When used strategically, technology can help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) develop a more productive, efficient and innovative workforce. That’s why businesses that prioritize technology are three times more likely to exceed corporate goals.* In a business world that’s evolving at a breakneck pace, your company may not be able to perform at its full potential if it lacks the …
Preparing for the unknown
One day we are all living our lives normally, and the next we are all suddenly living in confusion and uncertainty. There has been so much uncertainty and confusion surrounding COVID-19, and with local, state and national governments stating different information, it makes it hard to determine what exactly is going on, or how long our lives will be affected …
SD-WAN Implementation isn’t as easy as 1,2,3
When companies talk about digital transformation, the reality is that bringing mission-critical applications to the cloud isn’t a company’s end goal – it’s a means to an end. Businesses are looking to harness the full benefits of SaaS and cloud-based infrastructure to reduce costs and improve scalability, accessibility, and security. But getting there, however, requires re-thinking the one-time staple of …
A Phased Approach to IT Transformation
Last month we talked about best practices for crafting an IT roadmap in our blog post, Anatomy of a Business-Aligned IT Roadmap. If you haven’t had a chance to read that post, you should. The article looks at how many organizations are building IT roadmaps by focusing on the business strategy first and then layering technologies, people, processes, and metrics …
Anatomy of a Business – Aligned IT Roadmap
Aligned IT Roadmap Given the growing impact of technology on today’s business operations and processes, IT leadership must have a clear path that is closely aligned with the organization’s long-term strategic goals. While developing this IT roadmap has never been more important, it’s often a challenge for IT teams to step out of the day-to-day mandates and look at IT …
2000 to 2020, What’s next for communication?
Are we headed back to the future? What’s next for communication? Many say the prediction for the smartphone came way back in 1953 by the then President of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company. It was in an interview with Tacoma News Tribune, where Mark Sullivan made his incredibly accurate projection. “In its final development, the telephone will be carried …
SD WAN: Technologies Wonderful Conundrum
Almost everyone has heard the term SD WAN, or software defined wide area networking, but most still are not totally sure what it is all about. An “SD WAN Conundrum” as I like to call it, leads to many questions. Similar to when the word “cloud” became popular, businesses may wonder: What is this vague magical word, what can it …
Say Goodbye to Microsoft’s Windows 7
On January 14, 2020 — Microsoft’s support for Windows 7 will cease. That means no more updates or fixes, including security fixes after January 14. What does end of support mean? If you continue to use Windows 7 after support has ended, your PC may become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses. Your PC will continue to start and …
Is SD-WAN for you?
Listen to what your business is telling you. With the deluge of cloud applications today – Office 365, Microsoft Azure, Unified Communications (UC) solutions, and much more – we’re asking a lot of our traditional networks. WANs are being pushed to their limits, carrying increasing amounts of data to and from multiple branch offices to mobile users, and to the corporate …
Thinking about network services? Ask these 5 questions first
Most companies have built their traditional network architecture in a piecemeal approach over the years, starting at the corporate office and then expanding to the branch office. Network managers selected the most reliable and most cost-effective internet connections possible for each location. This approach worked well when teams were small and internet speeds were ‘good enough’ to connect back to …