Engineer Review Of Airespring SDWAN And More

 In this episode of Telarus Virtual, Telarus VP of Sales Engineering, Josh Lupresto joins Airesrpring SVP of Solutions Engineering, Mike Chase for an Engineer Review. Watch now to learn about all of the new and free things that Airespring now has around their SD-WAN offering, including read-write access, flex licensing, and more, and about their new security offerings that can filter and protect you from all the new traffic that's coming through their firewalls.

To learn more about Airespring and take advantage of a our influence on getting you their best price ... including FREE network design and sourcing support ... simply ask at FreedomFire Communications.

LASTPASS AT A GLANCE

 

CURRENT SECURITY LANDSCAPE

You can now stop wasting time writing down, remembering, and resetting passwords. With LastPass, one master password rules them all and keeps the rest locked up in a secure vault. Today over 17.8 million people use LastPass, and four out of five professionals choose it.

One of the main drivers of teams adopting an IDaaS solution is cybersecurity.  With a forty percent increase in targeted phishing or cyber scams in the past month, it is clear cybersecurity is as important or, if not more important than ever. Eighty percent of data breaches involve weak, reused, or stolen credentials. The average total cost of a data breach ends up tallying at around $3.9 million. There is now an urgency in the market to mitigate the risk of a cyberattack by controlling access and managing passwords.  The truth is that minimizing the risk of data breaches involving weak, reused, or stolen credentials is not simple. With the average employee keeping track of 191 passwords and actively using thirty-six cloud services, it is impossible for employees to manage all these passwords securely without help. Also, IT may not even know about all the applications that their employees use. IDaaS solutions help to mitigate the risks of a cyberattack by ensuring the right users can access the right tools, at the right time, for the right reason, and takes the burden off the end-user.

Companies are solving these identity security challenges by deploying single sign-on, authentication, and enterprise password management. LastPass offers all three of these technologies allowing them to solve Identity challenges in a holistic fashion that differentiates them from competitors who only offer one or two of these technologies.

ENTERPRISE PASSWORD MANAGEMENT

LastPass provides Enterprise Password Management. EMP solutions capture and store passwords for all your website and application logins. It also generates new, secure passwords. EPM solutions make it easier for employees to have strong password hygiene and use secure passwords without having to remember them.

AUTHENTICATION

When looking at LastPass MFA, the key differentiators are:

• Biometric authentication factors including face and touch ID
• Adaptive authentication to flag any abnormal behavior during the employee login process
• Enable granular control with policies on geofencing, IP address, and access point
• Security by design where the biometric never leaves the user’s phone
• Passwordless experience

SINGLE SIGN-ON

LastPass offers Single Sign-On, also known as SSO, with pre-integrated access to over twelve-hundred applications. SSO provides the capability to authenticate once and be subsequently and automatically authenticated when accessing various applications. It also enables employees to use one single, secure password to access all applications and systems approved by IT. Businesses that purchase an SSO solution are likely looking for ways to reduce the time the IT team spends resetting passwords. They want to increase password security within the org, and they want to put greater control and visibility into employee habits in the hands of IT.

LASTPASS PACKAGES

Three core technologies  compose LastPass business offerings. Their packages are sold on an annual-only contract minimum, and they have a 10-seat minimum for their business solutions.

When looking at their first package, LastPass Enterprise, there are a few items that set them apart from the pack.

• The only industry-leading password manager coupled with a single sign-on application catalog of over 1,200 pre-integrated apps
• Custom, granular control with over 100+ custom policies (7x more policies than the competition)
• Built on a zero-knowledge security model
• Optimal balance of experience & security

To learn more about LastPass and take advantage of a comparison of 100s of other cybersecurity vendors ... including FREE network design and sourcing support ... simply ask at FreedomFire Communications.

8×8 AND ARYAKA TOGETHER

 

WHY 8×8 AND ARYAKA?

Many people might be wondering why Aryaka and 8×8 have decided to partner together and why it works.

Two Acknowledged Leaders

• 8×8 Gartner UCaaS MQ Leader for 8 years
• Aryaka Gartner WAN Edge Infrastructure MQ Visionary and Customer Choice Awardee

Better User Experience and Performance

• Customers are increasingly reliant on UCaaS to drive enterprise efficiency and meet customer demands
• Underlaying WAN infrastructure must meet the demands of a flexible and dynamic enterprise while maintaining security and reliability

The combined technologies from two leaders in this space will provide enterprises with a fully optimized and comprehensive, best-in-class solution. This partnership delivers optimized access to 8×8’s regional UCaaS Points of Presence (PoPs) by leveraging the Aryaka backbone, eliminating packet loss, latency, and jitter that can occur with the public internet. It will improve user experience, support modern workstyles, video, and voice in the cloud. In addition, the MyAryaka cloud portal offers a real-time view of traffic management that includes monitoring and reporting on 8×8 performance. Ultimately, the joint offer delivers the flexibility, scalability, security, and ‘hands-off’ operation required by IT staff in a world where the one constant is change.

ARYAKA SMARTSERVICES

Aryaka provides an all-in-one SD-WAN, private backbone, and managed service solution, making procurement easier for customers interested in that model. Their SD-WAN includes WAN optimization to boost application performance, especially over long distances.

Last Mile Services are embedded in their Smartservices platform as well; they help mitigate last-mile internet issues.

8×8 PLATFORM

8×8 is the most reliable, most integrated path to the cloud. When you think of Unified Communications, you may be thinking about the basics of telephony, but with 8×8, it’s so much more. It is the intersection of employees and customer and the intersection of sales and service. It is the way work gets done in today’s world.

8×8 has created one platform, which allows you to mix and match licenses to your needs. This is the real strength of 8×8’s CPaaS and what they have been developing for years. It is a unique end-to-end system which they own and manage; it includes seamless integration to all the communications any organization might need, including voice, chat, video, and contact center. This platform is all in the cloud, so you’re not limited like on-prem systems, and you can roll out this flexible model to employees across the globe, wherever they are.

Together, 8×8 and Aryaka deliver:

• Superior voice, video and web conferencing quality with reduced jitter, latency and packet loss
• Maximize uptime of Virtual Office and Virtual Contact Centre due to guaranteed bandwidth from Aryaka’s service prioritization, traffic shaping, and bandwidth reservation algorithms
• Enterprise-grade access to 8×8’s services, through the Aryaka private network, minimizing service interruption and dropped calls
• Increased and assured QoS for all locations including even for those with poor-quality Internet links

To learn more about 8X8 and Aryaka and take advantage of a comparison of 100s of other UCaaS and WAN edge vendors ... including FREE network design and sourcing support ... simply ask at FreedomFire Communications.

DISRUPTING THE MARKET WITH TELESYSTEM AND VERSA SD-WAN

 

TELESYSTEM & VERSA

Telesystem empowers businesses across the country with a range of innovative network, communication, and collaboration solutions. They help their customers overcome some of the biggest and most complex challenges in modern IT, whether connecting mobile workforces via UCaaS or ensuring greater network dependability through an SD-WAN implementation.

Versa is unique among soft-ware defined networking vendors, providing an end-to-end solution that simplifies and secures the WAN/branch office network. Their mission is to address the primary operation and business challenges that enterprises and service providers face with legacy WANs and traditional networking hardware and deliver the full promise of software-based networking and security.

So, why Telesystem for Telarus and Versa engagements?

• Telesystem is a long-time Versa partner: Since 2017, Telesystem and Versa have worked closely together to bring a Versa-powered best-in-class network solution to market.
• Telesystem offers the full Versa-powered portfolio: Whether it’s Secure SD-WAN as a Service, Titan as a Service, or Titan DIY, Telesystem has invested the resources to deliver against any consumption model.
• Telesystem National Presence: Telesystem has a strong national presence, the infrastructure, and the Channel expertise to support activity across the country.

The Telesystem/Versa portfolio includes the following:

TELESYSTEM SECURE SD-WAN

Telesystem’s Secure SD-WAN provides companies increased network visibility, centralized management, application-level insights, and the ability to optimize traffic routing.Multiple layers of security protect against internet and branch cyber threats.

Telesystem Titan SD-WAN is for SMB and lean IT staff; it is a very simple SD-WAN deployment.

Telarus can use Telesystem for all VERSA engagements.

• Secure SD-WAN Managed Service: Telesystem Versa-powered solution is mature and widely deployed, ensuring a good fit for large Enterprise or complex network requirements.
• Titan Secure SD-WAN Managed Service: Telesystem Versa-powered solution is GA, validated and ready for prime time. A great fit for Lean IT use cases seeking managed services.
• Titan DIY: Telesystem has back-office resources and the Telarus relationship to ensure the process from quote to close for any DIY engagement involving Versa Titan.

To learn more about Telesystem and Versa and take advantage of a comparison of 100s of other SDWAN vendors ... including FREE network design and sourcing support ... simply ask at FreedomFire Communications.

The New Hybrid....How Cloud Computing Has Evolved And The Impact Of The Data Center

 

When cloud computing was made available as a service, organizations, excited by the promise of scalability, flexibility, ease of management, and cost-efficiency, rushed to put all of their workloads into a public cloud provider.

In practice, the cloud did offer many of those things—for some workloads.

Those applications that moved data frequently, had specific security requirements, or didn’t fit the image of modern-day workloads (sorry AS/400) ended up being high-cost, non-compliant, or just didn’t work. This led to cloud repatriation (or as I like to call it, “raining”), where workloads started coming back on-premises from the cloud…but that just puts us back to where we were—or does it?

The cloud was still extremely appealing for organizations in concept, so further analysis was done. It was found that certain cloud providers were better for certain workloads and didn’t perform well for others. This brought forth the concept of multi-cloud to the enterprise, where workloads are scattered across numerous clouds, and some were found to be best suited by staying on-premises.

The question posed by this situation is: If our applications and data are in numerous locations, what is the best way for them to communicate?

Commonly, a public cloud provider will recommend its version of a Direct Connect or Express Route, private paths to the data managed by the cloud provider. This approach has challenges because cloud providers do not have the same expertise in this area as network providers. The processes to go through this product’s initial configuration are complicated and require a significant time investment. According to Gartner, the average company uses seven different public clouds (Azure, Oracle, Amazon, Google, etc.). This provides a challenge because cloud providers are not known to offer products to help work with their competition more effectively. Having your cloud provider also be your network provider creates lock-in and a lack of accountability.

There is also the use of public internet or VPN to connect to/between public cloud environments and on-premises infrastructure. These technologies are not reliable or scalable and can be limited by performance issues. As data moves to and from the public cloud on these solutions, there are also the costs of ingress/egress that can significantly impact the monthly bill.

These options have led organizations to look at different approaches and design what is now called a new hybrid. By utilizing a connectivity vendor that can be the middleman between carriers and cloud providers, the headache of integrations can be outsourced.

One of the most effective methods of doing this is to take advantage of a data center provider who can act as a cloud and internet exchange point. By extending your digital edge or co-locating your on-premises hardware in one of their data centers, your environment becomes cloud adjacent. With this methodology, organizations can assess which workloads are best for each scenario—public cloud, private cloud, and on-premises—and deploy those workloads to the desired location, but connect them in a manner that performs as if they are all in the same room. This also greatly decreases ingress/egress charges as connectivity bypasses the public internet.

One of the anchors in our portfolio is Equinix: the world’s digital infrastructure company. Equinix runs large data centers and peering points around the world. They have created an ecosystem where all the places, partners, and possibilities a business would want to connect to can come together and provide the best performance available.

By using an internet exchange point, like Equinix, organizations can mix and match cloud providers, have both cloud and on-premises workloads, and have the type of performance they remember from when their applications were all in a closet down the hall.

In so many instances, we focus on what our client is asking for instead of the art of the possible. As trusted advisors, we need to bring the bigger picture to the table and encourage innovation at every opportunity.

If you are looking at digital transformation or have cloud initiatives, be sure that Equinix is part of the discussion. 

To learn more about Equinix and take advantage of a our influence on getting you their best price ... including FREE network design and sourcing support ... simply ask at FreedomFire Communications.

TALKDESK’S MISSION TO END BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE

 EVERY MOMENT IS AN EXPERIENCE THAT MATTERS

We have transitioned into the age of the customer, where buyers have more choice and control in how they interact with brands than ever before. Today it’s all about the experience. Your customers demand real-time service, either via self-service or direct to an agent. They expect seamless service across channels, and they expect intelligent service, meaning you need to know who they are and have a basic understanding of their problem.

The reason Talkdesk exploded onto the CCaaS scene is because of their speed of innovation:

• They were born in the cloud! They’re not trying to replace any old systems.
• They’ve got native AI baked right into their platform.
• They’ve built the first App Ecosystem for Contact Centers with Appconnect, allowing you to extend capabilities with a single click.
• Their agile development rolls out new capabilities daily, instead of the traditional three releases a year. They’ve delivered over 600 features in the past 24 months. In fact, Talkdesk filed for 200 patents in the last 100 days of 2019.

Talkdesk has followed all of this up with rolling out twenty new products in the first twenty days of 2020! Because of all this, they have the most review and highest scores on all major review sites.

 

At the beginning of the pandemic, approximately five percent of the U.S. workforce was employed by contact centers. A study done in April found that in January 2020, forty-three percent of agents said they could work remotely if they needed to. Of course, that number increased drastically by the end of March, and it is expected to remain around sixty percent going forward. This means companies need to be prepared to continue supporting hundreds or thousands of agents to work remotely, with the same level of security and customer service. Supporting this requires having the right support and strategies in place to enable this new contact center model.

Some questions you should be asking may include:

• How do you ensure your agents are set up to take calls from home, with no impact to service quality?
• With users now accessing your systems remotely, how do you ensure optimal security and compliance?
• How do you ensure that your CX team’s communications tools continue to perform in a WFH environment?
• How do we ensure that team members still have access to knowledge, without their peers sitting next to them?

CASE STUDY

Employbridge is a great customer of Talkdesk! The EmployBridge company mission is simple: find great jobs for great people. What started many years ago as a vision to connect job-seekers to the right employer for their skillset, has grown into a best-in-class enterprise. EmployBridge matches more than 400,000 employees in over 12,000 companies annually.

EmployBridge needed an agile contact center solution that could support high interaction volume and complement its culture of rapid innovation. Lagging technology and poor support from its first-generation cloud contact center provider were getting in the way of accomplishing their goals. EmployBridge chose Talkdesk for its continuous product innovation, deep integration to Microsoft Dynamics, and its unique flexibility to integrate with other key business applications–both now and in the future.

Their Talkdesk solution includes:

• Talkdesk Agent Assist will be at the forefront of their customer satisfaction strategy. Giving agents real-time suggested actions and removing the burden of tedious data entry will allow them to stay focused on the customer, instead of worrying about the technology.
• Integrations with Microsoft Dynamics and the EmployBridge knowledge base utilize AI-driven data to segment high-value interactions, route them to the best available agent, and present helpful information in real-time.

Since implementing Talkdesk:

• 20% reduction in human-assisted contacts
• Talkdesk Agent Assist will help drive higher CSAT, lower handle times and improved customer experience

Talkdesk’s mission is to end bad customer service for the world; they are here to help customers use CX as their competitive advantage!

To learn more about TalkDesk and take advantage of a comparison of 100s of other contact center vendors ... including FREE network design and sourcing support ... simply ask at FreedomFire Communications.

WHY PARTNER WITH KORE FOR A SUCCESSFUL IOT SOLUTION

 Founded in 2003, KORE simplifies the many puzzle pieces to deploy a successful IoT solution, such as connectivity, device management, data and the application ecosystem.

• Expert advisor and leader delivering business continuity solutions
• Single source provider for all of the critical components needed to protect your business and customers from network outages
• KORE Business Connect solutions are comprised of pre-integrated cellular routers and gateways from leading manufactures and 4G LTE connectivity from Tier 1 wireless carriers
• Solutions are complemented by their robust connectivity management platform and suite of IoT profession and managed services

KORE is carrier and device-agnostic; their goal is to combine any device, connectivity and data management into a single pane of glass.

WHEN TO THINK ABOUT KORE?

If you thought about cable ten or seven years ago it was considered a secondary circuit today your customers will need a third failover, this is where Wireless as Failover comes in. KORE bundles routers or gateways with 4G LTE cellular connectivity to convert cellular data to Ethernet in the event of a primary Internet outage. With an optional configuration, OOBM provides 24/7 remote access to critical network components. Wireless as Failover is ideal for multiple industries such as:

Think of KORE as a primary circuit — they bundle routers or gateway with 4G LTE cellular connectivity to provide a primary Internet connection where traditional landlines may not be feasible. Wireless as Primary is ideal for:

KORE has a plug-and-play offering, which can be used as part of the solution or as the whole solution.

KORE is the epitome of the one-stop-shop, all major carriers worldwide, all major equipment manufacturers – One platform in Prism Pro, one bill, one support line. So, why partner with KORE?

To learn more about KORE and take advantage of a comparison of 100s of other IOT solution providers ... including FREE network design and sourcing support ... simply ask at FreedomFire Communications.

The Most Recognized Brands Deliver Their Customer Experience With Genesys

 Genesys Cloud makes it possible for contact centers to run smoothly. It can create fluid customer conversations across digital and voice channels, predict and understand customer issues before they escalate, or before they even happen. It also makes it easy for agents to resolve issues fast with an intuitive interface. This empowers employees to find solutions and collaboration tools that let them talk, video, chat, and search. Lastly, it creates better business outcomes by seamlessly integrating with Salesforce and other CRM tools to add context to customer journeys. Their differentiators include:

• $250M in Research and Development, and planned for the foreseeable future.
• Built on AWS
• Continuous delivery of features, w/out interruption (150 last year)
• Created using microservices architecture for reliability
• All-in-one, NATIVE CC/US/WFM/AI
• A powerful and unique AI story
• No one knows large global CC operations like Genesys

The most recognized global brands deliver their customer experience with Genesys.

So, when should you think of Genesys?

• Prem to cloud migrations (Avaya RT7 EOS)
• Inferior cloud to Genesys Cloud
• Both all-in-one or stand-alone CCaaS
• A true omnichannel cloud solution
• Looking to use AI to re-invent their business

CASE STUDY

To learn more about Genesys and take advantage of a comparison of 100s of other contact center providers ... including FREE network design and sourcing support ... simply ask at FreedomFire Communications.

The Crux Of The Modern Customer Experience...The Impact Of Today's Contact Center Technology

 Is your contact center performing up to expectations....or can it do better? Learn what it takes to be a high performing contact center in today’s customer experience environment by watching this interview with contact center insider and channel innovator Ray Hicken.

For your contact center to truly be an asset to your business objectives it must run smoothly at all times....efficiently and cost effectively. Competition is fierce and you can't afford any issues at any time. Performance, or lack thereof, shouldn't keep you up at night. To the contrary....you should sleep like a baby knowing everything is running like a well oiled machine.

To learn more about all the technology options available to help make your contact center operations soar to new heights simply ask at the following link (the support is FREE). It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Contact Center Technology