On-Premise vs Cloud-Based

A premises-based PBX solution (also known as an IP PBX) is dependent on a voice server kept on-site in the equipment/server closet. Physical phones are located throughout the office. Calls can route through a traditional phone company as well as over the internet using SIP trunking. Hosted PBX is a cloud voice solution where the provider manages/maintains the voice server in a cloud data center. The only equipment in the office is physical phones. Calls route over the internet using SIP trunking.

On-Premise PBX

Cost – higher upfront costs and set-up fees. Above a certain threshold, it might be cheaper to own equipment than pay a monthly fee, but servicing and maintenance can get expensive. When using only basic call features with >25 phones per store, the total cost of ownership is less over a 5-year period

Scalability – purchase phones to expand (in addition to any licensing required). PBX needs to be able to accommodate growth and the possibility of complexity with added features

Failover – if the issue with PBX in-store, calling is affected and potentially down until PBX can be repaired via a service contract

Maintenance – managed services contract (with phone vendor) required for software patching and maintenance to ensure security and uptime

Hosted PBX

Cost – usually low upfront costs, the monthly fee per user. Typically, the low total cost of ownership as a hosted provider takes care of the server configuration, maintenance, and software patching

Scalability – purchased or leased IP phones added to service plan, picking and canceling numbers and moving phone system is easy and quick

Failover – calls can be rerouted to cell phones if an issue with SIP trunk quality, power at a store or catastrophic event. Safeguards at off-site facility include back up power sources, geographic redundancy of data centers, active-active failover of servers, etc.

If you are interested in learning more, contact TDS Networks at 610-783-7005

The Value of a Managed Service Provider

At the end of the day, handling painstaking IT tasks, like managing a network, internally is not the best use of time and resources. As you may know, managed service providers can help you save money by offloading these responsibilities from your business, allowing you to cut costs on human capital and expensive hardware. However, there are many other advantages to working with an MSP that you may not be aware of. These include:

Gaining a Trusted Advisor

TDS can guide you to the technologies that will produce the best business outcomes. Offering plentiful solutions from a wide range of carriers, they acquire quotes from multiple vendors and present those that provide the greatest value to your business. As your trusted advisor, they learn your technology stack from the ground up so they can customize solutions that help you achieve your unique goals.

Benefiting from Operational Excellence

TDS can help reduce operating costs by identifying the best solutions and connecting you to them at the lowest rates. Many have dedicated telco and cable teams that manage carriers, so you don’t have to. Additionally, they manage your burdensome IT tasks, allowing you to cut costs and use money 

saved towards revenue-generating initiatives.

Working with a Single Point of Contact

Instead of working with several different carriers, you only have one point of contact for your telecom and IT services. This means you only have one phone number to remember and one person to call about service quality.

Enhancing Your Security

The constant evolution of cyber threats has made monitoring and protecting networks an overwhelming struggle.TDS will manage your security, providing cost-effective, enterprise-level support. As a result, you benefit from peace of mind knowing that your network is being monitored by experts, 24-7-365.

As an MSP, we take pride in streamlining IT and telecom solutions for our customers. We leverage our expertise and resources to help you manage carrier relationships, maintain high levels of customer service, and allocate employees to revenue-generating responsibilities. Get in touch with us today to leverage our full suite of services. Contact TDS Networks today to learn more at 610-783-7005! 

today to leverage our full suite of services.

Cybersecurity Statistics Your Business Should Know

There have been many cyber issues and threats that the world has experienced over the years. Part of living in the digital era is understanding that private information is more vulnerable than ever before. As a business, it is important to maintain the physical property you own and protect it against intruders, potential threat and other acts that could cause issues within your company. In the same way, cybersecurity is just as important, if not greater, than traditional security precautions.

Here are 10 eye-opening statistics that help illustrate the current state of cybersecurity: 

1. 43% of cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses. (Small Business Trends)

2. It takes most companies for over six months, or around 197 days to detect a data breach. (ZD Net)

3. Windows is the most targeted platform by hackers(Computer World)

4. The most expensive component of a cyber attack is information loss, which represents 43% of costs. (Accenture)

5. 91% of cyberattacks begin with a spear-phishing email, which is commonly used to infect organizations with ransomware. (KnowBe4) 

6. 75% of organizations infected with ransomware were running up-to-date endpoint protection (Sophos)

7. 90% of hackers cover their tracks by using encryption. (Vanson Bourne)

8. More than 4,000 ransomware attacks occur every day. (FBI)

9. The total cost of a successful cyber attack is over $5 million, or $301 per employee. (Ponemon)

10. It is estimated there will be a ransomware attack on businesses every 14 seconds by the end of 2019, up from 40 seconds in 2016. (Cybersecurity Ventures)

Understanding the state of cybersecurity is important to protect your business from digital threats. The statistics we have shared show that even though many companies are aware of cyber threats, their protection is failing due to the continued expansion of attacks. As cybercriminals continue to target organizations, owners and employees need to understand how to protect their customers and as well as their business.  Learn more at tdsnetworks.com or call us directly @ 610-783-7005! 

Should My Business Switch to VoIP?

Should My Business Switch to VoIP?

What is VoIP?

Hosted VoIP is a solution where a carrier owns and manages all telephony networking equipment and enables you to make calls over a broadband internet connection. It's a more cost-effective, multi-functional, and flexible alternative to an analog phone. According to the Market Research Store, global demand for VoIP services is expected to reach about USD 140 million in 2021.

Why You Need It

Reduced Costs

Because hosted VoIP is a cloud-based solution that is managed virtually, the need for expensive networking equipment is drastically reduced. This provides a huge cost-saving advantage because it eliminates installation and maintenance fees. Also, because you’re sending calls over the internet, long-distance and international charges are greatly reduced.

Scalability

Predicting growth is challenging, which is why having a phone system that scales at your pace presents a great advantage. Hosted VoIP is designed to be highly scalable and easy to expand, allowing you to seamlessly add or reduce new phones and increase or decrease bandwidth requirements when needed. 

Mobility

With the rise of the "work from home" and BYOD trends, a mobile phone system is becoming a business necessity. Whereas traditional phone service providers offer mobile accounts that are separate from the phone system, VoIP allows you to make mobile devices endpoints on the same system. This means your employees can make it so their mobile phones ring simultaneously with their work phones.

Productivity

From automated attendants to automatic call forwarding, hosted VoIP makes it so your business never misses important calls. Additionally, it gives you the ability to add collaboration tools like video conferencing and instant messaging, strengthening communication within your organization. Since it allows for enhanced mobility, it also enables employees to take work calls out of the office.

As you can see, there are quite a few benefits of VoIP systems. If you are ready to explore more of what VoIP can do for your organization, contact TDS Networks located in Eagleville, PA  to speak to one of our experts. Call us directly at 610-783-7005 or send us an email to sales@tdsnetworks.com for assistance. You can also visit us on the web!

3 Capabilities Your Contact Center Should Have by 2020

We have seen a lot of changes to the call center and customer experience landscape in 2019. Better analytics, more intentional social media conversations and innovative ways to involve artificial intelligence. Let’s look and see how far your business has come in building customer relationships that last or which trends you may need on your 2020 to-do list.

Artificial intelligence integrated into customer interactions: Businesses are getting deeper into predictive analytics, using artificial intelligence applications to help streamline call center experiences for customers and agents.

Digital transformation: Businesses have always tried to differentiate themselves on price or product quality. Today, however, we’re seeing that customers are more frequently looking for something more: a rewarding experience that leads to a long-lasting relationship with a business. Customer interactions are no longer stand-alone activities, and customers are demanding a more comprehensive and consistent experience.

Better contact center analytics: Gone are the days of relying on supervisor skill and know-how to get the most out of a contact center agent. Now, even smaller businesses are taking advantage of sophisticated analytics to turn data – like call and screen recordings, chats, SMS messages and more – into truly useful feedback for their agents.

These three trends have already made an impact on the contact center landscape in 2019. Did your contact center implement any of these? Better yet, are they working for you? If you need more help figuring out how to apply them to your business, get on a more strategic footing by giving us a call at 610-783-7005 or sales@tdsnetworks.com

Is DaaS Right for Your Business?

Business cloud services and related technologies are transforming the workplace and the way people do business. If you’re not taking advantage of telecom services like DaaS, you may be missing out on ways to boost performance in the office and improve connectivity. It’s important to understand what they offer, and below, you’ll find everything you need to determine if DaaS is right for your workplace.

What Is It?

DaaS—desktop-as-a-service—is a business cloud technology that eliminates the limitations of in-office computers. Many employees travel and work remotely throughout the week; DaaS ensures they can access everything on their computer no matter where they are. Through business cloud services, they can load their entire desktop onto a third-party station via Wi-Fi, such as a laptop, and use it the same as if they were in the office.

What Are the Benefits?

The most immediate perk of DaaS is mobility. Employees can access files and software no matter where they are and regardless of if they’re using a laptop, tablet, or another desktop. There’s no more waiting to access or work on collaborative files, ensuring faster turnaround and meeting due dates.

DaaS is also cost-effective. Computers fail over time and require repairs and parts upgrades. Business cloud services don’t. You’ll never have to worry about maintenance or losing files when hard drives crash. And since DaaS is housed in the cloud, you won’t have to update your office infrastructure. Physical computers are also more susceptible to hacking. The cloud is protected by cybersecurity providers so that your data is better defended against threats.

If you’re interested in adding DaaS and business cloud services to your workplace, TDS Networks offers all the resources needed from their Eagleville, PA, location. Call (610) 783-7005 to speak with an associate about their services.

Lets Talk SD-WAN

Lets Talk SD-WAN 

Organizations across industries are implementing SD-WAN to simplify the delivery of WAN services to remote locations and reduce costs. SD-WAN enables IT and business managers to deploy Internet-based connectivity (with its benefits of ubiquity, high bandwidth, and low cost) easily, quickly and with quality reliability, and security.

A look at the benefits of SD-WAN:

• Traffic prioritization down to the application level
• Improved reliability through link aggregation and instant failover using packet steering
• Rapid deployment of new sites with the ability to replicate existing locations
• Streamlined provisioning through the orchestration layer (central management)
• Increased visibility into the network performance and analytics
• Security by encrypting the traffic on public or private networks
• Option to utilize more cost-effective back-up networks and forego costly fiber builds 

SD-WAN will help your business run more efficiently than ever. Get in touch with us to see how SD-WAN can help your organization!

4 Questions Commonly Asked About Cloud Services

If you’re considering moving to a cloud service or your business, there are important questions you’ll want answered first. Getting additional information will allow you to determine which services are right for your needs. To find out how you can best help your business, consider the following frequently asked questions about cloud computing.

FAQ About the Cloud

What is the cloud?

The cloud is comprised of a network of remote services that will store, manage, and process your data over the internet. Cloud computing uses outside infrastructure and hardware to store your information, which can cut back on your company’s initial investment.

Are there different clouds?

There are four different types of cloud computing: private, public, hybrid, and community. A public cloud is where the whole computing infrastructure is housed at an outside location. A private cloud is when you host your own infrastructure and do not share; this is the highest control level in regards to security. With a hybrid cloud, you combine both public and private services, allowing you to defer some costs but still maintain high levels of privacy. Finally, a community cloud is shared between organizations that share a specific goal, whether it’s a business or an organization.

What types of cloud services exist?

Cloud computing falls into four different categories: infrastructure as a service (IaaS), unified communications as a service (UCaaS), desktop as a service (DaaS), and IT as a service (ITaaS). IaaS, the most basic option, allows you to reduce the complexity and costs of your IT systems by outsourcing them to a provider. UCaaS provides an environment for local and remote users to easily collaborate between platforms. DaaS eliminates the need for software maintenance and enhances the mobile work style. ITaaS focuses on your time and budget by moving strategic IT services to the cloud, allowing everything to be managed by specialists.

What is the cloud used for?

Cloud services can help your business in a number of different ways. With virtual file storage, for example, employees can access important information from anywhere there’s an internet connection. This also makes disaster recovery a breeze, as the cloud creates backups of the files to store at a remote location. 

If you’re ready to improve business efficiency with cloud services, talk to the professionals at TDS Networks in Eagleville, PA.  TDS offers the IT solutions and consulting you need to help your business thrive — and keep data stored safely. To learn more about the various cloud services they offer, visit them online or call (610) 783-7005