Craig B, Author at Wired IT Group

Regular Post

Written by Craig B

28 August 2021

What are Unified Communications?

Unified Communications (UC) is in reference to a phone system that “unifies” multiple communication methods within businesses.

Your business most likely communicates in several ways: phone calls, video conferencing, IM’s, e-mail, SMS, fax, etc.

A unified communication service gathers each way your business communicates and allows them “talk” to one another, so they can work collaboratively in one system – enabling your business to work a lot more efficient.

Today’s office communications need connectivity, mobility, and essential features for different users. And unified communications services bring together all of these modern capabilities and more.

Advantages of Unified Communications Services

Unified communication services offer a competitive advantage to businesses by decreasing the number of individual devices, platforms, and solutions they are required to communicate with one another.

A lot of businesses are choosing unified communication services over conventional phone systems since it’s a easier way to future proof their investment and keep up with technological advances.

Here are a few of the main advantages unified communication services has to offer:

Increased efficiency
Decreased costs
Increased earning
Higher quality customer service

Features of Unified Communications Services

Mobility

Mobility enables you to stay connected no matter where you or your employees are at. Using your office extension, you can make and take calls, chat, text, etc. with softphone applications.

Online User Interface

Many unified communication services platforms offer online interfaces that offer total call control from web browsers, providing users with the ability to individualize phone settings, voicemail, etc.

Presence

Presence notifies others to know if a specific user is available for communication. These notifications comprise of Active, Do Not Disturb, Out of the Office.

Unified Messaging

Using unified messaging, users can control a lot of types of messages from a single application and change communication modes as necessary.

Fax Assistance

Using a unified communication services system, faxes get received by the system and then re-routed to it’s intended recipient as an attachment of an e-mail. This method is similar on desktop and mobile devices.

Conferencing

Conferencing allows a group of users the capability to gather and speak through voice and video from several locations. This is also accessible to outside organizations, partners, or clientele, etc.

Collaboration

Unified communication services extend communication abilities and provides employees more adaptable work alternatives. Employees can enjoy greater degrees of partnership, in which will benefit the whole organization.

Progressive Notifications

Users can get notifications in multiple ways, enhancing communication throughout the office. With progressive notifications, voicemails can be sent through text message or e-mail along with a duplicate of the recording.

Terminology for Unified Communication Services

Private Branch Exchange (PBX) – Traditional business phone system.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) – An automated phone attendant.
Unified Communications (UC) – Basically a business phone system on steroids.
Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) – A placement process for delivering unified communications to organizations through the Cloud.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) – Transmission of calls over the internet, rather than traditional landlines.
Mobility – Integrates your office desk phone with your mobile phone.
Bring your Own Device (BYOD) – Enables employees to use different devices across your network.
Application Programming Interface (API) – Enables you to customize your business phone system.

Source:

What is Unified Communications? ⋆ (2020, November 19). Retrieved December 30, 2020, from https://www.sangoma.com/what-is-unified-communications/

Find Unified Communication Services in Phoenix, AZ

Wired IT Group is a full-service information technology (IT) vendor, based in Phoenix, AZ. Our team is capable of designing, installing and maintaining all of your IT solutions from unified communication services to network systems to security systems and low voltage cabling. Contact us or call us at 480-210-8799 for more information.

What is High Voltage Wiring?

A typical high voltage power cable requires the following:

A conductor
Insulation that can be used for underground and under the water
Cable and joints to ensure that the high voltage impact is controlled and doesn’t lead to its insulation breaking down

Different types of high voltage cables cater to various applications. Some are crucial for instruments, alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) power transmission, and systems for ignition. The idea behind having a high voltage power cable system is to prevent any contact between other objects or living beings with a high voltage conductor. Moreover, its leakage current must be aptly controlled and monitored.

The insulation of a high voltage power cable must be regulated even when there’s a spike in high voltage owing to ozone-produced electric discharges in the air. Each cable terminal and joint must have a layer of a metallic shield on the insulation, connected with the ground. This metallic shield is used to equalize the di-electric stress layer that contains the insulation.

Features

High voltage power cables are special in nature, working with specific switching and distribution panels.
They enable control rooms to switch and be controlled remotely or manually for the testing of individual supply systems.
Sub-stations for high voltage power cable can lower the voltage in a bid to distribute it to local areas.
The semiconducting layers must be seamless and should be a few micrometers. Any fission or space between the fusion of the layers and insulation can be very dangerous.

Maintenance

It is crucial to ensure that the high voltage power cable you install for the underground transmission electric power should be of the highest of quality.

While purchasing the right high voltage power cable, ensure that it is durable enough to withstand extreme conditions. Considering such cables deal with high voltage and can cause serious electric shocks, the materials should be made of superior quality and must include a number of energy-efficient technology.

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What Is Bandwidth?

Read on to learn more about Bandwidth!

What Is Bandwidth?

In simple terms bandwidth is the maximum amount of data transmitted via an internet connection at any given period of time. Often confused with internet speed, bandwidth is the volume of data over a connection in a certain time and its calculated in megabits per second (Mbps.)

Bandwidth Vs. Speed

Bandwidth is how much information you receive every second, while speed is how fast that information is received or downloaded.

Bandwidth And Latency

Latency is also known as delay or ping rate. It’s the lag you experience while waiting for something to load. If bandwidth is the amount of information sent per second, latency is the amount of time it takes that information to get from its source to you.

Bandwidth And Throughput

Throughput is how much information actually gets delivered in a certain amount of time.

Bandwidth Needs

If you have multiple devices and several family members on them at the same time, you’ll need more bandwidth to keep up. Streaming, gaming and other high-capacity activities demand a certain amount of bandwidth speed to get the best experience without a lot of buffering or lag. The FCC provides a set of guidelines for Mbps needed based on digital activity. For example, if you love to stream 4K content, you’ll need 25 Mbps at the very minimum and 4-25 Mbps for telecommuting or gaming.

Find IT Services in Phoenix, AZ

Wired IT Group is a full-service information technology (IT) vendor, based in Phoenix, AZ. Our team is capable of designing, installing and maintaining all of your IT solutions from server maintenance, network systems to security systems, and low voltage cabling we have you covered. Call us today at 480.210.8799 for more information about our server maintenance services.

Wireless Security Camera Reviews

According to safewise.com here are the best Wireless Security Camera Reviews for 2021.

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Choosing your SSID

SSID is short for Service Set Identifier. Every wireless network has an SSID – we often call them Wi-Fi names. Here are some tips of naming your SSID.

Make The Name Memorable

You can probably see your neighbors have named their Wi-Fi networks so why not do the same. it is important to pick out a unique name that will not get confused with anyone else’s.

Band Steering

The most common reason to have more than one SSID on a single access point is using one SSID per frequency band. This may be pre-configured by your vendor or service provider. Typically, one SSID will contain the number 5, and the other name the number 2, pointing to the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz frequency bands respectively. For example: my_wifi_2G and my_wifi_5G

If your router/access point has band steering, you should only have a single SSID for both bands, so that the access point can pick the best band supported for each device and the user does not need to think about it.
If you do not have band steering, you are better off with two SSIDs, but will need to keep in mind which devices support 5 GHz Wi-Fi and which do not. Naming the SSIDs to indicate new versus old equipment rather than numbers or standards may make this easier to manage and remember.

If you do not have band steering, but still go with a single SSID, you are essentially playing Wi-Fi roulette. Every device connecting will be making its own decision on which signal is the stronger and more appealing. In most cases this will be the 2.4 GHz signal, even for devices that would have performed much better on the 5 GHz band.

Guest Policies

Guest networks should be configured on the same equipment as the main Wi-Fi network to avoid creating interference between the two.
If you do not have band steering, consider having two SSIDs for your guests as well.

Visible Names

For convenience, guest networks should always be visible, or you will likely end up spending an inordinate amount of time on helping your guests connect to the network.

Hiding your main network’s SSID is often recommended as a security measure. However, consider that:

Any Wi-Fi scanner will still be able to detect your network.
Hiding your SSID may negatively affect performance, because more requests are required to connect.

Sensible Repeaters

If your equipment supports any sort of client steering, a single SSID is by far the easiest and the most practical way to go.
With no support for client steering, you have two main options:
- If you pick a shared SSID, you leave it up to each device to figure out where to connect. Some devices do a very good job with this by themselves. With others, you may have to restart Wi-Fi on the device to force a new scan and pick up a change in signal strength.
- Leaving each access point with its own SSID is definitely cumbersome, but does make it easier to see where you are connected and to manually change where you connect. In this case, we strongly recommend naming access points after their locations in the home for ease of use, rather than having to remember (and explain to visitors) which goes where.

Source: https://eyenetworks.no/en/guide-to-selecting-best-ssid/

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Security Camera Installation Costs 2021

On average, a home owner installing a security system with at least four cameras will pay $925. The range of installation costs in the U.S. can go all the way from $150-$2,000, according to Fixr.com.

Security Camera Costs

A video surveillance system is the best way to keep track of everything that is transpiring within your home or office building. Also referred to as closed circuit television (CCTV), a video surveillance system is vital for those looking to protect and preserve their valuable property.

Typical installation costs for homeowners is in the $400-$800 range, with a high end of $2,000 total. Of course, costs will vary based on type of security cameras desired and how many are needed to properly suit your property. A single unit doorbell camera can be installed for as little as $150, while a 12-camera system can hit the high end of all installation costs.

The two main types of security cameras are wireless and IP cameras. Both types will come with a price tag of $100-$150. An average set of four cameras costs between $400-$600, not including installation. There are a few disadvantages with wireless camera systems, though. Reliance on WiFi could mean the signal goes out from time to time, and hackers could get into your system.

Security Camera System For Business

Here is a quick list of benefits of security systems for businesses:

Monitor all activity.
Deters crime.
Lowers insurance costs.

No property owner can keep his/her eyes on all aspects of the building. A security camera system will allow you to monitor the day-to-day activities in and around your area. Security cameras have been proven to boost productivity within the workplace.

The first and most obvious benefit of security cameras is the ability to deter crime. It’s no secret that people are much less likely to commit a crime when they know security cameras are present. Security camera evidence can be crucial in a court case, as well.

If someone on your property claims an injury that is false or misleading, having video proof will save you on insurance costs. In many cases, insurance providers will offer discounts if surveillance cameras are installed in and around your business area.

Find Server Maintenance & Security Services in Phoenix, AZ

Wired IT Group is a full-service information technology (IT) vendor, based in Phoenix, AZ. Our team is capable of designing, installing and maintaining all of your IT solutions from server maintenance, network systems to security systems, and low voltage cabling we have you covered. Call us today at 480.210.8799 for more information about our server maintenance services.

2021 Average Cost Of IT Support Services

The average cost of IT services is about $50,000 per year with average prices ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 per year. Imagineiti says you can expect to pay anywhere from $60 to $100 per hour for the USA in 2021.

One of the greatest debates among today’s small business owners is making the decision about IT maintenance and support of their information system; If they should to hire an internal IT tech or to contract out their IT support for their company. With the somewhat recent access to Managed Services for small business, the series of choices – and decisions – has increased again.

The Phoenix IT support professionals at Wire IT Group are constantly searching for ways to make the decision-making process straightforward and more easy for you, the small business owner. To assist you with that, as you read on, we will examine the IT support choices available nowadays, in addition to some of the costs involved. (Even though you may have some idea of the costs involved, bear in mind these are estimates based on averages, and that the actual cost of IT support services will vary greatly, based on the needs the different businesses.)

Self-managed IT Support:

As reported by PayScale.com, the national average income for an internal IT tech is currently runs at a little over $40,000 annually, with a high range reaching almost $60,000 per year. For more experienced technicians, the average pay rate is above $46,000 per year, with a high range a lot closer to $65,000 a year. These pay ranges comprise of salary, bonuses, and profit sharing for internal employees, but doesn’t include benefits, like health insurance.

When we choose a salary of $45,000 for the sole purpose of these comparisons, we should then include benefits, vacation time, sick pay, and the businesses yearly payroll tax. These come out to around $13,000 annually. Buying an IT Management System software can easily set you back $1000, including training with the new software, which could possibly cost around $2,500 for each user. The total for a one time expense can range from $3,500 to $10,000, subject to the number of user’s involved. Total costs for salary and benefits for a new IT professional would be around $58,000 per year, although it may be more.

Outsourcing your IT Support:

For a lot of small business owners, having their IT support needs outsourced might seem lavish because of the hourly rate that IT companies charge. Nevertheless, this kind of support can be highly cost-effective since the expertise that is purchased, the experience the techs that visit are able to provide, and the backup offered by their support team. Being a small business owner, you should be able to budget for the month to month expense, on the basis of the system assessment and referrals to the company you hire as your IT support team.

A dependable IT support company always starts with an objective evaluation of your information system, along with suggestions for the work they’ll do to meet your requirements. Simply put, they won’t “pad” your bill, but will only carry out the tasks you request them to do. This can considerably decrease the cost of IT support for your business, instead of hiring an internal tech and paying yearly salary, as said above.

Apart from this, a respectable IT support company will guarantee the proficiency of the tech they send to your business. The tech will also have a lot more experience than an employee, because they deal with various systems day in and day out. In a lot of cases, there will be little they haven’t seen, that allows them to handle your specific requirements more efficiently. Additionally, they will probably assign a specific technician to your account, a tech that will visit you on a regular basis, enabling them to become closely familiar with your information system and the requirements of your business, and with who you will build a foundation of trust over time.

Most of all, your service will regularly be hands-on, with a real person there to answer your questions.

The cost of this kind of support will vary greatly, subject to the age, number of servers and desktops that are used in your business. Nevertheless, you will typically be able to save money by buying blocks of time in beforehand and only utilizing the hours acquired, on a as when needed basis. For average small businesses, you should most likely budget for something between $1,000 and $2,500 monthly, a huge savings over hiring an internal IT tech.

Managed Services IT Support:

With the monitoring of your business information system remotely now available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, this has become one of the more economical and enticing choices among small business owners in today’s industries. With flat rate monthly fees, business owners and IT administrators can now buy hands on monitoring and maintenance of servers, desktops, and remote devices being utilized by their company. Additionally, a business could also subscribe to this kind of service in a gradual way; maybe starting with regulated antivirus protection, then progressively adding e-mail monitoring for spam and continuance, e-mail archiving, monitoring of desktops, monitoring of mobile devices, online data back-up solutions, etc.

By utilizing such services, your small business could discover it very easy to budget for them. Because of the flat rate fee you’ll pay month to month, there will be no budget-breaking bombshells. As each of the managed services you are using starts to save you money, by decreasing system downtime and increasing your productivity, you can add another layer of protection, without having to invest in a costly package deal.

The most important advantage of managed service programs is that it’s totally automated and doesn’t ever rest. The system is working for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, monitoring and maintaining your information system even when you’re sleeping. You will also get notification of imminent problems, enabling you to intercede prior to your system going down.

To reiterate, the expense of a managed services package for your small business will have several determining factors. Starting with your equipment’s age and software, in addition to the number of devices and users, to the selection of the different management and maintenance services in which you subscribe to, these determine your monthly price of your choices. A la carte services may start for as little as $2-$15 per month, per device, and range upwards from there. For average small businesses, your monthly cost could range from $500 to $2,000 each month for around the clock protection of your information system, data, and desktops. You should speak with an IT support service provider for more details on a managed service packages features and costs.

Source:

“What Is the Cost of IT Support for Small Business? – IT Services in Denver: Denver IT Support: Network Technology Consultants.” IT Services in Denver | Denver IT Support | Network Technology Consultants, 8 Apr. 2014, www.nssit.com/what-is-the-cost-of-it-support-for-small-business/.

Find IT Services in Phoenix, AZ

Wired IT Group is a full-service information technology (IT) vendor, based in Phoenix, AZ. Our team is capable of designing, installing and maintaining all of your IT solutions from server maintenance, network systems to security systems, and low voltage cabling we have you covered. Call us today at 480.210.8799 for more information about our server maintenance services.

2021 Cyber Security Trends

Different Types Of Network Security

Purplesec recently wrote about the top trends in Cyber Security for 2021: Here is a link to their article:

https://purplesec.us/cyber-security-trends-2021/

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Different Types Of Network Security

Here is a list of just some of the available network security tools in 2021.

Access Control

Controlling the users who have access to the network or especially sensitive sections of the network. Using security policies, you can restrict network access to only recognized users and devices or grant limited access to others.

Antivirus and Anti-Malware Software

Malware, or “malicious software,” is a cyberattack coming in many different shapes and sizes. Some variations work quickly to delete files or corrupt data, while others can lie dormant for long periods of time and quietly allow hackers a back door into your systems. The best antivirus software will monitor network traffic in real time for malware, scan activity log files for signs of suspicious behavior or long-term patterns, and offer threat remediation capabilities.

Application Security

Each device and software product used within your networking environment offers a potential way in for hackers. For this reason, it is important that all programs be kept up-to-date and patched to prevent cyber attackers from exploiting vulnerabilities to access sensitive data.

Behavioral Analytics

Behavioral analytics software is designed to help identify common indicators of abnormal behavior, which can often be a sign that a security breach has occurred.

Data Loss Prevention

Data loss prevention (DLP) technologies are those that prevent an organization’s employees from sharing valuable company information or sensitive data—whether unwittingly or with ill intent—outside the network.

Email Security

Numerous threat vectors, like scams, phishing, malware, and suspicious links, can be attached to or incorporated into emails. Because so many of these threats will often use elements of personal information in order to appear more convincing, it is important to ensure an organization’s employees undergo sufficient security awareness training to detect when an email is suspicious.

Mobile Device Security

Implementing mobile device security measures can limit device access to a network, which is a necessary step to ensuring network traffic stays private and doesn’t leak out through vulnerable mobile connections.

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What Does Managed IT Services Mean?

When businesses choose a third-party company to run their IT concerns, it is known as “Managed IT Services.” These companies are called Managed Service Providers, or MSP’s. As per a service agreement, they take responsibility for part of or the entire IT systems of a business. Usually, the hardware is provided by the customer and the services the MSP provide may include”

Reporting
Resolution
Round-the-clock monitoring

Depending on the terms of the Service Level agreement (SLA) there is often a flat fee over a designated time period for the services of the MSP – as well as various measurable statistics that are to be agreed.

The development of cloud technology has expanded globally as SaaS (Software As A Service) as well as a IaaS (Infrastructure As A Service) and Paas (Platform As A Service.) This permits specialist IT companies to upscale at a vastly accelerated rate compared to in-house IT operations.

This does not mean the exclusion of an IT professional. They can oversee the operation as well as analyzing the data from the MSP. This increases the standards of efficiency for the IT professional as well as giving them greater time for other tasks and projects.

History Of MSP’s

IT has evolved a great deal over the decades and began as people went to when a computer system no longer worked. This model worked well on a smaller level. Over time as computing became more mainstream and larger in scale than before, IT systems became more complicated and required far more maintenance. There were also hardware and software limitations for business growth unless huge amounts of money were invested in the infrastructure and specialized knowledge that came with the new technology.

The market continued to move this way and the solution became MSP’s who brought a proactive instead of a reactive way of working to IT. By monitoring systems and dealing with the resolution of issues on a regular basis, they prevented many issues before they could get going. As increased internet technology heralded greater interaction both on site and remotely together with the onset of cloud computing, it became increasingly efficient to utilize MSP’s for increased efficiency and recourse consolidation. This has led to a new age of computing. Where fixed prices couple with client happiness, and more efficiency than ever before has become a reality with Managed IT services.

Managed IT Service Model

Normally offered with a flat fee rate over a period of time, MSP’s offer greater levels for automation as well as more experienced management at higher levels of knowledge and experience depending on the service level that has been specified. The end user pays only for the level of services that fit their needs.

The customer pays for services and the functions being delivered. For example:

Solutions for the help desk
Monitoring
Disaster recovery
Back up recovery
Core functionality

This allows the customer to operate their business concerns in a more efficient and smooth manner at a price that is cheaper than in-house options.

Benefits of MSP’s

Far more cost efficient and experienced than assembling and maintaining an in-house IT team
The ability to budget IT expenditure throughout the year
Can be relied upon for operational readiness.
Experts in security and latest security and compliance practices – especially in fields such as education, health care and finance
Ensures your IT experts are on top of the latest developments in processes and technology
Keeps your infrastructure operating at its most efficient manner possible.
Available at an entry level and service requirements can be established over time
Sense of safety and security that comes from monitoring at all times

The Five Best Reasons To Use Managed IT Services

You do not have to invest in highly prices hardware that may be of no further use in two years’ time.
As technologies become more specialized – IT teams are having to be assembled to maintain specific aspects of an operation as opposed to the whole operation as they had in the past.
It is not cheap to hire and keep IT personnel
IT personnel are also hard to find
With an MSP taking care of maintenance, your IT team can concentrate on operational projects that contribute to the bottom line of your business.

Advantages of Unified Communications Services

Features of Unified Communications Services

Mobility

Online User Interface

Presence

Unified Messaging

Fax Assistance​

Conferencing

Collaboration

Progressive Notifications

Terminology for Unified Communication Services

Source:

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Features

Maintenance

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What Is Bandwidth?

Bandwidth Vs. Speed

Bandwidth And Latency

Bandwidth And Throughput

Bandwidth Needs

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Find IT Services in Phoenix, AZ

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Make The Name Memorable

Band Steering

Guest Policies

Visible Names

Sensible Repeaters

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Security Camera Costs

Security Camera System For Business

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Self-managed IT Support:

Outsourcing your IT Support:

Managed Services IT Support:

Source:

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Access Control

Antivirus and Anti-Malware Software

Application Security

Behavioral Analytics

Data Loss Prevention

Email Security

Mobile Device Security

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History Of MSP’s

Managed IT Service Model

Benefits of MSP’s

The Five Best Reasons To Use Managed IT Services

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Fax Assistance