If You Need Another Firm to Solve IT for You

Big companies have information technology departments that purchase, install and trouble-shoot PCs, maintain software and answer users’ questions. But that’s out of the reach of most small businesses.

One alternative is to work with a value-added reseller, or VAR, that can sell and service equipment and software. VARs are basically computer dealers whose staffs have additional training to provide a broad range of solutions to customers’ computing problems.

Before you come to an agreement with a VAR, be sure it understands enough about your business to make the right recommendations, and make sure it is staffed to provide support when you’ll need it.

Finding a good VAR is a hit-and-miss proposition. The best way to find one is by talking with other companies in your industry who use them. You can also search for “value-added reseller” through LookSmart, Yahoo and other World Wide Web search engines.

CenterBeam, a Silicon Valley start-up, has what’s got to be the most innovative idea I’ve seen in computer sales, service and support: For $165 per month per user (the minimum is 10 users), the company will become your information technology department and provide you with everything you need for computing, networking and Internet access. You get a high-speed digital subscriber line, or DSL, to connect your company to the Internet. You get a server that you plug into the DSL line and 10 or more PCs for your employees. The server and each PC are equipped with a wireless local area network, or LAN, adapter so you have an instant network with no need to string wires. Each PC will be pre-configured with Windows 2000, Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business Edition and Microsoft Exchange E-Mail. You also get automatic nightly backups of all data and software; 24-hour customer support; and free hardware and software maintenance and upgrades. A network printer is included for every 10 to 15 users, and you can arrange for more printers if you need them. And, with the exception of the person who installs the DSL, no one comes to your office.

All this is possible, says CenterBeam founder and Chief Executive Sheldon Laube, because of the wireless LAN and the machines’ high-speed DSL connection to the Internet. Software and some hardware problems can be diagnosed by the company’s support staff via the DSL connection. The DSL connection goes directly to the company’s support center rather than through the Internet, but you also get Internet service via the same DSL connection.

If there is a need to configure or fix the software, his company’s staff can do it remotely. Or they can replace the software remotely if there is a bug or other problem. The backup is also done remotely over the Internet, so if you delete or corrupt a file, they can replace it with the one that you had used the day before.

All this remote maintenance assumes that the machine can be turned on and is connected to the network. In the event of a worst-case scenario, Laube says, his company will ship you a new machine if you can’t get yours to work. And if you have critical files or software on the machine that’s broken, you can have the support center restore your files to another machine in the office so you don’t have to wait till the next day to get back to work.

The basic level of equipment is a PC with a 400-megahertz Intel Celeron processor with at least 96 megabytes of RAM and a 17-inch monitor. For an extra fee, CenterBeam will upgrade some or all of your staff with faster machines, larger monitors or other amenities.

The company is just getting off the ground, and plans to start offering service next month at about the same time Microsoft releases Windows 2000, Laube says.

CenterBeam’s services won’t be for everyone. First, you must order at least 10 workstations, so the service would be out of the question for a really small business. If you have someone in the office who is technically savvy, it might be more cost-effective for you to buy or lease your machines and just maintain them yourself. Still, for a total of $1,800 per user per year, CenterBeam offers a compelling proposition, and something that would actually costs less per user than the “total cost of ownership” bills paid by most large corporate users. Cost of ownership estimates are all over the map, but typically it adds from $3,000 and $10,000 per user per year, according to studies from GartnerGroup and others.

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Technology reports by Lawrence J. Magid can be heard at 1:48 p.m. weekdays on KNX (1070). He can be reached at larry.magid@latimes.com. His Web site is at https://www.larrysworld

.com. On AOL, use keyword “LarryMagid.”