FAQs

F.A.Q.

Should I upgrade my equipment or purchase new equipment?

Quite often with a few tweaks and upgrades of your existing equipment can be given a new lease on life, and what you thought was only good for the tip, might prove to have some life in it yet. Talk to us to see if your existing equipment can be useful for the years ahead.

Do I need regular professional IT service, or can I do some of it myself?

Many businesses have staff with a good level of technical proficiency. All they need is a professional who can help them through some of the trickier tasks. P1 Technology can provide casual support services to help your business through some of the tougher IT assignments and help provide step by step instructions that your permanent staff can utilise to help keep your IT infrastructure running smoothly.

How do I know my backups are working and include all my valuable data?

All backup programs have log files, or reporting functions. These are usually the first step in checking if your backups are working correctly. But the only surefire way to ensure your backups are working correctly is to do a test restore of your backed up data. P1 Technology can run test restores on your valuable data to ensure that if disaster strikes you can wind back the clock.

How do I know my IT systems are secure?

People always think that IT security is rocket science, and in larger organisations (100’s of users) with many internet facing services this can be true. However most small to medium business only have a few simple services available from the outside, and simple things like strong passwords, and up to date Anti-virus and internet security software are the key to ensuring your systems security.

How can I prevent all this spam that I’m getting?

You might already have the software to prevent the worst of the SPAM from reaching your inbox. The most common email clients and mail servers have inbuilt SPAM filtering software. But most users have no idea it is there, or how to effectively utilise it. So if you are sick of getting emails advising you of a lost inheritance, or offering you jobs you didn’t apply for, or can’t put up with any more offers of penis enlargement, then call P1 Technology today to find out which simple method of reducing SPAM is the most appropriate for you.

What are managed services and why should I invest in them?

Managed Services allow you to control the technology in your business with a proactive rather than reactive approach.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is locked-down by your managed services provider. You can have as little or as much management as you like but working with a managed services provider gives you the power of knowing what the status of your IT systems and equipment is. Do you know how many computers your business owns? How about which ones have up to date anti-virus or security patches? Or how many of your computers are still under warranty? These are examples of the information a basic managed services program can help you monitor.

If you’d like to offload more of the tech-stress in your business, a higher-level managed services program can include all your IT management expenses for a month or a year. This excludes the cost of hardware and software, but managing your maintenance, monitoring and support costs means you can factor these expenses into your business budget.

Whatever your managed service level, at P1 Technology you’ll have peace of mind that an experienced team of technicians know what’s what with your business IT systems. They know your people and your business and this means more effective and efficient IT support

What’s the best way to allow my staff to work remotely?

To answer this question properly, we really need to know more about your business and how you want remote access to work for you.

Moving services to the cloud can often help with working remotely, but sometimes this isn’t possible for a variety of reasons. There are other ways to achieve remote access though and they all come with their own unique set of costs and security implications. Before we recommend any solution as the “best”, we’ll help you assess which remote access method is actually “best” for your business.

I need a Point of Sale (POS) system. How do I know which one is best for me?

Point of Sale systems are a critical component of many modern product and service based businesses. And the one that’s best for your business will depend on what your business and industry requirements are and potentially what other software you need your system to integrate with.

We work with a range of POS specialists to help your business deliver a hassle free experience for your customers and can implement many different POS platforms including Nobly POS, NetSuite, Lightspeed, Epos Now, AmberPOS and Springboard Retail (along with many others).

We can also help you with your POS hardware and the management of the backend systems and other technology that your POS system relies on in order to perform consistently at its best.

My business internet keeps dropping out. What can I do about it?

This truly is one of the most frequently asked questions we get at P1 Technology. We also regularly get questions about improving internet speeds and when the NBN is coming.

If you’ve ever called your internet service provider (ISP), you will have jumped through all the useless troubleshooting hoops: reset your password; turn it off and on again; it’s a problem with your modem; it’s your cabling; and the list goes on. More often than not, the problem remains and sometimes these processes can even make things worse.

The fact is, that most businesses are actually connected to a consumer grade, shared internet infrastructure. So whatever your ISP tells you, there are no guarantees about your internet speed or reliability.

By working with a range of partners who can provide genuine commercial grade internet solutions, we can help take the hassle out of staying connected. We work with telecommunications, data cabling, internet services and networking equipment to get results that will make a huge difference to the way you do business.

Don’t wait for the NBN to be rolled out in your area – there’s no guarantees that this will solve the problem. Have a chat to us instead and we’ll help you work out the very best way to get connected and stay that way

Is an onsite server the best option for me or should I consider moving to the cloud?

This is a common question that unfortunately doesn’t have one clear answer. Every business is different and what works for you won’t necessarily work for someone else.

The best way to get an answer to this question is to get in touch with us. We’ll get to know your business, your people, how they work and what their pain points are, then use our extensive experience and product knowledge to make the right recommendation for your business.

Does the National Data Breach Scheme apply to my business?

The NDB Scheme applies to a wide range of Australian businesses including Australian Government agencies, businesses and not-for-profit organisations with an annual turnover of $3 million or more, credit reporting bodies, health service providers, and TFN recipients, among others.

BUT – this isn’t the most important question you should be asking. What you should be asking is this –

“If my business were to experience a data breach, what impact would that have on my clients, suppliers, staff and reputation?”

Having to consider this question at any time for any business isn’t something most businesses want to think about. But simply hoping it doesn’t happen to you isn’t a solution to data protection.

By implementing some simple preventative measures and creating education amoungst your staff, as well as putting some thought into what needs to happen in the event of a breach will help you sleep better at night.

Talk to the P1 Technology team today about our NDB compliance solutions and how we can help reduce the risk.

I think my business data has been hacked. What should I do?

Speak with your IT provider as soon as possible.

The symptoms of an attack can be wide and varied, as can the causes and possible solutions.

Data backups, detailed site documentation and an experienced IT team who know your business, your people and your systems are the key to containing and recovering from any data breach.

If you think you’ve been breached and you don’t have an IT provider, get in touch with P1 Technology as soon as possible so we can help you.