So, I Use COS 1 for My Voice Services Over My MPLS VPN

April 2, 2013
Lon Hickman

The coming decade will see enterprises employ a wide range of commercial software, cloud, and mobile IP-based applications. This deployment will raise the importance of having robust WAN IP-connectivity solutions that include the use of more on-demand network resources....

Why People Love Social Brands

Cheryl Burgess

One of the fascinating things about social branding is that it doesn’t matter what size business you are or what your marketing budget is.  What really matters is why people would want to purchase your brand.  If you start with the why, the personality you will create for your business will help build...

4 Ways To Avoid Being Foolish About Cloud

April 1, 2013
Jeff Morgan

April Fool’s Day comes but once a year, but you might think it comes once or twice a week if you’re struggling over the promise and disappointment of SaaS apps and the cloud in general. As far back as the days of Chaucer, we’ve celebrated the day where no news topic is sacred, no personal space is private, and no...

Transforming Voice: A Path to Unified Communications

ATT

This IDC white paper analyzes the transformation of voice from legacy solutions to an Internet Protocol (IP)–based platform where voice over IP (VoIP) is an essential application and critical building block for unified communications (UC)....

3 Tax Time Tips To Save You Money

Susan Solovic

Like it or not, it’s time to start planning for this year’s tax season.While you can’t escape paying Uncle Sam, you can make sure you don’t pay more than legally required.  However, because the tax laws change every year, knowing what you can and can’t write off is confusing to say the least. ...

Top 10 Security Challenges For 2013

March 29, 2013
Steve Hurst

For security professionals 2012 was a very exciting year. We saw some major changes in information security attack strategies, known as vectors, and an increase in their public visibility. Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) became more common and mobile and wireless security came into the forefront of our...

Seize The Day—And The Cloud

Allyson Fralish

When you think about businesses using the cloud, chances are your neighborhood bookstore or clothing store isn’t among the first to come to mind. A recent survey on cloud usage supports my theory, showing only 16% of small and midsize retailers currently use the cloud. However, as an avid cloud watcher, I believe this statistic is...

Are You Ready To Take The Tablet Challenge?

March 28, 2013
Sander Biehn

At the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES), we saw “The Big” thinking small. The race is on for PC makers to find their way into the tablet market. Everyone from Lenovo to Dell is trying to find the ‘Goldilocks zone’ of just the right size, functionality, and battery life in mobile devices for the professional who now alternates between in-the-office and on-the-go....

Taking VPN To The Cloud

ATT

For enterprise IT leaders, keeping pace with ever-increasing demands for new applications and greater data bandwidth is an ongoing struggle. Adding a layer of complexity to their task is the fact that many are forced to make the necessary moves with fewer resources in place to deploy new applications and networks. Many enterprises are finding their solution in MPLS-enabled VPNs that are robust and flexible enough to adapt to new...

Back To The Basics With Data Security

March 27, 2013
Bindu Sundaresan

These days, we use mobile devices for just about everything, from online purchases while we’re standing in line at the coffee shop to managing our bank accounts and storing confidential data. “Human factor” is often cited as one of the weakest links in...

2 Ways To Leverage Cloud For The Perfect Follow-Up

Mario Armstrong

Last week I broke down my step-by-step tips for how to network and pitch while at conferences, events, and talks. No matter what line of business you're in, there's always people to pitch who can help your business or with whom you can create mutually beneficial partnerships. But let's say you're...

The Patient’s Perspective

March 26, 2013
Barb White

The debate rages on about the viability of the cloud for the healthcare industry, mainly weighing security risks against the benefits of lower costs and improved outcomes. Private, closed systems can be Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant and...

The DNA Of Good Content Marketing

Mark Burgess

A good story helps your audience to connect more deeply with your brand. Content marketing is generating a lot of buzz in 2013. Businesses of all sizes are engaged in finding ways to leverage this new approach to marketing. According to Gary Vaynerchuk, wine entrepreneur and social...

So, What’s Stopping You?

March 25, 2013
Jim Dillon

Have you ever seen an invention or viable business and said to yourself, “Hey, that’s my idea?”  If you’re like me, it’s happened more than once.  But the value of an idea is not only in the ideation, but rather it’s having the idea and executing on it. I’ll write business plans only to have my idea usurped and executed rather well.  One of my so called “business plans” was a...

50 Marketing Leaders Over 50 You Should Know

Alan See

Let’s recognize that age has little to do with ability. You’re never too young or too old if you’ve got talent.  In the marketing world, Advertising Age and Direct Marketing News have their “40 under 40” lists. Forbes has their “30 under 30.” This blog post counterbalances with 50 who are over 50 because to my knowledge a list of this nature has never been published. Now, before I present my list let me provide some...

Stock Market Highs Make This A Good Time To Invest In UC

March 22, 2013
Robert Lamb

Our AT&T consultants are seeing a growing trend of companies interpreting the recent stock market surge as a sign to focus on customer acquisition and thereby a call to upgrade their contact center technology.  With most contact centers still on obsolete TDM transport and antiquated integration technology, now is an opportune time for many companies to take advantage of the efficiency and customer experience enhancements that today’s...

In Security And Compliance, There Are No Shortcuts

Chris Mark

I was privileged to have been able to attend the 2013 RSA event.  While catching up with old friends and meeting colleagues was exciting, seeing the new technologies being released is always the highpoint of RSA.  I am always struck by vendors promoting “today’s solution to tomorrow’s problems”.  Some of the newer solutions this year appear to be designed as “one simple fix” to the very complex problem of security....

The 3 Phases Of Enterprise Mobility Management Evolution

March 21, 2013
Maribel Lopez

To successfully deploy mobile applications and support BYOD, IT leaders realize that they must create a mobile management strategy that defines how to manage and support an influx of devices, how to secure access to corporate data, and how to distribute and manage the wide range of enterprise applications the business plans to deploy....

Mobile Is The New Face Of Engagement

ATT

It wasn’t that long ago that companies had a high degree of control over the expectations they set for their customers, employees and partners. Our upcoming webinar, Mobile is the New Face of Engagement, examines how today, as the mobile user base quickly approaches one billion individuals, end-users’ expectations of mobile devices have grown...

5 Keys To Innovation Your Business Needs To Succeed

March 20, 2013
Norbert Sluzewski

Most organizations recognize the importance of innovation in advancing their competitive position or improving their business processes. However, many may not recognize that successful innovation is built on a framework of component functions, each of which is critical to the overall efficacy of the program. These functions, known as innovation framework components, individually define specific characteristics of the program and...

Influence vs Advocacy: Which Rules The Digital Kingdom

Brian Solis

In the world of social marketing, digital influence is akin to saying holy water. It is sacred, mysterious, and purportedly carries with it healing properties. Influencers speak and the world stops to listen. Almost as prestigious in the new world of conversational marketing is the word advocacy. Advocates are the disciples of brands. They are customers or fans and they live to join branded communities and also go out of their way to tell...