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By the DynaSis Team

For many small and midsized businesses (SMBs), having up-to-date technology means running Windows 7 or 8 and having servers and desktops that are only a few years old. That’s a good start, but there are many other modern technologies that businesses can implement to increase operating efficiency and productivity and drive business success.

One prime example is virtualization. With virtualization, a company’s data, applications, operating systems and other IT assets reside on a software-generated image of a hard drive, rather than on a physical server, personal computer or other computing device. Using this technique, one physical piece of hardware in an enterprise can host multiple virtual servers, desktops or storage devices. Virtual machines can also be hosted in the cloud, at data centers or through other cloud hosting providers.

Virtualization offers numerous benefits, including more efficient utilization of existing computing hardware. With each physical server that can be virtualized, it eliminates one more piece of hardware to be managed, maintained, repaired and replace. The result is reduced server maintenance cost and labor, lower capital and operating costs, and reduced energy and cooling costs. Virtualized servers, desktops and storage systems can also be created faster than the time it takes to acquire and provision a new piece of hardware, which increases operating agility.

In later 2013, the Blackstone Group released a study that found nearly 70 percent of SMBs using virtualization technologies were doing so to move servers from hardware to software, reducing server sprawl and its associated management and maintenance load. Despite these benefits, only 62 percent of SMBs surveyed indicated they were “comfortable” with virtualization technology.

Companies like DynaSis work to demystify virtualization technology for their customers, making it easier for them to make the move. Virtualization has reached market maturity, so although the technologies can continue improve, there is absolutely no risk with adopting virtualization when it is implemented properly.

Virtualization isn’t the only example of modernized infrastructure, of course. Two others are backup appliances, which afford business continuity and reduce downtime in the event of an outage, and mobile computers such as tablets, which empower remote workers with the ability to perform office functions, no matter where they are. Adoption of these technologies varies among SMBs, but there is no doubt that nearly every SMB has room to improve in its deployment and use of modernized technology.

The irony is that these technologies really can level the playing field for SMBs, and they often represent such a cost savings that they pay for themselves quickly—sometimes within months. The problem, of course, is that many small and midsized business leaders are so tied up with the daily press of business that they don’t have time to step back and explore the value these solutions bring.

We’ll be bringing you more information about beneficial, modernized technologies in the near future. We hope it helps you use technology more effectively for your business success.

About DynaSis
DynaSis is an Atlanta IT services and cloud computing provider for small and midsized businesses. All of our solutions focus on helping companies achieve the three fundamental IT necessities of the modern business—availability, security and mobility. We specialize in on-demand and on-premise managed IT services, managed cloud infrastructure, desktops and backups, and professional hardware and equipment installation. For more information about DynaSis’ IT support and services, visit www.dynasis.com.

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By the DynaSis Team

With fewer than eight percent of companies (of all sizes) adopting Office 365 (per a May 2014 Bitglass survey of 81,000 firms), we have to ask ourselves, “What is holding organizations back?” Office 365 is a great product, and its subscription model makes it affordable for firms of all sizes while eliminating the hassle of licensing upgrades. Yet, adoption has been slow.

Based upon investigation and our experience, we postulate that several factors are impacting organizations’ decisions. One reason may be concerns about cloud security. Per the Bitglass survey mentioned above, 42% of companies are currently eschewing cloud adoption due to security concerns.

We find this development unfortunate, because the cloud absolutely can be safe with stringent security mechanisms and a reputable provider. However, that is a discussion for a different article. For the purposes of this discussion, it is evident that even this amount of “cloud concern” cannot be the only factor hampering Office 365 adoption.

In our opinion, another issue is the complexity of the move, itself. Office 365 is a great productivity tool, once it is up and running. However, implementing it is more involved than most organizations realize and ongoing operation is not completely hands-off. Consider these key tasks involved in the migration:

• Determine which versions of on-premise Office are running and who is using them. Decide if everyone is a migration candidate.
• Choose an Office 365 model. There is a variety of price points for the offerings, each of which includes a different set of applications and tools.
• Install the on-premise versions of all applications on user’s machines and devices (up to five per user), potentially with hardware upgrades being involved.
• Document all email accounts and confirm which ones should move to Office 365. If they are web-based, determine if they should remain open and accessible individually (Office 365 will sync with rather than replace them) or if the users can migrate to Office 365’s email service completely. Back up the email stores and import them into Office 365. Notify all contacts of new email addresses, if appropriate.

After migration, the organization will also need someone to administer Office 365 and provide Help Desk support. Commonly requested support issues include resetting passwords, setting mailbox and/or folder permissions, and more.

We suspect (and have heard from others) that many companies run the Office 365 “trial” with the intention of adopting it fully. Then, they realize they do not have the time and expertise to merge all their Office resources and set up Office 365 completely. Alternatively, they end up with a partial migration that creates a mess and so abandon the product. In other words, they cannot manage a do-it-yourself move.

Microsoft recently initiated a program, called Fasttrack, designed to help companies get Office 365 up and running smoothly. Unfortunately for small and medium sized business owners, it is optimized for installations of 150 seats or more, and all of the help is remote or online. It also cannot start until a company purchases Office 365. Taking such an approach extends adoption time, because organizations cannot work with a tech team to perform advance planning.

For any company wishing to adopt Office 365, we recommend working with a local IT expert that has technological competence with Office 365 migration and management. We just happen to be one of those firms, so if you would like to know more or discuss such a solution, please fill out our inquiry form or give us a call at (770) 569-4600.

By the DynaSis Team
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One of the biggest pieces of news you might not have heard was that last week (June 10), for the first time ever, a computer program passed the “Turing Test.” This test determines if a computer can persuade 30% of questioners that they are engaging with a human being (and not a computer) during a five-minute, text-based conversation.

The tech world has been talking about artificial intelligence (AI) for years—painting a portrait of a world where computers can stand in for humans in any given situation, and no one will be the wiser. The possibilities are tantalizing—and the perils are alarming.

In this particular instance, the winning computer program, called Eugene Goostman, beat out several other AI programs and persuaded 33% of interrogators that a human was on the other end, crafting the responses. At the event, organized by the University of Reading at the Royal Society London, some participants and observers claimed “Foul!” because the program claimed to be a 13-year-old Ukrainian boy with a limited grasp of the English language.

Other successful attempts at passing similar tests have also been flawed, because they included pre-established topics or questions, which the Turing Test specifically disallows. This time, the restrictions related to the “speaker” and not the topics or questions. Such an approach is not prohibited by the test, but it is a bit questionable.

So, where does this leave us? Undoubtedly, even if this episode fails to persuade the scientific community that a computer has definitively passed Turing’s test, there’s little doubt that such a feat will be accomplished before long. When computers can truly be indistinguishable from humans, the ramifications for online communication and, for that matter, cloud computing could be considerable.

Already, more than 60 percent of Internet traffic originates from bots, per data security company Incapsula. Published reports indicate that any number of human chat-room visitors have been duped into thinking they are speaking with a human—even to the point of accepting an invitation for a date. Chat bots are also becoming increasingly common for customer service and tech support. None of us know how many times we might have interacted with a chat bot and thought it was a real person.

So, as the line between human and computer continues to blur, and the world waits for another, more robust demonstration of true AI, what should you and your company do? Our recommendation is watch and be vigilant.

Texting with a computer posing as a human is a lot different from talking to one on the phone, where we can catch vocal intonations and other nuances that clue us into “humanness.” Nevertheless, with an increasing number of communications happening by text and email in today’s business environment, companies and their employees cannot be too careful.

Warn your personnel of the dangers of chatting with strangers online, especially if they ask for personal or corporate information. Chat bots have stolen personal information from innocent victims (or sending them to Websites that did) after persuading them they were human.

Furthermore, make sure your firm’s digital perimeter defenses are strong enough that they will stop activity from suspicious websites and not let workers interact with them. The weakest link in everyone’s security chain is humans, and the next wave of assaults may be on the way. If you are not certain that your security is up to par, fill out our inquiry form or give us a call at 678.218.1769.

By the DynaSis Team
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With technology gurus and media touting the benefits and adoption rates of advanced technologies such as cloud computing, one might assume that everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. A new study from Ipsos Research (commissioned by Microsoft) shows that for SMBs (small to midsized businesses), that’s not the case.

Per the survey, conducted in early May 2014, only 30% of SMBs polled report adopting cloud computing, despite its obvious benefits. Other “hot” technologies such as tablets, payment technologies and social media apps also don’t rank highly, with only 34%, 34% and 31% considering of SMB owners considering them important, respectively.

Far more important to these business owners are laptop computers (68%), desktop computers (67%), smartphones (60%) and the supposed dinosaurs of technology—landlines (52%). More troubling, perhaps, is that it’s not that business owners don’t like these technologies. Of those polled, 86% said that keeping up with technology trends is important to their business (50% ranked it very important; 36% said it was somewhat important). Rather, they do not think their questions and concerns about these developments have been adequately addressed.

Specifically, the top three concerns of SMB owners regarding adopting new technologies were:
The expense of upgrading and/or maintaining technology (35%)
Security of new technologies (22%)
Mobility and access—specifically, the ability to work with content from multiple devices in any location (16%).

At DynaSis, we have long maintained that security, availability and mobility are the three pillars of success with technology, so we couldn’t agree with these business owners more. What these SMB owners (and others) may not realize is that it is no longer expensive or complicated to address security and achieve mobility and accessibility.

Furthermore, when SMBs develop technology plans that are aligned with their business objectives, the cost of upgrading proactively can be less expensive than dealing with equipment failures and outages as they occur. In fact, when the cost of downtime, lost business opportunity and company standing, and the productivity value of new technologies are factored in, unplanned upgrades and repairs are almost always considerably more expensive than making improvements at a measured pace.

With the survey also reporting that a substantial percentage of SMBs still manually collect and store data on individual hard drives (36%) and/or use filing cabinets and folders to collect, store and share files (26%), it’s evident that many SMBs are really missing out on the value of centralized (including cloud/online) storage solutions.

On the plus side, 40% of SMB staffers are now able to work remotely at least 50% of the time. That’s great news, but if they are still tied to hard drives and file folders, they are not working very productively.

If any of these statistics ring a bell with you, please fill out our inquiry form or give us a call at 678.218.1769. Our certified IT pros will come to your location, review how IT is (or isn’t) helping you achieve your business goals and objectives, and show you how it can be affordable to transition from outdated, insecure and impermanent technology solutions to a future where everyone works collaboratively and productively, from any location they choose.

By the DynaSis Team

[featured_image]In 2013, the CEB (Corporate Executive Board), the world’s leading member-based advisory company, published its 2013–2014 IT Budget Benchmark study, developed from the responses of 165 member organizations. The study found that CIOs are not increasing their spending on innovation, whereas HR, operations, finance and marketing are spending sizeable portions of their budgets on innovative IT projects. (HR departments alone are spending between 6-9% of their budgets on IT innovations, per the study.)

The CEB concluded that these findings indicate IT departments are no longer driving technology innovation to other parts of the business.  For the CEB the question then became, "Why are IT departments not budgeting for and controlling these projects?"

The CEB postulated (and we concur) that this shift has occurred because nearly 70% of IT budgets (per the study) are being consumed by maintenance and mandatory (e.g. regulatory) expenses. This "cash crunch" is encouraging already territorial IT departments to reject other departments' pet projects.

While it warms our IT-oriented hearts to learn that marketing, HR and other departments are willing to cannibalize their budgets to implement IT innovations, from iPads to cloud services, this behavior also concerns us. The CEB called the revenue consumed by these expenditures "shadow IT budgets" and estimates that such unapproved projects increase corporate IT expenditures by as much as 40%.

The CEB also determined that some 50% of these expenditures are what it called "unhealthy spending." Unhealthy spending results when projects are not properly evaluated and vetted against a business' overall growth strategy and objectives and/or the risk/reward analysis for the project is inadequate. We've seen unhealthy IT spending among some of our clients that, if not caught in time, could literally have jeopardized the company's trajectory, in terms of priorities and focus.

So, how much "unhealthy spending" are your departments engaging in? How many initiatives have they undertaken without the knowledge and approval of your IT chief?  No matter what you think the number is, we're willing to bet it's higher.

To curb shadow (and especially unhealthy) IT spending, our virtual CIOs can perform "project discovery" and help you map all recent and future projects against your business goals and needs. If you bring everyone to the table for a conversation, we can help vet the ideas of your HR, marketing, finance and other departments and quantify the impact of the good ones for IT and executive management.  We may also be able to help you reduce maintenance and mandatory expenditures through solid IT practices, freeing up budgets for innovation.

Only when you address shadow IT spending—and accept that these efforts are well-intentioned and can be quite valuable when handled properly—will you reap maximum reward from your technology initiatives and move expenditures out of the shadows and onto the balance sheet.

To learn more, fill out our inquiry form or give us a call.

When Classic Collision IT Managers Scott Britt and Johnny Ward, along with shop manager Shannon Blevins, looked for help reducing network outages and handling day-to-day IT duties, their search led them to DynaSis. Working together, DynaSis and Classic Collision formulated a more ambitious plan: to move Classic Collision’s entire day-to-day operations to the cloud. Now, Britt reports, the new technology framework is helping the collision center “do everything right the first time” for its customers.

A Step-by-Step Process
Prior to signing with DynaSis, Britt and Ward had been charged with managing the IT needs for Classic Collision’s nine collision centers. However, providing support and assistance for so many different locations was a struggle. “We did everything—from training people to use our management system to repairing PCs,” says Britt. “With nine locations all over metro Atlanta, it was hard to get to everybody.”

In particular, Britt reports, keeping tabs on licensing requirements for software was difficult, and unnecessary network outages hampered efforts to provide the excellent customer service for which Classic Collision is renowned. After Classic Collision hired DynaSis to provide IT support, DynaSis's VP of Managed IT Services, Chas Arnold presented Classic Collision with its ITility by DynaSis Cloud solution, which dovetailed perfectly with Britt’s own plans. “We like to have the latest and greatest technology, and I had already envisioned that the cloud was where we wanted to go,” says Britt. “Once we got DynaSis in for the day-to-day IT issues, we were able to set up a meeting with our boss, Brandon Bishop.”

With the project approved, Classic Collision and DynaSis immediately began working to implement the complete program, which would include moving all of Classic Collision’s operations to the cloud, hosted at DynaSis’s best-practices data center. DynaSis would also provide 24/7/365 monitoring and maintenance, including software updates. Each Classic Collision location would have a single server to generate IP addresses and help connect the desktop PCs in the office to the cloud environment.

Making the Move
To prepare for the move to the cloud, DynaSis informed Classic Collision that they would need to upgrade its outdated desktop PCs and then began transitioning the company’s software, as well. DynaSis provided Classic Collision with hosted Microsoft Office and the Microsoft Exchange email client, two products frequently used in cloud environments.

However, a bigger challenge was transitioning several specialized programs used by Classic Collision, including ProfitNet™, a collision shop management system, as well as estimating packages Audatex and CCCOne. “We had one nagging issue with one of the estimating packages, and DynaSis went above and beyond to figure it out,” says Britt. “As far as we know, none of the products had ever been run in a cloud environment before, and DynaSis was able to make them work.”

A Mobile Future
With Classic Collision’s cloud-based operations in full swing, the company began focusing on its new mobility benefits. “With ITility by DynaSis, we immediately saw the benefits on the mobility side,” says Britt. “Mobility gave our estimators freedom to work from home, instead of having to come in over the weekend to complete estimates.”

Now, Classic Collision looks forward to its next improvement—putting iPads in the hands of those estimators. “Once the estimators have iPads, they will be able to do estimates in the field,” Britt says. “We work with a lot of dealerships, and the estimators used to have to go out to a car, look at it, and then come back to the shop and do the estimate. Now, they’ll be able to go to the vehicle, do the estimate, and print or email it, right there.”

Bottom-Line Benefits
Overall, Britt says, working with DynaSis and their cloud solution has given him and Ward more confidence in their system’s stability and reliability. They also like the security of knowing the Classic Collision network is being monitored and updates are being done. “DynaSis is very efficient,” says Britt. “If the first tech cannot finish out an issue, they stay with it until they resolve the problem.” On a professional level, the new solution has proved a benefit for both Britt and Ward, as well. “We now have the ability to focus on things such as improving processes,” Britt says.

If there’s one takeaway from the project that Britt would offer to other customers, it’s to ensure they share with DynaSis every possible detail about their business. “During the initial implementation, DynaSis employee's went above and beyond to learn how we do business and make sure everything interacted well with the Citrix cloud environment,” Britt concludes.

When automotive, commercial and industrial lubricant supplier Halco Industries found service going down and prices going up with its former IT support firm, the company decided it was time for a reboot. After discussing the situation with its current firm, the company called DynaSis for a consultation. The result was a retooling of Halco's IT strategy that not only increased satisfaction but also is helping them explore adoption of new technologies.

Business Basics.
Halco's 29-user IT configuration centers around five on-premise servers running either Windows Server 2003 or 2008. The firm uses MS Exchange 2010 for email messaging and archival, Multiview Financial software, plus Microsoft Office (with Excel power users) and heavy reliance on Internet access. Despite having sufficient infrastructure running leading software products, prior to DynaSis's arrival things were always going wrong.

"We were continually having downtime across the organization. On different systems and at different times our Internet, email and order entry would be down," says Halco Accounting Manager Joann Carney. "The president of the company was familiar with of DynaSis, so we had them come in a few times to discuss how they would address our needs. We liked their approach and we switched."

DynaSis recommended its Digital Veins service, in which it manages, monitors and patches the on-site servers and other IT equipment for its customers, either remotely or on premises. The solution adopted by Halco also includes a backup and disaster recovery system as well as spam filtering and patch management. DynaSis also provides problem alerting and support notification to Halco users.

Service First.
DynaSis installed a dedicated software solution that placed an icon on the desktop of every Halco user. When users have a problem, they click the icon to initiate a service ticket.

"DynaSis responds directly to the user, as opposed to our previous solution where only one or two people could call in with issues," says Carney. "I love the fact they are willing to talk to every user, and will talk to folks in the warehouse about how to reboot a computer so I don’t have to go out there and do it."

According to Carney, DynaSis's proactive approach ensures she is notified of problems before she is aware of them. "I get a text message telling me the server is down before I get to work," she says. "The monitoring on their end watches our servers."

While she is driving into the office, Carney relates, DynaSis works to restore the problematic server remotely. "They ask me to call when I arrive if the server isn’t restored to normal operations," she says.

"I just had a nasty virus and they dialed in and repaired it," she continues. "While they were there, they noticed a patch missing from my machine and checked all the other workstations to make sure they had the patch, then reported back to us on the resolution."

On the Spot and Within Reach
Carney reports that she has timed DynaSis's response time and found it to be "excellent." She says the average is around seven minutes, and if DynaSis cannot repair a problem remotely, they are quick to arrive and take care of the problem, on site. "We’re a sales-based business, and sales people are taking orders all day, so if a server goes down it puts us in a backlog," says Carney. "We are unable to take orders and make our money."

DynaSis also supports the Blackberries and iPhones of Halco's outside sales force, who call DynaSis directly for support. DynaSis's engagement has also extended the reach of Halco's employees, in some cases enabling them to perform tasks they never before considered. "Some of us work at home and have the ability to dial-in; they have made a big difference in our remote capabilities," says Carney.

"Our sales manager just got an iPad and is trying to do quotes from it," she continues. "DynaSis is helping him enable direct desktop access from his iPad." So successful has the effort been, so far, that Carney says DynaSis will soon be helping Halco integrate more iPads with their system as well as easing the transition into a new CRM solution.

"One of our oil company partners recently provided iPads to our representatives and invited us to join a beta program for order taking," says Carney. "Now, our sales people are exploring what else they can do with the devices, and DynaSis is helping them out."

When disposable medical supplies provider Remington Medical began searching for a new technology provider, management knew it wanted to be on the cutting edge of emerging technologies. With three locations—one outside the U.S. in the Dominican Republic—robust remote networking and data exchange was a core requirement.

"I wanted somebody who could handle those areas and had technical competency," says Remington Medical CFO Steve Garner." DynaSis, which already hosted Remington's email server and had previously provided other services to the firm—was ready with the perfect solution.

Early Adopter
Since DynaSis already had a relationship with Remington Medical, it was a natural fit for DynaSis's VP of Managed IT Services Chas Arnold to make a presentation, and Garner had full confidence in DynaSis abilities. "I always thought they were technically competent," Garner says.

In addition to needing a new IT provider, rapidly growing Remington Medical also needed to upgrade its technology infrastructure. Initially, Arnold recommending Remington Medical move to DynaSis's cloud computing solution, ITility by DynaSis. However, Garner had previously researched cloud computing and says he "hadn't reached the comfort level of having my operating data stored offsite."

At the time, DynaSis was rolling out Ascend, a new Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering. For a low, fixed, monthly fee, DynaSis installs, monitors and maintains a custom-engineered, end-to-end, on-premise hardware and software solution. The fee includes remote monitoring and maintenance of the entire infrastructure from DynaSis's network operations center, and users can access the 24 x 7 helpdesk, 365 days a year through a trouble-reporting icon on each workstation.

Ascend was a perfect match for Remington Medical, as it enabled the firm to avoid the substantial capital outlay of new equipment. As part of the solution, DynaSis also provides secure Web-based access to the company's applications and data for remote users in offices outside the Georgia headquarters. With Ascend, Garner knows the company will remain on the cutting edge, as DynaSis handles all necessary software and hardware upgrades as part of the contract.

"Ascend appealed to me because it includes things I like, such as its ability to backup my whole system rather than rely on tape system," says Garner. "It was a mental step for me, rather than having to lose control of my hardware completely."

In the Clouds
With the transition to the new system complete, Garner is thinking ahead. Despite not being ready for cloud computing just yet, Garner says Ascend is the perfect transitional step that will enable his firm to harness the power of the cloud, down the road. “Moving to a cloud-based solution is a more real and practical possibility today than in the past,” says Garner. "ITility by DynaSis is probably where we’ll head. If I were a brand new company, ITility by DynaSis would make a lot of sense. There are a lot of advantages, and we’ll probably get there eventually."

For now, he's content with Ascend and DynaSis, which completely eliminates the need for him to have even a single in-house IT staffer. "Chas was smart enough to keep our relationship going," says Garner. It took five years, but it paid off for him."

by Dave Moorman

According to Wikipedia:

Virtualization is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as a hardware platform, operating system, a storage device or network resources.

While that is the technical description, it helps to know what virtualization accomplishes:

Virtualization is a key part of any new infrastructure designed today. Virtualization provides more scalability, better use of current hardware resources and much greater manageability. The goal of virtualization is to centralize administrative tasks while improving High Availability (HA) and Disaster Recovery (DR).

If this sounds a little too abstract, it’s easy to understand virtualization by peering into history. In the 1970’s computing power was extremely expensive. Due to the expense, IBM would create mainframe computers that served as a hub so that multiple computers could use the computing resources. This allowed for multiple people to tap into a single computer at the same time.

How Is Virtualization Relevant Today?

Virtualization lets you run multiple virtual servers or desktops on a single physical machine (host), sharing the resources of that single server. Basically, you are gaining more scale while using less server hardware. Virtualization works by inserting a thin layer of software directly on the server hardware or host and then loading multiple versions of the operating systems on top of it. This software layer contains a virtual machine monitor which allocates hardware resources dynamically and transparently. Multiple operating systems run concurrently on a single physical server (host) and share hardware resources with each other. You can safely run several operating systems and applications at the same time on a single server (host), with each having access to the resources it needs when it needs them.

The rise of the PC allowed everyone to have enough computing power to accomplish the tasks they needed at work and at home. Today, technology has circled back to its roots. Business owners realized that they were using troves of resources to maintain their IT department while the majority of their server hardware was using only 5% to 15%of the systems capacity on average. In the 70’s computers had to be physically attached to the mainframe in order to tap into its resources. Today, the Internet allows computing and storage to be centralized while distributing their resources in milliseconds across the globe. You no longer need your own servers or mainframes to have a world class IT infrastructure, you just need virtualization. The cloud is built on this virtualization technology. Welcome to the Cloud!

by Chas Arnold, Partner and Executive Vice President

The promise of simple, reliable, and feature-rich unified communications phone systems has been made for what seems like decades. The fact is, big companies with big IT departments and big budgets have seen some of these promises fulfilled. But, for the vast majority of businesses, advanced business communications have always been out of reach. Until now.

Every business needs an affordable communications solution that provides a competitive edge. Now, the solution is in reach for small and midsize businesses, and even better, can help your business save on costs and increase productivity.

Affordable
The latest VoIP systems start at only $300 for unlimited users and extensions, and allow you to use existing phones and headsets in combination with advanced features in a software based solution. Some platforms even provide a hosted solution, so no servers are needed on site, meaning no new hardware purchases.

Easy to Use
The lastest unified communications systems are working with the small business in mind keeping the system easy to deploy, use, and manage. You can easily administer your system without the need for expensive IT specialists and third-party consultants. Plus, with integrated desktop interfaces for users, calls are easily transferred or sent to voicemail, while advanced features like chat or click to email allow employees to connect the first time.

Reliable
Advanced communications companies understand that the SMB cannot experience downtime. For this reason, the systems now include around the clock monitoring so you can enjoy worry-free reliability 24/7. When you can count on your phone system, your customers can count on you.

Work from Anywhere
With unified communication, employees can take home a desk phone, use a softphone on their laptop, or forward calls to a mobile phone. What’s more, branch offices can be linked so that satellite offices are treated a one. And, with personal desktop interfaces, employees will be able to interact as if they’re just a cubical away.

Unified communications system lets employees get access to the right people, forward calls to cell phones, provide savings for telecommuters, increase revenues, and respond quickly to calls from customers that are likely to call someone else. It improves productivity and is able to give employees a better work-life balance, all at an affordable price.