Telephones and Ichiro

Ha, you thought CNR would go a whole week without blogging.  You were worried, I could tell.  Well don’t get mad because here it is.  Today I will be talking about, what else the benefits of a new telecommunication system, but just to spice things up I will also be talking baseball. For everyone in the northwest we have grown to love our favorite leadoff hitter Ichiro Suzuki just like you have grown to love your current telephone system.  (What? people don’t love their telephone systems!)  Well the point is that like a great hitter, a telephone system will start to decline with age.  I know, you think it will never happen but one day you will look up and you telephone system is now hitting .260 and can’t steal a base.  Wait a minute I’m getting my metaphors confused.  The point is that rather than wait until Ichiro breaks down and you need to replace him and get nothing, you should try and trade him and get something of value out of him while there is still value to be had. In the case of phone systems, you should plan a migration path that allows you to leverage your legacy system while still acquiring new equipment that will eventually replace the old system entirely (in right field hopefully)  CNR can help determine when and what your migration path should look like.  So don’t get stuck with a broken down system, that quits suddenly and leaves you with nothing,  instead start thinking towards the future now and be prepared for life without Ichiro, I mean, your old telephone system. 

Mobile Communications: Going Beyond the Convenience Factor

When it comes to mobile communications, most businesses take the following approach: 'Yes, we need to keep our employees in touch all the time. You never know where they need to be working. But let's get the best possible mobile plan and stick with that.'

There is nothing inherently wrong with this approach, but it is incomplete at best, and at worst risks missing out on some of the major developments that are transforming the way businesses of all kinds and sizes use mobile communication.

Here's why:

Mobile communications isn't just about making phone calls. Mobile communications has come a long way in just the last few years. Web-enabled smart phones, 4G networks, social media, location-based services, etc., have all seen to that. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, the use of mobile phones is about a lot more than just talk:  the use of data applications on mobile devices is growing dramatically each year, from accessing the Internet and e-mail, to texting, taking pictures, recording videos and more.

Being mobile isn't just about traveling. Mobile solutions were once primarily aimed at business travelers, but today every employee is a potential mobile employee whether they are traveling, working from home or working at their business location, but not necessarily in their office.  Interestingly, even if they are in the office, they are still 'mobile;' by some estimates, as much as 60% of cellular calls are made and received while the user is in the office.

Being mobile isn't just about being reachable. People used to use a mobile phone so they could be reached quickly. Now, smart companies are factoring mobility into their business processes, from approval chains to juggling workforce requirements. Mobility can is still about convenience, but more and more it is about productivity and differentiation. 

How can you make mobile communications a strategic part of your overall business planning? The key is to look at your communications holistically-integrating and streamlining communications whether it involves the office communications system, voicemail, e-mail, IM, presence, calendar, smart phone capabilities, in-building wireless, etc.  By taking a holistic, unified approach you give employees the ability to

·         Move transparently and securely among all their communications channels.

·         Begin a communications thread on one device and pick it up later on another.

·         Synchronize e-mail, contacts, and calendar entries, call logs and text chats across all their devices.

·         Have one identity for making and receiving calls (i.e., when making a business call from home, the person being called sees the office number, not a personal number.)

·         Receive alerts on their mobile device when a voicemail is left at the office.

·         Get presence status on colleagues and others so they can be reached quickly.

·         Place calls over Wi-Fi, including when calling from a location out of the office, such as a hotel in a foreign country, eliminating toll charges.

They key to doing all of this is to manage your mobile communications through your office communications system.  This is what enables employees to take advantage of all of the features of their office communications system while the business manages and controls usage-for example redirecting mobile calls over the Internet to save on toll charges while overseas.

Mobile communications goes from being a convenience to becoming an essential part of an overall communications strategy.

For more information on cost-effective mobile communications, contact us at CNR

Is This You?

You keep hearing about all of the features that are now available in a new piece of software. They sound great, but not compelling.  You like the familiarity of what you now have and, truth be told, you don't want to lay out the money.

But then you do upgrade, and lo and behold you discover that you don't care about 95 percent of the new features. But that other five percent? Those features are so spectacular that they alone justify the entire cost of the upgrade and more.  Welcome to Economics 101. You have just experienced a variation on what is known as the 'opportunity cost.'

There is no escaping the opportunity cost (OC). We are always making choices and there is a cost to every choice. You accept your friend's invitation to a 'free' lunch-but in reality it's not free: you might have done something more productive with that time, such as meeting with a major client and winning a big sale or attending a class and learning a new skill.

Holding on to technology is a choice. You keep using the same computers, software, copiers, routers, etc. and in theory, you use the capital that would have gone into an upgrade to invest in other things that you deem more important.

Many businesses take this 'buy-and-hold' approach to their office communications system. They wait until it starts failing or they are moving and it is simply not worth the trouble to take the old system along.

But in recent years, this buy-and-hold approach to communications systems became suspect.  One factor was the accelerated depreciation on new capital equipment included in government stimulus efforts: many small businesses were 'stimulated' into upgrading their communications by the ability to expense so much more of the purchase and see it come off their taxes.

But an even bigger factor has been the growing recognition that there is a significant OC in holding on to your current system: you are foregoing the opportunity to benefit from the many advances that have taken place in small business communications.

How important is that to your business? Only you can decide. But if you value communications-if the phone, mobile, e-mail, IM, etc. are something you use every day, it's probably worth taking a close look at how business communications systems have changed in ways that can save you money, increase sales, keep customers more loyal, make your business more productive, etc. In particular, here are five key things to look at:

Unified Communications:  If communications is important to your business, you probably take advantage of many different communications tools:  the office phone system, mobile/cellular communications, e-mail, etc. Traditionally, all of these have been separate solutions that worked independently of each other. Not anymore. Today's small business communications systems get them all working together. A voicemail left on your office phone system can appear on your mobile phone. You can have calls ring simultaneously on your office phone, your mobile, your home phone, etc.  By unifying your communications, today's small business systems give you more options and more control.

Mobility:  Does the ability to work from anywhere appeal to you? Would you like the option to have all your communications tools available whether you are at home, staying at a hotel or simply down the hall in another office? With today's small business communications systems, being away from the office no longer means accepting watered-down communications. You can get access to all your tools-online phone book, speed dials, conferencing calling, unified communications, etc. from anywhere.

Customer Sale/Service:  Customers like to have their calls answered promptly. They like to be recognized. They hate having to repeat the same information over and over. The makers of today's small business communications systems have recognized all of this. There are dozens of capabilities in today's systems designed to turbo charge your sales and service,  from instantly routing and recognizing callers to connecting the phone system directly to sales programs (such as salesforce.com) so every customer interaction is smart and personal.

Conferencing/Collaboration:  Communications systems used to be designed for one-to-one communications: make a call, hang up and make another call. Not anymore. With more and more people working remotely, the ability to have team meetings on the phone is critical. Getting a dozen people on the line is as easy as getting one person, and you can also use your communications system to share files, conduct training, alert people to regularly scheduled meetings, etc.

Lowering Communication Costs:  For many small business, the savings in operating expenses-lower long distance charges, lower call handling costs, reductions in conference calling fees, the ability to use SIP trunks and share resources between offices-can alone justify the decision to upgrade a communications system.

Any one of these five capabilities can more than justify an upgrade. How much can you really benefit? CNR can offer a consultation to see how different communications capabilities can impact your bottom line. So let us help choose which new system is right for your business.

Faster than the speed of business

You have lists of contacts all over the place-in your e-mail, instant messaging, your phone directory and more. It would be extremely convenient to have those contacts aggregated in one view, with the ability to know when any of those contacts becomes available.  Sure, there are instant messaging (IM) clients that give you that capability, but you are limited to contacts within your small business – especially if you protect your data network with a firewall (as you should).

Applications that work in conjunction with your communications system to bridge that gap are readily available, letting you have a dashboard for all your communications – messaging, voice, e-mail – even SMS!  All of your contacts – internal employees or important external contacts – can be contacted with a simple click of your mouse:

·         See who is available in real time: the presence status of people inside and outside your organization. (Many UC solutions for small business only provide presence status of contacts inside your organization)

·         Take advantage of enhanced features like 'Pounce' - which provides immediate notification when a contact has become available

·         Take advantage of calendars: hover over a contact and it will display what time they will finish their meeting or when they will be back in the office

·         You are on the phone with someone and have to call them back. Schedule the call from the current call dialog box and automatically add it to your Outlook Calendar

·         Missed calls? Now you can keep track of them and see the contact details and current presence status so you can quickly and easily connect

·         Need to meet: teleport to a meeting in less than ten seconds. (Ok that one is still a few years away) 

The enhanced productivity you gain with a great unified communication system enables you to operate 'faster than the speed of business' – increasing your competitive edge, and ensuring your always on top of collaborating with your most important contacts.  

Take a New Communications System Out for a Test Drive

In the workplace today, people are wary of change.  Especially when it comes to new technology, such as a new office communication system, which people believe is often confusing and hard to learn.  Many employees come to accept the system in place and adapt to take full advantage of it.  They know what works well and what to avoid. Sometimes these “adaptations” lead to more work and are very inefficient and a new communication system could really help.  However when a new system is suggested by those in charge some workers who are used to the old system can be wary of changes.  They want to know if it is difficult to learn, is it necessary for their position, and will it make their job more complicated.  Many workers would rather continue to make unnecessary and superfluous adjustments because a new system is an unknown and people fear the unknown more than almost anything else. At CNR we want to make sure workers understand that a new office communication system is put in place to help.  They are simple to use and take minimal training and can help boost production. 

Some of the new features that can really help a business include unified communications, integration with email and CRM’s, and new mobility options.  But like choosing a car, a lot of factors go into selecting a communications system that works for your business. It can be a very personal decision which makes it daunting. And it's a long term investment. You want to get it right. Fortunately, CNR makes it easy to go on a 'test drive' and see how new systems work. Find out how different people in your business can use it-in the office, on the road, and at home. Find out what specific benefits you can look forward to in supporting sales, customer service, lowering overhead and more. Just call CNR to set up a consultation and demo of a new system.  So don’t convince yourself an old system is fine and that a new one will only make things harder.  The opposite is true and the return on investment makes a new communication system well worth the cost. 

Small Business Communications: 5 Must Have Features

Is now the right time to upgrade your office communications solution? If your business is relying on an 'older' communications solution, the answer is 'yes.' But how old is 'older?' Here's an easy way to tell. These are five communications features no business should do without... even if you are missing just one, it's probably time to consider getting a new communications system.

Caller ID: Knowing who is calling before you pick up the phone is a great convenience and essential for sales and customer service. Caller ID has been around for years, so if your current communications can't support Caller ID, it's definitely time to make a change. But there's an extra dimension to this: being able to link to your customer database/CRM solution (such as Salesforce.com). CNR can help you set up a system that automatically brings up a 'screen pop' of information about the caller. The impact of that single feature on sales and customer service can be huge.

One-number Reachability: Most people in business today have more than one 'reach' number: office, office mobile, personal mobile, fax, home office, etc. To stay in touch, employees end up giving out personal numbers, which is never a good idea. A better way is to use your office communications system to manage all your different numbers by providing customers one number (i.e., the office number) and use the intelligence in your office communications system to find you.

Conference Calls: Many small businesses get by with rudimentary conference calling on their phone systems (it's good for conferencing a few people) and also spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on third-party conference call services when they need more. If that's you, it's definitely time to make a change. CNR can provide a solution that can support more than sixty people on a call. That means no outside charges for conference calls and calls can be arranged at a moment's notice.

Communications Anywhere: It used to be that when you had more than one office or business location, you needed a completely separate phone system for each site. Or if someone wanted to work from home, you needed to install a separate line with its own number that had nothing to do with your office communications system. That's not the case anymore. CNR lets you link communications systems in different offices. You can share resources-messaging and a receptionist. If one office is closed, calls can automatically be diverted to the other office (callers won't even notice). Employees in different offices, or those working at home, can reach each other with just a 3-digit extension.

'No Cost' Moves/Adds/Changes: Does it seem like even the smallest change to your current communications system requires a costly visit from a technician? If the answer is yes, it's definitely time to make a change. Today's new IP-based communications systems let you make moves, adds and changes without calling a technician and incurring any costs. That means if you add an employee or change the way calls are routed in your business, you can make the change yourself. The savings are significant and the flexibility is a real advantage.

CNR is here to help find a solution that works for you.  So if you are ready to upgrade call us and let us help determine what kind of solution will help you and your business increase productivity, reduce costs, and simplify your telecommunications system. 

The Cloud and Small Business

Cloud computing has been a hot topic at big enterprises for several years. Now small and medium-sized businesses are following suit.

It's not hard to see why: cloud computing is an undeniable money-saving opportunity. Instead of making upfront investments in a lot of software, you can have these same capabilities delivered as a subscription-based service. This saves on both the up-front investment and ongoing administration.  It makes someone else responsible for making sure the applications run smoothly. And when the time comes to upgrade your platforms, there's far less hassle.

There are plenty of cloud-based services available today for basic office applications (accounting to word processing), file backup services, sales support, customer relationship management and more. Major brand names in software such as Google, Microsoft, Intuit, Salesforce.com and others offer cloud-based options priced for the small business market. It's no surprise that the research firm IDC estimates that companies with 100 or fewer employees spent $2.4 billion on cloud computing services in 2010, up from $1.7 billion in 2009.

But if you are looking at cloud computing simply as a way to save money, you may be selling yourself and your business short. Here's why:  the biggest impact of cloud-based services is not necessarily on what you spend, but on the way you work. Here's why:

Simplifying access: Instead of having applications and data on your office PC, your laptop, or on USB drives that you carry around, with a cloud-based services the data and programs that are important to you can be available anywhere. In today's highly mobile world, this kind of anytime, anywhere access is not just a convenience-it's a necessity for doing business. A cloud-based approach gives you a scalable, manageable way of providing this kind of access to your business

Collaboration: Easy access to applications makes collaboration easier. If your business has more than one location or regularly works directly with partners and/or customers you will need to support the easy, seamless sharing and interaction that makes for productive collaboration. A cloud-based solution gives you these capabilities.

When you look at cloud computing in this way-as a new way to work, not just a new way to save money-you realize that it's not simply an either/or decision. It's the rare company that will have everything in the cloud. (Or nothing.) Most will take a hybrid approach, migrating to the cloud for things that are simply done better by others while retaining control over critical, core applications.

At CNR we see a hybrid approach emerging in communications and collaboration, with small businesses depending on the reliability and performance of their office communications system while also taking advantage of seamless integration with complementary, cloud-based services for conferencing, collaboration, customer relationship management and more.