Small Business Technology Solutions Inc. Blog

So what is new with SBTS?

Please let me introduce you to our new Vice President in charge of marketing and Sales, Steve Schneider.  Steve is a fourth generation Kenosha resident and brings more than 30 years experience in small business to the Small Business Technology Solutions team.  Formerly an executive in the legal/real estate/insurance field, Steve has also been a relational database management system programmer since 1982 and a network administrator since 1990.  His tenure in small business gives him the ability to see technology issues from the position of his clients, and he works closely with Michael and Robert in formulating the best and most cost efficient answers for their situations.  Steve is also a past president of the Wisconsin Land Title Association, sings baritone with the MGV Harmonia German Male Chorus, and is an active volunteer with Kemper Center in Kenosha. We look excited the many great contributions that Steve Schneider can bring to our Team.

Unified communications (UC) is the integration of real-time communication services such as instant messaging, telephony, video conferencing and data sharing with non-real-time communication services such as voice mail, email and fax.  In its broadest sense, UC can encompass all forms of communication that are exchanged via the medium of the TCP/IP network.  UC allows an individual to send a message on one medium and receive the same communication on another medium. For example, one can receive a voice mail message and choose to access it through e-mail or a cell phone. If the sender is online according to their presence information and currently accepts calls, the response can be sent immediately through instant messaging or video call. Otherwise, it may be sent as a non real-time message that can be accessed through a variety of media.

The main advantage of unified communications is the reduction of communication response time, which often is essential in customer service, decision making and acting upon instructions.  Unified communications integrates all systems employees might already use, and helps those systems work together in real time.  It allows users to seamlessly collaborate with others, even if they are in separate locations.

Small Business Technology Solutions can provide the best unified communications products to fit your business needs.  Contact us today to schedule a review of your communication systems and start on your way to improved customer service and employee collaboration.

Food, water, shelter… internet?

2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report finds that 55% of college students and 62% of employees under 30 say they could not live without the internet

What ever happened to pizza, beer, music, dating and cars?  Cisco’s survey of 2800 college students and young employees in 14 countries revealed the following:

• 1 in 3 of those surveyed consider the internet a fundamental human resource such as air, food, water and shelter.
• 4 out of 5 believe the internet is vitally important and part of their daily life’s sustanance.
• More than half think the internet is “an integral part of their lives.”
• 2 out of 3 college students globally would choose an internet connection over a car.
• 40% of global college students say the internet is more important than dating, friends or music.
• 27% of global college students prefer Facebook to dating, friends or music.  Within certain countries, updating Facebook ranked as their highest priority over all other choices.
• 66% of students and 58% of young employees cite a mobile device such as a laptop, smartphone or tablet as “the most important technology in their lives.”
• Only 4% of those surveyed said the newspaper is their most important tool for accessing information.
• 1 out of 5 students had not bought a physical book in a bookstore (excluding textbooks necessary for a class) in the last 2 years–OR NEVER AT ALL!
• 91% of students and 88% of young employees have a Facebook account.
• 81% of those students and 73% of those employees check their Facebook page at least once a day.
• 1 out of 3 of those students and 3 out of 10 those employees check their Facebook page at least 5 TIMES A DAY.
• Students reported constant online interruptions while doing homework or projects from social media updates, instant messaging and phone calls -
  • 84% reported being interrupted at least once an hour
  • 24% said they are interrupted 3 to 5 times an hour
  • 12% said they are interrupted so often they lose count
• 70% of employees surveyed “friended” their managers and/or co-workers on Facebook, indicating a blurring of work and personal lives.
• Of employees who use Twitter, 68% follow the activity of either the manager or colleagues.

What does this mean to you and your business?  Attitudes toward information access, mobile devices, and social media will influence the future of work –from business communications and work lifestyles to corporate cultures and talent acquisition.  As a result, increasing demands for information access

will put new demands on businesses and their networks.

The Meraki MR16 is an enterprise class, dual-concurrent 802.11n access point designed for high-density deployments in large offices, schools, hospitals, hotels and large retail stores.  The MR16 features dual-concurrent, dual-band operation and advanced 802.11n technologies such as MIMO and beam forming, delivering the high throughput and reliable coverage required by the most demanding business applications like voice and video.

The MR16 is monitored 24×7 and managed through the Meraki Enterprise Cloud Controller, with an intuitive browser-based interface that delivers real-time alerts if your network encounters problems. Remote diagnostics tools enable real-time troubleshooting over the web, meaning multi-site, distributed networks can be managed remotely.  The MR16’s firmware is always kept up to date from the cloud.  New features, bug fixes, and enhancements are delivered seamlessly over the web, so you never have to manually download software updates or worry about missing security patches.  And it self heals, responding automatically to switch failures and other errors.

The MR16 features integrated, easy-to-use security technologies to provide secure connectivity for employees and guests alike.  Advanced security features provide wire-like security while still being easy to configure.  One-click guest isolation provides secure, Internet-only access for visitors.  The policy firewall (Identity Policy Manager) enables group-based, granular access policy control.

Despite its incredible  power  and feature set, the MR16 is  the lowest profile 802.11n access point available – at just one inch thick, it blends seamlessly into any environment.  In addition to looking great, the MR16 is earth friendly: we’ve eliminated excess packaging and documentation, and 90% of the access point materials are recyclable.  A maximum power draw of only 10.5 watts and a cloud-hosted, multi-tenant controller mean that pollution, material utilization and your electric bill are kept to a minimum.

Contact Small Business Technology Solutions, Inc., your Meraki Authorized Reseller during October to obtain a special 30% discount on the MR16 and all other Meraki products.  This offer is good on Meraki products only and expires on October 31, 2011.