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Tech Buzz at its best

We Give – You Give

The idea of reducing your company’s carbon footprint is nothing new; in fact, “greening” started way back in the 1970s, and some would argue the movement began more than a century before that!  As the world becomes more connected and informed, we understand better than ever how important it is for each and every one of us to do our part in protecting the environment.  At Kinetik IT, we are passionate about our role as environmental stewards and making a difference in our environment. We want to help change the world, one client at a time.

We do this in big and small ways.  First, we take care with our everyday activities – by working with our staff to create a paperless work environment, by recycling, and by controlling our waste, energy and water usage. We also commit in bigger ways – by donating a percentage of our gross revenue to eco-friendly projects and eco-supporting organizations that our clients are passionate about.

 

 

It’s a partnership.  At Kinetik IT, we contribute a percentage of the gross amount paid by the client to eco-friendly projects or eco-supporting organizations chosen by the client.  Clients choose from the organization we regularly donate to, or provide us another of their choosing.  Organizations we’ve donated to include the following:

 

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Considerations for Computing in the Cloud

With cloud technology becoming an increasingly viable choice for business, questions still remain as to whether it’s the right choice for your business. Kinetik IT’s President, Josette van Stiphout, weighs in on questions and considerations when contemplating sending your business into the cloud.

  • Company Size: Usually, cloud technology is the most appropriate for small to midsize businesses that do not have the talent and funding to implement in-house solutions. It also depends on the cloud application’s capacity and functionality.
  • Physical Location: Does it make sense for your company if all employees are office-based rather than working from a remote office?
  • Security: "Do I want to have everything in the cloud including all my company data?"  The most important questions that people need to ask are really pertaining to data security.
  • Space and Software Rental: A disadvantage for cloud computing is that you basically rent – it’s a lifetime rental situation. You don't own anything, and you will always pay a fee. This may be appropriate for some situations but not all.

The cloud has been available in some of fashion for 20 years or more, where it was called ASP (Application Service Providers) or SaaS (Software as a Service). Now in general terms, it's called cloud technologies. But keep in mind there are different categories of cloud computing: software, infrastructure, storage and platform hosting.

In addition to general-use questions, Josette offers considerations for the actual cloud provider. Here are some general suggestions:

  • Choose a brand name cloud provider – e.g. Microsoft, Amazon, Google, NetSuite etc.
  • Find out the physical location of the service provider’s data center, where the application and files are stored.  Is this data center owned by the cloud provider or is it outsourced?
  • Understand what kind of security controls and processes the provider has in place. Who will  be administering your systems, can they see your data, and how do they avoid your data potentially being copied? Can other organizations who are using the same service potentially copy your data?
  • Learn about their track record for up‑time.  Planned downtime is a given – for them to perform scheduled maintenance and upgrades – and you want to know what it is.
  • Know the historical length of downtime or average outage time, especially if it’s unplanned downtime, or a specific outage.
  • Learn about the type of redundancies and data protection policies they have in place, in the event of loss of data, data corruption, unscheduled downtime or security breach.
  • If you want to cancel your service, how easy is it to get your data and migrate to another service provider?  Will they keep copies of your data after the service is cancelled?
  • Get a copy of their SLA (Service Level Agreement) and support guarantees.

Located in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, Kinetik IT is a full-service information technology and internet services provider, offering a wide array of technology and internet strategy solutions, as well as sound advice.  To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Kinetik IT Custom Software

At Kinetik IT, we specialize in website design, graphic design, internet marketing, software and web development, network support and services in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona.

We love to work with clients that love technology because we love technology. The oldest branch of our company is software development, and we truly believe in the power of custom software. We love working with clients who love technology and who want to evolve and optimize their business, moving forward by using technology in the best ways they can.

When deciding whether custom software is right for their particular needs, clients have some decisions to make.  When buying off‑the‑shelf software, a business is, essentially, trying to have to accommodate the software’s functionality and limitations.  The business must adjust how they do business based on what the software allows them to do or to track. And as important, the software usually does not fit the company’s workflow.

With Kinetik IT custom software however, we write software for clients based on how they do business.  We're adept at analyzing various businesses’ needs within various industries, learning how a client does business; analyze their workflow and how they interact with software, catering to their specific needs.

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

 

 

Core Values

In any field, there are characteristics that inevitably determine which companies will last and those whose tenure will be short-lived.  One of these characteristics is having well-defined guiding principles. Serving as a guidepost in making decisions both big and small, these principles, or core values, are not simply chosen like a wish list of company traits might be, but rather cherry-picked from that organization’s existing culture and highest virtues. 

Generally defined as “principles that guides an organization's internal conduct as well as its relationship with the external world,” core values can also be defined as unchanging, while being timeless and to sustainable long term, as they were in the book, “Startup Culture: Values vs. Vibe” by Chris Moody,

At Kinetik Information Technology, we provide website design, SEO internet marketing, software development and computer network services and solutions that move our clients forward. We accomplish this through uncompromising dedication to our own well-defined core values and principles, including:

  • Integrity
  • Service
  • Loyalty
  • Value
  • Excellence
  • Dedication

Of course, our principles will only be meaningful, if each of us at Kinetik IT consistently strives to excel in everything we do, surpassing our set standards. After all, an organization can only expand and achieve greatness through the pursuit of excellence and growth of each individual team member.

 

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedInor Twitter.

Kinetik IT: Delivering Quality and Fostering Relationships

Josette van Stiphout, President of Kinetik IT, fell in love with technology as a junior programmer in the late 80s; shortly thereafter, she founded the Phoenix-Scottsdale area company that would become Kinetik IT.  “We were one of the first Microsoft-Certified Partners in the valley,” she said of the company’s beginnings. “They called it Solution Providers then. Initially, we were named Mach 2 Systems and in 2000, it was time to change the company’s identity to reflect the mission and vision for the company. The dynamic shifts in the software, technology and e-commerce industry caused us to evaluate where we wanted to be in then years. We were seeing many exciting changes in our industry that helped businesses of all sizes become more successful through utilizing technology. We wanted a name that helped to convey that by putting people, ideas and technology into motion, we are supporting the future success of Arizona businesses.

A front-runner in Microsoft Windows software development, web design, web application development and IT services, Kinetik IT is now a full-service information-technology and internet services provider, offering a wide array of technology and web services. 

Kinetik IT has always made a goal of fostering productive business relationships, on both ends of the spectrum – seeking out employees who embody efficiency and passion for their work, and developing custom software and database systems and building long-term solutions for clients by uncovering and catering to their most important needs.

Kinetik IT designs custom software solutions – bridging the gap between marketing and technology – and developing desktop, web applications and mobile solutions to optimize organization and revolutionizing the way clients do business.

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

 

 

Never Give Up.

Search the internet for the phrase, “Never give up,” and you’ll come across several eponymous images.  Undoubtedly, the most well-known is that of the frog who, while cradled precariously in the craw of a bird about to eat him, is doing his best to wring the neck of his winged opponent.  Another image is that of a mouse wearing the tiniest helmet, perched in front of an ever-so-enticing cheese-loaded mousetrap.  In both instances, the underlying message is that hard work comes naturally when you’re passionate about what’s at stake.

Working in the information technology arena has never been smooth sailing, at least not for any extended period of time.  Since its inception, the industry has weathered its share of booms and busts, followed by more of the same. “I would say, our biggest accomplishment is that in 24 years we've been through the ups and downs of the technology bubble, 9/11, economic downturn,” says Josette van Stiphout, President of Kinetik I.T. “We've had several highs and several really lows and within that 24‑year period. Nonetheless, during the trying times, we did not choose the easy way out, resorting to lay-offs or salary decreases. Instead, we did whatever we had to do to keep our staff employed. We believe our staff is better off not having to worry about having a job or not. We want them to focus their energy positively, such as on exceeding our clients’ expectations.” Our business philosophies and loyalty to our employees are quite different than what is the norm for corporate America.

Working in such a volatile industry, the key to Kinetik I.T.’s 24-year longevity has been in the passion and commitment of our people to deliver high-quality custom desktop and web-based software systems and long-term I.T. solutions for our clients.  We do this by first uncovering, then catering to the client’s most important needs.  Because our employees embody both efficiency and passion for their work, bridging the gap between marketing and technology and revolutionizing the way our clients do business is more than just work to us – it’s our goal, our mission. And we’ll never give up.

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik IT Phoenix on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

IT Managed Services Model: Right for Your Company?

 

What do we mean by "Managed Services Model" within the Information Technology Services Industry?  Wikipedia offers a good but somewhat cumbersome definition for the average person. In other words: Managed Services is a very efficient and effective way of transferring the day-to-day monitoring of a company's servers, computer desktops (PCs), and network peripherals to an IT Managed Services Provider. The service provider utilizes "monitoring" software in order to pro-actively manage potential server, desktop or network issues. There are several software providers that allow the service providers to buy the appropriate software licenses to be able to pro-actively monitor their customer's servers etc.

When does a "Managed Services Model" makes sense for your company?  First of all your company's philosophy should tie into the principle of pro-active maintenance.

10 Poisons To Keep Away From Our Pets

Learn Top 10 toxins to keep away from our pets to ensure their safety:

1. Flowers: Buttercups, morning glories, poinsettias and tulips can cause stomach pains, hallicunations and mouth irritation, if ingested by your pet.

2. Fruits: Grapes and raisins are extremely toxic for dogs. Ingestion can lead to irreversible kidney damage, which can result in death.

3. Plants: Elderberry, holly berries and potato plants can all cause your pets pain. The Arizona native sago palms plants can cause liver failure in both dogs and cats.

4. Chocolate: Can be toxic to dogs. Pure baking chocolate is extremely toxic to dogs.

5. Alcohol: It  causes vomiting, difficulty breathing and tremors.

6. Medications: Human medications can be toxic for pets.

7. Chemicals: Motor oil, battery acid, rat poison and bleach, if ingested by your pet, must be treated immediately.

8. Some Foods: Onions can cause anemia in cats and dogs, and the artificial sugar in toothpaste and chewing gum has been linked to problems.

9. Environmental Hazards: Mushrooms in the yard and contaminated water can critically hurt your pets.

10. Caffeine: Caffeine can cause damage to the heart, lungs, and kidneys, as well as hurt the central nervous system. Keep your pets away from caffeine pills, coffee beans, coffee and tea.

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Source: Green Living Magazine - October 2010.

 

How To Export Email Addresses from Microsoft Outlook

Q: How To Export Email Addresses from Outlook?

 

A: Go into Outlook and Select "File" from the top menu. Select "Import and Export", then export to a file and select Excel file. One can export out of Outlook all the emails received. This will create and Excel file with a column that has the from email address on it. Once in an Excel file, you can manipulate the data.

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