The Pressure for Improved Technology to Support the Financial Services Market is Here

Guest blog post by Jhoan Checho, Sales Director, Financial Services Practice, FiberMedia Group

An article written by Alison Crosthwait, managing director of Global Market Structure Research titled ‘Pockets of Opportunity in 2012’ caught my attention a couple of weeks ago.  She writes about the new trends facing traders today while also observing the development made over the past years that will create ‘pockets of opportunities,’ which she predicts, will create a competitively fierce market.

The seven global market structure trends cited in Crosthwait’s article are 1) consolidation, 2) The politicizing of regulation, 3) Execution Management Systems, 4) maturation of high frequency trading, 5) complex spread trading technology, 6) merger failures and resource constraints, 7) new market competition:  Australia, Brazil and Korea.  

While consolidation has occurred, Crosthwait is quick to observe that trading volumes have not picked up as a result. An area of interest she explores is the cost of technology and regulatory compliance.  According to Crosthwait it has skyrocketed – but has it?

Yes there are greater capital requirements and the implementations to prepare for the Volcker Rule, a specific section of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the technology changes required by companies will be expensive to implement.  But does it have to be?

Certainly there are network providers that are designing and constructing new dark fiber systems to support the strict requirements outlined by the Acts, but there are also new technologies that can be deployed that can keep costs manageable.  Let’s consider Cloud Computing as a manageable cost platform that financial companies can leverage.  Cloud Computing, though not necessarily the optimal infrastructure for complex or even simplex transactions, it can be a highly efficient way to connect to general day-to-day operation systems and could offer a varied and effective back-up system to a number of other type of transactions.  If Cloud Computing isn’t your ‘thing,’ consider the flexibility and dynamic capabilities of Ethernet switching.  But that’s just the network side of it all.

A network needs a good home – a place where it has the foundation to connect to information, reliable power sources and can be in a secure – sometimes even hidden – environment that protects and assures the uptime capabilities of the equipment it contains.  A company needs a data center that offers a unique infrastructure with redundant capabilities, scalable footprint that can be managed by a trusted team.  And proximity to other marketplace enablers like trading exchanges and market engines as well as data platforms is inherent to finding the right data center partner.

FiberMedia knows that reliability, scalability, and security are the key foundations of the right data center partner for the financial services industry. The company also knows that budgets to manage all aspects of a business are being constrained.  For 36-months, FiberMedia has guarantees a rate-lock for its services.  This provides revenue assurance for companies as they are challenged with managing budgets to ensure business growth.  With static costs in-tow, access to a competitive service provider landscape and proximity to the trading engines that propel your business, FiberMedia’s managed data center solutions can be the anchor you need to keep your business a float.

Find out more by contacting saleshelp@fibermedia.net today.

Windstream Fiber Network Expands

Windstream has always had one of the most extensive Fiber networks across the East Coast, but thanks to their recent acquisitions of Iowa Telecom, Q-Comm, D and E Communications, Lexcom, NuVox, & PAETEC, their network has grown extensively, making them one of the most valuable carriers in the industry.



To find out more about what a Windstream fiber solution can do for your network simply request more information and a free quote here ....

Windstream Fiber Network

Telecom Provider News For January

Here's the news from the Telecommunications industry for January 2012 .....

* AT&T - The Federal Communications Commission voted to approve AT&T Inc.'s proposal to buy spectrum from Qualcomm in the 700 megahertz band for $1.93 billion.

* Cbeyond - has gained Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) 16 Type ll SOC 2 certification for its Louisville, Ky. data center.

* EarthLink - announced that it has completed the acquisition of the IT Solution Center and hosted application business from Synergy Global Solutions, a provider of hosted IT products, services and solutions based in Western, NY.

* Integra Telecom - has made its managed PBX and hosted PBX services for business available throughout its entire footprint , rather than in just select markets.

* MegaPath - announced several enhancements to its unified threat management (UTM) security services, a move that should help further differentiate a product that already has little direct competition.

* PowerNet Global - announced the addition to its call center solutions suite with Inbound SIP DIDs to complement its outbound calling solution, NetDialer.

* Telx - announced it will expand into a 215,000-square-foot, three-story data center at 2 Peekay Drive in Clifton, New Jersey.

To learn more about any of the services cited above AND take advantage of special limited pricing deals simply request more information here ....

Dedicated Bandwidth And More

Meet Greg Hough, Executive Vice President of Network Strategy, Global Capacity @ ITEXPO

Greg Hough,  Executive Vice President of Network Strategy, will be speaking on the Network Procurement and Provisioning in Cloud Environments panel at ITEXPO 2012 in Miami on Wednesday, February 1st at 11am.

Session Description:
Networks are the essential part of any modern communications and must deliver reliability, availability and high performance. Access to these networks is where the rubber truly meets the road in the meaningful provisioning of telecom products and services. In order for telecommunications to work, networks must be accessible and provide a seamless connection, across town, or across the globe. The problem, however, is that networks aren’t seamless and they aren’t always easily accessible.

These realities are magnified when considering cloud-based applications and the ability to provide access to these applications, virtually, from anywhere. If the underlying infrastructure is fragmented, too small, or too expensive, cloud-based technologies can’t get off the ground. Often these critical networks are owned by multiple operators who may only control a fraction of the overall capacity. They can be uncharted and unknown. Therefore, managing the procurement and provisioning of access network interconnections remains one of the biggest sources of indigestion for cloud-based solutions providers.

The result is that many network dependent industry players today look at their current service territory as the last frontier – the only potential growth market outside of M&A. They look to their current footprint and try to figure out how to sell to the customers that line their existing local access relationships or the central offices in which they are already interconnected, effectively closing their doors (and profit potential) to markets and geographies that aren’t proximate to existing service territories.

Participants
Panelist Greg Hough brings 15+ years telecommunications experience to his role as Global Capacity’s Chief Technology Officer. He oversees the design and implementation of technology within Global Capacity’s product offering and network capability.

Other panelists at the Network Procurement and Provisioning in Cloud Environments session will include:
Hugh Goldstein (Moderator), Voxbone 
John Considine, Terremark
James Thomason, Gale Technologies

ITEXPO is the event with an educational program that teaches resellers, enterprises, SMBs, and Government Agencies how to select IP-based voice, video, fax, and unified communications to purchase or resell. It's where service providers learn how to profitably roll out services their subscribers are clamoring for. ITEXPO is where buyers, sellers, resellers, and manufacturers meet to forge relationships and close deals.

Don’t miss the Network Procurement and Provisioning in Cloud Environments session, it promises to be a thought provoking and illuminating discussion. Register for ITEXPO 2012 today.

Business Ethernet By Any Other Name

Business Ethernet is known by many different names and it can get confusing for a business owner, thinking that these various names are really differnt product offerings, when that really is not true. They can all be generally lumped into the category of Business Ethernet and now we can look at some of the different names that are used to describe them.

Fast Ethernet

Fast Ethernet is the type of Ethernet that you are looking at when you are talking about needing Internet bandwidth of less than 100 MB, and with some carriers, less than 50 MB. This type of Ethernet, if it is available in your area, can be delivered to your business on either copper or fiber. Contrary to popular belief, Fast Ethernet does not require fiber. Even if it is delivered on copper instead of fiber, it will has the carrier's SLA or Service Level Agreement that it is dedicated service with an uptime guarantee. Fast Ethernet is an excellent option and is very cost effective if it is available, more so than 3 or 4 bonded T1 lines. Fast Ethernet only goes to 100 MB but it can still be much more cost effective than one or two DS3 circuits at 45 MB each.

GB Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet

If what you really need from your Business Ethernet connection is a lot of bandwidth, like more than the 50 MB or 100 MB that can be delivered with Fast Ethernet, then what you are looking at is GB Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet. That does not mean that you need to have bandwidth in the GB range but rather that you need more bandwidth than Fast Ethernet can provide. It is a matter of how the service is delivered to you, and GB Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet almost certainly requires fiber instead of copper.

Metro Ethernet or Metro-E

Metro Ethernet or Metro-E is typically available to your business in large cities and larger metropolican areas. It is usually known as Metro Ethernet or Metro-E simply because the business demand for Ethernet in such a metropolitan area is usually larger, and thus much of the Ethernet infrastructure to be able to provide this level of connectivity to you is already in place. This is definitely good news for you since depending on your location, the installation time can be quicker and the buildout costs may be much smaller or even waived. Metro Ethernet or Metro-E does not designate by its name alone how much bandwidth you are looking at, since that can run almost the entire gamut of what Ethernet can provide for bandwidth.

Ethernet Over Copper

Ethernet Over Copper is a type of Ethernet that can be provisioned which is extremely cost effective, much more so than T1 or Bonded T1. As the name implies, it is provisioned over copper lines, meaning that it can be installed in 40-50 days or sooner, as opposed to about twice that amount of time for the larger Ethernet circuit discussed above. On the downside, Ethernet Over Copper is typically limited to about 10 MB of bandwidth, sometimes 15 MB, but hardly ever more than that. As an example of its cost effectiveness for a location where it is available (keeping in mind that it is not available everywhere), a 10 MB Ethernet Over Copper circuit would be almost half the cost of a 7xT1 bonded circuit at 10.5 MB.

For free assistance finding the best Business Ethernet configuration to meet your requirements ... including a free quote ... simply request more information here:

Business Ethernet

Courtesy of Jon Arnold

Prominent Data Center Veteran Joins WiredRE

Earlier this week WiredRE announced the addition of Chainrai Waney as their new Regional VP and Cheif Operating Officer to support their continued national growth in 2012.  It is an exciting year ahead for WiredRE, as they anticipate moving into more territories accross the US after doubling revenues in 2011.

When asked about what his plans are, Chainrai explained, "I will be teaming with WiredRE to provide research and advise investors, developers and enterprises on a range of data center topics, including strategy, finance, leasing rates, and risk management. It’s exciting to be able to leverage my experience in data centers and telecoms in a much broader arena, where today billions of dollars are being invested."

Chainrai Waney’s accomplished career path leading to his most recent hire includes notable high profile technology companies like Quantum Corporation, Apple Computer Corp and Netflix.  In a senior role, he managed 24×7 data center operations at Quantum Corporation, where he implemented the company’s first in-house disaster recovery program; Apple Computer Corp where he led the effort in the acquisition and build out of data centers; and Netflix where he architected and managed data center infrastructure across eight locations. With over 25 years of IT operations and data center management experience, he is poised to be a tremendous asset to WireRE’s team. WiredRE is the nation’s leading cloud, colocation and data center real estate advisory firm.

WiredRE uses its data center knowledge to advise enterprises on data center planning, brokerage and finance.  For more information about WiredRE and its holistic approach to data center real estate advisory solutions visit www.wiredre.com.

XKL’s Optical Technology – Pizza Boxes – As Easy as Managing a Cisco Switch

If you can run a Cisco Switch then XKL’s fully integrated DWDM optical networking gear is the right device to light your fiber. 

XKL, founded by Len Bosack who also founded Cisco Systems, has been engineering and developing high-end, low cost, efficient DWDM optical transport systems for many years.  It focuses on serving new Service Providers and Enterprise businesses that want to enter the market of owning their own network, without incurring exorbitant costs.

Today, XKL empowers non-traditional carriers to be their own network managers.   Its DarkStar ® suite of products offers a compact, power-efficient, cost-effective, full-integrated ‘Pizza’ box that runs on Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for easy deployment, monitoring and high reliability. 

Bosack’s latest technology is the third generation of XKL’s product line.  And as he believes, the third time is the charm!   Companies that have already been using XKL’s devices have been re-ordering – and repeat business is the best recommendation any gear could want. 

XKL is currently testing, researching, and trialing a number of new technologies in order to help realize the future goal of delivering 1 terabit.  With 100G barely just starting to make waves in the market, the key – according to Bosack – is creating an incredibly dense piece of equipment that uses lasers that run in higher specter efficiency.  In my world, I can’t wrap my head around the physics of it all, however, when one touts that his solutions has been in continuous operation – even while software upgrades are being implemented – then he knows his stuff.   Considering Cisco’s behemoth growth since the mid-80’s when Bosack co-founded the company, XKL’s a rather young entity in a burgeoning market for sure.

For more information about XKL’s award-winning optical end-to-end DWDM gear, visit www.xkl.com.

Ethernet MPLS and MPLS Networks

Are you familiar with Business Ethernet MPLS or MPLS Networks in general? If so, you know that MPLS offers a significantly more cost effective solution for connecting multiple sites than a spider-webbed point-to-point network. The advantages are abundantly clear -- with a point-to-point network, unless you spider-web it so that all nodes can communicate with all other nodes (which is prohibitively expensive), if a link goes down between nodes, then a number of nodes are cut off from your private network until that connection is restored. But with MPLS and the private cloud and intelligent routing it provides, one node being down only affects that particular node, not the other nodes on your private network.

Another advantage of MPLS Networks is that each node can be sized with the appropriate amount of bandwidth. For example, in a point-to-point configuration, if you have a PTP connection between "A" and "B", you must have the same bandwidth at both "A" and "B". But with MPLS you can have an MPLS T1 at node "A", a 50 MB Ethernet MPLS at node "B", a Bonded T1 MPLS at node "C", etc, and it will all work together very nicely.

Like a T1 line or bonded T1 line, you can also have Ethernet MPLS circuits which is generally a much more cost effective option for the same levels of bandwidth on your MPLS network.

Some companies elect to use an enhanced port to allow Internet access and MPLS access on the same circuit. While being a technical reality, the jury is still out on whether or not this makes logical sense from a security standpoint, since without proper safeguards and a secure firewall, having Internet access available on the same circuit that your private MPLS network is operating can represent a security risk, despite the financial advantage of this type of setup.

One thing in particular to note is that MPLS technology is a methodology, and it is NOT a standard. What this means to you is that every carrier implements MPLS differently, and you need to use the SAME carrier at all of your MPLS nodes. While it is theoretically possible to mix and match carriers on your MPLS network, the time, effort, and "technical jury-rigging" is frequently not worth the effort compared to using the same carrier at all of your MPLS nodes.

As long as you are using the same carrier for all nodes, you can mix and match the level of bandwidth at each node according to the type of traffic you expect to have at that node. For example, node A might just be an MPLS T1, while node B might be a 3xT1 bonded MPLS location, node C might be 10 MB Fast Ethernet MPLS, etc. This aspect is significantly different than a point-to-point circuit where the same bandwidth needs to be present at each end of the circuit.

To find out more and get free assistance designing a MPLS Network for your business .... simply request a free quote here:

MPLS Network

Courtesy of Jon Arnold

Voice Services .... Free Quotes And Assistance

FreedomFire Communications offers many voice services .... and with the convergence of voice and internet commonly called VOIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol, you may often see services combine attributes of both Voice and Internet.

Some of the services FreedomFire Communications offers are Long Distance, Local Dial Tone, PRI, long distance T-1, dynamic T-1, Centrex, Voice Trunks, Trunk Groups, Telebranch, Voice Mail, Auto Attendant, IVR or Interactive Voice Response, Audio Conferencing, Toll Free, Advanced Toll Free Features (like Time of Day Routing, Area Code Routing, Percentage Allocation, Day of Week Routing, Day of Year Routing, Routing by Holiday, Multiple Destinations by Area, Origination Control, Disaster Routing), Calling Card, T-1, VOIP, Video Conferencing (Voice and Video), and many others not listed.

FreedomFire Communications is a big proponent of disaster recovery and business continuance planning .... this planning should include all voice services as well as Data and Internet. Therefore FreedomFire Communications offers every carrier’s disaster recovery plans for all of the voice services. We can help any company engineer a completely redundant fail safe voice network.

Even though Data and Internet are very important .... you can not overlook voice in today’s business. Most businesses report that any lost phone calls to their business results directly in lost business equating to thousands of dollars. Because of this FreedomFire Communications takes voice services very seriously and will help architect, design, and engineer the most reliable voice network possible.

For help with your voice network design, pricing on your voice network, or questions about any voice service offering .... simply request a free quote and assistance here:

Voice Services And Business VoIP Solutions

Len Bosack, CEO XKL LLC to present at PTC'12

On Sunday, January 15th, 2:30pm, XKL’s CEO Len Bosack will present “Dark Fiber: Preparing for a Future Past 100G” at the Pacific Telecommunication Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Leonard Bosack, industry tastemaker and innovator, continues to drive technology direction, his most recent technological advancements include creating new in-line fiber optic amplification systems that can achieve unprecedented data transmission latency speeds of just 6.071 milliseconds (fiber plus equipment latency) over 1231 kilometers of fiber – roughly the distance between Chicago and New York City.

Since joining XKL, LLC, Bosack drives the development of XKL products that utilize ‘best of breed’ off the shelf components in a novel way.

His presentation at this year’s PTC’12 will review the current state of dark fiber and the necessary steps to surpass 100G. He will also share his predictions for the future of the dark fiber industry, and how we can prepare for the changes ahead. During his presentation, he will answer questions, such as:

• What is in the ground now?
• What should go in next?
• Why does it matter?

Please attend Bosack’s presentation on Sunday at 2:30 pm to learn more about his insights on the future of the dark fiber industry. To schedule a media meeting with XKL at PTC, email pr@imillerpr.com

Data Services ... Free Quotes And Assistance

FreedomFire Communications offers all of the following services and many more via relationships with over 30 top providers .... specializing in connecting offices together using all of the available technologies that each carrier offers.

FreedomFire Communications works to understand your applications and what you are trying to accomplish, and once we understand that we can propose the proper technology.

FreedomFire Communications can help facilitate corporate Local Area Network and Wide Area Networking .... or commonly called LAN’s and WAN’s. FreedomFire Communications also helps companies facilitate remote office workers or telecommuters. FreedomFire Communications can help set up any data network connectivity for anyone to access any applications to or from anywhere in the world.

FreedomFire Communications can help you connect to a disaster recovery or CoLocation facility as well. Depending on a companies reliability and uptime needs for data we can also recommended completely redundant data networks including high availability and load balancing. More and more businesses are looking for fail safe data networks and are planning on circuits going down some time .... but having automatic failover to keep the connections up and running.

FreedomFire Communications can help with zero downtime data networking as well. In fact in today's business world it is critical that you have complete redundancy on multiple carriers because downtime is not an option.

FreedomFire Communications can help you pick the right Data Connectivity for your company by analyzing and understanding your mission critical business applications. Some examples of data networks are the following ATM, Frame Relay, MPLS, Ethernet, Layer Two, Layer Three, Frame Relay, ATM, IP Enabled Frame Relay, Point 2 Point, Private Line, VPN-Public, VPN-Private, VPN-Carrier Class, and any other carrier based data connectivity. Your business applications will determine which services you need to consider.

To take advantage of what FreedomFire Communications can do for your company's data needs .... simply request a free quote and assistance here:

Data Services

What Is (EoC) Ethernet Over Copper?

If you are involved in Information Technology, you have surely heard of (EoC) Ethernet over copper. This technology allows for a faster Ethernet connection so that customers can email or surf the web at faster speeds. Let us speak to you more about (EoC) Ethernet over Copper.

In order to understand how Ethernet over copper works, you should first look at the history of Ethernet technology. Ethernet is older than you may think; Robert Metcalfe, a researcher working for Xerox, invented it in 1973. Metcalfe was assigned the task of building a networking system for all of Xerox’s computers so that they could all print off the same printer. This was the first time that hundreds of computers would be connected to the same network, and the network had to move fast enough to keep up with the printer. Metcalfe worked on this project for several years; in 1979, he left Xerox to promote the use of local area networks (LAN) in personal computers.

Metcalfe’s protocol connected computers to a network using a single coaxial cable. Soon this system proved to be overly expensive to install as well as unreliable. The coaxial cable was replaced with point-to-point links connected by hubs and switches. Over time, new technology developed for faster connections.

In any event, Ethernet works by sending data packets from station to station. All Ethernet stations use the same frame formats, and network cards are often hard-wired into modern computers so that they can easily access Ethernet networks.

So where does Ethernet over copper come in? EoC is the newest type of data packet transmission technology. This technology uses copper wires to transmit data packets from one computer to another over the Ethernet network.

EoC is a fast and cheap technology; it can run a 10 Mbps Ethernet connection for a little over or under a thousand dollars a month. EoC uses 5 pairs of copper wires to run, giving it the added advantage of being able to work even if a couple of pairs become non-functional. In this case, the network will run more slowly.

The main disadvantage of Ethernet over copper is that a building must be located fairly close to the Ethernet mainframe in order to receive services. In areas where this is not possible, you can install Ethernet over serial connection, which functions similarly.

EoC has actually been around since the turn of the 21st century, but it is only recently that Ethernet installation companies have realized how lucrative a technology Ethernet over copper is.

One of the primary carriers of EoC, Hatteras Networks, offers EoC services as an alternative to fiber service in areas where fiber access is not possible. Hatteras, which is based in North Carolina, has had success connecting clients all over the world; as a result, many Ethernet carriers are switching from fiber access to EoC access in an attempt to cash in on this success.

Ethernet connectivity has had a long history. Currently, Ethernet over copper is one of the most viable options for connecting businesses on a fast, reliable network.

To take advantage of EoC for your business network, simply request a free quote here:

Business Ethernet & More

Your Source For Comcast

Comcast owns one of the most advanced and largest fiber networks in the world.

Comcast provides true redundancy by completely bypassing the public Internet through their private fiber network.

Comcast is now offering a full PRI for as low as $299 a month. Note: every PRI product that is added to a fiber product, receives a $100 discount.

To take advanatge of any of the services offered by Comcast simply request a free quote here:

DS3 Bandwidth, Business Ethernet, T1 Lines, Fiber, & More

Achieve Your Network Goals for 2012 with Global Capacity’s Optimization Solutions

Is your company’s 2012 resolution to save money, increase revenue and create more efficiencies in your network? Then look no further than this post. There are a few companies that are capable of leveraging the right tools and software to help you achieve your network optimization goals. Global Capacity is one of the companies that leverages its vast knowledge and resources to provide companies tangible cost savings solutions that get results.

Through its One Marketplace Access Exchange, in essence an ‘Orbitz’ to quote, order, provision and manage global access network solutions, Global Capacity provides optimization analysis that can save companies a ton of money on access delivery solutions. How? By leveraging its proprietary platform together with its tariff software, LATTIS, and marketplace intelligence, Global Capacity can provide a real cost savings solution that saves money, consolidates network and identifies excess capacity that can be monetized.

Here’s How:
1) By analyzing existing inventory, Global Capacity can identify where you are spending too much on individual circuits. Many companies don’t realize that over the course of time their circuits, though they may not be the most important (i.e. the ones they are provisioning today) are costing them a lot more money to manage than they should. By comparing your costs against marketplace rates typical savings of 5-7% can be achieved, particularly on ‘aged’ circuits.

2) This type of analysis yields a financial optimization solution where recommended consolidation, re-negotiation or circuit re-homing can accomplish even further cost savings results. Many network grooming solutions achieve a 10-15% cost savings for companies – this is attributable directly to your bottom line. AND – it gets better.

3) With a physical re-grooming solution implemented, Global Capacity can help optimize your network spend by consolidating network access solutions which results in identifying excess/unused capacity. This excess capacity can be used to provision new customer circuits at very little incremental cost. The diagram is an example of how you can achieve more efficiencies in your network, identify consolidation points to increase revenue.

This is just a small example but it’s powerful enough to illustrate how Global Capacity can help you achieve your goals this year. So start 2012 right – contact Global Capacity today to achieve the following:

1) Get an accurate inventory of your access network services and costs
2) Identify where cost savings and optimization can be achieved
3) Create excess capacity and then monetize it through effective channels that will increase revenue without increasing your costs

This solution will increase your bottom-line, improve margin and EBITDA. Contact pr@imillerpr.com for more information or visit www.globalcapacity.com today.

Telarus - Your Choice for ACC Business

ACC Business is one of Telarus' first vendors. For the past six years, Telarus has earned ACC Business' highest award: The Platinum Cup. Telarus has a unique contract with ACC Business, enabling you to get the best rates on everything ACC Business offers .... wherever they offer it.

Until recently, ACC Business' rock bottom pricing has only been available in AT&T regions, but now thanks to a new promo, non AT&T regions can now enjoy the same benefit.



ACC Business offers the following services ....

Data T1, Integrated (SIP Handoff), Point to Point, Frac/Full OC3/12/48, Integrated (PRI Handoff), MPLS, Ethernet over Copper, Integrated (Analog Handoff), Ethernet WAN, Metro Fiber Ethernet, Local Voice, VPLS, Gigabit Ethernet, Dedicated LD (In/Out), Data DS3

For more information on any of the services offered by ACC Business, and to request a free quote, simply go to ....

Free ACC Business Quote

What is the difference between Hosted PBX, Managed PBX and Virtual PBX?

This is a short and sweet answer to the question. Feel free to expound as a comment if you'd like.

Hosted PBX: You hire a service and don't have to worry about a thing other than paying.

Managed PBX: You have the actual equipment at your location but someone else mantains it for you.

Virtual PBX: Similar to hosted but you don't need any hardware. The service is managed through a web interface.

If you're looking for any of the above 3 services for your business .... you can get free assistance here -

Business VoIP Solution

What Is Unified Communications?

Wikipedia gives good definition .....


"Unified communications (UC) is the integration of real-time communication services such as instant messaging (chat), presence information, telephony (including IP telephony), video conferencing, data sharing (including web connected electronic whiteboards aka IWB's or Interactive White Boards), call control and speech recognition with non-real-time communication services such as unified messaging (integrated voicemail, e-mail, SMS and fax). UC is not a single product, but a set of products that provides a consistent unified user interface and user experience across multiple devices and media types".

UC goes beyond integrating real-time communications with non-real-time communications to integrating business processes and applications, such as databases.

For example, customer data or the kind of things the likes of SAP offers - or it should - such that businesses gets a fundamental benefit from all aspects of communications being "joined up". It's about being able to communicate with pertinent information at your fingertips, when and where you need it.

Unified Communications is a set of infrastructure and application technology components that work in a connected eco-system - to enable people to give and receive messages and information in a manner of their choosing .... on a platform of their choosing.

It's people centric! All we're doing is helping people have conversations and exchange information in different ways.

John Powell Joins Global Capacity

Growing out their team, Global Capacity has added another star player in the telecom business to their distinguished team.  John Powell, an accomplished, versatile executive with over 25 years of experience in sales, business development, marketing, financial and general management has been hired to take on the role as Executive Vice President of Sales.  

Why John?  Well, Ronald Brouwers, Founder at Yugen Jikko Pte. Ltd. and Regional Vice President - Asia Pacific at Interoute, says, “John is about integrity, value creation for clients and his team. His global travels, meeting with clients, colleagues, friends, and prospects, have made him into someone who sees the world through a different (broader) prism than most people. He was born a solution seller, he does not think in terms of problems, he evaluates, and provides advice. When tension are high, John remains calm, but never loses sight of the objectives. When his team runs into a challenge, he is there to listen, and give advice, close to 24x7.”

His proven track record for the past eleven years in both direct and indirect (channel) sales vice president roles has mostly involved selling and marketing complex IT solutions, including cloud-based services, to enterprises, system integrators, carriers, VARs, and sales agents.  John is a results oriented leader and motivator that has turned around sales organizations at number of companies including TATA Communications, Virtela Technology Services, Inc, and Equant. John is an adept strategist that has been able to succeed in tough times by successfully identifying and evaluating new market opportunities, just what Global Capacity’s sales team needs.  

Powell gets business, with an entrepreneurial spirit he co-founded two companies.  Ready to market Global Capacity’s capabilities, his innovative ideas will help develop marketing ideas for new products such as One Marketplace Access Exchange. 

“John is a mentor/coach who inspires excellence in those of us he works with,” says Brian Cutchen, Consulting Sales Director at Oracle, “He is the consummate professional marrying business acumen and selling to understand and to speak directly to the business requirements of his clients. John's ability to map the professional and personal politics within large and small organizations alike make him invaluable in closing opportunities and advancing the sales process to the next level where demand creation replaces of fulfillment.”

This results-oriented manager that has established disciplined sales management review systems will implement new solution marketing ideas and executive focused selling methodologies.

Visit www.globalcapacity.com for more or email marketing@globalcapacity.com to contact John directly.

Advice For Managing Remote And Offsite Employees

For remote workers (control, communications, reporting), you would probably need ....

1. Data connectivity for applications:

- Go for remote login for your corporate network and applications

- Make some relevent part of your application web enabled

- Get them GPRS/DCMA1X/3G wireless data plan

2. Voice Connectivity:

- CUG for corporate mobile connections

- In corporate voice plan and pbx, look for features like remote extensions, mobile extensions and find/follow me

- VoIP support is helpful

3. UC features like unified directory, messenger, net meeting will be helful

4. Applications:

- Subscribe/ put remote users on applications like Webex or gotomeetings.com for conducting meetings; otherwise make use of tele audioconferencing/video conferencing

- Give them balckberry/nokia/samsung smartphones with constant email connectivity

- choose clients apps. which can sync. with central apps/database at the end of the day incase remote employee do not have regular internet connectivity

5. Banking:

- choose bank with max. no. of ATM

- Get them to subscribe to mobile banking and ticketing

You'll find options for some of the technology based solutions here ...

Technology For Offsite Employees

Telecom Provider News For December

Here's the news for December from the Telecommunications industry. Get the latest from vendors such as AboveNet, Comcast, Level 3, Telx, Time Warner Cable, and Windstream.

AboveNet - announced that its Core Wave services are now available to enterprise customers in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley.

Comcast - is on the verge of selling wireless phone service thanks to a partnership with the nation's largest mobile operator (Verizon).

Level 3 - announced it has expanded its network capacity and suite of services in Mexico.

Telx ....

* Telx announced a major expansion in Silicon Valley, where the company has leased 32,000 square feet of in a new data center being built by Vantage Data Centers in Santa Clara, Calif.

* Telx announced plans for its first "greenfield" data center project, a 215,000 square foot facility it is building in Clifton, New Jersey adjacent to its existing site at the Mountain Technology Center at 100 Delawanna Avenue.

Time Warner Cable Business Class - has been awarded a multi-year services contract from the State of Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR), for providing advanced network and internet services to all state agencies.

Windstream - The Federal Communications Commission has approved Windstream Corp.'s acquisition of PAETEC.

To learn more and take advantage of any of the services mentioned above, simply request a free quote here ....

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