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Our mission is to help businesses like yours increase productivity and get more out of the technology you invest in.
We specialize in solutions that safeguard and protect your data and keep operations running smoothly.
Premium IT Services
Intelligent remote monitoring, proactive maintenance, and behind-the-scenes remote support.
Network Security
Protect your business from threats like malware, viruses, phishing attacks, hackers and other threads.
Backup & Disaster Recovery
Ensure peace-of-mind in any situation with the most complete data backup solution available.
Cloud Hosting Solutions
Reduce infrastructure costs, collaborate, and get more done with our unique cloud solutions.
When you just want IT to work!
There are a lot of computer shops out there that you can call up to fix an issue or install a piece of equipment. They might be able to get you out of crisis mode, but they aren’t looking at the full picture.
At Decatur Computers Inc., we understand business. We consult. We provide solutions to solve everyday challenges. We just happen to fix computers as well.
We believe (and have proven) that if you proactively manage technology, run maintenance religiously, and monitor a business network, everyday issues and downtime will be greatly reduced.
This is what makes us different than your typical tech support company. Sure, we can fix computer issues when you have them, but our specialty is preventing them in the first place.
Are you looking for a partner you can trust your IT with? Sign up for a FREE IT Assessment to get started today.
What Our Clients Say
This past year I have been planning my wedding, and I have a ton of spreadsheets and documents on my computer pertaining to the “big day”. I saved everything on an external hard drive just in case. One day I went to get one of the documents off of the hard drive and of course there were no documents in the file. My computer is very old so I have worried about it crashing. I have no clue where to take it to find out what went wrong. I was telling my cousin Steve Turner about it and he suggested Decatur Computers. I took it in, I was only there for about 10 minutes, they had great customer service, said that they would call me in a few days to let me know what they were able to do. I got a call that week, they not only retrieved everything on the hard drive but they also increased the speed of my computer so we were able to wait a bit longer to buy a new one. I would definitely recommend anyone to Decatur computers.
"These guys do a great job! I took my computer in to be updated and they not only did that but they got rid of all the bugs and viruses and it runs much faster. Then when I got home with the upgrade my printer wouldn’t connect. I called them up and they connected to my computer from their location and within half hour they had me back in service! It was also kind of funny watching them move the mouse and different things going on the screen while I was sitting here not moving a thing. :)"
Decatur Computers has given us excellent service in our computer needs. The staff provides professional, immediate service. A telephone call to them gets immediate help with any of the needs we have had with our current system. We are most happy to have them available, and the prices have been right!
“Decatur Computers has always provided prompt, efficient and affordable computer service at our home as well as at our place of business. We have also purchased several new computer systems from them and have been very pleased with the products they recommended for purchase. The technicians are always courteous. Any technical issues or problems we have had, they have addressed quickly to ensure that we had minimal down time if any at all. I would highly recommend Decatur Computers to anyone whether it be for residential or business services.”
“I run two small companies and have relied on Decatur Computers for over 7 years. The staff is very professional. One business runs a POS system the other data management . They are fantastic with both. There has never been a problem they cannot fix, even though both systems are very different. I would strongly recommend them to anyone for whatever they need.”
“I have worked with Decatur Computers for over 10 years. I have always had great service and fair pricing. Now that I have my own home based business I am looking forward to the continued relationship. The staff is always courteous whether it is on the phone, in shop or off site. I know that I can count on them to fix my problem or answer my question.”
With today’s technology advancing so fast it is nice to know there is a one stop shop for all technology problems. I personally have gained a lot of knowledge and had the best assistance with all my computer and software issues I have encountered. I would highly recommend Decatur Computers for anyone’s personal and business needs. As I always say ‘Why try to fix your own computer when that is what Decatur Computers does'”
Decatur computer and their staff go above and beyond to serve their customers. Mathew was very friendly and informative through the repair process. I received emails through the entire process updating me on the progress of my repair. I would highly recommend Decatur computer to anyone i know for repairs or upgrades. Thanks again to Mathew his great customer service and hard work.
Latest Blogs
The managed service provider’s job is primarily to support your IT infrastructure and network to ensure that your technology is working optimally. Do we fix computers? Absolutely, but the lion’s share of the time is spent on helping our clients build and maintain the IT infrastructure that can effectively support their business. We do this with several services. Let’s take a brief look at them:
We are of the opinion that when “IT” comes around and tinkers with the machines while your staff is working, it can be a massive distraction. So if we are installing new technology, we’ll be there outside of working hours so as not to cause downtime.
Our staff instead uses state of the art technology to monitor your entire IT infrastructure to keep your technology running properly. If we find an issue, we fix it, or at the very least bring it to your attention before it becomes an operational problem. Broken technology is bad for the bottom line, but downtime is worse. Downtime is a thief and it keeps coming around. With remote monitoring and management tools, we do what we can to stop the thief in its tracks.
A lot can change in a short period of time. Technology evolves and so does your business. That’s why we like to sit down for regular reviews with your decision makers to understand what your business’ goals are and how technology and technology-related services can help you meet your goals.
Vendors are necessary for every business, but they’re kind of like having an annoying neighbor. They have a tendency to come around and call too often, and basically take up a lot of time that you could use to be focusing on your business. Consider how much time you’ve been on the phone or have visited with one of your vendor's sales associates in the past month? It’s more than you probably would have liked. Even if you like the rep, there are plenty of other things you could be doing. The same goes for getting technical support from your vendors.
Vendor management is just that: we run your technology vendor relationships. It provides the consistency you would get if you did it yourself, but it takes the responsibility off your shoulders. With the knowledge we glean from the regular review process, we know what’s best for your business and we’ll ensure we carry out your wishes to a T.
Every business uses some type of software, some firms use hundreds. One thing is certain about software, it needs to be updated regularly. Otherwise there will probably be some type of vulnerability on your network. If exploited, this can turn really ugly, really fast. Today’s hackers don’t need much wiggle room to ruin your fiscal year. Our technicians regularly patch all of your business’ software to ensure that the IT you are using isn’t a time bomb.
One of the simplest services any IT serviced firm provides, and one of the most important. We offer our backup and disaster recovery service which provides incremental backups of your business' data and we store it both onsite and in the cloud to ensure that no matter what happens to your business, that your data is still safe and ready to be recovered quickly.
Well, we do fix computers both in our workshop and, if the need arises, at your place of business. This is a no-brainer, but with all the remote tools we provide, that includes a help desk solution, you shouldn’t expect to see us milling around your office causing a distraction.
Managed services provide a lot of value, and your business probably can’t afford not to consider teaming up with Decatur Computers Inc.. Give our knowledgeable technicians a call today to learn more at 217-475-0226.
While VoIP has seen a huge rise in popularity amongst residential customers as telecoms have updated their infrastructures, the protocol is at its heart a business solution. By co-opting your existing broadband service to route calls and other data, VoIP effectively reverses the precedent set by dial-up Internet services. Nowadays, chances are good that even the most novice of private users has some experience with VoIP, thanks to tools like Facebook Messenger, Skype, and Facetime.
These services are good in their own right, but when the time comes, businesses need a tool that can cope with the high volume of calls such organizations often see. That’s where VoIP comes in, offering enterprise-level utility at a price point that small businesses manage every day.
I know, I know… telecoms and the solutions they provide are all the same. They cost a lot, generally offering little, and maybe meet some of the needs that your business has. Fortunately, this is far from the reality of VoIP. Let’s touch on three reasons that VoIP is a much different (read as: better) option for a business focused on its future:
VoIP is a less expensive option than the traditional phone system. It’s as simple as that. In addition to being able to consolidate two major operating costs into one, the upfront costs required to adopt VoIP in the first place are minor. In fact, a smartphone can be used as a VoIP handset, allowing you to pare down your costs even further.
VoIP is also an inherently flexible solution, meaning that it can be adapted to a business’ unique use case and situation exceptionally easily. Take the process of adding new users to your VoIP implementation: there are no dedicated wires to run or renovations to make for the sake of phone service. VoIP is plug-in-and-play in a very literal sense, so connecting it and setting it up can be accomplished in minutes.
Finally, we can’t talk about VoIP without discussing just how many features it offers as a direct result of its reliance on the Internet, in addition to call quality alone. VoIP also offers:
…along with many other features that could directly play into your business’ successful operations.
If you’ve been looking for a way to get more for your business’ money, this is it. Reach out to Decatur Computers Inc. today to ask our team of professionals about implementing a VoIP platform in your organization.
The life of a worker in the late 16th and 17th centuries wasn’t always so much to bring home a paycheck, it was to sustain their lives and the lives of their families. With no refrigeration, no electricity, food had to be acquired and prepared in short order. Even after people started moving to cities and forgoing the subsistence life, most of their time was trying to secure shelter and food.
By the end of the 18th century, global trade had created demand for new goods and services. This is when you first start to see productivity mentioned regularly. In Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, he describes labor as:
Shortly thereafter, the polymathic Benjamin Franklin developed his own philosophy of productivity that asked the questions that modern productivity is centered around:
These questions and the development of new technologies that would change the world went a long way toward creating the definition of productivity that we know today. In fact, one could say that the more technologically advanced society has become, the more apt people are to reference productivity. Take into account that initially slave labor was used and then for half a century low-wage workers (many of a very young age) toiled in unsafe conditions before labor unions pushed for protective measures.
After the turn of the 20th century, what could only be described as the predecessor of today’s efficiency guru was born. Thought leaders such as Franky Winslow “Speedy” Taylor and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth (yes, the ones from Cheaper by the Dozen) started a movement that has since grown into a massive industry of management consultants.
For much of the early 20th century, productivity was looked on as a patriotic duty as workers toiled through the first two World Wars and the Great Depression. This expanded productivity to women, who up until this point, were looked on more as domestic caretakers than workers.
Food, which was the major driving force behind work just centuries ago, has transformed to adjust for more productivity elsewhere. The TV dinner was developed in the 1950s and the invention of the microwave oven only made those prepackaged and easy-to-make meals more of a mainstay in homes. This also revolutionized the ability for food chains to make food quickly. This led to the explosion of fast-food chains starting in the mid-1970s.
Computers changed the world. With the development of computers that you can use to expand productivity, and then computers that you could take on the go, you’ve seen a complete shift in the way that people categorize productivity.
Now that we have superior tools to be productive with and new applications that are using technologies like artificial intelligence to automate tasks that people are slower to accomplish, productivity should be higher than ever. It has plateaued in many instances, however. This can be explained by the amount of distractions available to the average worker. If it wasn’t for automation, we’d probably be falling deeper into recession.
Getting back to the definition shift of productivity, there is currently a shift prioritizing value over the core metric of output. This is because workers today are extremely undervalued by many organizations and they need to establish guidelines to lure workers into being more productive than in previous generations. Workers want to be productive, but they also don’t want to work for as long and as hard as the people they’ve replaced. That’s why value is so important in today’s workplace.
Don’t mistake this shift for one that doesn’t measure output. Output is still important, but value of work is much more important with the technological options available to companies today. Businesses are more focused on doing the right things over doing a lot of things that don’t add value to the workers, the executives, and most importantly, the customers.
Today’s productivity standards aim to balance the means with the ends. Today, it’s all about the experience, whether that be at work or as a customer. In a way, it builds meaning to the work that is being done and makes this work more tolerable to people who have shorter attention spans.
One of the biggest shifts we’ve seen in productivity is that most things today are approached as a team. Since people enjoy their work more when they aren’t being micromanaged, companies have structured work environments that require contributions from many people instead of a few. Essentially it is an assembly line where people are in constant contact with each other. Building trust with your team goes a long way toward giving modern workers the fulfillment they need out of a job that takes over a large portion of their waking hours.
If you would like to talk to one of our technology professionals about how to get the tools your business needs to fit the modern meaning of productivity, give Decatur Computers Inc. a call at 217-475-0226 today.
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