Survivor's Guide to Run a Cybercafe business

Survivor's guide to run a cybercafe business

In Malaysia market, most of the cyber cafe owners are familiar with a few solution providers. These big guns have experienced the harshness of the industry, where they have to find additional innovative value adding service to their sales inventory.

Michaelsoft DDS is one the cybercafé solution provider, and its customer have been in the business for more than 3 years. In this market, not much of the cybercafé will survive more than 3 years, due to business knowledge, technical knowledge, and management skill.

"You can easily tell the difference between cheap and expensive goods and services." 

They both fulfill different needs. Michaelsoft DDS aims to help cybercafé to sustain their business in the longer run. Cybercafe owner would have met different type of solution provider, and some of the cybercafé owners don't know what they want for their business, forced to close their business and invest their salvaged capital into some other industry.

The initial cost and on-going maintenance cost. 

Most of the cybercafés didn't choose the right solution to handle on-going maintenance cost. Setting up was easy, but to maintain was really horrendous. 

1. Use diskless network solution

In cybercafé, diskless network solution can extend the lifespan of client PCs, able to boot faster, has better performance than disk solution, and reduces operation cost (electricity, maintenance, staffing, license, antivirus, game deployment). Last but not least, it's relatively easy to set up. Michaelsoft DDS also provides add-on services to make sure cybercafé owners has the competitive advantage to continuously sustain and improve their business.

2. Choosing the right hardware for diskless network environment

When running diskless network, balancing the load on server and client PCs are important, in order to extend the lifespan of each hardware, the cybercafé owner must make sure that the servers, routers, client PCs is able to handle moderate to heavy duty usage, and must not overload the hardware.

It is not advisable to use low spec or unknown brand hardware to handle heavy duty loads, as it will exhaust it's lifespan even faster and possibly causes downtime unexpectedly. Therefore, the model, the warranty and it's specification should meet the requirements of the business for moderate to heavy duty usage. 

3. Look for reliable and suitable service provider

To prevent cybercafé from service disruption, it's best to choose solution that doesn't require frequent visit or troubleshooting from technicians. Which means, if the solution keeps giving problems that needs technicians to fix the problem, this causes downtime to business, and creates dissatisfaction among customers. When this happens, revenue and customer's trust on the cybercafé will be lost.

Therefore, consult other solution providers to find out which one suits their business needs. Michaelsoft DDS emphasize on providing stable, genuine, cost-effective, reliable, hassle free and innovative solutions to customers.

4. Beware of hidden charges

Beware of the pricing, cybercafé owners are advised to double check the price, such as the TOTAL set up price and its monthly charges. Some of the solution provider did not mention clearly about the total number of servers and additional hardware needed for the business.

Solution provider that aims to earn quick cash will urge cybercafé owners to pay a sum of money to run the business first. Soon after when the hardware starting to wear out because of overloading, they will ask the cybercafé owner to invest another sum of money to upgrade or buy a new unit to replace.

5. Choose Michaelsoft's Auto Game Update

Deployment of games. It's best to see the game update is done within a blink of an eye.  Michaelsoft DDS Game Menu, with it's Auto Game Update, the game is installed instantly when the remote game server is updated. There won't be any error in system registry when installed or require any remote assistant through internet to install the games.

6. Use Linux Server Operating System

Cybercafe owners are encouraged to run their business in a legal way. Besides being raid by police or local councils, there are risks involved if doing otherwise. The most common issue would be during the event of virus attack. Servers that run Windows OS will be most likely attacked by virus, and causes downtime to cybercafé. Unlike Michaelsoft DDS who uses Linux OS to run the server. Linux platform, are immune to Windows viruses, even if the client PC that infected with Windows virus, and spreads into the network, the Linux server is not affected by it. This acts as last defense against virus attacks. 

In the most extreme event where the whole server OS has to be re-installed. Re-installing OS would take some time, Michaelsoft DDS's Linux OS would only take 15 minutes to be ready, and configured. However Windows OS would take at least 30 minutes to be ready, but without configurations. Besides there's no licensing fee needed for Linux OS as it's a free and open source software.

Another advantage of using Linux OS to run the server is that it can fully utilize the RAM installed, and able to run 64 bit Windows 7 in the diskless network environment, delivering the most ideal gaming experience to customers.

Conclusion

Michaelsoft DDS wish to help customers to sustain their business, because Michaelsoft DDS's mission is:

"To be the partner of choice for leading educational institutions, government and enterprises by assisting the creation of IT advantage while maintaining our innovation, reliability and cost-effectiveness by the introduction of Diskless Technology and rapid development of new application solutions to meet our customers' growing needs." 

Visit our Facebook or Contact us directly at enquiry@michaelsoft.com.my