It is the worst feeling in the world when it comes to your computer. You try to open a file only to realize it is gone. As you search for some other files, you discover that you’ve lost entire years worth of work. You call up your computer guy to ask him to restore the files from the backups you do every night. The only problem is that the files you are missing were never backed up! Why didn’t someone check that? Why weren’t you told when you could actually do something about it?

In all my years of providing computer support, there has been nothing worse than telling someone that their data is gone. Sometimes, it is only a folder or two, but more often it is nearly all their data. And all of it can be prevented incredibly easily.

There is a lot of technical junk I could get into to let you know how to keep your data safe, and make sure it is backed up. Since I don’t know your business though, I’ll keep it simple. Please know that my suggestions here are just starting points, and you should talk with your IT guy about specifics. If you are a manufacturer that doesn’t have an IT guy or you are looking for an IT service provider, we can help you keep your data safe.

The Basics

You always want to have your documents folder backed up. And, if you keep a lot on your desktop, you need those files backed up too. There may be other places on your PC where important files are lurking, but making sure to protect your documents folder and desktop is the critical first step.

There are a ton of services out there that provide offsite backups, and this is my recommended method. If you backup to an external hard drive or a USB flash drive, you can obviously lose the device and either device can become damaged so that the data is not retrievable. An offsite backup of your files means that they are stored securely on a server, and can be accessed over the Internet when you need to retrieve them.

I prefer a service called Dropbox for backups. It is intended more for making your files accessible on nearly any device, but it does a fine job of backing up without any hassles. Walking you through using Dropbox is beyond the scope of this post, but Dropbox has some great tutorials on their website. Just remember to make sure your documents folder and desktop are included in the backup.

Protect Your Data

Take the step now to protect your files, before you can’t get them back. Get with your IT guy or contact us to get information on options that are tailored to your business. You can’t get your data back once it is gone, but protecting it is easier than it ever has been.

Even low-end printers, those in the $80-$100 range, now come with wireless capability. But are they worth it for your manufacturing business? The answer is yes. Let me explain why.

If you already have a wireless network at your plant or office, hooking up the printer to your wireless network will save you hours of headaches and frustrations later on. Unfortunately, they may cause more headaches in the short term. For all of the promises from the printer manufacturers that even a baby could setup a wireless printer, that just isn’t true. Even we have run into problems setting them up, and they don’t always work as advertised right out of the box. For this reason, we recommend that you still call a professional to come install your new wireless printer. Once it is setup though, the benefits are incredible for your manufacturing business.

Many new HP wireless printers have a technology called ePrint. ePrint allows you to print wirelessly from a variety of devices. For example, Apple’s iPhones and iPads can print wirelessly to these printers without any setup. Once the HP wireless printer is setup on your network, you just choose print from your iPhone or iPad, and the device finds the printer and prints. If you have multiple HP wireless printers that support ePrint, your iPhone or iPad will ask which one you want to print to.

Windows Vista & Windows 7 also make printing to a wireless printer easy. Unlike older computers with Windows XP, Windows Vista & Windows 7 computers can automatically detect and install any wireless printer on your wireless network. The worst case in these circumstances is that you have to put the printer software CD in the computer to complete the installation.

In short, after the hard part of connecting the wireless printer to your wireless network is done, setting it up on your computers and even mobile devices is incredibly simple. The easy and simple setup of nearly any computer or device is why we love wireless printers for our manufacturing clients. As more manufacturers shift some of their employees to other devices, wireless printers will be the standard. When looking at a future printer purchase, it is definitely worth your time to consider a wireless printer.

The iPad is a little over a year old, and the iPhone is now 4 years old. However, these two products, and others like them, are changing the way workers get their jobs done.

We are already seeing our manufacturing clients begin to give their workers iPads in order to increase efficiency and reduce costs over the long term. The iPad makes input on the plant floor easier, helps keep everyone on the same page, and drastically lowers the amount of paper that needs to be used. The iPad may be a great plaything, but it is also a huge productivity booster for manufacturers when implemented correctly.

You’ll see more and more manufacturers look to supplement or even replace some desktop computers with mobile devices like the iPad and iPhone. Being more productive and therefore more profitable is driving this change. Have you found out whether adding some iPads to your manufacturing business could help move your business forward? If you haven’t, we would be happy to help.

“How often should we replace our computer systems with newer models?” I hear this asked quite a bit, so let me take a minute to address it.  Your typical business desktop computer should last about 3-4 years. The parts inside will obviously last longer, but by the fourth year you reach the limit of how cost effective it is to upgrade versus purchasing a new computer system.

This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it is a great rule of thumb for any manufacturing business. Let’s shift gears to how computers are usually replaced. When they die. Instead of setting up a schedule to ensure computers are replaced on a timely schedule before they fail, many manufacturers wait until the computer dies before replacing it. This may seem to be the most inexpensive option, but it is actually the most costly. Let me give you three reasons.

1. Files cannot always be recovered from a dead PC. This means that your manufacturing business may have lost some important information if the files weren’t backed up right before the computer died.
2. The employee is left waiting while a new computer is delivered and setup. Just try getting a good business computer system, and I don’t mean one you buy at Staples, delivered and setup within 24 hours.
3. The employee has usually suffered errors for months. Computers usually give a warning before they die, and these warnings are error messages, lock ups, etc. That means that, before their computer died, your employee was likely slowed down and frustrated for months with computer problems.

Setting up a computer replacement plan that replaces your computers on a schedule is the most inexpensive and efficient option for your manufacturing business. Any plan can use the 3-4 year rule as a baseline, but replacement times will vary depending on who uses the computers. For example, your CAD engineers need new computers every 2-3 years, while an administrative assistant can usually go 4-5 years before a replacement. We provide this plan with Next Level, and I encourage you to work with someone to develop a plan that fits the needs of your manufacturing business. It will save you time, money, and make your manufacturing business more efficient.