What is the Cost of Replacing Your Legacy Handsets When You Migrate to VoIP?

My last few blogs have discussed some of the reasons to look at using Citel’s Portico TVA to SIP enable legacy handsets, be they digital, Centrex or analog when you migrate to VoIP. I posed the question last time if you even need to use an IP phone when you do the move and gave a case for skipping that product completely. There are some significant direct cost savings should you decide to retain your legacy handsets when moving to IP telephony  but there are also a number of intangible costs that many people tend to disregard to their detriment in their evaluation

The most intangible cost is environmental, a growing concern that all of us have to address. If you are only going to go the “rip and replace” direction until your employees are ready to move to softphones or use one of the many other multipurpose devices (remember BYOD) for their calling what happens to the IP phone?

 IP phones tend to be built with disposal in mind. Most are not as well built as the old desk phone you have on your desk that may have been around for decades and will only have a limited life. What happens to those orphan phones?  In the past desk phones were made to last and many have years of service and usability left. There used to be a very large remanufacturing industry built up around phones but there are so many used phones out there now the market is failing due to over-supply.  The mantra of the 1990’s of Reuse, Reduce, Recycle has been replaced by Recycle, Recycle, Recycle but again there is a cost to that process and a limited demand for the ground up pellets that results. If you reuse your existing phones there is an environmental benefit that cannot be quantified.

Although a tangible cost, the book value of existing handsets are still one of those costs that many people forget to build into the migration cost equation.  Due to accounting methodologies applied by many companies those same legacy phones may still have some value on corporate books and a move to IP phones could result in a write off of the corresponding amount on the books.  You still have to write off any remaining investment in the PBX but as many of those are End of Life already that write off has to happen no matter what you do.

There are two other intangible costs that are often forgotten when looking at VoIP migration; the cost of disrupting the workforce as changes are made to the telephony system and the cost of training people on new phones.

Many people ask what disruption. Well, if the migration occurs during downtime, the “rip and replace” process is not an issue. But when do you find that downtime. I know of one instance where new cabling for the new IP phones was to be run on a holiday weekend only for the union involved refusing to work on a holiday weekend.  For that entity, they operated on a 24/7 basis (think of a hospital as an example) and had real trouble making time available for changes without affecting day to day operations.  For some universities upgrading cabling and installing PoE switches can only be done as part of campus wide renovations that can stretch over a five to seven year period. Operational cost savings can be delayed for years under a scaled in implementation. Not an issue when using existing equipment on a new VoIP platform.

The last intangible cost is training employees. These days there is so much education already occurring on the job that having to learn how to use a new phone is for many companies a step too far.  I have been amazed by the number of people I have spoken to who are delaying VoIP migration because they do not want to have to teach their employees how to use a new phone. Maybe short sighted but a fact of life.

If you want to see how to reduce the cost of migration call us or go to www.citel.com. VoIP migration should be easy.

(Written by: Ian Gomm / http://citelblogs.com/ )

The All-in-One Communication Solution: Business T1 Internet

Every business needs to have an efficient way for employees to connect to the Internet. If your company is still struggling with slow connections you need to consider adding business Internetservice to your office.  New technologies require faster and more reliable service. One way to provide this is by utilizing T1 Internet connections. The T1 line speed far surpasses the speed available with dial-up and other slow connections. Dial-up generally offers less than 56 Kbps while a T1 connection is capable of offering T1 line speed of more than 50 Mbps. 

Today there are more options available to businesses including the T1 Internet connection. The T1 Internet connection offers many advantages to business owners. The T1 line speed itself will help to improve productivity. The reliability of the T1 Internet connection is quite good. The T1 connection also gives you plenty of flexibility. With a T1 connection you are able to make both voice and data connections. While you can access the Internet using a simple telephone circuit, a T1 connection makes more sense because you can use it for both voice and data connectivity at the same time.

A DSL or ADSL are both available as a business Internet service as well and provide basic technology for communication. The T1 Internet connection is more advanced because it is offers more flexibility. The T1connection can be used for both incoming and outgoing connections as needed.  This means that you don’t have to dedicate a T1 Internet line to a specific purpose. The T1line speed is faster than most other types of connections you will find.

The T1 Internet connection utilizes eitherfiber or copper lines. The options will depend on the availability of the local provider. Both offer high speed T1 Internet connection to the provider. A single T1 connection or line provides 23 channels that can be used for communication at the same time while offering a fast T1 line speed. The T1 line speed or bandwidth gives you the ability to use any open channel as it becomes available. For this reason, you can share a T1 Internet connection with up to about 80 users.

The T1 Internet connection is provided and connects into your telephone system or through a router for digital communications. The T1 connection offers a high quality business Internet service that is used for both voice and data. T1 Internet services offer businesses high quality communication at affordable pricing. The T1 connection also allows you to utilize advanced features that require additional bandwidth such as video conferencing. The T1 line speed will give you the ability to do all the things you need to do and then some.

The T1 line speed is in itself a good reason to consider using this business Internet service option. You’ll get more productivity from your employees because of the high T1 line speed.  Businesses who want to learn more about adding T1 Internet to their communication options should contact a business Internet service provider such as BroadConnect Telecom. They offer a wide variety of business Internet services including T1 Internet services.

Fiber Optic Internet: Need for Speed!

Most business owners remember the good old days of dial-up Internet connectivity. If you’re old enough to have a recollection of that you’ll know that it took quite a long time to dial and connect online. Today, there are more options and the ability to use fiber optic Internet connections. Businesses today need to consider upgrading their connectivity to fiber optic Internet or ADSL broadband. Fiber optic broadband offers many advantages over dial-up connectivity. The most important advantage of fiber optic broadband is, of course, speed.

No longer do you and your employees need to wait for a connection when you utilize a fast connection such as fiber optic broadband. So, what options do you have if you want to improve the speed of your Internet connection for your business? Fiber optic broadband can drastically move you into the 21^st century. This giant leap will provide you with an ultra-fast fiber optic Internet connection. It is important to understand that many of the applications and services you and your employees need to use require a lot of bandwidth that translates into higher speed such as the fiber optic Internet connection.

ADSL broadband is still an option that many businesses may want to consider. The ADSL broadband is a DSL that can be provided over a standard copper line. The bonded ADSL broadband connection combines more than one connection in order to increase bandwidth and allow for faster speeds. ADSL broadband is one option; however, if you’re looking for the best speed with the most reliability, you’ll want to consider fiber optic Internet.

Fiber optic broadband will completely change the way your company does business. There will be no more waiting for a connection or for a page or application to load when you use fiber optic Internet. The connection is almost instantaneous when utilizing fiber optic broadband connectivity. The improved bandwidth of fiber optic Internet means that you can easily accommodate new services as they become available. For example, video conferencing is often not reliable unless you use it over a fiber optic Internet connection.

A fiber optic broadband connection will also help you to improve employee productivity. There will be no need to wait for connections because the fiber optic broadband connection is instant. This equates to better efficiency and improved customer service. Before the days of fiber optic broadband services you’d have to wait longer to get anything accomplished. Another advantage of using fiber optic Internet is the cost. You’ll enjoy improved costs over time and will be able to take advantage of new technology as it becomes available when you use a fiber optic broadband connection.

As you improve the speed and bandwidth of your connection using fiber optic broadband you’ll be able to work more quickly and be more efficient. Companies that use connections at all times of the day or night will notice that they have an improved speed, even during busy times, by using a fiber optic Internet connection. When you’re thinking about improving your Internet connectivity services choose a provider with experience. BroadConnect Telecom offers a wide variety of options including fiber optic Internet. Contact one of our Account Managers today for more information.

Avaya Expands Small & Mid-Size Business Communications Capabilities to Simplify and Secure BYOD

For Immediate Release:17 Jul 2012

• New Avaya IP Office 8.1 Solution Enhances Mobility, Centralizes Management and Adds New Security Options
• Company's Flagship SME Solution Boosts Scalability, Driving Cost-Effective Collaboration for Mid-Sized Companies
• Techna Glass Selects IP Office 8.1 to Enhance Customer Service and Mobility

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Avaya today announced the new version of its unified communications (UC) solution for small and mid-sized enterprises (SME), Avaya IP Office 8.1, which adds innovative capabilities to tap the full potential of next-generation collaboration. This includes new mobility, management and security features—as well as custom-built services—to help SMEs efficiently and securely take advantage of BYOD ("Bring Your Own Device") environments and advanced mobility.

Additionally, Avaya IP Office 8.1—which can serve SMEs as small as 5 employees—now scales up to 1,000 users in a single location (up from 384). This gives mid-sized companies a more cost-effective, simplified way to manage more people on a network in one or multiple sites. It also provides Avaya business partners with new opportunities to provide mid-market customers with affordable, yet high-capability collaboration solutions.
SME Mobility Made Simple, Secure An April 2012 Forrester Research study on BYOD trends reported that 56% of SME workers who use a tablet for work say they bring in their own personal tablet, while 66% say the same for their smartphones¹. To ensure SMEs have the capabilities required for an evolving work environment, Avaya IP Office 8.1 introduces:

• Avaya Flare® Communicator, the advanced mobility app previously only available to large enterprises, is now available to Avaya IP Office SME users on Apple iPad tablets or Windows-based laptops. It enables mobile access to collaboration capabilities such as business-class calling, presence, company directory search, and management of two simultaneous calls while mobile. Avaya Flare® Communicator for iPad tablets lets users 'drag and drop' available contacts into a spotlight, and launch instant messages, voice calls or emails by simply tapping the screen. The Avaya Flare® Communicator for Windows brings these capabilities to laptops.
• New Centralized Management and licensing capabilities eliminate the complexity of overseeing communications for multi-site environments by enabling effective management of several sites from one location. Adjustments to individual sites can be made using a simple administration tool, saving on costs, labor and time.
• Enhanced Security Options for Avaya IP Office adds protection against toll fraud, denial of service attacks, and other threats through use of a new SME version of Avaya Session Border Controller—a solution delivering a protective SIP-based firewall. It makes security easy and affordable for SMEs to implement, with advanced capabilities for mobile workers such as the ability to encrypt media and signaling connections without using a VPN for UC. Availability anticipated later calendar 3Q '12.
• Avaya IP Office Support Service, the first support service from Avaya for SMEs, provides fast resolution, technical support from experts, and secure remote access. New SSL-VPN capabilities embedded in Avaya IP Office 8.1 help ensure secure delivery of upgrades, patches and Web-based services. Customers are entitled to major upgrades, and Avaya partners can offer it via wholesale or co-delivery models.

Additional IP Office Information:

• IP Office 8.1 can be paired with Avaya's recently introduced ERS 3500 switches to automate network set-up. One simple command automatically configures the switches and enables IP phones on Avaya IP Office.
• Avaya one-X Mobile® Preferred for IP Office mobility app is now available for iPhone devices (previously announced for Android devices), bringing comprehensive business-class UC features to SME iPhone users.
• Interoperability between Radvision SCOPIA endpoints and IP Office is expected at the end of 2012, offering open, cost-effective and easy-to-use video collaboration.
• Avaya IP Office is sold exclusively through Avaya's channel partners. The solution is available now globally.

Quotes"As a growing windshield installation company—with 18 locations and a busy contact center operation—we require a reliable communications system that supports the highest levels of customer service. Avaya IP Office 8.1 helps us by enabling large volumes of call flows to move smoothly, and providing a great way to manage communications across all locations. We also plan to use IP Office's mobility capabilities in new ways, with features such as chat and presence via iPhone keeping mobile workers connected, and headquarters employees in touch with branch stores. With IP Office, managing our communications system couldn’t be any easier."
--Rick Maciel, Business Systems Manager, Techna GlassNote: Installation for Techna Glass delivered by Avaya partner Mountain West Telecom

Executive Quote"With the bar raised on all aspects of business mobility, security and management, Avaya is bringing its innovation to the forefront of the SME space – and extending it further into the mid-market. Avaya IP Office 8.1 introduces new capabilities that help our customers and partners succeed in a shifting collaboration landscape, while ensuring they have the capacity to meet expanding communications needs."
--Mark Monday, vice president, Collaboration Platforms, Avaya

Analyst Quote"With each version of Avaya IP Office, we've seen UC delivered to SMEs with rising levels of simplicity and cost-savings, combined with increasingly sophisticated features. IP Office 8.1 continues on this path and scales upward -- helping more growing SMEs, mid-size companies and Avaya partners easily gain the benefits of enterprise-class collaboration."
--Rob Arnold, Program Manager, Unified Communications and Collaboration, Frost and Sullivan

Statistics--More than 60 percent of medium-sized firms in an online survey indicated that they provide smartphones to employees. Specific company percentages by country surveyed were: U.S. 69 %; UK 70 %; Germany 79 %; China 64 %; Brazil 64 %. Source: IDC² 
-- The top three items organizations want in a mobile security solution are 1.Centralized Functionality, 2. Logging/Monitoring, 3. Ease of Deployment. Source: SANS Mobility/BYOD Security Survey, March 2012)

Join our live TweetChat on 7/18/12 at 3 pm Eastern, and ask questions about Avaya IP Office 8.1 using #AvayaSMB. For an online media kit on Avaya IP Office 8.1, visit here.

Tags: Avaya, IP Office, Mobility, Unified Communications, SMB, SME, small business communications, mobile collaboration

About Avaya
Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, networking and related services to companies of all sizes around the world. For more information please visit www.avaya.com or http://avaya.broadconnect.ca/products/ip-office-500/ip-office-8-1/.

Original Source: ( http://www.avaya.com/usa/about-avaya/newsroom/news-releases/2012/pr-120717)

The Many Advantages of a Fiber Broadband Network

The Internet is quickly changing and today’s businesses need to keep up with technology in order to stay current. In order to stay competitive and to keep your employees productive it is essential to provide connectivity to the Internet using a technology such as a fiber connection. Fiber Internet connections offer an effective way to connect to the Internet using a more technologically advanced method.  A fiber connection is an advanced way to connect and is much more sophisticated than a simple copper connection. Fiber Internet offers many advantages over other types of connections.

A fiber broadband connection is an efficient way to provide connectivity. The fiber Internet connection provides some advantages over other types of connections. Some of these advantages include fiber connection speed, fiber broadband reliability, and fiber Internet capacity. The fiber connection is able to provide faster speeds than other types of connections allowing your employees improved productivity. A fiber connection is an ideal way to improve the abilities of your system.

The use of fiber broadband is certainly going to increase in the coming decade. The need for increased speed to accommodate additional available services will be one driving factor adding to the need for fiber Internet. Businesses can now enjoy FTTP (fiber to thepremises). FTTP offers faster and more reliable Internet services than ever before. Fiber Internet offers higher speeds than other types of connections. This allows businesses to use new technology that requires increased bandwidth that can be done easily using fiber broadband.

For example, 3D video and videoconferencing require more bandwidth in order to work properly and can easily be completed using fiber Internet. The increased bandwidth of Fiber broadband allows you to easily use these types of demanding services with ease. With more advanced features becoming available, businesses will need to improve their connectivity by utilizing fiber Internet.

It is important to note that businesses can use fiber connections for both voice and data needs. Using a fiber broadband connection allows you to incorporate telephones and other streaming communication over the same fiber connection. You won’t be able to do nearly enough with your communication if you don’t upgrade to a fiber connection. An FTTP connection is an ideal way to add more speed to your communications. This added speed from a fiber connection will accommodate many types of applications as they become available.

Adding a fiber Internet connection to your business will position your company towards future growth. Outdated connection services won’t be able to handle the type of digital communications necessary to keep your company moving forward. The fiber broadband connection allows your company to handle current needs with ease and to be poised for upcoming needs as well. By combining the various communication needs of your company into one fiber connection you’ll be able to save money while increasing productivity.

Businesses looking to improve their services should consider adding fiber Internet services to their company. FTTP services are available through reliable providers such as BroadConnect Telecom. They offer a wide variety of communication options for businesses including FTTP services.

Do You Need An IP Phone When You Migrate to VoIP?

(Originally posted by at Ian Gomm http://citelblogs.com/2012/07/10/do-you-need-an-ip-phone-when-you-migrate-to-voip.aspx)

There is so much talk about using Tablets and Smartphones in the office environment and how to incorporate employees’ own personal devices into the IT equation.  There are so many options out there as to how to make a phone call that it is difficult to know which way to turn. While some companies are riding the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) to the office many are not. What to do!

No matter how you handle the BYOD issue, offerings such as Microsoft Lync are promoting soft phones that do away with the need for all desk phones in the office. Of course there are times when a softphone will not suffice (difficult to use on an elevator for example). But there is also the issue of people not being comfortable talking on a headset, an ear piece or even a smartphone (just try holding a smartphone or tablet to your ear and let me know if that is better than a standard desk phone). The younger generation is used to new technology but there are still many of us out there who grew up with desk phones and would prefer to use them even if just out of habit.

“Rip and replace” solutions incorporating IP phones cater to this need. Most IP telephony platforms have a softphone capability and the ability to coordinate with smartphones, etc. When I am travelling I frequently utilize Bria on my tablet so I can use my “office” phone” when I am in a hotel, at the airport or at a conference. So why the plethora of IP phones? The fact is, people like a desk phones. Even if more and more people are using softphones, tablets, smartphones, some kind of desk phone is still required. Well if that is the case, why throw out your legacy handsets only to replace them, at great cost frequently, with another phone that is likely to be obsolete before too long or not even used by the user. As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t expect to have a desk phone five years from now.

That is where Citel comes into play. Citel’sPortico TVA lets you continue with your existing handsets,  SIP enabling them to be used on your IP telephony platform. The latest IP phones can be very expensive and if you go with a cheap replacement it is likely to require replacement before you are ready to go to a softphone, smartphone combination. Your legacy handsets have served you well. Why not incorporate them into your VoIP migration and save yourself time, money and unnecessary change. Your customers and / or employees will soon be using softphones of their own devices so why go through the expense of a full blown rip and replace migration when for a lot less money and time, you can make the transition so much easier using a TVA.

Next time I will discuss the cost to the company and the environment of replacing your legacy handsets.

How to Improve Your Internet Service with T1 Lines

If you’re tired of your slow Internet connection you’re not alone. More and more businesses today are finding that they can increase productivity and reduce overall expenses by adding T1 Internet service to their communication systems. A T1 line is a better way to provide voice and data communications for your business. Even small and medium sized companies will enjoy the benefits of using T1 Internet service. Using a T1 line allows you to combine both voice and data communications so you can do both at the same time. T1 Internet service can improve employee productivity, mainly due to the T1 speed.

The T1 Internet service is a high quality Internet connection that offers a very fast way to communicate. In fact, the T1 Internet connection has a speed of about 1.544 Megabits per second. The T1 line contains 24 channels, 23 of which can be used for communication and one channel of the T1 line is used for call setup. The T1 line channels are flexible and are used on an as-needed basis. This allows any number of channels to be used for incoming or outgoing connections at the same time. Each channel of the T1 line is able to transmit data at a T1 speed of 64bps. T1 Internet service is available from a reputable T1 Internet service provider.

A T1 line is able to provide enough bandwidth (T1 speed) to comfortably provide standard T1 Internet service to about 80 average users. Those with additional needs or heavy phone users may require additional T1 lines. Businesses need to evaluate their T1 Internet service needs and determine how a T1 Internet connection can improve their productivity and profitability. The typical small business will be able to utilize just one T1 line while larger businesses will need to add two or more T1 lines to their services. Each T1 Internet connection is connected to the phone system using a special modem or T1 line interface.  You can choose a single T1 line or more than one, depending on your company’s needs.

If your business requires access to high quality phone service 24 hours a day, T1 Internet service is certainly a good option. The T1 line is available at all times and provides the same high quality connection that you expect with this type of service. The T1 speed offers a good option for any business that requires a fast connection speed. T1 Internet service can be leased from business Internet providers. The T1 Internet connection is designed to give you the convenience and speed of the T1 line with an affordable way to obtain it.

One of the most important advantages of T1 internet service is that you can use both voice and data on the T1 Internet connection at the same time. What this means to you is that your employees can talk on the phone at the same time that they are able to utilize the T1 Internet connection. T1 Internet service is perfect for small, medium, and large businesses that have phone and data requirements.  The T1 speed greatly improves productivity and efficiency in the office.

Business owners and managers can greatly improve their communications service by adding T1 Internet service. Contact BroadConnect Telecom to supply you with Enterprise grade T1 Internet service for your business.