Overview Basic knowledge of computers is practically essential for productively engaging in twenty-first-century life. Working knowledge of computer platform technologies impacts everyone from help desk personnel and field technicians to project managers and business executives. In order to make sound business decisions, one must have the ability to analyze business needs and compare available computer technology options for effectively meeting those needs. In this final project, you will assume the role of a tech consultant hired by an entrepreneur trying to start a small business. As a part of opening her business, she needs help identifying the business's information technology needs, weighing options for meeting those needs, and making final decisions that, together, create a sound IT infrastructure for her small business. The major areas for evaluation and selection include hardware components, software applications, networking options, and information security. This document contains a table that will help you find the resources needed to address each critical element successfully; this table is located below the critical elements of the final project. Your decision-making process and specific selections will come together in a final IT Consultation Report This assessment addresses the following course outcomes: Assess common hardware and software issues by logically applying fundamental IT tools and methods Determine basic hardware and software options that meet general technology needs for organizations Ilustrate appropriate network and multi-user operating system methods that support key business objectives Identify information security procedures that reflect best practices for managing access and reducing risk to digital information stores Scenario: You have been hired as an IT consultant by an entrepreneur starting a small advertising company called MilleniAds. As a start-up, your client's company is relatively small and has a limited budget. There are only 10 employees, including a few creative directors, graphic designers, sales staff, a financial accountant, and an office administrator, with the entrepreneur acting as CEO. The current IT budget cannot exceed $25,000 and ideally should come in as far under that number as possible. MilleniAds will produce customized sales flyers, brochures, and other branded items, such as letterhead and business cards, that apply a youthful, fresh perspective targeting millennial demographics. Therefore, the company needs the ability to store and manipulate digital images and to produce physical copies of their products for their clients. The CEO wants to keep track of inventory, sales, and expenses digitally, but she does not anticipate having very complex records for the first year. She projects having only a dozen or so accounts but hopes to scale up in the coming years. It would be ideal to have a simple and user-friendly system for sharing information and files between employees. Many of the employees are millennials themselves who have indicated that their current desktop PCs are limiting their capabilities and that they prefer using their phones and other mobile devices for their professional and personal responsibilities. Two of the ten employees will operate primarily outside of the office, soliciting business from regional firms, and they will need to access company information while on the road, in their home offices, and at customer sites