Will your network be able to support the demands digital buildings place on it?

With the right structured cabling infrastructure, one engineered to meet your organization’s needs today and evolve as you grow, the answer is yes.

What Do Future-Ready Structured Cabling Solutions Need to Deliver?

1.      More Power

The cabling in digital buildings will need to support Power over Ethernet (PoE), a technology that allows power and data to be safely transmitted over the same network cables so that devices like cameras and lights can be deployed virtually anywhere. As the number of devices that connect to networks not only increase but also become more complex and power hungry, they will demand a greater amount of power that your cabling needs to be able to reliably provide.

The reality is that outdated cabling simply won’t be able to keep up.

2.      The Ability to Handle Higher Temperatures

With the creation of more power comes the creation of more heat. Even in small degrees, heat rise within cables can have major implications including:

• Insertion loss, which can lead to things like bit errors.
• Unplanned downtime.
• Premature wear-and-tear.

Although category 5e and category 6 cables can be used to support PoE devices, the reality is that category 6a cable is almost always the superior choice. Category 6a cabling is affordable and capable of running data at rates up to 10 gigabits per second, suppressing alien crosstalk so they can be bundled with limited issue, mitigating heat, and more.

To learn more, download “Defining the Digital Building”, a free e-book from Panduit.

3.      Increased Bandwidth

Between the array of devices connecting to the network (including tablets, phones, laptops, and building systems like HVAC and wireless) and applications like communications and conferencing applications that are running in real time, our bandwidth needs are only going to go up.

Ultimately, taking action now to create future-ready structured cabling systems will make it easier to evolve and meet future needs.

What Will Be Integrated as Part of the Digital Building?

1.      Building Automation Systems

Although building automation systems (BAS) have come a long way in recent years, there is still much we have to look forward to.

Today, BAS can integrate things like:

• HVAC
• Lighting
• Security
• Elevators
• Audio/visual

Even specialty systems like nurse call or scheduling applications can be included, and many systems also have mobile compatibility so that operators can manage and control components using mobile devices.

2.      Lighting

Intelligent lighting is on track to take industries by storm. One of the main reasons—it’s about more than just light. Innovative lighting systems also incorporate sensors that can:

• Turn lights on and off as people move between rooms and communicate with building automation systems to adjust ventilation levels according to the number of people currently present.
• Enable occupants to set their own personal lighting preferences using smartphones.
• Adjust light levels throughout the day to complement or mirror outside and ambient light.
• Provide visual alerts if noise levels go above pre-set levels.
• Direct employees to available conference rooms.

One of the attributes that makes lighting so attractive is the sheer volume. Because they are so dense, they become an ideal platform for distributing sensors throughout a space.

3.      Audio/Visual

AV has already become an echo of what it was in many ways. Where we had projectors, we now have innovative conferencing tools. In place of posters, we now see dynamic digital signage. Despite these advancements, however, AV signals are still generally transmitted over closed networks.

AV over IP (AVoIP) promises to change that. In essence, AVoIP builds on HDBaseT (the current standard for transmitting HD audio and video) by encoding signals into Ethernet, routing them via a LAN, and decoding them at the other end for the display device.

The impacts of this transition will be significant. AV devices will be managed by the same person or department responsible for the larger network, and it will simplify and streamline cabling infrastructure since organizations will no longer need separate cables and connections.

4.      Industrial Environments

For a long time, there has been a clear line between the carpeted office and the cement-floored warehouse. IT teams managed networks and hired structured cabling engineers to run cabling for data networks on the office side, while in the warehouse electricians were brought in to run control and signal cables alongside power in wire baskets.

Today, the lines are becoming blurred.

IT staff venture onto plant floors to diagnose network connectivity issues, while cabling contractors run fibre and copper to meet the warehouse’s changing needs.

Lay the Right Foundation for Next-Generation Digital Buildings

The success of the digital building depends on its systems performing well independently and together. You need an infrastructure in place that enables this interconnectedness, and that all starts with cabling.

To make your journey a triumph, you need to choose the right partner. Look for someone who has a wealth of experience in planning, integrating, installing, and supporting each component of your organization’s infrastructure—ensuring you get a future-ready system that empowers you to make the most of the changes digital buildings will bring.

Are you ready to take the plunge? Contact us today to learn how Activo can help you maximize your success in the IoT!

Read more from Activo:

• 3 IoT Trends for 2018 (and Beyond)
• Why You Need to Be Ready to Deploy a Digital Building Architecture
• Evolving Today’s Data Centres to Meet Tomorrow’s Demands

The post Why Structured Cabling Is the Backbone of the Digital Building appeared first on Activo.

Joseph M. Bradley, Global Vice President of the Digital & IoT Professional Services Organization at Cisco and Senior Research Fellow for the Global Center for Business Transformation, published an article for Cisco in which he explored his top five predictions for what to expect as the digital age takes over. We wanted to take a closer look at three of these, so keep reading to learn more:

1.     Look for Wider, Faster IoT Adoption Enabled by the Internet of Trust

The Internet of Things (IoT) is already becoming a ubiquitous phenomenon. Over the next two years alone, up to 50 billion devices are predicted to connect to the IoT around the world. This transition will generate (and already is generating) a wealth of data that can be studied and analyzed to inform organizations and businesses’ decision-making processes. As this process evolves, watch for a subtle but important shift in thinking.

Instead of asking “is the data secure?” be prepared to ask “is the data correct?”

A lack of trust is one of the main hurdles that inhibits people from embracing the IoT and in particular the more transparent, sharing-oriented economies and systems it heralds. Blockchain technology will play a pivotal role here. We’ve already started to see the impact blockchain will have on financial sectors, but in 2018 and beyond its effects will be felt in a diverse array of other industries:

• Defence giant Lockeed Martin has already started integrating blockchain technology into its development processes, allowing it to control risk management along its supply chain.
• The Internet of Trust will pervade the automotive industry as autonomous vehicles become an increasingly imminent reality. While today we’re satisfied with usually trusting our car’s built-in GPS system, we’ll need to be 100% sure when it truly begins driving itself.

Ultimately, the stakes are going to get higher as the market gets hotter. By 2021, the global blockchain market is expected to soar to $2,312.5 million (USD) from only $210.2 million in 2016. As a result, companies are going to start setting themselves apart from each other on the basis of trust. As Joseph Bradley says, “While security will continue to be important, the Internet of Trust will become the key enabler for adoption and, ultimately, success.”

2.     Expect Computing to Be Pushed Even More towards the Edge

Today’s consumers are living in the moment, and that’s exactly where future-ready organizations need to work to be in order to capture their attention.

But what does that mean?

Joseph Bradley gives us an insight by talking about one task—buying headphones—under two very different circumstances. In the first instance Joseph finds himself at the airport, surrounded by shrieking children excited for their holiday, when he realizes he doesn’t have his headphones. He rushes to the closest kiosk looking for any noise cancelling headphone at any price. The alternate version of this story is Joseph’s weekend expedition to the electronics store. He takes his time, looks at his options and engages in a conversation, before deciding which headphones he’d like to buy.

Same task, radically different real-time experiences.

It’s in these types of encounters that edge computing’s predictive capabilities come into their own. Edge computing operates at the edges of networks, nearer to data sources, which makes it faster and more responsive. According to Microsoft, by 2019 45% of all data created will be processed, stored, analyzed, and used at or near the edge of the network and by 2020 5.6 billion devices will be connected to edge computing solutions.

Throughout this process, the cloud will transition from being an action-oriented environment to a learning one. After figuring out what to do with all the things it learns, it will shift decision-making rules and responsibilities to the edge. The edge can then analyze data as it comes in, and act almost instantaneously. As Joseph Bradley observes, “Pretty nifty, huh?”

3.     Keep Your Eyes on the Prize—Data Ownership

Analytics is big, but just how big? Here are some numbers to help us illustrate—in 2015, worldwide revenues for big data and business analytics stood at $122 billion (USD). That number is expected to rise by more than $60 billion by 2019, exceeding $187 billion.

As people perform analyses, however, they’re realizing there’s a problem. Calculating analytics isn’t the issue; it’s not having the data in the first place.

Joseph Bradley predicts that in 2018 and beyond data assets are going to become crucial keys to success. If you want to hyper-accurately predict when a transportation vehicle like a bus or train is going to arrive, for example, you need to know more than simply where it is along its route. You need local weather conditions, traffic updates, and a wealth of other data, all of which needs to be structured immediately.

The challenge here is that most companies either don’t have access to or don’t own the data they need to solve these most critical problems. Businesses need to, and will, start investing in building out data banks so that they have the power to deliver exactly what their customers need.

Driving Your Organization’s IoT Success

Preparing does take time and effort, but it’s worth it. Remember, the IoT is about so much more than tech changes. It’s about business transformations. If you’d like to learn more, you can check out Building the Internet of Things: Implement New Business Models, Disrupt Competitors, and Transform Your Industry, written by Maciej Kranz, Vice President of Cisco’s Strategic Innovations Group:

• Anticipate the Business Benefits: Making the most of the IoT will require investments in infrastructure and talent, but the benefits that come with making the shift can be substantial and include enhanced efficiencies, better resource use, and increased productivity.
• Plan Ahead: Like with any changes, you need to develop an IoT roadmap that identifies actions you can take, methods you can follow, and risks and obstacles you might encounter. Understand that the scope and complexity of transformations will vary on an industry-by-industry and company-by-company basis. Be prepared to collaborate and identify solutions that will be right for you.
• Prioritize Security: Security is one of the top issues for people grappling with IoT implementation. 41% of respondents in one survey cited security risks as their chief hurdle, while 50% of respondents in another said security concerns remain a top impediment when it comes to IoT deployments.
• Increase Storage Capacities: With the collection and analysis of data being an IoT pillar, you need to have both enough bandwidth to cope with it and sufficient storage solutions to retain it. But just how much storage will you need? Analysts say many businesses will need to be ready to handle two zettabytes per year by 2019.
• Start Small, Get Big: Most mountain climbers don’t start with Everest. They train intensively beforehand, testing their skill and resolve on smaller mountains before attempting the big climb. The same approach applies to the IoT. Instead of going after the big fish first, identify a piece of low-hanging fruit (a project that will bring definite benefits, but is low risk), hone your processes, and expand your ambitions from there. In Kranz’s words, “Think big, start small.”

To make your IoT journey a triumph, you need to choose the right partner. Look for someone who offers a breadth of experiences and services in planning, integrating, installing, and supporting each component of your organization’s infrastructure—ensuring you get a future-ready system that empowers you to make the most of the changes brought on by the IoT.

Are you ready to take the plunge? Contact us today to learn how Activo can help you maximize your success in the IoT!

Read more from Activo:

• 6 Ways Technology Is Driving a Digital Evolution in Education [Infographic]
• Building for the Internet of Things (IoT)
• The 6 Industries Leading the Way in the IoT

The post 3 IoT Trends for 2018 (and Beyond) appeared first on Activo.

An article in Data Center Knowledge, an online thought leader in the data center industry, explores this topic in “Why You Still Have a Bandwidth Problem.”

Here are some of the key issues:

1.     Fast-Growing Applications

The internet has had a hard time keeping up with the demands placed on it by user-driven applications, especially those littered with multimedia ads. These services require speed, always-on availability, and an uncompromisingly positive experience for the end user. Much of the established infrastructure is not designed to deal with the intensity of demand, and increased traffic loads only make the problems worse.

Providers face additional challenges delivering consistent, high-quality services to users in remote areas who expect fast speeds and zero downtime. According to the article, “a connection that supports 1.8 Gbps between London and Frankfurt on a low-loss connection is reduced to just 2.2 Mbps to Singapore at only .1 percent loss, typical between regions. This is close to a 1,000 times decrease.”

2.     Limitations Associated With Content Delivery

Current routing and transport protocols no longer provide adequate service. Many companies have invested in Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs) to boost delivery speed and enhance performance, but those solutions can only do so much.

Providers can’t control:

• Geographical circumstances
• Pre-provisioned Points-of-Presence (PoPs)
• Limitations from cloud providers

To compensate, providers rely on traditional methods like adding new data centers and employing quicker refreshes for edge caching. Although these approaches have some positive impact on bandwidth speed, the article emphasizes these quick fixes are “a Band-Aid for a bullet hole.”

3.     Cloud Networking

Cloud computing offers elasticity, on-demand capacity, use-based pricing, and more. Unfortunately the potential has not yet translated into results. Providers are “holding back because they cannot guarantee quality, stability and speed.”

Taking full advantage of the flexibility cloud computing promises and breaking ties to physical infrastructure will enable providers to respond in real time to fluctuating traffic, adapt to the demands of a diverse range of applications and devices, and better serve their users.

4.     Reactive Internet

Traditional infrastructures tend to take a “reactive posture.” To adapt to the burst of traffic and demand, networks need to become proactive. Knowing what’s going on at granular levels and taking immediate action using innovative, cloud-based approaches will allow providers to implement real-time solutions, support an array of new services and applications, and deliver superior results to the end user.

Click here to read the full article.

Activo can help your business determine the right amount of bandwidth, implement an effective solution, and monitor the results. Contact us today to discuss the best solution for you.

More from Activo:

• Does Your Business Have Enough Bandwidth?
• Aruba Networks: Ensuring Powerful, High-Speed Wireless Access Points for Crowded Environments
• The 7 Step Checklist for a Successful 802.11ac Wireless Network Implementation [PDF]

The post 4 Reasons You Still Have Bandwidth Problems appeared first on Activo.

E911 is short for “Enhanced 911”. It connects the caller to an emergency call center and providers the call center operator with the phone number and address/location of the person calling. Enhanced 911 is becoming the standard for businesses using Voice over IP (VoIP) services, as it helps emergency personnel such as firefighters or ambulance drivers find the person in distress more quickly and easily.

This is particularly important because the nature of VoIP makes it difficult to know where, geographically, a call is coming from. Therefore, if someone is calling 911 but for some reason cannot tell the dispatcher where they are, E911 ensures emergency services will have the information they need to get to the location.

Having an E911 solution at your business is important for both safeguarding employees and protecting against liability issues.

Whether you are currently with a VoIP provider or you are thinking of switching to VoIP, you should ask your new service provider if they offer E911 service. All local VoIP providers are required to provide some level of 911 service, but you should find out whether your provider offers only basic 911, or E911.

There are two types of VoIP that may handle 911 service differently:

Fixed VoIP

Typically provided over a private communication network, fixed VoIP means calls are only made from a fixed address. Fixed VoIP should provide E911 in areas where E911 is available.

Nomadic VoIP

Typically provided over the Internet, nomadic VoIP means calls can be made from any location using an Internet connection. Nomadic VoIP may only be able to offer basic 911 functionality.

VoIP 911 Tips

• Ensure your address is current with your VoIP service provider, so E911 will have accurate information (if your business is moving locations, be sure to update this information!)
• Be aware that VoIP does not work during power outages unless you have a backup power source; this means 911 will also be unavailable via VoIP

E911 is a service that we may not think about until we need it – but once we need it, it can be the most important service we have. Talk to your VoIP service provider about whether they offer E911 and ensure your address is correct.

>> Activo provides VoIP and unified communications for businesses of all sizes. Contact us today to discuss your needs.

More on VoIP from Activo:

• Collaborate Anywhere on Any Device with Cisco Jabber [Video]
• Why Flexibility Is Essential in Your Unified Communications and Voice Solution
• Everything Business Owners Need to Know About VoIP [Whitepaper]

The post E911 for Businesses with VoIP appeared first on Activo.

If you don’t have enough bandwidth, you’ll find your applications slow and loading times long. That’s because you have too many demands on a limited amount of bandwidth.

And if you have too much, you’re overpaying for bandwidth you don’t need!

So, how much do you need?

How Much Bandwidth Do You Use?

Do you know how much bandwidth your business is using now?

Think about what types of applications and activities you use on a day-to-day basis. Also, consider the number of users (employees, guests, etc.) on your network.

Do your employees use mostly email and web browsing? Your business is a light user – you probably don’t need a lot of bandwidth.

Or do they engage in video conferencing and large file downloads? Do they use multiple devices and cloud-based services? Your business is a heavy user – you will need a great deal of bandwidth.

Your business likely falls somewhere between these two extremes.

How Much Bandwidth Do You Need?

Unfortunately, many businesses are operating with too little bandwidth to meet their needs. This results in lost productivity, as employees are unable to engage in necessary activities to get work done.

To determine how much bandwidth you need, you should bring in an expert to assess your usage – current and projected. They’ll work with you to find out what activities your workforce is currently doing on the Internet, what they should be able to do with an optimized network, and what you anticipate they will need to do.

This will take into account your specific business, industry, number of employees, which applications you use, and how much you must be able to use specific applications on a regular basis (e.g. heavy use of emails, moderate use of video conferencing, etc.).

After the bandwidth professional calculates and installs your new solution, they should monitor the network traffic to ensure the estimation was correct, and adjust if required.

With bandwidth, there is no standard amount that you need. The amount is dependent on a great number of variables, and is therefore unique for each business.

As video and cloud applications become more pervasive, bandwidth demands will only increase. You need a bandwidth partner who will monitor your usage to ensure your solution is always up-to-date and right for your business.

>> Activo can help your business determine the right amount of bandwidth, implement an effective solution, and monitor the results. Contact us to get started!

More from Activo:

• Highlights from Cisco’s Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Forecast 2014-2019 [Whitepaper]
• Activo Helps Columbia International College Improve Communication between Students, Parents, and Faculty [Case Study]
• Cat6A Cabling Significantly Improves Video Quality [Video]

The post Does Your Business Have Enough Bandwidth? appeared first on Activo.

Through VoIP’s collaboration capabilities, we can now have high quality video and audio conferences from our desks, our home offices, or the boardroom.

The next step in the evolution of VoIP technology is mobile VoIP. Portable devices, such as smartphones and tablets, are rapidly advancing and expanding their influence in our daily lives. With our busy lifestyles, we increasingly rely on our mobile devices.

Logically, then, VoIP has gone mobile as well. Mobile infrastructure and capacity increase every year, and cellular data networks are enhancing their services to include better Wi-Fi, data (3G/4G), and communication capabilities. These communication capabilities include Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling communications to transmit VoIP on the mobile network.

With mobile VoIP (MVoIP), consumers gain freedom from fee-based phone communications. Voice calls with MVoIP can be made for free from zones where you are connected to Wi-Fi. This can significantly cut down on cell phone bills, particularly if you are calling long distance, or even to other countries. If you are not connected to Wi-Fi, calls can be made over your data network.

MVoIP also brings the power of collaboration with you wherever you go, increasing productivity and helping you connect with people no matter where you are.

Cell phone and wireless companies understand that MVoIP is the future of VoIP technology, and are always developing new and better technologies to enable clear, fast communication. MVoIP is still in the early stages; campus and corporate networks have led the way in implementing MVoIP. However, as the technology improves, small and mid-sized businesses may find that MVoIP makes sense for their needs.

We are already using communication apps that use VoIP technology, including Skype, WhatsApp, and so on. These apps use the existing infrastructure of the Internet and the mobile device’s data to deliver free (or cheap) communication, fast.

MVoIP is making its way into the mainstream. Juniper Research forecasts that one billion people will be using VoIP over free smartphone applications by 2017.

Mobile is the future of VoIP.

>> Activo is always up-to-date with the latest technologies and innovations. Contact us to set up a VoIP system that’s right for your business.

More on VoIP from Activo:

• Everything Business Owners Need to Know About VoIP [Whitepaper]
• VoIP Call Quality and Reliability – Can It Match Traditional Phone Networks?
• Are You Up-to-Date on the Latest Cisco Collaboration Solutions? [Video]

The post Is Mobile VoIP the Future of VoIP? appeared first on Activo.

VoIP is a great choice for business owners that want to upgrade their phone system. When compared with traditional phone systems, it offers a huge number of new, useful features, better call quality, and lower costs.

Ziff Davis offers a fantastic whitepaper for business owners considering VoIP, which explains the basics of VoIP, highlights its features and benefits, and discusses how to identify your VoIP needs (including your budget!).

Here are just some of the advantages of VoIP outlined in the whitepaper:

• Free (or cheap) long distance
• No upfront costs
• Intelligence for incoming calls to transfer themselves
• Tells you where your coworkers are and helps you reach them
• Auto-attendant included
• Connect office phones anywhere, such as at home, at branch offices, on the road, etc.
• Easy and free conference calls
• Treats remote areas as local for callers
• And more!

“VoIP, IP Telephones, or Internet Telephony – whatever you call it, digital phone systems that convert voice into data for transmission over data networks is the phone of the future.”

If you’re thinking about VoIP, we recommend this whitepaper to get you started.

 Click here to download the whitepaper: “Beginner’s Guide to VoIP”.

>> Activo has the expertise to provide a full range of voice technologies and services, including the right VoIP solution for your business. Contact us today to discuss your needs.

More on VoIP from Activo:

• How is VoIP Changing Business Communications?
• The Business Case for Remote Workers with VoIP [Whitepaper]
• What are the Different VoIP System Features and Options? | Part 3

The post Everything Business Owners Need to Know About VoIP [Whitepaper] appeared first on Activo.

Is VoIP as trustworthy as traditional PSTN (public switched telephone network) systems?

The answer is yes. Cloud VoIP can certainly be just as reliable as traditional phone systems – and can have even better quality. Most IP phones use HD voice technology, which actually allows them to transmit a wider tonal range so users can hear each other more clearly.

However, business owners must keep in mind that in order for their VoIP to work as intended, they must make sure that all components of their network infrastructure and associated services are able to handle the requirements of VoIP. You will need updated structured cabling, sufficient bandwidth, appropriate wireless security, and so on.

VoIP works in real-time, sending calls over a wireless network. That means that a slow, outdated network or infrastructure can cause voice distortion, data loss, echoes, and delays. This is not an issue with VoIP itself, but rather with trying to use VoIP on a network not able to carry the capacity.

A professional VoIP provider will be able to check your current network, test it, and let you know if it will be able to sustain VoIP. If not, many will be able to offer suggestions on improving your network – and some will even have the skills in-house to upgrade your network, making life easier for you.

The biggest issue you need to be aware of with VoIP reliability is that when the power goes out, so does your phone connectivity. That’s because VoIP depends on your Internet, and the Internet goes down with the power. Of course, there are crisis-resistant VoIP solutions available to address this problem, such as cellular backup and redundancy options (click to learn more about crisis-resistance for cloud VoIP).

Another great benefit of VoIP is that you can take the services with you wherever you go. If you move office spaces, cannot use your office during a renovation, or have employees working from home, you will still be able to use VoIP and all the features it enables.

>> Activo has a dedicated team of specialists to help organizations like yours reap the benefits of cloud VoIP. Contact us now.

More on VoIP from Activo:

• How is VoIP Changing Business Communications?
• The Business Case for Remote Workers with VoIP [Whitepaper]
• How VoIP Cuts Costs and Builds Profit

The post VoIP Call Quality and Reliability – Can It Match Traditional Phone Networks? appeared first on Activo.

Another crucial advantage of cloud voice is its crisis-resistance. Most organizations consider communications to be a mission-critical component of their business. You can’t afford to have the phone systems go down when your customers are trying to call or your employees are having key conversations with their associates.

From day-to-day operations to when disaster strikes, it’s important to have a phone system that your business can rely on.

Resiliency and redundancy can be built into cloud voice solutions, preventing the system from being compromised by any single point of failure. Many disaster recovery and fail-over options possible with cloud voice are not available through legacy PBX systems.

For example, you could opt to implement cellular backup, which automatically reroutes all calls to cell phones in the case of a major failure.

Get reliability with cloud voice crisis-resistant communication:

• Less likely to experience service interruption
• Resistant to failure during natural disasters
• Recover from hardware, software, or connectivity failures
• High level of system availability
• Seamless transitions to fail-over systems
• Managed off-site (everything will be maintained and updated without hassle)

If you run a business which relies on your phone system, any disturbance in service is costly.  With modern cloud voice technology, you can minimize the risk.

>> Activo’s experts specialize in resilient and redundant phone solutions. We help businesses across Canada implement the right solutions for their needs. Contact us now to get started!

More on Voice Solutions from Activo

• The Business Case for Remote Workers with VoIP [Whitepaper]
• What are the Differences between PTSN and VoIP Phone Systems?
• 6 Features of Hosted VoIP to Enhance Your Mobility

The post The Crisis-Resistance of Cloud Voice appeared first on Activo.

VoIP is an advanced, integrated solution that is completely changing the way businesses communicate. Here are some of the key ways VoIP impacts business communications:

1. Video Conferencing 

Previously, video conferencing was an expensive addition to your company’s communication capabilities. However, through VoIP technology, video conferencing is easy and affordable for every company, even small organizations with tight budgets.

This vastly changes the way businesses communicate: within the organization, with clients/customers, and with business associates. Video conferencing reduces travel costs and makes it much easier to schedule meetings with busy people.

2. Instant Messaging 

Instant messaging (IM) is a typical feature of VoIP that allows co-workers to engage in instant “chat” rather than communicating via email or phone calls. This capability alters the way colleagues communicate with one another about various tasks.

IM has an immediacy that email lacks, but does not require the level of attention of a phone call. It allows employees to collaborate easily and quickly, without cluttering email inboxes with brief back-and-forth messages.

3. Mobility 

As we’ve discussed previously, mobility is a hugely important emerging trend in the workplace. Whether it is used for reaching workers on the road or accommodating remote workers, mobility is becoming central to business.

VoIP easily diverts calls to cell phones, off-premise computers, or other designated devices as though they are part of your corporate phone network. This is convenient for employees – and outside callers won’t notice a difference. Mobility features streamline communication in the modern business environment.

The Bottom Line 

This list only scratches the surface of the great influence VoIP is having on business communications as it evolves and improves.

Collaboration. Productivity. Flexibility. VoIP offers these benefits (and more!) to forward-thinking businesses.

>> Activo will help you build the perfect VoIP solution for your organization. Contact us today, and experience the advantages!

More on VoIP from Activo:

Should My Business Switch to VoIP? | Part 1
What are the Different VoIP System Features and Options? | Part 3
6 Features of Hosted VoIP to Enhance Your Mobility

The post How is VoIP Changing Business Communications? appeared first on Activo.