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Entries by Richard Reiffer

10 Time Saving Tips for IT Directors

Time, it’s the only asset we can’t seem to get more of. And in the world of IT, you’d probably pay good money to get a little bit more of it. From outages to repairs and system updates and upgrades, the list of tasks can seem endless. Although you may think there’s no way to simplify the situation, there are some timesaving solutions IT Directors can implement to take some pressure of the clock.
Tip #1: Set One Major Goal a Day
Duncan Bannatyne, the Chairman of Bannatyne says, “One major goal at a time is enough. If you try to do too many things at once, you’ll end up failing on several fronts. I try to focus on big decisions and eliminate trivialities.” Start the day putting energy and focus on a single goal, and if you succeed at that, move on to the next project or goal on your list.
Tip #2: Keep Lists
Implement a goal list with that first major goal at the top and the other tasks descending in priority going down the list. After you accomplish your one major goal for the day, you can then establish a new goal based on your prioritized list.
Tip #3: Take Work With You
If your business has not implemented options for working remotely or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), they likely will be soon. Having instant access to email, calendar, voicemail, chat and conferencing can provide a significant increase in productivity. Answering a …

Make More Sales With the Right Phone System

In today’s world of smartphones, texting, social media, and even email, it may seem odd to think about your phone system being a source of business revenue. However, the modern-day phone system can be a powerful tool to increase sales as well as productivity when it’s used at its full potential. The more advanced features also allow your sales, marketing and customer service teams work together more effectively.

Some of the features and functionality that can help you accomplish business growth through your phone system are:
CRM Integration
A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that partners with your phone system can save you time as well as prevent careless mistakes that can impact the relationships you have with your customers. For example, if you have a Salesforce phone integration in place, an existing customer will call in and all call identification details then show up on the employee’s screen, along with any details regarding their recent orders or calls. The person answering can then greet the caller by name, and can instantly see all customer history.
Improve Hold Times
Ring grouping and automated call routing minimizes the amount of time your customers are spending on hold. The systems can be organized so the new calls are routed to specific call center phone lines that have been idling for the longest amount of time. Additionally, ring groups can be programmed to ring through to multiple extensions simultaneously or in a sequence so a qualified employee …

Is a Hosted VoIP Solution Right For You?

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the new standard for voice communications. It offers not just more convenience than analog systems but provides enhanced features like call management, reporting, monitoring, conferencing, messaging and enhanced security features.

What is Hosted VoIP?

Hosted VoIP solutions are structured so the service provider manages and owns the equipment and infrastructure within a private data center. To do so requires the set up of an Integrated Access Device (IAD) like a QoS router as well as any IP phones and all necessary switches. Hosted solutions provide the features and capabilities of an analog system as well as many more. All services are available anywhere with just an internet connection.

What are the Benefits of a Hosted Solution?

Quick and Cost-Effective: Easy to implement, the service also has reduced investment risks. Monthly charges are subscription-based and part of the operating budget. Subscriptions are based on the amount of users or call paths needed.

Monitoring: 24/7 monitoring is standard, so performance remains consistently high.

Advanced Features: With a VoIP solution, small businesses have new access to enterprise-level options and capabilities. New features and functionality are available almost immediately as upgrades are available without upgrade costs and the need to involve any in-house IT resources. It is also easily implemented with unified communications.

Eliminates Hassle: Hosted solutions take you out of the telecom management business. Hassles, costs and headaches of upgrading an on-premise solution are eliminated. This allows IT resources to be allocated to other activities.

Scalable: …

How to Quantify Reliability

Here at Millennia Technologies, we get asked all the time about how we can deliver the same kind of reliability that phone lines offer through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service. We understand the concern because running your phone service over the internet simply cannot offer 100% reliability. We can get very close to it, but there are simply no providers out there that can realistically offer VoIP service and promise no downtime at all.
When Redundancy Works
Redundancy in VoIP is an alternative route for data to use in case the main route experiences a failure. These additional routes help to minimize complete outages.

To help clients understand the VoIP reliability factor better, providers usually publish their uptime percentages, which represents the amount of time their users experienced downtime over the course of a year.  For the most part, providers have uptimes between 99.99% and 99.999%. However, even though those numbers may seem very close, it makes a significant difference in the amount of downtime a customer will experience. The ideal number is “five 9’s” or, 99.999%.

For example, this chart identifies the vast differences these downtime percentages can create:

Understanding All-Inclusive Percentages
How do you know how your provider stacks up? Ask them. Any reputable provider should be able to provide you with this information as well as information and some clarity as to why they experienced the unscheduled downtime. Additionally, you should be aware of if the projected percentages are “all inclusive.” All-inclusive figures are the unscheduled …

Does Local Matter? And at What Cost?

Now more than ever, it seems we place more importance on sourcing locally, but at what cost?  Many feel we have an obligation to our neighbors and communities to keep the money local. I am torn on this issue a bit, possibly coming off a touch hypocritical. For example, I am very much a DIY person and seem to make several trips to both my local hardware and the Big Box stores over most weekends. I buy most of the bigger ticket items from Home Depot or Lowes, and the supplies or smaller items from my local hardware. I feel it is important to patronize the local hardware, after all several years ago we lost our hardware for a few years, mostly due to the Big Box competition.

In the food world, the biggest trend seems to be “Farm-to-Table” (Farm-to-Fork), which refers to a movement concerned with producing food locally and delivering that food to local consumers. These restaurants are popping up everywhere these days; it’s not just a “big-city” phenomenon anymore.  These chefs rely on traditional farmhouse cooking, with its emphasis on freshness, seasonality, local availability and simple preparations. West Michigan is one of the finest growing regions across the continent and our farmers having been selling their harvests to local restaurateurs long before the Farm-to-Table movement gained popularity. East-Town seems to have a large percentage of establishments that practice FTT, such as the Electric Cheetah, The Green Well, The Winchester, Marie Catrib’s, Brewery …

6 Tips to Improve WLAN Security

Businesses today are increasingly concerned about the security of their company data and information.  This concern continues to grow considering the demands of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and the mobile workforce accessing company information from seemingly anywhere. However, with the right safety precautions in place within the wireless WLAN infrastructure, businesses can rest assured their private company information stays just that, private.

Here are some important steps you can take to ensure optimum security:
Tip #1: Set Administrator Controls
The router or access point on your network should require an administrator password to modify or change any settings. Changing to a custom password should be the first step after setting up a new WLAN infrastructure. Never leave the equipment on the default password setting.
Tip #2: Keep the SSID Private
A Service Set Identifier (SSID) is usually automatically broadcasted with the networks name for anyone trying to access area wireless networks. Although it may seem like a convenient way for everyone to identify your network to gain access, it puts your organization at risk for unauthorized guests to get on it. Turning off the SSID makes it invisible to neighboring businesses and guests.
Tip #3: Turn Off Remote Administration Abilities
Routers have remote administration controls that can be used with just an internet connection. Although a convenient way to gain access to the network offsite, it should be used only with specifically identified IP addresses to prevent unauthorized access. Another good tip is to keep …

It’s All About the Apps

To actually refer to my cell phone as a phone is a bit of a misnomer, since that feature is used the least. What should our smartphone actually be referred to as? The first thing that comes to mind is our Tech Blankie.

To drive this home, I will pull from my distant past, yesterday at lunch. I am heading to a Thai restaurant with my boss and two gentlemen we just had a productive meeting with. Once we sat down my boss, and one the other guys, we will call Colby, instantly pull out their Widgets to check email, texts, Facebook, etc.; you know the routine.  And I have to admit, I went for my phone briefly too. But I quickly saw the humor in the scenario and made a joke referencing the situation. The ironic thing was the youngest of us, let’s say he was a “Millennial’, was the only one who did not go to the Blankie.

Yes, I know Tech-Blankie is a horrible name, but it most likely helped drive my point across, and hopefully brought a quick smile to your face, because you know this happens with you too. So let’s not get hung up with the name, let’s look at how we use our smartphone, kind of like an old Swiss Army knife.

I have four different email accounts I check pretty much the second I either hear the ding or feel the vibration. I also rely on …

VOIP: A Smarter Choice

You’ve been hearing for awhile now that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is something every business today should evaluate. You know it’s been said to increase productivity and reduce costs for businesses. But what exactly makes the service able to provide all these voice solutions so easily?

The process of how it works is quite simple, the service allows users to make calls using the Internet instead of using a conventional phone system or analog phone lines. It converts the sound into a digital voice communication and then transfers it through the Internet connection. This is done by breaking down the voice stream into packets, those packets are then compressed and sent over the Internet to the destination. After the packets are uncompressed and put back together, the other party receives the message. This may sound like a long process, but it is rapid and seemless with the proper bandwidth connection.

Here’s number of reasons why it’s simply a smarter choice for businesses today:

1. Cost Savings

VoIP is much less expensive than implementing comparable services over analog connections. The first and most noticable cost savings comes with the lack of additional costs to add or install new phone lines. The equipment will hook directly into the broadband network, making changing and adding lines convenient and easy. The change virtually eliminates phone line costs, long distance fees and lowers the amount of IT services needed to add or install new services. The phone …

Is Your Network as Secure as Fort Knox?

Optical LAN provides Military-grade security

More and more companies are realizing the many benefits of equipping their Local Area Network (LAN) with Passive Optical Networks (PON) technology.

With single mode fiber, distance limitations are reduced, making it no longer necessary for large corporations to have multiple devices staggered across plants/campuses along with electrical to run those devices. Additionally, optical LAN eliminates the need for engineers to have to “open PORTs” across multiple devices just to add a device or a user at a far end of a LAN. With PON, the customer can control what goes across that fiber all the way to the end user.

After all, if it’s good enough for the Department of Homeland Security, it must be a great option for business. These solutions offer low cost, high speed and enhanced protection through secure optical fiber connections. They also offer the capability to deliver data, voice and video at gigabit speeds.

Within the list of benefits of an optical LAN and PON solution, are the enhanced security features it offers. With inherent intrusion protection via optical fiber, it interlocks with alarm fiber. This can provide opportunity network managers to plan and identify multiple alarm features through a single conduit.

PON uses both SIPR and NIPR technology.

NIPR:  Non-Classified Internet Protocol Router, which is a private IP network that is used to exchange non-secure information among a private network of users.

SIPR: Secret Internet Protocol Router, is a system of interconnected networks used to transmit …

BYOD

Tips For Creating a BYOD Solution and Security Policy

Bring Your Own Device, or “BYOD” as it is more commonly referred to, is dramatically shifting of how companies today do business. Because of this mobile shift and dependency, the desire and ability for employees to work from anywhere is growing rapidly. Many companies that wouldn’t dream of allowing sensitive company information on a personal device just 5 years ago are now reaping the many benefits of having a mobile workforce. However, these organizations are also taking protective steps to ensure their data is protected with the implementation of a BYOD Security Policy.

The Benefits of BYOD Solutions

The shift to a BYOD world is happening because of a number of benefits a mobile workforce can provide:

Worker Satisfaction: Many employees today prefer to work on the devices they know and love. Your organization will also draw in better applicants because they are drawn to companies providing the ability to work from anywhere.

Increased Productivity: When employees are using the devices they are also using for personal connections, they are likely to respond faster to work-related items on that same device.

Cost Savings: A BYOD solution can take away a number of expenses for the business. Costs for the hardware and service can be transferred from the company to the employee.

 

Creating A BYOD Security Policy

Threats like viruses, Malware, unsecured devices, and theft all put sensitive corporate data at risk. In order to prevent these problems, a BYOD security policy should be created, monitored and enforced within the organization. …

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Millennia Technologies is a full-service voice and data solutions company for midsize to enterprise customers. Specializing in UCaaS , CCaaS , Cybersecurity , IoT , Voice , Cloud , and more. Our passion is firmly rooted in showing clients how well-designed data solutions can significantly accelerate business operations, and then celebrating their goal-shattering successes.