IT 201 SNHU IT Consultant at MilleniAds Consulting Company Paper Overview: Basic knowledge of computers is practically essential for productively engaging in twenty-first-century life. Working knowledge of computer platform technologies impacts everyone from help-desk personnel and field technicians to project managers and business executives. In order to make sound business decisions, one must have the ability to analyze business needs and compare available computer technology options for effectively meeting those needs.
Scenario: You have been hired as an IT consultant by an entrepreneur starting a small advertising company called MilleniAds. As a start-up, your client’s company is relatively small and has a limited budget. There are only 10 employees, including a few creative directors, graphic designers, sales staff, a financial accountant, and an office administrator, with the entrepreneur as CEO. The current IT budget cannot exceed $25,000 and ideally should come in as far under that number as possible. MilleniAds will produce customized sales flyers, brochures, and other branded items, such as letterhead and business cards, that apply a youthful, fresh perspective targeting millennial demographics. Therefore, the company needs the ability to store and manipulate digital images and to produce physical copies of their products for their clients. The CEO wants to keep track of inventory, sales, and expenses digitally, but she does not anticipate having very complex records for the first year. She projects having only a dozen or so accounts but hopes to scale up in the coming years. It would be ideal to have a simple and user-friendly system for sharing information and files between employees. Many of the employees are millennials themselves who have indicated that their current desktop PCs are limiting their capabilities and that they prefer using their phones and other mobile devices for their professional and personal responsibilities. Two of the ten employees will operate primarily outside of the office, soliciting business from regional firms, and they will need to access company information while on the road, in their home offices, and at customer sites.
Beyond the specific information given above, you have the ability to fill in the gaps with assumptions or additional details that will make your final project unique and meaningful to you. If you have any questions, reach out to your instructor for guidance.
Prompt: Given the scenario above, what are the best hardware, software, networking, and information security options for addressing your client’s business needs?
Specifically, the following critical element must be addressed:
I. Business Needs: (1-2 PAGES !!!! )
In this section, list and describe all of the business needs that you have been able to determine given the information in the provided scenario and your own choices for filling in the gaps. Be sure that you provide enough detail to fully support the rest of your report.
II. Hardware Components: (1-2 PAGES !!!! )
Examine the business’s issues to determine specific hardware requirements. Based on these issues, what are the major categories andcomponents of hardware that should be considered? Identify each of the applicable requirements (hard drive storage, video cards, etc.), beingsure to cite specific examples wherever appropriate.
Then, compare and contrast the various options for meeting the requirements. Be sure to cite specific evidence from the componentspecification fact sheets to support your evaluation. What are their functional strengths and weaknesses? How do they compare in terms of costand maintainability?
Compose a final list detailing all of your specific hardware recommendations for your client. Be sure to logically justify your proposal as the best possible choice for meeting the business requirements.
Business Needs Rubric :
Proficient (85%)
Needs Improvement (55%)
Not Evident (0%)
Value
Business Needs: Software
Meets “Proficient” criteriaand fully qualifies the business needs to create a strong foundation for the report
Lists and describes all of the business software needs based on the scenario and choices for filling in the gaps, with enough detail to fully support the rest of the report
Lists and describes the business software needs, but there are gaps in necessary detail, or issues of accuracy or plausibility
Does not list and describe the business software needs
30
Business Needs: Hardware
Meets “Proficient” criteriaand fully qualifies the business needs to create a strong foundation for the report
Lists and describes all of the business hardware needs based on the scenario and choices for filling in the gaps, with enough detail to fully support the rest of the report
Lists and describes thehardware business needs, but there are gaps in necessary detail, or issues of accuracy or plausibility
Does not list and describe the business hardware needs
30
Business Needs: Other
Meets “Proficient” criteriaand fully qualifies the business needs to create a strong foundation for the report
Lists and describes all of the business needs other than hardware or software based on the scenario and choices for filling in the gaps, with enough detail to fully support the rest of the report
Lists and describes the business needs other than hardware or software, but there are gaps in necessary detail, or issues of accuracy or plausibility
Does not list and describe the business needs other than hardware or software
30
Articulation of Response
Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to- read format
Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization
Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas
Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas
10
Total
100%
Hardware Components Rubric:
Critical Elements
Exemplary (100%)
Proficient (85%)
Needs Improvement (55%)
Not Evident (0%)
Value
Hardware Components: Requirements
Meets “Proficient” criteria and demonstrates an advanced ability to apply fundamental IT problem-solving methods
Examines the business’s issues to determine specific hardware requirements and cites relevant examples
Examines the business’s issues but fails to determine specific hardware requirements using relevant examples
Does not examine thebusiness’s issues todetermine hardware requirements
30
Hardware Components: Compare and Contrast
Meets “Proficient” criteria and demonstrates an advanced ability to apply fundamental IT problem-solving methods
Compares and contrasts the various options for meeting the requirements and cites specific evidence from the component specification fact sheets to support the evaluation
Compares and contrasts the options for meeting the requirements, but there are gaps in necessary detail, or submission fails to fully support the evaluation with specific evidence
Does not compare and contrast the options for meeting the requirements
30
Hardware Components: Recommendations
Meets “Proficient” criteria and demonstrates a nuanced understanding of basic hardware options
Composes a final list detailing all of the specific hardware recommendations and logically justifies the proposal as the best possible choice for meeting the business requirements
Composes a final list of the specific hardware recommendations, but list is incomplete, contains inappropriate recommendations, or is not fully justified given the business requirements
Does not compose a final list of the hardware recommendations for meeting the business requirements
30
Articulation of Response
Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to- read format
Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization
Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas
Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas
10
Total
100%
I’VE ATTACHED AN EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE ELSES COMPLETED ESSAY ON THE SAME ASSIGNMENT TO THIS POST !!! YOU CAN USE THIS TO HELP GUIDE YOURSELF THROUGH THE ASSIGNMENT !!! Running head: MILLENIALADS CONSULTANT
Assignment Final Project: MillenialAds Consultant
Amber Norris
Professor King
IT 201 – Computer Platform Technologies
Southern New Hampshire University
August 15, 2019
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MILLENIALADS CONSULTANT
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MillenialAds Consulting
The MilleniAds start-up company is a small advertising company that targets the
millennial demographics. Their objectives is to produce content such as customized sales flyers,
brochures, letterhead and business cards that appeal to this youthful, fresh perspective group. As
with many new entrepreneurs business the introduction to business can be exciting focusing on
the social aspect of customers and sales, however requirements to meet the needs of the
customers are shadowed if the foundation of the business is not set up properly. Often, IT
consultants are required that bring an expert analysis of technology needs to meet and harmonize
with business objectives and future expectations. As a consultant, the first step is to understand
the current requirements of the company and the future plans, which can be categorized in short
and long term plans. By understanding the path and timeline as well as other factors, a
comprehensive plan can be put together to aid the development of MilleniAds network
requirements and build towards future requirements. This foresight can limit the often impact of
having to spend additional resources to redesign network needs or change business practices due
to inadequate abilities. In consulting with MilleniAds and having a discovery meeting with the
stakeholders of the company, constraints and assumptions have been created that help build a list
of business needs and are as follows.
Constraints/Assumptions/Business Needs
–
IT budget cannot exceed $25,000
–
10 employees including creative directors, graphic designers, sales staff, financial
accountant, office administrator, and CEO
–
Produce customized sales flyers, brochures, letterhead, business cards
–
Focus on youthful, fresh perspective millennial demographics.
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–
Ability to store and manipulate digital images
–
Produce physical copies for clients
–
Digital inventory, sales, expenses tracking system (min complex records the first year)
–
Dozen +/- accounts but scalable as business grows
–
Simple system for storing and sharing files between employees
–
Employees prefer using their phones and other mobile devices for work/personal use.
–
2/10 employees operate outside of office from regional firms, home, and road
–
Access to company information is required remotely for the two teleworking employees
Hardware Components
Hardware components are essential for the success of MilleniAds. Lack of adequate
resources will slow the day-to-day operations reducing productivity. Having the ability to access
data is critical in operations to make a well informed decision as well as secure employee and
customer satisfaction. Additionally, employees will welcome the ability to perform tasks and not
have to hold up daily tasks waiting for slow service while interacting with clients. Below is a list
of recommended hardware components needed to ensure MilleniAds can stay relevant and
efficient in day-to-day operations.
Desktop/Monitor
The Desktop is the workhorse for 8 of the employees and requires a mid-level design for
operations. The desktop recommended is the Dell Inspiron Tower Desktop computer which has
an Intel Core i5 i5-4440 3.10 GHz processor, 8GB RAM, integrated graphics and 1TB of space
at a cost of $700. This is includes wireless mouse and keyboard. Initially, the monitor workspace
will utilize the Dell SE2717HR 27″ FHD IPS LED Free Sync Monitor, 1920 x 1080, AMD, 75
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Hz with HDMI, HDMI and VGA port at a cost of $150. Combined the basic desktop system will
be $950 (Dell.com, 2019).
Color Printer
MilleniAds focuses on the production of sales flyers, brochures, letterheads and business
cards. Being an advertising agency, these products must meet the highest of quality to satisfy
customer needs increasing their competitive advantage. The printer recommended is the HP
PageWide Pro 477dw Color All-in-One Business Printer with Wireless and 2-sided Duplex
printing. The color printer cost is $600 (Printer, 2019).
Wireless router
Since the office is relatively small, they can benefit from using wireless technologies to
ensure their network stays running without the added cost of a cabling infrastructure. The
Linksys AC1900 Wireless Smart Router will meet all the ISP requirements and wireless
networking capabilities. It hosts speeds up to 4.3X faster than wireless-N with dual band (2.4/5
GHz) speeds. It optimizes performance and reduces interference by focusing wireless signal to
connected devices as well as allows USB 3.0 connections to external storage and gigabit
Ethernet ports for wired devices. The cost of these devices is $250 (Linksys, 2019).
Network Servers
MilleniAds like many businesses rely on sharing information between departments to
develop a seamless flow of information as well as ensure data is available at all times. Servers
can come in many flavors to dedicated or using virtualization eliminating the needs for multiple
servers. Since MilleniAds is a small company, the focus is for a dedicated server to host
database, file sharing, and email service capabilities. This requires a system with a fast CPU
(Central Processing Unit), high-performance memory and increased storage capacity. The Dell
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PowerEdge T30 comes with a quad core processor using an Intel Xeon E3-1225 v5 CPU, 64GB
RAM and storage expandable up to 6 SATA HDD. Recommend using SSD drives to for flash
technology and reducing failure and loss of data. This system costs $500 (Dell.com, 2019).
UPS/Surge Protector
Power failures happen and can cause chaos to connected system if not properly shut
down. An UPS will allow MilleniAds to stay working and shutdown critical components if
necessary. The surge protector side will reduce the chance of power surges frying your hardware.
The APC Back-UPS Pro 1500VA UPS is idea for the server as this provides extended period of
time for the critical asset. This cost $299. The CyberPower CP685AVR-G AVR will ensure
protection and uptime for your desktop systems at a cost of $70. It provides ports to connect
cable modem and router in case of emergency blackout or protect again brownouts (Apc.com,
2019).
Software
Software needs to be utilized in conjunction with the hardware. For the Desktop system,
utilization of a common GUI would work best as most people are familiar with basic operations
as it reflects what the average home owner uses. This means Windows 10 would be a good
choice. Additionally, adding the Microsoft Office 2016 Suite would be a good choice for basic
word processing using Microsoft Word. Presentations can utilize Microsoft PowerPoint when
developing presentations for current and future prospects. It can also be used for developing
training guides for employees. Microsoft excel is another part of the Suite that is a great tool for
developing sale spreadsheets for the sales team or various tasks that focus on mathematical
calculations. This data can be easily turned into information through trend analysis and
graphical representations for department leads to review.
MILLENIALADS CONSULTANT
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For the finance department, I would recommend QuickBooks for the business needs when it
comes to Tax time as well as Freshbooks, which is a mobile application for accounting that
handles inventory, sales, and expenses. This will keep the mobile team in the loop and allow
them to complete transactions while out of the office.
The Marketing team can benefit from the use of SharpSpring which is a fully integrated
cloud-based marketing tool that offers customer relationship management, marketing
automation, mobile and social marketing, sales team automation, and customer service.
The graphic design team has a flurry of possible choices, which Adobe Photoshop is a very
powerful tool for graphic manipulation and with the compliment of the support formats and
platforms, the graphic design will have no issues expanding on ideas and designs.
Finally, the server will host Windows Server 2019, which integrates management, file
sharing, email and various other services that the business may grow into. It also, provides a
storage/backup capability for all network devices to ensure information is available in case the
network fails and requires a rebuild per the business continuity plan.
Networking
The Linksys AC1900 Wireless Smart Router will meet all the ISP requirements and
wireless networking capabilities. The ISP is your gateway to the world and speed is extremely
important as graphics can create huge files and the need to move and access these files are vital
to your mobile team. Using Cox communication Business Solution can host a 1GB connection
for $150/month will ensure your information is immediately available. Another great benefit is
the ability to add extenders as well as wireless access points to extend the network as the office
grows to ensure maximum coverage for all devices.
Information Security
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Information Security is a not a want, but a needs a sensitive information is collected from
the sales and marketing team as well as the design team who create private organizational
information. Client-side firewalls are built into the Windows 10 to protect from malicious code
entering the system as well as Windows server 2019. Additionally, the router separates the
internal network form the world and has a firewall built in that can be program to deny data
based on types through packet analysis for example. The internal network also can take
advantage of the built in Active Directory design of windows server which allows the
administrators to assign personnel into various groups and customize access. This helps prevent
incidental access to privileges information. Finally, I would recommend Avast Antivirus as the
virus protection. Avast has been around for years and provides a weekly update to virus
databases ensuring your system and network are proactive in virus protection.
Hardware Components – Compare and Contrast
MilleniAds is a startup company that benefits from the standard technology of today as
most baseline hardware is built to handle immense data speeds over various transfer mediums.
Using the initial recognition of hardware in milestone one, options can be added to help extend
the capabilities for each department that will ensure they provide a professional product and
ensure the highest quality of goods delivered to current and future customers.
Desktop/Monitor
The Dell Inspiron Tower Desktop computer which has an Intel Core i5 i5-4440 3.10 GHz
processor, 8GB RAM, integrated graphics and 1TB of space is more than adequate for the
average employees. This setup hosting 8GB DDR4 will more than suffice for any local
processing power when using basic software. In most cases, using Windows 10 recommends at
least 2GB RAM as a minimum, however this type of setup would only run Windows 10
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components and leave very little processing power to run other programs. This would cause a
delay and result in the system freezing as it attempts to access more intense programs. Utilizing
8GB DDR4 would allow approximately 25% of memory resources leaving 75% free for
additional multitasking. The 1 TB of space is adequate for saving projects on the host system;
however it would be best to utilize the shared space on the server so as permissions to each
project can be implemented ensuring a work stoppage does not occur. The Intel Core I5 3.10
GHz is again adequate for a host machine for most of the employees such as sales staff, financial
accountant, office administrator, and CEO. The hardware for the graphic designers however is a
change to the hardware requirements as the hardware utilized to manipulate graphics can
certainly be more intensive. The Dell option for the graphic designers would be a step up to a
system that is faster as well as some add-ons that will ensure the systems do not get taxed too
much in processing. The designers would benefit from the use of the Dell 5680 design using the
Hexa Core 3.2 GHz Intel Core i7 with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card and
doubling the RAM to 16GB preinstalled. The graphic card output supports a 4K signal. The
focus on robust graphic card (integrated or added) is not so must the processing as this system is
not being utilized for gaming, however being able to present a higher resolution when designing
is critical. This would then require an upgrade to the desktop monitor for the graphic designers,
complementing the higher resolution output. Designers require a large desktop space, so a
second monitor can be added to meet this need. The monitor for the graphic designers would be
upgraded to the Dell 24” Ultra HD 4K monitors at a cost of $429. Graphics take a huge amount
of space and although saving the projects in an online storage is great, local storage should still
be able to handle any projects, so an increase in storage would change from 1TB to 2TB to
ensure storage would suffice especially if graphics be worked on in a non-compressed format.
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The use of Dell and NVidia are desirable as both are reputable companies with a high rating of
customer support (Dell.com, 2019).
Color Printer
The printer recommended is the HP PageWide Pro 477dw Color All-in-One Business
Printer with Wireless and 2-sided Duplex printing. This printer is on the high end for day-to-day
operations and can be dedicated to the graphic designers for final publication. A second printer
should be added to meet the day-to-day needs such as a Xerox WorkCentre Color Duplex
Network Laser Multifunctional Printer costing $299. Although very specific, the range of
printers are vast and focusing on two credible vendors such as HP and Xerox is a bonus as they
are injected and trusted in many businesses and government contracts to support their needs
(HP.com, 2019)
Wireless router
Most generic routers will work and support up to 50 users sharing the wireless speed
based on the channels utilized. The Linksys AC1900 Wireless Smart Router provides Wireless-N
with dual band speeds. This product is great for high-speed wireless capabilities and will be
used for years to come before MilleniAds outgrows or requires expansion access points to
increase the wireless footprint which can be easily added to the wireless network without the
need to purchase new equipment (Linksys, 2019).
Network Servers
The Dell PowerEdge T30 comes with a quad core processor using an Intel Xeon E3-1225
v5 CPU, 64GB RAM and storage expandable up to six SATA HDDs. This setup is built to allow
expansion in the storage capacity and although SSDs are great, the cost is extensive has
compared to the cost of HDDs. Additionally, the T30 with the expansion slots can utilize RAID
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design ensuring even in the event of a failure, a drive can be hot swapped and the information
built from the other drives. It can also be setup to mirror and complete daily full or incremental
backup ensuring business/network operations can be restored in a timely manner. As MilleniAds
grows the storage will not be an issue as HDD space are continuously increasing space and speed
when access data from the drives. The HDDs to start out would be the Western Digital, 4 TB
drives with access speed of 7200 RPMs utilizing a SATA connection for quick network access at
a cost of $150 each and populating at least 3 drives. The use of SSDs does not justify the cost at
this time. (Dell, 2019)
UPS/Surge Protector
An UPS will allow MilleniAds to stay working and shutdown critical components if
necessary. The surge protector side will reduce the chance of power surges frying your hardware.
The APC Back-UPS Pro 1500VA UPS is idea for the server as this provides extended period of
time for the critical asset. This cost $299. The CyberPower CP685AVR-G AVR will ensure
protection and uptime for your desktop systems at a cost of $70. Most UPS on the market are
comparable in capabilities and price. The two mentioned above provide adequate equipment
protection in the event of power failure or power fluctuations such as sags or spikes (APC,
2019).
Hardware Recommendations
Below is a list of recommended hardware needs for the MilleniAds business.
MilleniAds Hardware Recommendations
Equipment
Category
Price
Quantity Total
Dell Inspiron 24 3000 Series
Desktop
$700
8
$5,600
Dell SE2717HR 27″ FHD IPS LED Monitor
$150
8
$1,200
Free Sync Monitor
Dell Inspiron Desktop 5680
Desktop
$1,241
2
$2,482
Dell 32″ Ultra HD 4K
Monitor
$800
4
$3,200
MILLENIALADS CONSULTANT
HP PageWide Pro 477dw Color
All-in-One Business Printer
Xerox WorkCentre Color Duplex
Network Laser Multifunctional
Printer
Linksys AC1900 Wireless Smart
Router
Dell PowerEdge T30
– Accessories (HDD)
APC Back-UPS Pro 1500VA
CyberPower CP685AVR-G AVR
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Printer
$600
1
$600
Printer
$299
1
$299
Wireless Router
$250
1
$250
Server
Hard drives
UPS (Server)
UPS (Workstation)
$500
$150
$299
$70
1
6
1
10
$500
$900
$299
$700
$16,030
Software Applications – Compare and Contrast
Just as there are thousands of hardware vendors, there are thousands of software that can
be used within a business. The best solution in selecting software is to keep it simple. It is not
always having the most expensive with all the bells and whistles, but to select based on the
features that complement the business needs. Efficiency does not mean a business must
purchase complex software. The “extras” will only add to cost and possibly cause integration
issues. In MilleniAds case, their budget is a factor as well as their current state of business
requirements taking into consideration the needs of the current status and the needs of the future
status. Most of the software MilleniAds would require has a shelf life in the sense that version
change and new editions are released that fix security flaws and add new features that help
integrate with other software and business solutions.
The basic software MilleniAds require is the Windows 10 which comes preinstalled in Dell
purchase. Windows 10 is a very powerful tool that is a GUI based OS which most if not all the
employees will have a basic knowledge. The Microsoft Office Pro 2019 Suite is recommended
for much of the day-to-day operational needs in word processing, email, training, finance, etc.
The benefits of the Microsoft Office 2019 Suite include PowerPoint, OneNote, Word, Excel,
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Access, Outlook and Publisher. These individual programs provide features that cover most of
the features MilleniAds will need. The Pro Suite will help MilleniAds stay organized and create
presentations or documents that look professional and clean. Excel offers a budget feature to help
the sales team and finance personnel to keep track of budget and total expenses. Access offers
business tracking models to keep tabs on any project you undertake in your personal business
(Cahoon, B, 2019). PowerPoint can be used when developing presentations, whereas Word is
used for general documentation and Outlook for correspondence with customers and internal
communications. The average cost per machine for this software is $380.
In contrast to using Excel the finance department could take advantage of the
QuickBooks for the business needs when it comes to tax time or compiling all the data from the
excel spreadsheet used by the sales team. Per the website, “QuickBooks is an accounting
software package developed and marketed by Intuit. QuickBooks products are geared mainly
toward small and medium-sized businesses and offer on-premises accounting applications as
well as cloud-based versions that accept business payments, manage and pay bill…
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