With communications and information technology changing almost by the week, businesses of any size can quickly find themselves falling behind in terms of IT efficiency.

If disaster strikes, such as a fire or a computer virus, businesses face losing everything when their precious database is lost.

However, an innovative and ambitious local company is eager to provide data management support and protection.

Ken Jansen, the principal of ByteLok IT Solutions Inc. in Abbotsford, has worked with enterprise level and small business customers for the past 15 years.

"I think collaboration between your clients and your team is key - if you can provide seamless communication between all the people in your network, that's important," says Jansen.

With a background in sales, Jansen also has had an interest in computing systems for years.

In the 1990s, he was building computers at home, eventually outfitting Abbotsford Christian Schools, Chilliwack Christian, Mennonite Educational Institute and others with new IT systems.

Jansen also worked for Missionbased Interwrap for seven years as they went from a one-shop enterprise to an international company, building their IT infrastructure as they grew. He continued to provide private consulting, but he had a vision to create a company that offered more than what other IT services were providing locally.

He launched ByteLok IT Solutions two years ago, with his accountant dad Henry from Chilliwack as his partner. To stand out in the field, Jansen invested significantly in created a professional image, and in bringing the best "ticketing" and monitoring infrastructure systems he could buy to the data centre he opened on West Railway Street.

"I wanted an IT business that was different. I think the tools we use, because they integrate with our monitoring system, are better than anything I've seen," he says.

The data centre is the physical heart of ByteLok IT. The server, with all the bells and whistles, "never goes down, ever," Jansen confidently says, due to its redundant back-up links to Vancouver and Calgary and an on-site diesel generator in case of power failure.

The company provides data management, backup and disaster recovery plans, infrastructure design, and co-location and cloud services.

Many companies are choosing to use 'cloud' computing, essentially a virtual computer that resides in the Internet, but in actuality, in data centres such as ByteLok's.

In the old model, a company would have an on-site server in some back room, where no one would maintain it and where it would get clogged with dust, says Jansen. If it died, data would be lost and that would leave the company floundering.

Jansen has a sobering tidbit on his website: 90 per cent of companies go out of business within two years if they don't back up their data.

"We actually provide complete infrastructure over the Internet. We host that server, we keep everything healthy," he said. Jansen manages their technology, so his clients can manager their business.

ByteLok's private cloud services provide clients access to their computer desktops from anywhere. It can fully synchronize data, so when changes are made to documents from a laptop, for example, the changes show up throughout the company's network.

"My dad takes his laptop to the beach at Maui and can access his desktop from there," says Jansen.

By using ByteLok's server, businesses can still use their old computers, and easily replace them when they die, instead of putting money into an on-site server.

"They can get enterprise level of engineering at a fraction of the cost, and their IT budget remains stable from month to month," Jansen adds.

Jansen has also taken several training courses, such as the Microsoft Certified System Engineer. To provide even better client service, ByteLok has partnerships with significant IT companies, such as Intel and IBM, and is a preferred partner with Dell, one of only a dozen or so in the Lower Mainland.

Jansen enlisted his company with the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce this spring. He's hosting one of the holes at the Chamber's Sept. 7 golf tournament. Find him on the links, or contact him at info@ bytelok.com or at 604-746-2983, or see bytelok.net.

CToth@abbotsfordtimes.com