When it comes to office email software, most people support one of several services: Microsoft Outlook, Gmail and others. A vast majority of companies use Microsoft Outlook and have either considered using Gmail or are in the process of switching over. Gmail and Outlook both have large amounts of fans, and when asked to switch from Outlook to Gmail, many don’t want to. There is a way around this though.

If you have employees who are reluctant to switch from Outlook to Gmail, there is a way to use the Gmail platform with the familiarity of Outlook through a feature Google calls Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook. Here’s how you can set it up. Note: you need to be a Google Apps Administrator for this to work.

1. Log in to your Google account and navigate to your Dashboard. From there go to the Settings tab (located on the bar going across the top of the window) and click Email (located on the left of the window). Under the General tab scroll down and tick the box that says Enable Google Apps Sync and Google Apps Connector for my users.
2. Scroll down to User email uploads and tick the box that says Allow users to upload mail using the Email Migration API. This will allow users to upload their profiles from Outlook.
3. Select Contacts from the left side of the screen and select Enable contact sharing.
4. Click the Dashboard tab from the top of the window, and select Your Google Apps and ensure that Google Calendar is on.
5. Navigate to Domain Settings, the tab is at the top of the window, select User Settings and check the box that says Enable provisioning API.
6. Download and install the Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Office tool. It should run automatically.
7. Sign in to Google Apps Sync and select which data is to be merged from Outlook into Gmail and press Create profile. A screen will pop up asking you to open Outlook. When you do, the migration will then start.
8. While the migration is in progress, which could take a while, right click on the Google Sync icon on the bottom right of your screen (beside the clock) and select Set calendars to sync. Select the calendars and hit Ok.

After the sync is complete, your employees will be able to continue to use Outlook to compose and send emails. Outlook will also sync with Gmail. If you have any questions about the syncing process please contact us.

The Internet is a constantly improving entity with websites demanding an ever faster Internet connection. While the Internet is blazing fast compared to the connection speeds of just five years ago, many small businesses have to make do with limited connections that often cost an arm and leg. Google wants to change this and has recently introduced their own Internet connection.

In late July Google introduced its new Internet and TV service, Google Fiber and Google Fiber TV. The service aims to bring 1-gigabit Internet connections (1,000 megabits) and fiber optic TV services to customers, while simultaneously encouraging current Internet and TV providers to adopt faster and better Internet connections at lower prices. As of the last week of July, residents in Kansas City could sign up for the service, which is currently under construction. Service connection is expected by summer of 2013.

A gigabit Internet connection is the fastest Internet connection currently available in the United States, and most countries for that matter. For small businesses this will essentially make anything related to the Internet up to 100X faster, and you’ll also be able to communicate with clients and other businesses using HD video, or operate in the cloud with no connection interruptions.

Currently the service is only available in the Kansas City metropolitan area, but Google has stated that if the project is successful, they would like to roll it out in other cities. With the launch, Google is offering three packages:

1. Gigabit and Fiber TV. The first package includes both the gigabit connection and Fiber TV. Fiber TV offers all the regular broadcast channels along with television shows on demand and Fiber TV specific channels. The Internet connection comes with no data cap - download as much as you want - and 1 terabyte of storage on Google Drive. The cost for the service is USD$120 a month.
2. Gigabit Internet. Users who don’t want to sign up for TV can sign up just for the gigabit Internet connection. As with the first package, there is no data cap and you will also get 1 terabyte of storage on Google Drive. This package will cost USD$70 a month.
3. Introductory. This package is for users who don’t have a broadband connection. For $300 for the first year, and free for the next six, you get a 5 megabit connection.

Each package costs USD$300 to connect on top of the monthly price, except for the third package. For the third package, Google is allowing users to pay the connection fee on a monthly basis over one year - USD$25 a month.

While this service is only in Kansas city for the time being, it’s a high possibility that Google will expand the service across North America in the near future. If this is successful, it will be guaranteed that small businesses will see Internet providers introduce plans with super fast speeds at incredibly affordable rates. This means there will be no excuse not to be on the Internet, and companies currently limited by slow Internet speeds will be able to utilize the Internet much more effectively.

If you’re interested in Google Fiber and would like to know more about it, or any other Internet Service Providers, please contact us.

Regardless of the computer system your office uses, you probably use at least one Google product. In the west, Google has managed to become a part of our daily routine, with some small businesses relying on Google’s products almost entirely. Whether you’re a die-hard Google fan, or a casual Googler, there are some Google features that could make your experience better.

Here are five Google features and products you’re probably not using.

• Hellofax. From the name, you probably guessed that Hellofax is an app that can send and receive faxes. What makes the app appealing is that it integrates with Google Drive, allowing you to send faxes directly from Google Drive and faxes that come in will be automatically converted and stored in Google Drive. If you only send the occasional fax, or don’t want a fax machine in the office, this is a great app for you.
• DocuSign. As a business owner, chances are nearly 100% that you’ll sign documents on a relatively regular occurrence. It can be wasteful to print a document, sign it, scan it and email it. To save your time and paper, you can use DocuSign to attach your signature to documents saved in Google Drive.
• Activity Reports. Would you like to know how much time you spend using Google’s products, what you search and anything else about Google? With Activity Account you can do just that and have Google send reports to your email. This is a great tool if you’re looking for ways you can improve your productivity, or Google Fu.
• Gmail Snooze. When you’re on holiday, or away from the office do you ever feel that you’re never really “away”? If you’d like to escape for a while, even for a couple of minutes for a quick siesta, Gmail Snooze is a script that can help. If you’d like to install a script like this, follow Lifehacker’s great step-by-step instructions.
• Gmail Meter. Have you ever wanted to know exactly how many emails you get in a week, your average response time and your most productive - email wise - time and day? Gmail Meter is a script that will compile a report to let you know exactly this and more. There is a little bit of installation needed, however the gmail blog has a good explanation on how to get it set up.

These are just a few of the many features, apps and products of the Google universe that should help you and your business. Are there any other Google features or products you use that others don’t? Let us know below.

Microsoft Office 365 - Microsoft's largely cloud based version of Office - is a popular Office product for many reasons. One advantage is the sheer number of features across the suite which allow you to do almost anything. There are some lesser-known features which are just as useful too, one of which integrates your mobile phone into an Outlook notification center.

Did you know that Outlook for Office 365 can send you text message alerts? To achieve this you need to first establish a rule for Outlook Web Access/App (OWA) - Office 365's webmail (browser) version of Outlook.

There are two classes of notification you can set up: Notifications for calendars, or notifications for email. When you create a rule, you will receive a text message whenever the rule's parameters are met.

Here's how you can set this feature up:

1. Open Outlook Web Access in your browser. The standard address is usually: https://mail.yourcompanydomain.com/owa. It's important to note that you need to go to Outlook Web Access.
2. Log in using your Office 365 username and password.
3. Select Options - located in the top-right of the window - followed by See All Options.
4. Click Phone from the list on the left side of the window and then Text Messaging.
5. Pressing Turn on Notifications, selecting your Locale: and finally your Mobile Operator.
6. Press Next and enter your phone number with the area code, and without the country code.
7. Click Next again and check your phone. You should get a pass code in a text message that you will need to enter. After you receive this, press Finish.

Setting up rules After you have set up OWA to send you text messages, you can look into the two different types of alerts. As mentioned above, the first are calendar alerts. Pressing Set up Calendar notifications will allow you to establish rules related to your calendar. For example, you can create a rule where you will receive a text message when you have a meeting scheduled with a specific client or employee.

If you would like to receive text message alerts for your email, you can click on Set up email notifications using an Inbox rule. You have many different rules you can set up. For example: You can make a rule to receive a text whenever you get an email that contains the words: Update.

To get the most out of these features we suggest you play around with them and come up with something that works for you. Don't go overboard though, as you probably don't want to be receiving text messages every few minutes. Also, it's important to be aware of how your mobile carrier charges for texts. If you get charged for incoming texts, this feature could cause your mobile bills to skyrocket. Interested in learning more about what Office 365 can bring to your business? Give us a shout, we can help.

The computer has become such an invaluable tool to all businesses that it's hard to imagine life without one. While computers are important, many companies can't afford the latest and greatest and must make do with older systems. A problem with this is that older systems often run slower and can cause you to be counterproductive. However, there are steps you can take to keep your computers running as they should.

Below are four things you can do to keep your PC running smoothly.

1. Shutdown properly If you turn your computer off at the end of the day, or it freezes, it may be tempting to flick the off switch on the power bar, or press the power button until it turns off. This isn't ideal for your computer's health because when a computer is unexpectedly shut down, there could be damage to the operating system.

You may notice that when your computer crashes, it takes longer to reboot. This is because Windows is actually searching for, or trying to repair any damage that may have been done. There is a chance that powering down improperly could cause files to become corrupted which may make the system inoperable.

Therefore, you should follow proper shutdown procedures. If you need to shut down quickly, try pressing Control+Alt+Delete and selecting Shut Down from there.

2. Close unnecessary programs running in the background Some programs are written to be always running in the background. If you look in the bottom right of your screen, you should see programs running beside the clock. In truth, most of these likely don't need to be open. You should be able to right click on the icon and close them. This will save computing resources and make your computer run smoother.

A word of warning: It's best not to shut down the antivirus or security software as this will leave your computer open to attack. Also, don't shut down anything from NVIDIA or AMD as this is your video card software. Closing programs like this could cause your computer to crash.

3. Utilize Add/Remove on a regular basis Chances are high that you have installed a fairly high number of programs on your computer, some of which you may not use anymore. Those you don't use just take up valuable hard drive space, and should be removed on a regular basis. You can do this by:

1. Clicking on Start or the Windows Orb.

<li>Selecting Settings followed by Control Panel.</li>

<li>Opening Add/Remove Programs.</li>

It may take a few minutes to scan your system for programs, but a window will open with all the programs you have installed. Click on those you don't use anymore and remove them. We strongly recommend that you do not go into different files and delete programs, this could damage your system.

4. Use a malware scanner and antivirus program This may sound like a no-brainer, but it is still worth mentioning that having an antivirus program and malware scanner is a good idea. Many viruses and other malware often hijack system resources causing the computer to run slower, or crash. A regular scan can go a long way in minimizing this, which means your computer will likely run better for longer.

If you are looking for ways to keep your older systems running at their optimal levels, please contact us today to see how we can help you.

There are normally a limited number of ways your employees’ skills overlap, some may be great with customers, while others are more suited to working with numbers. There is one area that all employees, regardless of rank, are somewhat equal; using the Internet, or more specifically Google, to search for information. While they may be comfortable with the basics, they could probably use some power searching tips.

Starting July 9, 2012, Google has a course to help your employees sharpen their Internet searching skills. Power Searching with Google is a course that aims to teach users about the more advanced features and shortcuts of Google Search.

The courses will take place over six sessions, each lasting around 50 minutes and will be conducted online using Google Groups and Hangouts On Air - a live broadcast using Google’s online video conferencing tool. These courses are comprised of traditional assignments, interactive searching and group sessions that allow you to communicate with other “students” and staff from Google.

After you’ve completed the course and passed the final assignment, Google will email you a printable certificate of completion. If you’re interested, or feel your staff could use a boost in their searching abilities, registration is open now. Why should you register you ask? Well, the first reason is because it’s free. The second reason is because this could really help make you and your employees more efficient at finding the information they need.

To sign up for the course, visit Google’s Search blog and press Register. If you’d like to know more about Google’s products and how your company can benefit from them, please contact us.

One of the more common tech buzzwords of the past couple of years is 'collaboration'. While collaboration isn't a new thing, it's starting to be a prominent enabler of many programs. One of the most entrenched collaboration platforms is Microsoft's SharePoint, part of the Office 365 platform. SharePoint is essentially a portal that enables companies to have an Intranet, share files and collaborate, etc. One of the more popular features of SharePoint is that you can post announcements and other important information in one place, that can be seen by all employees.

Here's how you can set up an announcements page on SharePoint. Common uses of this page include sharing news, updates, status and any other important information that employees need to know. Think of it like the morning announcements our principal made over the PA in school, just more modern.

1. Select All Site Content - located in the left-hand navigation panel, in the lower left (usually below Recycle Bin.
2. Press Create.
3. Pick Announcements from the next page.
4. Pick your Announcements page and enter it into the box just above Create.
5. Select Create.

After pressing Create you will be taken to the new Announcements page. To add a new announcement or message, press Add new announcement Note: This will usually be found below existing announcements.

After pressing Add new announcement, a window that looks similar to an email in Outlook will open. Selecting the box beside Title will allow you to set the title of the announcement. You can enter your message in the Body box. If you would like the announcement to disappear after a certain date, selecting a date in the Expire box will set the date the announcement will be removed.

When you return to the main SharePoint page, you may notice that the page you just created isn't there. You can add the new announcements page to the homescreen by:

1. Navigating to SharePoint's home page.
2. Selecting Site Actions which is located in the top left of the page.
3. Clicking Edit Page.
4. Selecting Editing Tools and ensuring Insert is selected.
5. Pressing the downward facing arrow below Announcements and selecting the one you've just created.

The new announcements page should now be on your SharePoint home page, with the latest entry showing first. If you would like to learn more about how to use SharePoint in your company, we're here to help, so give us a shout.

Google has some great software that businesses have been adopting in droves. One of the most popular pieces of software is their Internet browser - Google Chrome. Chrome is a sleek and simple browser with basic functionality when first installed, but, for your business to really get the most out of it you need to install apps.

Last week we showcased five great apps for Google Chrome. Because there are so many useful apps on the Chrome store, we decided to showcase five more.

1. Write Space. Write Space is an app that’s a hybrid between Google Docs and Microsoft Office. The app allows users to write in a customizable space with or without an Internet connection. The coolest feature of this app is that it saves automatically, no more losing content when you lose Internet connection or your computer crashes.
2. Springpad. Springpad is a notebook tool that allows users to collaborate on projects from a number of devices. Employees can use it to share ideas and information while being able to comment on each other’s ideas. Combine it with the Springpad extension for Chrome and users can clip articles, pictures or text from Chrome, and paste it into Springpad for others to view. A great tool to encourage brainstorming.
3. Offline Gmail. While it would be great if we were connected to the Internet 100% of the time, that’s not the case for the majority of small business owners. If you use Gmail, you know that you can’t access it when you don’t have an Internet connection. With the Offline Gmail app, you can access your inbox, read and reply to messages which will be sent when you next connect to the Internet. A great tool for those on the road a lot.
4. Aviary. Eventually you will need to edit an image and can’t afford to wait on a designer. Aviary is essentially a free version of Adobe Photoshop. With a ton of similar features, there’s no need to invest large amounts of money when you can do the same thing for free.
5. Lucidchart. Lucidchart is an app that allows users to collaborate, in real-time, on charts. If you have a presentation to make and need a colleagues help to get it done, the two of you can work on it together and get the task done faster. What’s cool about this app is that it syncs with Google Drive, so your charts are available anywhere. You can also export your work as a .PDF or .JPG.

How to install the apps All these apps can be found for free on the Google Chrome Web Store. To install an app, open the Web Store and search for the app by its name. Click on the name of the app to open a new page that has more information, reviews and similar apps. To install it, press + Add to Chrome, the app will be automatically added to Chrome. You can access the apps you have installed by pressing the wrench icon at the top right of the window, selecting Settings followed by Extensions.

These apps can help tailor your browsing experience to your needs, and give you a better overall browsing experience. If you’d like more information on apps for Chrome, or other ways you can use Chrome in your business, please contact us.

As technology becomes more advanced and integrated with day-to-day business, the Internet browser has become the hub of nearly all business activity. The only problem with browsers, more specifically Google Chrome, is that they’re, at first glance, missing functionality that businesses need. To add more functionality to Chrome, you can install apps.

Here are five useful business apps for Chrome.

1. Google Mail Checker. If you use Gmail and like most people, have it open in a tab but aren’t looking at it, you may miss an important message. This app aims to prevent this by adding a Gmail link beside the address bar of Chrome that notifies you of how many unread emails you have in your inbox. Clicking on the icon will open Gmail.
2. StayFocused. Having trouble staying productive while using the Internet? StayFocused is an app that can help. It works by allowing you to set and restrict the amount of time you spend on non-work related websites. Once you’ve gone over the allotted time, the app will block access to that website for the rest of the day. You can even go so far as to block the browser from loading websites for a period of time.
3. AdBlock. On many popular websites there are ads that can get annoying, or cause your browser to slow down. AdBlock is an app that will remove banner ads (the ads at the top and side of a website) on nearly every website, including Facebook.
4. SlideRocket. This is a good app for managers who give lots of presentations, but don’t want to carry a laptop with them. SlideRocket allows users to upload and present PowerPoint presentations. Beyond that, you can also collaboratively create presentations which are stored on your Google Drive and can even be accessed on a smartphone. This means you can access your presentation wherever you are.
5. Scratchpad. Think of Scratchpad as the digital version of the notepad many business owners keep by their computer for writing ideas, messages and notes down on. When you install it, you can either keep it open as a tab in Chrome, or a separate window. The interesting thing about this app, is that you can use it while offline. When you do go online, it syncs with your Google Drive to keep everything up-to-date.

How to install the apps All these apps can be found for free on the Google Chrome Webstore. To install an app, open the Web Store and search for the app by its name. Click on the name of the app to open a new page that has more information, reviews and similar apps. To install it, press + Add to Chrome, the app will be automatically added to Chrome. You can access the apps you have installed by pressing the wrench icon at the top right of the window, selecting Settings followed by Extensions.

These are just five of the useful apps we’ve found that many businesses will benefit from using. If you’d like to know about more useful apps for your business, please contact us.

One of the problems with searching for a business on the Internet is that the results often return a static page with a business’s information and maybe some pictures. In general, nothing compelling a user to find out more about the business. Google has introduced a new feature to its social network, Google+, that gives businesses the opportunity to be more social.

The feature, called Google+ Local, has replaced the Google Places page for nearly 80 million businesses. While the page name has been changed, the important business information like address, website and phone number have not been changed.

The changes do go beyond the name and include:

• A “Local” tab will appear on every Google+ users’ page. Clicking this will bring you to a business oriented section with recommendations made by other users, and the ability to search for businesses.
• A modified layout to a business’s Places page with photos and reviews prominently shown.
• Google’s star ranking system has been replaced by Zagat ratings which are rated out of 30.
• Google+ Local pages have been integrated with Google’s other major services including search, Maps and mobile platforms. When a user searches for a business, the same page and information will be shown regardless of the medium used to search.

What this does for your business is change your Places page into a more social offering that allows you to interact with your followers. Everything you can do on Twitter and Facebook - post content, interact with and develop followers - can now be done through Local.

There is one major benefit to this, and that comes from integration with Google's other services. When a user searches for a business using Google Search, Maps, or a mobile app, the results will be returned with businesses that have a Google+ Local page first. And for many, if the business is near them, it will be the first place the user visits. This means more business for you.

There is one downside to this though. If you have a Google Places page, but don’t use social media, you will be now. Google has noted that you can still continue to manage your Places page. This is temporary, and you’ll eventually be forced to manage your information through Google+. If you don’t have time to learn the ins and outs of yet another social media service, why not give us a call, we can help you.