Connections BUSINESS. Completing the picture of robust connectivity

Transcription

1 Volume 3 Issue 2 Connections BUSINESS Completing the picture of robust connectivity INS Answers the Call for Customer Support 3 // The Great Disconnect 4 Speak Up For Rural America 5 // Desktop Virtualization Assessment 6 Communication is a Two-Way Street 7

2 Connections BUSINESS The first step in any long process can be the most important and the most challenging. Sometimes we hesitate to take action or are unsure exactly what to do. In many cases, gathering more information and the insights of others will provide the needed direction. PS PS IF FSC_Labels_LNBW Landscape / Negative / Black & White (LNBW) FSC_100_LNBW FSC_100_LNBW FSC_100_LNBW Business Connections is a publication of INS, 4201 Corporate Drive, West Des Moines, IA FSC_MS_1_LNBW FSC_MS_1_LNBW FSC_MS_1_LNBW No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, electronic, photocopying, recording, mechanical, or otherwise without the prior written permission of INS. All rights are reserved. FSC_MS_2_LNBW XX% FSC_MS_2_LNBW Editorial and Circulation Contact: FSC_MS_2_LNBW Kristi Petersen, 4201 Corporate Drive, West Des Moines, IA 50266, All brand names and product names used in this publication are trade names, service marks, FSC_MS_3_LNBW FSC_MS_3_LNBW trademarks, or registered trademarks of their FSC_MS_3_LNBW respective owners. Extra issues are available to business customer employees on a limited basis while supplies last. Contact: Kristi Petersen, 4201 Corporate Drive, FSC_MS_4_LNBW West Des Moines, IA 50266, FSC_MS_4_LNBW FSC_MS_4_LNBW Copyright 2011 by INS and Cornerstone Publishing Group, Inc. In this issue of Business Connections, we encourage you to take steps towards what will be best for your business and the state of Iowa. On pages 4 and 5, we describe The Great Disconnect, the voice of Iowa s independent telecommunications industry and a partnership between Iowa Network Services (INS), Iowa Telecommunications Association (ITA) and Rural Iowa Independent Telephone Association (RIITA). This work is critical right now, as policymakers consider the National Broadband Plan and other policies that could undermine broadband deployment in rural America. Please consider supporting the efforts of The Great Disconnect in your community. Are your employees spending too much time handling technical support calls? Is your business thinking about desktop virtualization? This issue also contains articles that address these situations. On page 3, we tell you about the customer support services available from the INS Customer Support Services group; they can allow you to repurpose your internal staff for more advanced troubleshooting. And on page 6, Alliance Technologies describes the process of desktop virtualization assessment and why it s such an important first step. Regardless of which communication issues are most pressing for your business, INS will help you address them one step at a time. Please give us a call to get started. Sincerely, Postmaster send changes to: Kristi Petersen - Business Connections XX% Iowa Network Services 4201 Corporate Drive West Des Moines, IA FSC_MS_5_LNBW FSC_MS_5_LNBW FSC_MS_5_LNBW Richard M. Vohs INS President and CEO EPS JPG TIF FSC_RE_1_LNBW FSC_RE_1_LNBW FSC_RE_1_LNBW 2

3 // Business Connections // INS Answers the Call for Customer Support Let our call center handle most of your customers technical questions How much time is your internal staff spending on answering customer/user calls to your help desk, call center, and technical support department? Is it too much? Do you wish there was a way to lower your support costs while increasing the quality of your customer service experience? INS offers your business an effective and affordable solution: Customer Support Services. This highly skilled extension of the INS Technical Support division is currently providing support services for customers of over 100 companies. By partnering with INS for most of your support calls, you can repurpose your staff who are taking calls today and use them to handle more advanced troubleshooting. Chris Williams, Manager of Internet Products Cost-Efficient and Customizable Chris Williams, INS Manger of Internet Products, explains, By partnering with INS for most of your support calls, you can repurpose your staff who are taking calls today and use them to handle more advanced troubleshooting. Our Customer Support Services are highly customizable; if you have a question, and the potential answers for it, we can easily incorporate that into our system and take the call. The customizable aspects of these services mean the INS call center can handle diverse customer service needs. Related advantages offered by INS include: Ability to adapt to highly technical situations for unique product support Staff members with more than 18 years of technical support and call center experience Ongoing training for representatives to ensure effective support Remote PC control for troubleshooting advanced issues is available Highly customizable and branded ACD queue specific to the needs of your customers/users Documentation of call history with customizable reporting options Closer to Your Callers When you choose INS, you also gain the advantages provided by a local, Iowa-based call center and the peace of mind that comes from working with an established, trusted provider. Your callers will welcome the ease of speaking to professional representatives with clear dialect and unmatched courtesy and responsiveness. INS has carefully developed efficient call handling procedures that increase effectiveness with less time on each call. In addition, the INS Work from Home program allows us to bring on technicians at a moment s notice during busy times while improving our own employee retention. Support for Wi-Fi hotspots, smartphones, and router configuration is currently being reviewed and will soon be added to our personal portfolio of Customer Support Services. INS offers these services at competitive prices. Per subscriber, per-minute, and per-call rates can be established to meet your organization s specific needs. To find out how INS could answer the call for your business, call 800-CALL-INS or CustomerCare@netINS.com. 3

4 The Great Disconnect Iowa s access to equitable communication services could be jeopardized Despite its grand promises, the proposed National Broadband Plan (NBP) and other policies threaten rural Iowa s current communications networks and displace long-established policies that ensure everyone has access to a robust and reliable wireline network. INS Takes Action The Great Disconnect is the voice of Iowa s independent telecommunications industry and a partnership of three organizations Iowa Network Services (INS), Iowa Telecommunications Association (ITA) and Rural Iowa Independent Telephone Association (RIITA). This partnership is united in a joint effort to: Ensure policymakers in Congress, the FCC, the USDA and our state government understand the importance of robust broadband deployment in rural America. Create awareness of how proposed policies need to be dramatically altered to guard against discrimination of telecommunications services between rural and urban citizens. We believe all Iowans should have access to an affordable broadband connection as guaranteed by congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996: Consumers in all regions of the Nation should have access to telecommunications and information services that are reasonably comparable to those services provided in urban areas and that are available at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates charged in similar services in urban areas. THE CONGRESSIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996 Facts and Fairness Proponents of the NBP want you to think their proposed policies will be good for rural Iowa and that ongoing investment or support is no longer required. In other words, they feel the job is done in many parts of rural Iowa. But while over 140 privately owned telecommunication companies have lead the nation in broadband deployment and building robust telecommunication infrastructure our very existence is at stake now. The mindset surrounding the pending NBP is that once it s built, you re done WRONG! Telecommunications infrastructure could be compared with roads and bridges. It requires ongoing maintenance and upgrades. As Iowans require faster speeds and more bandwidth, it costs companies real money to deliver and maintain those services. What the NBP actually proposes as its goal is to also increase broadband speed to 100Mbps for 100 million homes unless these homes (and businesses) are in rural, less-profitable areas. Then the target is downloads of up to 4Mbps 25 times slower! 4

5 // Business Connections // Preventing a Digital Divide An estimated percent of Iowa households have broadband available now at 3 to 6Mbps download speeds from at least one terrestrial fixed or mobile provider. Provisions of the NBP are currently under deliberation that could go into effect as early as 2015, dramatically and negatively altering the cost and quality of service and broadband connection speeds across Iowa. All of Iowa is considered a rural area, therefore it may become cost prohibitive to increase those speeds from where they are today. Beyond what is happening with these policies, The Great Disconnect seeks to maintain the positive experience consumers have with their local Independent Telecommunications Companies. These companies have invested in Iowa in order to make sure there is no digital divide between what is considered rural or urban in Iowa. Strong, Independent Telecommunications Companies are crucial to rural Iowa s vitality and economic success. The Great Disconnect is working to raise awareness about our telecommunications infrastructure and keep the public informed on connectivity issues that directly impact the state. Between the proposed National Broadband Plan and other policies, Iowa is at risk of losing its robust connectivity. Instead of continually maintaining and updating connection speeds, Iowa may be left behind as the rest of the nation moves on to connections speeds 25 times faster than those in our state. Don t let that happen. Take action today for a strong tomorrow. Speak Up For Rural America The Great Disconnect is a rally cry to speak up for rural America and demand equal connection for all. You can help by getting informed and getting active. Be an Advocate It doesn t matter if you re a member of the media, a member of the board, or just a member of a bowling league, YOU are the best advocate for rural America. Inform your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors on the facts about the National Broadband Plan (NBP) and create an awareness of what is at stake. Call Your Legislator Inform him/her about the issues related to the coalition. This is an important way to let your voice be heard and influence the decisions made by your leaders. Write Letters to the Editor By doing so, you can help clarify views already expressed in the paper that may be based on incorrect information, bring up the other side of the issue and offer further explanations. Visit for more information on how to take action. 5

6 Desktop Virtualization Assessment This important first step reveals how fit your computing environment is for VDI When you start with a plan, you can finish with success. That s the thinking behind the Desktop Virtualization Assessment offered by Alliance Technologies. The assessment process takes place before desktops and applications are virtualized in a business computing environment, providing valuable data to make decisions about desktop virtualization on your network. Desktop virtualization consists of software technologies that improve portability, manageability, and compatibility of applications by encapsulating them from the operating system. While the right choice for many environments, a single desktop virtualization solution is not for every user or business. That s why the assessment process is an important first step to determine feasibility. A desktop virtualization assessment allows organizations with complex environments to see all the issues and solutions in one short overview. Afterwards, clients understand how Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) will work within their infrastructure. Data collected indicates: Which users are best fit for a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution Which users are best fit for Terminal Services or Remote Desktop Services Which users should NOT be virtualized at all Which applications are used by which users, including times and frequency How much bandwidth will be consumed by the users, especially during peak usage How much storage space and I/O is required to support users How many servers (physical or virtualized) are required to support users, as well as the density of users per server Nick Heisdorffer, Technology Sales Manager at Alliance Technologies, is experienced guiding clients through the multi-step assessment process. He explains, We install and configure the Lakeside Systrack Assessment tool and deploy the endpoint collection agents to a few users. We then train the end-user administrator on how to deploy the agents so they can continue to do so after we leave. Once all of the agents have been deployed, we collect data and user metrics for several weeks. The Client Administrator then downloads the metric collection file from the assessment process and forwards it to our Lakeside technical consultant, who runs the data in the VMP (Virtual Machine Planner). This generates the final User Activity reports for applications, devices, printers, bandwidth, storage, and other important network areas. Finally, Alliance Technologies presents the results and recommendations to the client. Deluxe Corporation recently had a desktop virtualization assessment done by Alliance Technologies. Scott Valeri (Enterprise Infrastructure Architecture, Desktop and Mobile) says, We were absolutely pleased. In fact, we still go back and refer to the recommendations. They gave us great direction, not just on technology, but also on staffing issues. Alliance Technologies is the only local company that stresses the assessment phase as the first step of the desktop virtualization process. To learn more, please contact Nick Heisdorffer, Technology Sales Manager, at heisdorffern@alliancetechnologies.net or Is Your Business a Good Candidate for VDI Assessment? Your business might be a good candidate for a desktop virtualization assessment if it is: Facing desktop replacement or endpoint performance challenges Facing an upgrade to Windows 7 Dealing with new security or regulation changes Has 200+ endpoints (users/workstations) Uses common applications (such as Microsoft Office and Adobe products) across the entire organization 6

7 // Business Connections // Communication is a Two-Way Street Use these tools to engage your customers in conversation Business communications are no longer just about getting the right message out; now we have to consider the messages coming in. Social media make it possible for companies to easily have conversations with customers. Customers now have unprecedented choices in where to shop, so it s important to maintain these conversations in a positive way. Customize Communications Whatever method of online communications you use, personalize the message as much as possible so that each customer feels as though it was meant for him or her. Addressing a message to the online equivalent of Current Occupant will mark it as spam to many customers. Has Advantages In addition to providing a receipt for an online purchase, an can contain links to other products on your site or to an online survey. An opt-in subscription can keep your company in the public s eye at minimal cost. Stay in Touch with Facebook Social media, especially Facebook, have become popular tools for conversing with customers. When you can get customers to Like your company s page, any updates you post will also appear in their News Feeds. This gives them a regular reminder of what you offer. If you use Facebook, you should make sure you have a person in your company who regularly monitors comments about your company. Blogs and Comments A blog can provide customers with up-to-date information about your company while also giving them the opportunity to comment. Comments need to be properly administered to avoid comment spam and inappropriate language. WordPress and other blogging platforms provide tools to control comments. Make sure you update the blog regularly; if your last blog entry was two years ago, you give customers a negative impression of your company. Learn Twitter-speak Businesses are also making use of Twitter, the micro-blogging platform, for promoting their brand, offering up-to-the minute information about sales, and other uses. Twitter, more than other social media, requires you to know the special language that has evolved with that service. Focus Research has an article about business use of Twitter at how-use-twitter-business-tool. Use a Third-Party Surveyor There are several online survey companies ready to help you out if you don t have the staff to conduct one yourself. These include: Poll Daddy ( SurveyMonkey ( and Zoomerang ( Whichever tools you use, make sure you close the loop of communications by letting customers know you heard them. Respond to s, Facebook posts, and blog comments. This is the best way to engage your customers in a mutually beneficial conversation. 7

8 Bring it on. We love a good challenge. Bugged by a sluggish voice and data network and tech support that seems like it s from another planet? Move to INS Iowa s highest performing, self-healing statewide voice and data network. Designed by our world-class engineers, Team INS provides a problem-busting network that is continually upgraded with the latest technology to keep your network performing smoothly. When you need more from your network or when disaster strikes, count on lightning-fast support from us, your Iowa-based INS guys. We ve seen almost everything, and we know what it takes to get your business humming quickly. [Not just chest-thumping it s a fact.] For a consultation, call CALL-INS. [Ideas are on us.] What tomorrow brings INS is working on today. Snap this Tag for end-to-end solutions from Iowa s communications technology leader. Get Microsoft Tag on your smartphone: download the free app at and follow directions OR visit