You have been hired as a consultant to advise owner of Martinez Financial Services, a

Martinez Financial Services has been operating on a manual accounting system for the last year. Accountants complete all work manually and all documents are filed in cabinets located in a storage room. Federal and state tax documents are completed manually and are sent to the appropriate agencies via the postal service. All clerical and record-keeping activities (including books and payroll) are completed using a manual system. The office manager and office assistant maintain accountant schedules/appointments on a calendar board.

Requested Functions

Mr. Martinez feels that computerizing and networking his small business will increase productivity and will provide his staff with the ability to:

securely share files electronically.
print to any printer in the office.
access each other’s calendars and allow the office assistant/office manager to schedule accountant appointments electronically.
share an Internet connection.
provide each employee with an email account.
Assignment

As a consultant, you are to prepare a written proposal (term paper) identifying and justifying all the requirements to computerize and network the small business. Your proposal should identify the necessary computers and devices, software (system software and application software), network/communication components, and protection/security components, as well as provide examples of how to meet each of the above five requested functions. At a minimum, your proposal (paper) should include the following:

Computers and Devices. Your proposal should identify the necessary devices (computers, notebooks, monitors, printers, etc.) that are to be purchased for all the employees. Include a recommended system configuration (for example: recommended processor type, memory size, storage size, etc.) along with a justification explaining why you selected the recommended configuration. All necessary input and output devices, storage requirements, and any additional required hardware must be identified. Appropriate computer systems should be recommended for employees based on their job responsibilities. For example, a server should not be recommended for any single employee to use as a desktop.
Software. Your proposal should identify the required software (system software and application software). All software should be identified by name, type of software, and the function(s) it provides the employees. At a minimum, your proposal should identify the system software and at least five application software. Include enough software licenses to cover the simultaneous use of the software.
Network/Communication Components. Your proposal should identify the network components required to securely connect all devices, as well as share one Internet service connection. This area should describe the devices needed to connect the computers together, creating a LAN. A network device needed to connect the LAN to the Internet should also be described in this section. Any cables or wireless equipment should be described in this area.
Protection/Security. Your proposal should identify how the computers, network, and data will be secured and protected. This area should describe how the office computers will be protected from malware and how the LAN will be secured. This area should also discuss how the data will be backed up and secured.
Requested Functions. Your proposal should describe how the above-requested functions will be met. Your proposal should describe how the small business users will share files electronically, print to any network printer in the office, share electronic calendars, share a single Internet connection, and provide each employee with an email account. You may suggest free or paid cloud services or technology on-premises. This area requires examples of how the requested functions are met. At least one paragraph with original examples is required for each of the five requested functions. A minimum of five paragraphs should explain how the requested functions are met.
This assignment requires two posts in the Term Paper Discussion forum (due Wednesday, 7/22).

Write your proposal in essay form using Microsoft Word. Your proposal/essay should total about five to ten pages (single or double space). Term papers should be written as a proposal identifying and justifying the recommended choices to the small business owner. I am more interested in the content and provided examples. Proposals (papers) without original written examples will receive partial or not credit. Do not include a copy of the hardware/software specifications from your research without your written examples. Do not be concerned about the pricing or cost of each item.

This assignment is worth 15% of your course grade. Each post in the Term Paper Discussion is worth 5 points for a total of 10 discussion points.