Welcome to our Business Technology blog!

Structured Cabling: Strengthening Your Business Communications

Erika Masse — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 13:39:00 GMT

Competitiveness in the marketplace is nothing new, but the methods by which you stay in the race and maintain relevance with your clients are constantly changing. In order to keep up with the competition, you have to utilize all of the latest technology available at your disposal. Of course you want your business to grow by leaps and bounds, but if your office structure is not designed to make the transition smoothly, you risk alienating the customers you worked so hard to attract. This means you have to make sure that your lines of communication are open; the methods by which you reach your clients and they reach you. Without this, you become stagnant and obsolete.

The Importance of Structured Cabling

In business, as you well know, your clients need to be able to communicate with you, and vice versa. It must be done in the most efficient way possible and with the clearest and most satisfactory results. This is where structured cabling comes into play. What exactly is structured cabling? It is the telecommunications cabling infrastructure that handles all of your communications tasks. This includes your phones, the office network, VoIP, computers, broadband connections and even printers and faxes. A well-structured cabling design assures you that all these mediums continue to work in tandem smoothly, more efficiently and with less downtime. Why is this important? If your lines of communication go down, how can you expect to conduct business? If presentation is everything, how does a faulty communication infrastructure make your company look in the eyes of your clients? How does it look to your competition? Why take a gamble on finding out?

Structured Cabling Can Save Your Business...and Save You Money

Even if your business is just starting out, you need to consider how growth is going to affect your company. You may have only one fax machine now, or just one printer, but what happens when your employee roster expands and you need more equipment to increase productivity? In order to increase your bottom line, you need to minimize your overhead wherever possible. This is where structured cabling starts earning its keep. Once installed, this communications infrastructure can adeptly handle any and all of your modes of communication, even as you experience periods of growth. This translates to direct savings. Even if your staff doubles, you can make the most of the office equipment you have by allowing your cabling to connect the office collectively. All computers can now use the same fax, the same printer, because it is all part of the main infrastructure. That eliminates the need to buy additional office equipment which would mean you have to lease more office space in which to fit it all. It is saving you money.

Jumping On the Technology Bandwagon

The benefits are crystal clear. Structured cabling puts technology to work for you. It is an inexpensive solution to a complex growth issue. Whether your medium of communication includes the transfer of voice, data or images, you can count on high-quality transmissions that are actually saving you money instead of costing you more. It is allowing you to do more for less, much more. You can effectively increase productivity, both in-house and out, by giving your employees the advanced communications technology they need to excel. By keeping your company ahead of the curve, you not only surpass the standard, you become the standard by which the competition is measured.

Check out our whitepaper: Structured Cabling: Customized to Suit Your Needs

We are very proud to have BICSI certified professionals on staff, ensuring our committment to adhere to best in class industry standards. Want to learn more about BICSI certification and what it means? Click here to check out their website.

Have you considered Comcast for your voice and data connectivity?

Erika Masse — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:55:00 GMT

In this economy, businesses are doing everything they can to reduce their operating costs. A great way to do this is by evaluating your carrier services (your voice and data connectivity). You can do this in a couple of ways:

Click here to download our free checklist: 7 Opportunities to Save and use it to analyze your usage and costs

Click here to get a free network analysis, we will analyze your usage and your costs for you

Many businesses find Comcast’s Business Class Cable to be an affordable alternative to traditional carrier services. Unfortunately, this is not a one-size-fits-all solution – click here to read our blog titled Business Class Cable: Is It the Right Voice and Data Choice for You.

The easiest way to determine whether or not this is a viable alternative for you is with our Free Network Analysis.

We are proud to be preferred agents for the country's leading traditional carrier service providers and for Comcast. This allows us to offer you an unbiased opinion of the best solution for your business. It also provides us with the unique opportunity to manage your conversion to Comcast or a traditional carrier service provider and service your account at no cost to you. You may continue to contact Sentenia for all your service and maintenance needs regardless of the provider you select. That ease of use and peace of mind is priceless.

For more reasons why you should use Sentenia as your agent, click here to read our blog titled Carrier Services: Why You Should Consider Using an Agent.

Remember, it is easy to start saving today, just click here to download our free checklist: 7 Opportunities to Save or click here to get a free network analysis!

Have you signed up for a free network analysis yet? If not, why not register today? There is absolutely no cost and no obligation!!!

Managing Voice and Data Consumption

Erika Masse — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:56:00 GMT

With the threat of metered connectivity billing on the horizon, many businesses are turning a critical eye to their bandwidth consumption. Even without metered billing, voice and data connectivity represents a significant cost for many SMBs and a great opportunity for savings.

A common mistake is focusing on the smaller, but more visible, bandwidth consumers like Facebook and Twitter. If you're employees are using these it may be impacting their productivity (unless of course they are using them for business purposes), but it probably has a minimal impact on your overall consumption.

Instead of getting sidetracked by social media sites, focus on bandwidth hogs: video and music.

Video

YouTube certainly has a place in the business world. If, however, your employees don't need YouTube to do their job, go ahead and block the site. The same goes for other video sites like Hulu, Netflix, etc. There are a ton more out there, ReelSEO published a pretty extensive list, which you can access here: http://www.reelseo.com/list-video-sharing-websites/.

Music

It is completely understandable that people like to listen to music while they work. If you don't want to restrict your employees from using this perk, simply encourage them to listen to music directly from their local system or from a radio. Streaming music sites like Pandora can severely impact bandwidth consumption - particularly when employees leave them open constantly. EbizMBA published a list of the most popular streaming music sites, which you can access herehttp://www.ebizmba.com/articles/music-websites.

Some other guilty parties have very legitimate business purposes: video-conferencing and large data files. While you probably don't want to block these all together, because that would impact your employees ability to be productive, there are steps you can take to mitigate bandwidth consumption.

Video Conferencing

In general, we encourage people to use video conferencing whenever feasible. It is an environmentally preferable solution to travel because it cuts down on the emissions caused by travel. It is a cost-effective solution that also increases productivity because it saves you the cost and time associated with travel. However, if you host your own video conferences, it can consume a large amount of bandwidth. The solution to this dilemma is simple - use a cloud based service to host your video conference. There are many available from which to choose, they are reliable and they are affordable.

Large Data Files

Some businesses' lifeblood is in large data files: engineers, law firms, designers, architects, etc. They send and receive files like this all day long. Internally, such files are easy to maintain: put them on a server and let everyone access them from there - don't email them back and forth. Need to share them outside your organization? Go back to the cloud! Cloud based email programs can certainly save you some money, but even better are cloud based collaboration platforms which will save you money and simplify the collaboration process.

How much bandwidth are you using? Can you cut it down? Not sure? Take advantage of our free network analysis to find out!

Mobility in the SMB Market

Erika Masse — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:52:00 GMT

Most people use two kinds of communication devices: our personal cell phones and tablets we like to use, and the desk phone and computer at our work stations.

Now an employer can combine both in a unified system that saves money, is more secure and frees a workforce to be more mobile and productive. This creates an exceptional window of opportunity for the small to medium business (SMB) owner.

The initial spur in this direction usually comes from a business owner attracted to the possibility of using Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) to replace an existing land line telephone service. VoIP gives an SMB the same kind of “leased line” advantages government agencies and large businesses have enjoyed for decades, but in an improved and less expensive package.

This opens a vast new territory for mobile communications. The VoIP systems can be expanded to combine voice, data, desktop computers, e-mail, messaging, smart phones, laptops and tablets, all linked by software on remote cloud computing services.

For the SMB, the advantage of mobility is the key to leveling the playing field with larger competitors.

When you can easily integrate people’s phones and tablets into your communications package, you reach the full benefits of telecommuting and using outside resources in a virtual office environment. An organization can switch, conference and transfer calls over hundreds of miles as easily as calls are shunted thorough a PBX in an office.

Incoming calls can be directed to ring several phones at once, or in any prescribed order. Unified messaging enhances communications by sending an e-mail when a text message is received or automatically transcribes voicemail into text. The linking of remote offices is transparent to the customer, who can’t tell it from one centralized office.

Integrating web cams with the communications package lets a CEO look on his cell phone or tablet to see if a loading dock has become a logjam or discover that customers are lined up at a reception desk. It frees employees to become mobile points of sale or troubleshooters, with the ability to greet customers at the door and do business anywhere.

These unified communications packages are created by businesses specializing in business telecom and IT. A key to effective VoIP from the start is a survey of an organization’s telecommunications flow to shape the system to the users.

The process of bringing full mobility to an organization is particularly suited to the SMB.

First, you can expand at any time, at your own rate. You don’t have to become a communications expert to take the first step. An SMB can start with VoIP and mobile devices, and add other features when you’re ready.
Second, you can keep your existing phone numbers, and even keep your existing land line service, if you want. You can have multiple extensions of the same phone number, even in your vacation home.
Third, you pay only for what you use, and you don’t make big capital investments. This makes a transfer to VoIP and other mobility services attractive when an SMB is facing an upgrade or the need to buy a new PBX system.
Fourth, the unified system is software-based and hosted in decentralized computer servers on the Internet. This means your communications system functions even if a physical location is shut down by a power outage or disaster.
Fifth, a cloud-based system is inherently more secure than a computer at the company headquarters. It will usually have security encryption at the same level as the Pentagon or multi-national corporations and your company’s data will be backed up and stored at separate locations.

Interested in learning more? Check out these articles:

Top Business Benefits of Mobility

Context Aware Mobility Can Have Profound Business Benefits

Mobility Evolved: The Revenue Machine

Are you already leveraging mobility in your business?

Yikes - is voice and data connectivity going to a metered model?

Erika Masse — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 16:16:00 GMT

Most of us have come to expect the availability to high speed Internet...well, pretty much everywhere. And unless we're using a mobile device like a cell phone or a tablet, most of us are used to unlimited usage for one monthly fee. We can use as much bandwidth as we possibly want - limited only by the number of hours in the day and the size of the pipe (T1, T3, etc). Not too long ago, that was also the case with mobile devices. Remember unlimited data plans?

Mobile phone providers knew that the more devices they sold, the more people were on their network and the more money they were making (yeah!). It wasn't too long before they realized, more people meant they needed more resources and paying for those resources meant less profit (boo-hiss!). So they switched to a metered usage model. You pay x amount for x amount of data. You go over that limit, you pay overage charges - which are often much more costly than the original allowance. Yeah for the provider - boo-hiss for you. Ah well - at least their are traditional devices like pcs and laptops - save the heavy Internet use for those and you probably don't feel too much pain.

That might all be about to change. Some of the major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Time-Warner Cable and Comcast are "testing" usage based broadband plans in select residential markets. If you are thinking, "Sweet! I need to have Internet at home, but I I'd rather pay for just what I use...this is going to be awesome.", you may want to reconsider. There are some ominous implications of this "testing":

How much do you really use?

You might be surprised. Unless you are rarely on the Internet at home, you probably use more than you think. According to Sandvine's statistics published on CNET, the average household use is 32GB per month, but some households exceed 250GB. These numbers would disqualify households from electing the cheapest plans being offered as a part of metered testing - unless of course they want to pay overages. As more people use the Internet to get their news and entertainment, these numbers are going to increase. Sandvine also predicts that 2/3 or peak Internet usage will be dedicated to streaming media in 2015.

If you aren't sure how much usage you use, there are numerous metering applications available. This will give you an idea of how much money "metered usage" would cost...err, we mean save you. Implication #1 = this is probably not going to save you money.

No problem, I will just pick a provider that doesn't use metering

Certainly demand in major market areas will drive the creation of non-metered plans and/or providers. Chances are - you're going to pay for that "benefit" by paying higher rates that what you are accustomed to paying now. If you live outside a major market, one where provider choice is limited to one or two providers - this may not even be an option. Implication #2 = this may in fact cost you money.

Well, I guess I will just need to do my heavy internet use at the office

EEEEHHH! Think again. Assuming this goes well for the ISPs (and really, how could in not go well for them?) it probably won't be long before this same model is put in place for commercial accounts as well. That is going to force companies to implement tighter policies and restrictions surrounding internet usage. Say buh-bye to Pandora and YouTube. Implication #3 = this is probably going to impact me at work also.

Since this is a blog geared toward commercial technology topics, and specifically those that impact the SMB market, let's talk about the implications of a metered internet usage model on SMBs.

Selecting the Right Plan

Predicting the amount of data you will use during a given time frame can be very difficult. You can find out your average and purchase enough bandwidth so that you are easily covered - but if you're going to be paying for each byte used, this is going to be too expensive. If you try to buy exactly what you need - what happens when a client sends a lot of files, or if you have a VoIP phone system, or if you use cloud computing, or if all your employee's iPads and iPhones use the wireless network? Your plan is going to go over without a doubt. Implication = selecting the "perfect plan" is going to be difficult at best.

Consider how you do business

In an effort to be more environmentally preferable and to save money, many SMBs have changed the way they do business. They implement VoIP telephone systems to increase productivity and decrease cost, they use collaboration tools like video, web, and audio conferencing to reduce travel costs, they use cloud based services to reduce the need for dedicated resources, they use remote employees to reduce the need for office space and emmissions caused by commuting. We could continue, but you get the picture. All of these things lead to increased bandwidth needs. Implication = You may have to decide between rethinking how you do business or increasing your operating costs

Your revenue may be impacted

If your business thrives on internet traffic from consumers, you might see less of it - since they will be on a metered model, they may do less internet "shopping". Even if you are not an internet based business, you've likely invested quite a bit of money in developing an on-line presence: website, social media accounts, internet marketing, blogs, etc. What do you do with all that? Continue to invest to keep it all running? Abandon it and lose the customers who will still find you that way? Tough choices. Implication = you might be bringing in less money in addition to paying out more.

So, what's a company to do?

You could sit tight - see what happens, deal with it as it comes. (Hint: this is not a good idea, "Hope is not a strategy!") If that doesn't sound appealing, you can take steps to be prepared for this likely change.

Get yourself a carrier services agent

One of the reasons why this potential change will have a larger impact on SMBs than on larger organizations is buying power. Larger companies purchase their connectivity in bulk, giving them leverage with providers. SMBs don't usually have that option, but using an agent can generally provide them with more competitive pricing and help them select the right plan. Check out our blog Carrier Services: Why You Should Consider Using an Agent for more information.

Do a network analysis

Determine how much bandwidth you have, how much you need, and how it is being used. This will do several things:

Prepare you so you can select the right plan when the time comes
Inform you so that you can make changes if needed to your internet usage policy (e.g. blocking sites, etc)
Possibly help you save money now by alerting you to lines that can be canceled, plans that should be changed, etc. View our Find Ways to Save checklist for more information.

You can of course do this yourself...but you probably have more than enough on your plate. Why not take advantage of our Free Network Analysis offer below?

"Don't manage - lead change before you have to." - Jack Welch, American Businessman

Moving? Don't forget your voice and data connectivity!

Erika Masse — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 13:08:00 GMT

We are approaching an anniversary of sorts for Sentenia. We moved into our new Wakefield location just about 2 years ago. We still talk about all the moving parts we had to coordinate. It is, to put it mildly, a daunting task!

Moving guides abound on the internet. They will help you: make checklists, select vendors, and create a time line. They will give you useful tips and tricks, have suggestions for turning your transition into a charitable opportunity, and tell you how to move in an economically friendly manner; all great and useful things. Unfortunately, many leave out some critical considerations for your move.

Despite the stress of the entire process, moving is a positive thing! This is a new beginning for your business. It is an opportunity to improve on your strengths and eliminate challenges . In order for that to happen, you have to consider several key components:

the infrastructure at your new location
the transition of your telecom and network resources to your new location
preventing interruptions in your services

Check out our blog " Maintaining Voice and Data Connectivity During Your Move" today!

Data Backups: Are you Covered?

Erika Masse — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:57:00 GMT

DataLossDB, an independent organization that collects and reports on data losses, report that there have already been 488 reported cases of data loss in 2012. That's an average of over 120 incidents per month, which is a 41% increase in reported data losses from 2011. Might as well get out all the bad news at once...

A University of Texas study reported that 94% of companies that experience a major data loss do not survive. The Business Journal of Midcentral Illinois quoted a DTI/PricewaterhouseCoopers study which found that 7 out of 10 small firms that experience a loss go out of business within one year. Horror stories and statistics abound. We could easily continue, but it's Friday and we'd rather share some good news.

Businesses can avoid being one of those 7 firms that go out of business within a year or one of those 94% that ultimately do not survive due to data loss. Backing up your critical business data could not be easier or more affordable. Business today usually employ one of four methods of securing their data:

1. Tape Backups

2. Hard Drive / USB Drive Backups

3. Replicated Servers

4. Online/Remote Backups

Each method has its pros and cons: cost, ease of implementation, restoration process, etc. While tape backups are cheap and easy to implement, in the long run they are the hardest to maintain making them the least secure and least reliable, therefore the least preferable method of backing up a businesses data.

Conversely, remote backups are inexpensive, easy to implement, easy to maintain, and easy to recover - making them the most preferable solution. With remote backups, once you establish your schedule and job, all you need to do is test it periodically.

Interested in learning more? Click here to register for a free lunch and learn or click here for a free 90 day trial of Sentenia Vault, our online backup solution.

How are you currently backing up your data? Are you satisfied with your solution? Have you ever had to restore from your current backup method? We'd love to hear about your experiences!

Virtualization and The Cloud: Here to Stay

Erika Masse — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 11:49:00 GMT

As often happens with new technology, there was a huge push to the cloud. Excited by the promise of more flexibility and reduced costs, businesses raced to the cloud. Then, as also often happens with cutting edge technology, there started to be a bit of resistance. Business leaders realized that the cloud didn't necessarily serve all their needs in the most efficient way possible. They started to pump the breaks a bit and looked instead to implement hybrid solutions. A mix of traditional premise based technology and cloud based services (both public, private, and hybrid) seemed to be the solution for more companies. Critics of the cloud started to say it was a passing fad.

Virtualization technology stepped up to the plate. This allowed businesses with premise based equipment to still be more efficient. Less servers meant the use of less physical, environmental and human resources to support them, representing a significant cost savings and an increase in efficiency. Virtualized servers have until this point been used primarily in proprietary environments (picture a data center, or on a smaller scale a server room, with several stacked virtualized servers replacing the previous stand alone servers). The servers are networked together and IT resources are still needed to manage them, it just requires less of their time.

We are on the verge of this landscape changing (again). The newest push is to Software Defined Networking (SDN). SDN moves the firmware of networking (switches and routers) out from under the proprietary control of the manufacturers. Using open protocols, third party software clients can remotely access and modify the firmware. Virtualization giant VMWare has embraced this push, recently acquiring Nicira, a pioneer in SDN according to the Wall Street Journal. Also entering the SDN arena, surprisingly, is Oracle with their recent purchase of Xsigo, which according to Forbes is "an example of how...Internet centric software is quickly changing the enterprise computing landscape".

Traditionally, systems management vendors like Oracle have been on the somewhat opposing sides with virtualization. Just this week, Information Week published an article detailing the battle between VMWare and other manufacturing giants like HP and CA which seems to favor the traditional system management vendors. With its recent acquisition of Xsigo, Oracle has broken from the pack, which appears to lend weight to the fact that SDN is going to win out in the end. Some people feel that doesn't necessarily mean Oracle will win though - check out TechCrunch's recent article "Why the Open Cloud Wins and Oracle Loses When IT Gets Virtualized".

Regardless of which companies come out on top, all of these recent developments point to one seemingly indisputable fact. Virtualization and the cloud are not only here to stay, but will in fact continue to expand. It will be exciting to see how the technology environment of businesses and the role of IT specialists continue to evolve to accomodate these changes. The TechCrunch article suggests that IT will become more about supporting the end user rather than maintaining the environment, which is in-line with our customer centric approach.

Are you ready for virtualization? Have you already started? What are your concerns?

Hosted Solutions: The Perfect Fit for Insurance Agencies!

Erika Masse — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 11:20:00 GMT

In April, we posted a blog called Hosted VoIP PBX: 8 Reasons Why Businesses (Should) Choose It. The blog discusses in detail some of the benefits that a hosted solution provides:

Eliminates the need for a large capital investment
Eliminates maintenance expenses
Reduces operating costs
Provides robust features
100% scalable
Unites a distributed workforce
Prevents loss of service
Eliminates the risk of obsolescence

All of these benefits are enticing to virtually all businesses. However, some are better suited to using a hosted services than others. While they are more than capable of supporting large organizations because they are completely scalable, hosted solutions provide a particular value to smaller organizations who require the availability of robust features.

In general, smaller organizations do not want to make the significant investment in a premise based solution. They may not want to employ or contract the resources required to maintain such a system. Competition is fierce in these industries - every competitive edge counts! This is the type of environment where a hosted solution really shines.

Some industries are filled with such smaller organizations. Two in particular come to mind: real estate and insurance agencies. These businesses often have smaller offices and limited staff, restricting the types of solutions they can implement due to size and support constraints. Often their employees work from the road and are very busy, requiring advanced telecom features such as unified communications and softphone capabilities.

FreedomIQ, Sentenia's hosted solution partner has published a brief brochure on how hosted solutions fulfill the needs of insurance agencies in particular. Click here to download it. It includes several testimonials from people in the industry who are current FreedomIQ customers.

Wondering if Hosted Solutions are the right fit for you? Talk to one of our specialists!

Structured Cabling Certification

Erika Masse — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:53:00 GMT

BICSI is the world's foremost professional organization for structured cabling professionals. They provide training, certifications, standards, and networking opportunities for those who work in the Information Technology Systems (ITS) industry. We are proud to be Corporate Members and to employ individuals with BICSI certifications.

Obtaining a certification from BICSI is no simple feat. It represents a significant investment by the company and an increadible amount of dedication from the employee. Hours of training culminates in difficult exams meant to verify that the employee has in fact learned and has a deep understanding of the subject matter.

We are very excited to announce that one of our structured cabling installers, Chris Morin, recently received his ITS Installer 2 certification. Per the BICSI website, "The goal of BICSI's ITS Cabling Installation Program is to produce highly competent cabling installers in a minimal amount of time and at a reasonable cost. Upon completion of training, program participants should be able to conduct site surveys, pull wire/cable, and terminate and test copper and optical fiber cable to the highest level of specification. "

Supporting Chris through the process of getting his ITS Installer 2 certification is putting our money where our mouth is. At Sentenia, we feel very strongly about industry certifications. We even wrote a blog article about it recently, discussing in part how using certified technicians can save you money. You can click here to check out the complete post.

Some of you may be thinking that using a certified technician to maintain and service your communications system makes sense, but is unnecessary for your structured cabling. In fact, many of you probably don't give your structured cabling a second thought. That in and of itself can be a costly mistake. Click here for our whitepaper on structured cabling to find out why!

What certifications are important to you? Do you verify your vendors are certified before hiring them?

Green Telecom Technology

Erika Masse — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:38:00 GMT

Green technologies are not just some far-off pipe dream; they are the here and now. Those in the business of making erudite business decisions should already be aware of this. If you’re still resisting this green movement you have likely already seen the writing on the wall. One area where green technologies have really taken hold is in telecommunications. If you’re still unsure if your company should take the plunge consider the following four facts about green technologies as they relate back to your telecommunications front.

Less Power: Like the common wisdom goes; less, many often times is more. So it should surprise no one that one of the benefits of green telecommunications technologies is their inherent use of less power. Using less power saves companies money and saving money should be on every big decision makers mind.

More with Less: Green telecommunications technologies really lend a hand to workers is they allow for people to connect more seamlessly, with less in person face time, while still giving over that personal touch. Video conferencing, web conferencing, and all the new interactive media found in your telecommunications are made that much smarter when streamed through green technologies.

Less Hardware: Another area where green technologies really shine is in the fact that far less hardware is required. When you’re running green telecommunications and you’re able to make due with less hardware to run the same applications you’re not only a green business you’re also a smarter, more efficient business.

Temperature: One more area where green technologies are a really smart thing to implement is when you’re talking about designing or redesigning data centers. Older systems heat up very much; this heat can lead to system failures and excess uses of energy. New innovations in data center designs allow for more efficient temperature management. Coupled with newer systems which generate less heat and have a higher tolerance for heat, your uptime will be better preserved and your energy bills will be slashed.

All of these benefits weigh heavily in favor of investing in green technologies.

Solving the Challenges of Converting to VoIP

Erika Masse — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 13:51:00 GMT

With the increasing capability of software – and service provider hardware – in enhancing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, it is becoming more and more instrumental for your business to consider ditching the current use of analog in favor of the digital packet medium. While the savings in associated costs with a VoIP-based communication system have always been there; it was plagued earlier by significant ease-of-use and reliability issues; not to mention quality. Today, however, the quality issues are quickly dwindling, and adding such business-enhancing features as extension dialing, which keeps your employees and colleagues a part of the system even in after-office hours; much like a secure cloud server does for network access, have made it easy to use and increased its value as a business tool!

In the early days of VoIP, the signal quality was pretty much horrendous; equivalent to a v.90 modem with its paltry 56 Kpbs bandwidth. Things got much better when technology advanced – actually, when materials became less costly – such that the average bandwidth offered by most service providers hovered around the significantly higher 512 Kpbs, and voices came across with more clarity. Today, bandwidth routinely exceeds Mbps, which accounts for networks with crystal-clarity in voice transmission.
You’re probably aware that the two most important factors of a routers efficacy are the bandwidth and the latency; while the average offered bandwidth got much better with service providers of Voice-over IP; the latency took just a little longer, and calls could be dropped or experience technical difficulties with alarming regularity. Today, the call cycle exchange time – the latency, essentially – which could result in dropped calls and speech transmission problems, is generally much more reliable. More importantly, there are a host of online tools (purchased software is more reliable, however) to help you gauge if your VoIP service actually suffers from latency, or if the culprit is elsewhere.
Another problem cited by some concerned consumers who are considering VoIP as a replacement for their costly analog phone platform is what happens in the event of a power-outage. Analog phones will continue to work in such a scenario, of course, due to the phone-line current. There are a number of solutions to this: a backup generator works just fine for other applications; it will tide you over for Voice-over IP service as well. As a redundant secondary measure; there should be plenty of cell-phones in the office – these can certainly serve in emergency situations.

Are you considering a transition to VoIP? What are your concerns?

Increasing Profitability Using your Telecom System

Erika Masse — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:42:00 GMT

We hear it time and again, we ourselves even tell our staff "Do more without spending more, leverage existing resources, be more efficient." In other words, we want to increase our profitability. The first thing that people think of when we say this is increasing sales and cutting costs. Unfortunately, that is often easier said than done. What if you could tap a necessary component of your infrastructure and leverage that resource to increase your profitability without "scaling back" on anything?

That critical component is your communications system. The one thing all businesses have in common is a need to be able to communicate with their customers, vendors, and employees. Sure, some businesses prefer to correspond via email, but the vast majority of successful businesses have a voice system in place. Advances in voice technology such as VoIP, SIP, and application development mean that businesses can now use their voice system to do so much more than make a phone call!

Applications such as presence management and unified messaging leverage SIP technology to boost customer profitability. Using a single number to contact a member of your staff, regardless of where they are or what medium they are using means greater availability and more efficient communication. Sales can sieze more opportunities, existing customers can receive faster service, and you can at a glance see what your staff is doing.

If you or your staff is spending a lot of time traveling, you may want to consider additional applications. The convergence of the voice and the data markets have led to great advancements and the reduction of cost for video conferencing. Gone are the days of needing large, dedicated video conferencing machines or dedicated audio conference bridges. Many phone systems now support larger conference call participation and web conferencing using no more that an internet connection and possibly a web camera. Reducing travel directly reduces costs and means your staff can spend more time working.

Perhaps even more important than what you staff is doing is how they are doing. Applications such as call recording can allow you to review employee performance - providing the opportunity for greater quality assurance and alerting you to additional training needs. Call recording also provides an additional benefit of increased employee productivity. Dr. Jon Anton from Purdue University found "On average, employees answer the phone 19% faster, spend 29% less time on the phone and do after-call work three times faster when they know they are being recorded." Check out his full report here.

As a technology company, it is natural for us to look at a company's infrastructure to determine what technology innovations can solve a problem or make an improvement. We take pride in offering these proactive solutions to our customers which in turn provide them with a competitive edge. These are three broad suggestions which may work for your business. However, the best way to fully maximize your system is to speak with an industry expert that can make specific suggestions according to your unique goals and needs.

Is your system doing everything it can for you? How about your solution provider???

Analog versus IP Cameras: The Better Business Choice

Erika Masse — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:37:00 GMT

Cameras have evolved to be useful surveillance instruments in the form of IP cameras and analog cameras. They have similar features and functions but they do have differences that make IP cameras the more preferable solution for businesses. Let's explore some of these differences.

Video and audio delivery – The main difference between an IP camera and an analog camera is the mode in which images and sounds are transmitted. Working on a local area network or LAN, an IP camera digitizes the video and audio signals with the use of a sp
ecialized encoder containing a built-in web server. This allows images and sounds to be viewed and heard through both an in-house network and the Internet. An analog camera, on the other hand, delivers the video signals to a receiver like a monitor, videocassette recorder or television screen.

Image resolution – In IP cameras, high resolution images are produced because interlace annoyances are eliminated with the use of one complete frame, making moving video much clearer as compared to that of analog cameras. A moving image with lines is typical in analog cameras resulting in hazy and indiscernible objects.

Security feature – IP cameras require authentication and images that are captured are fully encrypted before they are transmitted via the Internet, giving you complete privacy and security. Analog or CCTV video cameras do not require encryption and interference problems are frequently experienced especially in wireless analog surve
illance systems.

Remote access – Since an IP camera is a network in itself connected to the Internet, you can remotely view it from any Internet capable computer or even a smart phone. While some advanced CCTV cameras can be connected to the Net, the images are far from perfect because of the analog nature of the cameras.

Other smart features – IP cameras have built-in two-way audio systems, alarm management, image adjustment, facial and license plate recognition, motion activation and other scalable enhancements that traditional analog cameras don't have.

Is an employee stealing? Are you concerned that an intruder would break in to your office? Is your parking lot a safe environment for customers and employees?

IP cameras can be your virtual eyes on the scene giving you peace of mind.

Business Class Cable: Is it the Right Voice and Data Choice for you?

Erika Masse — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:05:00 GMT

Business class cable can be a great solution for a business's internet service, because it is inexpensive, convenient, and easy to use. But it is not always the best choice for every business, because its advantages bring some limitations as well. Whether it is the right choice for your business will depend on what your voice and data needs are.

Unlike T1 or fiber connections, cable is generally shared bandwidth. This means that during peak traffic hours, your connection speed will be reduced due to the greater number of people using the network. For low-bandwidth operations, such as sending and receiving emails or uploading small documents, this is not a problem. But for higher-bandwidth procedures that occur in real time, such as VOIP or video chat, you may experience noticeable drops in quality or lag if there is not enough bandwidth available. The more expensive alternatives to cable offer dedicated amounts of bandwidth, so you will always get the most out of the connection speed you are paying for.

Business class cable also tends to be somewhat "one-way," in that voice and data sent to the user is much faster than data sent out by the user. Cable upload speeds tend to be significantly slower than download speeds, which can also impact the performance of VOIP and VPN to customers, as well as making uploading for backup purposes a lengthy process if your business has a lot of data to store. Pricier choices like T1 and fiber connections eliminate these concerns by offering the same speeds for both uploading and downloading.

Given the nature of its advantages and disadvantages, business class cable is best suited to businesses with moderate or low bandwidth needs who want simple and affordable service. If the above limitations don't sound like things your business would have an issue with, you may want to give it some serious consideration. In many cases it provides all the speed that is necessary at a very attractive price.

Have you considered whether or not cable might be right for you?

Dynamic Auto Attendant: Tips for Success

Erika Masse — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 19:53:00 GMT

We recently published a blog on whether or not to implement an auto attendent that came out in favor of implementation. After that, we read Landline Phone Service's blog "The 10 Most Frustrating Times To Get Stuck with an Automated Phone Attendant". That got us thinking...we stand by our recommendation that an implementing an auto attendant is a good, solid business decision. However, we would like to offer these tips for setting one up that won't drive callers batty.

The Cardinal Rule: Do Not Hold Callers Hostage

If you follow only one of our suggestions, please let it be this one! Do not hold callers hostage. Always provide an option to transfer to a live person and always allow them to do so at any time. First time callers and frequent callers alike will appreciate this option.

Keep it Simple

Have you ever made a phone call while you were doing something else and realized half way through the automated attendant that you weren't listening to your options? So you choose the option to repeat the menu, but the list of options is so long you realize part way through that you stopped listening? So annoying! Keep your options simple, try to limit them to 5 at the most, and avoid more than 2 or 3 levels of options.

Choose your voice

When choosing the person who will record your auto attendant menu options and greetings, select someone who is easy to understand. Someone who speaks clearly, with little to no accent, and at a comfortable audio level. People hear better or worse at different frequencies, so your "voice" should be neither too high nor low pitched.

Is your auto-attendant improving your customers' experience and saving you money??? If not, it might be time to revamp it!

Hosted Solutions: Sentenia goes to school!

Erika Masse — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:24:00 GMT

As part of our commitment to maintaining factory trained technicians with professional certifications, several of our employees attended FreedomVoice University last week. This is an intense, two day training program offered by FreedomVoice to authorized retailers of their hosted VoIP PBX solution, FreedomIQ.

Participation represents a significant investment for the company, but it is well worth it. Attendees receive updated and refresher training on implementing and maintaining the system. We also learn how hosted solutions are being applied in various industries and what types of clients are the best fit for the solution. Finally, attendance allows us to maintain our status as a certified FreedomIQ dealer.

We feel pretty strongly about professional certifications such as this. Not only do certifications mean that we are authorized to sell a product, it means we are well versed in the product and can support it once it is implemented. This provides a great comfort level for us as a company and for our clients. It also saves our clients' money and time! We recently wrote a blog article about this, click here to check it out!

Are all the vendors you use certified? How important is certification to you when you select a vendor?

Mobility Solutions: Resetting the Bar for Customer Service

Erika Masse — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 14:27:00 GMT

Providing the ultimate customer experience is every business' business. As IT experts have predicted, mobility technology services are fast becoming indispensable components of business operations. They provide total mobility to workers yet stay connected to their businesses as well as make business available to customers wherever they may be.

Presence Management

Gone are the days when you had one number to reach people. Now you have office phones, mobile phones, instant messenger, email. People use their phones, laptops, desktops, and tablets to communicate. Trying to reach someone individually on all these numbers is a hassel and a collosal waste of time. Presence Management solutions clearly identify when someone is available online. With the right blend of solutions, it really doesn't matter what device or communication method you use to reach them. Calling one number can reach them regardless of geographic location or device.

Soft Phones

You can now say goodbye to mobility constraints by using soft phones especially if you are often on the road. These are applications that are connected to your desktop computer, laptop or notebook with VoIP platform. Whether you are in or out of the office, you will be able to make important business calls as long as you have with you your laptop or notebook. Soft phones also come with the features of a regular telephone like caller ID, call waiting, call transfer, speed dialing and return call.

SIP or Session Initiation Protocol

SIP is a simple and flexible protocol with multiple purposes. Aside from setting up telephone calls, SIP can be used in real time multi-media sessions like video, audio or instant messaging conferences between groups of participants. When integrated with soft phones and VoIP solutions, SIP allows interoperability and provides a unified communications network that helps streamline work processes and reduce communications costs.

Mobile Device Integration

Mobility solutions like mobile device integration help enhance customer service and improve business performance. Mobile device integration empowers users to access the business communications functions they need anytime and anywhere. For instance, some advanced airline companies have started using flyer cards that have radio frequency identification or RFID tags to facilitate the tagging of luggage. Others use mobile boarding passes with Near Field Communications capability to enable travelers to board their planes by using their smartphones.

Other mobility benefits are the seamless switching of communication devices and access to important features like transfer, swap, split and three-party conferencing while effectively working from your desk.

Unified Communications

The main goal of unified communications is to integrate all available communication platforms and create a powerful network to enhance the way we work, communicate and deal with customers. An effective UC interface allows both business owners and customers access to applicable business processes resulting in increased profitability for the business and improved relationships with customers. For instance, you can incorporate real time services in your UC system to include IP telephony, soft phones, video and audio conferencing, VoIP, presence management and many more. This will enable you to address customer queries quickly and provide the needed support that can enhance customer loyalty and reset the bar of customer service to the next level.

If you are the CEO, CFO, CIO or IT manager of your company, think how full mobility solutions can make doing business more convenient for you and your customers. You are committed to provide not only customer satisfaction but customer delight and you don't have to be a communications expert to achieve this!

Want to learn more? Click here to check out this article on Techaisle about Mobility and Why SMBs should be looking at it.

Unified Communications: The Real Value for SMBs

Erika Masse — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 14:14:00 GMT

Unified communications or UC is the integration of a variety of communication tools to make communication processes easier and faster. It aims to virtually connect people in real time and create real value for businesses, big or small.

Before going to the real value of unified communications for SMBs, let's take a look at some other V-A-L-U-E-S that help lay the foundation for the real value.

VoIP telephone system – Voice over Internet Protocol is an application that converts voice into data so that that data can be transported across the Internet and converted back to voice as it reaches the recipient.
Audio, video and web conferencing – The Internet offers endless audio and video solutions that allow people from different places to virtually meet face-to-face from the comfort of their offices.
LAN, WAN and wireless networks – A network is a system of interconnections. A LAN or local area network is a network within a small geographic area like a home or a building while a WAN or wide area network is one that covers a wider area. The Internet is the largest WAN on earth.
Unified messaging – UM is the integration of various communications technologies like e-mail, voicemail, FAX, SMS, video messaging and many more, into a single interface that can be accessed from a single device or a variety of devices. For instance, you can access your SMS, e-mail and voicemail all from your smartphone.
E-mail – Electronic mail is the most commonly used online communications system worldwide because it is fast, flexible and reliable and can be accessed from any web-based device.
Structured cabling – A reliable structured cabling is the backbone of an effective communications network. You will need this for your data center wiring and racking, WAPs, BAS, POS, CATV, paging and intercom system and IP camera system, among others.

In a highly competitive environment, there are many challenges that small and medium-sized businesses face especially against bigger competitors. This demands increased efficiencies from employees, machines and processes. These business components need to work as one to achieve the business' objectives. A unified communications network creates unity in an organization, a characteristic that gives real value to a business.

A unified communications system that allows employees access to file sharing or a versatile computer telephony system, for example, empowers employees and inspires them to give their best to achieve optimum performance. An empowered workforce is a productive workforce and one that adds value to your business.

The main goal of unified communications is to speed up not only the communication process itself, but work processes as well. With video conferencing, for instance, your employees don't need to travel for trainings and seminars that can add to company costs. This results in a significant reduction of costs, marked increase in productivity, steady growth of income and added financial value to your business. After all, businesses exist for profits.

Another important value that you need to nurture throughout the life of your business is marketability. You will not be there forever to run your business and you will eventually sell or hand it over to the next generation. A sophisticated unified communications system helps boost your image, reputation and consequently, your business' marketability.

As the CEO, CIO, CFO or IT manager of a small or medium-sized business, think of the real value that the V-A-L-U-E-S discussed above will give to your business.

Want to read more about the value of UC? Check out these additional resources:

http://www.t3igroup.com/news/SMBIUCPressRelease12011.aspx

http://www.guardian.co.uk/cisco-connecting-businesses/unified-communications-small-business-guide

http://www.mitel.com/resources/SMB_Buyers_Guide_to_UC_Whitepaper_Final.pdf

Are you currently using or considering implementing a UC system? We'd love to hear about it in our comments section!

Online Backups: Leaving Tapes in the Dust!

Erika Masse — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:42:00 GMT

An online backup system provides users a safe way of storing, backing up and securing all types of computer files. Its function involves the collection, encryption and transfer of data to the backup service provider's servers or off-site hardware. It is so much more preferable than tape backup solutions. Let's see why this is so.

Cost

Online backup system – This system is a cheaper way of backing up files because you don't need to invest in expensive hardware and the education of your employees for advanced computer sciences courses. You only have to pay relatively lower monthly subscription fees for the backup of your files in your provider's off-site servers.

Tape backup solution – To avoid the disruption of backup services, a steady supply of tapes will have to be maintained. All throughout the life of your business, you will need to buy, discard and replace tapes as needed. This will mean additional and continuous hardware costs.

Implementation, Monitoring and Reporting

Online backup system – Your backup service provider will fully automate your backup system, making it easy to use and monitor with just a few clicks. There is no need for constant monitoring or fear of not being able to backup files because backup schedule is likewise automated and, therefore, performed regularly.

Tape backup solution – This backup system is less efficient in the management of large volumes of data because it requires the manual administration of a tape library where there is always room for negligence. Additionally, tape management can be tedious because files are stored in a sequence, making the task of rewinding a long drawn process.

Security

Online backup system – Data are encrypted before they are transferred to the provider's servers and these data are stored in their encrypted state for complete security. You will need to keep an encryption key which the backup provider cannot access. Most online backup providers offer several choices of the safest cryptographic methods, so nobody, not even your provider, can read the files. Interested in reading more about the security? Click here!

Tape backup solution – Files stored in backup tapes are not encrypted. There is no guarantee of complete security because if the files get into the wrong hands, anybody will be able to read them.

Recovery

Online backup system – With the use of advanced technology, most backup service providers can recover files or even restore your entire servers within a matter of minutes. It also helps that backups are done redundantly. Lost files can then be randomly recovered from any of the backups stored in the off-site servers.

Tape backup solution – Considerable time is needed to recover data because of the sequential arrangement of data in a tape backup. In addition, it is a known fact that recovery failure rates of tape backups can be as high as 20 to 50 percent.

Maintenance

Online backup system – Maintenance is not an issue because there is no backup hardware to maintain. Both hardware and software are concerns that the provider takes care of.

Tape backup solution – Breakage is a normal consequence of wear and tear. It is, therefore, necessary to store tapes in safe and weatherproof spaces. They likewise need to be cleaned regularly to extend their economic life.

We've seen it happen. Hard drives crashing, files being lost, computers getting destroyed or stolen, fires and floods are some of the disasters that can befall a business. Thanks to online backup solutions, business owners can now entrust their backup needs to cloud backup service providers and run their businesses in peace.

Sentenia's online backup solution, Sentenia Data Vault, is powered by VaultLogix. To read more about business class data backups, please click here.

So what's stopping you? Check out our free 90 day trial!

Presence Management: What is it and do I need it?

Erika Masse — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:51:00 GMT

These days there is a lot of buzz about Presence Management. Put simply, Presence Management is a telecom feature that determines whether or not someone is available and which communication method to use to contact them.

Presence Management solutions such as Unified Communications, Telephony Manager, Connection Assistant, and Attendant Console clearly identify when someone is available online. With the right blend of solutions, it really doesn't matter what device or communication method you use to reach them. Calling one number can reach them regardless of geographic location or device.

Implementing Presence Management solutions will allow your employees to transparently leverage all the devices to which they have access. It allows them to manage and communicate their individual availability to their coworkers, customers, and vendors. Further, and perhaps most importantly, it allows employees to receive crucial communications in the manner which they prefer - increasing their availability.

Presence Management is a clear way to improve employee and customer satisfaction, thereby positively impacting your business.

Introduction to VoIP

Erika Masse — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:38:00 GMT

In today’s extremely competitive and rapidly changing business environment, decisions about adopting the latest technology is critical to the survival of any business. One particular technology receiving significant attention is VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). As with the adoption of any technology, companies must take appropriate steps in order to successfully implement VoIP and reap its benefits.

Simply put, VoIP is the process of converting voice signals into data packets, using Internet Protocol (IP) to transmit voice over a data network. The most widely publicized benefit when

utilizing IP telephony is the ability to save costs on long distance charges and to network multiple offices together. Businesses that have a data connection between their offices can utilize VoIP technology to bypass long distance networks and provide more efficient
communications between offices. Using VoIP, a person can simply dial an extension
number and be connected immediately to a party in another office, whether across
town or around the world avoiding costly long distance charges.

A second benefit is in the design of many telephone systems, often called IP based
systems, which use a data network infrastructure. This convergence of voice and data into a single platform has tremendous advantages in simplifying the administration of the communications network.

A third benefit is the ability to have remote phones with a single telephone number. For
example, an employee could work out of their home in Boston, utilizing a phone
number with a California area code. This enables corporations to truly take advantage of having a virtual office and/or remote agents working out of a variety of locations.

VoIP continues to gain acceptance into the corporate world, especially in small to
medium sized companies. Companies are now in the process of determining how
this technology will help their business and to what extent they need to deploy VoIP.
Adopting new technology can be both exciting and sometimes challenging at the
same time.

Want to read more about the benefits of VoIP? Check out this article on www.chron.com

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-voip-business-163.html

What, if anything, is stopping you from converting to VoIP?

Carrier Services: What Every Business Should Know

Erika Masse — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:16:00 GMT

Nowadays, telecom expenses are hard to track as they include both lines and circuits with decentralized inventory spread over multiple locations. This makes billing more complex, time-sensitive and volume-sensitive. Also, each provider has different billing platforms which further complicate the process.

Carrier services available:

T1 / T3 Lines: T1 lines are dedicated digital, high-speed phone lines with a transmission capacity of 24 times faster than standard phone lines, which allows them to be electronically subdivided into 24 standard lines. T3 lines are a collection o 28 T1 circuits that are commonly used to build business networks and support long-distance traffic.

High Speed Internet Access: High speed Internet features broadband Internet connectivity at considerably faster download speeds than a dial-up connection, allowing downloads of graphics-heavy files, movies, music videos etc. at very high speeds.

VoIP: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) transfers phone calls over an Internet Protocol data network that may be on the Internet or the Ethernet network.

SIP: Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) controls real-time communication sessions including voice, video calls and instant messaging over IP. SIP allows businesses to capitalize on more advanced systems that traditional PBX phone system and it can be used to bring together unicast or multicast media streams

DSL: Digital subscriber line (DSL) transmits digital data at extremely high speeds over standard phones using higher frequency bands for data separated by filtering.

MPLS: Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) directs data from one network node to the next using virtual links. MPLS encapsulates packets of different network protocols and it is employed to DSL, T1, Frame Relay and other access technologies.

Challenges in managing network infrastructure:

Firms have fundamentally changed the way they do business by increasing decentralization and mobility of the workforce and demanding higher voice and data connectivity. The demand for higher connectivity and data availability is easily met as wireless devices are inexpensive. But the problem lies in the cost of systems to manage the increasing inventory of these devices.

Besides, the need to employ new technologies that can incorporate all the new features and functionality creates managerial distress. The firm is pressurized to keep up with a changing and more diverse infrastructure while maintaining a stable environment for cost allocation, compliance etc.

Billing complexity and telecom cost control:

Telecom expenses are often uncontrolled. Especially, mid-size firms need to reduce their costs in traditional voice services. Yet, telecom bills are becoming more complex and difficult to audit, especially in paper format. Several firms do not employ an accurate measure of their telecom spending, thus tracking only a fraction of their total expenses. Ineffective billing processing often leads to late payment penalties, forcing the firm to negotiate extended payment contract terms and/or exemptions from these penalties.

To keep telecom costs under control, providers need to identify potential cost savings by evaluating the current telecom service tariffs to detect billing errors and discrepancies. Some effective strategies to capitalize on datacentric networks and the rapid growth of wireless services and control telecom costs are:

monitoring on inventory and usage
establishing their telecom policies
validating their costs against negotiated tariffs
eliminating unused services
keeping track of employees’ usage

In many cases, this is a huge undertaking and leads businesses to sign on with a Carrier Services Agent, like Sentenia. An agent does not cost the business anything, can complete an audit which helps with many of the strategies outlined above.

Want to learn more about managing your carrier service expenses? Check out these resources:

Telecom Expense Management Infiltrated by Mobile Device Mayhem

How to Manage Telecom Expenses Six Things Every CIO Should Know

7 Opportunities to Save

Are you watching your telecom expenses?

Auto Attendant: To Implement or Not to Implement?

Erika Masse — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:42:00 GMT

You know how you are treated when you call your business. But, you're the boss. Of course, people treat you well.

How are your customers treated? What's their experience like?

That's a little tougher to find out.

Think about how many calls your business gets every day. Each creates an impression. If it's a good impression, great. If it's not, you could have a serious problem on your hands and never know it until it's too late.

The obvious way to handle this is to create standardized procedures for how to handle various common inquiries. The time, the effort, training, and expense involved make this a formidable, albeit, admirable task.

The best solution to this problem is, like many others in business, to automate the process. In this case, that means enabling an auto attendant as your primary first point of contact with callers.

Many businesses look to install an automated attendant for its money-saving ability. Rather than paying people to answer phones, distribute routine information, and redirect calls, technology provides a very clean, easy to implement and low-cost solution.

Depending upon how many people you have answering phones now, the return on investment can be dramatic.

Of course, every business wants to save money and cut expenses. With an auto attendant system in place, however, the additional benefits may be even more important to the long-term health of your business.

An auto attendant assures consistency in the way callers interact with your company when they first call. It allows for custom greetings, as well as messages offering specific routine information, such as business hours, directions, address, etc.

A dynamic auto attendant system also supports callers reaching specific people or departments, either through an automated directory or via extension.

Callers can be directed to sales, customer service, tech support or where ever they will be best served. A good rule of thumb is that callers should never be asked to drill down more than three levels deep within a menu structure.. They should also always be given the opportunity to opt out to a human.

Some dynamic auto attendants now offer sophisticated features, such as complete voice mail systems, the ability to leave a phone number for automated callback, and even the ability to take information from your computer system and speak it out to the caller – eliminating the need for costly human interaction for routine information like account balance, payment due date, last payment received, etc..

The "tastes better and less filling" feature of the business communications world, dynamic auto attendants provide better and more consistent caller experiences while saving your business money.

Looking for other ways to improve your customers' experience? Check out our blog on Customer Service No-Nos

How about other features that save money? Check out our blog on Mobility in the SMB Market

What image can you portray with a consistent, reliable phone presence?

How Virtualization Can Improve Your Business

Erika Masse — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:34:00 GMT

Virtualization involves the creation of a simulated virtual version of a network, device, operating system or other system, such as telecommunications. Virtual applications allow users to provide two often critical services using just one hardware set. One of the most valuable points to this approach is that centralizing network management is possible, such as for telecommunications solutions.

Efficiency

Companies are always searching for ways to improve upon efficiency, since cutting costs generally results in a better bottom line. Technology has played a great part when it comes to increasing organizational efficiencies. Virtualization is one of the developments that assists businesses to become more efficient overall.

Tasks which used to take hours to perform may be completed in mere minutes. The newer servers are scalable and respond quickly to adapt to various circumstances and situations. The customization which virtualization provides assures consistent resource allocation and load balancing.

Consolidation

Virtualization also increases system efficiency by consolidating resources. For example, in situations where several servers were necessary, in many cases, this type of technology allows the number to be reduced. Systems that operate on single servers may also reduce costs in other ways besides hardware. Using less server resources may involve anything from space management to lessened energy consumption which all lead to cost savings.

Data Load Management

Virtualization technology also provides the capability of moving machines to better manage data loads. Business needs will dictate work loads over varied locations, or might be focused on only a few. For example, in the telecommunications environment, maintaining multiple machines for various purposes is no longer necessary.

Resource Efficiency

When consolidation and data load management are in place with virtualization, resources are no longer wasted. When companies engage many servers, whether they are being used or not, applications will continue to run. As soon as virtual servers are deployed, it is not required to run extraneous servers. This frees up those resources.

The release of unused resources allows virtual servers to be placed in more suitable software frameworks. This establishes much more flexibility, while IT management positions may attend to other tasks. Then it is possible to also automate backup and mapping to make the data environment more fluid and manageable. In critical aspects such as telecommunications, there is less chance of business phone operations experiencing downtime as in the past.

ROI

In most companies, the IT budget is where most of the operating costs occur. From hardware to software and personnel, the less that needs to be expended, the more the business will save. Not only is virtualization more physically efficient, but cutting down on those costs increases ROI substantially. Therefore, more of the funds earned from the sale of products and services may be allocated toward key investments such as advertising, marketing and human resources. Whenever capital and operating expenses drop, profitability and ROI may increase more easily.

Cloud Solutions

Virtualization also provides an opportunity to take advantage of the many options in cloud computing. These solutions come in a variety of applications, from data management to storage and internal and external communications. Giving your company this kind of access can make the workplace run more efficiently while improving productivity exponentially. The cloud provides continual access to programs at any time, with merely an Internet connection.

Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery is an issue that every company should be concerned with. Virtualization makes recovering critical data much easier than past backup solutions. Virtual versions of applications such as email, databases and telecommunications allow for companies to have little, if any downtime should a catastrophe occur. This is an invaluable aspect that other solutions cannot compete with.

Don't just take our word for it! Check out these other articles about Virtualization and the positive impacts it has on businesses.

The Impact of Virtualization on Business

The Virtualization of Businesses: Controlling More with Less

5 Business Storage and Virtualization Trends

Which one of the benefits of virtualization is the most exciting for you?