Services to Address IT Principles and Practices

In 2011 Colorado Nonprofit Association added an "Information Technology" section to its "Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence in Colorado". These principles are, for many nonprofit organizations, aspirational in nature and may reflect a future desired state. In this light, Harper Communications has developed services that meet the special needs of various nonprofit organizations. Our goal is to provide services that recognize the organization's current state and help improve the IT environment, including matching the IT strategy with mission.

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What Is Cloud Computing?
  • Cloud Computing is servers, storage, and network bandwidth that quickly adjusts to customer needs and available on a monthly subscription basis. Cloud computing means customers have practically unlimited computing resources.

  • Cloud Computing is:
    • Scalable on demand. Customers pay for only what they need and only when you need it.
    • The best enterprise software at a fraction of the cost.
    • Expertly managed processes and updates.
    • An operating expense, not a capital expenditure.
    • Up-to-date technology - easier for you to provide leading edge products and services to your users.

  • Harper Communications' cloud computing solutions include: virtual servers; dedicated servers; virtual desktops; hosted security; cloud communications (hosted IP-PBX and telephones); hosted off-site backup storage; web hosting, hosted email; hosted teleconferencing; and remote IT managed services.

  • Harper Communications recommends cloud computing products and services after a thorough consultative assessment of the client company's environment to ensure the client company will receive exactly the solution they need with no wasted no wasted money, resources, or time. Harper Communications will work with you to engineer your IT solution so that our client company receives the most up-to-date and efficient IT solutions available at the best prices.
What is a Managed Services Package?
  • A Managed Services Package is a package of services offered by Harper Communications that provides a customer monitoring, management and maintenance of all IT devices such as routers, switches, servers, work stations, phone systems and firewalls. It is intended to transfer the day-to-day operations of IT management from the customer to the Microtech-Tel Data and Network Operations Center so that the customer is freed to focus on their core business, and not IT

  • The NOC is staffed with system engineers that monitor the customer's equipment. The engineers have visibility to the customer's IT systems and monitor, manage and maintain the customer's system on a 7 day week, 24 hours per day by 365 day per year schedule. The customer's systems are monitored for alarms, optimum functionality and up-to-date functioning of all systems. The customer is notified if any system requires any attention at all based on the monitoring of alarms, if the system is bogged down and not functioning optimally or if any applications need updating

What Is a Virtual Desktop?
  • A virtual desktop is an innovation in cloud computing that allows Harper Communications to provide an entire client company's computing environment to a single user on a remote device such as a laptop computer, a thin client desktop device or a tablet computer, like for example, an iPad.

  • The virtual desktop can be run on existing desktops or laptops that the customer owns or the customer can purchase thin clients. The functionality of the virtual desktop is designed so that it allows the remote device that doesn't have the operating system or applications to utilize them from the server in the Microtech-Tel Data Center, as if it did. Therefore the cost of buying and maintaining desktop computers, smart phones, tablets and other devices is lower.

What is Hosted Security, Back-up and Disaster Plan?
  • Hosted Security is a set of systems including firewalls, multiple levels of authentication and certificates on user devices within the customer's IT environment designed to protect against internet threats such as worms, SPAM, Trojans or other malicious attacks seeking to gain entry into a customer's IT environment. The security systems are hosted in the Microtech-Tel Data Center and communicate with every device within the customer's environment to monitor, manage, maintain and update all security systems on a continual basis.

  • Remote Back-up and Disaster Recovery are ways to maintain and recover those original or most recently created customer files that have been compromised, corrupted or destroyed.

What is Bandwidth?
  • The term 'bandwidth' refers to the amount of information or data that can be sent over a network connection in a given period of time. The greatest determinant of a customer's success will be whether or not they have adequate bandwidth to support a cloud computing solution. Client companies cannot afford to not have adequate bandwidth to efficiently run the cloud computing, managed services or cloud communications solutions.

    • Harper Communications provides many types of bandwidth products, but the most common and affordable bandwidth types for cloud computing include:

    • * DSL – Digital Subscriber Line is a wide area connection with a focus on small businesses who desire a cost effective Internet connection.

    • * T1, Bonded T1, or Integrated T1 – T1 circuits are a highly reliable wide area point-to-point connection. A fraction of the full T1 or bonded T1 circuits may be offered to customers who need less or more bandwidth.

    • *  Cable Internet Access – High speed business class Internet provided by a cable TV provider.

  • As is our commitment to the success of our client companies, Harper Communications will consult with you to help you to determine the best bandwidth products and configuration for your IT solution!

What is Cloud Communications?
  • Cloud communications is a set of customer business telephone system packages that are provided to customers based on that customer's needs. Harper Communications can provide telephones, telephone lines, telephone service and telephone features to meet every customer's telephone requirements. The data center provides digital telephone service to customers over the internet instead of through regular analog telephone lines. Cloud communications works in a very similar way to a virtual server installation because its functionality is hosted and provided by the Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange (IP-PBX), which acts like a server for telephone "stuff". Harper Communications provides communications "stuff", or more appropriately termed, telephony from the data center into the "cloud". That is why internet telephony provided by Harper Communications through the data center is called "cloud communications".