IT Solutions

Banks and IP Telephony

In an increasingly competitive banking environment, customers desire nothing but the best. Banks must do everything within their capability to provide the best service possible. Since customer service can come in many forms, the banks have decided to focus on phone systems.

This is where the benefits of IP telephony come in with all the bells and whistles of internet-based communicative services. Financial institutions stand a better chance to improve their public communication with IP telephony than what they could have with circuit-based telephone network connections.
Banks and IP telephony – how they stand to benefit
Business happens fast when companies decide to move their communications to cloud systems. Financial service firms also reap the benefits of innovative cloud communication to improve their overall services and communication process.

Even though there are many ways in which banking can benefit from IP telephony, these are some of the most common ways this technology has affected banking:
1. No tolls and MAC charges
One of the common problems that many banks face even today pertains to adding, modifying, or removing an existing phone line (MAC) as the service provider has to be contacted in every case.  Phone companies charge based on each MAC and keep the bank waiting as they work according to their schedule.

This issue can be eliminated with IP telephony as the entire network can be setup in the cloud and scalable on-demand. There is no need to contact the service provider.  Nor wait for them to …

A 10-QUESTION EVALUATION FOR YOUR PHONE SYSTEM

What About Your Phone System?
Today’s business environment is fast-paced and competitive. Technology makes it possible for you to know your customers and your customers to know your business within moments. You’re harnessing the power of all your tech resources, but what about your phone system?

If you’re not already considering how to get full value from your phone system, you should be.

Therefore, savvy business owners and their IT staff know that a cloud phone system can multiply success by integrating mobility, applications and collaboration under one valuable umbrella.
Can your current system do these things?
We’ve created an easy 10-question test to evaluate if your current phone provider is delivering the full potential of a modern phone system. Any items you can’t check off suggest you may not be harnessing the full power of a world-class cloud phone system.

Do you have a clear, secure connection without any voice delays, lag, or call quality issues?
Does your system provide business intelligence based on call data? Also, elegant integration with other important business applications (CRM, ERP, applicant tracking systems, etc.)?
Do users have direct access to a live person who can answer their questions and quickly solve their problems — without engaging you?
Are you confident that your phone system is secure and completely protected against hackers?  Both via the handset and the cloud data center?
Do you have access to intuitive, easy-to-use tools for phone routing and find-me/follow-me rules?
Does your provider leverage redundancy and failover to prevent against catastrophic phone system failure …

Smart Data Solutions: Combating Common Data Security Threats

Data security continues to be a growing concern among businesses today – both large and small.  Rightfully so, with 43% of businesses reporting they have experienced some form of security or data breach within the last year. However, despite the risks involved, a majority of organizations still don’t have a data solution system in place to protect their sensitive company information and systems.

So what can you do to start the process of ensuring that you aren’t becoming one of those impacted businesses? It begins with understanding what causes these attacks and preparing your business accordingly.
Risk #1: Former Employees
One of the biggest security threats against business security today is its employees. Disgruntled former staff (especially those with IT controls) pose a tremendous risk against the security and confidentiality of company information. In order to prevent malicious attacks from those with access to data centers and administrational information, there must be a policy in place that monitors and controls all privileged accounts. Additionally, this process should ensure all former employees are immediately terminated from company systems and data access points. Make this one of the first courses of action after an employee leaves the organization.
Risk #2: Current Employees
Beyond former employees, there are also employees who may be uninformed or careless about how to protect the organization from a security breach. More specifically, they may use weak passwords or keep their devices unlocked frequently – putting the company at significant risk if lost or …

What a UC Implementation Means for the IT Department

Your IT department is a valuable resource. They are responsible for ensuring you have the tools and resources that keep your business moving. From system security, software and application updates to new equipment set-up and repairs, they are the lifeblood of connectivity for a business. Because of this, when you are making the wise choice to move over to Unified Communications (UC), the IT department will play another extremely valuable role. But how exactly will the implementation change the way your IT department functions?

Here are a few IT changes you may experience:
Shifted Responsibilities:
There’s a long list of benefits of implementing a UC solution including enhanced user experience, mobile-friendly options, chat features, video conferencing and more. However, the downside is that it does take some time to switch over from a traditional phone system to a UC solution. Depending on the size of your business, this could mean weeks or months of transition time changing over equipment and processes. Additionally, even though your new systems will require less IT dependency on phone lines and additional servers, it will still require updates, monitoring, and scaling as business needs change.
Enhanced Security Policies:
A new UC implementation means you are likely implementing a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) process as well. BYOD comes with a list of potential security risks for a business. With important business documentation and applications now being made available on a host of different devices and connections, your IT department will need to …

5 Tips for More Secured Unified Communications

Implementing a unified communications (UC) solution comes with some unique security concerns because it combines voice services (VoIP), chat services, email and video conferencing into one system. Because of this combination of elements and their dependence on the internet, the potential for security threats against the business increases. Today’s companies must be taking steps to ensure their communication tools are protected from these more advanced security threats.

Small businesses have a unique challenge because they are often limited by cost and available resources to dedicate to securing their systems. However, there are some effective and simple ways to manage security for small businesses that can help to protect the system from an outside attack.

Here are 5 tips to help better secure your UC solution:
Tip #1: Use a firewall
As a responsible business owner, you need to be able to understand the infrastructure of the security elements you are implementing, that means selecting a firewall that offers a simple configuration and is specifically designed for a small business. When setting up the firewall, block all the unknown traffic and allow traffic only from known sources. The firewall will work to sort through your traffic to ensure it’s safe to utilize.
Tip #2: Require strong passwords
Businesses should require all passwords are used with Session Initiation Protocol or SIP passwords. SIP is defined as, “the protocol defines the messages that are sent between endpoints, which govern establishment, termination and other essential elements of a call. It can be used for …