Author: Kevin Gulley
As we all know, the business world is experiencing seismic shifts when it comes to technology and communications. A corporate world once dominated by enterprise applications on dedicated servers and people talking on deskphones via landlines, is now firmly entrenched in a cloud-based, wireless, mobility-centric reality. And when it comes to unified communications, the options for businesses have exploded. One thing that hasn’t changed however, is the need for interpersonal communication and collaboration. Whether it is via voice or video calls, business people need and expect to connect and communicate wherever and whenever they want, on whatever device they have…
The race is on. Most 86% of small and medium businesses have already or are considering switching to cloud-based unified communications as a service (UCaaS). And according to Gartner there are over 100 UCaaS providers competing for their business in North America alone. Make no mistake, it is a gold rush out there for businesses that can deliver on this need. One group that is hustling to bring a solution to their existing and future customers are Managed Solution Providers (MSPs), which is growing to also include Value Added Resellers (VARs), Interconnects, and IT Integrators. These businesses have been providing networking, technology solutions,…
Even as more people work from home, there is still a tendency to prefer physical devices like desktop phones and headsets. Darren Knapp of Poly talks with Mike Cromwell and Dave Gilbert about how newer devices fill the roles both in-office and remotely. Topics: State of the industry.Selecting the right device.How technology is throwing a life-line to businesses impacted by business continuity circumstances. Take a listen, you’ll be happy you did.
With such an emphasis on making your networks remote, the topic of security gets discussed a lot. We have all heard of firewalls, but not everyone really understands how session border controllers work. So I caught up with Thomas Negron, senior systems engineer for Sonus Networks, which makes SBCs. He proved to be a fountain of information on the topic and, as it turns out, the list of differences between firewalls and SBCs is long.Before we jump in, Negron is quick to point out that Session Border Controllers do not replace firewalls. Rather, an SBC complements firewalls, providing functions that firewalls don’t, but not…
A few months ago, in the time before social-distancing, I had the chance to connect with an old college friend who was in town on business. When I saw him from across the hotel lobby, he was deep in conversation, apparently with thin air. As I got closer I realized he had a tiny, in-ear headset connected via bluetooth to his mobile phone, which was in his pocket. When the call ended we had a conversation about how, with a device that small and with a microphone that is far closer to the ear than the mouth, these things actually…
As you’re hunting around for wireless headsets to go with your unified communications implementation (because, as we’ve discussed, a proper headset is crucial to user acceptance), you’ll likely come across the DECT standard. You may find yourself wondering just what DECT is and how it differs from Bluetooth. This simple post will, hopefully, put the matter to rest. DECT stands for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications, although it’s also known as Digital European Cordless Telecommunications – which makes sense because it’s a standard that originated in Europe. It is widely used in wireless phone systems, to connect a cordless phone to a base station.…
As businesses tackle the problems associated with business continuity in these strange times, new tactics for managing teams when you can’t shake hands are being developed. Dave Dyson of Eclipse Telecom talks with Mike Cromwell and Dave Gilbert about how one can adapt to this new environment of remote management as he shares insights to how remote learning has taken on a life of its own. Topics: Reacting to a sudden need to turn to remote work.Using video to check in with your team.Eating your own dog food – if you want your team to use video, use it yourself.Embracing UCaaS as the…
The question gets asked often enough to deserve a look, “are there any good open source Unified Communications solutions?” As it turns out, there is indeed a fair amount of open source UC software out there, some of which appears more “baked” than others. Below are three contenders that seem to have significant followings. We are not about to claim this is an exhaustive list, but they do appear to be viable options if you want to go the open source route for your UC implementation. Asterisk by Digium Asterisk appears to be among the oldest open source UC implementations, dating…
It is perhaps a throw-away statement to say that businesses across the world have had to adapt quickly and develop a remote working strategy. Even those with some remote staff have made adjustments big and small. Crisantos Hajibrahim of Prodoscore talks with Mike Cromwell and Dave Gilbert about these developments, the state of the industry, and what kind of business continuity plans are necessary and effective. Topics: Why Does a Business Need a Business Continuity Plan?What Holds Companies Back From Having a Business Continuity Plan?How to Keep Remote Workers Engaged, Productive and Contributing?You Can Implement the Tools for a BCP Quickly. Take a…
As an explosion of remote and at-home workers hits the business world, the cloud-based unified communications services are prepared to facilitate this move. What might take longer to adjust is the managers who are unaccustomed to leading a team that is not in the same place at the same time. It is more difficult to monitor work activities, lead meetings, and make those personal touch points that many leaders have learned to utilize. Some businesses have reacted by installing spyware on their remote workers, which, if done poorly, can undermine the employer-employee trust relationship. While this may give the employer more insight…
College professors spend years in school, and some of them have researched deeply into their field of study. Even a high school teacher with a master’s degree has spent five to seven years of postsecondary education to specialize in their particular expertise. Dance instructors spend years honing their craft, and personal athletic trainers have years of accreditation to back up their skill set. But most of those semesters spent learning their subject and how to teach it never covered how to correctly use distance learning methods. Enter the year 2020 and the new way of doing things. Higher learning, alone,…
Cloud-based technology like Unified Communications is made for telework. Below is some information about telecommuting leading up to the aggressive push toward mobilization in March 2020.
“Mobility”, as an industry term, refers to any application developed for a mobile device that facilitates business outside of a typical office environment. By using the portable power found in modern smartphones, a lot of the work that just a few years ago could only be done on a PC can be done in the palm of your hand. Increased Productivity You can now edit Excel spreadsheets, compose Word documents, read PDF files, and send and receive email with rudimentary applications for your device. Many of these applications have been around since the days of Blackberry, but where they used…
Some companies, typically larger ones such as IBM and State Farm, have moved a portion of their workforce off of the central work sites, either by having employees work from home or by placing them in co-working spaces, such as collaboration rooms. This is becoming a more attractive option for small and medium businesses who can use cloud-based technologies to expand their footprint and allow workers to utilize different surroundings. In fact, according to Global Workforce Analytics, over 3.7 million people currently telecommute to work in the U.S., at least half of the time. Before your business takes the step of allowing…
Unless you are more than 100 years old and you remember the Spanish Flu, nobody reading this article has lived through a global pandemic. We don’t know what to expect, but we do know that the coronavirus is spreading quickly and schools, businesses and organizations of all types are bracing for significant disruption. Now is the time to start investigating your options and defining your emergency continuity communications plan so that you can – proactively or reactively – continue to effectively manage your business as the impacts of this disease come into focus and a large portion of your workforce…
As organizations face uncertainty and possible business disruptions due to the evolving news on the Coronavirus front, The UC Buyer’s mission is to cover the latest developments from the perspective of reporting on the role that technology plays in helping businesses minimize disruption, as well as providing links to industry news, technology companies who are offering promotions for companies that need help, and links to valuable resources such as articles, white papers and guides. Quick Links to Curated Business Continuity Resources UC Buyer ArticlesArticles from the UC Buyer specifically focused on solutions and tactics for business continuity, enabling remote workers,…
When it comes to your UC deployment, whether it be on-prem, hybrid-cloud or UCaaS, I’m sure we can all agree that redundancy is critical. So is security and your SBC (Session Border Controller). So is the software you are using. A lot of thought goes into addressing these issues, determining the best options and delivering a great solution. UBut when push comes to shove all employees care about is whether their calls have jitter, are cutting in and out, or get randomly dropped. While working to deliver the highest possible Quality of Service for their UC-platform, a common question businesses ask is “Do…
According to the CEO of CafeX, Rami Musallam, advanced collaboration is all about finding ways to eliminate friction in internal company processes as well as while interacting with customers. In this insightful podcast interview we dig into how cutting edge technologies, like Chime, their one-click video conferencing platform, are delivering seamless collaboration from the boardroom to the contact center. We discuss what it really takes to make video a single click experience, whether you are at your desktop or using the company telepresence room. We also review how enabling collaboration technologies like desktop sharing, allows businesses to take customer care to the next…
The world just seems to move faster every year, so it is no wonder that many of us yearn for simpler times. This certainly is the case when it comes to customer service. I’ve had so many frustrating experiences while interacting with companies and their contact centers over the past several years, that when I have a enjoyable one, offering high-touch, high-value services, I’m pleasantly surprised. According to David Jodoin, the Chief Technology Officer for collaboration software vendor CaféX, trying to deliver this kind of exceptional service is why so many businesses are focused on improving Customer Experience Management, or CEM. “Thirty…
As more businesses migrate to cloud-based communications, whether Skype for Business Cloud PBX or a UCaaS platform, protecting the communications network becomes an immediate concern. Every business understands the importance of keeping their lines of communications open, avoiding downtime and keeping themselves safe from attack, so it’s no wonder that security is a top priority. According to a report released by Akamai earlier this year, DDoS and web application attacks are up 23% and 26% year over year. And once a hacker has you targeted, they don’t let up. The rate of repeat DDoS attacks has skyrocketed and target organizations…