When the auto attendant was first introduced it was something of a novelty, and to some, a worry. As such systems have evolved some people have chosen, often out of financial necessity, to replace a human telephone receptionist with an almost fully automated call answering and call routing auto attendant. But which is the better alternative for a small to midsize business in the 21st century? Read more
May 12, 2017 was a dark day for a number of big companies and systems. A ransomware attack that became known as WannaCry was unleashed thanks to an exploit, Eternal Blue, that was ‘stolen’ from the NSA last year and the havoc is wrecked for a few days will take a long time to recover from. Britain’s entire National Health Service was taken down, resulting in real life health crises for patients, the Spanish telecom giant Telefonica was knocked out for days and in fact companies in 150 different countries were affected, including in the US. Read more
The term ‘Internet of Things’ does sound a little bit like a line from a sci-fi movie, but it’s becoming more and more of a reality every day, especially in the workplace. Forward thinking entrepreneurs and technophiles are taking advantage of an increasing number of new technologies that make use of the iOT concept to help boost productivity, increase security, improve employee satisfaction and more.
Not all of these technologies are within the financial reach of a smaller business right now perhaps – although some certainly are – but as they become more commonly used like everything else in the hardware world the price is bound to drop, so they are worth keeping mind. Read more
Most businesses, both large and small, maintain some kind of customer contact center. No matter what niche your business operates in, customer/client satisfaction is one of the biggest keys to long term success, so getting customer service right is a must. Read more
One day last October large numbers of the US’ favorite Internet sites went dark; Spotify, Reddit, Airbnb, Etsy and even Twitter went down, victims of a huge DDOS attack.
This is, unfortunately, not that unusual, it happens with increasing frequency. What was different however was that when the tech ‘post-mortem’ on the situation was completed it was reported that the hackers had used the Internet of Things to wreak their havoc. Read more
VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) and VOBB (Voice Over Broadband) systems have revolutionized the way many companies deal with the vital communications their businesses need to survive (and thrive) The technologies have also saved these same companies more than a little money. Read more
Most businesses these days, large or small, rely on the Internet to help keep their day to day operations going to some extent or another, and if that Internet is sluggish it can be more than an annoyance, it can be a revenue-sapping productivity killer.
There are more than a few reasons why a company’s Internet-based systems may be performing more slowly than expected. The company may need to consider updating their cabling systems, their modems and/or routers or the plan they have in place with their ISP provider. If they are already paying for a good plan and their systems are relatively new other forces may be at work, including router placements and having the wrong channels selected to access the Internet in the first place. Read more
Free wi-fi is becoming the norm in many areas. It’s also becoming something that customers expect when they go to a bar, a restaurant, a cafe and even stores and service providers like doctors’ offices. It’s hardly surprising then that even small businesses are getting in on the act.
If you have been considering offering free wi-fi to your clients and customers but have been wondering about the ROI, you will really get from installing and then maintaining the hardware and software needed we have something interesting to share with you; the benefits offered by social wi-fi. Read more
As we spend all of our working lives around tech of all kinds it makes sense that we are naturally drawn to new innovations and cool gadgets. Which is why the annual CES Expo, which was just held in Las Vegas, is something we look forward to. Every year companies large and small debut their latest projects for the trade – and the world at large – to see. Read more
According to the Consumer Technology Association the three most requested tech gifts of the holiday season in 2016 were the iPhone 7, the newest Mac Book Pro and a 4K TV. 4K TVs have been around for a while now, but this year they came into their own as they finally gained some usefulness beyond the brag value. That being said though are they really worth investing in right now. And if you do, what kind of upgrade will they truly provide for your current media system? Read more
The office of the present is quickly catching up to the sci-fi like projections for a workplace that have been dreamed up by writers for decades. Data can stream into an office at lightning fast speeds thanks to modern cabling systems, businesses can finally dump their old, not-very-helpful telephone companies in favor of highly efficient, but also far cheaper, VOIP solutions and international video conferencing has become as those 1970s sci fi shows predicted it would. Read more
Lower costs are not the only reasons that businesses are making the switch to VOIP based phone services. Smaller businesses, even a business that is a home based one, find that VOIP allows them to offer far more to their clients and/or customers than they ever would have thought possible, or that would even be possible with with a more traditional phone system Read more
Even the smallest of offices tend to be tech laden these days, no matter what niche a business operates in. Desktop computers running an increasing number of bandwidth hogging applications. Laptops, smartphones and tablets all connected to the office Wi-Fi. Maybe even a VOIP telephone system, which is an increasingly popular Internet based alternative a traditional business telephone system. Read more
It’s almost impossible for any business – large or small – to exist these days without making use of the Internet to one extent or another. And for many without it their businesses would essentially grind to a halt. But for a smaller business budgetary concerns often mean that they are not quite sure just what kind of Internet connection they should be making use of. Read more
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