Posted by Richard Schissler on Fri, Sep 23, 2011 @ 02:29 PM
Must See Study: Found 3 Reasons Why People Say the Internet is as Important as the Air and Food We Consume!
The results of a revealing survey from Cisco suggest the Internet has become such an integral part of our functionality that it is deemed as important to our lives as water, food or air. The "2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report" found that more than half the study's respondents said they could not live without the Internet and cite it as an "integral part of their lives"—in some cases more crucial than cars, dating, and—horror of horrors—partying.
One of every three college students and employees surveyed globally (33 percent) believes the Internet is a fundamental resource for the human race—as important as air, water, food and shelter. Nearly half (49 percent of college students and 47 percent of employees) believe it is "pretty close" to that level of importance. Combined, four of every five college students and young employees believe the Internet is vitally important as part of their daily lives' sustenance.
Two-thirds of students (66 percent) and more than half of employees (58 percent) cite a mobile device (laptop, smartphone or tablet) as "the most important technology in their lives." In addition, smartphones are poised to surpass desktops as the most prevalent tool from a global perspective, as 19 percent of college students consider smartphones their "most important" device used on a daily basis, compared with 20 percent for desktops—an indication of the growing trend of smartphone prominence and the expected rise in usage by the next generation of college graduates upon entering the workforce.
The finding also suggests the increasing prevalence—and sometimes intrusion—of social networking in daily life. About nine out of 10 (91 percent) college students and employees (88 percent) globally said they have a Facebook account; of those, 81 percent of college students and 73 percent of employees check their Facebook pages at least once a day. A third said they check them at least five times a day.
College students reported constant online interruptions while doing projects or homework, such as instant messaging, social media updates and phone calls. In a given hour, more than four out of five (84 percent) college students said they are interrupted at least once. About one in five students (19 percent) said they are interrupted six times or more—an average of at least once every 10 minutes. Additionally, 12 percent said they lose count how many times they are interrupted while they are trying to focus on a project.
In a sign that the boundary between work and personal lives is becoming thinner, seven of 10 employees "friended" their managers and/or co-workers on Facebook. Culturally, the United States featured lower percentages of employees friending managers and co-workers—only about 23 percent—although 40 percent friended their co-workers.
The global study consists of two surveys—one involving college students, the other on young professionals in their 20s. Each survey includes 100 respondents from each of 14 countries, resulting in a pool of 2,800 respondents. "The lifestyles of ‘prosumers'—the blending of professionals and consumers in the workplace—their technology expectations and their behavior toward information access is changing the nature of communications on a global basis,” noted Dave Evans, Cisco’s chief futurist.
The second annual "Cisco Connected World Technology Report" examines the relationship between human behavior, the Internet and networking's pervasiveness. It uses this relationship to provoke thoughts around how companies will remain competitive amid the influence of technology lifestyle trends. The global report, based on surveys of college students and professionals 30 years old and younger in 14 countries, provides insight into present-day challenges that companies face as they strive to balance current and future employee and business needs amid increasing mobility capabilities, security risks, and technologies—from virtualized data centers and cloud computing to traditional wired and wireless networks— that can deliver information ubiquitously.
WesTec Services, A Houston IT provider that offers a wide range of services including: Network Installation/Service, Telephone Systems/Service, Video Surveillance/Access Control and Office Equipment
CALL TODAY at (713) 682-4000
Posted by Richard Schissler on Fri, Sep 09, 2011 @ 02:38 PM
7 Reasons to Upgrade to a VoIP Phone System This Year! 
An Internet Protocol (IP)-based phone system is much more than a few new phones plugged into your network. It transforms your phone system into a next-generation communications hub, complete with cutting edge technologies that let your organization deliver better customer service while cutting costs. An IP-based phone system piggybacks on your IP-network, connecting to the public-switched telephone network (PSTN) via your Internet connection.
1. Reduce the cost of phone charges.
IP telephony can significantly reduce the cost of your long-distance charges. It also reduces the number of circuits to the PSTN you must pay for; for companies with several branch offices, this can be a significant savings.
2. Reduce the cost of network management.
Moving to an IP-based phone system lets you consolidate your data and voice networks onto one network, which translates to less money and time spent on network management.
3. Provide better customer service.
An IP-based phone system can be integrated with other business applications you use to provide customer service, particularly a customer relationship management (CRM) program.
4. Simplify phone system management.
An IP private branch exchange (PBX) has an easy-to-use, Web-based interface that can be used to make changes to any extension on the network. Your IT team can even move and add users remotely.
5. Gain enterprise-scale features.
IP-based phone systems include sophisticated features that are otherwise out of reach for all but the largest companies. You can add an auto-attendant, integrated conferencing, and even a call center to your phone system.
6. Leverage new technologies.
IP telephony enables more than VoIP (Voice over IP) phone calls. It also enables advanced communications applications like unified messaging, which integrates voicemail, e-mail, and texts, and Unified Communications (UC), which integrates real-time and non-real communication media with collaboration tools.
7. Create a more usable phone network.
Employees can quickly perform most phone functions through a user-friendly interface that’s as familiar as the desktop on their PCs, instead of fumbling with various key-based functions and constantly referring to a manual.
Call us today and find out more!
(713) 682-4000
WesTec Services, A Houston IT provider that offers a wide range of services including: Network Installation/Service, Telephone Systems/Service, Video Surveillance/Access Control and Office Equipment
CALL TODAY at (713) 682-4000
Posted by Richard Schissler on Tue, Sep 06, 2011 @ 11:10 AM
Many small and mid-sized businesses are starting to realize the benefits of VoIP, but it is important to understand the types of procurement and deployment options and their relative strengths and weaknesses.
Written by: Jodi Mardesich
As businesses recognize the benefits of delivering voice services using Internet telephony, they need to understand their options for procuring and deploying voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), including each method’s relative strengths and weaknesses.
“IP Telephony technology is not only changing the way in which voice is transported across a network, but also the means by which is it purchased, delivered to, and accessed by end users,” says Rich Costello, an analyst with Gartner. Companies have three options involving a private branch exchange (PBX), which connect a business’ phones internally and also with the public switched telephone network:
- Purchased IP PBX, which involves buying all the equipment and software and managing the system on its own.
- Managed IP PBX, where the company purchases the equipment but hires an outside firm to manage it for them.
- And hosted IP PBX, where the company pays an outside firm to host and manage the system.
More than half of companies will opt for an outside firm to at least manage their VoIP systems, according to Gartner. By 2011, Gartner believes that 40 percent of companies will purchase and manage their own VoIP systems, while 40 percent will purchase their own but hire someone else to manage the system for them. The remaining 20 percent of companies will hire an outside firm to host — and manage –their IP telephony services.
Purchasing an IP PBX system
Cost is a key driver in any technology decision. Companies can purchase or lease an IP PBX from a PBX vendor, and choose voice and Internet services from a separate vendor. Procuring the equipment — including the PBX and IP handsets — and services — such as telephony and Internet access — separately allows the company to shop for the best price, but companies should anticipate ongoing costs, such as PBX maintenance fees and software updates, says Guy Fardone, chief operating officer of Evolve, which offers hosted and managed telephony services.
Companies also need to determine if anyone within the organization has the skills to manage such a system. “IP telephony requires support personnel with a ‘converged skill set’ that many organizations lack in-house,” Costello says.
Hiring an outside firm to manage your IP PBX
According to Gartner, 60 percent of companies will outsource management of their systems to an outside firm. “Many companies are considering outsourcing that skill set from a service provider in the form of managed or hosted services,” says Gartner’s Costello.
In a managed IP PBX scenario, a company would lease equipment for a monthly fee. “In this scenario, the customer pays a monthly fee for an on-stie PBX and handsets from a service provider rather than the standard lease/buy/maintenance option,” Fardone says. Voice and Internet services may or may not be bundled in.
Managed IP PBXes may make more sense for large, single location businesses with hundreds or thousands of employees. However, they are susceptible to the same problems of a standard premises-based (purchased) IP PBX. “In a power outage, or if the T1 line goes down, not only do you lose your ability to make phone calls, you can’t even get voice mail,” Fardone says.
Hosted systems enable small and mid-sized businesses to augment their staff with the expertise of the service provider, and get the benefits of the technology and the service provider’s expertise without having to buy and physically maintain the infrastructure.
How the options stack up
Fardone lays it out: for a small business with 50 employees to buy its own PBX, the cost would be about $50,000. Internet and local and long distance are an additional $2,000 per month. Add to that the cost of employing staff or hiring a consultant who knows the system whenever they need something changed or improved.
Each company has unique requirements that they may also need to take into account before deciding how to implement IP telephony, using these points as a guide. Organizations should only consider service providers that can demonstrate a clearly defined product, technology and support road map for IP telephony.
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WesTec Services, A Houston IT provider that offers a wide range of services including: Network Installation/Service, Telephone Systems/Service, Video Surveillance/Access Control and Office Equipment
CALL TODAY at (713) 682-4000
