Available Technologies

Cloud Overview

Cloud, as a category, can be summarized as any "X" aaS offering. Whether you're considering Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), Desktop as a Service (DaaS), Backup as a Service (BaaS), or any other "X" aaS, it's all about taking the hardware and software that used to live on premises, and migrating it to the ever-resilient, flexible, and capable Cloud.

SERVICES

Backup as a Service (BaaS) and Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) - protects a copy of a customer's data in the cloud as a failsafe

Desktop as a Service (DaaS) - virtual desktops are stored in the provider’s data center and accessed through a secure web portal

Managed Office 365 - email services are managed by a service provider and stored in the provider’s data center

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - virtual servers that are located in the service provider’s data center

Managed Public Cloud - layering managed services on top of a public cloud provider (AWS, Google Cloud, MS Azure, etc.)

Colocation Overview

Traditionally, businesses have owned all aspects of their IT systems. They have been responsible for the equipment, the real estate where that equipment is housed, and managing the connectivity, power, and cooling that keeps it humming. But with limited power and connectivity options available, and inadequate security, business are left with expensive, unsecured systems that are susceptible to power and network outages.

Colocation resolves these shortcomings. It is a service that allows businesses to place their existing hardware in purpose-built data center facilities, ensuring reliability with redundant power, cooling, and connectivity to guarantee uptime for applications. Comprehensive security protects your IT environment. These data centers also house cloud service providers, meaning extra capacity is just a cross-connect away. Customers can burst into the cloud as needed or migrate as they depreciate hardware in a true hybrid cloud configuration.

WHAT IS COLOCATION?

Colocation is simply floor space, power, cooling, and sometimes bandwidth in a service provider’s data center. These data centers are redundant with many available carriers, dual fiber paths, and dual power sources, meaning they offer protection against network or power failures. The amount of space rented is entirely up to the client — anywhere from a partial rack to an entire data center. Enterprise class service providers offer various compliances (SSAE 16, PCI, HIPAA, NIST, etc.) and more than 99.9% SLA’s for uptime. Colocation can be combined with other cloud solutions such as cloud computing, managed applications, and managed databases.

WHY CONSIDER IT?

Security – protection from disaster, theft, network/power loss

Reliability – 99.9% uptime or more

Cost – labor, maintenance

Performance & scalability

Office relocation

Compliance requirements

Connectivity Overview

Connectivity is about moving data from A to B. The network connects users, branch offices, HQ, data centers, and cloud services; no matter where you need to go, you’ll need a circuit to get there. Connectivity includes public Internet (fiber, copper, broadband, LTE) and private circuits (MPLS, VPLS, P2P), and every possible mix of those. But not all connectivity is created equal. From traditional approaches like MPLS, to more modern options like SD-WAN and beyond, there are multiple options to fit every use case. The question with connectivity isn’t whether you need it, but which option best meets your needs for performance, cost, and resilience. As network requirements diversify and users and applications become more distributed, you will need a network that can keep up with your business.

SERVICES

Broadband: a high speed connection to the internet

DIA (Dedicated Internet Access): guarantees users always receive their purchased bandwidth, as opposed to shared connections where the bandwidth purchased represents the maximum speed

MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching): a routing technique designed to speed up and shape traffic flows across enterprise wide area and service provider networks

VPLS (Virtual Private LAN Service): a VPN (virtual private network) that connects geographically dispersed local area network sites across an MPLS backbone

Private Line: a private data connection securely connecting two or more locations with high data speeds, without traversing the public internet

Layer 2: the network layer used to transfer data between adjacent network nodes in a wide area network or between nodes on the same local area network

Fixed Wireless: wireless devices or systems in fixed locations such as homes and offices

Satellite: transmission of data via orbiting satellites

SD-WAN Overview

SD-WAN is fundamentally about efficiency. It comes down to giving the people who work for you the tools they need to compete and win on a global stage – the ultimate responsibility of upper management. It touches your customers too – in a situation where network capacity becomes limited for whatever reason, SD-WAN gives you the power to prioritize bandwidth, ensuring that the applications most critical to customer experience don’t skip a beat.

WHAT IS SD-WAN?

Software-Defined - Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) is a combination of technologies designed to offer a simpler approach to the WAN. It’s being driven largely by the decreasing cost of bandwidth and the increase in cloud applications that reside outside of the legacy data center. SD-WAN can be deployed over existing WAN connections, whether they are Internet (DIA, broadband, LTE) or private (MPLS, private line), in order to create a secure, private, fully meshed network. It offers simplified management, quicker turnup, better application performance, improved resiliency, and cost savings when compared to traditional approaches.

WHY CONSIDER IT?

Cost savings vs. expensive private networks

Decreasing the cost of Internet bandwidth

Improved performance for cloud applications

Increased resiliency and uptime across the entire network

Simplified network management, especially at branch sites

Drastically shorter time to deploy new locations

Security Overview

The world would be a better place without state-sponsored cyberattacks… without criminals working to steal your data… without, every so often, one of your own employees becoming a threat. But these are realities we live with today. Proactive measures are the only option. The moment your environment is compromised, it’s already too late. Security is square one.

INDUSTRY STATS

Managed Security is expected to grow from $17B in 2016 to $33B in 2021 (Markets & Markets)

A new company is hit with ransomware every 40 seconds (Kaspersky Security Bulletin)

91% of companies feel vulnerable to hacks (CFO Magazine)

79% of global companies experienced cybercrime in the past 12 months (Source: pwC/CIO & CSO Magazine, Global State of Information Security Survey)

$4 million dollars is the average cost of a security breach (IBM)

SERVICES

Pen Test - an attempt to gain access to a network or application via simulated attack; often required for compliance such as PCI

Risk Assessment - the practice of evaluating an organization’s or IT environment’s current security posture with suggested recommendations for improvement; often performed in reference to a specific security standard or compliance regulation

Managed SIEM - a real-time, managed solution for Security Information & Event Management, designed to provide a holistic view of a customer’s environment and correlate various data sources to identify threats

DDoS Mitigation - a solution designed to block Distributed Denial of Service attacks from taking down a network or online application; especially relevant for businesses that do business online

Access Control - a technique to regulate who or what can use resources or applications on a network; can include Single Sign-On and Identity Access Management

Perimeter Security - a broad approach to fortify the boundaries of a network; may include firewalls, Virtual Private Networks, intrusion detection, and intrusion prevention.

Endpoint Protection - a unified solution to protect desktops, laptops, and mobile devices; features include anti-virus, anti-spyware, and personal firewall

Incident Response - an organized, forensic approach to investigate and remediate a security breach; can be on-demand or via monthly retainer

UCAAS Overview

Communication technologies are now critical infrastructure, central to every business model.

UCaaS streamlines operations, giving IT staffs the ability to tackle once tedious tasks with the click of a button, freeing up bandwidth for higher level concerns. Sales teams are acting with more precision, since UCaaS integration with CRMs enables more efficient interactions with prospects and existing customers. ERP applications can integrate with UCaaS solutions too, so Finance spends more time atop the value ladder as well.

When voice and telephony are integrated with conferencing, email, and instant messaging, little efficiencies emerge in every interaction. Those efficiencies may seem of small import individually but ultimately translate to untold billions of dollars in value when multiplied across organizations over time.

WHAT IS UCAAS?

Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) is a delivery model in which PBX (Private Branch Exchange) and collaboration applications and services are outsourced to a third-party provider and delivered over an IP network, typically the public Internet. It’s being driven by growing desire to eliminate onsite hardware that require maintenance contracts and ongoing management costs, as well as a great need for redundancy to mitigate costly outages. It enables a uniform telephony experience for all users, regardless of location, due to the availability of affordable bandwidth.

EXPLORE YOUR SAVINGS

With the UCaaS TCO Analysis tool, you can explore how cloud communications solutions create substantial savings in the total cost of ownership over on-premise solutions, while also enabling a client's team and business.

WHY CONSIDER IT?

Greater redundancy

Simplified administration

Scalability and flexibility

High call quality and redundancy

Enterprise class features

Access anywhere

CCAAS Overview

CCaaS has reinvented customer care and changed consumers’ expectations. In every industry, organizations that rely on legacy technologies will fail to meet those expectations and be left behind as clients shift to competitors who provide preferred channels of communication, such as web chat and SMS.

With every day that passes, the contact center takes on increasing strategic importance due to its great bearing on customer satisfaction, retention, and sales growth.

Decrease time spent on patching, upgrades, and application refreshes. Minimize soft costs. Increase the efficiency of internal communications. Track agent performance. Integrate ticketing with your PBX. Don’t let an outdated phone system or contact center stand in the way of your company’s KPIs.

WHAT IS CCAAS?

Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) delivers call and contact center functions and capabilities as a service paid via monthly subscription model. CCaaS features include inbound and outbound communication channels such as voice, email, web chat and social media integration, as well as robust reporting capabilities to measure agent productivity and schedule forecasting. Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are rapidly becoming a core component of next-generation contact centers to enhance customer service by providing quick answers to FAQ without needing a live agent.

WHY CONSIDER IT?

Improve customer service

Data analytics

Expand talent pool

Line of business application integration

AI / machine learning

Overview

The Internet of Things (IoT), represents a network of interconnected devices with the capability to gather and exchange data. In this framework, devices are intricately designed to sense, collect, and transmit data to a centralized repository through the internet. Subsequently, this data can be accessed by other devices with internet capabilities. The progression and convergence of IoT technology generally lead to the automation of tasks, reducing the necessity for repetitive actions without the need for direct human-to-human or human-to-computer interactions.

DEFINITION

Sensors:

Sensors are devices designed to collect intricate data from the surrounding environment. The collected data can vary in complexity, ranging from simple temperature monitoring to sophisticated full-video feeds. Devices may incorporate multiple sensors, which, when bundled together, can perform tasks beyond mere sensing. For instance, a smartphone includes various sensors like GPS, accelerometer, and camera, yet it is engineered for functions beyond sensing.

Transport Medium:

The transport medium refers to communication platforms employed by sensors to transfer captured data. Options include cellular networks, satellite networks, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, wide-area networks (WAN), low-power wide-area networks, and more. Each choice involves specifications and trade-offs, considering factors such as power consumption, range, and bandwidth. Selecting the optimal connectivity option is crucial in an IoT system.

Cloud Orchestrators:

Cloud orchestrators are software responsible for processing acquired data. This can range from simple tasks like checking if the temperature reading on an AC or heater falls within an acceptable range to complex activities such as identifying objects (e.g., intruders) using computer vision on video. In certain situations, user interaction may be required. For instance, sensors in a home may trigger alerts for a fire or intruder, prompting user attention.

Notifications:

Notifications involve alarms or alerts generated for users based on relevant data, typically conveyed through phones, emails, and/or texts. Some IoT systems may feature a user interface designed for managing sensors and responding to notifications. This ensures users stay informed and can take necessary actions in response to the data collected by the IoT devices.