People profiles give you a chance to meet our staff - the folks you may deal with on a regular basis here at IT Resource. 

Official Title: Inside Sales Representative

But this title sounds much snazzier: Guardian of the Deliverables

What do you do at IT Resource, and what certifications do you have: I’m responsible for preparing quotes for current customers, purchasing and receiving, coordinating with our graphic and web designers to support our marketing strategy, and assisting with special events. I recently achieved my Cisco Sales Expert certification, VM Ware Sales Professional accreditation, and was part of the team that helped IT Resource achieve our Cisco Advanced Unified Computing Technology Specialization.

What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail? Open a restaurant 

Do you have any hidden talents? In my free time, I enjoy cooking and writing the occasional post about it on my food blog, Her Yellow Apron.

What is the best part about working at ITR? My co-workers - I am blessed to be working with a dynamic, interesting, and fun group of people.

How long have you worked at ITR? I started November of 2011, so just a few months!

If you knew then, what you know now, what piece of advice would you give yourself? No matter what, always make time for your personal hobbies and interests. Every day.

Carolyn and her husband Jeff at the IT Resource Christmas Bowling Party

What do you want to be when you grow up? A multi-lingual world traveler by sea. 

What is the most interesting job you’ve ever had that was not IT related? I worked triage in an emergency room for a summer. That’s how I knew I no longer wanted to continue my studies in the healthcare field.

Tell us something your colleagues don't know about you. I’ve entertained a President, walked through the Lions locker room, and spent 7 years playing in various musical ensembles.

When the snow begins to fall and temps reach the twenties, we embrace the season and celebrate by taking our customers out for a night of food, fun, and hockey with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Of course it wouldn't be a real Griffins game without a visit from Griff. He was kind enough to stop by and show his love for IT Resource.

He continued on, saying hello as he visited with each one of our fantastic customers and team members.

Mingling, food, beverage, fun, and hockey...who could ask for more?

Once again we booked the Talsma Terrace where our guests could watch the game from the comfort of La-Z-Boy recliners. Its almost like watching it from home - only better, because you can see brawls like this up close and personal.

You're going to want to make sure you join us next year! 

A big thank you to all our wonderful customers and friends who came out to spend the evening with us. We appreciate your business year-round and this is one of the ways we say thank you. We hope you all had as much fun as we did!

I was conversing with a coworker of mine today when the subject of virtual machines and cloud computing came up.  He had recently been to a VMware training session that spoke of the upcoming enhancements and upgrades to VMware products. The list of advances within VMware are astounding in themselves, however the point I want to touch on is more specific. It has to do with Cloud computing, but on a different level than just storing your files on a computer outside your home or business. I’m talking running programs and applications from anywhere, anytime and not needing to have it installed locally on your computer. That kind of Cloud computing.

Say you’re on the road with only your tablet. Your boss calls and needs you to update a document with information only you have. Only problem is, you don’t have Microsoft Word installed on your tablet! No problem, the technology will allow you to run only that program right from your tablet without installing anything! Changes carried out will be saved to a server in the Cloud where it can be accessed at any time. This makes working with different computers and tablets a lot easier for many people. How do you feel about Cloud computing?  Are you or your business in the Cloud?

Photos found here and here.

IT Resource has long been a supporter of both the Coopersville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Grand Haven Chamber of Commerce. We strongly believe in supporting the communities in which we live and work, and serving on the Chamber board goes hand-in-hand with achieving those goals. 

Our Sales Manager, Carrie Borchers, was previously serving the role of Vice President of the Coopersville Chamber of Commerce, but the new year brought a new set of elections and she is now proudly serving as President of the organization.

The President's gavel being passed from 2010-2011 President, Phil Cok to 2012 President, Carrie Borchers.

Our group's additional board officers are Gina Otterbein of Northern Physical Therapy, Vice President; Kim Obetts of Towne & Country Investment Services, Treasurer; Philip Cok of Marketing Management Services, Secretary.
 
The full board of directors also includes: Phil Allor of SelfLube, Joe Biermacher of DeVries & Royston, Evelyn Boes of Boes Financial Services, Paul DeWys of DeWys-Industrial-Design, and Kerri Snowdin of The Coopersville Observer. Dan Noel of 327 Pizza & Pub has been appointed Member-at-Large leaving one Member-at-Large yet to be assigned.

Carrie is excited to lead this dynamic group into the new year. If you too would like to support the Chamber, get involved today. There are many roles to be filled, so there is surely something to meet your interests. Contact Carrie to become a member today!

People profiles give you a chance to meet our staff - the folks you may deal with on a regular basis here at IT Resource.

Official Title: Help Desk Analyst

But this title sounds much snazzier: Networking Engineer

What do you do at IT Resource, and what certifications do you have: I am an MCP with a Windows 7 Certification and I have a CompTIA A+ Certification. I work on hardware, go on-site to help customers with IT needs, configure computers, provide remote supports, monitor backups occasionally, and much more.

What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail? Not sure

Do you have any hidden talents? Nothing to brag about

What is the best part about working at ITR? The work culture is great.

How long have you worked at ITR? Since September, 2010

If you knew then, what you know now, what piece of advice would you give yourself? Be proud of your past and never look back.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A Networking Engineer

What is the most interesting job you’ve ever had that was not IT related? I worked as a press tender at a book printing company. There is a lot more behind the scenes of making books than most people know about.

Tell us something your colleagues don't know about you: My first job was at Chuck E. Cheeses, and no... I did not wear the mouse costume.

IT Resource is proud to announce its recently revamped Customer Portal. The purpose of the Portal is to allow our customers a quick and easy way to access IT Resource and its technical staff.
Here's a link to a video describing its operation:  

The purpose of the customer portal is to allow you to do things such as:

·         Create a service ticket
·         Review current support tickets
·         Access a knowledge base for your own self help
·         Run basic service requests as well as customized reports
·         View projects
·         View invoices
·         And many other options

The Customer Portal URL address is http://cw.itrw.net/support - it's an automatic redirect to a secure, https address.

The primary contact at our customer's office will decide who at their company can have access to what parts of the portal.

You need to decide which level (User, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, or Manage) each employee accessing the IT Resource Customer Portal will require. If you decide that only you want to have access to the portal – that’s fine too! This can be changed at any time. 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact our Helpdesk at 616 837 6930.

"I’m fat..." was the comment made by one of our engineers. That was all it took to spark an IT Resource Weight Loss Challenge. 

The rules are pretty simple:
$15 to participate, winner takes all. Contestants will weigh themselves the morning of January 3, then again the morning of March 30. The person with the highest weight loss percentage is the winner.  
 
Good luck to all of our employees who have agreed to participate! We invite you to take part as well. Today is the perfect time to start making 2012 all it can be for you. Whether you're looking to shed a few pounds, work a little less, get more organized, or learn to cook, there's no better time to start than NOW!

Check out our Facebook page for occasional updates on our weight loss challenge - let's shed those pounds together!

People profiles give you a chance to meet our staff - the folks you may deal with on a regular basis here at IT Resource. 

Official Title: Engineer

But this title sounds much snazzier: IT Guru Extraordinaire

What you do at IT Resource and what certifications do you have: From start to finish, I provide stellar customer service for a wide range of customers and challenges ranging from simple break/fix requests on up to highly involved multi-site network migrations. My goal is complete customer satisfaction every step of the way. I am A+ and Microsoft certified.

What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail? A run for President could be fun.

Do you have any hidden talents? I am a great judge of character.

What is the best part about working at ITR? I enjoy helping users with their problems and reaching that “ah-ha” moment.

How long have you worked at ITR? Since October, 2004

If you knew then, what you know now, what piece of advice would you give yourself? No matter what the circumstances, things are never as good or as bad as they seem.

What do you want to be when you grow up? Not that my skills support it, but being a professional fisherman would be nice.

What is the most interesting job you’ve ever had that was not IT related? Working at a mattress shop takes it. Expect the unexpected with deliveries, and the things people want you to haul away….

Tell us something your colleagues don't know about you: I am betting most don’t know my blood type, AB-!