Insights for your Business
Small- and Mid-sized
How to Keep Employees Engaged and Productive in a Hybrid World
Before COVID, remote office work was usually reserved for freelancers or those whose work-flexibility needs — such as parenting young children — were addressed on a case-by-case basis. But the rest of the rank-and-file punched in, swiped a security card,...
Three Wi-Fi “Best-Practices” for Small Business
What You’ll Learn How to correctly size your network Ways to make it more dependable What to do to strengthen security How to Ensure a Fast, Dependable and Secure Wi-Fi Network for Your Growing Business Small business Wi-Fi networks often...
Social Media Best Practices
Four Ways to Help Your SMB Climb the Social (Media) Ladder When it comes to social media marketing, some brands are exceptional at creating interesting, engaging content that truly resonates with their intended audiences. Others misuse it as an extension...
Top 4 Benefits Of Outsourcing Data Backups
A managed services provider can help you avoid disaster and save money. Did you know that 140,000 hard disks crash in the U.S. every week? If you worked at one of those organization that crashed then, yeah, that’s probably not...
Virtual Events VS. In Person Events – Beyond 2020
There’s good reason to make the move to virtual events. But how do you do it? With numerous in-person events being canceled or postponed this year—and into next year—a lot of companies are moving their upcoming conferences, company gatherings, and...
Case Study: All Pets Veterinary Hospital
As a full-service facility, All Pets Veterinary Hospital offers traditional, non-traditional, and emergency services in the treatment of a wide variety of animals. Providing comprehensive medical treatments, the clinic requires a fast Internet connection for sharing and storing medical records...
Here’s Why Cloud Computing Should Be In Your Plans
The changing dynamic of how and where people work is driving the need for more data storage capabilities among organizations. More importantly, heavy dependence on telecommuting and dependency on application and software services to operate, has been a big reason...
Is Mobility the Driver for Digital Transformation?
4 steps your business should take to build a more mobile-friendly workplace Many organizations treat mobility as a separate IT silo, considering it a second banana to the more traditional desktop-centric approach to day-to-day business operations. But today, an increasing...
Connecting to the Cloud
Today, companies big and small are migrating their computing to the Cloud. For many reasons; lower costs, scalability, mobility, simpler upgrades, and business continuity are advantages every business can appreciate. No matter what applications or benefits the Cloud offers, the...
Cloud-Based CRM Versus On-Premises: What’s the Difference?
You just got back from a sales call. People and processes at the account are changing. While the details are still top-of-mind, how do you capture them for future use and update other members of your team? Write notes on...
Why TV is Vital Tool for Your Business
Long before televisions became wider, flatter, and cheaper, we’ve been accustomed to seeing them in places like bars, airports … and especially airport bars. These days, it’s not strange to catch the local news while having your car repaired, waiting...
The DOs Don’ts and D’ohs! of Cash Flow Management
No money, mo’ problems. Small businesses need more than profits. They need cash! So, you go to a restaurant, stuff your face, then tell your server you’ll pay your dinner bill once you get paid next week...30-60 days, latest. Think...
How to Set Up Business Grade Wi-Fi for Your Small Business
Five Easy Steps For Making Your Upgrade Simple and Effective CONGRATULATIONS! Your small business has taken off. But now, the residential-level Wi-Fi network you began with no longer serves your needs. Security has become a higher priority, you have more...
Choosing The Right Small Business WiFi Solution
Learn the WiFi basics to stay connected If you’re a small business owner who needs to keep your business connected, you’re in luck. Broadband infrastructure has spread so widely these days, that WiFi is virtually ubiquitous (tech jargon for ‘available...
Fiber vs Coax: What’s The Main Difference?
Fiber internet is a technology that uses fiber optic cables to connect your business to the internet. A coax cable is primarily made of copper and transmits data through electricity. The main difference between fiber and coax data connections is...
Choosing the Right Internet Speed for Your Small Business
Internet Speeds for Small Business The importance of Internet connectivity spans across a multitude of industries and businesses, both big and small. As a business owner, this is especially important to foster employee engagement and growth. Everything from customer contact,...
What Internet Speeds Do Small Businesses Need?
Ben Franklin’s quote, “time is money,” has never been more relevant than it is to business today. To compete successfully, businesses must maximize productivity. The Internet has become the most important tool to effectively communicate with customers, suppliers and employees....
Women in STEM
An Interview with Astound Business's Kristell Janusz “By recognizing that things need to change, implementing programs, constant visibility and encouragement starting at a young age—the environment will change for the better for women in technology.” Kristell Janusz, Vice President of...
Understanding Edge Computing Technology (And Why It Matters)
We've come full circle. From storing data locally to moving it to a centralized data center, then connecting to the cloud, and then to a multi-cloud system, data processing is now coming back down to earth. In order to provide...
4 Telltale Signs That You Should Update Your Business Wi-Fi
An unreliable Wi-Fi connection can mean big hassles for small businesses. There’s nothing more enjoyable than asking your biggest client to continually repeat themselves during a video conference because your glitchy connection has turned them into sputtering robots. Even more...
4 Tips for Getting Better Online Customer Reviews
You don’t have to upend your business to boost your ratings. You didn’t know who Maggie F. was 24 hours ago, but you sure know about her now. You just woke up to her one-star review of your business, which...
What Is Business Impact Analysis?
A business impact analysis (BIA) is the process of identifying mission critical systems, determining the maximum outage each business function can endure, and assessing the short-term and long-range impact. Why Is BIA Important? There’s no need for you to run,...
How to Educate Employees About Phishing & Online Scams
How to Educate Employees About Phishing & Online Scams People have gotten smarter when it comes to recognizing cyber crime and sniffing out email phishing scams. We are no longer excited when we hear from that Nigerian prince or go...
How Can Small and Medium Businesses Increase Employee Retention?
Hiring the right talent has probably been an employer challenge since medieval bakers sought skilled apprentices to help fill their bread orders. From a simple ratio perspective, employees at small and medium businesses have more impact on their success than...
Top 4 ways to build your email list
Top 4 ways to build your email list Spring—a time of renewal, when millions across America hit their backyards to plant seeds and flowerbeds and prepare for a season of blooming wonder. As with a garden, a company’s email list...
Grow Your Business by Shifting from Customer Satisfaction to Customer Experience
Focus on the Customer Experience to Keep Them Coming Back Most business executives agree that customer retention is a key strategic objective and is becoming ever more critical in a digital economy. Research tells us that Attracting new customers costs...
What Are “Over The Top” (OTT) Services?
Have you ever watched a television program on your terms? We're not talking about DVRing an episode of Game of Thrones that aired at its scheduled time for you to watch later from your couch. We're referring to the growing...
Transition Your Site from HTTP to HTTPS…and do it ASAP
Here Are Five Immediate Benefits You’ll Experience With an SSL Certificate. When it comes to the security of your website, hackers aren’t the only ones to be concerned about. Browsers are checking you out as well. Last year, Chrome began...
Why Small Businesses Should Switch to a Hosted Phone System
With Hosted Voice, Small Businesses Say Goodbye to Big Phone Bills More and more major corporations have abandoned their on-site phone service and made the move to the cloud, and it’s a no wonder why. Hosted Voice solutions offers scalability,...
PRI vs SIP at a glance
PRI (Primary Rate Interface) and SIP (Session Initiating Protocol) are two methods used to connect your business to a regional telephone network. Both methods require PBX (Private Branch Exchange) equipment where the interchange between your office or facility and public...
Understanding the Advantages of a Hosted IP-PBX Phone System
It was only a century ago that business phone systems consisted of lighted switchboards and telephone operators frantically trying to connect one call at a time. Fortunately, developments in telecommunications technology have come a long way. In today’s world of...
6 Ways SIP Trunks Can Improve Business Communications
More and more companies are replacing traditional phone lines with SIP trunks. And for good reason, SIP trunking integrates voice, video and data traffic over a converged access service making it a flexible, cost efficient solution for a growing business....
How PBX Fits Into a Simplified Business Communications Systems Strategy
To borrow a phrase from Mark Twain, news of the demise of the PBX is greatly exaggerated. Companies looking to modernize their office phone system are leveraging their existing Public Branch Exchange (PBX) phone system and switching to a business...
Communications In A Hybrid Work Environment
In a hybrid work environment, organizations need to make effective use of multiple communication methods and platforms to enable employees to achieve their goals. However, the overall objective should always be focused on ensuring clear communications. This white paper reviews...
How Can Small and Medium Businesses Increase Employee Retention?
Hiring the right talent has probably been an employer challenge since medieval bakers sought skilled apprentices to help fill their bread orders. From a simple ratio perspective, employees at small and medium businesses have more impact on their success than...
Understanding Edge Computing Technology (And Why It Matters)
We've come full circle. From storing data locally to moving it to a centralized data center, then connecting to the cloud, and then to a multi-cloud system, data processing is now coming back down to earth. In order to provide...
Grow Your Business by Shifting from Customer Satisfaction to Customer Experience
Focus on the Customer Experience to Keep Them Coming Back Most business executives agree that customer retention is a key strategic objective and is becoming ever more critical in a digital economy. Research tells us that Attracting new customers costs...
How To Create An Effective IT Disaster Recovery Plan
Your business' reliance on technology is a double-edged sword. While computers, data networks and hosted voice systems have enabled companies to exponentially increase productivity, expand operations and enhance communications, these same technologies can grind entire operations to a halt in...
