July 27, 2011
I wanted to wait as long as I could after the close of the 2nd quarter to write. As many of you may know Sunny and I are expecting our first little girl this Friday. I was thinking she would be here already but none the less she’s making us wait the time through. Luckily I have the birth scheduled in my calendar anyway. I feel that if born on Friday, Saturday or Sunday that she’s off to a good start with her father. I would be able to relax and partake in the moment and still be at work by Monday. It would be great! Regardless Santino and Deeko are patiently awaiting their sister.
Our little family will be a family of five soon. I’ve spoken to other families of 5 for tips. It seems the game didn’t really change because of a new total of 5, but the fact that we’re having our first girl. So I did some research in fear that I was not prepared. After speaking with many parents I found they’re right, everything is going to change and I will now have a new expense that will grow greater than her mother . lol, needless to say this made Sunny very nervous. I’m not sure if they will be friends yet or not. We’re looking forward to it, any day now. We’ll make our announcement on my personal page on FB.
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I’m finding the summer more and more important as I get older. I’m enjoying the
outdoors and the weekends with the family. During the week we all work so hard. I know I usually find myself at the office until 7 or 8. I still pack 50+ hours into 4 days. I preffer to get everything done and have a light Friday. This way I’m ready to be in the moment for the weekend. Without the light Firday I find my head still at work on Saturday. Anyone relate?
So this summer I’ve recommited to golf, and having a great time. After the loss of a good friend, Dr. Jason Weniger in March, I made a commitment to do what he’s been trying to get me to do for years. “Get back into a physical routine”, I can hear him telling me. After my knee surgery and PT by Eileen Fee at Marlboro Physicall Therapy and a little ongoing diet of watching what and how much I eat, I was ready to rock. I’m taking advantage of my membership at Bella Vista, not just for golf. I starting to actually use the gym over there with my personal trainor Eraldo from Fitness Training by Eraldo. So I’m back to running at least once a week for 30 minutes, workouts twice a week with a 800-1000 cal burn, and I get to squeeze some golf in once or twice. I’ve never felt better and feel completely in balance. How do you find balance?
Feel free to post to this blog about any of these topics. You can always share anything else you have in mind on my FB page, or email. Everyone enjoy the summer and we’ll talk to you in the fall. Dee Rudko – CEO
June 15, 2011
Cyber Liability and Merchant Credit Card Issues
Featuring Jennifer Woodruff and Chuck McEnroe
“Are You Protected from Cyber Havoc?”
Everyone in business today recognizes the security threats and risks inherent in living in a digital world. But, do you know that you can protect yourself with “Cyber Liability Insurance?” This new form of insurance is pushing its way through the market as more and more need for this kind of protection presents itself. Just ask Jennifer Woodruff, an independent insurance agent and consultant with more than thirty years of experience. If you attended the June AMRCON Partner meeting, you heard Jennifer present a case for cyber liability insurance.
“The landscape has changed in the business world,” Jennifer explained. “We correspond through e-mail, transfer information through the internet, and hold webinars, training and business meetings online. Many companies are even completely paperless, so it’s very important that our data and information are protected,” Jennifer said. Continue Reading
June 1, 2011
On May 19th, 2011 AMRCON hosted its first annual Client Appreciation Dinner. The event was held in one of the private dining rooms at the Bella Vista Country Club. Attendees included both new and longtime clients of AMRCON. Guests were greeted with live music and white glove service. The room was beautifully arranged with round tables set for the sit down dinner, boasting the AMRCON green napkins, with a window lined view of the golf course. Guests spent the first hour mingling with other attendees along with being personally greeted by the AMRCON staff. The evening progressed to a four course sit down dinner. During the middle of dinner, Dee Rudko, CEO of AMRCON, took to the podium to deliver his address. The address was short and sweet which expressed no business tactics, only his true appreciation to his clients, the main purpose of the dinner. In true AMRCON fashion, the evening came to a close with cigars on the patio. We look forward to start the planning of next year’s event.
April 8, 2011
Introducing VoiceNext
In just six short years, VoiceNext has carved a niche for itself as the expert in VoIP. As a matter of fact, VoIP is they only service the company offers. “We are capable of providing data services, but we choose not to,” said Cooper. “Instead we partner with data service companies like AMRCON and its Partners so we can concentrate on what we do best: VoIP. Our whole business model is putting the voice on the data network and making sure it works well.”
VoIP, of course, has been around for a while and there are many competitors. So, what sets VoiceNext apart from the competition? “We are the phone company that answers the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” said Cooper. “We have live answer support, and that’s what customers want.” Continue Reading
March 31, 2011
I know ,I know I’m late with my personal note. I hope everyone likes the new site. We have so many things going on in the background to make this site be very successful in our SEO and SEM efforts to help generate more business for AMRCON. So much that they’ve cut me off to a quarterly personal note. Now I know what you’re thinking, “how dare they!” and I know you’ll seriously miss the monthly posts. However, I promise to make sure I fill you in about all 3 months in the quarterly post. Continue Reading
March 14, 2011
ODS Spam Guard is a superior email spam filter and anti-virus filter, with a unique email catch program that is offered through AMRCON as a managed service so you don’t have to worry about destructive emails bringing down your system.
At AMRCON, we are constantly developing new products and services that can help our clients increase efficiency and achieve their business goals. For the past several months, we have been creating and testing an exciting new product and are now proud to make it available.
ODS Spam Guard is three products in one: a superior email spam filter and anti-virus filter, with a unique email catch program that is offered through AMRCON as a managed service. Here is how ODS Spam Guard works:
- All emails coming in through a server are immediately captured with “Email Catch,” even if the server is down for repair or maintenance. This means senders will never receive an embarrassing bounce-back message.
- Once emails have been captured, they are sent through a sophisticated “Anti-Virus Filter,” where all messages infected with viruses, Spyware, phishing and malware are automatically quarantined to protect the server from potential harm.
- Emails that have been identified as virus-free are then sent through an advanced “Anti-Spam Filter,” where a constantly updated spam identification product blocks and intercepts suspicious emails and sends them to the quarantine box.
- Finally an easy, user-friendly interface enables users to manage the quarantine box in significantly less time than with standard spam filters, while providing simple self-administration for white and black lists. Continue Reading
December 1, 2010
When you have a product that is unique and sets you apart from competitors, you want to do all you can to protect that product. And that’s exactly what AMRCON® has done by securing registered Trademark status from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
“Here at AMRCON, our proprietary ODS support product was the catalyst behind our success and our desire to pursue registered Trademark status,” said Dee Rudko, CEO and founder of AMRCON. “We offer a very unique service, something that I have not found elsewhere in my many years in the managed services industry. It is so unique that we have created partner programs so that our service can reach more people. And that’s why I felt it was necessary to secure a Trademark – to protect ODS and what makes it so unique,” Dee said.
“It’s quite important to register trademarks and intellectual property because it puts the world on notice,” said Eric Melzer, Esq. of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith and Davis in Woodbridge, NJ. “Now that the AMRCON name and everything AMRCON provides is protected by a registered Trademark, the rest of the world is presumed to know that they cannot use the Trademark without ramifications, unless they first obtain AMRCON’s permission to do so. It automatically increases the value of the name,” Melzer said.
The new AMRCON Trademark protects the AMRCON name, graphic logo, and covers every service that AMRCON provides. Being granted a Trademark is a long and complicated process that often takes up to one year and can leave some applicants rejected. “Trademarks are not automatically granted,” said Melzer. “If a product is deemed too similar to others on the market, a trademark will not be granted.”
“When I see a business that has a registered Trademark, I automatically feel like I can trust this business more than others,” said Dee. “Earning registered Trademark status says that the product we offer is true and proven, and that AMRCON is only going up from here. We’re going to be around a very long time.”
“I think the AMRCON trademark will continue to separate us from other managed service providers and bring us to the next level,” said Dee. “Since we opened our doors in 2005, we have grown significantly, but now this Trademark enables us to grow further. Though our predominant footprint is here in the tri-state area where we first began, we can now take our brand and reach out further. We can share ODS and all it benefits with many more businesses and individuals than ever before.”
The AMRCON logo was created by artist and graphic designer Roman Laszok. “My inspiration for the AMRCON logo was the energy produced by fiber optics, which to me represents anything high-tech,” Roman said. “That’s also why I chose a neon green color,” said Roman, who has more than 15 years of experience developing brand identity and print material for various clients. In addition to AMRCON, Roman has done graphic work for Verizon and Walmart. He is based out of Portland, Maine.
In an effort to further protect AMRCON’s intellectual property, Dee has also pursued copyright status for all of AMRCON’s collateral material, documentation and important legal documents. “The pieces are registered with the United States Copyright Office of Library of Congress and are protected nationwide,” said Dee. “This is especially valuable to our AMRCON partners and agents because our intellectual property becomes theirs when they partner with us. Now, they know that we have taken our programs to the next level by protecting their investment.
For more information about the AMRCON Trademark, please email Dee at arudko@amrcon.com. For more information about the Trademark and Copyright process, email Eric Melzer at emelzer@greenbaumlaw.com.
June 5, 2010
After months of hard work and logistics for our new site, we’re done and all moved in as of May 1st. I’m proud to say that our expertise in project management brought our build-out to a record 6 weeks to complete. We’ve made a big move and it’s thanks to our valued clients. Come and have a look June 10th at 6PM – 8PM during our Grand Opening event.
Here is an idea of what our project consisted of. A formal case study to follow.
- Demolition – Carpet, walls, old cooling unit, flooring
- Carpentry – Drywall, doors, frame work
- HVAC – Reconfigured ceiling returns and ducts, replaced Data Center cooling with 2 Ton wall mount unit
- Electrical – Corrective work, re-cabled tele/data, cleaned up old wiring, installed TV’s, Smart-board
- Metal/Glass – New conference room glass door
- Fire/Security – Fire suppression, IP accessible alarm/alerting for Blackberry, Video Surveillance DVR
- Appliances – Refrigerator, microwave
- Paint – Drywall resurfaced, corrected, painted entire office, painted door frames
- Carpet – New carpet in entire office, Vinyl base
- Window Treatments – All installed privacy shades
- Branding – AMRCON logos, neon, door signs, banners, outdoor signs, lobby signs
- Furniture – Refitted furniture to reuse, purchased new office furniture, conference area furnishings
- Technology – New workstations, data center equipment refitted, over head cable racks, UPS power, Generator, cooling
These were some of the high level aspects of the build. As you can imagine you have permits, insurance and other logistic aspects that also need to be carefully managed in a move to ensure compliance and coverage during the process. We proudly have our vendors/partners displayed throughout the office to introduce you to.
We invite everyone to come and see us. We would like the opportunity to introduce AMRCON to a business looking to move, expand or build-out from start. We would be honored to provide a tour and explain how AMRCON can take many of the headaches out of such a project. Our experience allows us to replicate our process and avoid many of the technological pitfalls that might await you. We will have an official build-out case study coming shortly. However some might only be interested in learning more about AMRCON and ODS Managed Services, we would love to have you check us out as well.
Please be sure to visit us June 10th at 6PM – 8PM for our Grand Opening Event. Call for further details 732-705-5057 ext. 2302 to speak with Brenda.
March 1, 2010
AMRCON has been bursting at the seams for some time now in our current location at 92 Broad Street in Keyport, NJ. We’ve spent the past 18 months looking for a larger office space, but have just not been able to find a good fit. As you can imagine, it took quite a bit of careful thought to insure a move is right, not only for AMRCON, but also for our clients.
I am happy to tell you that we’ve finally found the perfect spot where AMRCON can continue to grow and serve our clients best. As of May 1, we’ll be moving to our new location at 1070 State Route 34, in Matawan, NJ.
Why are we moving?
When AMRCON opened for business in 2005, we chose the retail store front location on Broad Street in Keyport to provide easy access for our business clients and residential walk-in clients. As AMRCON’s managed services clients grew, we were able to leverage the space just above the retail storefront to expand the business. It allowed us just enough space to triple the amount of employees and double our space over the past two years. Today AMRCON has hundreds of clients all over the tri-state area, so location is a perk only if it serves our clients well. Although the Keyport area has been very good to us, it simply does not have the right location to allow us to grow. I personally love Keyport and proudly live only a few hundred feet away from our office. However, with the high profile clients on our roster, steady growth of our business and the need for more room, we decided to move to a more suitable office just in neighboring Matawan.
What does this mean to you and should you be concerned?
At AMRCON, we have helped dozens of businesses, large and small, move from one location to another. Given that experience, we are confident that we have the talent and project management skills to deploy our new location with minimal, if any, affect to our valued clients. The move will carefully be staged in the best interest of not only our business clients but also our residential following.
Phase 1 of our move, the construction of our new office suite and the vital communications configuration that is critical to our client support, is already underway and expected to be complete by March 30th. All infrastructure, such as supplemental cooling, our network operations room, security, alarms, communications and electrical aspects will be operational the moment we move.
On April 1, we will begin Phase 2, when we move non-critical aspects of our offices such as inventory, administrative services, and smaller items that can be moved. One weekend in April, still to be determined, all furnishings will be installed or moved from our current site. Our staff and equipment will still be operating at 92 Broad St., where we will continue to provide the same quality support services to our walk-in clients until April 30th. AMRCON will be 100% moved to our new location on May 1, and in place for business.
During this entire process we have made every effort to minimize the potential risk of outages. In fact, we only expect a small outage during the late evening on a weekend during our normal service window of maintenance. Parallel platforms will be set in place for fast turnover with virtually no downtime. Our walk-in clients can visit our new site as early as April 2nd.
If you have questions or concerns about our move, please feel free to call our offices. I’ll be more than happy to respond. – 732-705-5057
What are the benefits? (Larger, Parking, Conference Center, Tech Area)
Our new office is much larger and provides the ability to expand in ways that we could only hope for in our old location. For instance, our tech troubleshooting room will be completely isolated from the Network Operation Center “NOC.” Providing dedicated space to both entities provides more space for more business, and enables more AMRCON employees to handle walk-in clients or support calls coming into the NOC. Our new suite will have greater security, with card level access dependant on security clearance. Video surveillance, call recording and compliance will be key aspects of continued concern. We will also benefit from a 4-hour battery run time, and a backup generator, at a location that has rarely had more than 5 minutes of downtime over the past 4 years.
Clients will have better access to the highways for on-site meetings, as well as easy access to the rail system. The parking is more than sufficient, and our new office provides a very comfortable ambiance through our atrium and into our office suite. Our employees will have a more comfortable work environment to provide higher quality support.
Just as we were excited to open our doors five years ago in Keyport, we are equally thrilled to be moving to this new location. We hope you all come to visit.
In the end what will it accomplish?
We have found our new home at 1070 State Route 34, in Matawan. Our new, larger space will allow us to concentrate on continuing to grow and improve our products and services. Our business clients will notice a tremendous improvement in resources and capabilities, and we expect our walk-in business to triple in the next year. We plan to continue to earn the loyalty of our existing and future clients.
This is all possible because of you, our valued clients. Thank you!
Stay tuned, more news about our move to come.
Dee Rudko, CEO AMRCON
December 7, 2009
AMRCON’s partnership with Schneider Electric integrates data center technology with all aspects of building management to create
“smart buildings.”
Twenty years ago, just as personal computers were making their presence known, no one could have imagined how intertwined the human and the digital 
world would become.
But now a new digital process debuts almost daily, transforming everything we touch and making the pre-Internet world a distant memory.
The latest digital revolution is “smart building technology,” which uses Internet Protocol to marry all activities within a building’s environment. And at AMRCON, our partnership with industry leader Schneider Electric brings smart building technology to your doorstep.
“In today’s digital world, data centers are not simply operating workstations inside a building – they are running the building from the ground up,” says Dee Rudko, CEO of AMRCON, who is spearheading the company’s smart building offerings. “The best way to reduce costs, decrease energy consumption, and provide a highly secure and efficient work environment is to integrate all of a building’s network systems, security monitoring and power systems.”
To make a building “smart,” AMRCON and Schneider Electric utilize a comprehensive energy auditing process to determine the building’s energy output and efficiency pitfalls. “We then customize and install a data center to monitor and maintain all building systems, including lighting, heating, air conditioning, security monitoring, computer networks, communication systems, and fire detection,” Dee adds. 
Prior to smart building technology, all systems within a building were constructed and maintained separately. The systems did not talk to one another and there was no process to monitor energy usage. Lights were only turned off when a person flicked the switch. Heat and air conditioning ran constantly in all rooms and offices, whether or not people were in those areas. But with smart building technology, the data center operates motion sensors and, to reduce costs and conserve energy, will shut down the lights or heat when it senses that nobody is in the room.
Smart buildings are also safer for its occupants than older buildings. Outdated security systems involved sporadically placed cameras and a video recording process. But in today’s age of heightened security, the highly sophisticated digital monitoring technology is able to detect building breeches and protect the building’s occupants with a much higher rate of success.
“Our experience in data center technology and our partnership with the energy experts at Schneider Electric make us uniquely qualified to consult with our clients on this exciting new technology,” Dee says.
For more information about “smart building” technology, or to see if AMRCON can turn your building into a smart one, feel free to give Dee a call.
Take a look at Schneider’s web space for Smart Building tech.
24x7 Monitoring and Self Healing
Vendor management and liaison services.
Helpdesk and Onsite Support.
Security, Back up and Disaster recovery.
