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  • VoIP: Limitations and Challenges

    VoIP: Limitations and Challenges

    We’ve talked in our blogs about the advantages of VoIP technology in the workplace. It is important to also be aware that VoIP is not a technology that you buy out of the box. It is important that when you migrate to VoIP you get the assistance and support of a managed service provider. VoIP is feature-rich, but it is also complex. For instance, VoIP can allow for high definition calls using G.722. The quality difference is fantastic. However, G.722 has limited availability. Old telco lines cannot carry this standard. Also, when calls move from one mobile carrier to another, HD is lost and the call drops back to G.711. Finally, before you adopt G.722 HD calling, keep in mind that this means your voice packets are traveling over the open internet, which creates very real security concerns. Utilization of HD means you will need to develop security protocols and use encryption.

    Another thing to be aware of with VoIP: segregate bandwidth to ensure sufficient capacity for voice communications. A managed service provider can help with this issue. A best practice when designing a VoIP system is to put the VoIP traffic on a separate VLAN segregated from the normal network data traffic. This will help ensure that the two types of traffic do not affect each other. Simply put, if your entire office staff decided to start downloading Youtube videos simultaneously, your voice communications would suffer.

    In summary, VoIP is a fantastic technology for your organization. If you haven’t done so already, you will adopt it at some point. PBX systems don’t last forever, and manufacturers stop supporting older systems and parts become unavailable. Whenever that happens you will need to adopt a VoIP system, and you will be glad you did. But VoIP is complex. It isn’t something that comes in a box and gets plugged in like a TV. There are a lot of moving parts. A managed service provider can handle the complexities of VoIP adoption including encryption, security, and SIP protocol interface issues with the telco or cable company. It can be a bit more complex, but the costs savings and improvement to your communications will yield measurable ROI for your organization.

  • BYOD: Why is This Concept So Attractive to Employees?


    BYOD: Why is This Concept So Attractive to Employees?

    Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, to work was an idea a few years ago that is becoming a reality very fast. To use your personal smartphone, tablet or laptop for work seems increasingly natural. Employees are embracing this concept without any serious reservations. As more and more business activity becomes technology driven, to have electronic gadgets right by your side all the time make sense. According to a survey conducted by Logicalis about 75% of employees in high growth markets such as Brazil and Russia and 44% in developed markets bring their own devices to work.

    Let’s examine all the factors causing people to want to use their own devices at work.
    • Familiarity: This may be the most relevant reason for someone to bring their own tablet or laptop to work. It may be the operating system, web browser, or other apps on their devices that they know so well and feel comfortable using.
    • Convenience: Companies have been providing their employees mobile phones for business use for a few decades. Now those employees have to carry two phones, since everyone also has a personal phone. This duality is a nuisance. It is hard enough to care for one mobile phone and now they have to worry about two of them. The reality is that companies expect employees to be in contact 24/7, so company devices can’t just be used at work. They have to be carried home, out to the store, etc. If the employees have a choice they would much rather carry just one phone, their own, enabling them to be reachable by family and friends anytime. Also, it could be cheaper if their company offers to share the cost of using their device for business.
    • Productivity: Convenience can also result in better productivity. Having fewer devices means fewer distractions. Fewer distractions equals less wasted time. Saving time is always good for productivity.
    • Personal contentment: It makes employees feel good to be able to use their own devices at work. Higher employee morale is very important for any organization. Happier employees are more likely to work hard. A positive environment is also a factor in lower turnover. So, if an employer gives its employees the liberty to bring their own devices to work it may have more satisfied workers.
    • Conclusion: People in the workplace are using their own devices so they can accomplish more in less time. It makes them happy to have their personal devices at work, and it makes them feel good about their job if they are allowed to use the devices that they are familiar with.

  • 3 Things to Consider Before Jumping Into BYOD

     
     
    3 Things to Consider Before Jumping Into BYOD
     
    You’ve read it time and time again. “Bring Your Own Device” isn’t a trend, it’s the future. Workplaces where companies let workers use their own devices for work purposes are the new normal. BYOD attracts new hires and lifts employee morale and productivity. But this doesn’t mean a small business owner should recklessly jump right into BYOD just because everyone else is doing it.  Data and network security concerns have to be thought out, defined, and addressed in a comprehensive BYOD policy. Here are three things to consider.
     
    Cost of Support
     
    Most businesses salivate at the thought of the money saved by having employees participate in a BYOD program. With employees using their own devices for work, there is no need to shell out thousands of dollars for desktop PCs, smartphones, tablets, and laptops. While that’s undoubtedly a huge incentive, extra support costs must also be factored in. Chances are your employees aren’t necessarily tech savvy and will need help deploying applications and performing basic yet very necessary maintenance techniques. Unless you have a dedicated IT support team, which most SMBs do not have, you will need to turn to a Managed Service Provider (MSP) in your region for support. A MSP can provide specialized expertise and leverage Mobile Device Management (MDM) tools to keep your network infrastructure and business applications monitored, secured and fully optimized.
     
    Limited Number of Support Devices
     
    Obviously you can’t accommodate EVERY employee-owned device. Limiting the types of devices accepted in your BYOD program will mitigate any need to pay for software or equipment upgrades for outdated devices and keep your infrastructure safer as a whole. It’s important to not be too exclusive, select a broad range of devices and their more recent releases to accommodate the varied preferences/tastes of your employees.
     
    Legal Risks
     
    Adopting BYOD at your workplaces will expose your company to more legal risks. Sensitive business or private client/customer data can potentially be exposed if devices are lost or stolen. The personal online habits of your employees can also increase your network’s vulnerability to viruses, phishing, or hacking schemes designed to steal such data. These increased legal risks are another reason why SMBs must take precautions such as working with a MSP that offers a solid MDM solution to ensure all employee devices are configured, deployed, managed and monitored in a manner that prioritizes data integrity and security.
     
    Contact us at Slappey Communications

  • What is a contact center?



    What is a contact center?

    We hear that the contact center is the preferred channel communication model, but what is driving this? Before looking at that question, let’s define “contact center.” The contact center is kind of a call center on speed. Instead of communicating with customer and prospects via one channel only (voice), the contact center is equipped to communicate across a wide variety of channels. It takes the phone center communication model and layers on all of the additional varieties of voice and data communication channels that have appeared over the last two decades. Contact center channels may include
    • VoIP
    • In-app chat
    • Chat bot
    • Text
    • Email
    • Social media
    • IVR
    Unlike call centers, contact centers have become a single hub for all the methods of interaction that customers choose to use.
     
    So why is this necessary? The answer is new technology. Customers have many communication channels available to them, each of which is better suited to particular situations than the others. As a result, depending on their needs, they may choose a different communication channel at any one particular time. Customers expect to be able to access any and all channels now that voice is no longer the only option. Plus, these channels are often easier and less time consuming. Additionally for an organization, they also offer opportunities for quick and often proactive, outbound communication.
     
    Companies are being driven to meet their customers and prospects wherever they are. Failure to not address customer communication needs violates the basic cornerstone of all good marketing: you need to meet customers where they are.

  • You’re Fired! Now Give Me Your Password



    “You’re FIRED!” ( now give me your password)

    Losing an employee is not usually a good experience. If they leave voluntarily, you lose a valuable asset. If they have to be fired, you have the arduous task of the progressive discipline process and the final termination meeting. But there are other concerns that arise when an employee leaves. Those concerns are security and their access to company data.

    Here are some considerations regarding passwords and voluntary termination (A.K.A. resigned) or involuntary termination (A.K.A. fired.) It is important you have a process in place so that whenever a termination occurs, nothing slips through the cracks regarding corporate data security.

    1. When you dismiss an employee, you should immediately change out all passwords for anything the employee had access to. Because almost all terminations should be planned, you should also define the process for canceling access. It is unwise to cancel prior to the termination meeting. If you do that, you create the potential for a confrontation when they arrive at work and find their passwords have been disabled. Instead, plan ahead and assign someone to disable their passwords during the time you are having the termination meeting. Before the meeting, be sure you have a list of all access cards, keys, etc. prepared so they can be cancelled before the employee leaves the building.
    2. Voluntary terminations ­- Different firms have different policies handling resignations. Depending on the specific position, an employee will be permitted to continue working during their 2 week notice period. In that case, you need to consider if there is any possibility the employee might get up to no good during the final days. That is something only you can judge.
    In some cases, firms will ask an employee to leave the facility immediately. In that case, you need to have a plan in place. You need to have a list available of all of the restricted systems to which they have access for when this situation arises. The employee should not leave the building until all of their access has been canceled.

    This all may seem a bit harsh, but things have changed. 30 years ago, for a disgruntled employee to steal files, they’d be carrying out large boxes of file folders. Now, not only can they empty the building onto a thumb drive, they can take nefarious action that wasn’t possible when data was stored on paper.

  • Mitigate Costly New Technology Risks for Continued Stability and Profitability

     
     
    Partnering with a managed service provider (MSP) is one new approach being used by many companies like yours. Experienced MSPs have access to newer tools that reduce costs by automating many routine in-house labor intensive processes. Break-fix is labor intensive, and labor is one of the most expensive operating costs within your IT infrastructure. The new innovative tools that can be provided by MSPs generate real productivity increases and mitigate the risk of network failure, downtime and data loss from human error.
     
    MSPs deliver a trusted foundation for your team and your customers. Some of the services and tasks offered include:
    • Remote Desktop Management and Support
    • Predictable Management of Critical Patches and Software Updates
    • Fractional Resource Availability of Best-In-Class Expertise – scaled to your needs
    • Implementing and Testing Backup and Disaster Recovery Processes
    • Performance of Inventory and Audits of Computer/Network/Software
    • Enforcement of Network/Security Policy
    • Monitoring of Network/Operating System and Alerts
    • Updating Anti-Virus Software and Detecting Spyware
    Erase any misconception that managed service providers are nothing more than “outsourced” tech help priced to displace your in-house IT technician or team. The new MSP has defined new methodologies and technology partnerships to offer valuable preventative services that proactively locate and eliminate threats before a bigger problem arises.

     
     MSPs today put considerable effort into understanding the operational and business needs of SMBs to develop and deliver a set of specific services that align technology with the SMB’s business objectives. This is the reason you hear managed services often referred to as “partners.” A present day MSP offers quantifiable economic value, greater ROI and decreased total cost of operation by streamlining costs and eliminating unnecessary lost productivity, revenue, and avoidable on-site IT consultant fees, in addition to eliminating the need for costly hardware/software repairs or replacement.


  • HOSTED SOLUTIONS: THE DIFFERENCE PHONE FEATURES CAN MAKE



    When it comes to business phone technology, hosted solutions are usually one of the best ways for businesses to enhance their phone systems in a cost-effective manner. Hosted solutions offer a wide range of phone features that can improve your customer service and simplify your communications for better results.

    Call Management Features

    Whether you already have a full-time receptionist or you need a way to direct calls without spending a fortune, hosted solutions can give you the tools you need. With automated call menus and call queuing, callers can reach the customer service agents they need, stay informed about their place in line and feel confident that they will be taken care of in a timely manner. Poor customer service practices are one of the top complaints of consumers across the board, and these technologies can improve your customer satisfaction scores drastically.

    Productivity Tracking

    In addition to keeping your customers happy, hosted solutions also allow you to manage internal affairs more closely. You will now have more data available to you for call wait times, number of calls answered per hour, resolution rates, and more. If you have never been able to track your team’s productivity on the phone before, these systems will give you great insight into how your team is doing and where you can make improvements.

    Mobility Features

    The benefits of hosted solutions don’t stop once you leave the office. Many of the features that you love about your home office phone system can be directly translated to mobile technologies. Now you can forward your office calls directly to your mobile phone while also having access to many of the data sharing and collaboration tools at the same time. You can also integrate existing CRM software technologies into your system.

    With the help of auto attendants, call recording and tracking, and mobile forwarding, your business communications will be up to date with current industry standards. A hosted solution can help you break into the enterprise level communications level at a fraction of the cost of traditional call center systems. Your customers will notice an immediate difference in the way their calls are handled and will enjoy a more relaxing experience as they have shorter wait times and more information available to them about their place in the queue. Your team members will have a better ability to resolve problems through collaborative tools and integrated CRM while your management gets a clearer picture of how calls are being handled in real time. Most importantly, all of these features work inside and out of the office.

  • Disaster Recovery Plans: Do You Have One?

     
     
    Disaster Recovery Plans: Do You Have One?
     
    Disaster recovery and business continuity plans are issues that almost all small businesses fail to think about. More frequently, they decide they haven’t the resources to address such “unthinkables.”
      
    If your business was down for 1-2 days or more, what costs would you incur?
    1. Lost revenues and lost productivity. These are obvious. You won’t make the money that you would have if you remained open. This is especially true if you provide a service. Services are inherently tied to time, and time cannot be re-created. Sure, you can work extra hours next week, but it won’t be a service provided at the time it was expected. However, even if you provide a product that can be purchased next week instead of today, a customer didn’t get it when they most wanted or needed it.

      There are other far more serious consequences of business downtime than just unsold goods and services. There are the intangibles that can’t be so easily measured but have long-term consequences.
    2. Helping the competition – You give your competition a real edge. Present clients and potential ones may go to a competitor while you are down. Not all will return. Your competitors now have ammunition against you to use in sales pitches.
    3. Employee frustration – Employees will carry the burden of the extra hours and stress of helping get things back together. That can lead to a lot of frustration, which, if things don’t get back to normal quickly, can damage long-term productivity. Most importantly, it can damage the respect they have for management (that means you). In general, they will recognize that you didn’t have the foresight and wisdom to anticipate the need to create disaster recovery and continuity plans. How can that not damage their trust and support for the company and you?
    4. Negative brand reputation –Your customers will also wonder how you couldn’t have cared enough to make plans to handle trouble. Think of the negative way a customer sees it. The event suggests a company that doesn’t think ahead. A client is not “off base” to feel angry that you didn’t care enough to make plans to support him if a disaster hit. Also, if you can’t handle disasters well, what else aren’t you handling properly?

    These are just a few of the reasons everyone needs to consider disaster recovery. To learn more, see our e-guide “Staying Alive: The Definitive Guide to Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery for Small Businesses”.








  • VoIP: Basics on what this technology transition means for commercial users

    VoIP: Basics on what this technology transition means for commercial users

    VoIP is the acronym for Voice over the Internet Protocol. You’ve probably heard of this technology and are aware that it represents a shift from the traditional telephony network. This technology is moving us away from the telephone network that has been the standard since the invention of the telephone. VoIP represents a different way of connecting telephone endpoints. It also represents a change in the signaling used to carry those voice messages to those endpoints. In a standard telephone connection, voice is carried back and forth via analog signals. With VoIP, the voice signal is converted to digital packets. Then, instead of being carried along what is known as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), the signal is carried over broadband Internet. Traditional telephone circuits now become concurrent paths in this new world.

    To provide some background, office and commercial telephone users generally have always had their own on-site telephone system that could switch and carry calls in and out of the location. This internal telephone switch–either a PBX or a simpler key system–allowed an organization to have a separate telephone extension for everyone who needed it without actually having as many individual telephone lines as users. It saved on fixed monthly telephone connections and allowed for some additional features, such as headsets and some limited conference calling (Conference calls over a PBX can be a bit clumsy to set up.) These PBX and key systems are primarily hardware based. They also require that the administrator responsible for telephony be fully trained on the procedures for re-configuring the system. They aren’t plug-and-play. Making any changes to the internal configuration (adding an extension for a new employee or moving individuals to a different desk, for example) is not a simple task. For smaller companies who don’t have in-house IT staff, that means paying for an outside rep to come in whenever a change needs to be made.

    Enter VoIP. This technology represents a major break from the PBX-centered world of business telephony. VoIP phone systems are primarily software driven, not hardware driven. They offer significantly greater flexibility and a wide range of new features unheard of in the world of the PBX. It is an important that every business begin to explore what VoIP could mean for flexibility, cost savings, and their ability to meet the expectations of clients, prospects and customers.

  • Is That Email a Phishing Scheme?

     
     
    Research has revealed that over half of all users end up opening fraudulent emails and often even fall for them. Phishing is done with the aim of gathering personal information about you, generally related to your finances. The most common reason for the large number of people falling for fraudulent emails is that the phishing attempts are often so well-disguised that they escape the eyes of a busy email reader. Here are a few tips that help you identify whether that email really came from your bank or is another attempt at defrauding you…
     
    1. They are asking for personal information – Remember, no bank or financial institution asks you to share your key personal information via email, or even phone. So, if you get an email where they ask for your ATM PIN or your e-banking password, something’s a miss.

    2. The links seem to be fake – Phishing emails always contain links that you are asked to click on. You should verify if the links are genuine. Here are a few things to look for when doing that:

    • Spelling – Check for the misspellings in the URL. For example, if your bank’s web address is www.bankofamerica.com, a phishing scheme email could misspell it as www.bankofamarica.com or www.bankofamerica-verification.com
    • Disguised URLs – Sometimes, URLs can be disguised…meaning, while they look genuine, they ultimately redirect you to some fraudulent site. You can recognize the actual URL upon a mouseover, or by right clicking on the URL, and selecting the ‘copy hyperlink’ option and pasting the hyperlink on a notepad file. But, NEVER ever, paste the hyperlink directly into your web browser.
    • URLs with ‘@’ signs – If you find a URL that has an ‘@’ sign, steer clear of it even if it seems genuine. Browsers ignore URL information that precedes @ sign. That means, the URL www.bankofamerica.com@mysite.net will take you to mysite.net and not to any Bank of America page.
    3. Other tell-tale signs – Apart from identifying fake URLs, there are other tell-tale signs that help you identify fraudulent emails. Some of these include:
    • Emails where the main message is in the form of an image, which, upon opening, takes you to the malicious URL.
    • Another sign is an attachment. Never open attachments from unknown sources as they may contain viruses that can harm your computer and network.
    • The message seems to urge you to do something immediately. Scammers often induce a sense of urgency in their emails and threaten you with consequences if you don’t respond. For example, threat of bank account closure if you don’t verify your ATM PIN or e-banking password.
    Finally, get a good anti virus/email protection program installed. It can help you by automatically directing spam and junk mail into spam folders and deactivating malicious attachments.