Internet Explorer 11 retires on June 15, 2022

The best way to prepare for IE disablement after June 15, is to proactively retire IE in your organizations before June 15.

Microsoft's main browser - Edge - has been and will continue to be the standard for many years into the future.

Happy to get your thoughts on this transition and whether it felt abrupt. I personally use Chrome for most of my web surfing. Many swear by Firefox. What is your favorite browser?

Time is money. I have worked with organizations who continue to devote hours of their C-level time researching products and services only to make a choice that is not properly designed to fit their future needs. The job of a technology consultant is to take this time and give it back to you. The meetings you set up, the conference calls, the emails back and forth, and the time you spend researching services is all time taken away from the core of your business. I have run into CFOs and CEOs who are spending their time researching solutions because the company is in dire need of those particular services. While every business owner and c-level contact must be educated on the products they buy, there does come a point where too much time is being devoted to researching and quote comparing. When time is audited, especially taking into consideration the per hour rate of a c-level contact, the margin of the cost benefit for the research and management of the quote process shrinks.

When you make a technology purchase, you must be absolutely sure you’ve made the right decision. Did you select an award winning company that can provide you with references? Did the quote provide all of the details for the price you’ll pay each month? If you need to correct your supplier to help them provide a more accurate quote, you’re working with the wrong supplier.

SOL Communications has designed a procedure that will allow you to be fully invested in your research for new technology services in a way that is so efficient, you’ll save time and still obtain the best solution for your business. If your business needs internet, voice, 5G, cell phone service, data storage, cybersecurity, or you need an outsourced vCIO to manage your IT – SOL can help you find the award winning solution at a great price.

 

The image below is from Gary Vaynerchuk, one of my virtual mentors. I strongly believe that my success has come by studying free information online. I read a lot and I enjoy watching and listening to other gurus work their craft. While I can obtain most of my tech content from CIO.com, WIRED, Computer World, ect, I get / steal / adapt my marketing ideas from Gary Vaynerchuk. You can always upgrade your marketing skills by testing out methods. You don't have to follow completely what someone else does, but you learn nothing if you don't experiment.

Artificial Intelligence in the Voice Market with IVR

If you want your business to have customers interact with a computer before being connected to a representative, that technology is called IVR - or interactive voice response. This is just the beginning to a new market of artificial voice intelligence. Some businesses may find this to be a helpful addition to your technology toolset. 

These voice systems have become so widely used that you've probably found yourself communicating with a virtual assistant over the phone more than you'd like. Although this technology can be frustrating, forcing us to say "customer representative" in many circumstances, when used properly IVRs manage inbound volume to efficiently route the customer to the right department and they are helpful. Through the evolution of this product this will get better to the point where, one day, people will actually prefer IVR over a human. We're obviously not there yet. 

Think of the IVR as a collector of data through inquiry that helps with automatically transferring the call to the right department. If your business needs this we can help you find the right IVR solution for your business at no cost to you, and for the same cost as going direct. 

Vendor Presentations are a Healthy Checkup on your business, but they must be managed

 

Some businesses will avoid the procedure of allowing multiple vendors to present a new solution because of the time consuming follow up and engagement necessary with each. The problem in avoiding this is that each vendor, in advocating for their product or service, provides insight into your environment by either reaffirming your plan or challenging it to evolve.

SOL Communications can help by managing all presentations by vendors and block unnecessary follow up. When you request a vendor presentation through SOL Communications, those vendors must go through SOL Communications as their main point of contact - not you directly. This gives you the freedom to explore and make introductions with new vendors to see what service they can provide without feeling the pressure of needing to move forward so quickly. Those vendors may reach out to SOL Communications for follow up, but they will not reach out to you - the customer - directly unless you've given permission through SOL.

If you are a business that needs to evaluate multiple options in your technology environment - whether voice, internet, cloud, data center, or cybersecurity - let SOL Communications know. Don't avoid vendor presentations which can be a healthy check up on the validity of your technology plans.

Data Center and Cloud need White Glove Services

 Many IT leaders face these issues as it pertains to cloud technology: 

• Data security

• Integration across multiple platforms

• Compliance with industry standards and regulations 

• Hidden costs

• Lack of consolidated management

Additionally, businesses are finding that they’ll need more than a single cloud solution to meet their needs and are increasingly adopting multi-cloud or hybrid approaches. Analysts are predicting businesses will move more mission-critical applications to the cloud in the next few years. That’s not surprising, given the advantages the cloud offers in areas like budget management, innovation, strategy.

Whether you need a quick, low budget set up of a test/dev environment, a multitenant cloud, a compliance need, or prefer a private cloud set up, SOL Communications can find the right supplier for you. There are white-glove cloud providers that enhance the experience with customer service, and agile solutions that address each client’s unique needs.

 We have heard for many years that fiber would replace copper, and though it has not, the trajectory is obvious. Fully Autonomous vehicles are safer, but not yet, though the trajectory continues. Onsite PBXs and servers are continually being replaced by cloud based models; the trajectory continues. Phillip Usrey correctly said:“big cities aren’t the problem; it has always been the rural edge and that’s a multifaceted approach that’s needed”. This is true of almost any tech based on usage (cars, electricity). Up until the 1960s, all transmission from telephony was analog. 

If we are getting closer to becoming a Start Trek like civilization, it’s FWA that gets us there. And that’s the right trajectory. Whether or not fiber becomes obsolete is a different story and not up for debate. But when our houses are being made by printers, our long drives completed by autonomous vehicles, and our video games are virtual reality in the meta verse, and artificial intelligence is managing your lawn, and drones are delivering your food and wifi, we’ll see just how far FWS has come.

In business, when replying to emails, have your phone number in the reply

When setting up your email signature I recommend that your "Replies/forwards" have some type of contact info. While it is important to add contacts to your database whenever you can, you cannot rely on your customers doing this. Often customers will call you using the phone number you have in your email signature. But if you are brought into an email chain your signature could have - at best - only your name, and at worst, no information at all.

My suggestion: Your phone number should always be under your email signature. I recommend a "Replies/forwards" that is as succinct as possible; Your name, your company, your phone number.

Remember that when you are replying to partners and customers in the middle of an email chain, and if you are interacting with those people for the first time, you should always add your original signature to the chain.

Retail and Banking - Two of the Largest Industries impacted by AI

 Retail and banking are two of the largest industries that will be impacted by artificial intelligence. As for small businesses, sprinkle a little meta verse and you have tons of potential for innovation in marketing and customer assisted purchases. The shift to online shopping contributes considerably to the adoption of AI within retail.

$120 billion by 2025; that is the amount predicted to be spent on artificial intelligence in the United States. Moreover, all 19 U.S. industries profiled in the latest Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide from IDC are forecast to deliver AI spending growth of 20% or more, and the U.S. currently accounts for more than half of all AI spending worldwide.

If you are a small organization interested in contact center services, make sure the supplier informs you on how "Augmented Agents" may help evolve your business.

The Future is Artificial Intelligence

 Although SOL Communications will always be in the business of helping organizations choose the best suppliers for internet and voice, the future of how businesses operate in the next five years will move heavily towards artificial intelligence and 5G. As I have a personal belief that Artificial intelligence stands to be one of the most radically transformative technologies ever developed by mankind, it will be important for my company to focus on those suppliers who are investing in AI and have the platforms ready to educate businesses on how to use it. In five years, my hope is that my company name is synonymous with helping businesses use AI and 5G to better serve their customers, increase profit, and gives everyone more free time.

T-Mobile is offering $70 per month for Nationwide Wireless Internet

SOL Communications will help you get quotes organized, interact with T-Mobile on your behalf, and stick with you through the duration of your lifecycle with this and all services purchased through us. SOL Communications offers our consulting and management of your T-Mobile contract at no charge - ever! You will still be able to interact with T-Mobile whenever you like, but you will always have SOL Communications as a resource. 

SOL Communications works in collaboration with our small businesses. We help manage their interactions with all suppliers, including T-Mobile.

Contact SOL Communications if you are interested in these services.