Puget Sound Business

Archive for the ‘The Business Connection’ Category

Information Technology lies at the very heart of today’s organisations and many companies are now so dependent on their networks that they take them for granted. In today’s 24/7 digital economy, just imagine the business implications of critical data being lost, internet and email access being unavailable or your internal network going down.

The impact of the unexpected on your business, whether in the form of malicious damage such as hacking or some kind of natural disaster, can be devastating in the networked world. Take for example the 2007 flash floods across the UK. Following the wettest May to July on record, approximately 7,100 businesses were flooded and the resulting damage cost an estimated £3 billion1. However, this figure fails to take into account the cost of lost business during that period, when some companies were unable to operate a normal (if any) service, or the damage to reputation that the inability to communicate caused. No-one can predict the future, but by carefully planning in advance you can ensure that your business is in the best possible position, if and when disruption occurs.

To meet resiliency requirements for coping with both unexpected events and increasing volumes of data, today’s businesses require more than Next Generation Network capability alone. They need a combination of robust network capability and a next generation service mindset from their telecoms provider. When it comes to business resiliency, it’s not simply a case of ‘one size fits all’. ntl:Telewest Business closely collaborates with its customers and tailors its services to meet their needs. The next generation of business resiliency is here.

What level of resilience is needed?

Different industries have unique requirements for resilience. In the banking industry, for example, access to accurate, real-time buying and selling data is critical and business continuity and resiliency are considered so important that they are subject to specific regulations such as Basel II. However, for the majority of businesses, the rules and regulations are not so strict, and yet the implications of a network collapse without sufficient backup systems can be equally severe. This is particularly true when you consider that, according to the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 80 per cent of small to medium sized businesses go out of business within 18 months of experiencing a major network problem and 90 per cent of businesses that lose data in a disaster are forced to shut within two years.

The indisputable fact is that all business premises, no matter what the organisation’s size or industry, face the risk of disasters and they need to bring certainty to how they store and use their information. Firms need to be able to move their data around freely and ensure that it is 100 per cent backed up from every site, minimising the exposure to risk at any one site and making sure that the most important data is prioritised.

What types of network meet the requirement?

Network capability and flexibility provide the technology platform for next generation telecoms providers to roll out a resilient service. As well as being able to withstand unexpected events, today’s networks need to be able to cope with the everincreasing amounts of information being transported by today’s businesses. Their needs have extended from just email and web browsing to encompass multimedia applications, image-driven, user-generated content and video. In order to cope with these burgeoning volumes of data and the swift pace of operational change, networks need to be both extremely resilient and scalable. Rapidly growing workforces require constant, uninterrupted access to business resources and only a Next Generation Network can provide the flexibility and resilience required.

ntl:Telewest Business’ £13 billion Next Generation Network was built specifically with the demands of the digital age in mind and, based on fibre-optic technology, it is highly resilient. The Next Generation Network is capable of delivering the next generation IP and Ethernet services required by today’s fast-moving business and, as bandwidth can be increased quickly and painlessly in line with demand, scalability issues are overcome. In order to significantly reduce the volume of faults on their networks, today’s telcos also need to engage far earlier in proactive network management. By constantly monitoring its network, ntl:Telewest Business ensures that potential issues can be identified before they develop into problems. As a result, both the network’s performance and the user’s experience are significantly improved.

How can every eventuality be covered?

Maintaining business continuity is not as simple as deploying two separate links to your business sites, there are a number of considerations that have to be taken into account. How far a customer wants to go in assuring resilience depends on the importance of their information assets and their budget, but there are four key business continuity measures that can be taken into consideration.

As there are two UK-wide access networks, ntl:Telewest Business’ and BT’s, it stands to reason that if information is your organisation’s lifeblood you should not trust all of your services to just one network. Having an alternative access network in place ensures that critical applications continue to run even if one provider has a major outage. An alternative transmission path can also handle unexpected peaks in traffic and provide protection against denial of service attacks, which are designed to swamp networks with traffic and cause them to buckle.

The second business continuity measure is eliminating a single point of failure for the availability of voice and data services. Rather than relying on a single network provider to deliver connectivity between a site and the rest of the private network or the internet, businesses can run multiple links to their sites, guaranteeing up-time should one of the lines be inadvertently damaged and rendered unusable. In the event of network connectivity being destroyed over one connection, services can seamlessly divert to the backup connection, maintaining continuous data transfer and call availability.

One of the most basic disaster recovery tools that businesses should consider is spreading their risks across the network. By creating a mirrored system in which all information and applications are regularly and automatically backed up at different points on the network, businesses can ensure that information is protected in the event that one part of the network experiences an outage.

Multiple Ethernet connections into a Virtual Private Network (VPN) with any-to-any connectivity enable organisations to decentralise their IT across multiple sites and replicate their business-critical data. If a problem does occur, whether it is a natural disaster or simply a power failure, employees should be able to work from home and log onto their VPN remotely, safe in the knowledge that the network is secure and work can continue as usual, albeit off-site. This any-to-any connectivity overcomes the needs for backup circuits.

Finally, in the event of one of an organisation’s main circuits going down, forcing all data to run over the other and increasing the risk of a network bottleneck, the prioritisation of critical data is essential. The application of up to eight classes of service over the ntl:Telewest Business network, with predefined Quality of Service (QoS) parameters, will also ensure that business critical data is delivered in advance of lower priority traffic such as internet data. This way organisations can ensure their business critical applications continue to perform at optimum levels, even in adverse conditions.

With such an array of business continuity options available, organisations require a telco provider that’s prepared to sit down and discuss the most appropriat
e solution for their unique needs, risks and budget. ntl:Telewest Business collaborates closely with all sizes of business, not just its largest customers with big communication budgets. Consultative and technologically-savvy local service teams, both at the presales and project management stages, work hand-in-glove with the customer to ensure they receive the most appropriate solutions for their business.

How can businesses design and provision truly resilient networks?

True business resilience can only be attained when network capability is fused with a high level of consultative input at the stage of designing new network infrastructures. Until now, the legacy telco practice has been to keep customers at arm’s length from the services they use and act as merely a circuit provider, rather than responding to customers’ requirements. The next generation of telecoms providers need to invest in their service delivery, and not solely their network, ensuring that their customers feel connected to their telco teams as well as their network.

As a next generation telecoms provider, ntl:Telewest Business is committed to sitting down with organisations, listening to and understanding their individual requirements. This way it can help the customer implement measures appropriate to the risk associated with the type of traffic on its network, with a design that reflects the confines of the budget.

A customer-centric mindset and ‘can do’ attitude ensures that ntl:Telewest Business collaborates with its customers from the start, helping to plan, design, and implement their networks. But it doesn’t stop there, many of the same teams remain all the way through integration and while the network is running. No one can predict the future, but by working with a telecoms provider that has such a Next Generation Network and a customer-centric mindset, you’ll be better prepared for any eventuality.

One of the key roles of management is to build business through relationships. A common way to build relationships is through referrals: with, for and through banks, attorneys, employees, peers, and anyone else who has something that someone else wants or needs. The better you are at managing the referral, the better off you and those in your organization will be. Unfortunately, even though most referrals start with good intentions, they’re conducted haphazardly and don’t yield the results people expect. It’s often the reason that referrals are not offered. Who wants to be burned? The tips in this article should help you control the outcomes and get what you want.

Everyone has been embarrassed by their association with another person at one time or another. How about that cousin you wouldn’t want anyone to know about? But what happens when the embarrassment happens in a business situation: more specifically, when you refer one person to another and one of those parties is unprofessional or just plain screws up? Making a bad connection could cost you money or something more valuable and much harder to recoup-your reputation.

We once stepped into an awkward situation when we referred a business peer, seeking a specific product, to one of our clients, who just so happened to offer that very product. We thought we were doing a good thing, a win-win-win thing…until we received a phone call from our client explaining that the referred person made a vulgar offer to a woman on the client’s staff when she said she couldn’t go any lower on her price. We were shocked. Our client ended the conversation with, “I’m not sure what to do, but what he [the business peer] did was disrespectful to my staff and to you. I’m going to let you handle this.” The outcome was hardly the one we were shooting for. All we could do was apologize and hope our reputation didn’t take too big a hit.

The referral is part of Business 101, and it’s a valuable way to extend your business connections. Typical referrals involve three parties: the person who wants something, the person who has something to give, and the person who connects the two. Sounds simple and clean…but as our bad experience shows, sometimes things get messy. So what can you do to facilitate successful referrals? That depends on which of the three roles you’re playing. Here they are.

The person who wants something. If someone connects you to another party, remember to:

1….respect relationships that others have developed. Consider it your way of saying “thanks” to the person who made the connection.

2….stay professional and avoid being too casual or friendly. A referral ONLY opens a door of opportunity. You’re still responsible for building your own relationship.

3….conduct yourself in a way that honors the “referrer.” Your actions represent yourself AND the person who gave you the referral.

4….leave foul language at the door. Everyone has a different tolerance point.

5….keep ethics above board. To do so will net you a double win. To fail will curse you with a double loss at the very least. Good news travels; bad news travels faster.

6….check the ego. Don’t believe that your credentials, awards, accomplishments and the referral impress everyone so much that you can leave your manners at the door.

The person who has something to give. If someone sends business your way, make sure you:

1….deliver what you promise, and promise only what you KNOW you can deliver. If you find that you can’t help out, be honest about it and say thank you.

2….make good on any mistakes that occur. People understand that errors happen. Keep both of the other two parties’ interests in mind when taking responsibility for those errors.

3….if you want to keep the referral business pouring in, make sure you meet or exceed the expectations of the person doing the referring. Hint: they’re expecting you to make them look good.

4….never “bad mouth” the person who referred the business or the one providing the service. What you say will almost surely get back to them.

The person who connects the two. Before you connect one person to another, make sure you:

1….know whom you’re dealing with. Only connect people who will show you in a good light…that goes for the person who wants something as well as the one who has something to give.

2….aren’t connecting people for the soul purpose of getting reciprocal referrals. A client in Boston complained about giving out referrals but rarely getting them in return. Instead of expecting referrals, he learned that the real value came back to him in the form of strengthened business relationships with others.

3….kick off the transaction in a professional fashion. Whether by telephone, email, or in person, set a tone of respect by introducing each person as a respected professional.

4….butt out when you see the relationship blossom. Chalk up the connection as another success and move on.

Referral etiquette is basically pretty simple. Behave yourself, respect others, and do the right thing. Then make sure you deal only with those who do the same. The combination is a winning formula for building new business relationships and strengthening old ones.

© David and Lorrie Goldsmith

Canadian Entrepreneurs Aim to Address Qualified Labour Shortages-CFIB Talk to 3E Connect Direct

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA

An innovative new company believes it can rescue Canadian businesses that are being further crippled by skills shortages amidst the economic downturn.

3E Connect Direct (www.3EConnectDirect.com) provides Canadian employers with an unprecedented opportunity to connect directly with talented, international workers when they are unable to source the skills and experience necessary within Canada.

Talking to 3E Connect Direct Co-founder Ken Docherty, CFIB Chief Economist Ted Mallett re-stated the continuing need that Canadian companies have for certain skills and experience. He said, “We’re still seeing signs of a qualified labour shortage and some members still find it difficult to locate suitable employees. A shortage of skilled, unskilled and semi-skilled labour is an issue for between 10% and 20% of our members, with a skew toward skilled labour shortages.”

Mr Docherty said, “We were influenced by the plight of small-medium sized businesses across Canada who wanted to grow and fulfill existing orders or obligations but were experiencing potentially ‘business crippling’ skilled labour shortages, as well as the number of immigrants arriving who were unable to find work utilizing the skills and experience that qualified them for residency in the first place.”

“Our aim is to provide a self regulating system for funneling ‘would be immigrants’ into areas and industries that need them most urgently while realising our vision of providing a cost effective international advertising platform for Canadian employers who do not have the budget to launch expensive overseas advertising campaigns. There are no sign-up fees, cancellation fees, finder’s fees, immigration consulting fees or recruiting fees or any hidden fees associated with using the service for either the employer or the job seeker. Our system enables the employer to promote their company, opportunity or even their province to attract an international applicant who can help them.”

“Canadian employers can post employment classifieds for free and choose from a variety of additional paid services. The job seeker is charged an annual subscription fee of $39.99 to advertise their skills and experience on the site. As part of the paid subscription, they also have access to employment classifieds, custom built career system and all other non-public areas of the site including a searchable Canadian employer and recruiter database of over 110,000 entries, Canadian salary reports and the ability to connect directly with Canadian resume specialists for a free consultation and discounted consulting services.”

Mr. Docherty added: “The subscription model for the job seeker was chosen due to its effectiveness at filtering out individuals who are not serious about living and working in Canada or who have not done the necessary research to ascertain whether their skills are considered to be ‘in-demand’. By using a subscription-based method of membership and by encouraging pre-registration research, 3E Connect Direct attracts a core group of high quality, committed job seekers focused on a new life in Canada, allowing employers direct access to key skills and experience without having to sort through large volumes of unqualified resumes.”

3E Connect Direct will initially focus on attracting talented workers from the United Kingdom, Ireland and France as a result of the Founder’s experience of recruiting in Europe.

About 3E Connect Direct Online Media Inc.:

3E Connect Direct is a niche employment advertising venue focusing exclusively on bringing together Canadian Employers and International Job Seekers who would like to work in Canada. We are not an Immigration firm or an Employment agency.

To review the website please visit www.3EConnectDirect.com.