By Jeffrey Burt, Channel Partners

Amazon Web Services continues to dominate a global cloud-infrastructure services industry that hit almost $70 billion last year, grabbing a market share equivalent to that of the next four public cloud providers combined.

New numbers from Synergy Research Group s...

By Zeus Kerravala, CIO | MARCH 05, 2019 11:00

Many businesses are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to improve customer experience. CIOs should be careful with the emerging technology, however, and use it as an assistive tool first to reduce risk.

A few years ago, Walker and ...

There's a lot you need to know first.

In the Microsoft ecosystem, things can get a bit confusing: Microsoft 365 Business vs. Microsoft Office 365, Security, Device Management; Essentials, Premium, ProPlus; E1, E3, E5; Lync, Skype for Business (SfB), Teams; Phone System, Audio Confe...

By John Malone, president and CEO, Eastern Management Group

You’ve probably heard all the fancy acronyms – IVR, ACD, WFO, WFM, QM, CX – and more. And here is another acronym to throw at you: CCaaS, which stands for Contact Center as a Service. It’s another fancy term for Cloud or Hosted Contact Center. But the important question here is how do you know what ...

There are a number of key advantages to using a Hosted PBX versus purchasing an on-premise office telephone system and using traditional telephone services. Whether you are seeking a hosted VoIP system, a Unified Communications (UC) solution, or a team collaboration app, today's cloud technologies o...

First off, CCaaS stands for Contact Center as a Service. As you may know “_____ as a Service” generally refers to a cloud-based or hosted type of solution. One where the core components and heavy lifting are done by the service provider in their datacenters/cloud. And where you and users get the ben...

Contacting your customer service department doesn't have to be an experience your customers dread.

With the right communications solution in place, it could even be delightful-for staff and customers. When you install the right unified communications (UC) platform, you can provide a high level of cus...

Survey says! 

1. The building comes alive (IoT)

2. Cloud gives cover for bad actors

3. Supply chains deliver the good, bad, and ugly

4. Professional Services and 3rd-party weak links

5. Data growth and alert fatigue 

read more from Pam Baker on Channel Futures.com

Not all SDWAN solutions are created equal and not all of them can do what is described in the graphic above. Plus, different providers of the same platform may in fact alter the way they delivered the service. It varies from one provider to another. If you think SDWAN makes sense for your ...

If you are one of them, here are a few major points you should consider. 

SD-WAN:

• Is integral to a bulletproof cloud and internet connection strategy

• Replaces high-cost MPLS/private bandwidth with low cost internet connections

• Responds in real-time to network performance and routes around issues

• Is ...

The following is a quick, simple list of must-dos to help businesses of all sizes protect themselves against cyber threats. 

• Vulnerability Scanning

• Doesn’t actually fix anything, but...

• Shows “bad spots’”

• Good services will show a plan of remediation

• If subject to compliance (HIPPA, PCI, etc) recurr...