I'm paying 20,000 baht per mo for our IT services. Will Google drive work instead?

[mike324]

Google Drive is straight forward, nothing will go wrong! Just upload your file, and share. Everything is managed by Google on their end, you upload your files to their servers and save it there or share. You can make your files private or share it with other people.

Why don't you get a free Gmail account and try it out? if you don't need a [email protected] email, then you guys can just use free gmail service which has 15gb of storage, which is more than enough for a small company if its just a couple of excels and files.

[sead]

I can talk to my friend from sweden working in Pattaya for his prices if interested.. But i can only guarantee it will be lesss than 10,000

[2fishin2]

Even hotmail has a cloud. There are MANY companies that offer the service.

[quicky]

Hello,

Try www.thaiprowebhosting.co.th

They have programs that you can install in less than 5 minutes and it gives you an office in the cloud, you can share emails, documents, contacts, etc.

They also have a cloud setup with their email if you want to use that instead, I pay 1800 Baht per year and have all of my staff linked together on it.

Super simple and multiple options.

[RichCor]

Seems the OP has many choices from the advice given so far.

OPTIONS:

Independent / Self Reliant / Do It Yourself (No Safety Net)

Learn as much as you can and implement and self-support your own solution strategy using off-the-shelf in-the-cloud services
You become the IT go-to person

Have outside 3rd Party propose and install a self-contained in-house solution with low ongoing maintenance costs
Hardware-based solution in-house with automatic cloud-based backup solution.
3rd Party walks you through what needs to be your own administrator, maintenance and repair
Support paid only as needed.

Have outside 3rd Party propose solutions on as-needed basis.
Pay for initial hardware/software/configuration for any solution strategy and either self-support or pay for support on an as-needed basis.

Have outside 3rd Party propose and implement a fully supported and guaranteed solution
Pay for initial hardware/software/configuration outlay and ongoing support costs moving forward
Support services include automated backup, spot verification, maintenance and training (contract retainer)

Some variation of the above

[Mudcrab]

Seems the OP has many choices from the advice given so far.

OPTIONS:

Independent / Self Reliant / Do It Yourself (No Safety Net)

Learn as much as you can and implement and self-support your own solution strategy using off-the-shelf in-the-cloud services

You become the IT go-to person

Have outside 3rd Party propose and install a self-contained in-house solution with low ongoing maintenance costs

Hardware-based solution in-house with automatic cloud-based backup solution.

3rd Party walks you through what needs to be your own administrator, maintenance and repair

Support paid only as needed.

Have outside 3rd Party propose solutions on as-needed basis.

Pay for initial hardware/software/configuration for any solution strategy and either self-support or pay for support on an as-needed basis.

Have outside 3rd Party propose and implement a fully supported and guaranteed solution

Pay for initial hardware/software/configuration outlay and ongoing support costs moving forward

Support services include automated backup, spot verification, maintenance and training (contract retainer)

Some variation of the above

Or do Mum did O

Only bank with cash. Only pay with cash.

Work for cash

Get paid in cash.

[anon022]

Perhaps invest in a SOHO NAS device and buy google drive as an off-site backup in case your NAS fails.

A 4 disk Raid6 setup would serve you well. Google drive is very very fast in Thailand and you can backup your files automatically from your NAS.

Buy a Synology DS414J and 4x 1TB WD RED Drives and choose raid6 for data protection.

That's impossible! Thailand does not have this kind of advanced technology! At least according to yourself, they are not smart enough to be able to offer reliable technologically challenging services.

[Straight8]

Nepal4me, In the interests of full disclosure I am in IT based in Thailand and have been doing IT in Thailand for 22 years.

For 5 users 20K sounds a lot, but it depends exactly what they are giving you for that, Even a small server costs 3 or 4 times the price of a decent PC. So if the server is included and all the other equipment and the Internet than that makes the price more reasonable.

Google Docs Professional costs $5 a month per person for ever. Thats the basic service if you have the better service, more functionality then its double. So you are paying close to 1,000 or 2,000 baht a month for your 5 users, add 1 more person and up the price goes, same with Office 365. There are issues with who actually owns the data, what happens to your data if you don't pay or cant pay?

The Cloud is useful for a backup, but in Thailand I don't feel that the internet is strong enough to allow you to use 100% cloud services, when the Internet is down so are you. No mail in or out, no access to your documents. So I would recommend On Premises and a cloud backup and cloud share. This can be had for zero cost or minimal cost. Just remember that anything in the cloud the payments never stop. There are plenty of e-mail options available to you from cloud based free to paid, you can have your own server or a Hybrid solution with your own server backed up to the cloud. That way you ensure that you are fully protected. There are also plenty of other issues to consider, do you have a firewall, do you have full Threat Protection etc.?

Another thing to understand, is that a business internet connection is much more expensive than home based Internet. Home internet is from around 590 Baht a month. Business Internet costs generally depending upon speed 4,000 a month. There is a reason for this. Home internet is throttled and you get usually, only 25% international bandwidth. Business Internet 100%. There are other issues as well with a home based service.

In order to make a full and proper recommendation that is suitable for your company it would be helpful to know a lot more. Please free to contact me and we can discuss your requirements.

It IS a lot. They are being ripped off period. Its unfortunate that this happens to uneducated small business owners. Since they are in a single location, just sharing out each other's hard drives would cost ZERO. They could have all the access they ever wanted doing that simple technique. They dont need a server just a cheap stand alone computer on the network could hold a terabyte of data which all they could ever use. Cloud's from all the companies work just fine. Ive been using the basic microsoft one since it was introduced and shared thousands of files without ever a single problem.

For the amount of money they are paying a year, they could replace each computer every year and all the IT "service" they could ever need. I hate rippoffs.

Wonder who organised this deal?

Perhaps there within lies the answer.

On the surface though, looks like a big ripoff.

If you want to cut it down quite a bit, you better start googling. There's a wealth of info out there.

[gandalf12]

A computer with a 250GB drive and wireless card, Wireless router and you should be pretty much good to go. Buy a NAS drive if you want and allow access based on MAC address. It certainly wont cast you what you are paying right now

Edited January 10, 2015 by gandalf12

[Bench499d]

I've read some of these responses and just want to make the following points. This company has installed a router, switch and server. I think it is safe to say the OP doesn't know what else that server is doing. For all we know it is the mail server and domain controller (logon server) for the office as well as the file server. This sort of configuration based around Microsoft Windows Small Business Server is common. If that is the case swapping it out for a NAS or cloud storage solution might not be appropriate! Additionally, that company is probably managing your firewall and protecting your network.

I agree 20000 sounds a lot until you consider that it would cost at least that if not more to employ someone with technical skills to manage it in-house.

You need to look at your contracts and SLAs and understand the full service before defining a new solution to replace it!

[manarak]

Nobody in the office is particularily computer savvy.

I think this is the main thing here.

The company you hired also installed a router and a server and is probably ready to support you if you have problems. They probably also took care of keeping your data safe and backuped.

"no interaction" with them can also mean that they are doing such a good job that you never have problems.

As other posters suggested, I advise you to carefully check what exact services you are getting and which services you need.

[2fishin2]

Some of you need to go back and READ what the original post said. They are being ripped off period. Only have 250gig of network storage which means not alot of gonqulating going on, and that was explained also. And only 5 people needing access isnt very many people. As far as needing a work address its simple....go to google or any other service provider and open an account and name it [email protected]. Companies and employees do it all the time. They dont need a server or dedicated email, just a shared out properly workgroup would be just fine.

[kaydee412]

Google, Hotmail and Yahoo etc are not proper email providers, and web hosting services often do a poor job of handling email also.

Why do you say Google is not a "proper" email provider?

[seancbk]

If you're looking for on-site support in Bangkok, then prepare to pay for it.

You definitely won't get on-site support from the likes of Google. They'll refer you to FAQs and user-support groups.

I'd suggest compiling a list of all the services, features, access, you need and then see who provides packages that fill those needs. Compile the list first.

What is it you actually need?

Internet Service via DSL/Cable/Fiber?

3G/LTE Internet?

Storage Space (Administered, Monitored and Backed Up)

email, cloud storage, database, forms, presentations

Equipment repair/replacement. Equipment maintenance.

On-site Technical Support for hardware and software?

Training.

We have an IT company here in Bangkok that charges us 20,000 baht per month and we have virtually no interaction with them.

Did you pay outright for the equipment? What ongoing service are they offering/providing?

What type of interaction do you want from them if there are no current issues?

Really, I think we have a very low requirement. I'm new with this company and can see we have a big monthly expense. We have an accountant, an engineer, the owner/sales man, an admin and me. Really it's 5 people that need access but really we have a very low requirement for any service. We do need to be able to access documents etc that are backed up but it's minimal, data sheets, quotes, invoices etc. We don't even need much space, 250GB is more than enough.

It seems we could have something as simple as the free version of Google Drive and that would suffice (as long as 5 people can access it). The problem is I don't know what would happen if something goes wrong. Google isn't going to send anybody to our office, they'll point us at their FAQ's if there is a problem. That's why I thought we should have some agreement with an IT service that could solve any problem should it arise.

Are there IT companies out there that offer this kind of on-site support if required and don't charge an arm and a leg? I'm looking to save as much money as possible without jeopardizing our operations.

Google docs would work but I would recommend DropBox for Business which is US$ per user per month for 5 users.

https://www.dropbox.com/business/pricing

You mention something going wrong but I'm not sure what could go wrong. Possibly someone deletes something by mistake or overwrites a file, both of which are covered by Dropbox for Business.

If you need any other advice or help let me know via PM.

[KittenKong]

Google, Hotmail and Yahoo etc are not proper email providers, and web hosting services often do a poor job of handling email also.

Why do you say Google is not a "proper" email provider?

Because they dont use accepted industry standards and they scan the contents of your mail for their own benefit.

[2fishin2]

Google, Hotmail and Yahoo etc are not proper email providers, and web hosting services often do a poor job of handling email also.

Why do you say Google is not a "proper" email provider?

Because they dont use accepted industry standards and they scan the contents of your mail for their own benefit.

huh? What are your version of accepted industry standards? So these 2 very specialized industry leaders of email and clouds dont meet their own industry standards? Yes I believe you are correct, they are bad guys who dont know what they are doing.

[gandalf12]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Google, Hotmail and Yahoo etc are not proper email providers, and web hosting services often do a poor job of handling email also.

Why do you say Google is not a "proper" email provider?

Because they dont use accepted industry standards and they scan the contents of your mail for their own benefit.

huh? What are your version of accepted industry standards? So these 2 very specialized industry leaders of email and clouds dont meet their own industry standards? Yes I believe you are correct, they are bad guys who dont know what they are doing.

I think what is meant is that Gmail etc are web based and "proper" is being considered as via an Exchange Server

[2fishin2]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Google, Hotmail and Yahoo etc are not proper email providers, and web hosting services often do a poor job of handling email also.

Why do you say Google is not a "proper" email provider?

Because they dont use accepted industry standards and they scan the contents of your mail for their own benefit.

huh? What are your version of accepted industry standards? So these 2 very specialized industry leaders of email and clouds dont meet their own industry standards? Yes I believe you are correct, they are bad guys who dont know what they are doing.

I think what is meant is that Gmail etc are web based and "proper" is being considered as via an Exchange Server

Another semantics argument. W.T.F.

[CapraIbex]

Safe and secure!

http://askbobrankin.com/ten_free_cloud_backup_services.html

[Nepal4me]

I have attached the contract we are using. There is no reference to the service company's name, nor our company name.

I believe we have the Bronze option based on knowing we pay 20,000 per month.

Again, our requirements are for 3 or 4 of us accessing some work or excel files once or twice a day at most. I will check in the office tomorrow with all the guys and ask if they have any specific other uses for this expensive service. I'll report back tomorrow.

[Familyonthemove]

Our office in Bangkok has over 20 employees each with a laptop that needs setting up/fixing and a server that needs maintenance. We pay less than half your fee and get great service.

We are also using a cloud based server for people who work out of the office and we're considering switching to this for all the team as the server (and it's fans) consumes a lot of power.

I can send a PM with our local contracted support company details if that's any use?

[Nepal4me]

Sure, I'd appreciate the name and contact details of your provider. Thanks...........

[Nepal4me]

It appears that my attachment didn't attach. Here it is again.

[RichCor]

Swing and a miss, Strike Two! With bases loaded. the crowd is wondering if Nepal4me is ready for the Majors.

Suggest you use the More Reply Options / Preview Post button to see if your attachment is working, or see what error it gives you.

[Danbit]

Raid 5 will be enough. Install Team Viewer and find a PC firm to help you one time, to set it up. Raid 5 needs 3 hard disk and it cost you one disk in capacity.

With TeamViever the PC firm can acces your system and repair/clean it.

It is what I do, my friends in Denmark do it when too complicated for me. Use Google Browser and Libre Office (free and Microsoft cant`t get any payment from you later) and you save a lot of money. You can mail me and get the adress for a local PCfirm in Chonburi They could go to Bangkok if needed but transpotation of 1½ hour costs.

My firm www.danbit.xxxx-operate with them.

Edited January 11, 2015 by Rooo
URL

[nikster]

Start using Dropbox for everything.

If that works, switch to it full time. Don't turn off your provider services until you know the replacement works.

Dropbox does backups and so on but you can also get a remote backup service to be doubly safe. Then you need some decent internal organization so it doesn't become a whole mess of folders. I always either keep a project-based or a time based folder structure.

I don't know about Google drive - google email services are awesome, every startup I have worked for sets up their emails with them. It's cheap, has 100% uptime (or close to) and is spam free.

Dropbox - my mom uses it to organize a small art festival. She loves it. She is also utterly clueless about anything computer, and now nearly 70 years old. If she can manage Dropbox, I have faith that you can, too

There are many services like Dropbox, and some are cheaper, others give you more free space; but of the ones I've tried, none have come close to the overall ease of use and functionality that Dropbox has. Files sync instantly. You can always "undelete" files, or even look at the history of changes in case somebody made a mistake and deleted stuff in an existing document (that would be yours truly). It's awesome.

As for all the comments about setting up your own server, getting a hosted service, setting up a NAS - yes to all that if you want to pay for "IT management". If you don't want to pay for IT management, don't do that.

I consult for a small web company with 4 full time employees and anywhere from 10 - 20 contractors. They use Dropbox, Slack, Google email, Github. No IT expenses. I also consult for a large fortune 500 corporation with a huge IT department and a complex mess of Windows-based IT services. The efficiency of the IT-less stack is staggeringly higher than all that garbage enterprise software the large corporation is using. Not because of the IT personell, more because the web services are just so much better at everything.

Viruses. I guess people still use windows. Sigh. Oh, well. I am always surprised at this as all professional computer people I know use Macs or Linux - e.g. all the web developers, client side devs, programmers. designers. Mac is the easiest way to avoid viruses. Windows is just a mess, hard to really keep safe unless the employees know what they're doing. I never had a virus on my Windows system, and never used AV software either - I just avoided fishy websites, used Firefox/Chrome only (no IE), and ran email through gmail which removes virus attachments (and mostly places those email in the spam to begin with so I never even see them). Also no flash etc. These days no Java.

Edited January 11, 2015 by nikster

[Nepal4me]

Swing and a miss, Strike Two! With bases loaded. the crowd is wondering if Nepal4me is ready for the Majors.

Suggest you use the More Reply Options / Preview Post button to see if your attachment is working, or see what error it gives you.

3rd swing at the pitch...

NMSserviceVer1 0 (2) IT plan.pdf

[RichCor]

OK. Your company is paying for a Network Monitoring Service.

So, here's the question (same as the sales pitch)

How MUCH is your IT Data and Working Infrastructure worth to you?

What happens if it all goes away tomorrow. Can you recreate it? What is the cost?
If it all goes away tomorrow, how does that affect the viability of the company?

So, what are you willing to pay to protect or mitigate this potential loss from happening?

Please sign in the dotted line.

Sometimes it's worth it to outsource for a solution to keep the company from failing.

Othertimes, if the information can be recreated, and you can weather small loss or setback, then paying is a waste of company funds.

[KittenKong]

"22nd April2014
Versoin 1.0"

How much faith should one have in an IT company that doesn't even know how to turn on a spell-checker?

[h90]

If you're looking for on-site support in Bangkok, then prepare to pay for it.

You definitely won't get on-site support from the likes of Google. They'll refer you to FAQs and user-support groups.

I'd suggest compiling a list of all the services, features, access, you need and then see who provides packages that fill those needs. Compile the list first.

What is it you actually need?

Internet Service via DSL/Cable/Fiber?

3G/LTE Internet?

Storage Space (Administered, Monitored and Backed Up)

email, cloud storage, database, forms, presentations

Equipment repair/replacement. Equipment maintenance.

On-site Technical Support for hardware and software?

Training.

We have an IT company here in Bangkok that charges us 20,000 baht per month and we have virtually no interaction with them.

Did you pay outright for the equipment? What ongoing service are they offering/providing?

What type of interaction do you want from them if there are no current issues?

Really, I think we have a very low requirement. I'm new with this company and can see we have a big monthly expense. We have an accountant, an engineer, the owner/sales man, an admin and me. Really it's 5 people that need access but really we have a very low requirement for any service. We do need to be able to access documents etc that are backed up but it's minimal, data sheets, quotes, invoices etc. We don't even need much space, 250GB is more than enough.

It seems we could have something as simple as the free version of Google Drive and that would suffice (as long as 5 people can access it). The problem is I don't know what would happen if something goes wrong. Google isn't going to send anybody to our office, they'll point us at their FAQ's if there is a problem. That's why I thought we should have some agreement with an IT service that could solve any problem should it arise.

Are there IT companies out there that offer this kind of on-site support if required and don't charge an arm and a leg? I'm looking to save as much money as possible without jeopardizing our operations.

Well I don't understand that.

Make the strongest computer the server. Make 1 folder that has subfolders with the user. Share the folders with the user. Once a week you either make a backup with a USB Harddisk. Or daily with a NAS.

Costs minimal. If you have twice in a year a problem, you'll find someone who fix it.

140.000 Baht per year, you easily find someone for 5000 Baht who comes and fix any problem you may have.