10 Best Year-End Tech Practices for SMBs

by Alex Repola

Earlier this month TechRepublic's Erik Eckel released an article titled, 10 Best Year-End Tech Practices for SMBs. After reading through the best practices, it really helped me to realize how helpful a basic "clean-up" could be and the benefits of giving your IT environment a little TLC. Here are the 10 things to keep in mind as you and your organization bring in the new year.

1. Restore backups to confirm operation


2. Review disk image inventory and status


3. Physically clean servers and PCs


4. De-fragment hard disks


5. Audit software licenses and media


6. Perform network stress tests


7. Audit user accounts


8. Confirm equipment inventory


9. Clean printers


10. Clean your cube or office

Read more...

Some of these best practices are very basic maintenance items that are generally performed semi-regularly within your organization. Other items on this list may require you to spend some of your free time on the evenings or weekends performing some of these tasks to be ready for the 2010.

QeH2 builds and strengthens relationships based on how well we help SMBs pinpoint areas within their organization that may need just a little extra attention to lengthen the life of hardware and/or software; maximizing your resources and taking time and money previously spent on maintenance and reallocating those things on moving business forward.

Reduce Your IT Energy Consumption Today

by Alex Repola

Collectively, US organizations waste $3B every year powering 100M unused PCs. This is because 50 percent of working Americans leave their office PCs on when they leave for the night, creating a massive carbon footprint," a report on LinkedIn reads. Read more...

Just a single PC left on overnight and on weekends wastes organization $70 to $150 equaling 620lbs of CO2 annually.

For an example of a way to conserve energy, the Berkely Green IT Initiative used Auto Shutdown Manager and achieved a reduction of PC energy consumption by 85 percent in just six months. The savings, on average, were $4000 for 100 PCs.

QeH2 to Begin Recycling their Office Waste Just in Time for the Holidays

by Alex Repola

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency says there are three main ways to produce less waste:

• Reduce the amount and toxicity of trash you throw away and reuse containers and products.


• Recycle as much as possible and buy products with recycled content.


• Practice composting.

10 Ways to Increase IT ROI Without Adding Staff

by Tim Clark

Within IT, there are big-picture considerations that can help guide how companies adjust and manage their IT operations. More and more IT executives have had to re-balance IT initiatives to focus on projects with near-term benefits while keeping momentum on longer-term, strategic projects. Also, aligning IT more closely with business priorities are most likely going to be focused on revenue.

This means increasing ROI without bringing on more cost in the long run help in generating more revenue within the organization instead of having to cut budgets, IT being one of the first departments to take a hit.

10 Ways to Increase IT ROI Without Adding Staff

1. Go Green

• Telework - Greater productivity, less office space required
  
• Power Management - Lower utility cost
  
• Power-Efficient Hardware - Less need to add new data center space

2. Standardize

• Lower labor cost resulting from fewer configurations to manage

3. Virtualize

• Lower costs for hardware, space and utilities

4. Track Assets

• Software - reduce licensing costs for unused licenses
  
• Hardware - Find lost assets. Timely patches reduce costly outages

5. Best Practices From Community

• Lower costs for paid vendor technical support


• Lower costs for training, especially travel

6. Remote Management

• Reduce travel costs, including personnel time

7. Automated Systems Management Tasks

• Lower personnel costs
  
• Better compliance reduces cost of outages

8. Integrated Systems Management

• Lower personnel costs
  
• Lower utility costs

9. Vendor Financing

• Conserves cash by spreading purchase cost over time

10. Appliances

• Lower labor costs to maintain
  
• Lower utility costs

Read more...

These best practices give business owners and IT officials different ways to look at increasing returns within IT and revenue increases in other areas that have not yet been explored. Becoming more efficient and utilizing the different tools already ingrained within a companies business processes is something QeH2 has been exploiting within SMBs since the company's conception.

Helping organizations consolidate multi-server environments by virtualizing physical servers is a trend QeH2 has seen grow vastly over the last few years and is a great way to help save money. Tracking assets is another best practice QeH2 prides themselves on doing for their clients. Documenting license keys for each one of your machines is not only necessary to avoid having a single license on multiple machines, which can be a legal issue, but also to keep you from purchasing more licenses when you already have extras laying around.

There are many ways to not only keep costs down but even increase RIO over time within IT. QeH2 is agnostic in their approach to finding solutions that help move your business forward; we have no other motivation than to provide the most intelligent solutions.

QeH2 Interviews Ian Holt, One of the Founding Partners

I first met Ian Holt, partner and one of the H's in QeH2, the day I interviewed for a job to join the sales team here at QeH2; I instantly felt comfortable talking with him and the rest of the sales staff.

Nearly three months later I was able to squeeze in a few minutes to get Ian alone and talk about some of his past experiences and how that has helped him turn many of his ideas into a reality here at QeH2...

Finally, after a long, busy day, I got Ian into my office in between cell phone calls and email replies. Propping his feet up on the desk with a huge smile on his face, Ian and I decided to dig in.

Q: How long have you been with QeH2?
A: Since the beginning; three years now

Q: You have a background in a lot of different areas within IT, what have you experienced?
A: I started out in technical support like most IT guys usually do. I spent the last 20 years supporting servers, network design, and the infrastructure side of IT.

Q: What was the transition like for you from the tech support side of thing to infrastructure support and design?
A: I actually spent three weeks working in a call center dealing with help desk support issues then got a job offer doing on-site tech support and hands-on stuff right after that. I moved from Calgary, Canada to Omaha, Nebraska, I didn’t even know where Omaha was at the time. I was really excited; this was my first real tech job out of college.

Q: Where was an area that you felt you learned the most within your past experiences?
A: Right after doing tech support for US West, I went in and did internal IT support for a consulting company. That’s where the idea of stabilization was really born and have been using the idea here at QeH2. It was learning how to stabilize and make machines work well.

Q: Obviously as an owner you have a lot of responsibilities here, at this point in time, what are you trying to focus on to move QeH2 forward?
A: Right now my focus is on District Management (DM), basically managing the different teams of guys. As of now my district is just me and one other guy. The way its split up is based on the customers I am currently working with but it also has to do with customer need and how that relates to each one of the DMs background within IT.

On moving stuff forward I work on a lot of the documentation tasks, which is funny because I didn’t start off being the documentation guy. I’m also working with Lori Eisele to get our internal systems working better. Tapping into the functionalities of the systems we already have.

Q: With some of the things you bring to the table within QeH2 from an experience level and time spent within the industry, how has all of that influenced your vision of this company?
A: I can’t really say that I came up with the idea of stabilization, it’s been more of a group effort but my concepts of stabilization came from my previous world but that is a big part of what has influenced QeH2. When we first sat down and put the company together, Darrin and Quentin came from the Mountain View Marketing side and Jim and I came from the consulting side and we looked at what was wrong with IT. My pasts experiences have really influenced the infrastructure stabilization side. Once we get somebody stabilized, it doesn’t require a lot of maintenance. Now that things aren't breaking, we can concentrate on moving forward with other things. It’s great for us because we’re not fixing the same problems over and over again. It’s great for the customer because their down time is reduced drastically.

Q: QeH2 is growing, rapidly. It has expanded quite a bit since I came on just a few months ago. What different transformations have you seen take place since starting the company?
A: When we closed our first customer I was still working my day job and supporting the company part-time. Right before Christmas 2006 I quit my job and started working to build QeH2 as my full-time job. The cool part was that my day job became supporting a customer and within about four months, Jim, Quentin, and I had all quit our day jobs and we had hired our first resource. We went from the planning stage to up and functioning in just a matter of months, then full steam ahead a few months after that. QeH2 was learning how to balance the hard times and planning for the growth that was ahead of us.

Q: What do you like to focus on when meeting with a perspective client for the first time?
A: I typically focus on their pain. Everyone that wants to talk to us have some sort of issue. Either they are not happy with their current IT guy or they have an issue that hasn’t been resolved, something of that nature. This generally leads me to the pains within their organization

Q: Do you think that helps to set us apart from our competitors, focusing more on the customer’s pain points instead of trying to just sell a product or service?
A: We don’t really have any true competition. There is nobody out there focusing on the businesses pains and moving their company out of that pain zone and into more productive state, increasing their bottom line. No IT company looks at it that way. We are bridging the gap between the IT side and the business side. Most management problems have an IT solution; it’s a matter of finding out what that issue is or what they are trying to do. We’ve come up with a solution that’s more efficient, faster, and saves them money.

Q: What is that one technology that you personally think all business owners should invest in?
A: Its all about disaster recovery; if you don’t back it up you’re going to lose it. Everybody has a crash in their future. It’s a matter of preparing for when that happens. Disaster recovery technology is the thing everyone has to have no matter on what system you have. To the guy working on his laptop in the garage to a 50 station, 100 station shop, you’re only as good as your back-up.

Q: Where do you see the company in two years or even five years?
A: We're planning for some aggressive growth. In the last three years, we’ve artificially slowed our growth several times to make sure we’re taking care of the customer, making sure we’re perfecting our model. We’re set in the next tow years to grow exponentially; I see us five years from now outside of the state with multiple locations.

Q: What do you spend your time doing when you’re not on your computer or meeting with clients?
A: Honestly, I enjoy spending time with my family (Jason 15, Morgan 13, Daniel 11, Jared 9, and wife Bonita). My kids are all computer guys they love computer games; it’s really funny. We all like to travel. I really immerse with loved ones but there always seems to be a computer side to things. I recreate within technology, it’s something I love. I go home most days thinking, they pay me to do this.

The interview confirmed the fact that Ian loves technology and his passion to want to help business owners with their struggling IT needs is ingrained in everything he does. The success and growth within QeH2 is in large part due to the experiences, knowledge, and focus of partners like Ian Holt.

Social Networking, Helping Business Owners Everywhere

by Alex Repola

There's no way to hide from it any longer. Online social networking sites have been experiencing rapid growth with every passing month.

"It took Facebook only two and a half months to go from 300 million users to 350 million users..." reported the San Jose Business Journal on commented from Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of FacebookInc., earlier today. Read more...

Determining When to Virtualize Your Servers

by David Davis

Server virtualization isn’t just for big companies. Entry-level virtualization tools are free or low-cost, and there are many benefits to virtualization (including saving money). It’s not a question of “if” you should virtualize your servers; it’s a question of “when.”

Davis says following these five steps when determining if virtualization is right for your servers should help to alleviate some of the pains commonly associated with consolidating IT environments.

Step 1: Verify your motivation for going virtual

Most likely you will have to justify the reason to virtualize to a manager or a "C" level executive. Even if you don’t have to do that, you should be able to answer the “why” question for yourself with an answer that’s more concrete that “because it’s the next big thing.”

Step 2: Evaluate a virtualized solution

When selecting the right virtualization solution for your company, consider the following:

• Don’t choose the “newest” or “cheapest” solution just because they are new and inexpensive.


• Look for a solution that has been around for a long period of time to ensure the technology has been tested with a variety of applications.


• Look for a solution that has been proven in productiveIT environments.


• Choose a solution that offers flexibility and options to fit the needs of your company.

What about Craigslist or Ebay?

by Eric Pratt

There's been a lot of hype lately over Social Media. Many businesses are rushing to build a Facebook page, get a Twitter account, and build a network on Linkedin. While the jury may still be out on how measurable returns are and what industries have had the best success I think there is another format that can provide instant returns and metrics.

Most of you probably know Craigslist and Ebay. Craigslist is very basic but highly successful internet classified site. Ebay is the top dog in online auctioneers. You may have bought or even sold personal items through Craigslist or Ebay but have you ever thought about generating revenue and profits for your business?

Obviously this is most relevant to companies that sell a good and carry inventory. If you have inventory you have no doubt dealt with stales or dead inventory. What if you could slowly get rid of unneeded product, increase cash flow, and invest nothing on the front end? That's what Craigslist and other sites can do.

Let me give you a real life example that you can apply your specifics to. My Dad lives in WA and owns a transmission shop, Snohomish Transmission. Over 20-some years he has piled up a lot of car parts. Some of them very valuable, the pack rat in my Dad always saves stuff in the event he might have a use for it later. Many of his parts, especially the hard to find specialty parts, are very rare.

QeH2 Interviews Strategic Local Partner 1SpotInfo.com

by Alex Repola

I had heard the company name 1SpotInfo.com many times, but I never really knew what their services could provide me as member of the community. After delving into it, I learned that whether you live in or work in the area or are just visiting from out of town, 1SpotInfo.com is the fastest, easiest way to find everything that’s here. I jumped at the chance to meet the owner of such an innovative organization.

I wasn’t quite sure what to think when I first walked into City Pub on November 18th. This was the place that Pam Rubins, owner of 1SpotInfo.com, and Eric Pratt had planned to meet prior to me asking to tag along. Of course, I first noticed the University of Colorado Buffalo flag hanging right alongside what looked like Ralphie, (CU’s mascot that they parade around the field before each game). I then noticed our biggest rival’s flag, Colorado State University, hanging not far away. Not something I’m comfortable with being a graduate from CU, but I soon got over it.

There were only a couple tables with people around them and I figured Pam, Eric, and I would have the majority of the place to ourselves. It wasn’t long before groups of six and seven people started pouring in the door, filling up the tables around us. In fact, it got so noisy that once Pam arrived and I had introduced myself, we had to move across the room so we could hear one another and to begin the interview…

Alex: How did this idea come about?

Pam: Local search hardly existed when we moved to Denver a number of years ago. Yet, and I’ll argue this point until I’m blue in the face, it is easier and more cost-effective to do business locally. So we decided to bring everything online. We spent two years on proof-of-concept and development of the initial site, which is largely built on the “convenience factor,” and haven’t looked back since.

Alex: Describe 1SpotInfo.
Pam: 1SpotInfo was built to be a resource for local business by making it easy to find one another. Our site is based on “tightly-localized” search and we offer free listing and mapping in the ten areas we currently cover. We will do the same in several new areas that are in development.

Alex: What’s your message?
Pam: There is no room for complacency in this economy. Recent surveys indicate as many as 83% of consumers search for local services online, and that over 25% of commercial online searches in the U.S. are for local merchants. You have no choice -- your business has to be found on the Internet.

Alex: Who are you targeting?
Pam: Any business that needs to be found online in the local market.

Alex: What service do you provide to your customers?
Pam: The primary focus of our business is affordable and effective SEO on Google, but we are starting to focus on Bing as well. We use proprietary software to optimize our clients for as little as $200 a month.

Alex: What are the steps in getting a company listed?
Pam: It’s on our website, go to Get Listed.

Alex: Tell me a little about 1SpotInfo 4 Schools.
Pam: This is a business-driven initiative designed to broaden the exposure of local companies among a key demographic while providing a steady stream of undesignated funding for local schools. How it works is very simple. When someone makes a purchase from an involved company, that business sends a pre-determined percent of the sale to the participating school of the customer’s choice. This is a free service for the schools and our clients. 100% of the proceeds of this program are donated to participating schools.

Alex: With a lot of small to medium-sized businesses just now bouncing back from a rough couple of years, are you seeing more business owners shifting towards helpful tools like 1SpotInfo.com?
Pam: Everybody is pulling out of print and shifting to the Internet. Its way more affordable and you reach people that are actually looking for you; it’s a whole different ball game.

Alex: Is the same thing happening with strategic local partnerships in communities?
Pam: Absolutely, referrals are the highest compliment you can give to any business. It means that you trust that company to do a great job. It’s like what happened with you guys. We connected through Rev Networking and, after multiple meetings that focused on the respective benefits we provide, we’ve started referring prospective clients to one another.

Alex: Why choose you?
Pam: Results and affordability. There is no ambiguity here; you show on the first page of Google or you don’t, that’s it. We are very proud that our customer retention rate is over 90 percent.

Alex: What do you see the future partnership between 1SpotInfo and QeH2 looking like?
Pam: You guys are a great resource; I love your business model. You’re the anti-consultants! Our focus is SEO and we do a great job at it. I see you guys shifting more of that towards us. Similarly, we don’t provide IT support, that’s your specialty. If we have a client who can use your services, we’ll happily make the connection.

Alex: Closing thoughts?
Pam: We are very happy to be working together; we think it’s the beginning of a great relationship.

The background noises fazed neither Pam nor myself. Eric showed up soon after we had moved tables, adding strong points here and there. I walked away from the interview completely satisfied, spending the next few hours tooling around on 1SpotInfo.com, checking out the different pages on the site and thinking how helpful it would be to have this tool in every city across the country.

Microsoft Enters Partnership with LinkedIn

by Elliot Shmukler

LinkedIn has reported that it will be the first social networking site to support Outlook Social Connector, part of Microsoft Office 2010.

Both companies have released reports stating the the functionality will be available in early 2010, the belief being that you can be much more effective in the business world with your professional network right at your finger tips. Read more.

Using an email from someone you've just stared doing business with who is connected on LinkedIn, can be instantly added to your professional network, bringing key elements of your LinkedIn network to where you work - your Outlook e-mail inbox. The Paper Pane gives you the ability to see picture, title, and name of email senders, providing a rich, comprehensive collection of information about the sender.

These two corporations and the partnership they have formed here is only going to continue to find new and innovative ways to do business and bring people together.

Shift to Online Media from More Traditional for SMBs

Shift to Online Media from More Traditional for SMBs
by BIA/Kelsey

A survey conducted by BIA/Kelsey Group in August 2009 has shown a shift in the use of more traditional media over the last few years to the use of digital media, altering the way small to medium-sized businesses handle sales and marketing efforts within their organization.

The Value of Virtualization

by Johan De Gelas

AnandTech

Introduction

TCO and ROI have been abused repeatedly by sales representatives, in the hope of getting you to swallow the sometimes outrageously high pricing on their quotation for a trendy new technology. However, server virtualization is one of the few ICT technologies that really lives up to its hype. The cost savings are real and the TCO is great, as long as you obey a few basic rules like not installing bloatware or extremely large memory limited databases. There is more.

Google Apps vs Microsoft Exchange

by Eric Pratt

Does your business run its email through Microsoft Exchange? Have you been considering moving the services to another service like Google Apps? I'm not an advocate for either but I do know from a user perspective the most important consideration is functionality.

As the decision maker you have a lot to consider from the features vs cost perspective, by now I'm sure you've done the due diligence. There are a lot of cost and feature differences to evaluate before purchasing and sometimes you get what you pay for. If you haven't compared features and costs here are a couple links to check before you make a change....

Google Apps

MS Exchange

Are You Still Using Backup Tapes?

There was a time not too long ago when the most common method of backing up your data was to insert a stack of floppy disks one at a time. Most of the time you would make 2 copies just to be sure you could restore files in case the first set of disks became corrupted or damaged. Aren't you glad those days are over?

Backup tape drives have been all the rage for data backup and recovery for the last several years due to the low cost per MB of data. Backup tapes, like floppy disks have now reached their end of life. The biggest advantage of using backup tape, the cost per megabyte, has been superseded by the speed and low cost of internal and external hard drives.

Douglas County Ranks 5th in Nation for Job Growth

By Jessica Dickler and Steve Hargreaves, CNN Money
Aug 18th, 2009

5. Douglas County, CO
Towns include: Castle Rock, Parker, Stonegate, Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch. Job growth (2000-2008): 69.7%

Located midway between the state's two largest cities, Denver and Colorado Springs, "Dougco" attracts a highly educated and skilled workforce because of its proximity to the state's major employment hubs. A well developed transportation system that includes an airport, light rail and newly expanded freeway system along with a favorable tax rate also make Dougco a good home for businesses.

The county's commitment to economic development is clearly paying off. In January, Charles Schwab announced the company would bring over 500 jobs to the area. New positions are primarily in the Information Technology sector with an average wage of $75,000 a year, according to Public Affairs Director Wendy Holmes.

More

Giving Sales a Good Name

by Eric Pratt

I’ve seen the look before, in fact I see the look on their face almost every time I walk in the door to make a sales call. The “Oh great, what does this guy want” look. You probably know the look too. You probably have that look on your face every time a sales person walks in your door.

I don’t blame you either, I’d probably feel the same way if I was bombed with phone calls and cold calls all day long every day for years with little or nothing to show for it. How many times has someone promised you the world and then delivered nothing? Are they going to disappear into thin air with not as much as a thank you note for your time?

The problem is that almost everyone thinks they can sell. The problem is that almost everyone is trying to solve their own problems, not yours. The problem is that there are just too few honest, reputable sales persons in the business environment today. So why even take the calls? Why even waste your time when you have too much on your plate as it is?

The answer is hope and opportunity. You need solutions. You need a better way to do things. You need products, and services, and people you can rely on. There is so much information, technology, and services available that someone can inevitably help you work faster, smarter, and more efficiently. What if the next guy that walks through the door had the solution you’re looking for? What if you shut him down without even knowing he was the one you were looking for?

Please don’t lose hope. There really are a few companies out there that want to help. There really are a few sales reps out there that will actually follow up and deliver on their promises. The chance to win the sales call lottery really does exist.

I’ve sold a lot of things in my short career. I’ve sold everything from beer, wine, and soda to sunglasses, lighters, and toys. I’ve sold for good companies and I’ve sold for a couple of really poor companies with even worse products. I learned more about how to sell from my colleagues and supervisors than most of them probably realize. I’ve learned a lot from the best of them but I can honestly say I’ve learned a lot more from the worst of them. I’ve learned that selling really isn’t all that hard if you stick to a few basic principles.

First principle, be honest. Too many sales people lie, cheat, and steal their way through their day. They feel like they need to embellish, exaggerate, and flat out make stuff up to succeed. That’s usually not the case; they just aren’t very good at their job. If that is true, they’re selling the wrong product and need to get a new job.

Second principle, don’t make promises you can’t keep. Pretty simple in concept but practiced far too rarely as most of you know. Sales people over commit and under deliver. That’s why you can’t stand the thought of talking to another rep that walks through your door. That’s where the look comes from right?

Final principle, work hard. Most of their short falls come from just being lazy. They’re too lazy to pick up the phone. They’re too lazy to prepare properly for their meetings. They’re too lazy to follow up afterwards. How many times have you actually sat with a rep that had a good product that were truly interested in buying but they just completely dropped the ball? More than once I would guess.

It’s just not that hard to set yourself apart in the sales world. The bar has been set pretty low. All you really have to do is be honest, follow through on your promises, and do the work that revolves around the call. Working for a good company with a good offering never hurts either, it certainly makes your life easier and helps you resist the temptation to sacrifice your principles for a sale.

All of this is why the look on your face when I walk through the door doesn’t bother me. I understand your frustration and skepticism, I feel your pain. This is also why I don’t let it stop me, why I smile and introduce myself regardless of your attitude. I’m here to help. I’m here to restore your faith in the sales process. I’m here with a great product and I’m going to do a great job. You’re going to love my company’s product and you’re going to respect the way I do my job. You’re about to be my next client, you just don’t know it yet. Give me a chance and I’ll prove it.

QeH2 is now a Microsoft Financing Partner!

by Eric Pratt

QeH2 is proud to announce another strategic partnership that allows us to help our clients finance any Microsoft-related purchases. The strength of this partnership once again lies in our ability to help our clients make better business decisions. As a Microsoft Financing Partner additional options are now on the table for clients wishing to invest in new IT software.

Program Details

• Microsoft Financing is available to commercial customers only.


• This is not a lease program.


• You can finance the entire cost of your technology solution - including software, services and your product offerings.

REV Networking Event Announcement

QeH2 is proud to attend another REV event this Wednesday! The event is sold out with some of Denver’s top professionals. Channel 9 News is planning on coming to this event to do a story on REV.

June 3 Wednesday
D’Vine Wine
1660 Champa St.
4:15 p.m. promptly! – 7:30 p.m.

If you would like to attend a future event please contact Marilyn Manning @ Marilyn@revnetworking.com

There will be food and refreshments for you at the event courtesy of Life Styles Catering. D’Vine Wine will have a complimentary wine tasting following the event.

A BIG THANKS TO OUR EVENT SPONSORS

Event Location Sponsor

D'Vine Wine
1660 Champa St.
Downtown Denver 80202
4:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Chris Howell
Winery Manager
303.534-0788
chris@winerydenver.com

Event Sponsor

Kari Lilley
Event Designer
Lifestyles Catering
303.232-7932 O
303.241-3473 C
kari.lilley@lifestylescatering.com

Corporate Sponsors

Denver Business Journal
Kelly Stangel
Small Business Liaison & Circulation Account Executive
303.803-9279
kstangel@bizjournals.com
Get Connected in Denver

QeH2 Business Intelligence

Eric Pratt
Marketing Director
401 S. Wilcox St., Ste 123
Castle Rock CO 80104
303.688-7531 O
720.290-582 C
epratt@qeh2.com

Xerox announces “ground breaking” color technology

Xerox launched their new “environmentally friendly” color machine on May 7th! The “ColorQube” is a color multifunction device that can be configured in different speeds and is totally green, sustainable and affordable. This new family of products uses Xerox’s patented “solid ink” technology now combined with Xerox’s workgroup MFP expertise. Solid Ink sticks are cartridge free, and therefore a true consumable. This new series will use 90% less waste than laser printers and has all the latest scanning technology on it with numerous finishing options available. This new machine is so user friendly and intuitive, it can diagnose potential problems and fix them ahead of time reducing maintenance and service calls. Your IT support group will appreciate reduced intervention and calls to your help desk. But best of all, it charges you for the actual color used on a page. No more paying expensive full-color page prices for small amounts of color.

QeH2 announces CBeyond Channel Partnership

by Eric Pratt

QeH2 has agreed to terms with Cbeyond to become a Channel Partner. QeH2 believes this partnership will augment their ability to provide their clients with extended services. QeH2 already works with Cbeyond in many client environments as our systems overlap. As Channel Partners they will have the ability to pass on pricing advantages to their clients. Providing information and technology is QeH2's niche and the access to resources is a big competitive advantage their clients hold, this announcement increases that advantage with current and potential clients.

Cbeyond is the voice and broadband Internet provider built exclusively to serve small businesses. They work exclusively with this growing entrepreneurial class of customers and it shows in everything they do - from our customized packages to their unique customer support. Their local, long distance and Internet packages, anytime account management and industry-first VoIP platform give small businesses the communication tools that big businesses enjoy - at an affordable price.

REV Networking Event Announcement

QeH2 is proud to sponsor today's REV Networking event!

When: April 21 Tuesday
Time: 4:15pm
Where: 4150 E. Mississippi Ave.
Central Denver 80246

Event Location Sponsor

Nancy Litvak
Director of Sales and Catering
Loews Denver Hotel
303.639-1606 D
303.782-9300 Hotel
nlitvak@loewshotels.com

Event Sponsor

QeH2
Eric Pratt
Director of Marketing
303.688-7531 O
720.290-5982 D
epratt@qeh2.com

Tar Heels' returnees accomplish title mission

By AARON BEARD

DETROIT (AP) — Tyler Hansbrough wore a clipped-down net around his neck and a T-shirt proclaiming North Carolina as national champion. A few feet to his right sat Wayne Ellington, who had just been selected the most outstanding player in the Final Four.

Across the festive locker room at Ford Field sat teammates Ty Lawson and Danny Green, the other members of the quartet who considered a jump to the NBA as underclassmen last year.

This was the moment they hoped for.

This was the reason they stayed.

With Monday night's 89-72 win over Michigan State, they accomplished what they came back to school to do: win the program's fifth NCAA title.

"A lot of outside people were saying we have to win it all or it's going to be a failure," Hansbrough said. "Well, you know what? It's not a failure. We came back to win a championship. We did, and we got the job done. There was a lot of pressure, but no one's disappointed in this locker room."

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