Monthly Archives: September 2021

Empower your Communication and Collaboration with UCaaS

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Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) powers video and voice collaboration and communications on platforms like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, among others. These two popular platforms offer video conferencing, file sharing, and even telephony, which can help with collaboration and which require a strong network. Read on to learn more about what these solutions have to offer, and how you can prepare your company’s network. 

 

Platforms for a Hybrid Workforce

 

Zoom and Microsoft Teams are both good platforms for a remote or hybrid workforce. They both allow workers and groups of workers to communicate and collaborate, with Teams allowing as many as 10,000 participants in one meeting. Each offers its own benefits, and both allow workers, customers and vendors to stay in touch all over the world. Whichever option is best for your organization depends on your company’s needs. Microsoft Team offers communication tools like videoconferencing, along with integration with MS 365. Zoom offers videoconferencing and chat, and can integrate with Microsoft Teams. In terms of security, Microsoft Teams offers end-to-end data encryption and multi-factor authentication as part of its package, and end-to-end encryption is also an option with Zoom. Both platforms can operate on a cloud-based UCaaS basis, integrating different modes of communication and making licensing simpler.

 

Preparing Your Network for UCaaS

 

Unified Communications as a Service can help your employees collaborate and get work done easily; however, it requires a strong network, with Internet connection points and sufficient bandwidth. A good first step is auditing your network, to determine its capability to handle traffic and stay connected to the cloud. Endpoints–devices like laptops and phones–need to be connected to the cloud service provider’s network, ensuring the ability to effectively communicate and collaborate. Along with connectivity, your company needs to have enough bandwidth to support high call volumes and videoconferencing with multiple participants. One way to ensure sufficient bandwidth is spending more on wide-area networking (WAN), purchasing more bandwidth. Or your company can connect directly to a cloud service provider’s network, with the UCaaS provider being a part of the network. Using Software-Defined Wide-Area Networking offers a broadband solution to transmit data (such as in file sharing) and provide uninterrupted voice and video connectivity.

 

Using UCaaS for communication and collaboration offers many benefits, and requires consideration of the strength of your network. For assistance in preparing your network or assessing its readiness, contact us today. 

Use Desktop as a Service to Secure Remote Work

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More than ever, your employees are working outside the office; this trend is expected to continue. Therefore your company needs the flexibility, reliability and security of a virtual connection. Read on to learn about Desktop as a Service (DaaS) and how it can help you keep your business running smoothly.

 

Make Desktop as a Service (DaaS) Work for You

Desktop as a Service (DaaS), with its flexibility, reliability and security, is invaluable for businesses with remote workers. Workers can access systems, data and applications via the cloud, with just an Internet connection and a web browser. The service provider furnishes the infrastructure, network resources and storage in the cloud, and users’ computers are connected to the virtual desktop, and can access data and applications. Rapid deployment means that a new device can be connected to the virtual desktop, and later disconnected if needed; this will help businesses cope with fluctuating demand at different times of the day or year. If demand on one server is too great, all machines can be migrated to a different server.  Remote IT support can be given by the service provider, preventing downtime and keeping your systems running. 

 

Desktop as a Service is Affordable and Secure

Desktop as a Service can be affordable by managing consumption during peak business hours and the cloud subscription model allows companies to pay just for the resources they use. Service providers can help manage consumption by reducing available resources during off-peak hours. When it comes to security, IT service providers can quickly create a new desktop in case of a ransomware attack, so that data and applications are not accessed via the affected device. 

 

Considerations for Desktop as a Service

While Desktop as a Service is a secure model for remote work, considerations remain. First, workers need to know best practice security procedures–both cybersecurity and physical security. Maintaining strong passwords, awareness of social engineering, and even guarding their device from non-business use–all of these still apply. On a management level, companies need to ensure that their Cloud service provider meets industry standards for regulatory compliance as required.  

 

Desktop as a Service, a flexible and affordable cloud offering, can help keep your remote workers busy and your company secure. To learn more about DaaS, contact us today.