The Alpha Technical Solutions Blog is moving to:

http://www.alphatechsolutions.co.uk/news-blog/

This is part of series of planned updates for the Alpha Technical Solutions website, the outcome of which will be a more tightly integrated website. We hope you like the new site. Its been designed to be easier to use with everything in one

We apologise for any inconvenience you may suffer during this period.

You may well ask why we did not just roll out a brand new web site? That is our normal practice and also what we advise our clients. Normally when we work on a new site or an update we roll the site out complete. This is conventional wisdom. It is safe, secure and reliable. However when you take your eyes off the Internet and look at what happens when a business refurbishes its premises you so often see that improvement being performed in public view. So I got to thinking what happens when you apply that to the Internet and defy its conventional wisdom. What happens when you allow people to see change in operation?

You see Alpha Technical Solutions is a business based very much on openness and clarity, so thinking in this way comes very naturally to us.

So the idea came to run the update in the open. Its an experiment. To find out what happens. Its our job to do this s. To ensure that the advice we give is of the highest quality possible and based on learning, experience, and wisdom. We don’t like to just copy the thoughts of others, we try and find things out for ourselves.

So far the redesign is going well and we hope you like it.

You can find full details of the scheme if you click here.

You might wonder why we’re adding this scheme? Well we like to work closely with our clients, we have a lot of loyal clients, and we have received a good amount of word of mouth advertising from our clients. It struck us that we should offer something back to customers who do us the honour of recommending us. Out of this thought was born this new referral scheme. It transforms traditional word of mouth advertising into a way of receiving a tangible long term discount.

Something that at what we hope is the tail end of a recession will deliver something useful to our customers.

Of course we do not want to automate things to the point of removing the human touch. We don’t believe in removing the personal interaction. That is why all of our hosting packages come with support via a free phone 0800 number. In fact we encourage you to give us a call. Especially if you are not sure which package will suit you. Call us and we will be happy to talk through your needs and give you our best advice.

We also fully support a technology called 1-touch. This will automatically install some of the best blogging, community building and web site design software that you can get. So if you want to build a web site or have a go at starting the next Facebook then at least getting started will be easy.

If you have any questions about our hosting offering feel free to visit our hosting website by clicking here, or give us a call on 0800 0354148.

Well to all of you we say Well Done!

Here at Alpha Technical Solutions we have seen some amazing advancements in technology some personal goals fulfilled and a whole host of new services coming online!

So let’s run down a few of the best moments for us in 2009.

1. We have attained Microsoft Certified Teaching Status for our tutors.
2. Partnered with a IT Recycling Company
3. Moved to new offices in Newport
4. Launched a Web Hosting Service and now offer 1 years free hosting with all new web sites.
5. Partnered with an Online Backup service
6. Launched an Online Customer Relations Management Portal
7. Hosted a launch event for Microsoft Windows 7
8. Taught many new students how to take great pictures
9. Helped many new computer users how to use their computer
10. Partnered with Marie Curie (very happy about that one)
11. Taught a number of students to pass their Microsoft Certified Professional exam

And that’s where I ran out of breath.

But that’s not all, in the New Year we have a number of new initiatives to help you run your business without the worry of making sure things are running smoothly.

From all of us at Alpha Technical Solutions we wish you a Very Merry Christmas and look forward to speaking with you in the New Year.

We will close down the office on:

Tuesday 22^nd December 2009 and re-open on the 4^th January 2010.

But as always if you want to get hold of us just call 0800 0354148 or email info@alphatechsolutions.co.uk and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

So let me wish everyone a

Merry Christmas

and a

Happy New Year

The Local Investment Fund is available to social enterprises and small – medium sized businesses. It is intended to assist with the acquisition of capital expenditure. This includes ICT equipment, web sites, software and marketing materials. The practical upshot of this is that you can a grant towards your expenditure of 40%. That works out the same as having a 40% off the actual cost of your expenditure in real terms.

We’re more than happy to work with you through the grant application process to ensure that this is as easy as possible for you.

A copy of the Torfaen LIF  Leaflet is attached to this cost. You should note that although it states that the grant is 35%, it is now in fact 40%.

So if you would like some help in getting a grant towards improving your companies computer or Internet facilities give us a call on 0800 0354148 and we’ll help you get the ball rolling.

Brownie Points Lingerie

We are pleased to announce a new ecommerce website for our client Brownie Points Lingerie. Now don’t yawn and say “Oh no another shop”. We’ve been working very closely with Brownie Points Lingerie to make sure that they can complete their mission. This is not just another shop. It’s a shop with an attitude and a niche. Brownie Points Lingerie has set out to solve one problem. How can men buy lingerie for the lady in their lives and do it well? Lets face it when most men buy lingerie it is often not what the lady wants. What Brownie Points does is this – it sells high quality lingerie and then organises it and displays it in a way that men will find appealing and easy to follow. Its a clever and somewhat quirky idea and for that reason alone we hope that Brownie Points does very well.

We have also developed a matching blog. Although its very early days yet the blog intends to be a useful resource for men buying lingerie, whilst the shop does the job of helping men buy the lingerie. To me this sounds like an excellent matching pair. A free information resource coupled with a shop should you wish to use it.

Watch this space for more information

This type of mini-site is something we like doing for our customers. We take existing branding and combine it with new material to create something that has emphasis on just one thing. It becomes something that is singular and focussed. Allowing for its content to be referred to easily and cleanly – making life easier for our clients customers. We believe it is always good to make things easier for the customer.

We’re also going to be announcing all new client web sites on this blog. This is a way of saying thanks to our clients and wishing them well in the future. It is also a plug for their businesses.

So thank you Fast Fluid Power for the project and good luck to Fast Gas we hope the new site does well

You might ask why we are doing this. After all why note the launch of another version of Windows? Its a good question. However we have been using Windows 7 for some time now and are utterly convinced that this is an important version of Windows, and one that has great implications for business – especially small businesses. I don’t want to sound like an advert for Microsoft, after all we pride ourselves for considered and impartial but this new version of Windows really does improve the way you interact with a PC in a most efficient and effective way.

Ok so that’s the technical pitch, but lets be honest for most people in business being told about Windows is not the most exciting way to spend some time. That is why we are running in the party format. We invite you to come along, have some lunch, mingle and network with other business people and take a look at why we think this is important.

That is why you should be there. It is a way meet other business people, maybe strike a deal and also learn about something that could help you out in the future.

If you’d like to come why not give us a call on 0800 0354148

To make sure you find us here is our address: Merlin House, 1 Langstone Business Park, Langstone, Newport, NP182HJ

Click here to see a map of our location

So come to the party, you get a free lunch and networking thrown in – which makes it a pretty good deal.