The past year has been tough for everyone. Some businesses are simply surviving and others are thriving. Among the traits that contribute to success are flexibility and communication - but these are not always easy to achieve, especially when the workforce is distributed among remote locations.

In this edition, we discuss some of the challenges and opportunities facing the DC region’s public sector and businesses as they adapt to changes brought about by the pandemic and what TCI can do to help:

(703) 321-3030 | cornbrookst@tcicomm.com.

With millions of people working from home in response to the pandemic, many businesses have embraced remote work as the "new normal." This arrangement looks like it may permanently change how many leaders approach how they work, manage employees and structure their organizations.

Enforcement of regulations such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), which deals with the security of consumers’ personal financial information, and the Health and Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which deals with the security of patient records, does not stop just because people have shifted to working from home.

Businesses that rely extensively on distributed workers cannot use just any cloud-based solution without incurring risk. So it is critical to verify that your technology supports customer teams working from home with the same levels of compliance as when they worked in the corporate office.

This is especially important when recording interactions and transactions, including any internal consultations that take place when a financial or healthcare professional is seeking clarification or guidance from a colleague. This also extends to those organizations whose teams continue to handle payments over the phone.

Whether your business is in the financial, healthcare or retail sector, TCI offers secure, reliable cloud communication services. We’re ready to assist your business maintain regulatory compliance no matter where your people work. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

Assimilating new employees can be a slow, cumbersome process for any business, especially during COVID. If things don’t go well, new employees can take longer to reach their full potential, which can negatively impact your bottom line. If new employees get frustrated, they might even quit, forcing you to start all over.

The key to successful onboarding is making sure new employees get up to speed quickly by equipping them with robust, intuitive tools and capabilities…

Need relief from the pain of onboarding? TCI solutions boost confidence, productivity and job satisfaction. Learn more today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

With more companies moving to the cloud to support remote work requirements, due diligence is essential. Moving to the cloud is a major undertaking, but it has to happen. There’s not only a pandemic to deal with, but legacy systems are expensive to maintain. To ensure your cloud migration is smooth and resilient keep these three principles in mind…

Doing your homework pays off in the long run. First, identify all the relevant stakeholders - those who will be most impacted by changes in applications and accessibility - and discover what’s most important to them. What are their key workflows? What applications and tools are essential for them to do their work? What’s most likely to be impacted by the migration? After completing this process, you will be better able to develop a detailed deployment plan that takes each stakeholder’s unique needs into account.

Next, decide what will go to the cloud. Examine each application and determine if it makes more sense to migrate it, keep it local, or upgrade it to a native cloud application or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application. Evaluate how each decision will impact your overall infrastructure. The discovery and evaluation process may also help you to project future needs.

When designing your cloud migration, identify each significant moving part that could create problems, and develop a plan to mitigate the issues.

When you shift applications to the cloud, will you have the IT personnel with the skill set you need? If not, you might have to hire new team members or retrain current employees. Workflows will change. Responsibilities and roles may change. Think ahead and assemble the players you need. Consider forming a dedicated team just to manage the migration.

Because resilience is so crucial to the business, it pays to prepare and test your systems before deployment…

Ask your vendors for demonstrations before you go live. They should be able to walk you through every step in the process.

Because there will be bumps along the way, make sure you’ll have access to real-time data in case you want to step back and change your plan.

Preparing for cloud migration is a good time to reevaluate your back-up and recovery solutions to make sure they’re strong and aligned with the company’s business strategy.

Moving your communications to the cloud shouldn’t be intimidating. With a strong partner like TCI on your side, you and your stakeholders can rest assured that the migration will go smoothly. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

There are a lot of companies out there selling standalone communications solutions. What sets our approach apart is TCI Advantage, a holistic suite of capabilities combined with a fully-trained, customer-focused and experienced staff of professionals. We bundle all that with a Discovery and Assessment Process that ensures EVERY engagement exceeds your expectations.

The comprehensive portfolio of TCI Advantage is designed to cover every aspect of Business Communications, Networking, Support, Infrastructure, and Security…

Find out how TCI Advantage breaks down tech silos and brings everything together to simplify your life and empower your teams. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

To help ensure the financial health and competitiveness of your business it pays to look for new ways to improve broadband, data, and voice network services.

A simple way to realize fast results is to have the TCI team review your current invoices and services. Our relationships with the leading carriers, cable, broadband, and cloud providers, puts TCI in a unique position to assist your organization in sourcing optimized, carrier-agnostic solutions.

We lay out all your options so you can make a fully informed decision based on your unique needs. Here’s our proven, step-by-step approach...

TCI provides a single point of contact for all your voice, data and Internet needs so you can benefit from better technology, more responsive support, and the best pricing. Contact us today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.