5 Ways To Make Remote Employees Feel Like A Part Of The Team

Working from home is not uncommon now. With technology, wifi, smart phones and the myriad of options, it makes sense to outsource parts of your business. One of the downsides can be a loss of camaraderie. Luckily, there are ways to help bridge that gap and have your virtual staff feel like a part of the team! OPEN COMMUNICATION LINES

Make sure to keep your communication lines open! You may all be working on different time zones, but that’s no reason to drop all lines. Try weekly video conferences with Skype. Or a social network site for your employees where remote staff feels as if they can reach out to other team members. Track your projects through Asana, where comments and notes can easily be exchanged between team members.

ENCOURAGE EXCURSIONS INTO THE REAL WORLD

We all know the risk of doldrum from working at home. Show your remote employees that you care. Send them a gift card to their local coffee house to nudge them out of doors. Or help pay for space at a co-op so at least a few days a week they can work from a place where social interaction is encouraged.

PLAN LOCAL EVENTS

What better way to have your remote employees really feel important than to send them as a representative of your company? Find events in their areas where they can attend. Create speaking and appearance opportunities.

MAKE IT A GAME

Encourage your remote employees to involve themselves with not only your company, but with other remote employees. Create a reward and incentive system that pushes friendly competition and opens lines of communication.

PRACTICE TRADITION

Take the time to make sure remote employees get the same benefits as in-person employees. Celebrate birthdays, insist they take holiday! You want your remote employees to feel included and invested in your company. So spend the extra time and dollars to implement some of these steps. You will be creating an inclusive culture!

How To Setup A Mobile Friendly Conference Call

If you're like me, you’d be perfectly happy if conference calls went the way of the dodo or at least were on the highly endangered list (instead of the honey bee).However, like death and taxes, we seem to be stuck with these events. If you have to attend several of these events a week from the road (like many of us) there is an easy way to format the invite so it’s easy to one click call from an iPhone or Android device.

The key is to have two formats for the conference call information: The one click mobile-format (Conference Number/passcode): 2345678910,223345099# The human-readable format (Conference Number/passcode): 234-567-8910,223-345-099#

It should look something like this in your invite: Conference Number (Mobile-friendly):   2345678910,223345099# Conference Number (Human-friendly):  234-567-8910,223-345-099#

And if you want to include leader information, you can “one” click for that also (often a *): Conference Number (Mobile-friendly):  2345678910,223345099#, *1234

Important Tip: The comma ( , ) actually is a PAUSE for one second.  Every conference call service is a little different, so you may need to add more than one comma for a longer pause.  Just test it a few times BEFORE sending out the invite. For example, my company uses Startmeeting (and yes, we also sell it...so if you do use conferencing let us know) and I have to use TWO commas so the timing works correctly.

What other topics would you like to hear about?

Here’s a funny video about conference calls…(safe for work) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYu_bGbZiiQ

Internets Down Again?

It’s happened to all of us, the internet is down or just “feels slow”. Customer service says “oh everything looks great from our side, you should just reboot..." which you’ve already done 3 times and it’s still slow. Or my personal favorite, it's 8am Monday morning, the internet is down and you start the week on hold, being told how important your call is. The crazy cycle has started and the worst part is you’re not crazy. Circuit monitoring helps address this problem in four ways: 1. Automatic email alerts when the internet is down or underperforming. 2. A 30 day diary of internet performance so you don't get "everything looks fine right now" when you call into customer service. 3. Automatically opens trouble tickets with the supplier when the circuit is underperforming. 4. SLA compliancy PROOF which monitors the circuit for violations so credits are NOT based on “who can yell the loudest” or “he said/she said”.

Basically this all adds up to you spending less time on hold with your carrier and more time working on your business.

SD-Wan Explained In Games We Played As Kids

SD-Wan is a complex technology that can often be very difficult to understand, but here at TQI we think technology should be simple to understand. “Hide and Go Seek” Remember counting to 25 with your eyes closed (but your ears WIDE open) and the last 15 seconds were counted much faster than the first 10? That’s what SD-Wan does, it listens for its partner(s) on the internet, automatically choosing the best/fastest route for your data. This allows businesses to use (preferably) two inexpensive internet connections (such as a cable modem and DSL line) instead of more expensive dedicated bandwidth with MPLS to create a stable network.

“Red Rover Red Rover” The result?  Enterprise level connectivity to branch offices with redundancy for much less and the real world speeds are typically MUCH faster because the SD-Wan will make both internet connections work as ONE super-fast connection. With the built in protection of VPN security, no one is breaking through this wall!

“Dodgeball!” If one of the connections isn’t performing well or is down, SD-Wan will automatically send traffic over the other link until both links are working back to 100%.  Some SD-Wan providers will also automatically open a trouble ticket, when one of the links is down or isn’t working at 100% capacity. These specialized devices can also act as a managed firewall protecting your office, so you never have to appear on ESPN’s “The Ocho” or CNN because you got hacked.

“Ready or not…here I come!" With SD-Wan, your VOIP, video, and priority data is NEVER picked last! Or if you want, here’s the “Principal’s Office” (aka Wikipedia) definition of SD-WAN Software-defined networking (SDN) is an approach to computer networking that allows network administrators to manage network services through abstraction of lower-level functionality.

So that sums up SD-Wan if you have any questions or would like to know what SD-Wan would do for your business let us know.

The Power Of Big Data

So… what is big data? Wikipedia (the fountain of crowd-sourced definitions) states… Big data is a broad term for data sets so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate. Challenges include analysis, capture, data curation, search, sharing, storage, transfer, visualization, querying and information privacy. Well that wasn’t very helpful was it!

Here are some real world uses:

The first recorded use of big data comes from the 1500’s when a doctor kept track of where patients were living and worked. This data was used to correlate the inception point of a disease based on addresses (as people typically in London didn’t live far from where they worked). This allowed the doctor to theorize (correctly) disease outbreaks were not just random acts of God, but had common factors.

Jumping to more recent times, one of our customers used their phone system call records to more appropriately staff, based on call volumes, allowing them to reallocate that money for technology to better serve their customers’ needs.

Farmers now use GPS data combined with real time analytics, 4G cellular modems and cloud computing to deliver the EXACT amount of pesticide needed rather than flooding a field with poison hoping it’s enough that the crop still comes in.

Finally, another customer, uses big data to determine the exact amount of network resources needed per device including LAN/WAN bandwidth, to reduce jitter, latency and network spend. Recently this same customer used VX Suite (one of our suppliers) to isolate a problem causing slow internet speeds. Their supplier could tell them, the internet pipe is full (buy more, translation: $$), but they couldn’t tell him WHY it was slow. VX Suite provided the insight to isolate and correct a network problem so his MSP could correct the issue.

To quote Sherlock Holmes, “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”

Hopefully these big data ideas have given you some ideas.

What, in your business, could be improved upon?

5 Benefits of Mobile Device Management (MDM)

We have all read The 4 Hour Workweek and the image of sipping drinks from coconuts with the tide breaking just feet from our chair is pretty universally appealing.  Well in our model business age, that image is often a reality.  More workers are finding themselves working remotely on their own devices. Because of this Mobile Device Management, or MDM, is becoming increasingly necessary.  There are a world of risks that come with this, but if you set up a good platform within which to secure, manage, monitor and support the mobile devices used throughout your company you will quickly see the benefits far outweigh the risks.  As highlighted below in these  5 benefits:

1. Organization:  A solid MDM plan will keep track of all the users that are working off of mobile devices.  It will also manage these devices and assignments.  This is also a great way to keep track of contact information. MDM can also track incidents and manage them.  All in all, an administrator’s dream.

2. Flexibility:  If you have a good MDM platform in place, there is no need to worry about off-site employees.  Now work can be getting done anywhere!  And you can stay on top of what’s happening with that work.

3. Security: Thieves accessing your information is a common worry amongst business owners (and everyone really) now a days.  But with the use of mobile device management this risk is lessened.  MDM allows you to entirely wipe a device remotely, or selectively wipe it in the case of stolen mobile devices.

4. Cost Savings:  If employees are bringing their own devices, your overhead is lowered!  More people are working for their companies on their own phones, laptops and tablets.  This means you don’t need to provide the equipment.  We could follow this bread crumb one step further, and with employees working remotely there is a lot of other overhead you save on.

5. Relief to IT Staff:  With BYOD (bring your own devices) the IT staff has some burden lifted off them.  If a mobile device breaks, generally it’s the employee’s manufactures place to get that fixed.  If there is a problem with the MDM, great everything can be fixed remotely!  Meaning there job can be done more expediently so they can focus on larger tasks.

In summation, designing and implementing a MDM is so vital to running your business efficiently and safely.  Especially for those companies that utilize a lot of remote employees.

Hosted PBX vs On-Premise PBX

Both hosted PBX and on premise PBX have positives and negatives. But before we can begin comparing and contrasting, it’s important to understand the fundamentals of each of these systems before we launch into face-off. Hosted PBX puts a lot of the burden of managing a phone system on the provider since they are housing the equipment and tech necessary to make your phones work. Your phones will plug into a router/switch and from there everything is handled through your provider. You are charged a monthly fee by your provider for this service.

And now looking at on premise PBX (IPPBX). If you remember those old panic­-inducing closets full of wires and blinking lights, well you aren’t too far off the mark. The major difference from that closet to what we now know as IP­PBX is the routing is done with today’s technology. Signaling goes from your IP phone to the IP­PBX server using a LAN (local area network). All of this must be managed by you or a local technician.

So with that said, let’s get down to brass tacks!

And since this is always on the forefront of our thoughts, COST. IP­PBX can have very high initial setup costs. When you are running a medium sized business (or heavens forbid ­starting!) this can be scary and daunting. You are also looking at potentially higher maintenance costs. I don’t know about you, but my wallet is letting out a little cry right now! On the other hand, hosted PBX has a much lower initial cost and setup, and you will not pay maintenance costs, because it is all included. But to be fair, your network must be able to support hosted PBX and some upgrades might be at your expense. Aside from that, expansion expenses are a thing to consider. Hosted PBX does make it as simple as purchasing more IP Phones, while IPPBX means purchasing new phones AND additional programming time (on your dime).

Tech support is another thing to consider. When you go with hosted PBX your provider will handle new feature installations.There’s also no trouble when it comes to picking and canceling virtual numbers. Another great thing, all patches and upgrades will be handled by provider! And in case of emergency, calls will be sent to v/m or mobile phones thanks to safeguards put in place by the provider. The same can’t be said for on premise PBX. You will need someone who is tech savvy and can properly handle the system. Expansions and upgrades can consequently be VERY complicated, and leave you with a headache. And in case of emergency, bye bye system!

I don’t know about you, but I like the idea of less headache and less stress on my wallet so I can focus on running a business!

Top 5 Benefits Of Hosted Voip

We all know there’s a reason everyone isn’t running out and just starting their own company—running a business is HARD work.  On top of the never ending to-do list, you have to worry about keeping up with the competition (I should say, keeping AHEAD of the competition).  In order to do this, you need to focus on your essential daily activities.  Managing an ever-advancing communication system should not be on that list of to-do’s. Below you will find 5 reasons your business should be using hosted VoIP:

1. Cost: There a number of ways hosted VoIP can help your company save money.  Keep in mind though, cost is not the primary (or largest) benefit of hosted VoIP.  Hosted VoIP doesn’t require you to maintain bulky expensive equipment that is stored away in some closet.  You can also select only the features you need so as not to waste money. Hosted VoIP is a fully managed service so you won't have to drop a $100+ on a tech every time you need change something.

2. Flexibility:  Businesses grow, and sometimes shrink.  You can not 100% guarantee what will happen over the next few years.  Fortunately VoIP is highly flexible.  You can increase the services and users, or decrease as your business’ needs change! Also making simple changes like adding new employees or changing a greeting is a breeze with a simple online portal.

3. Features: VoIP has a vast array of features.  All of which can be highly beneficial to your business.  Do you want to forward voicemails to your email?  NO problem.  Do you need to make a call from the office, when you are OUT OF THE OFFICE?  Piece of cake!  VoIP can handle nearly anything and everything is customized to your business so you are always getting the most out of it.

4. Plan B:  We may not like to think about them, but accidents happen.  Your office can flood, loose power, or be robbed.  With hosted VoIP these disasters will have a minimal affect on your phones.  Since the physical box sits in a secure data center, your team can go on working from anywhere why your office is repaired.

5. Reduce Stress on IT support:  Hosted VOIP is a fully managed solution. Unlike, a traditional phone system very little IT support is needed. Moves, adds, and changes are simple and are part of your service. Managing your users is simple, and you can always enable new features.

So again, hosted VoIP can benefit your company in many ways!  Scale up easily, work remotely, and increase redundancy all while using less of your company's resources!

Top 5 Benefits Of Hosted Exchange

Email is such an integral part of our everyday lives and our businesses.   As far as effective and quick, it’s tops!  Hosted email also offers the benefit of instant contact and calendar sharing.  As a business hosting your own email servers is a labor of Sisyphus. Hosted Exchange Email is the perfect solution for businesses.   So let’s delve into the top five benefits of Hosted Exchange Email for your Business: 1. Improved Communication:  You will look like a customer service all-star when at any given time (place) you can access your email and pull up all of your client’s information.  It’s lunch hour, and an important client just emailed you?  No problem, you can see past emails for reference,  pull up their information and reply to them!  All from corner of Starbucks while sipping your fourth cup of coffee for the day.

2. Budget Friendly:  When hosting your own server you may see huge spikes and surges in your monthly cost.  When allowing someone else to host your exchange your cost are predictable.  Your accounting department will thank you for that!

3. Accessibility: We all know in today’s modern business a lot of work isn’t actually done in the office.  With hosted exchange email you can access your information anywhere, anytime!  I guess this is as good of an excuse as any to extend that Caribbean vacation!

4. IT Support:  Nearly all hosts will offer IT support.  So now when something isn’t working, they’ve got you!  In fact, they may be aware of those problems well before you are, so you may never even know there is a problem!

5.  Peace of Mind:  This benefit often gets bypassed as not important.  But think about your productivity levels when you are frazzled.  They suffer.  Hosted email streamlines your business and allows you to focus on what matters.  Top customer service and keeping in touch!

In summation, for many modern businesses hosted exchange is the way to go!  Focus on your business, and leave the bulky hardware and other troubles of local servers to the other guy.