Is An Office Move in Your Future? TCI Helps You Make a Successful Technology Transition

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Office technology is the powerhouse that drives your business forward… If your phones aren’t ringing and your systems aren’t working at your new office on Day One, then your business can sputter to a stop.

Here are some of the critical technology elements that your TCI relocation experts pay special attention to so you can avoid costly roadblocks…

  • Equipment – We determine if your current systems still meet your business needs. If they fall short, we’ll get you up to speed on upgrades or replacements that will meet your performance requirements at your new location.
  • Cloud Migrations – An impending move may provide an opportunity for cost savings by moving more systems and applications to the cloud, especially if your aging on-premises technology can’t provide the latest capabilities your people need to perform at their best. We perform a comprehensive analysis and make deployment recommendations so you can make an informed decision.
  • Infrastructure – We review your cabling and outlet requirements for voice, data and video, as well as map out the best locations for switches, routers, wireless access points, servers, phone system, network printers, and uninterruptable power systems.
  • Dedicated Space – We’ll work with your facilities team to help identify the ideal locations for server rooms and network hubs, and any special requirements for electrical power, air handling, and physical security.
  • Telecom & Internet – We review capacity requirements to determine if you need more LAN/WAN capacity, phone lines, and broadband services at your new location. We’ll work with the service providers to get the connections you need.
  • Data Protection – We can assist with backing up your important data and applications as well as firewall, server, router and phone system configurations so that if something goes wrong during the move, you will have the ability get your business up and running quickly.

Don’t let a poorly executed office move put your business on hold. Get our relocation experts involved in your plans as early as possible. Contact us today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

Giving Machines a Voice… Overcome Field Service Delays with IoT and Cloud Communications

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Today’s service customers have zero patience for field service delays. They simply won’t tolerate missed or late service calls, or technicians who don’t have the necessary skills to get them back online, or the old standby, “I don’t have the right parts with me. I’ll have to go back to the shop.”

The Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud communications have the potential to minimize such situations. In a recent survey of field service executives, 55% said IoT was the “next big thing” related to technology that they felt would most help with increasing service demands.

In the not too distant past, field techs were limited to voice-only cell phones to communicate with their home office. But with today’s smartphones and web-based solutions, they can message and locate coworkers, conduct video calls, and make voice calls – all from a mobile app.

IoT devices are taking field service to the next level… Multiple sensors on IoT devices provide diagnostic data that help service techs and engineers pinpoint the cause of maintenance issues at customer locations.

With better data, there is faster analysis and identification of the best solution. A cloud-based management system can even allow your techs to correct many problems remotely. By giving machines a voice, you can head off service problems before your techs need to hit the road.

Download: A Better Customer Experience Through Giving Machines A Voice

Does your business depend on Field Service? Keep your business focused on delivering the best possible Customer Experience. Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

Safeguard Your People & Property with Emergency Mass Notifications

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Your business can experience serious disruptions from a variety of sources:  power outages, fire, flood, icy roads and severe weather, to name just a few. Having a well-defined response plan and utilizing the proper technology to communicate with your employees is vital for dealing effectively with these and other emergency situations.

Emergency notification systems are available in a variety of technologies…

  • Paging messages and announcements can be automated, pre-recorded and ready for use or utilized in real-time. The right paging system should work with phones, speakers or traditional PA systems. Syn-Apps, for example, is a notification solution that tightly integrates with Mitel’s phone systems.
  • Real-time Alerts can be used for desktop notifications to employees or used to make phone calls to connected users. They can even be used in conjunction with beacons or digital signage for visual notifications.
  • Integrated Solutions take advantage of advanced IVR (interactive voice response) solutions with your phone system. You can use specific phone numbers or prompts to route calls based on caller inquiry and update recorded messages with pertinent information. Your staff won’t need to answer redundant questions, and they can efficiently deal with the situation at hand.
  • Conference Bridges – Specific bridges can be used during emergency situations for immediate conferencing with remote users and offices. The use of mobile apps and desktop applications allow users to quickly and easily join, resulting in faster response and updates.

In an emergency, you don’t want to waste time recording messages or figuring out system configurations. Prepare, plan and be ready… Reach out to TCI to start discussing your options. Contact us today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

Mitel Integrates with Google Cloud Contact Center AI to Deliver More Insightful Customer Experiences

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Mitel has announced an integration with Google Cloud’s new Contact Center AI that will improve your company’s customer service experience, as well as the productivity of your contact center.

Contact Center AI is a simple, secure, and flexible solution that allows enterprises with limited machine learning expertise to deploy AI in their contact centers.

Key features of Mitel’s integration with Contact Center AI include new capabilities you can use to offer smarter, more personalized agent/customer interactions.

  • AI-Powered Virtual Agent – Enables your customers to self-serve with the help of an intelligent chatbot equipped with product and service information.
  • AI-Powered Agent Assist – Enables a customer inquiry to be easily transferred to a live agent with full context of the virtual agent conversation and continuous AI support to provide the agent with real-time research and coaching.
  • AI-Powered Analytics – Provides another layer of intelligence and insight to enhance your offerings and further elevate your Customer Experience.

Let’s talk about upgrading your Mitel contact center with AI. Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

3 Best Practices for Data-Driven Decision-Making with Voice & Network Performance Analytics

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Today’s business communications technology produces a lot of valuable data. With access to it, you’ll be able to monitor and refine your voice network and deliver better performance to users. Without data, you’ll be left playing a game of trial and error.

Mitel offers 3 best practices for data-driven decision-making with performance analytics:

  • Detect Problems Sooner with Synthetic Call Tests – By testing VoIP and network performance with synthetic calls, you can pinpoint the most important problems before users are impacted. For instance, you can schedule a SIP call test to occur at 4 am each day between your N. Virginia office and your branch office in Baltimore. If the test identifies poor scores on jitter, packet loss, delay or voice quality, you’ll have time to troubleshoot and correct the problem before it impacts users.
  • Choose Solutions that Adapt to Your Workflow – Monitoring tools are only helpful when they alert you to the problems that matter. Performance analytics ensures you see the problems that matter most based on your workflow and operations. For example, you can customize your alert emails using HTML templates, emphasizing important content and removing extraneous details. You can also customize alarm filters by severity, content or device type.
  • Let Capacity Analytics Guide You – Finding cost-saving opportunities and preventing network problems is easier when you have analytics telling you when your trunks are close to overcapacity or not operating at full capacity. Reports provide easily understood analytics and recommended actions, allowing you to downsize to save money or scale up to prevent performance problems.

When it comes to the reliable performance of your voice network, better data makes for better decisions and outcomes for your business. Contact us today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

As Cyber Attacks Speed Up, Innovative Managed Firewall Solutions Keep Pace

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In the mid-year update of its 2018 Cyber Threat Report issued in July, SonicWall raised the alarm on the continuing surge of malware and ransomware, as well as encrypted threats and chip-based attacks.

Among the key takeaways from the report…

  • More than 5.99 billion total malware attacks detected, up 102% in the first six months of 2018.
  • Ransomware is back in big way, with 181.5 million attacks since January, a 229% year-to-date increase.
  • Encrypted attacks that hide weaponized code are up 275% over last year.

Download the full report

Criminals are not the only ones making big gains, however. The report noted that innovative and emerging firewall technologies are adapting to the changing threat landscape by delivering actionable threat intelligence, security efficacy, and automated real-time breach detection and prevention.

For example, the company’s Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI) firewall technology now stops Meltdown and Spectre chip-based attacks, as well as attacks leveraging PDFs and Microsoft Office documents.

With TCI Secure, our multi-layered security service, you can rest easy knowing all your systems are protected by a broad array of Next Generation Firewall and Management Solutions from SonicWall, End Point Security from Cylance, as well as Patch Management, Wireless Security and Backup/Recovery from security industry leaders.

TCI Secure is subscription-based, offering a flexible, Security as a Service approach to fit your changing requirements. And when coupled with our exclusive Net360 Network Assessment, Comprehensive Onboarding Process and Cloud Based Managed Services, you’ll experience the TCI Advantage!

Don’t wait for a cyber attack to cripple your business… TCI has security solutions that are right for your organization. Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

Managing Multiple Sites? Hundreds of Phones? How Cloud Voice Enables Corporate Communications

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Designed to support small businesses to large enterprises that require customized UC and Collaboration, TCI’s Cloud Voice solution delivers the highest levels of performance, reliability and security through its global, mobile-ready cloud platform.

TCI’s team of certified network engineers will design and deploy a voice solution that keeps your business operating at peak performance – no matter how many locations you may have.

Ideal for Multi-Office Environments

Managing Cloud Voice locations and users is easy. Your local administrators can add and move users from an intuitive, centralized online portal. You can extend feature and call flow control to users or manage their access.

Your users will appreciate having the same communications experience anywhere, anytime, and on any device. Applications and information can be accessed seamlessly from any location because they are delivered from the cloud. Advanced security protection ensures that sensitive data remains safe.

Collaborate Smarter

Users can bring Outlook, Notes, Google, Lync/Skype and other applications into the conversation for true unified communications. TCI also offers robust productivity-enhancing features, including presence-based awareness, instant video communication, visual voicemail, attendant console, and much more.

Maximum Flexibility & Scale

Regardless of company size, you get all the flexibility you need to create your own communications environment without the complexity of managing it yourself. Cloud Voice can easily be scaled up or down instantly, allowing your business to grow and add features at your own pace.

If your legacy phone system is holding back your business, let’s talk about Cloud Voice Service. Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

Mitel Partners with Google AI to Develop the Intelligent Customer Experience

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By 2020 Customer Experience is expected to overtake price and product as the key differentiator used by customers to influence their brand, product and service decisions.

Responding to this reality, Mitel has partnered with Google to deliver new AI-driven customer experience capabilities across all Mitel core contact center solutions, including its cloud-based MiContact Center.

Download: The Impending Contact Center Disruption

Accelerating customization

With a traditional chatbot, a contact center team is responsible for predicting what their customers are going to ask, and painstakingly scripting each interaction. With Mitel/Google’s AI solution, the customer is connected directly to your company’s knowledge base, shifting chatbot implementation time from months to days.

Using NLP – natural language processing – Mitel’s intelligent customer experience solution understands what your customers are saying, chatting or texting – without requiring specific phrasing – and a virtual agent responds in real-time whether a human agent is available or not.

Whenever the virtual agent reaches a question or situation it cannot handle alone, it can involve a human agent in the conversation, feeding its conversation details directly to that agent.

Leveraging machine learning, the AI solution will continue to observe the customer-agent interaction, suggesting relevant options or content to the agent and monitoring which responses come to a successful conclusion. This real-time coaching from AI Agent Assist enables more accurate, more responsive follow ups and an improved customer experience.

The Video Demo: How it Works

This Mitel video explains how the technology…

  • Uses the virtual agent chatbot and AI analytics to respond to common customer needs
  • Stays with each call, SMS or chat to find the best information for each customer
  • Learns what works and what doesn’t to improve future interactions
  • Simplifies agent workflows with smart virtual agent assist

Ready to improve the experience of your customers with AI? Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

Worried About Staying Connected When the Next Hurricane Hits? UCaaS Has You Covered!

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Any number of threats can take your business offline, including floods, road closures, fire and other disasters. When your people can’t get to work, your operations can come to a grinding halt and the collateral damage from your unexpected shutdown can be severe.

In addition to the pain of lost revenues, your customers may find alternative providers and your public image can take a hit.

Paying for expensive redundant services can help mitigate such calamities, but with Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) you’ll get a built-in Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan – without the extra cost.

Today’s voice systems and services are more powerful than ever and are designed to safeguard your business from a range of contingencies. As long as your team has UCaaS, smart phones and wireless data, and/or laptops with access to WiFi, they automatically have the essential elements of a DR plan.

Equipping your team members and contact center reps with their office tools and apps – as they seamlessly work from a remote office or home – will enable your business to withstand virtually any local emergency that shuts down your building.

Let’s get ahead of the next hurricane or disaster before it arrives and talk about exploiting UCaaS for your business continuity plan. Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

 

Want Better Telecom & Broadband Pricing, Performance & Support? TCI Knows the Best Providers

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Finding new ways to improve broadband, data, and voice network services and cut costs is important for the financial health and competitiveness of any business.

One way to achieve fast results is to have the TCI team review your current bills and services. Our relationships with the leading carriers, cable, broadband, and cloud providers, puts TCI in a trusted position to assist your organization in sourcing optimized, carrier-agnostic solutions.

As your advocate, we recommend the providers offering the best service with the best pricing. We lay out all your options so you can make a well-informed decision based on your unique needs. Here’s our proven, step-by-step approach…

  • Undertake a thorough review of your services, invoices, agreements and providers.
  • Evaluate your spending, find better deals and service arrangements, and uncover savings.
  • Lay out all the alternatives and offer recommendations with a clear projection of your savings.
  • Implement your choices by acting as your agent to place orders with the service providers.
  • Track installation progress and manage escalations.
  • Provide a single point of contact for all your voice, data and Internet needs.

Put us to work so you can enjoy better technology, more responsive support, and the best pricing. Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.