If you’re new to the world of unified communications, or managed voice, learning the different components can be a bit daunting. Just keeping the acronyms involved in these new phone systems straight can be confusing. Take SBC, for example. SBC is an acronym for Session Border Controller—a network element deployed to protect SIP based VoIPs. SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is another acronym for a signaling protocol that initiates, maintains, and terminates voice, video, and messaging applications—all functions usually included in VoIP services. VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, which essentially is voice and related services over the internet. (If you’re interested in learning more about VoIP, there’s a helpful blog about it here.)

It’s coming up on cold and flu season, and many of us are lining up to get preventive maintenance: a flu shot. Preventive maintenance is how most things are maintained and serviced—from human bodies to household appliances. In anticipation of mechanical parts breaking or needing repairs, we schedule service. Oil changes, annual HVAC assessments, and annual wellness exams are all examples of preventative maintenance. We hope that periodically checking the status of a piece of equipment will alert us to upcoming failure, reducing the amount of equipment downtime and the cost of repairs.

Remember when shopping for school supplies was fun? When purchasing the right pens, folders, or notebooks was going to make or break the school year—getting you started out organized, ready to succeed? Well, shopping for office technology is shopping for school supplies all grown up and having the right fit for your organization can help put your best foot forward. Not only can having the right equipment save your business time, but streamlining operations with optimized tools saves you money, too.

Company-wide phishing emails, thousands of files lost in ransomware attacks, and scraped customer information are all examples of workplace nightmares. Unlike the movies, these horrors are all too real. October is spooky season, and cybersecurity is one of the top fears for modern businesses. Luckily, relief for businesses is here. October is also National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). 

Doctors and lawyers are two of the most universally respected careers. Having great earning potential gives people the perception that these jobs should be worth the inherent stress associated therein. The risks connected with these occupations, however, go far beyond the pressure of a typical job, arguably even others with high salaries. Intense workload, unrealistic demands, and lack of recognition make these careers some of the most stressful. Most workers also don’t fear a lawsuit if they make a mistake or are perceived to make a mistake at work. Piling on the anxiety for physicians and lawyers, the fear of litigation is a real threat for them, with over 1/3 of physicians having a malpractice claim against them at some point their careers, and 4 out of 5 lawyers experiencing at least one malpractice claim during their careers.

If you work in an office, you’ve been to a boring office event. Droning on during birthday songs, counting the minutes through boring games, plastering on a smile while you force small talk—we’ve all been there. Forced fun among staff seems to be a part of corporate culture. But what if there was a better way to engage coworkers? What if you could also display some awesome new printing capabilities and captivate your team members at the same time? The answer lies in treating your next workplace event like a trade show.

Since 1867 and the first phone conversation when Mr. Bell asked Mr. Watson to come into the next room, the telephone has continued to change. Rotary, wall, touchpads, cordless, cell, satellite-technology has come a long way in one hundred and fifty years. In 2019, people use phones regularly for personal and business use. Staying on top of important dates with calendar apps, checking in with coworkers using collaborative software, perusing e-mails between meetings, and sending text messages are all modern conveniences that Alexander Graham Bell wouldn't have dreamed of. All of those listed capabilities, however, are performed on a mobile phone. Mobile phones get replaced when their contracts expire or when they require service. What about office phone systems? When are they usually upgraded?