The following is a general overview of the opportunities that exist for your Company in the Wide World of the Internet. In today’s rapidly changing technological environment, the Internet will play an important role in the way that business is conducted in the 21st century. Developing a solid Internet strategy in the early stages of this revolutionary technology should be given a high priority, as it creates a brand new opportunity to expose your company and develop new business in a global economy. The Internet is quickly becoming not only a very powerful tool for business applications, but perhaps the very lifeline to the type of regional, national and global business opportunities that companies will have to enjoy in order to be able to compete and prosper in the Information Age. Durham.Net Inc. has been in the forefront of this technology since early 1995. Our mandate is to assist small and midsize companies in developing and conducting an Internet Strategy for the purpose of advertising, marketing, promoting and creating local, regional and global awareness for their products and services. Our commitment to our customers is to provide them with the tools and expertise that are required in order to make this critical transition a corporate success. In doing so, we have conducted extensive research in the areas of Internet connectivity from the local area network environment to the World Wide Web.
Durham.Net Inc. is, and has been from inception, Durham’s largest and most pro-active Internet service provider. Along with our solid reputation for fast, reliable connectivity, services and technical know how, we boast the largest local customer base of Internet users.
This is a distinctive advantage that we offer to our corporate clients.
Since most of our dial up customers log on to our home page; it helps expose your business to thousands of Durham Region residents who are currently subscribers of Durham.Net Inc.
As a business user, you should give serious consideration to the registration of your corporate name on the Internet. If you decide to do business through this media, your company’s name is without a doubt, the most recognizable to your customers and suppliers.
Your Domain name is also the address for your site (the area where people will find your Company on the Internet). An Internet site is also known as a Home Page. Your Home Page can contain information about your Company, Products and Services, email addresses, etc. This information is hosted on a server (usually a Windows NT based PC). In most cases, this Server is located at your Internet Service Provider’s premises. If you don’t have a domain name, people will find your page through a combination of your company’s name and your Internet Service Provider’s name (abc@durham.net). If you have a registered domain name, then you would be found under abc.com. (If you have an organization instead of a Company, it would beabe@abc.org
Internet Providers charge a fee for the monthly hosting of your page.
If you don’t have your own domain, then it’s known as "Home Page Housing" and the rates vary from $ 20.00 to $ 75.00 per month. If you have a domain, the charge is $ 100.00 per month and it’s referred to as a "Virtual Host".
Whether you have your own domain or not, your Home Page should be something special, something you are proud of, something that portrays your company to the outside world and brings your company new business opportunities. You should advertise your domain name on all your stationery (letterheads, business cards, etc.), through other media (radio, newspaper ads, magazines, trade publications, etc.), and through all of the search engines on the Internet (Yahoo, AltaVista, etc.). You can also do cross promotions with other Internet Sites (suppliers, distributors, etc.). A domain name allows for corporate email addresses for multiple individuals (marysmith@abc.com, ronbrown@abc.com, etc) as well as departments or division of your company (sales@abc.com, service@abc.com, etc.).
This is a very efficient and productive way of routing your email. Aliases can also be created so that more than one person could receive the email intended for a departmentsales@abc.com mirrored to some or all sales staff’s email addresses). A web site server can be developed for many different applications, including marketing your company and/or products and services information, customer surveys, warranty policies and procedures, linking to suppliers sites, online commerce, etc. In order to do this, a graphical interface that can be viewed by common browsers, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is required. This interface is commonly known as a "Home Page" A Home Page can only be limited in its purpose by your imagination and your budget. A Home Page can consist of your company’s logo, address and phone number, or a fully operational online commerce server and everything in between. Our Company specializes in Web Page Development and we can offer you a turnkey Internet solution.
The services we provide include connectivity, Home Page / Web Server Hosting, Home Page / Web Server Development, Web Site Security (Firewalls), email accounts, Domain Name Registrations, Public and private FTP Servers, Mailing Lists, LAN to WAN connectivity, Network Management Services and on-site training. We also offer a full range of Network/Internet related hardware including High Speed ISDN Modems and Routers from brand name manufacturers.
WHAT IS ISDN?
ISDN is a form of high-speed digital connection that can be used for voice, data and video transfer. With an ISDN connection you can have multiple Internet users within your network accessing the internet simultaneously without experiencing speed loss (as you would through a standard telephone line). In most cases, an ISDN Connection is a dedicated line on a 24 hour a day basis. ISDN Line installation is normally supplied by your local telephone company, the actual feed (known as bandwidth) is, most cases, supplied by your Local Internet Service Provider.
The hardware required for establishing an ISDN Connection with your ISP is generally in the form of a router or sometimes an ISDN Modem. Routers can be purchased, leased or rented from your ISP. As with everything else, the price of these devices varies depending on manufacturer, quality, capacity, etc. The average cost of an entry level ISDN Router is between $ 1,000.00 and $ 1,500.00. The average cost of an ISDN Modem is between $ 200.00 and $ 500.00 (as always, you can expect these prices to decrease as new technologies are introduced to the market place).
If you choose to install an ISDN Connection and the required hardware, you will incur an initial installation cost. One last consideration, ISDN is not available in all areas. If you are interested in finding out whether ISDN is available in your area, we can provide that service through a facility check. Our Company is committed to work closely with our customers in the development of their Internet strategies.
I have enclosed for your perusal, the following documentation:
These documents will give you a general overview of our services and the associated costs. Should you have any questions, or require further information, please consider us at your disposal.