Telapprise - Telecom Expense Management, Cost Control, Telecom Auditing, Telecom Resource Management

Our customers often ask this question: If I put in a IP-PBX phone system, will I save money?

The simple answer is, you could, if you approach the conversion from traditional phone lines in a smart, methodical way.

On the surface, Voice over IP (VoIP) — IP-based phone systems — seem like a great idea. VoIP systems can reduce or eliminate charges for intra-office calls, and managing IP-PBXs can be easier and more cost efficient than managing traditional TDM based PBXs. Plus, users can receive voice and email from anywhere through devices such as smart phones or laptops.

It’s critical, however, that you take a good look at your existing infrastructure before making any changes.

Ask:

• Will our existing infrastructure support this new technology? If not, what changes must be made?

• Do we have any contractual obligations with phone carriers that could erase the cost-savings we might see from VoIP?

• Will users — customers and employees — really get the quality and reliability they expect from us?

Before you talk to any vendors, be sure you clearly understand your infrastructure so that you can ask critical questions of the vendor. And let the vendor show you how it can work with your needs — don’t let them talk you into retrofitting your system to fit their product.

The best way to tackle any telecom upgrade is to get complete information from an unbiased consultant who can give clear, expert advice on the best way to proceed.

Please visit www.telapprise.com or contact us at info@telapprise.com to learn how Telapprise professionals can quickly provide an analysis of your systems — and the information you need to make a smart decision.

It’s happening everywhere: From manufacturing and service organizations, to government agencies, organizations are looking for ways to save money on their communications systems while making their businesses more efficient. From data storage to applications including phone and e-mail systems, cloud computing providers offer a variety of appealing benefits.

This move to the cloud is expected to not only save businesses time and money, but it has another significant benefit: Employees can work from literally anywhere and still provide seamless service to customers.

However, as soon as most businesses begin the process of converting data and applications to the cloud, they realize the project is bigger than they realized. One of the hurdles most businesses encounter is the realization that they don’t have all the information about their existing systems that they need to tackle the project.

Confusion occurs most often in these two areas:

• Knowing what they already have in terms of:
  • hardware
  • contracts with carriers
  • technology infrastructure
  • multimedia applications that will be affected by a new network
• Understanding current spending — many businesses just don’t have good visibility into the accuracy of their telecom billing and the full costs of their systems.

These are the two most critical items that can impede an organization’s ability to make effective decisions about implementing new technologies or processes. Plus, progress on upgrades may be significantly impeded by overlapping or conflicting contracts with multiple telecom providers.

Some organizations try to circumvent the problems by implementing new technology into their business without addressing underlying issues. But that approach is like constructing a building without a blueprint — walls might go up before the foundation does, which can cause a complete mess and a crumbling building in the end.

It’s understandable, of course. Many businesses are anxious to reap the benefits associated with cloud computing. Tackling the complexity is tricky, because businesses typically want to make upgrades with the lowest up-front investment possible. However, the lowest-cost solution isn’t a good one if it won’t work.

For example, if you hastily move your data to a cloud environment without first ensuring that your network will allow you to quickly and efficiently access that data, you will not only have wasted money on the upgrade but you may end up introducing critical problems into your infrastructure.

Implementation must be handled through a well-planned process to avoid such problems and ensure that all your systems work together effectively when the process is complete.

Having expert help with the decision can make a big difference for a business. Although there will always be potential hiccups in any technology change, tapping into the experience of an independent consultant can ensure that you identify and avoid those potential problems before they happen.

If you’re considering making the move to the cloud, seek out an independent expert who has:

• Broad knowledge of providers and their specialties and capabilities — An expert that works with numerous vendors can recommend the most appropriate choices and plan for contingencies.
• Deep knowledge of how to create an implementation that works and delivers ROI over the long-term for your business. An expert that knows which steps to anticipate and understands your business from all angles can help you wade through a sea of marketing promises and find the vendor that truly delivers what your business needs.
• The ability to provide unbiased recommendations for creating the customized solution that your business needs using the technology and providers that are best for you. Your expert should have relationships with multiple vendors and an ongoing knowledge of the vendor’s status in the marketplace and ability to carry out plans in your time frame.

Telapprise has experts knowledgeable in all aspects of cloud computing. Contact us at info@telapprise.com to learn more about your options and how we can help you make the move to the cloud cost-effectively and quickly.

Three technology trends that bubbled to the surface in 2010 are expected to take more of a center stage position in 2011: cloud and data center virtualization, SIP technology and mobile device management. Each of these growing technology areas offers benefits and challenges that demand businesses find a balance before jumping in with both feet.

 

Cloud and data center virtualization

 

The concept of cloud computing and data center virtualization, until recently embraced primarily by enterprise organizations, is finally reaching midsize organizations that are looking for economical data storage and usage solutions. Cloud computing allows organizations to create and save documents, data and applications using centrally located servers and storage “in the cloud.”

 

Some organizations build their own data centers and virtualize their data and applications from multiple locations. Other organizations use carrier-neutral collocation facilities. Both options can offer a company savings in myriad ways, from facilities costs to hardware and management costs.

 

To attract customers still reeling from the economic free fall, cloud vendors are incrementally leveraging virtualized infrastructures, according to CNET. There’s a basic problem, however, in the cloud computing space: lack of overall guiding standards for networks that support access to cloud facilities. It’s critical that customers thoroughly understand a provider’s ability to work with a legacy infrastructure and provide needed services through a telecom network that can handle the increased traffic created by the cloud setup.

 

Developing a cloud-based approach touches on many parts of an organization’s telecom and IT infrastructure. Because there are so many definitions of what the “cloud” is and how to approach it, there is a great deal of confusion about cloud and cloud services. Customers need to understand not only what data, applications and services they want to be in the cloud, but what providers can realistically offer in terms of network capabilities.

 

Need a good place to start? Talk to Telapprise. We can bring clarity to your cloud project and help ensure you get the services and functionality your business needs.

 

SIP/VoIP technology

If you’re tired of ever-increasing phone bills, you might be looking at Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. Once considered a pie-in-the-sky idea, the idea of digitizing phone calls to reduce connectivity costs and eliminate intra-office call charges is gaining popularity.

 

SIP lets an organization put its voice channels on its IP network so it doesn’t have to pay for voice separately. But VoIP for business isn’t exactly like the Skype or Vonage services that people use to talk to their relatives.

 

A business can get carrier-based or client-based VoiP services that can help it reduce the number of physical connections to its provider network. Instead of having a physical connection for each office location, for example, the business might be able to use a single connection for all its locations; geographically dispersed locations would have calls digitally routed through a connection at a single location, and users would not be aware of any difference in their calling process.

 

However, if the provider’s network isn’t capable of providing both class of service and quality of service functions, users will notice problems in terms of call quality and data transfer rates.

 

Not every carrier offers adequate bandwidth management capabilities, which makes VoIP a bit tricky for business. If you choose a service that isn’t compatible with existing systems, poor call quality can quickly translate into frustrated users. Talking to Telapprise before you start can help you avoid that frustration from the beginning of your project.

 

Mobile device management

Mobile devices are literally everywhere these days — it’s hard to even walk into the corner coffee shop and not hear someone making a quick call or typing a text message into a smart phone. Because smart phones have become commonplace in business, use of smart phones will continue to grow by leaps and bounds, and many businesses consider them indispensable tools for their staff. Now that Verizon has added the Apple iPhone to its offerings, corporate telecom managers will have another technology to add to their growing list of devices.

 

In addition, the coming “tablet war” will significantly increase users’ options for incorporating mobile technology into their work. AT&T and Verizon allow Android tablets to be managed, billed and ordered on corporate accounts. AT&T also allows iPads to be added to corporate management, billing and ordering. All of this means that mobile device users can move from using smart phones to tablets — and benefit from the increased functionality they offer.

 

It’s hard to argue that access to work documents and email anytime, anywhere is a bad thing. After all, it benefits employers to have employees working regardless of location. Plus, with 3G and 4G services rapidly on the rise, employees can work quickly and effectively. The most significant challenge, however, is security.

 

Symantec, a leading anti-virus provider, recently conducted a study asking critical infrastructure providers about their opinion of cyberattacks against their industries. Nearly 50 percent felt they would be attacked. It’s critical, then, that mobile devices be constantly monitored and secured to safeguard not just proprietary information but private user and customer information, too. All it takes is one rogue smart phone or tablet to ruin an organization’s best efforts at compliance.

 

Expert advice

Each of these trends could impact your business in 2011 in a positive way. But each also requires a thorough understanding of how the technology will affect your existing infrastructure and the steps required to make integration work.

 

Most organizations need help determining which technologies and providers are the most appropriate for their business. We can help.

 

Telapprise’s vast telecom experience can ensure that you get the best overall infrastructure solution available to handle the technologies you use today — and those you’ll add to help your business grow. Contact us at  info@telapprise.com