Tag Archives: Hardware

Migrating From Exchange Server 2010 to Office 365

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Age of the Hardware Platform

The most important consideration on when to migrate to Office 365 depends on the age and capacity of the hardware platform on which your email system is operating. If your organization moved to Exchange Server 2010 early, your server hardware is now 5 or 6 years old. This suggests a planned and orderly migration to Office 365 should occur over the next 6 months.

However Exchange Server was still being actively deployed as late as 2014 (especially as part of SBS 2011), so your hardware platform may only be two or three years old. This means it is still covered by the original manufacturer warranty and is still recorded in your financials as an asset. In most cases then, it is probably best to defer your migration to Office 365 until at least 2016.

Expected Growth of Staff Numbers

The above hardware based decision process assumes a reasonably static number of users within your organization. If that is not the case and you are expecting to increase staffing numbers by 10% or more over the coming 12 months, then a move to Office 365 before those numbers increase is recommended. There is no point in spending more money on either hardware capacity nor on CALs (client access licenses).

Do You Have Small Business Server 2011?

If you are running Small Business Server 2011 (SBS 2011), you might actually be able to maximize the return on your capital investment by continuing to run SBS 2011 into 2016. This assumes of course that you are running a Tier 1 brand server (for example HP) that is still covered by the manufacturer’s extended warranty and that you also have a Microsoft certified IT support expert monitoring and tuning your system on a regular basis.

Consider Your Office 365 Migration Options

Migrating from Exchange Server 2010 to Office 365 is the right decision for almost every sized business – especially those with less than 200 email users. The real decision is when and how to migrate. As mentioned above, the “when” depends largely on the age and capacity of your hardware as well as the expected growth of your business over the next 12 months. The “how” involves careful consideration on whether it is worth using internal staff to learn and perform a one-off complex project. It may well be that the best way to assure your organization of a successful Office 365 migration is to use the services of a Microsoft Silver Partner that has Office 365 certifications and real-world experience in performing Office 365 migrations.

Understanding the Importance of Door Closers

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Door Closers

Most people never notice a door closer unless it gives them a problem, such as leaking fluid on the carpet, the door slamming, or it just not working anymore.

Door closers are not as glamorous as locks. However, they are at the top of the list of builder’s manual hardware products involved in product injury cases, and it’s no wonder. Door Closers are dynamic. They move objects (doors) weighing 75-200 pounds directly into the path of human beings. When improperly manufactured, selected, installed, adjusted or maintained, they can generate impact forces sufficient to injure people or cause them to lose their balance and fall. Temperature changes, wind, gusts, stack pressure, and people traffic, all increase the hazard. A door swinging out of control can be especially injurious to the very young and the very old, who make up the majority of plaintiffs. Yet, when properly manufactured, installed, adjusted and maintained, door closers are safety devices that protect people and reduce the potential for injury.

A door closer is designed to close the door, not compensate for door problems, such as worn or bent hinges, warped doors, thresholds which may cause doors to bind, bend, or sticking lock latches, or exit device problems. Many maintenance people try to compensate for the above problems by adjusting the closer’s closing speed causing the door to slam. While this may shut the door, it does nothing to correct the problem. It will eventually be self-destructing.

Using the door closer as a door stop may damage the closer and/or the door structure. A floor stop, wall stop, or overhead holder/stop should be used on every door. Never put a broom handle, etc… on the hinge side to wedge the door open because it bends the hinges.

Door closers come in sizes according to the size of the door, location, interior or exterior, traffic (number of people using the door), draft conditions, or air pressure in the building. There are also special closers to meet ADA requirements.

Remember, door closers are necessary to insure fire doors are closed and latched; doors are closed for security, energy loss, sound containment, and privacy. As you can see, a door closer is part of a door package and when a problem occurs, it must be analyzed and the cause corrected and not just covered up.