Tag Archives: telecommunications

Boost Telecommunications Performance Using a Software-Defined Wide Area Network

With web video conferencing, email, internet-based telephony and file sharing everyday activities for businesses of all sizes, your network needs to support your telecommunications offerings (telco) at all times. Read on to learn more about how software-defined wide area networking can keep things moving and provide a seamless user experience

 

Business Operations Require Strong Telecommunications 

 

With people working anywhere and everywhere, remote work is here to stay. Your telecommunications applications need to be up to the task, for collaboration among workers and customers’ interactions with your business. Efficient telecommunications can help enhance collaboration and make communication seamless, improving the user experience and garnering more revenue as well. Software-defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) is the best option for making such things happen.

 

Software Defined Wide Area Networking Improves Efficiency and Security

 

A software-defined wide area network is a cloud-based approach to the management of a wide-area network. SD-WAN brings together multiple networks to make connection seamless, using business class broadband as well as MPLS already used in simple wide-area networking. With the cloud provider maintaining the infrastructure, all that is needed for the users is an Internet connection and an appliance like a laptop computer. Users and devices can easily be added, making this way of networking scalable. What’s more, SD-WAN eliminates the need for data to travel to a data center before reaching its destination, thus making the data less liable to loss, compromise and latency. A built-in firewall and centrally managed security policies protect you from bad actors accessing your network. If something happens and policies need to be changed, the changes can be programmed and easily go out to all devices attached to the network.

 

Considerations in Choosing a Provider

 

What if you are considering SD-WAN to boost your telecom offerings, but aren’t sure where to start? When looking for a provider, ask them if they can work with your current network while getting the new one started. Will they work with you to set security parameters around network traffic? Some key security features to think about are next-generation firewalls and encryption, to prevent bad actors from intercepting and reading data exchanged on the network. Repeated testing is another offering to look for.

 

Software-Defined Wide Area Networks can position your telco offerings to be even more efficient. For further assistance, contact your trusted technology advisor today.

Assess Spending with a Telecommunications Audit

Communications and collaboration are vital to your company’s operations and success. But how do you know if your spending is effectively allocated? Read on to learn about the role of a telecommunications expense audit in shaping up your telco budget

 

Telecommunications and Why it Matters

 

In short, telecommunications means the exchange of information across long distances–via phone, email and videoconferencing. It incorporates the use of various devices–cell and landline phones, internet and email, for instance. With remote work being an established practice, your workers need to be able to communicate and collaborate, and help keep your operations humming.

 

Evaluate Your Telecommunications Expense

 

How do you know that you’re spending wisely on telecommunications? With the complexity of telecommunications (many companies have multiple carriers), money may be slipping through the cracks without your awareness. This is where a telco audit comes in. The audit is a process that surveys an organization’s telecom expenses, identifying areas of overspending or poor allocation. Expenses include local and long-distance telephone bills, wireless services, and Internet services–how do you know the charges are accurate? It may be time to bring in a qualified telco auditor with the needed expertise.

 

How a Telecom Expense Audit Can Help Your Company

 

A telecom audit can show where your company might be needlessly spending money. For example, with multiple carriers, different invoicing systems are involved, and your company might be incurring late fees. Small miscalculations can cause errors, including overbilling. An audit can uncover which services you might no longer need, via a close examination of invoices and payment records. Better understanding of your telco expenses leads to the creation of a proper budget, which helps your company’s bottom line. An audit can even help uncover anomalies that might indicate fraud. What’s more, the auditor can even contact carriers on your behalf, so you don’t have to spend time doing so.

 

Considerations for Hiring a Telecommunications Audit Provider

 

An ideal telecommunications audit company will take the work of examining telco spending off your IT department’s to-do list. The auditor should have a track record of expertise in analyzing telecommunications spending patterns so they know what to look for and how to interpret invoices and billing records. Free audit reviews and free quotes are indicators of a reliable company, and a good auditor will provide a portal for your company to track the audit’s progress and to access reports.

 

Your company’s telecommunication system is vital, and so is your bottom line. To find out more about an audit of your system, contact your trusted technology advisor today.