Online etiquette

I mingle in social media more and more these days. Linked in, Inside 919, Twitter. They all have a good purpose. Meet people online, create introductions for people that are in your network, gather information, share ideas.

I like Linked in because you can get feedback in a group forum setting. You can ask a question (I believe you can ask 10 per month) and get real feedback from other professionals or people in your network. It can be very valuable. But there seems to be those few individuals out there that just cannot follow proper etiquette.

I recently was a part of a group discussion about hosted VOIP phones/Internet/voice services. We just had to have that one guy who cannot play nice. Rude comments, personal attacks, just in mature. They cannot help themselves. They are know it alls, they rub us the wrong way by delivering condescending comments. It seems to me out on the web and in your network, you would want people to like you, and to respect what you have to offer. I find it amazing when that one person in the group has to be disruptive. This person ripped multiple attendees and I am still not quite sure why. At the end of the day though that person completely discredited himself and now has a negative reputation with at least the folks that were in this discussion. I am sure he has done it before and will do it again. I guess my wish is for people using social media is to work with integrity within the forums. The old comment "Why can't we all get along?" idea. After all there is so much for all of us as vendors, buyers, end users, suppliers to gain from these discussions. As a person in communications technology, with this online tool, I have access to some great minds out there, great or input. Unfortunately since it is an open forum sometimes it comes with a price.

Welcome to the future

Mike

Hosted solutions

It is a new catchy term, hosted. It appears more and more in technology so get used to it. There are a few key areas in communications technology that this term is cementing itself. First of all database and application hosting. Up until know most businesses have tried to manage these services on their own. Hiring IT people, purchasing hardware, and maintaining services within a "telco" room. But it is becoming more attractive to move these services off premise (off location) and let someone else manage them for you. The end user pays a flat fee to have these services maintained.

Phone systems are also now becoming hosted. In the past companies would purchase hardware like routers and servers or PBX phone routing systems, and then deal with several carrier providers for local voice and data. Then the company would employ IT people to manage those services. The problem is the management of a network can bombard an IT person's day taking away the very thing they were hired to do which is provide Intelligence to c level folks. Plus it allows companies to preserve capital by lowering up front costs. Let's face it that is a major concern these days.

I am now allowing Intel to Host my Quickbooks data. It is a great feature for a small business. I do not have to worry about backing up the data manually or through a software purchase. Also for disaster relief scenarios, you cannot beat hosted services. What would happen to your business if a natural disaster like Katrina ruined your city? This hosting idea will be a valid market for businesses to take advantage of over the coming years.

Welcome to the future

Mike

Dedicated internet connection 101

I find businesses trying to cut cost from week to week, it make sense, business is off. But buyer beware when it comes to your Internet connection.

I spend time consulting my clients on this topic. There are several forms of catching an Internet connection in your office. Wireless, cable, DSL, and then there is dedicated. If you can afford it, I recommend businesses using dedicated connections. In other words it is a connection that only your office uses. It is not a shared connection like we see with DSL or cable. The speed does not fluctuate. If you purchase a 512k dedicated connection then it is always 512 up and down, that does not change, plus it is more secure. It provides superior performance and most the IT folks I know would agree with that. You will hear cable providers and phone companies DSL service promise 4 to 7 MB download speed but that is if there is nobody else using the Internet while you are. What are the odds of that?

So before you cut that tie and go DSL or cable and share a connection with your neighbors to save money, make sure you understand the performance consequences. We can negotiate with the service provider on price which will be not much more than DSL. We can bundle the Internet services with your voice calls and LD. Don't cut the corner on this one, I think you will find yourself regretting it if you do.

Welcome to the future.

Mike

Sprint/Nextels unlimited plan is hard to beat

I got a call from a potential client a couple weeks ago. They were looking for a Blackerry roll out and because they are high end users, wanted unlimited usage on all of them. Initially they had mentioned they were partial to Verizon wireless services. That is fine Verizon wireless has a great product. But the unlimited Verizon plan runs at $129.99 monthly without any text messaging included. My consultative voice inside of me had to ask them. "Why are we not considering Sprint?"I was told that because Sprint was losing subscribers that this customer would not consider them. I found this extremely odd. Sprint has a very thorough national digital network. Is it as good as Verizon's, maybe not but the Verizon network is not worth another $40 plus dollars per month per subscriber in this example? Especially in these times. On a 2 year contract, this was a huge difference in price over the 2 year term. But at same time, this same customer was extremely worried about the cost of the handsets. It did not add up for me. To set the record straight, Sprint offers THE most complete unlimited plan in this business. There are carriers that still do not offer or have an unlimited plan. Sprint includes unlimited voice calls, unlimited data which means e-mail and Internet browsing, unlimited texting and even GPS navigation. Recently Boost Mobile which uses the Nextel network offered their unlimited plan for $50. In a time when car manufacturers are offering unique plans for laid off workers, both consumers and businesses alike need to recognize this great value being offered by Sprint.

Welcome to the future.

Mike

Alltel gets a victory

Have you noticed Verizon adds for "Friends and Family"? It was Verizon's answer to the Alltel gang in Arkansas pushing to keep some things the same. Verizon is a big beast, not always interested in listening to the small guys. Their purchase of Alltel was a delicate subject for all the dedicated folks in Little Rock. This time they used better judgement and offered Alltel's version of My Circle. I had many many Alltel customers asking about this feature, and guess what, it is here to stay. Verizon is not the least expensive service on the block. But allowing this free mobile to mobile feature add was a wise move. I have to admit, this time they got it right. The story of this merger though is only beginning.

Welcome to the Future

Mike

Smartphone features

I notice market share increasing every so slightly for Blackberries/I-Phones, Windows Mobile devices. People are catching on. But do not fall too far behind if you still carry that old boring flip phone. They find a handful of useful features that make their lives or work that much easier.

Synchronize your phone with Outlook. Taking notes on a device, going paperless. Utilizing a full QWERTY keyboard for easy text. Texting to a Twitter account is a cutting edge idea. Managing media files like pictures or video is becoming easier on a smart phone. How about surfing the web, tracking the stock market portfolio real time (well not quite like a broker but close!) How anyone can do without e-mail on the fingertips is beyond me.

Find features for your business that increase productivity. Make sure that your office encourages the use of the features and even offers training on how to utilize them. These devices will bring value to your everyday affairs if they are used consistently.

Welcome to the Future

Mike

Keep insurance on those Blackberries

Have you ever had to purchase a replacement phone for one that was lost or stolen or damaged beyond repair? It is not cheap. The retail value of these phones we all buy has gone up. We demanded Bluetooth, cameras, Smart phone technologies and so the cost of the phones was driven up. When we sign a new 2 year agreement or have an upgrade available to us, we can get a discount off of the new phone so it is not as expensive to buy. But if you are replacing a phone and you are not eligible for a discount, you will pay handsomely for it.

Consider this: The retail value of the new Sprint Nextel Curve Blackberry is $569. The Motorola Q9C retails for $399. The Treo 800w retails for $599! Heck most nice flip phones retail for well over $200.

Keep a spare phone or 2 handy. It is tempting to sell those old phones that we have but wise to keep them for backup purposes, especially if they are still in decent shape. You can have a current address book loaded in them and ready for that untimely moment when the phone is lost or damaged. Most of our business clients keep a drawer full of phones handy. If an emergency pops up then we can move a phone line to the spare right away and avoid any downtime. I have purchased phones from e-bay. I have had clients purchase them from e-bay. It is a cheap alternative. But buyer beware, I can also give you examples of you get what you pay for! If you want to replace an expensive phone with a new expensive phone, then you should carry insurance.

Insurance runs between $5-$7 per month per phone. I have always maintained that if you carry a nice phone, you better carry insurance. Asurion Protection Services is the insurance company that writes policies for most of the carriers. As of April of this year, deductibles on Smart phones like a Blackberry or a Windows Mobile device will go up to $100 per incident. All other phones carry a $50 deductible. You can make 3 claims per year, per phone number. They will overnight the phone to you and you will be up and running in no time at all. All it takes is one claim to pay for several years’ worth of monthly fees.

Welcome to the Future

Mike