At Net3IT, Chris Lewington is a Helpdesk administrator. He offers real support to our clients and builds lasting relationships while solving both simple and complex issues to provide premier IT solutions in Knoxville. When he’s not working in the sometimes fast-paced environment of Net3, Chris enjoys DJ-ing or spending time with his family.
Let’s learn a little bit more about Chris!
Q. What’s something about you that might surprise people?
A. In my early life, I was heavily involved in the local theatrics group, both on the stage and off.
Q. What is something you know more about than most people?
A. I have a passion for DJ-ing. So, I’d say being able to mix genres on the fly while making it sound linear.
Q. What is one of your favorite places that you’ve traveled to and why?
A. New York City. Just to see the hustle and bustle and so many people going on with their daily lives really fascinated me.
Q. What’s your favorite movie? Favorite book? Favorite artist/band?
A. My favorite movie has to be “Stand By Me.” My favorite book series would have to be “The Dark Tower” by Stephen King. There are too many artists I like equally. If I had to pick, though, it would be The Beatles or any classical music.
Q. If you could have dinner with one person (living or dead) who would it be?
A. My wife!
Q. What’s something you would tell yourself 10 years ago?
A. Don’t get complacent with what you have, always strive that extra mile to attain your goals and dreams.
Q. If you could master one skill you don’t have right now, what would it be?
A. Playing the piano.
Q. What are your personal hobbies?
A. Spending time with the family, music production and DJ-ing, and taking the camera out to capture nature.
Q. Who inspires you?
A. My mother. She’s had many things thrown her way throughout her life but she never quits, even when the outlook is less than favorable.
Q. If you could have one superpower, which one would you choose?
A. As cliché as it sounds, time travel. There are so many past eras I’d love to be able to visit.
Q. What are two things on your bucket list?
A. I’d love to visit Japan because I’m fascinated by their culture. I’d also love to be flown in a fighter jet!
As we mentioned above, it’s people like Chris that help make Net3 a premier provider of IT solutions in Knoxville. He helps us build relationships with our clients and address every issue and challenge with care and attention. Chris not only helps us solve problems for our customers, but also helps them learn more about the issues they’re facing to prevent them from recurring in the future.
Long-term Net3 IT partner Knoxville Institute of Dermatology has been utilizing state-of-the-art technology and advanced techniques to provide remarkable skincare results to the residents of East Tennessee for more than 10 years. And they rely on secure, efficient, advanced technology to remain a leader in their industry. When a relationship with a former service provider dissolved, Knoxville Institute of Dermatology lost their IT support — and turned to a Net3 IT partnership as the solution.
Lacking a Tech-Savvy Titan
Like any medical practice, Knoxville Institute of Dermatology relies heavily on high-functioning technology to keep their processes running smoothly, secure patient information, and store/access files. In a practice serving approximately 140 patients per day, having wifi, backup internet systems, updated hardware, and security is a necessity.
In the words of Practice Administrator Richard Forsythe, “If something goes wrong with the network, technology, or access, that is a huge number of patients whose lives are affected negatively.”
Unfortunately, after losing the IT support available through a former partnership, Knoxville Institute of Dermatology was left without anyone IT-savvy enough to take control of the minefield that is information technology software, services, and support.
The practice needed help, a new IT company that would take the burden off of their shoulders and let them focus on their own roles — and they found exactly that with Net3 IT.
“What takes the knowledgeable team at Net3 IT mere minutes to accomplish would have taken us hours. Having them take the IT worries off our plate gives us more time for our jobs and allows us to not fret over something IT-related getting done,” says Forsythe.
An IT Partnership Relieves the Burden
As the partnership between Net3 IT and Knoxville Institute of Dermatology has continued to grow and evolve, the companies have become more and more integrated. No longer do practice staff have to waste valuable time troubleshooting computer mishaps or solving IT conundrums outside their wheelhouse.
Now they have an experienced, responsive IT company standing by to help with everything from general computer problems to ensuring that the architecture of their new building is equipped with the latest technology. If it’s IT-related or in any way interacts with information technology, it’s handled by the experts at Net3 IT.
“They’ve even advised us on the type of equipment to buy, the best ways to integrate IT into our building design, and how to keep records secure. All medical records and scheduling programs need to be secure, so that is vital. And, to date, our records have not been infiltrated,” says Forsythe. “All in all, the practices and solutions put in place by Net3 allow us to be one of the most efficient and the most technologically-advanced medical practices in the region.”
Knoxville’s Fastest-Moving, Most Tech-Advanced Dermatology Practice
The partnership between the practice and our Knoxville IT company has grown into an invaluable one. On a daily basis, Net3 IT takes the weight of the IT burden off the shoulders of their team — even when the unexpected occurs!
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Knoxville, the practice wanted to ensure that their patients and staff remained as safe and healthy as possible. One way to do that was to have part of the staff work from home, but in the healthcare industry that’s not as easy as you might think.
“It sounds like such an easy thing to work from home, but it’s actually so much more complicated to get adequate communications systems in place to allow us to operate in the same way we would while sitting a few feet from each other in the office. I had to reach out to someone for guidance. Net3 had someone onsite on two different occasions to box up equipment, take it to someone’s place, and set it up correctly. We’ve come through this pretty well and they were an incredible partner throughout it all. It was a great situation to have Net3 IT take the reins,” says Forsythe.
Overall, the processes established by Net3 IT, as their managed services provider, have ensured that the vision of growth Knoxville Institute of Dermatology wanted to achieve was attainable.
And the value of the partnership is measured in more ways than simply efficiency! Knoxville Institute of Dermatology has had zero security breaches because of the security solutions put in place by Net3 IT. Additionally, the practice’s reviews show that patients love the results.
“Our patients love what we are doing and that’s because of the systems we have in place from Net3 IT. They’ve enabled us to get where we are from an IT-standpoint,” says Forsythe.
Do you need to partner with a reliable IT company to relieve the burden of tech worries like the Knoxville Institute of Dermatology? Let’s talk about your IT needs! From VoIP to Cloud Services, we have the comprehensive IT support you need to succeed in your industry.
As technology continues to evolve and mobile phones become more prevalent, the benefits of business SMS for every industry become more and more obvious.
The number of people who own and use mobile phones just continues to rise every day all around the world. And people are more and more often expecting companies to communicate with them via text/SMS the way they communicate with each other. It makes sense to use text messages to reach out to your customers because that’s what they already use!
More importantly, business SMS services are perfect for small and mid-sized businesses. Why? Because they offer the efficiency, speed, and features that will keep your business up-to-date and flourishing in the modern environment.
Business SMS Features
With a business text/SMS service, your business can communicate valuable marketing information to your customers quickly and efficiently. You’ll be able to send mobile coupons, take orders, make sales — all from the touch of a few buttons!
Additionally, with a service like Net3 IT’s, you don’t have to install any extra apps because the service works just like regular text messaging. Also, you’ll be able to keep track of information better by having it all in one place and maintain your anonymity by using your business line and not handing out your personal cellphone number!
Some of the most valuable features of business SMS include the ability to:
- Send and receive messages to and from extensions or 10-digit local or long-distance numbers
- Message colleagues, clients, and departments with a business identity — even from personal devices
- Reply to an incoming message from a mobile app, desktop app, or by email
- Text seamlessly across devices, including smartphones, tablets, and computers
- Collaborate more effectively by communicating in a single text thread
- Send and receive images, videos, and files
The Benefits of Business SMS
In addition to the features listed above, using text messaging to communicate with your customers allows you to send notifications about new events or sales, appointment reminders, confirmations, account changes — basically, anything you can do through your desktop systems!
Furthermore, using text/SMS services streamlines your internal communication because you’ll be able to quickly notify your team about important company information, safety issues, closings, etc. with minimal effort on your part.
When you switch to business SMS, here are a few of the benefits you can expect:
- Communicate with clients, coworkers, and internal departments
- Use your main business number to send SMS and reinforce your brand
- Text and reply across smartphones, tablets, computers, and mobile apps
- Use AI to respond automatically to common questions
- Send messages to multiple numbers at once
- Customer messages and communications are no longer stuck on personal devices
No matter what industry you are in, the benefits of business SMS services are clear. They allow you to streamline communications with clients team members, send out important messages quickly and efficiently, use your business line and maintain your personal anonymity, and secure client messages all in one place. Want to know how business SMS services from Net3 IT can help your company? Request a consultation with our experts today!
We’re closing out yet another busy, wonderful year here at Net3 IT and we’d just like to say: Thank you for letting us be your favorite IT Company in Knoxville! We’ve certainly had a full year, and we’re sure you have too, but we’d be nothing without you!
What made this year so special, you ask? Well, let’s take a look back at all the incredible advancements in technology, updates to applications and policies, and company changes your IT company Knoxville has been through!
Our Move
That’s right — 2019’s the year of our big move to a more centrally-located space just off Cedar Bluff. In addition to the centralized location of the new space, which continues to reduce travel expenses and speed up business processes, our new office is larger which makes it much easier to spread out, avoid distractions and background noise, and provide you better, more focused customer service.
Goodbye Windows 7
It’s officially the end of Windows 7 as 2019 is the very last year Microsoft will support the software. In just a few short weeks — on January 14, 2020, to be exact — Microsoft will stop all support and security updates of Windows 7, making it a risky platform for businesses to continue to use. Because of this, any companies continuing to operate it could become targets for malware and viruses.
Hello Windows 10
But don’t worry, there’s a new software in town that will take care of all your needs and replace Windows 7 easily — Windows 10! Officially launched in 2018, Microsoft spent this year updating their newest software to run smoothly and securely as an efficient replacement for the beloved Windows 7 it’s left behind. In order to get access to all the features and capabilities, Microsoft does recommend using Windows 10 on a new device since some older models may be difficult to transition, however, if you are unable to upgrade your older computers they can still be updated to Windows 10 with just a little bit of planning.
Our New Services
Phishing is on the rise, and more and more workstations are becoming vulnerable to virus infections. In an effort to continually protect our clients from bad actors, we now include Malware protection in our standards Managed Workstation service. While no single tool can provide complete protection against a determined intruder, we aim to provide as many layers of protection as possible as a managed services provider to comply with industry best practices.
Similarly, we understand that even though managements generally require their employees to store company data on secure servers and/or cloud locations with regular backup protocols, the practice of storing files locally on laptops and desktops is inevitable and happens frequently. As a result, we’ve now added a Workstation Backup service to our service offerings.
AI’s Big Boom
You’ve probably already realized just how much artificial intelligence (AI) has grown throughout the year with the upgrades to Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri systems, but it’s also been hard at work getting a foothold on companies. Forbes reports that companies using AI “grew from 4% to 14%” and that conversational AI remains at the top of many corporate agendas.
Okay, but what does that mean for your small local business? As consumers become more accustomed to asking their preferred AI for help finding products and services, each company has to target that conversational AI in order to make progress with it. In other words, don’t forget that part of your audience is now an ever-learning AI!
Privacy Protection
Updates to technology aren’t the only new advances we saw in 2019 — the laws that govern our tech have also seen some upgrades! In the wake of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that went into effect in May of 2018, some U.S. states have also been updating their privacy protection acts. Namely, California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was signed into law and is set to take effect on January 1, 2020. After the sophisticated cyberattacks on Yahoo and Equifax, California is determined to protect it’s citizens’ rights through this new law by requiring that consumers get the option to opt-out of having their information recorded and to know exactly what said information is used for should it be collected.
Like we said — it’s been a busy year! But it’s not quite over yet. We still have a few weeks to continue working hard for you, and you’d better believe we will be. As your trust IT company in Knoxville, we thrive on making sure that our customers have the best experience and are always kept up-to-date on the many changes within the IT industry. Are you looking for help deciphering some of the IT updates of 2019? Or just looking for some more help with your VoIP or Managed IT Services? Give us a call! We’re always here to make your IT needs run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
