Tag Archives: #SMB

Tips for Speed Testing your VoIP Service

VOIP, , , , ,
business man speed testing his VoIP service. Business man in office. Looking at camera

Items to check to improve the quality of your calls

One of the most important things to keep in mind in terms of a VoIP is that having good call quality requires you to have a decent internet connection. Lower speed networks will likely result in call degradation, dropped calls, breaks, delays and so on. The best way to avoid this is to do a simple quality test for your VoIP before starting to make regular use of it to make calls. This will ensure that you know if your network will suffer similar issues and if you need to make a network upgrade or otherwise alter your VoIP setup before you start trying to use your VoIP setup to make calls in order to avoid problems.

What is a VoIP Test

Just like all other types of information found on the internet, VoIP calls are passed from point to point as a form of data transfer through the use of various data packets. Calls are sent to and from callers by packets of data that travel across the web in order to transmit data from one specific point to another specific point. If packets are dropped, or lost, in transit from point to point then the loss of those data packets will affect the call quality due to the fact that not all of the call data was successfully transmitted from one endpoint to the other. The loss of these data packets may potentially result in missing audio, grainy audio quality and even dropped calls.

What a VoIP does is that it basically tests how well your Internet connection handles data packets. The majority of these tests work by measuring things like jitter, latency, and the bandwidth of your upload and download speeds. All of these components put together will determine how the data packets are handled and how those packets affect your call quality.

 

How to run a VoIP Test

The best way to run a VoIP test is to use one of the many free tests that run in a web browser. To obtain the optimal results, you should run the test at the busiest and most populated time of day. This will allow you to test what you’re going to get an idea of what you will see during busy times. Testing a VoIP will only take a bit of time and it will monitor what you find to send you appropriate speed measurements to give you an idea if your network is capable of handling VoIP calls at the moment.

 

Potential Problems

If the outcome of your network test tells you that you will not be able to handle VoIP calls without experiencing a significant amount of stutters, call drops or quality degradation then you should not attempt to use your internet for VoIP calls regardless.

If this is the outcome you get on your test and you still want to be able to make calls then your choices are to either upgrade your network so that it can make calls properly and then test again to make sure or alternatively, you can make your calls from a different location that already has better internet. For example, if the area you are attempting to connect in is somewhere with poor network service then you might be better served to either rent an office space or simply make your calls from a public location such as a coffee house in the future.

 

If you are looking for more information on VoIP testing or you need some tips or suggestions to help you choose a VoIP system for your use then contact us today to get whatever hints, tips and suggestions that you need.

9 Tips for Small Business Disaster Recovery

Data Backup, , ,
Disaster Recovery Plan written on a dart board

What is your Disaster Recovery Plan?

As a modern business, you need your network, internet access, and business software. You need the servers to host data, the coffee machines to flow, and you need the constant current of electricity to the entire infrastructure to keep the lights and computers on. When something goes wrong from ransomware to hurricanes, it’s important to have a plan that will get everyone back online and work resumed as quickly as possible. This process is known as disaster recovery and is something that every business has to contend with. Without a disaster recovery plan, you’re at risk of being completely technologically wiped out by malware or a local natural disaster. With one, you could potentially have your employees set back up after a complete system wipe in less than two hours.

1) Identify Your Most Likely Risks

Every time you start building a disaster recovery plan, whether it’s your first plan or an update to one that’s been in place for a decade, it’s important to re-assess the possible risks. These days, you’re more likely to get phished by a hacker than hit by a hurricane, but let’s face it, mother nature has also been doing some serious damage lately. You’ll want a disaster recovery plan that assumes several different possible disasters including malware that must be wiped with a factory reset and small corrections as might be necessary to fix a data entry mistake. Build a plan based on each of the most likely disasters that could take out your IT infrastructure or damage files.

2) Conduct Vulnerability Management

Vulnerability management refers to the process of seeking out possible security holes and weaknesses in your infrastructure and closing them. One of the best ways to prepare for a disaster is to do your best to prevent it. Vulnerability management not only ensures that you close a few security holes with updates and patches, it also lets you know which security holes can’t be completely closed and will need to be guarded and planned for instead.

3) Plan Disaster Recovery from End to Beginning

When you’re building a disaster recovery plan, start with the results you want to see at the end of recovery. What state should the computers be in? Consider the possibility of starting from scratch and establish how much restoration is needed to get to that point for each device and network assets. Department computers will need specific software and possibly data loaded into them and your central network infrastructure may need both software and configuration settings re-established before it is fully restored. Define how much you need to be included in the recovery and then build the steps need to recover.

4) Prioritize Levels of Disaster Recovery

Of course, if recovery is going to take a few hours,  the right prioritization can have strategic departments up and working faster than others. You can, for instance, prioritize to get the customer service team back online first and answering client questions about the service outage or prioritize getting your machinery back online if you handle manufacturing or run tests for clients. By prioritizing, you can get the most possible work out of a disaster recovery day and ensure that your return to functionality is as smooth as possible.

5) Keep the Recovery Plan Current

Disaster recovery plans are very specific to the software, data, and backup protocols that are in place when the plan is formed. If your infrastructure, configurations, or backup schedule are changed in any way, your disaster recovery plan is outdated which could leave the company vulnerable. It is vital that your backup recovery plans are kept completely current and updated every time a change is made to something that will need to be recovered into the new state.

6) Test Your Disaster Recovery Plan Regularly

When talking about the security of your company data and technical infrastructure, you can’t simply trust that a plan works simply because you put it together. Just as you would need to test a new product or appliance before relying on it, a disaster discovery plan also needs to be tested. Make sure that you can restore your computers to full or desired function before relaxing and continue to run regular tests to ensure that no small change has compromised your plan’s effectiveness.

7) Get Top Management Involved

All too often, a security or IT solution is implemented for everyone except top management who seem to float above the normal power responsibility hierarchy. However, if a company is going to be completely secure, everyone needs to get involved. Make sure that top management understands the disaster recovery plan and the right people are ready to lead implementation should they be the highest authority on site when a disaster strikes. This way, recovery plans will both be more thoroughly upheld and more effectively implemented when necessary.

8) Write a Disaster Recovery Guide

Once you have the entire disaster recovery plan plotted out from beginning to end, write a guide that uses the simplest possible terms to explain how to implement the plan. This ensures that no matter what bizarre circumstances a disaster might occur in, including the possibility of a skeleton holiday crew and a new-years malware attack, that backup recover can be put into action. The guide also serves as a fallback plan in case the disaster recovery plan designer is not available when a disaster occurs.

9) Run Regular Response and Recovery Drills

Finally, often the most effective disaster recovery involves the coordinated efforts of whole teams. When every employee knows how to reload their system from the cloud backup, you can even trust them to maintain local units because they can always restore to default. If you want to get your entire office back online in the shortest possible time, train your team thoroughly in how to respond to a disaster. This is a great way to run disaster recovery tests and train everyone in quick disaster response in one unifying company event.

Having a variety of disaster recovery plans with a strong basis in cloud backups and practiced recovery procedures is the key to getting your business back on its feet after any kind of disaster. Whether you’ve been targeted by a hacker or a natural disaster takes out your office, the right disaster recovery plan can have you up and running in a matter of hours. For more great tips and tricks on small business disaster recovery techniques, contact us today!

The Benefits an IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) Could Bring to Your Business

Manage Service, , , , , ,
Woman with beautiful smile holding a tablet and managed services concept in transparent bubble

Is it time to make a change?

No matter what industry your company works in, having an experienced team of IT technicians at your disposal is crucial in helping to ensure your team’s efficiency as well as in ensuring your company’s digital security. However, if you still have not outsourced these service, then you may be discovering that it is becoming costly, time-consuming, and stressful to maintain an in-house IT department. Thusly, if you have not considered doing so already, you should take a moment to seriously consider turning over your business’s IT needs to a managed service provider.

What is a Managed Service Provider?

At this point, you may be asking yourself what a managed service provider is, and how they could benefit your company. A managed service provider (or MSP) is a third party company that provides all or part of a company’s IT needs either on or off-site. An MSP is essentially a company that specializes in providing businesses with IT services, allowing them to free up resources within their company by outsourcing their IT department. Outsourcing IT to a managed service provider is growing increasingly popular amongst businesses due to the benefits they can provide. Here are just a few of the reasons you should consider transferring your company’s IT needs to an MSP.

Cut and Control IT Costs

As you have likely begun to discover for yourself, maintaining an in-house IT department can be extremely expensive. In fact, ballooning costs and costs that can fluctuate greatly from one month to the next are amongst the most common reasons why companies choose to outsource IT. By outsourcing your IT needs to an MSP you can control costs and help to make your monthly IT costs more predictable, as MSPs often charge a flat rate fee for their services. Additionally, outsourcing IT can save you money as you will not have to invest in hardware, software, or on hiring and training IT personnel. These costs will be spread out amongst the MSP’s clients helping to make IT costs more affordable for all parties involved.

Access to Highly Skilled Technicians

In order to ensure your company’s efficiency and security, it is critical that you have access to skilled IT technicians who are experienced in their field. However, many small to medium-sized businesses find it difficult and time-consuming to hire IT professionals. Alternatively, by partnering with a reputable MSP you will have access to a team of highly qualified and experienced personnel without having to do any of the headhunting yourself. MSP’s have the resources and experience to find the best people in the IT field who will be able to provide you with the highest quality of services.

Gain Access to the Latest Technology

For many smaller organizations, it is difficult to maintain their current IT department, meaning that they often are unable to keep up with the latest innovations in IT. However, as IT is their sole focus, MSPs work diligently to research and implement the latest IT technology, and they have the time and resources to train their staff on the latest techniques. By partnering with an MSP you stand to benefit from the latest technology without any of the risks and costs that can come from implementing this technology yourself.

Flexible and Scalable Services

When working with an MSP it is much easier to scale your services based on your current needs. This can be particularly beneficial for growing businesses, as you will not have to constantly work to expand your IT department to meet your growing needs. As the needs of your company evolve, your MSP will provide you with the flexibility to scale your services as needed without any headaches or hassle.

Outsourcing your IT needs to a managed service provider can provide your company with a variety of benefits. Contact us to learn more about these benefits as well as to learn about the services that we provide.

The Primary Reasons to Choose VoIP Services for Your Business

VOIP, , , , , ,
IP Telephony cloud pbx concept, telephone device with illustration icon of voip services

Is it time for an upgrade of your phone system?

Voice over Internet Protocol (or VoIP as it is more commonly known) is a telephony system that allows users to make and receive calls using a broadband internet connection rather than a conventional analog phone system. VoIP works by recording audio and converting it into a digital signal that can be transmitted over an internet connection. Recent years have seen a vast expansion of VoIP both amongst residential and commercial users, as VoIP phone systems tend to provide a higher level of service than traditional phone systems at a much lower cost. However, if your business still uses a traditional phone system, you may be unaware of the benefits VoIP can provide, and you may be wondering why there is so much talk about VoIP. If your company still utilizes an analog phone system, here are just a few of the reasons you should consider switching to VoIP.

VoIP Can Save You Money

One of the primary reasons that so many businesses are switching to VoIP phone systems is due to the substantial financial savings that doing so can represent. The fact is that traditional phone systems are expensive to set up, alter, and maintain. Not only are most set up and maintenance costs averted with VoIP, but also, placing calls is much more affordable using a VoIP system. Many VoIP phone systems include unlimited domestic calling for free, and many even include all of North America. When international calls are placed, it is at a much more affordable rate than offered by the mainstream phone companies, which can mean significant savings if you do a lot of international business. The great thing about VoIP is that you do not have to sacrifice call quality for these cost savings. VoIP systems provide clear sound quality that rivals traditional phone lines in most instances, depending on your internet connection.

VoIP is Easy to Install and Maintain

One of the greatest hassles of traditional phone systems is that they are difficult, costly, and time-consuming to set up as someone has to come and run wiring throughout your facility and set up the necessary hardware. Alternatively, setting up a VoIP phone system is often as easy as connecting them to your computer or internet connection, making it easy for you to set these systems up yourself. No hardware or software needs to be installed before you can start using your IP phone system.

It Scales Up and Down Easily

Another problem with traditional phone systems is that they can be difficult and costly to scale up and down. The fact is that it is not always easy to predict how many phone lines you will need to add in the coming year, or where you will need these lines in your facility. This can lead to costly changes if you need to add or move a line. With a VoIP phone system, adding a new line can be done instantly, wherever you need it, as soon as you bring on a new employee, and the phone line can just as easily be removed if they leave. Additionally, moving a phone line with VoIP is as simple as placing it where you need it to go, without the need for any rewiring.

VoIP Supports a Variety of Features

Another benefit of VoIP phone systems is they often come standard with a variety of features that are either extra, or not available, in a traditional phone system. Features that are included or available on many VoIP phone systems include: call holding, call transfers, caller ID, voicemail, visual voicemail, and conference calling. VoIP phone systems also allow for video conferencing, allowing you to conduct business meetings remotely, which can reduce travel expenses.

VoIP phone systems are truly transforming the way in which companies conduct business by providing a variety of useful benefits, only a few of which we have been able to highlight here. Contact us to learn more about VoIP and the reasons why you should consider converting your business to a VoIP phone system.