised then it becomes difficult to prove when transactions actually took place and it will prove difficult to audit them. Furthermore, when it comes to serious matters such as fraud or other criminality a dedicated NTP server or other network time server device synchronised to UTC is legally auditable, its time can not be argued with!
5. Company Credibility:
Succumbing to any of these potential hazards can not just have devastating effects on your own business but also that of your clients and suppliers too. And the business grapevine being what it is any potential failing on your part will soon become common knowledge amongst your competitors, customers and suppliers and be seen as bad business practices.
Running a synchronised network adhering to UTC is not difficult. Many network administrators think that synchronisation just means an occasional time request to an online NTP time source; however, doing so will leave a system just as vulnerable to fraud and malicious users as having no synchronisation. This is because to use an Internet time source would require leaving a permanent port open in the firewall.
The solution is to use a dedicated NTP time server that receives a UTC time source from either a radio transmission (broadcast by national physics laboratories) or the GPS network (Global Positioning System). These are secure and can keep a network running to within a few milliseconds of UTC.
Richard N Williams and Richard Hawkesford are technical authors and specialists in atomic clocks, telecommunications, NTP and network time synchronisation helping to develop dedicated NTP clocks. Please visit us for more information about an NTP server or other network time server solutions.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_N_Williams
Most businesses these days rely on a computer network. Computers in most organisations conduct thousands of tasks a second, from controlling production lines; ordering stock; preparing financial records and communicating with computers on other networks - often from the other side of the world.
Computers use just one thing to keep track of all these tasks: time. Timestamps are the computers only reference for when an event or task occurs in relation to other events. They receive time in the form of timestamps and they measure time in periods of milliseconds (thousandth of a second) as they may conduct hundreds of processes each second.
A global timescale known as UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) has been developed to ensure computers from different organisations all over the world can synchronise together. So what happens if the clocks on computers don't coincide with each other or with UTC?
The consequences of running a network with computers that are not synchronised can be disastrous. Here are five reasons why all businesses need adequate network synchronisation using a NTP server (Network Time Protocol) or other network time server device.
1. Tasks fail to happen:
When computers are running at different times, events on different machines can fail to happen as often a PC may assume an event on another machines has already happened if the time for that event has passed according to its own clock. And what is worse, when one task fails it has a knock-on effect with other tasks failing to happen and in turn causing further tasks to fail.
2. Loss of Data:
When tasks fail to happen it soon gets noticed but when networks are not synchronised data that is meant to be kept can quite easily be lost and it can go unnoticed for quite a while. Data can be lost because storage as and retrieval is also reliant on time stamps.
3. Security Breaches:
When networks are not synchronised log files are not recorded properly or in the right order which means that hackers and malicious users can breach security unnoticed. Many security software programs are also reliant on timestamps with anti-virus updates failing to happen or scheduled tasks falling behind. If your network controls time-sensitive transactions then this can even result in fraud if there is a lack of synchronisation.
4. Legal Vulnerability:
Time is not just used by computers to order events it is used in the legal world too. Contracts, receipts, proof-of-purchase are all reliant on time. If a network is not synchronised then it becomes difficult to prove when transactions actually took place and it will prove difficult to audit them. Furthermore, when it comes to serious matters such as fraud or other criminality a dedicated NTP server or other network time server device synchronised to UTC is legally auditable, its time can not be argued with!
5. Company Credibility:
Succumbing to any of these potential hazards can not just have devastating effects on your own business but also that of your clients and suppliers too. And the business grapevine being what it is any potential failing on your part will soon become common knowledge amongst your competitors, customers and suppliers and be seen as bad business practices.
Running a synchronised network adhering to UTC is not difficult. Many network administrators think that synchronisation just means an occasional time request to an online NTP time source; however, doing so will leave a system just as vulnerable to fraud and malicious users as having no synchronisation. This is because to use an Internet time source would require leaving a permanent port open in the firewall.
The solution is to use a dedicated NTP time server that receives a UTC time source from either a radio transmission (broadcast by national physics laboratories) or the GPS network (Global Positioning System). These are secure and can keep a network running to within a few milliseconds of UTC.
Richard N Williams and Richard Hawkesford are technical authors and specialists in atomic clocks, telecommunications, NTP and network time synchronisation helping to develop dedicated NTP clocks. Please visit us for more information about an NTP server or other network time server solutions.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_N_Williams
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