How The Cloud Provides Virtualization For The SMB

Virtualization has been a hot topic within enterprise data centers for years. It’s a matter of getting more out of what you already have. Virtualization can turn a lightly loaded server into many smaller servers that you’d otherwise have to buy. It can ease the burden of a heavily loaded server across many hardware platforms, avoiding the expense of one monstrous hardware platform. That’s great for large corporations, but what about small and medium size businesses. Is there any way they can gain the efficiencies of virtualization?

There is now. Just look to the cloud. Virtualization is the magic behind the curtain that makes the cloud a practical reality. Clouds are nothing more than extremely large data centers set up to serve many tenants. The principle is that any customer will perceive having access to infinite resources and a sense of being the only user if the data center is engineered correctly. The practical way to do that is with virtualization.

Every aspect of the cloud is virtualized. It starts with the servers used as computing resources. The racks and racks full of physical servers are virtualized into hundreds or thousands of virtual servers. What happens on one virtual server stays on one virtual server. As long as there are enough physical resources to support the demand for as many virtual servers as customers activate, users have no idea how many other customers are sharing the same physical assets or what the maximum number of virtual servers can be.

The same is true for storage, also virtualized, and bandwidth, which has always worked well as a virtualized resource. Even software can be virtualized when running on the cloud. This has led to the Software as a Service or SaaS model. Customers perceive having their own installation of a software package, although in practice they are one out of many.

So, what does this have to do with the Small and Medium Business (SMB)? Once you are relieved from the burden of ownership, the barriers to entry for fairly sophisticated computing services shrink considerably. Few companies have the multi-million dollar capital resources to go out and build secure, environmentally controlled data centers with layers of redundant power, and then populate these spaces with rack after rack of the latest hardware. They also need to budget to hire the staff that makes all of these resources work together reliably and keep on top of patches, upgrades and troubleshooting.

The cloud moves all of that cost and effort from your hands to those of a dedicated service provider who is in business to manage the cloud and nothing else. They’re not trying to run a manufacturing, marketing or healthcare company. They’re in business to run a cloud and run it for excellent performance. By purchasing your IT services from a cloud provider instead of replicating a data center on-premises, the smaller a company you can be and still afford the service. It’s now possible for even “mom & pop” operations to use cloud services from the day the business opens and grow their IT right along with their business.

Here’s something else that SMB operations are finding is better off in the cloud than on-site. That’s PBX telephone systems. How many companies have the expertise to run their own phone systems? Many contract with VARs (Value Added Resellers) and consultants to buy, install and maintain an in-house telephone system. Send all that to the cloud and all you need onsite is the phones and perhaps a provider installed managed gateway. They even take care of the trunk lines that connect to the public telephone system.

What’s all this cost? Cloud services are sold on a pay-as-you-go basis. Many are prices by the month for each user or “seat,” as they are called. Computing is sold by the number of virtual servers and quantity of storage per month or even per hour. Unlike normally contracted services, cloud resources are easily increased or decreased. Often you can do this through a Web-based control panel for your account. Your bill is automatically adjusted as you add and subtract resources.

Are you finding it too hard to acquire the computing and communication resources you really need to be competitive? Consider getting those resources as services from the cloud and pay only for what you use now with option of rapidly scaling up when business conditions dictate. Compare prices and options from multiple cloud service providers now and compare with the expense of trying to do it all yourself.

Scrambling For Business Leads

You can't help but notice that business activity is thinning out. Fewer inquiries are coming in and fewer order commitments are being placed. What's really scary is the "Out of Business" signs that seem to be popping up in more and more store fronts. So, what do you do to hang on?

The platitudes such as "business goes in cycles" or "this too shall pass" aren't much help when you're staring at red ink on the income statement. Truly, the frozen credit markets will thaw and eventually we'll exit what's likely to be a prolonged recession. But you need a way to keep people working and cash flowing until that "rising tide lifts all ships."

There may not be any of the proverbial magic bullets around, but there certainly are things you can do rather than just wait and hope. Belt tightening is always a good thing to consider. Chances are that there are expenses that have found their way onto the books and you're not even sure why you're spending that money anymore. But you should also look at doing things to increase income as well as reduce expenses.

Here's an idea if you happen to be in a technology related sales and service business, particularly one involved with computers and networking or business telephone systems. Join a collaborative network of like-minded technology professionals to increase your sales opportunities with current customers and get warm leads for potential new customers.

This organization is called the VAR Network, VAR meaning Value Added Reseller. If you're in this line of work, you'll recognize the acronym. The VAR Network gives you a double-headed approach for increasing your business receipts. First, you have the opportunity to include telecom line services in your stable of offerings. You may feel that specializing in network routers or IP PBX systems is really as deep as you want to get into systems work. But you're leaving a lot of money on the table for someone else to scoop up. Why not grab that share of the client's budget for yourself?

I know. You don't know squat about line services and are concerned about the learning curve involved to be able to productively sell things like dedicated T1 Internet, ISDN PRI, and Metro Ethernet. Fear not. You'll be partnering with an expert at the VAR Network who knows the ins and outs of all of those services. This consultant has the tools and carrier relationships to efficiently identify the best cost offers and close the deal, including the paperwork.

What do you get out of it? In exchange for providing the line services lead to the VAR Network, you'll be rewarded with a monthly commission based on your customer's usage. That can range up to hundreds or thousands of dollars a month per client for larger enterprises. Lots of smaller customers can also result in big incomes. But you already know that.

The other side of this double-whammy is that the VAR Network will send leads to you. That's right. The VAR Network sells line services through the Telarus Master Agency, but doesn't sell or install equipment. Many clients looking for line services also are seeking upgrades to their business telephone networks or local area networks and computers. Those leads are passed on to member VARs based on location, service specialization and support of the network.

Now the best part of the deal. You pay nothing to join or maintain your membership in the VAR Network. You just need to have an established business in the right field. Telecom line service consulting and support are absolutely free. You'll share in the income generated from the leads you supply. You'll also get leads for free as they become available. If, and only if, a lead supplied by the VAR Network results in a sale are you expected to remit a small percentage of your receipts from that lead to support the network.

Does this sound like an easy and painless way to give your business an edge in this declining business environment? It doesn't come easier or more pain free. Find out for yourself. Check out the VAR Network and Sign up to become a VAR Network partner now.

What Becomes Of The Broken Hardware?

As I check this LAN for broken wires
I have visions of server fires
Availability is just an illusion
I desperately need a good solution

What becomes of the broken hardware
Fizzled out after only one year
I know I've got to find
What took us down this time
Maybe.

The root causes go on and on
as the network comes a-crashin' down
Every day tensions get a little stronger
I can't take this heat much longer.

I check the server logs, searching for clues
The staff is glaring at me, wanting some news
Hoping and praying the vendors will care
I keep calling them but getting nowhere

What becomes of the broken hardware
Fizzled out after only one year
I know I've got to find
What took us down this time
Help me, please.

It dawns on me I won't succeed
Until I get the help I really need
To the VAR Network, a plea I'm sending
In hopes this job won't have an unhappy ending

What becomes of the broken hardware
Fizzled out after only one year
I know I've got to find
What took us down this time
I've been searching everywhere
But now I've got a VAR who cares
We'll be working night and day
I know we're going to find a way
Nothing's going to stop us now
This network's gonna run somehow
Hooray!

- John Shepler, with apologies to Jimmy Ruffin

Note: If you find yourself singing this sad song, help is closer than you think. Find computer network and business telephone system experts through the VAR Network for true peace of mind.

Hosted Telecommunications from Packet8

Your business has grown to where a multi-line phones or a simple Key Telephone System just isn't good enough anymore. Yet, the thought of shelling out tens of thousands of dollars for a business PBX system and having to support it is really more than you want to face. Is there anything in-between for the in-between size company?

You bet there is. It's called hosted telecommunications. The difference between hosted solutions and the traditional Private Branch Exchange is that the PBX or call center functionality is hosted somewhere else. Think of it like a hosting service for your Web site. You have all the functionality of an in-house system, but there is no rack of equipment in the telephone closet. Instead, you have the full featured business phones on your desks. They communicate via broadband network connections to the provider that maintains all that telephone equipment.

Packet8 is a leader in hosted telecom services for small to medium businesses. They helped pioneer the adaptation of VoIP technology with sophisticated calling features for companies that don't have and don't really want the burden of maintaining their own telephone systems. Their most popular business product is called "Packet8 Virtual Office." They also have an expanded product called "Complete Contact Center." This extension of the Virtual Office gives you call center capability without having to invest in building a stand alone call center.

Packet8 Virtual Office is a hosted iPBX solution that grows with your business. The term "virtual" is important. Your office can consist of separate sites anywhere in the world. For instance, you could have locations with one phone each in all 50 states. The Packet8 Virtual Office will tie them together like they were in one large office building with 50 phones. Smaller companies might consist of several collaborators located in different cities. With Virtual Office, everyone can dial everyone else with 3 digit extensions.

Other familiar PBX functions provided by Packet8 Virtual Office include voicemail, call forwarding, call transfer, conference bridging, call park / call pickup, ring groups, do not disturb, music on hold, Caller ID, distinctive ringtones, and automated attendant. You also get integration with Microsoft Outlook that coordinates your phone and PC so you get screen pops based on your Outlook Contacts.

With the screen pops, you are entering the realm of call center capability. As your needs advance beyond the Virtual Office capabilities, consider Packet8 Complete Contact Center. This sophisticated hosted telecommunications service adds call center features such as skill based routing, monitor and barge-in for supervisor, call recording, and CRM that creates a Web based tool to manage customer interactions. The Contact Center scales from 1 to 100 agents, so your call center can start small and grow with your needs.

Packet8's hosted telecommunications services are based on full-featured business telephones with network adapters so they communicate through your Local Area Network and to the Internet through a Wide Area Network connection. High quality business broadband connections are needed at each location to ensure high voice quality and functionality. That also means that you can have a virtual office location anywhere you can get a high quality broadband connection. Locate your business downtown or out in the boonies. Or some combination of both.

Is your SMB (Small to Medium sized Business) ready for the professional capabilities of a PBX system, but at a price appropriate for your budget? If so, take a few minutes to learn more about Virtual Office Hosted Telecommunications Services from Packet8.

TalkSwitch Supports both VoIP and Legacy PBX

The decision on whether to go with a traditional analog or digital TDM PBX phone system or the newer VoIP telephone system can be a perplexing business decision. Well, why take a big chance when you can hedge your bets with a TalkSwitch system that supports both types of phone technologies?

This is where TalkSwitch is playing the commercial telephone market smart. Take the hybrid TalkSwitch 244vs, for instance. This desktop PBX system supports 2 incoming phone lines, 4 extensions for analog phone sets, and a wealth of user features including voicemail and music on hold. This low cost system also includes support for 10 remote extensions, which are cell phones, home phones and phones on other systems that can be reached by dialing a 3 digital extension. It's like the remote phones are part of the PBX, even though they do not directly plug into the system.

If that sounds like a traditional PBX system, it is. But the TalkSwitch 244vs also supports 4 VoIP trunks and VoIP extension phones. The VoIP features use your company LAN and WAN rather than dedicated telephone wiring. Whether to use analog or IP phone extensions is your choice. It's largely influenced by what you have already in the way of handsets and wiring.

The type of trunk lines to use is also a personal choice. You can simply plug in analog phone lines from your local phone company to the RJ-11 jacks on the back of the PBX console. Or you can use a VoIP provider with the equivalent of 4 lines called "VoIP trunks." Another popular option is to use T1 Integrated service that combines traditional phone lines and broadband Internet service onto a single T1 line.

The target market for TalkSwitch products is small companies or companies spread over multiple locations, perhaps with remote workers. The PBX unit itself can be held in your hand. Multiple units can be networked to a maximum of 16 traditional phone lines, 16 VoIP trunks, and 64 local plus 40 remote extensions.

Remote workers, often operating from their home offices, connect with the main company PBX by using a VoIP Gateway. A typical gateway is the Mediatrix 2102. The teleworker plugs an analog telephone, FAX machine, and computer or wireless router into the Mediatrix. The user's broadband modem plugs into the WAN port of the gateway. This allows the office PBX system to include the remote worker on the phone system via the Internet as if they were located down the hall rather than across town or across the country.