Woodruff was at her wit’s end when she met Dee Rudko, CEO of AMRCON three years ago through a business networking group.  “Dee and his professional technicians came out to talk with us about how they could help fix our problems,” said Woodruff.  That was the moment her computer problems turned into solutions. 

 “The insurance industry was always a bit behind other industries in automation, but has advanced in technology over the past 15 years,” Woodruff added.  “Over the years, we’ve had to expand our systems to include email capabilities, insurance agency software programs, and the capability to interface with our insurance carriers to quote and issue policies on-line.” 

 With an increased on system demands, there is inevitably an increase of potential problems.  “If we had to rely on a break/fix consultant, we would be down for days at a time and that would be totally unacceptable,” Woodruff said.  Instead, AMRCON updated all of Woodruff’s systems so they could handle the latest technologies. 

 AMRCON also eliminates viruses, updates software when the updates are beneficial, and backs up our data nightly – on and off-

 “First, we suggested that improving their back-up was a necessity,” said Jeff Surofsky, Support Engineer with AMRCON.  “We beefed up their on-site back-up and then added off-site back-up to protect their data in case of an office crash.”  AMRCON then recommended protecting Woodruff’s network with ODS managed services which manages software updates, proactively monitors for potential problems and corrects them in real time. 

 “They have helped us with updating our computer systems and given us advice on what to purchase,” Woodruff said.  “And, when AMRCON does the purchasing, not only are their prices competitive, but AMRCON also handles the installation.”

“The folks at AMRCON are like a family,” said Woodruff.  “And when I call them, I don’t feel like I’m just another customer.  Instead, I really get the feeling that I’m their only customer.”

 The Rudko’s have a few more trips up our sleeves. We’ll be in Lake George this week and in Connecticut in September. My sister Motria is getting married and everyone will be there, here is a picture of Deeko already pulling his tuxedo out of the closet. Yes, he does a lot of black tie events throughout the year so he has his own tux. I guess they really due emulate their father, I just didn’t think it would be this soon! My cloning project is working perfectly. We all hope Motria & Robert have a terrific day. It will be a great time, looking to report on it next month.

 We had a great time with my BNI networking group “Sweet Success” at the Blue Claws game. I don’t think Santino will be much of an athlete. He spent much of his time more interested in the bounce house and walking around. Deeko on the other hand has quite an arm and watched most of the game, waiting for a ball to come his way. Although I’m glad that the close ones we had were just out of reach since he didn’t have a glove! They have quite a stadium if you ever have the chance to go to a game. Plenty to do, even if you can’t sit still for the game. Here’s a shot of Santino and myself over in the outfield. Yes, it was just to the left of the bounce house, it’s the only way we got him to walk around for the shot.

 I’m looking forward to spending some final days on vacation with the kids. It’s all business for me until the end of the year. Well maybe not completely, but for the most part. We have quite a few projects to finish up and I always start thinking about end of year once the 3rd quarter ends. My wife Sunny laughs because she says I managed the family on the fiscal year. I guess I do, but what other way is there? Suggestions?

What will my kids talk about when they’re my age? Will it be Thomas the Tank Engine, The Wiggles, or maybe Buzz Lightyear? I wish I could only explain to them to stay where they are and grow up slowly.  For my sake and their own. I can’t believe my oldest is already 4, and the little guy is not so little anymore. I was always too ahead of myself, never in the moment. I lived my youth wanting time to go by quickly so I could start making my own decisions and get my career going. I think I started thinking that way a bit too young, at 10 or so. I’m just thinking that I hope my boys don’t follow that part of my footsteps. Any ideas on how to keep them right where they are?

We welcomed a new member of the family this month, congratulation’s to Douglas and Jenna on the birth of Douglas Thomas! I hope you guys get sleep soon, lol. It’s been so much fun to watch their oldest Nicolette and Santino grow up together. I’m still not used to being called Uncle Dee by 6 people ranging from 5 to 25 years old. I really got a jump start when I joined this family. It’s funny when Santino hangs out with my nieces and nephews and comes home calling me Uncle Dee.

So August seems it’s going to go by too fast. I hope everyone finds the time to get away and enjoy some summer before it’s gone. I think we have a few trips still planned, although scheduling them has been difficult. But I can’t complain, the year has been good to us and we’re all very thankful. More to come, be sure to comment on my questions. Come out and see us at our upcoming events. The Matawan-Aberdeen Idol Singing Contest will be August 3rd at 6PM on Main Street in Matawan, we have a few others before the end of summer so take a peek and come visit.

“Before AMRCON cleaned up our system, we used a number of independent IT consultants who just couldn’t prevent the constant crashes,” said Oster.  “I was dealing with day-to-day IT headaches, literally wasting hours of my time trying to fix computer problems that were so far out of our league.  In the end, we could never find the right way to solve the problems, which led to hours and sometimes days without computer availability.”

“I knew I needed to find someone who was better qualified to maintain my system, and that’s when two separate people referred me to Dee Rudko, CEO of AMRCON,” said Oster.  “That made my decision an easy one.” 

Just a week after Oster signed contracts with AMRCON, Better Qualified suffered its worst crash ever.  “AMRCON was still conducting its initial testing of our system, so we were not yet protected,” said Oster.  “We lost all of our data.  But I was confident that if anything could be done to retrieve our data, AMRCON could do it.”

That’s when Jeff Surofsky, Support Engineer at AMRCON, stepped in.  “Better Qualified was using a Network Attached Storage (NAS) unit which allowed them to share data among their 11 workstations,” Surofsky said.  “It suffered such a tough crash that we needed some time to work on it.  While we worked on the NAS, we provided a temporary unit so they could still be productive.”

In the end, AMRCON was able to retrieve 99% of all the data from the destroyed NAS.  “We set-up a new NAS and transferred all the data to the new unit,” said Surofsky.   “And, to better protect from future data loss, we maintain a second NAS for the company off-site that backs up their data in a protected environment.”

Better Qualified also signed on with AMRCON’s managed service product, “ODS,” which conducts regular scans of the network and pre-emptive corrections if problems are detected.  It’s been three months, and Oster has not had a single IT fire ruin his day.

“I am one of AMRCON’s number 1 fans,” said Oster.  “I couldn’t be happier.”

Reveals Itself in its Very Own Build-Out Project

Clients and friends know AMRCON as a network management business that features a proprietary managed service model, ODS Managed Services™, intended to prevent computer problems, improve network efficiency and reduce expenses.  They also likely know that AMRCON recently moved from its Keyport location to its new, larger location in Matawan to accommodate its growing business.

But, for those who thought they knew everything there was to know about AMRCON, prepare to be surprised.  One of AMRCON’s best-kept secrets is its project management and build-out services.  Yes, in addition to its network management service, computer diagnostics and repair, AMRCON can also manage the entire build-out for a business that is just starting up or moving locations. 

“We have managed build-outs for a number of clients,” said Dee Rudko, CEO of AMRCON.  “But, we are exceptionally proud to use our own recent build-out project as a model to showcase our skills and capabilities with project management and build-out services.”  

First, as with any project involving a start-up business or a re-location, AMRCON’s build-out began with a well-thought-out plan in advance, with diagrams and a professional engineering framework.  That plan delved into all major aspects of a project of this scope, including:  electrical needs; demolition; construction requirements, such as flooring, lighting, walls, and more; technology and security needs; and furnishings.

 “We were so well-prepared before we even packed a box that the actual move was completed in only six weeks,” said Dee.  “That goes to prove that AMRCON has the  experience and the technology to meet the most aggressive time lines successfully.”

So, what went into the AMRCON build-out project?  For those of you that have not yet visited the new office, here are some details:

• Front Office Area:  The new AMRCON office includes a comfortable, well-designed front reception area where guests will be formally greeted.
• Tech Office:  Just off the main reception area is a separate Tech Office for walk-in computer diagnostics and repair.  The new Tech Office can manage three times the capacity of walk-in projects than the previous AMRCON location could handle. 
• Conference Room:  The front area also includes a large conference room with a state-of-the-art Smart Board, video conferencing technologies for broadcasting of live webinars, and a break-out table sufficient for on-site trainings.
• Security:  AMRCON’s new location is outfitted with a highly technical security alarm and DVR surveillance system. 
• Furnishings:  With the exception of the new conference table and a few other necessary pieces, AMRCON was able to utilize all of the furniture from its prior location, which eliminated waste and reduced costs.
• Network Operations Center:  The new Network Operations Center, the heart of AMRCON, can hold twice the number of technical associates as the prior location. 
• Additional Office Space:  The new AMRCON location also includes a Break Room/Print Center, a Sales/Marketing Office, a Technical Management Office, and a private office for the CEO with a separate reception area.  There is also a small storage room, in addition to the off-site climate control storage that AMRCON maintains.
• Data Room:  Though AMRCON uses mostly virtual servers, the Data Room does hold some technical racks that are secured and alarmed.  The room has two tons of cooling and a back-up spot cooler.  There are also environmental probes to detect potential leaks and climate changes.  In case of any Data Room problems, AMRCON has power redundancy, which ensures that the network will never be down. 

The only aspect to the build-out that is not yet complete is the installation of a power generator.  “Since we have redundancy of power, a power outage will never affect our network servers,” said Dee.  “But, what our generator will do is ensure that our office phone systems and the computer in the Network Operations Room will always be operational.”

“So, what our own project build-out shows is what we’ve done for a number of other clients – the management of the entire job from start to finish,” said Dee.  “We are not only your computer experts when it comes to planning your office space, but we can be your General Contractors and ensure the job is done right the first time.”

For more information about AMRCON’s Project Management and Build-Out Services, call Dee at 732-705-5057.

After all of the excitement of the past few months the family had the chance to get away for a spell to the family house upstate. Funny, while we were there we found some familiar characters in the photo to the right. Does anyone recognize these notorious gangsters? OK, so maybe not all of us are notorious gangsters but the 2 little ones are for sure! We try and do it all up there, and it was funny that the last time we had done one of these pictures we only had Santino, so we had to get an updated photo. The extended weekend was mostly spent in the Lake George area, Water Slide World, the family house on the Hudson River and some stops here and in-between. I can honestly say I only opened up my laptop twice, and I think once was just to look something up locally. Can someone tell me if learning how to relax just comes with age? I’ll tell ya it’s been getting easier, but it’s so stressful for the years you try and figure out how to unstress! Doesn’t that defeat the purpose? Regardless, I’d like to hear from anyone that can tell me if and when they noticed things just got less stressful: was it at a certain age, monetary goal success, moving, children, marriage, promotion? What was it, or maybe it hasn’t happened?

More trips to come. If any of you want to share your thoughts in the blog, please feel free. I’ve also started a mission on Twitter “DeeRudko” and you probably all know how to find me on Facebook “Dee Rudko”. A new fun little application is Foursquare. It’s an application that allows you to check into locations as you move through your day, it also links back to Twitter and Facebook. Check it out. I’ve been playing a bit of a game with a few of my friends to see who can score the most check in points. So far Cliff has us all beat, but I’m trying to catch up. Check it out and search for me. If you haven’t started in social media, you should. The business opportunities are endless. The personal aspects are fun. I found people I haven’t talk to since grade school. Funny thing is I started networking with them in business as well. Funny, some of us were fighting on the playground, now we’re passing business referrals. Who would have thought?

What?  What does National Security have to do with me?  Well the short and simple answer is that “Security, being a chain is only as strong as its weakest link”.  Small Business owners are responsible for not only economic growth, but also contribute to the growth of online computing resources on the Internet.

Small Business owners have been feeling the pinch in the economy and as a result may have not spent the funds necessary to ensure that their networking environments have been secured.  We all have heard it before, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it”.

Communications is a key component in subversive activities both in the United States and abroad.  Small businesses and individual citizens have unknowingly assisted in the facilitation of these communications, through poorly secured communications systems including VoIP, Network and Email systems.

A poorly secured communications system deployed on the Internet, not only gives the ability to bounce or even originate communications to anywhere in the world, but it may in fact have legal consequences as well.  Minimally Small Businesses or individuals that have been breached may be impacted as a result of governmental computer systems flagging them as a person or an entity of interest for monitoring. 

For those of you reading this that have already made capital investments in communications systems, take the time verify that they are secure.  Some industry best practices include:

1.       The implementation of a hardware firewall that has been well configured
           (remember the minimalists approach in access is always the best).

2.       Disable unused services on both workstations and servers.

3.       Leverage anti-virus and anti-malware whenever possible.

4.       As a part of your audit policy, enable logging of all access, and authentication to secured resources.

5.       Implement a ridged password policy across all systems.

6.       Educate your users, (business related browsing only, deleting unwanted emails
          and never opening un-trusted downloads from the Internet).

No one can ever guarantee that a system is 100% secured as long as it has a network cable attached to the world, but taking some simple precautions can go a real long way.

For those of you that are currently ODS Managed Services customers rest assured that ongoing maintenance and monitoring of network resources is an integral part of our service.   For those of you who are not an ODS Managed Services clients we are able to provide an audit service to test and report how secure your network is.  Any remediation actions may then be performed under a professional service engagement.

By Taras Rudko CIO

Here is an idea of what our project consisted of. A formal case study to follow.

• Demolition – Carpet, walls, old cooling unit, flooring
• Carpentry – Drywall, doors, frame work
• HVAC – Reconfigured ceiling returns and ducts, replaced Data Center cooling with 2 Ton wall mount unit
• Electrical – Corrective work, re-cabled tele/data, cleaned up old wiring, installed TV’s, Smart-board
• Metal/Glass – New conference room glass door
• Fire/Security – Fire suppression, IP accessible alarm/alerting for Blackberry, Video Surveillance DVR
• Appliances – Refrigerator, microwave
• Paint – Drywall resurfaced, corrected, painted entire office, painted door frames
• Carpet – New carpet in entire office, Vinyl base
• Window Treatments – All installed privacy shades
• Branding – AMRCON logos, neon, door signs, banners, outdoor signs, lobby signs
• Furniture – Refitted furniture to reuse, purchased new office furniture, conference area furnishings
• Technology – New workstations, data center equipment refitted, over head cable racks, UPS power, Generator, cooling

These were some of the high level aspects of the build. As you can imagine you have permits, insurance and other logistic aspects that also need to be carefully managed in a move to ensure compliance and coverage during the process. We proudly have our vendors/partners displayed throughout the office to introduce you to.

We invite everyone to come and see us. We would like the opportunity to introduce AMRCON to a business looking to move, expand or build-out from start. We would be honored to provide a tour and explain how AMRCON can take many of the headaches out of such a project. Our experience allows us to replicate our process and avoid many of the technological pitfalls that might await you. We will have an official build-out case study coming shortly. However some might only be interested in learning more about AMRCON and ODS Managed Services, we would love to have you check us out as well.

Please be sure to visit us June 10th at 6PM – 8PM for our Grand Opening Event. Call for further details 732-705-5057  ext. 2302 to speak with Brenda.

Old Bridge Funeral Home opened in 2007 as a second location owned by Waitt-Nelms Funeral Home of Morganville.  Unfortunately, when the new location opened, the computer systems were not merged.  “Each office had its own software and no server, which meant we couldn’t share files among the staff,” said Hernandez.  A third location was added in 2009, making the computer confusion even harder to manage.

“In my business, I have to be available to clients 24/7,” said Hernandez.  “If I am in the Old Bridge office and I get a call from a client requesting information about the Morganville location, I have to be able to access that information immediately.  There was no easy way that I could do that under our previous system.” 

Knowing it was time for a change, Hernandez purchased new hardware and made arrangements with a computer company for installation.  But before the boxes were even opened, Hernandez met Dee Rudko, CEO of AMRCON, at a business meeting.  That chance meeting ended up being a very good thing for Hernandez.

“David had already purchased the equipment, but I told him that I would review his agreement to see if I could be of help,” said Rudko.  In the end, AMRCON was able to handle the installation of the new equipment at a significant cost savings than the original agreement.

“But we went beyond installation,” said Rudko.  “We knew how important it was for David and his staff at all three locations to be able to communicate seamlessly, so we set-up a server.  Now, all workstations at each location can share files,” Rudko said.  “In addition, we manage back-up for the funeral homes to protect important client and administrative data from potential crashes.”  Finally, Hernandez hired AMRCON to manage and monitor system security and updates to ensure the safety of his system and prevent down-time.”  

“This was a perfect example of a small business that needed simple functionality, but some advanced technology to achieve that,” said Rudko.  “That’s what we do at AMRCON.  We customize each plan to the specific Information Technology needs of each client.  No two clients are alike in their business, or their needs.”

“AMRCON helped make us much more efficient,” said Hernandez.  “For my business, AMRCON is so much more than just a computer company.  They offer a total solution.”

We’ve gained quite a few followers since then and have come a long way. We truly owe all of our success to our clients. We now have loyal ODS Managed Services clients in their 5th year of service. A client retention better than 98% and referrals that come in telling me how their colleague spoke to them about AMRCON for an hour about our quality of support. We really do want each and every client to be 110% satisfied with our service, our quality and professionalism. I know this is my personal page, but this means alot to me, making it personal! My humble thank you to all that have joined us along the way.

May brought closure to some pretty stressful matters, with that always come new ones. Yes, you heard it, I too can have stress. Although I’ll never show it, lol. At some point in my life I realized the need for balance. Without it we suffer and so will everyone around us. When someone asks me what I think the key to my success is, I’ll tell them spiritual, emotional, and physical balance. Some people call it various things, but for me that’s what it boils down to. I found it all made sense when some of the most successful, fulfilled, and happy individuals I knew followed some form of this unwritten law. Years ago I adopted it and can never go back. I thought I’d toss this in because it’s really how I hold together through anything put in my way. That’s what was on my mind for May.

June is just going to be terrific. AMRCON has so much going on from our Partner program continuing to excel, our ODS Managed Services trademarking, the new office, some great case study work coming soon and so much more. Keep tuned in – Dee Rudko, CEO