What Is Unified Communications?

Unified communications allows all formats (voice, video, cellular, email, messaging, presence, etc.) to converge into one platform. That means instant messaging finds you whether you are at your desk, in a meeting, on the road or where ever. It means that when you are on a call at your desk and you need to leave, you transfer the call to you cell phone and move on. It means that video conference calls between offices take place from the users' desks, etc.

In a word, it allows people to remain connected to employees and customers while being mobile. People can be traveling to customer sites, sales calls, site visits, remote offices, (even vacationing) and still be reached by other staff and customers. It really makes doing those things easy.

The business case is efficiency and customer availablility.

Unified Communications can greatly benefit a small business by resolving the complexities of fragmented communication. A bigger business image can be projected to the callers with Unified means of communication. Web conferences can be conducted online with the involvement of text, images and pdf files for effective communication. Just a click of a button is required to share multiple data files with various recipients instantly to grab the best deals and impress the clients. Real time collaboration helps employees connect on a greater basis.

I always thought the whole idea of UC went far beyond simply unifying voice, video, IM, email, SMS, etc. in a single enterprise communications platform, even if all those modes were accessible by all registered users from any location. Wasn’t the idea to make communications (in any form) fundamentally integral to business processes? Then, you’d have benefits derived from being able to communicate with anyone, right from within the business application you happened to be using, and have both parties with simultaneous, seamless access to the same data throughout the conversation. Effective, efficient and productive (EEP). Not many so-called UC providers offer all of that. Most are merely multi-channel contact centre systems by another name.

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Vineyard Data Center Park Provides Affordable Options for Colorado Springs Facilities

There’s been quite a bit of ‘rumble’ about Wal-Mart’s Colorado Spring Data Center.  According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, the world’s No. 1 retailer has a 210,000 square foot data center under construction.  As previous photo blogs have shown, it is well on its way to be completed by the end of 2012.   

So if these mega-companies are so discerning, why are they selecting Colorado Springs?  The team at Vineyard Data Center Park knows best.  According to Vince Colarelli, a principle with Vineyard LLC and owner of Colarelli Construction, Colorado Springs was named one of the ten best cities for data centers by American Banker, the report cite cost of operations and security as key advantages.  Vineyard takes it a step further.  They’re building a ‘very green-focused type of data center park.’  The data center park will be supported by biomass and waste-to-energy plants powered by Colorado Springs Utilities.  

Colorado Springs offers a hotbed of sustainable energy and cooling options, tax incentive programs, immense power supply and is safe guarded from natural disasters and major terrorist threats.  It appears that companies, like FedEx, Hewlett Packard, Verizon, Progressive Insurance and Wal-Mart are on to something.  With Vineyard Data Center Park’s construction underway, many other companies will be able to take advantage of the natural benefits offered in Colorado Springs – without investing $100’s million.

For more information about the Vineyard Data Center Park and data center availability in Colorado, contact wiredre@imillerpr.com

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Broadband, Voice, & Wireless Services From CenturyLink

CenturyLink is the third largest telecommunications company in the United States. The company provides broadband, voice and wireless services to businesses across the country. In addition, the company provides data, voice and managed services to business, government and wholesale customers in local, national and select international markets through its high-quality advanced fiber optic network and multiple data centers.

What You Should Know About CenturyLink

CenturyLink has recently acquired Embarq, Savis, and CenturyLink. Thanks to these recent mergers, CenturyLink is now the third-largest telecommunications company in the United States.

CenturyLink owns and operates more than 173,000 network miles and 17 data centers.

CenturyLink Business Products.....

* Data T1
* Bonded T1
* Frac/Full DS3
* Frac/Full OC3/12/48
* Ethernet over Copper
* Ethernet over DS1/DS3
* VPLS
* Metro Fiber Ethernet
* Gigabit Ethernet
* Integrated (SIP Handoff)
* Integrated (PRI Handoff)
* Integrated (Analog Handoff)
* POTS Lines
* Colocation
* Local Voice
* Dedicated LD (In/Out)
* SIP (Local/LD Trunks)
* Point to Point
* MPLS
* Ethernet WAN

To take advantage of any of the offerings from CenturyLink simply request a free rate quote here ....

Broadband, Voice And Wireless Services

CenturyLink Network Map

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Tips On How To Migrate To A MPLS Network Architecture For Your Business

So your boss has heard of MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) and is all excited about the possibilities it holds for your company's voice and data network. The positives to your network reliability, performance, and cost make it seem to be a no brainer. But...you're not sure how to migrate from your existing traditional WAN (Wide Area Network) configuration to MPLS.

You're tasked with investigating if moving your company's network from a point-to-point T1 WAN architecture to a MPLS architecture makes business sense.

The easy answer here is yes. It most cases of course it does.

But.... why? And more importantly.... How do you accomplish the changeover?

In looking at changing your architecture from Point to Point to an MPLS type of network I suggest starting with the business requirements and tying your network requirements to the business needs. In this manner, you'll have clear business outcomes for comparison when you start getting the cost vs benefits discussion involved when developing your business case for investment.

A robust Total Cost of Ownership model will be needed to understand what the TCO will be going forwards. Also, I'd suggest developing a strong understanding of the costs of doing nothing and also the potential savings or new revenue opportunities for your business so you can develop a Net Present Value (NPV) of your network options.

I would also recommend looking at the interfaces you're looking to support in the network. MPLS does enable you to have a common protocol across all your networks and you can effectively establish an MPLS Cross Connect in your network. This will rely on how your local service providers will provide MPLS services to you, if at all. So you would most likely need to purchase either point to point or point to multipoint based transmission services from your provider. We're seeing that many enterprises and service providers are heading towards ethernet ubiquity as a service interface and then offering multiple services on top of the ethernet interface.

VoIP works well across an MPLS type of network, however it does depend on the services that you purchase off your service provider. As you're looking at MPLS, then I assume that you're looking at buying straight transmission services and then you'll use MPLS to aggregate traffic into your WAN links. Hence, you're business case is going to be driven by arbitrage opportunities so capture as much traffic as possible onto your network and apply QoS at the edge.

From a QoS perspective, ensure that you can also apply policing to the traffic that goes onto your WAN traffic. I recommend applying Hierarchical QoS as this will enable you to dynamically share the bandwidth in your WAN links.

As you can tell, there are lots of issues and questions that need to be addressed so I'd suggest working closely with some trusted partners and driving towards an outcome based business drivers and commercial outcomes.

We have worked with many customers that have migrated to MPLS from old school point to point. There are a few reasons our customers did this, but let me assure you the #1 reason was cost. A good competitive carrier will offer an MPLS solution that is sometimes less costly than the old point to point type solution..... with most of the same or more functionality.

But there are some factors:

1. If the point to points are crossing state or lata boundaries..... or are fairly separated by miles.... you should enjoy considerable savings.

2. If you get a carrier that bundles MPLS with an Integrated Access type solution you will save big money (combination of voice, internet & MPLS delivered on one T1 with quality of service).

Here's some additional points that might help you.

1. Is it redundant? Yes, depending on how you design your network (we can help you of course) sites can network with each other over your wide area network for disaster recovery/ redundancy. Unlike the traditional point to point architecture where you might only be as strong as that single link. We helped a huge national company with a migration from point to point and frame relay to MPLS. The big reason was with so many sites there was an outage almost every day. The network was designed with redundancy as the main driver.

2. Does it work as well? It depends who you ask. Are you talking to a salesman? He will say yes. Let me give you my "consultant" opinion. It works ALMOST as well but there are so many benefits to MPLS that typically motivate a customer to change. For example, if you have Quality of Service (QoS) sensitive applications running across your WAN then you should consider MPLS. MPLS is a private networking technology similar to the concept of Frame Relay in that it is delivered in the "cloud". The primary difference with MPLS is that you can purchase quality of service for applications across your WAN. During the provisioning process the carrier (or your agent-wink wink) will interview you in order to determine which applications are important to your business, they will then build a QoS template to service these applications on your WAN. These applications will be given priority over all other traffic in times of peak load. MPLS is by far the most costly solution between Frame Relay, VPN and MPLS.... but is the only technology that will support QoS!

But let's put the salesman aside and remember one thing. With MPLS we are using the carrier's private network which is infinitely better than creating your own VPN. But because of some "overhead" and the belief that all carriers over-subscribe somewhat I am convinced that it's ALMOST as good.

So if it's almost as good would it be worth migrating if you could enjoy cost savings & redundancy??? Maybe. But these are the things that are making MPLS the hot ticket now.

3. Does this work well with VOIP? Sure. You can get QoS like I stated above.

MPLS is an IP-based framing technology (at OSI layer 3) that inherently meshes your WAN (this is the redundancy you refer to above). MPLS has a feature called QoS or quality of service. This feature allows both your CPE router and the carrier's network to prioritize data based upon your settings or preferences (carrier's level of support of QoS can be broad) and gives you more "bang for your buck" with the bandwidth that you select for the local loop going to each office. MPLS is made for VoIP like RC Cola is made for Moonpies. Because true "toll quality" VoIP requires prioritization across a carrier network, you (or your provider) can tag VoIP traffic with high priority to easily address the jitter and latency sensitivity inherent in the service.

The other huge advantage you have is that you can add locations with a simple routing table update and maintain a fully-meshed architecture, where with Point to Point circuits, you would have had to add a separate circuit to each location you want to interconnect, making MPLS more and more cost friendly the more locations you add.

Finally, MPLS allows you (or your carrier) to configure network objects (such as servers, VPN concentrators, and Network-Based Firewalls) as nodes on your MPLS network. For instance, with a properly deployed Network Based Firewall, you can provide all of your locations with an internet connection over your MPLS network that doesn't rely on a single location to aggregate the traffic. Some carriers even offer redundant firewalls, meaning that you have redundant Internet connections fully meshed giving you more potential up-time in the case of a single failure on your network.

What do you need to consider? In my experience, the biggest things to keep in mind are:

- Stay away from MPLS enabled Frame/ATM networks with committed access rates (CAR), this committed access rate is often a lower bandwidth than your local loop bandwidth, which can degrade your quality and quantity of bandwidth across a carrier's network (its always in the fine print).

- QoS at the "Edge" and across the "Core" - choose a carrier with both.

- QoS recognition across the carrier network - some carriers will allow customers to mark packets with priority, but will not recognize and uphold that priority, don't fall into this trap.

- SLA guarantees - be sure to choose a carrier that provides acceptable service level agreements for the type of service you plan to push across your network

- Customer Service and dedicated sales rep - you want someone you can reach out to with questions that you can trust - this is the most difficult thing to find.

For free assistance designing the right MPLS configuration for your network.... and sourcing the most cost effective provider..... I suggest you take advantage of the resources available at MPLS Networks

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Colorado Springs Attracting Major Data Centers – Shall we dub it ‘TECHNOLOGY VALLEY’?

Colorado Springs is a hot bed for technology companies.  In the most recent years leading companies such as FedEx, Progressive Insurance, Verizon Wireless, HP, Agilent and Wal-Mart have decided to make Colorado Springs, CO the home for their data centers.   Is Colorado Springs quickly becoming the Silicon Valley or shall we dub it ‘Technology Valley’ due to its ongoing and aggressive interest to attract major companies to the region?

We recently sat down with Dave White, Executive Vice President of Marketing for the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to gain a better insight as to the who, why and why of Colorado Springs.

The mission of the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC is to attract new jobs and investments into the region with a focus on companies interested in a long-term location for their HQ or Technology operations.  According to Dave, companies such as Wal-Mart, who is currently constructing a brand new data center in Colorado Springs, companies due a lot of due diligence before settling on a specific geographic location for their ‘technology’ centers.

About six years ago, Progressive Insurance moved its data center to Colorado Springs due to the area’s low electricity costs and risk adverse geography (Colorado Springs sits outside of the zone of any major natural disaster threats).   The combination of costs of power, typically offered at $0.045 per KW/hour, with a low risk location particularly made Colorado Springs an attractive location to build their data center.

Another key attribute that Colorado Springs offers is ‘free air cooling.’  Free air-cooling, an emerging trend in the industry (though companies like Iron Mountain, who store vital records and offers underground space for data centers within its Boyers, PA limestone cavern has been employing hydraulic and free air cooling for more than 20 years.)  Free air-cooling in Colorado Springs is made possible due to the area’s cool nights.  Even though the temperatures could easily climb to 90F in the summer, nights quickly cool down to 50F.  This temperature fluctuation allows for less taxing on electricity and offers access to free air for natural cooling capabilities.

The Greater Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC has put a tremendous amount of effort into identifying the key benefits of the area while providing additional incentives to lure major corporations to the region.  Additional incentives include business and personal tax rebates.  These cover state, city and school taxes.  Furthermore, the Chamber has been providing custom incentive offerings for major companies, like Wal-Mart to build in their region.

With Incentives – personal and business tax rebates, costs savings in power and cooling, and a geographically safe zone, Colorado Springs is a burgeoning area for major enterprises.  Finally, you won’t be without network connectivity since the area is also home to key telecom industry giants including Level 3, CenturyLink and Zayo.  The area is set to continue to grow; this will attract a wealth of knowledge while also tapping into the already highly educated individuals in the area.  The creation of jobs, the improvements in the school, the quality of life and the safety and well being of your company’s data – that should be worth all of the savings in the world – but we all know, it’s not.

For more information about the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Corporation or to find out how you can benefit from existing or customized incentives to join the marquee companies already building in the region, contact  719-471-8183 or visit www.coloradospringschamber.org

 

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Who Is Advantix Solutions Group?

Advantix Solutions Group is a global leader in Mobility Telecom Optimization and Management Services. Advantix delivers unparalleled solutions that empower customers to take control of their entire mobile telecommunications infrastructure.

Advantix takes care of your wireless telecommunications headache.



Advantix Solutions

Advantix Solutions' dedication to offering comprehensive, managed solutions is unique in our industry. As you will discover, they provide solutions, not software; solutions that are designed to eliminate the time you spend on wireless telecommunications management. Experience has shown that success in telecommunications management is determined as much by resources and expertise as tools. If you are evaluating a solution that emphasizes tools over resources, consider Advantix and see what sets them apart.

Advantix Delivers

Advantix offers services to fully manage the entire mobility telecommunications lifecycle. They focus on reducing the time and expenses associated with these programs so you can apply critical resources towards other key business objectives.

By allowing Advantix to manage your telecommunications, you'll realize lower internal administrative costs, expedited support and trouble ticket resolution for users, decreased spend, and greater accountability and visibility across your organizations

Advantages of Advantix’ Wireless Optimization and Mobility Management services:

* Projected customer savings 25-35% with a risk-free, no-obligation wireless analysis

* Reinvestment of customer savings into emerging telecom services

* Reduced or eliminated time spent in administration of wireless accounts

* Increase in mobility device counts

* Customized reporting and consulting, configurable to meet your customers’ specific requirements

* Ongoing management to maintain optimal service, support and savings

* Identification and elimination of billing errors and wasteful spending

Advantix Products:

* Wireless Optimization

* Enterprise Mobility Management

* Consolidated Billing

* Customized Reporting

* Help Desk

* RFP Management

* Data Strategy

* Carrier Contract Negotiation

* Assets & Inventory Management

To take advantage of any of the services offered by Advantix Solutions Group simply request a free rate quote here ....

Mobility Telecom Optimization and Management Services

Advantix Solutions Group Videos

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Who Is Mosaic Networx?

Mosaic NetworX is a carrier-neutral, data services provider specializing in high-availability, low-latency networks. Mosaic NetworX designs and delivers custom network solutions using: metro private line, IP transit, Ethernet, MPLS, dark fiber and more. Mosaic NetworX also provides data center and colocation solutions throughout the United States and globally.

What You Should Know About Mosaic NetworX

Mosaic is a global voice and data service provider. Mosaic executes and deploys their customers critical network needs. Their mission is to be neutral and objective, providing a positive customer experience; resulting in the best solution for you.

Mosaic NetworX Products....

* Private Line Service

* Metro Service

* Internet Service

* Voice Origination

* Voice Termination

* DID Service

* Colocation

* VLAN Solution

To see what Mosaic Networks can do for you ... including a free rate quote ... simply ask here:


Custom Data Network

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Why Use Managed Services?

Many of today’s small to medium sized businesses are opting for managed IT services as it is cheaper and in many cases, more effective than trying to run an entire IT infrastructure in-house. There are a number of advantages to having a team of experienced professionals at the ready to look after your IT systems and handle issues as they arise. 
 
This article will look at some key benefits of managed IT services for your business environment.

Centralized Platform
You have a small business where you manage a couple of servers, a few dozen laptops and desktops, a couple of printers, and a number of smart phones to keep your workers connected with the business while they are out in the field. 
 
With a managed IT solution, you can have a single, centralized point of contact, such as a help desk, that your employees can turn to whenever they have any IT related questions or requests. This help desk will monitor your network and respond to threats and challenges 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Systems Administration
Managed IT will also provide hardware support on location, administration of your system (ex. when accounts need to be created or passwords need to be reset) and also deal with the change management process of setting up the new IT infrastructure with proper training.In addition, a managed solution will also be charged with:

• Installing, reinstalling, and deleting software and applications;
• Backing up data and programs as needed;
• Managing your printers and wireless devices;
• Replacing hardware and software packages as needed. 

 
Boost the Power of Your IT Resources
Why drain your IT department’s valuable expertise by making them run daily operational tasks?  Managed IT services will take care of back-ups, systems maintenance, install a wireless printer, resolve that virus that was brought in on a USB stick and spread throughout your network…  Essentially, they’ll put out all the fires so you can use your IT resources to innovate and improve services.
 
The Bottom Line:
Outsourcing your IT needs with a managed solution like Syntax managed services will help you gain the competitive edge while resolving  tech-related issues quickly, efficiently, and cost effectively.

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Healthcare IT costs in NJ 25% less than NYC

Healthcare IT is a $2.6 trillion services industry.  One of the key drivers, cited by The Boyd Reports 'Healthcare Services Industry:  A Comparative Cost Analysis for Information Assurance Operations,' is security.  Other key factors include capital spending and site selection as key considerations for companies within the healthcare services industry.  The study recently published by Boyd, a company that provides independent site selection counsel to leading U.S. and overseas corporations, explores the healthcare data security center costs across 50 U.S. cities.  The report explores the total operating costs for each city and breaks these operational costs down.  For instance, New York City, which is ranked the most expensive city to operate a Healthcare data center, could cost companies over $31.6 million.  Calculations include labor costs, power, property and sales tax, HVAC costs and travel (to and from).  This figure, compared to the study's lowest cost city, Sioux Falls, SD comes in at just over $17 million for the same considerations.  Is a NYC address worth more than double the cost of the nation's lowest cost healthcare IT facility location?If you need a NYC Metro address, it's much easier to....CONTINUE READING ON FIBERMEDIA BLOG

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BSNL’s Data Center Fire Reminds Us to Know Our Fire Suppression Options

Though it was about half way across the world, the fire that affected BSNL’s network in India was another reminder of the importance of ensuring your telecom infrastructure is protected with the right fire suppression solution.    A bit closer to home, back in October 2011 the New York Stock Exchange experienced a small fire in its Mahwah, NJ data center.  While BSNL’s network, including landlines, mobile service and financial transaction capabilities were felt wide and far, NYSE’s fire was extinguished rather quickly and did not affect trading the next day.

More than we know, fires or smoke situations occur in data centers across the country on a relatively regular basis.  It’s the ones that we don’t hear about that most likely were not service affecting (at least on a grand scale), were able to be contained in a relatively short amount of time, and/or their fire or smoke suppression systems did not drench the equipment but simply snuff the source to contain any potential damage.   This is one of the most critical elements of data center design – ensuring that you have the right fire suppression solution for each phase of a potentially hazardous situation.

There are systems that activate based on smoke and heat sensitivity.  But further to that, the systems are also activated based on the severity of the issue.  Multi-prong mitigation solutions must be considered.  Typical buildings, especially older or dated buildings, rely on overhead sprinkler systems.  But that’s simply not appropriate for a fire situation in a data center.  Why?  Have you ever spilled water on your laptop?  Imagine pouring tons of water on your switching gear, Internet routers, dousing your copper or fiber connections with water and drenching an entire facility.  Water will short circuit systems, ensure a complete re-installation and re-purchase is required and cost you tons of time and man-hours to repair.  Data center operators have a tremendous cleanup job after a waterlogged fire situation and that’s just the start of it.  

According to Fenwal Protection Systems, sprinklers are designed to protect the building structure, but not a company’s assets.  They require significant heat to operate, typically requiring a full flaming fire to set it off- destroying key assets at the source of the fire.  Furthermore, collateral damage from water and smoke also destroy electronic equipment quite a distance away from the incident.  Fenwal estimates the downtime costs can be enormous.  Consider that revenue per hours has been estimated to be $1.5M in financial services, $1.2M in insurance and $1.0M in banking alone. 

Knowing your options, accessibility to these options and the wherewithal too install the right solution is key to a successful and hazard free data center operation.  The NYSE fire situation was quickly extinguished with very little to know affect on vital operations of its business.  Though it was not disclosed what fire suppression system they used, one can hazard a guess that it is a gas containment solution like Fenwal Protection Systems’  aragonite inert gas, which promises zero environmental impact when used as a fire protection solution.   Fenwal touts a variety of solutions including clean agent suppression systems, high sensitivity smoke detection systems, and intelligent detection and control systems.  Consulting the right solution provider can and will save you millions of dollars.  And knowing the type of system your data center uses will ensure that your equipment is safe guarded even when other systems may be damaged.

For more information about data center fire suppression systems contact visit www.fenwalfire.com or email info@wiredre.com.

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Telecom Provider News For April

Here's the news from the Telecommunications industry for April 2012 .....

* AT&T - released new information regarding its fourth-generation LTE network rollout plans for the United States with expanded coverage coming to 12 new markets.

* Cbeyond - announced its new Remote Migration Service, which transitions businesses to the cloud without interrupting workflow.

* Comcast - introduced a hosted PBX service that it will use to drive more commercial voice revenues as it continues to head upmarket to take on the telcos target businesses with up to 250 employees.

* Level 3 - plans to establish a strategic relationship with Avaya in support of the AvayLive Connect Solution in the U.S.

* PowerNet Global - completes an overhaul on its core network, including additions of state-of-the art equipment and features that the company says ensure a better customer experience.

* XO - offers a new on-time installation guarantee on certain products as it seeks to bolster partners' confidence in the company.

To learn more about any of the services cited above AND take advantage of special limited pricing deals, simply request more information here ....

Dedicated Bandwidth And More

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The Switch From TDM To IP Is Slow Coming

Why is the much anticipated change from TDM to IP taking so long? Well .....

As with any change of this nature, there has to be a compelling reason to change. That compelling reason is ALWAYS money. Change for the sake of change sounds good, but if you have billions invested in hardware, software and training, you are not just going to throw it out and buy new. You are going to milk it for every dollar you can before it goes away. Circuit switched technology will be with us for many years to come

The main reason, in my opinion, is confusion. To all of the points above, if you have ever reviewed an IP-based voice solution ROI that involves a hardware purchase, few look as solid under a microscope, and even those that do are challenged by the fact that some of the financial benefits often appear on a non-IT balance sheet or budget (productivity and capabilities).

The other challenges are based in the lack of consistency between service offerings (i.e. premise based, versus partially hosted, versus completely hosted, etc.).

What will be most interesting to watch is whether the adoption of Cloud Services outpaces the adoption of IP-based voice services, as the final challenge is a general disinterest in voice services by many IT Decision Makers - who are more and more handling the voice networks for their company, and the consequential lack of understanding.

Money is a great motivator to make changes, which makes the cost-savings associated with IP-based voice systems so appealing. As previously suggested, confusion and TOO MANY options and variables are to blame for the delay...

In order to achieve the very attractive ROI by moving to an IP-based (or cloud based) voice system, you have to potentially replace your last-mile carrier, your phone system, your phone system maintenance vendor...and even your high-bandwidth internet provider in order to find a solution that really works. This ends up being a very large under-taking...and most IT Decision Makers are more interested in the stability of incremental upgrades rather than a complete over-haul. Fear of the Unknown/Difficult is a powerful de-motivator.

It used to be that you could make these incremental ROI improvements, like finding a new transport carrier or phone system maintenance provider, but now it seems that the only logical next-step is to adopt an IP-based or cloud based solution. So, since it is so confusing and complicated with so many variables, the whole-sale adoption of these newer voice solutions is taking time.

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How Energy Efficient is Your Data Center?

This is the question asked by Deerns Consulting Engineers' white paper published in the fall of 2011.  The white paper addresses key issues associated with energy optimization of data centers, with an emphasis on implementing cost-savings solutions.  "Based on Deerns' experience, energy savings of 15-35% with a payback time of less than one year are feasible, even for very efficient facilities," cites the paper.  What they know can help companies excel at creating reliable data centers while reducing costs associated with energy bills - and who doesn't want cost savings?

According to Deerns' paper, now is the right time to upgrade your data center facility.  There are a number of nationwide rebate programs from utility companies, municipalities and state and federal grants that companies can leverage.  While many data centers have already taken advantage of these incentives, Deerns can help you do so too - while they are still in play.  So how do they reduce your energy consumption? ..... Read the full article here, How Energy Efficient is YOUR Data Center? courtesy of WiredRE

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5 Reasons to Attend - International Telecoms Week 2012

International Telecoms Week (ITW) 2012 is where global telecom executives meet, greet and get deals done.  For the past 4+ years, the event has attracted over 5,000 people annually to the venue where meeting rooms, bilateral tables, exhibitions, round tables and networking events ensure opportunities to get in front of key decision makers of the companies you want to do business with.  If you aren't already planning to attend ITW 2012 in Chicago (new location!), here are five reasons you should - oh and if you're not already registered - you should do so now, as the planning has already begun:

1.  It's the largest gathering of global telecom executives in the world - here are the staggering statistics:  5,300 delegates from nearly 1,700 companies representing 150+ countries meet to buy and sell both voice and data products and services

2.  The exhibition floor in Chicago is set to be the most dynamic, workable room with multiple booths, branded meeting rooms and bilateral tables mixed all together.  The energy alone is not one to be missed

3.  This year it's in Chicago!  Why a new location?  The old venue is undergoing a transformation into a mixed condo and hotel facility.  This year's venue in Chicago is set to be a brand new experience and one that everyone will be on equal footing - get in the game now

4.  With more than 1,700 companies in attendance, here's your chance to meet with companies you have only dreamed of meeting.  If you get your schedule organized in advance, your opportunities to land that meeting (finally) are better than good

5.  Back to back meetings set the ground work for future opportunities, provide the right framework for re-establishing old opportunities and the evening networking activities provide the perfect opportunity for you to meet those you didn't realize you needed to know

There's so much to do at ITW 2012.  Here's the link - register now, I promise you - you won't be disappointed.

p.s. if you are, just find me at the event and let me know why - I'll be there! email me, ilissa@imillerpr.com

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MPLS Case Studies and More For ACC Business, Telnes, Advantix, and Netwolves

In the month of January we hosted three fantastic case studies highlighting the unique MPLS network capabilities of ACC Business and Telnes.

Other calls highlighted an end user's experience with Advantix and how NetWolves helped support a request for a 45,000+ location network.

The following calls are now available online....

* ACC Business

* Telnes

* Advantix

* NetWolves

To take advantage of any of the offerings for your data or voice network from ACC Business, Telnes, Advantix, or NetWolves ... simply request a free rate quote here:

MPLS Networks And More

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XO Communications Reinventing Themselves

XO Communications recently shared with Channel Partners Magazine their 3-Year Plan for the channel, which will help streamline product offering, eliminating most TDM services, and improving service delivery.

XO continues to make significant strides in the Business Ethernet world. In 2011, XO Communications rose from the seventh position at mid-year to the fifth position at the end of the year.

They truly are getting better everday.

To get more information on what XO Communications can offer for your data and or voice network .... including free rate quotes ... simply ask here:

XO Communications

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Fire Suppression Considerations for Your Data Center

Researching information on the different methods of fire suppression for data centers, I came across this article from 2006 written by Matt Stansberry of TechTarget.  He writes, "fire suppression experts determined one method is not enough to keep your facility safe and equipment functioning. You need both."

What are the options?  There's water and gas.  One of the article participants included a Florida-based automotive services company that uses clean agent gas with sprinklers as backup.  "The dry system acts a lot quicker than water. It's activated by smoke."  When constructing smart data center solutions, it would be logical to assume that gas - a clean agent - would be the most preferential choice.  Since 2006 there have been some tremendous strides in fire suppression solutions, one such company, Fenwal Protection Systems, offers a number of options specifically designed for data centers, IT facilities, telecommunications centers and switch gear rooms.   

Fenwal 9300 Series features an environmentally friendly, sustainable technology that is clean and non-toxic.  It is certified for use in occupied spaces.  It is a compound of carbon, fluorine and hydrogen in a colorless, odorless and electrically non-conductive gas.  It suppresses fires by a combination of chemical and physical mechanisms without affecting the available oxygen.  The benefit of this gas for data centers is that is its clean, leaves no residue and nearly eliminates costly after-fire clean-up.  Most materials such as steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass and other metals as well as plastics, rubber and electronic components are unaffected by explores to FM-200.  

But just knowing you have gas versus water - or both isn't enough to protect your facilities from fires.  You need to have the right fire alarms and smoke/heat detectors.  The alarm devices themselves make a huge difference and the sensitivity is key to effectively managing a dire situation.  But that's not all companies need to worry about.

 

Training is another important factor. Making sure your network operation center and data center technicians know how to effectively manage a smoke and fire situation is key to ensuring the equipment not only stays up but is protected.  Many hardware manufacturers will also want to see their gear to ensure that it doesn't happen to others - so not over taxing it with too much water or the wrong type of fire suppression fluid or gas is key to ensuring safety in the data center not just for your gear but all others as well.

For information about Fenwal Protection Systems and to learn more about the steps you should take to protect your data center, IT equipment and more visit www.fenwalfire.com or contact info@wiredre.com for a consultation to ensure you install the right solution. 

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The Future Of Video Communication

I kind of remember when I was a very young lad ...seeing the phones from AT&T labs that had cameras for two way video during a call ... I kind of remember them saying someday everyone will have these … it was long before I ever heard of Unix or IBM unleashed the PC. And today, I see users put tape over the built-in cameras on their laptops because they don't trust the things.

Video calling is built into every messaging platform on the planet - Skype, Yahoo, MSN, Google, Lync, Cisco communicator, CuCeeMe (or whatever its called these days) …I can do video communications between tablets, iPods, cell phones, desktops, laptops, and even dedicated conference room equipment …

The technology is so pervasive and so under used – I have to think it’s not a deployment problem any longer. I don’t think that will change in the next 3 years, the next 10 years, or the next 50 years – for the same reason texting is more popular than calling …the intrusion is more bother than its worth.

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