IT Voice

Author: seth

  • Assessing your MSP in the first appointment

    Assessing your MSP in the first appointment

    Handing over your IT to a MSP is a major decision. Who do you choose and more importantly, how? While there’s no rulebook that will tell you exactly how to proceed, here are a few hints that can help you decide how invested your prospective MSP is into you.

    How well do they know your industry vertical

    It is important that your MSP truly understands the industry-specific IT challenges you face so they can help you overcome those challenges effectively. For example, do you have a commonly used software program or any governmental or regulatory mandates that you must be adhering to. Is your MSP knowledgeable on that front?

    How well do they know you and your values

    How well does this MSP know your business in particular. Have they invested time in learning a bit about you from sources other than you–like your website, press releases, etc.? Do they understand your mission, vision and values and are they on the same page as you on those? This is important because you and your MSP have to work as a team and when start to see things from your point of view, it is going to be easier for you to build a mutually trusting, lasting relationship with them.

    References and testimonials

    References are a great tool to assess your prospective MSPs. Ask them to provide you with as many references and testimonials as they can. It would be even better if their references and testimonials are from clients who happen to know you personally, or are in the same industry vertical as you or are well-known brands that need no introduction.

    Are they talking in jargons or talking so you understand

    Your MSP is an IT whiz, but most likely you are not. So, instead of throwing IT terminology (jargons) on you, they should be speaking in simple layman terms so you understand and are comfortable having a conversation with them. If that doesn’t happen, then probably they are not the right fit for you.

    Were they on time

    Did your MSP show up when they said they would? Punctuality goes a long way in business relationships and more so in this case as you want your IT person to ‘be there’ when an emergency strikes.

    While there are many factors that go into making the MSP-client relationship a success, the ones discussed above can be assessed during your very first meeting. They are kind of like very basic prerequisites. Make sure these basic conditions are fulfilled before you decide on a second meeting.

  • Omni- v multi-channel communications: the difference.



    Omni- vs. multi-channel communications: the difference.
    Do you frequently hear references to the omni-channel communications model or the multi-communications model? Wonder if they are they just jargon terms for the same thing? Marketing lingo can be thrown around very loosely, but these two terms actually refer to very different customer communication models and they shouldn’t be confused. This blog will give you a quick primer.
     
    It is easiest to understand the two models chronologically. Multi came before omni. Multi is good, omni is better.
     
    A communication channel is just a reference to the specific method that you use to communicate with your customer. Voice is a communication channel. 
    In the multi-channel model, we create more than one channel where customers can interact with us. It is done primarily for their convenience. We create touchpoints that are helpful for them. (Of course there are other internal reasons to build multiple channels, but that is a different blog) Nonetheless, this multiple contact approach has a problem.
     
    While each channel is a great tool for communication, the different channels don’t necessarily have anything to do with one another. They are basically several different roads to a destination. The issue is that the multi-channel approach lacks the integration of data between the different channels, and that can lead to customer frustration. As a consequence, the omni channel communications model evolved to move communications to the next level.
     
    Instead of a focus on the quantity of channels, omni channel communications works to address the silos created by the older model. The goal of this approach is to integrate the data across all of the existing channels.

  • HOW IS YOUR COMMUNICATION AFFECTING YOUR BOTTOM-LINE?


    Communicating with your potential and existing customers has never been more challenging. When we first started as a company, digital technology was barely advancing and consumers identified with opening their door or answering a cold call. There has been research done the last few years about the Digital Transformation. 52% of the Fortune 500 list in the year 2000 are now gone. Why? How is that possible? It’s quite simple. The way we communicate and receive information has changed. If we don’t adapt with it, then we will all have a similar path to Blockbuster. I don’t know about you, but we love not paying late fees.

    So how do you do that? What does it mean to create better internal and external communication channels? We’re here to answer that very question! If we learn to embrace the changes and use technology to change the engagement with our customers, we will improve our customer satisfaction and ultimately increase revenue.

    We’ve created a Communication Diagnostic for you to complete. It’s 10 questions asking about your communication strategy, both internally or externally. At the end of the diagnostic, we will email your score and give praise for what you’re doing well, but also offer feedback on areas of improvement. Complete our Communication Diagnostic and receive your Communication Effectiveness Score!

  • Equip your business with the IT foundation it needs to compete and win

    Equip your business with the IT foundation it needs to compete and win

    In a recent industry survey, it was found that one of the biggest factors holding back small and mid-sized firms from achieving their business goals was IT. One may argue that smaller businesses lack the capital that the bigger players have to invest in their business, but even with all other aspects being more or less equal, the difference brought about by their lack of investment in IT was found to be a key differentiating factor–far more than other elements such as marketing, human resources and even industry expertise.

    There’s no denying that IT plays an important role in keeping any business running. Ignoring your IT infrastructure can prove disastrous, but maintaining an in-house IT team to take care of it can be expensive–especially for SMBs. By outsourcing IT to a trusted MSP, businesses can benefit from significant cost savings that arise from not having to hire an entire IT team in-house.

    The second instance where having an Service level agreement (SLA) with an MSP helps is where you don’t have an in-house IT team. Calling on an IT service provider when there is a crisis or a there is a one-off event may mean significant surcharges

    When businesses have SLAs, the MSP will be regularly monitoring their IT infrastructure. A typical service agreement will cover regular backups, periodic network monitoring for latency issues, timely security updates and patch application, etc., This means the chances of severe IT issues will be drastically reduced. Most of the time, the problem can be identified much sooner before it becomes a full-blown issue. And, in the event of an IT emergency, a client having a service agreement will be prioritized by the MSP. One time emergency requests fall to the end of the line.

    Irrespective of the size of business, MSPs can add tremendous value by bringing scalability, flexibility and innovation to the standard IT set-up and help build the IT foundation it needs to compete effectively and efficiently in the industry.

  • IS A VIRTUAL PHONE SYSTEM BETTER THAN A TRADITIONAL BUSINESS TELECOMMUNICATION MODEL?


    If you’re on the fence between moving to a virtual phone system or using a traditional business telecommunications model the question is which one is better. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this equation. The better system will be the one that meets your needs most accurately by making use of the best technology available for your budget.

    What Kind of Existing Equipment Do You Have?

    Does your company already have servers in place that are capable of handling a virtual phone system? If so, it may be reasonable to pick up a software license and move forward with a virtual telecommunications model. If not, the price of moving forward will determine whether or not it is the right fit for you.

    What is Your Budget?

    Determining whether a virtual phone system or a traditional one is better for you will largely be based upon how much you want to spend. Virtual phone systems offer a wider breadth of functionality than traditional systems, but that functionality comes at a premium cost. If your budget can’t handle adding new hardware and software, a traditional system may still be the better option for you.

    What Are Your Long Term Goals?

    What functionality do you need most? With a virtual phone system, you gain a greater ability to scale your telecommunications system up or down as needed. However, if you do not foresee the need for these advanced features in the near future, you may be better off saving your money today and spending it on technology that can improve your bottom line. If your goal is to move to a virtual system long term, but your budget can’t accommodate the added expense today, ask your communications service provider about creating a 3-5 year tech plan that could get you there over time.

    Communications systems should never be one-size-fits-all. Your communications system needs to be the one that most closely aligns with your long-term goals and your budget. For growing businesses and those that need high-level tech, a virtual phone system may be the right fit. However, traditional phone systems still provide adequate service to a wide range of businesses in all industries, and may serve your needs just fine. If you have existing equipment that makes the transition to a virtual system easy, you can take advantage of your resources and save money, but if the cost of upgrading is too high, don’t be afraid to continue using traditional equipment until you can afford an upgrade.

  • Is That A Business Continuity Plan in Your Pocket…Or A Bunch of Jargon?

     
    Is That a Business Continuity Plan in Your Pocket or a Bunch of Jargon?
     
    Technology is full of difficult jargon. To further complicate things, certain terms are often used in a different context between one publication or service provider and the next. An example of this is the usage of backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity. These terms are commonly used interchangeably, often resulting in confusion. In an effort to alleviate some of this confusion, let’s describe each physical process. You will see an overlay among all three, although they are each different processes.
     
    Backup – In IT lingo, the most basic description of backup is the act of copying data, as in files or programs, from its original location to another. The purpose of this is to ensure that the original files or programs are retrievable in the event of any accidental deletion, hardware or software failure, or any other type of tampering, corruption and theft.
     
    It’s important to remember that the term “backup” refers to data only and doesn’t apply to the physical machines, devices, or systems themselves. If there were a system failure, disk crash, or an onsite physical disaster, all systems would still have to be replaced, rebuilt, and properly configured before the backed-up data could be loaded onto them.
     
    Disaster Recovery – Backups are a single, albeit crucial, component of any disaster recovery plan. Disaster recovery refers to the complete recovery of your physical systems, applications, and data in the event of a physical disaster like a fire; hurricane or tornado; flood ; earthquake ; act of terror or theft.
     
    A disaster recovery plan uses pre-determined parameters to define an acceptable recovery period. From there, the most satisfactory recovery point is chosen to get your business up and running with minimal data loss and interruption.
     
    Business Continuity – Although backup and disaster recovery processes make sure that a business can recover its systems and data within a reasonable time, there is still the chance of downtime from a few hours to many days. The point of a business continuity plan is to give businesses continuous access to their technology and data, no matter what. Zero or minimal downtime is the goal.
     
    Critical business data can be backed up with configurable snapshots that are instantly virtualized. This allows files, folders and data to be turned on and restored in seconds. Bare metal restores of hardware, where an image of one machine is overlaid onto a different machine, is also utilized along with cloud replication for instant off-site virtualization.
     
    Many businesses also keep redundant systems and storage at a different physical location than their main site as part of their business continuity process. They may also outline procedures for staff to work remotely off-site. Some businesses or organizations may go as far as to have printed contact lists and other critical data stored off-site to keep their business moving if a disaster wipes out power and their ability to access anything electronically.
     
    This should clarify the differences between backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity solutions. Choosing what works best for your business will come down to your current IT infrastructure, your budget and how much downtime you can reasonably accept.
     
    Contact us at Slappey Communications

  • 3 BEST PREMISE SMALL BUSINESS PHONE SYSTEMS OF 2016


    Your small business needs a reliable, robust communications system that offers plenty of features at a price you can handle. In 2016, there were a number of standout small business phone systems designed for on-premise use. This phone technology for business is built on the infrastructure of traditional phone lines and is separate from cloud-hosted options entering the marketplace. Here are a few of the top-selling options for this year.

    THE DIGIUM SWITCHVOX 310

    In the world of phone technology for business, the Digium Switchvox 310 is one of the best-value options for your money. It allows for both traditional landline calls and VoIP calls. It is a slimline rack mounted box that offers an interactive switchboard, CRM integration, video calling, call queues and more. It is perfect for small and mid-sized businesses who are looking to upgrade while keeping some of their existing equipment in place. Digium also offers seven other versions of the Switchvox in various sizes for added functionality as you grow.

    THE MITEL MIVOICE OFFICE

    Mitel is another favorite brand in the phone technology for business sphere. Mitel’s MiVoice line of unified communications systems comes in the MiVoice Office, MiVoice Business and MiVoice Enterprise tiers. The MiVoice Office is a great starting place for small businesses who want a flexible communications system they can grow into. With the ability to operate up to 99 IP sites, this system provides plenty of space for a small or mid-sized business and has a number of built-in collaborative and productivity features that add to its functionality. Virtual conferencing, automated attendant and hands-off features are all ready to go.

    OTHER OPTIONS

    In addition to the more advanced feature phone technologies like Digium and Mitel, a wide range of entry-level phone systems also exist on the market. These systems have often been used by DIY small business owners who don’t need a huge bank of phones or call routing strategies. The most popular brands at this level are NEC and AVAYA, both of which offer low-priced gear that you can pick up individually and piece together to create a functional phone system without all the bells and whistles. Toshiba has also been making its way into this market with affordable phones and a handful of competitive features.

    Whatever your phone system needs are, it is important to consult with a technology expert before you buy. The risk of purchasing cheaper standalone phone systems is that they may not be compatible with any of your existing hardware or software. The goal should be to maximize functionality to get the best return on your investment, and today even small businesses have access to some of the features that were once reserved for enterprise-level applications. With the right guidance, you can get a high-level, modern phone system at a fair price.

  • Don’t make these IT mistakes as you grow!

    Don’t make these IT mistakes as you grow!

    During the course of IT consultancy, we come across a lot of clients who are not happy with the way their IT shaped up over the years. They feel their IT investments never really yielded the kind of returns they expected and come to us looking to change the trend. When analyzing the reasons for the failure of their IT investment, here’s what we come across most often.

    Not prioritizing IT

    This is the #1 mistake SMBs make. When focusing on growing their business, most SMBs think marketing, sales and inventory, but very few consider allocating resources–monetary or otherwise towards IT. IT is seen as a cost-center, rarely prioritized and any investment in IT is made begrudgingly.

    Going for the fastest, latest or even the ‘best’ technology–which may not be the best for you

    This is in contrast to the issue discussed above. Many SMBs realize the key role that IT plays in their business success. But they tend to get carried away and invest in the latest IT trends without considering whether it fits their business needs well, or if they really need it. Sometimes it is just a case of keeping up with the Joneses. But, why spend on the fastest computers or largest hard drives when you get only incremental productivity benefits?

    Your team is not with you

    When you bring in new technology or even new IT policies, it is your team that needs to work on it on a daily basis. If your staff is not on the same page with you, your IT investment is unlikely to succeed. So, before you make that transition from local desktops to the cloud, or from Windows to iOs or roll out that new BYOD policy, make sure you have your staff on your side.

    You are not sure how to put it to good use

    The lure of new technology is like a shiny, new toy. Investing in something popular and then not using it to its maximum is commonplace. Make sure you make the most of your investment in IT by providing your staff with adequate training on how to use it.

    IT can seem challenging to navigate when you have to do it all by yourself. It entails steep costs when taken care of in-house. Add to that the complex task of deciding what IT investment you will benefit the most from and then training your team to use it…all of this is pretty daunting when you have to do it all by yourself. A MSP has the experience and expertise needed to be your trusted partner and guide in these challenges, helping you make the most of your IT investment.

  • What’s your argument against an SLA with an MSP? Part-2

    What’s your argument against an SLA with an MSP? (And why it doesn’t hold water) Part-2

    In our last blog post, we discussed 3 reasons SMBs usually cite for not signing a service level agreement with an MSP. In this blog post, we suggest how an SLA with an MSP will add value to your business, irrespective of your business size, budget and the presence of an in-house IT team.

    Reason#1: Our IT requirements are limited

    IT is not a one-time thing where you can follow a set-it-and-forget-it approach. Want this to run smoothly? IT needs regular maintenance– a service level agreement with an MSP is the answer. Regular data backups, timely security patch application, software updates, etc, are all important and won’t happen unless you have a dedicated resource working on them. Plus, there’s the issue of network latency. Services like periodic network monitoring offered by MSPs ensure that any latency issues are identified and taken care of before they result in a major system failure.

    Reason#2: We are tight on budget

    Agreed that SMBs may not have the kind of revenue inflow as expected in large organizations, but that’s no reason to skimp on your IT requirements. Skimping on IT needs and diverting the funds elsewhere may sound tempting, especially when your IT infrastructure is running great, but this can cost you a lot more in the event something goes wrong. Let’s take a look at a malware attack scenario, for example. If you don’t have an SLA in place, you are most likely to reach out to an IT expert or MSP on a transactional basis. It will not only result in a sky-high bill, but also, there’s no guarantee that you will be immediately attended to: customers with SLAs get preference over transactional ones in the event of an emergency. Plus, every minute your IT infrastructure is down, you are losing potential revenue–through online or even offline sales. In the event of a data leak or a compromise in customer/vendor data due to the malware attack, you are liable for penalties and may be even sued by your clients. So, saving a few bucks here and there by cutting back on IT expenses can prove much more expensive later.

    Reason#3: We have our in-house IT person/team

    So, you have in-house IT personnel? Great! But there are ways in which an SLA with a managed service provider can still add value to you. This kind of setup is called the co-managed IT model. By bringing an MSP onboard when you have an in-house IT team, you B
    • Benefit from their expertise and enrich your in-house IT team’s knowledge
    • Enjoy flexibility in terms of meeting your IT needs as you can scale your IT up or down based on your business needs
    • Reduce payroll expenses incurred as result of hiring new IT staff in-house
    • Help your in-house IT team focus on more important tasks by outsourcing the mundane IT processes to the MSP
    • Get an extra hand to assist your in-house IT personnel in the event of a major IT issue
    • Have 24/7 IT support, something that may not be viable with a small in-house IT team
    Having a service level agreement with a managed service provider adds value to businesses under all circumstances, and should be considered an essential, not an option.

  • What is a business impact analysis?

     
     
    What is a business impact analysis?

    You have heard of a business continuity plan, but you may hear less frequently about one of its important components: the business impact analysis. A business impact analysis is the step where you make an inventory of the what business functions or assets would be impacted by any major negative events that could strike your business, such as a natural disaster, loss of key personnel, power or internet connectivity, floor, or fire.

    The business impact analysis breaks down all of the individual components of your business and evaluates how any disaster could restrict their ability to function. For example, a quick general list of targets would include: people; property and business locations; supply chain links; any portion of your technology infrastructure, including communications technology; operations; support; contractual agreements; the environment; and brand reputation. In short, this asks you to define the scenarios that could play out if any of the events listed in the risk assessment occurred.