As networks and new technology transform how business is done, the reach of what can be managed (infrastructure, applications, CPE, mobile devices, etc.) has grown, as well as what management really means (outsourcing, hosting, cloud, as-a-service, etc.). Depending on the source, anywhere between 60 and 90 percent of businesses already have a managed solution, with plans to integrate more. And the market continues to expand with a compound annual growth rate of almost 18 percent over the next four years. Why are managed solutions so popular? More...

Many things contribute to a successful Unified Communications deployment. Engaging end users and business leaders up front in the planning process is important. So is following through with these same people post-deployment, to ensure users know how to use and maximize the solution. Considering the dynamics between legacy and new equipment is yet another element. 

When it comes to UC, however, it is easy to forget that it is the network that makes it all possible. More...

Over the past several decades of working with IT departments, there has always been a percentage that insist, “we don’t do managed services.” I never quite understood what exactly customers meant by that, because I can’t think of a single company that runs its own coal generators for electricity, builds a new building without hiring an architect, takes their company public without hiring an underwriter, or builds their own 10,000-plus nationwide tower network rather than use a wireless carrier. All companies use managed services of some form; it’s only a question of when and where. More...

When your business depends on data and collaboration – and whose doesn't anymore? – it's understandable if you emphasize caution in how you change the way your people work with that data. That includes where it's kept, how you access it, and how you protect it.

So it's no surprise that a recent Forrester Wave white paper about cloud strategies found that even with online collaboration becoming much more appealing as business dynamics evolve, there is a certain amount of business customer uncertainty when it comes to committing to these collaboration solutions. More...

As the “cloud” concept arose, there was a lot of debate about whether cloud computing would really replace the client-server architectures of today’s enterprises. Now it’s clear that the answer is both “yes” and “no.”

Cloud computing isn’t an “either/or” proposition. What will happen at first is that CD and DVD-ROM drives on computers will start to disappear. “App stores” and the like are nothing more than cloud-based software management systems -- but they work really, really well. Few of the “apps” one downloads to a device or PC are actually cloud-based apps -- but as more and more applications are developed for cloud-based distribution, more and more cloud-based functionality is being written into these apps. More...

Are CIOs and top IT executives hopping on the cloud bandwagon even more enthusiastically than their IT staffs? That appears to be what one of the latest surveys about cloud attitudes reveals.

In the survey, summarized in a CIO.com article, 92 percent of responding top IT decision makers (CIOs and other top IT execs) said they believe cloud technology is good for business. That's an impressive result, but even more so when you see that the same attitude was shared by just 81 percent of IT managers. In our experience, the CIOs usually require convincing by their managers and staffs when it comes to the newest technology approaches, so this is an interesting finding. More...

Like a gathering storm, the cloud keeps getting fuller, more robust, and more capable with every passing week.

Back in March, we unveiled Sprint Complete Collaboration, the hosted, Unified-Communications-as-a-Service offering. Earlier this week, we announced a relationship with CSC that enables Sprint to offer CSC's Infrastructure-as-a-Service solutions to mid-sized and enterprise business customers throughout the U.S. More...

For Paul Seibert, the cost savings that Sprint Complete Collaboration yields are welcome, but what matters to him most are the flexibility, scalability, and management capabilities that this hosted Unified Communications solution brings.

Seibert is Director of Network Operations for Intrepid USA Healthcare Services and Snelling Staffing, both based in Dallas. The companies are owned by Patriarch Partners and share a data center along with the network infrastructure support team headed by Seibert. Collectively, the two companies have more than 200 offices across the contiguous United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. More...

Although it's almost always cost savings that ends up in the leading role, sometimes it's a supporting player that steals the show.

That was the case for Paul Seibert, who heads network operations for Snelling (the staffing people) and Intrepid USA Healthcare. Even though executives almost always look first at what implementing Unified Communications might save the company, that's not a concern for Seibert. More...

Before you can make an informed decision about return on investment (ROI) for a Unified Communications implementation, it is essential to know the scope of that investment. Obviously, it is more than just the up-front cost of the equipment you buy for a premises-based solution, or the ongoing cost of a hosted solution. More...