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Innovative, Single-Source Voice & IT Solutions
Serving the DC Region for 36+ Years
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Connect with us
(703) 321-3030
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Building Connections to Drive Business Outcomes…
Every so often, I force myself to step back from the day-to-day complexity of deploying and supporting technology to look at the core of what TCI provides…its really all about
Connections
– Connecting People with People to achieve Business Outcomes.
This month we focus on
Connections
… from connecting employees with CRM customer data
before
the phone even rings, to how your business can connect multiple locations seamlessly, to anticipating how or even
if
Verizon will connect its subscribers in the future.
Finally, we explore the need to shift from a
‘Project Deliverable’
mindset to a
‘Business Outcome’
obsession and provide an example of how making that simple yet powerful shift can help you attract and connect with the best and brightest talent
to achieve competitive advantage.
Let’s talk about how new technology can help you better connect your business…
Give me a call at
703-321-3030
or email
cornbrookst@tcicomm.com
.
Tom Cornbrooks, President and CEO
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Are You Getting the Full Value Out of Your CRM Platform?
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Getting the most out of your CRM requires that you integrate it with your Business Voice applications. Almost all of the popular CRM services on the market seamlessly integrate with Mitel’s systems. Using a customized CRM? Our experienced development team can bring your customer data, phone system and call center together.
When your CRM is integrated with Mitel’s MiVoice or MiContact Center, for example, the contact’s personal details can be set to pop-up on your phone or computer screen. Imagine how much time will be saved when your people don’t need to search for important information like customer preferences and details on past transactions.
Enhanced call functionality like click-to-dial, automated call logging, intelligent dialing, and screen pops and transfer can all be enabled and integrated with your customer data.
Bringing CRM and Voice together makes every employee and contact center agent in your business significantly more productive, while improving the calling experience for your customers.
Let’s talk about connecting your CRM to your phone system and contact center. Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or
info@tcicomm.com
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Which WAN service is right for your organization? MPLS, SD-WAN… or Both?
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When you’re optimizing your WAN, choosing between SD-WAN and MPLS can be a challenge. The choice involves weighing the pros and cons of each network technology and then applying them to your business needs.
MPLS Pros & Cons
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) provides a high Quality of Service (QoS) by managing and avoiding packet loss. This is good for real-time applications like VoIP, video conferencing, and virtual desktops.
The disadvantages of MPLS are that it can be complex to deploy and often comes with a higher cost for bandwidth, extra costs for security, and hidden costs for hardware reconfigurations whenever connections have to be added or changed.
SD-WAN Pros & Cons
Software-Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WAN) offer global availability, visibility, scalability, control, and performance. It’s easy and quick to implement, and bandwidth can be added or reduced as necessary without requiring infrastructure changes. With SD-WAN, you also get end-to-end encryption across the entire network - including the Internet and the Cloud.
On the other hand, the reliability of SD-WAN doesn’t quite match that of MPLS. With SD-WAN, Internet uplinks can occasionally fail. And while SD-WANs make it easier to connect to the Cloud, there is still the possibility of packet loss once your traffic arrives.
Making the Best Choice for Your Business
For businesses that rely on Cloud applications, SD-WAN offers direct access from any location. However, if QoS is important to you, or you have very specific connectivity requirements, MPLS might be the better way to go, despite the higher cost.
The good news is that SD-WAN can interface with legacy technologies, including MPLS, so you can deploy both when you need to support diverse business needs.
TCI’s certified network engineers can help you sort out the best WAN deployment for your business. Contact us today: (703) 321-3030 or
info@tcicomm.com
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Planning ahead as Verizon’s Copper-based Telephone Network fades away
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Verizon plans to sunset its Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) by 2020 – along with all the associated copper wires and legacy equipment that sustained it. Instead, Verizon will totally rely on an all-IP broadband infrastructure for service delivery.
If your business is among the 50+% that still use a mix of PBX, ISDN circuits and T1 lines, now is the time to start thinking about what your organization will need to ensure a successful transition.
The growth of VoIP has been driven in part by the realization that the end is near for the copper-based PSTN. In addition, there is now wide appreciation of the features and capabilities offered by VoIP.
TCI is ready to assist you with this transition in any or all of the following ways…
- Inventory your applications and their network performance and security requirements
- Develop an IP technology roadmap
- Walk you through product and service selection
- Help you plan the migration
- Provide deployment assistance
- Manage the IP infrastructure for you
Start planning now. When Verizon cuts the copper cord, you want to be ready. Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or
info@tcicomm.com
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Shifting from a ‘Project Outcome’ to ‘Business Outcome’ Mindset
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In a fast-moving economy, with companies jockeying for every competitive advantage, it pays to take stock of how successful you are in achieving business goals.
Are you satisfied with merely executing the latest projects, or are you focused on achieving specific Business Outcomes?
For example, if the Business Outcome you need is to attract the best talent, an upgrade to the company website to permit the collection of resumes, by itself, may not achieve the goal, even though the project was executed perfectly, on time and within budget.
With a focus on Business Outcomes, however, attention is paid to putting policies, processes and technologies in place to ensure success. Here’s how that might work for the goal of attracting the best talent:
- Policy – BYOD, telework and flexible hours are permitted within the guidelines established by the company.
- Process – In support of the policy, the company must extend management and security to end-user devices and establish access privileges to protect sensitive data.
- Technology – With the policy and process defined, the right technologies can be implemented such as VoIP, remote access, virtual desktops, and various productivity apps.
Shifting from a Project Outcome to Business Outcome mindset can go a long way toward getting the results you are looking for, whether it is to attract the best talent, increase retention rates, improve acquisition rates, increase revenue, reduce costs, or improve efficiency.
Need help defining business outcomes and implementing technology that will move your company to the next level? Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or
info@tcicomm.com
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10 Contact Center Tools you should be using… But probably aren’t
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You may think you are running an efficient and cost effective contact center, but there is always room for improvement when it comes to the Customer Experience.
Mitel recommends adopting the following capabilities to help boost productivity, ensure resiliency, and improve the efficiency of your contact center…
- Cradle-to-Grave Lifecycle Reporting
- Customizable Reporting
- Agent Forecasting
- Schedule Adherence Monitoring
- Interactive Agent, Queue and Call Control
- Self-Service Interactive Voice Response
- Outbound Dialing
- Social Media Monitoring
- Disaster Recovery
- Contact Center as a Service
Ready to empower your contact center team? Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or
info@tcicomm.com
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Need Support? Moving? Expanding?
24/7/365
Nationwide Support
(800) 824-1001
DC & Baltimore Metro
Virginia, Maryland, DC
(703) 321-3030
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