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News Newsletters 2006 May 2006
Filled with relevant information about the rapidly evolving IT landscape, the Simpler-Webb newsletter is a must-read.
May 2006
Release date: 5/1/2006
Simpler-Webb May Newsletter
As I mentioned in the last newsletter, Simpler-Webb is kicking off a few initiatives to increase our communication and provide educational forums to help you manage your business. In February, we launched our Client Summit program, a series of short education conferences, at our headquarters for a small number of credit unions from the southwest region. Topics included Network Access Control and Information Security Challenges such as Authentication; Data Encryption; Email Archiving & Compliance. We appreciate everyone’s time and were excited with the outcome—our survey results revealed we exceeded expectations and everyone would like to attend another Simpler-Webb Summit! We are in the midst of planning future Summits so keep your eyes open for an invitation coming soon.
At the Summit, several people commented they didn’t realize the breadth of Simpler-Webb’s services which include multiple managed services offerings and numerous experts focused on the technology consulting side of the business. And yes, based on the needs of our clients, we expanded our services over the last couple of years in those technology areas which provide our clients the greatest impact.
I hope you enjoy the latest newsletter from Simpler-Webb. If there is anything you would like to see in future issues, please let us know.
Best,
Jeff
Industry Perspective ::
To Converge or Not to Converge.
Last issue we explored the Voice over IP market and adoption trends. A recent study estimated the adoption trend will continue over the next three 3 years with IP PBX sales increasing 82% and TDM PBX revenue dropping 88% worldwide. Many analysts and companies identified the converged network as the next stage in this evolution. Converged networks are described as a single network capable of transporting a mixture of voice (telephone), video (production and training), and application data. During his main stage address at VoiceCon in early March, John Chambers, President and CEO of Cisco Systems, discussed the business drivers and how Cisco intends to use the capabilities derived from convergence. For Cisco this shift would equate to a 40% savings in travel costs while increasing the productivity of its employees who travel extensively now.
According to an industry estimate, 70% of a company’s communications are office-to-office calls. VoIP has been shown to reduce the overall internal calling costs by as much as 60%. Also, there is the substantial cost reduction of running only one Ethernet cable for both voice and data to desktops. Cost is not the only benefit of having your voice and data lines joined. Video over IP makes the promise of affordable video conferencing now a possibility. We know people are looking at converged networks for additional reasons—improved communications between employees and customers; additional services such as integrating messaging systems or web-based customer call center applications. New methods for disaster recovery or branch moves are possible with a converged network such as the ability to shift all calls from one call center to another in minutes which is not possible with traditional TDM switching.
Many of our clients are starting to move forward with this trend to bring advanced customer services. Having one unified messaging system for calls, emails, faxes and chat simplifies transactions for your customers and staff can administer requests based on their personal preference for receiving information--telephone, internet, cell phone--no matter where they are, any time of the day. For the financial services sector, self service systems for routine information such as office hours, loan rates, or transferring funds, can be distributed throughout the network now. As member services continue to expand utilizing both phone and internet, the ability to unify those services into one system will make it easier for your IT staff to maintain. Reduced maintenance time for IP networks versus legacy switched networks is an added benefit along with minimizing cost and efficiency for site.
All in all, increased employee productivity and collaboration; increased member satisfaction; and reduced costs are clear reasons to look at what a converged network would mean for your business today and in the future.
Featured Technology ::
Simpler-Webb Service Offering - Save with Microsoft Software Assurance
Did you know Software Assurance is an affordable way to upgrade your Microsoft Windows 2003 Servers or receive the Office 2007 update or new Vista OS scheduled for Q4 2006? With so many releases from Microsoft this year—seven to be exact, Software Assurance is especially attractive. If you have Software Assurance there is no license fee to upgrade; you just pay shipping and handling—some are even downloadable. Without Software Assurance, you have to purchase licenses to upgrade—so having Software Assurance equates to significant savings. You need to act quickly though to take advantage; your Software Assurance contract must be up-to-date when the release goes to manufacturing.
The new updates and release scheduled for this quarter are packed with new capabilities you are going to want anyway: SBS R2 release offers an expanded mailbox limit to 75GB, automated network-wide patch and update management, and daily status reports on Microsoft software desktops and servers. For premium users, there is an additional enhancement of the Microsoft SQL 2005 workgroup. Additionally, you will be prepared for the Exchange 2007 update anticipated for a Q1 2007 release. Office 12 offers improved document design functionality, enhanced email management, and tools and menus simplifying how you access the 1,500 commands offered in Office. Windows Vista, the latest OS from Microsoft, boasts of improved performance, connectivity, backup, and security. Contact Simpler-Webb today to check on the status of your Software Assurance contract so you can take advantage of the added benefits offered by Microsoft now.
Simpler-Webb News ::
Customer Relations Manager
We are pleased to announce the creation of a new role at Simpler-Webb, Customer Relationship Manager for our Managed Services Clients. The objective of the role is simple: to be an advocate for you within our organization. Our goal is to provide our managed services clients a single contact to help you gain access to the appropriate resources and answer questions you may have about your Simpler-Webb projects or services.
We promoted Patricia Martinez to this key role. Many of you have already worked with Patricia and have experienced her commitment and dedication. Patricia is a wonderful person for this job--she understands the needs of our clients, maintains relationships with our key technology vendors (Cisco, Microsoft, TrendMicro, etc.) and is empowered to pull resources from throughout Simpler-Webb to ensure your issues are addressed. Please join us in congratulating Patricia on her move to this new role!
Simpler-Webb Named Cisco Commercial Partner of the Year, Innovation
At the recent Cisco Partner Conference in San Diego, Simpler-Webb was named Cisco Commercial Partner of the Year in the Innovation category for the South region based on our expertise and high level of customer satisfaction for Cisco delivered solutions.
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Simpler-Webb Wins Cisco’s Commercial Security Impact Partner of the Quarter, Austin-Louisiana Region
The Cisco Systems Austin-Louisiana Security Impact Partner of the Quarter Award recognizes a solution provider who is extremely knowledgeable and shows an exceptional ability to clearly design, articulate and implement network security focused solutions for their client base.
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Simpler-Webb earns Microsoft Information Worker competency
Simpler-Webb earned the Information Worker Productivity Solutions Competency by showing their technical staff has specific skills to provide customers with solutions that enable them to better manage, prioritize, and collaborate on increasing volumes of information.
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Simpler-Webb & Cisco Case ICS Study
Learn how Simpler-Webb leverages Cisco security solutions to deliver highly scalable, flexible, robust managed security services. This Cisco & Simpler-Webb joint case study dives into the challenges, the solutions being used, and the business value derived for customers.
Read the Case Study