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Computer Support – The Importance Of Backing Up Your Computer

The Importance Of Backing Up Your Computer

Importance of Backing Up Your Computer A computer backup makes your computer almost (depending on how your backup) invincible to any threat to your files and information.

A computer backup will help ensure you are protecting things such as priceless memorable pictures and essential legal or information documents.

With the proper backup you can rest easy, knowing your are protected from computer hard drive failure, Malware (viruses or spyware), computer harm from a fire or another disaster or from computer theft.

The Important Elements of Backup

1. Do A Simple Backup Now!

Do you have a USB key or a portable hard-drive? Simply, just take it and copy over your important files (ie excel, word, image files, etc). Usually these files are no more than 1GB or so. And these days most of these simple devices come with a fairly large memory. If you don’t have one you can pick one up at any computer or office store.

Also unfortunately for a strange reason, programs decide to place files in various places that often don’t make sense. Take a look around your computer and find these additional files if you can.

2. Do A Full Computer Backup

Every computer should have this bullet proof backup system, this gives your computer super powers. What is done is cloning the entire hard drive (with daily automatic backups). So if you computer every fails, all that is needed to be done is switching the hard drive and “voila” your computer is ready to go.

3. Backup Often

It is very important to automate the backup process. The more often you backup (with rotating destination) the better.

4. Move Your Backup To Another Location

In case of an event like a theft or fire, you want the rotating Backup to moved to a different location. This is an essential step.

Different files should be backed up at different times to different devices. Also, your entire computer drive should be cloned on two device.

5. Don’t Forget To Check Your Backup

Often verify your Backup to see that it is still working and backing up what it should. Even test retrieving from Backup.

Looking for assistance with your backup needs

Click Here

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Online Marketing – Market Your eCommerce Site In Canada Using Other Selling Sites

How To Market Your eCommerce Site In Canada Using Other Selling Sites

This discussion will assume you already have a eCommerce site developed. If you are looking to set up an eCommerece site please Click Here

eCommerce Canadian Online Selling SitesThere Are Many Things You Can Do To Invigorate Your Online Sales: Something You Can Do Is Utilize Other Third Party Online Sellers.

Canadian online retail lags behind the American store. It is difficult for a Canadian online retail store to get visitors and thus online sales. While Canadians are one of the world’s most wired and digitally social people, Canadians only spent $18-billion online in 2010, or 3.4 per cent of total retail sales, according to Boston Consulting Group. This is far behind other countries such as the United States at 5 per cent and the UK at 13.5 per cent. While online spending is expected to nearly double by 2015, Canada is expected to fall even farther behind. “Canada has been a little sleepy as far as getting online” to shop, said Jeffrey Grau, an analyst with U.S. market research firm eMarketer.

One theory for this lack of online sales in Canada, is the lack of a catalogue-buying tradition in Canada, but demand clearly goes unfulfilled here: Four in 10 dollars spent online goes abroad. Below are some site that you can use to help you gain back some of those online sales leaving Canada.

Below Are Some Sites Where You Can Market Your Products

Ebay Canada Online Selling Site1. Ebay Ebay was at one time the primary means for a merchant to sell goods outside of their own website. It is still one of the biggest avenues for a retailer to sell goods in Canada, but there are now other choices like amazon.ca. While ebay.ca is primarily an auction site, it also allows merchants to set up “Fixed Stores”.

 

Amazon.ca Online Selling Site2. Amazon. The site is the Canadian version of Amazon.com, and it has all the features of the American Website. Amazon.ca is not only a place for Canadians to sell books, movies and CDs through Amazon’s merchant program; you can also sell other products.

 

iOffer Online Selling Site3. iOffer. iOffer has evolved since 2002 into one of the fastest growing destination for interactive social commerce. With millions of item listings, virtually anything is available through spirited, open negotiations.

 
 

ShopToIt Online Selling Site4. ShopToIt. Began as a well respected product search listing site in Canada. It has recently branched out into hosting an online store for retail merchants in 2012. You might want to try it out.

 

Shopca Free Classified Listing Site5. Shopca.This new Canadian selling site, opened up in June of 2012. It is a new URL and big ambitions and hoping to change the Canadian online landscape. Shopca hopes to become one of Canada’s top shopping website. Wanting to become the Amazon north of the border with free shipping & returns and a large selection.

 

In setting up your free listings, the most important rule is to have as much information about the product as possible and you could consider purchasing (if they do not offer it free) a weblink back to your website. This greatly enhances the search of your site. Good Luck!!

 

This article has been provided by eosFirst.com AuroraCon, a computer technology and online website development company. Any questions? Click Here to contact us

 

Website Development – The State of Retail Today

The State Of Retail Today With The Greater Influence of eCommerce

Walmart Changed The Retail Industry in CanadaHistory

The state of the Canadian retail industry can be more fully explained with historical context. A great shift in Canadian retail began with the opening of box stores and most importantly when USA retail giant Walmart entered Canada with the purchase of the old Woolco stores in 1994. On products available at Walmart, there was downward price pressure on these products for other retailers.

In order to survive retailers could no longer “sit in the middle”. The retail store had to move to great value or unique products and/or upscale brand. Probably the most notable retailer who tried to stay “in the middle” too long was Eatons which went into bankruptcy in 1999.

From about 2000 to 2006 the influence on Canadian retail from the larger category and discounter bricks and mortar retailers continued (online internet sales in Canada was about 3 years behind the USA retailers). The influence of online retailers was primary on unique and hard to find items not carried by the physical store retailers. However in the 4th quarter of 2006 something began to change in Canadian retail and things were about to undergo the greatest shift yet!

 

eCommerce shopping basketPossibly The Greatest Shift Yet

The USA was ahead of Canada with internet shopping, however in 2006 Canadians started shopping online. For the physical retailer the competition with the larger discounters and box stores was now accompanied by non-physical “Gorilla warfare” internet stores. There was also an influx of online auction sites like eBay and listing services like Craigslist.

These internet stores and selling sites with little overhead (it can cost $50,000 to $200,000 to leasehold a new store and rents are often $4000 to $20,000 per month for smaller stores) and nimble brand positioning were able to offer unique products, often at a more affordable price then the physical stores. So the physical retailers were now competing against the small nimble online stores and the larger value sellers.

 

eCommerce revenue growthCan’t Beat Them, Join Them!

In today’s retail environment, retail stores with a unique proprietary product and brand might be able to still be successful, but other retailers without some type of internet eCommerce presence are going to find their product selling to be threatened by the online stores and discounters on both sides of them.

The good news is that retailers are advantageously poised to sell online. They already have a customer base, products, information about products & hopefully even images. If they operate their online sales out of their store, they can also have their internet operation as with little or no overhead. I have seen stores increase overall sales by 20% with little additional investment.

If you would like to explore more on getting your store online, please follow this link.

eosFirst.com located in Oakville, Ontario. It’s President, Garrett Hall, has brought his own retail store from 70,000 to 7 million dollars in sales over 15 years. He eventually sold his store to a large retail company. He has been using his expertise to help other retailers across North America set up or optimize their online selling ever since.