Category: Product

Before you subscribe to a video platform, you may want to consider what your medium to long-term requirements are.

Over the past couple of weeks, we have witnessed some frenetic activity surrounding the selection of an appropriate video platform to facilitate working from home (WFH) requirements.

In every conversation we have had with customers, there has been an immediate need for a video platform to facilitate WFH for the next few weeks. Most have taken advantage of the free services offered by some providers, but there is also a longer-term consideration associated with the chosen platform.

Here are some points to consider when you are deciding.

Which is the right platform for your business?

The best video technology platform available to you or your business for the next few weeks, or months, (which is predominantly a desktop-to-desktop requirement) may differ from the right one you will need when you start resuming normal operations again (which will include standards-based meeting room systems that need to connect you with people on disparate end points and devices, both fixed and mobile), at the best price.

You will need to consider the following when making your choice:

1. Resilience

Vox has scanned the market and considered all available video platforms over the past five years so that you don’t have to wade through the myriad of options yourself.

We have successfully provided our customers with a world-class video and voice conferencing platform that is locally hosted and built on the platform that is widely considered to be the leading provider of video interoperability – Pexip. We call this solution Vox Air.

Local hosting means reduced latency, and perhaps most importantly, significantly reduced bandwidth consumption and added resilience. Vox Air provides you with a reliable, high-performing video experience for you and your guests.

2. Interoperability

Vox Air provides complete interoperability, connecting all your video conferencing technology with a single solution.

You are also able to conduct video and voice conferencing, in the same workflow, between:

• Standards-based meeting room systems (from vendors such as Yealink, Poly, Lifesize and many others)
• Windows PCs and MacBooks
• Mobile devices
• Standard telephones
• Microsoft Skype for Business

Standards-based meeting room systems can be bridged into Microsoft Teams and Google Hangouts calls as well, but this will be via a separate workflow that we can assist you with.

Your business, like many others today, may have a variety of existing standards-based video conferencing devices deployed in different parts of your business. These technologies were most likely selected because they supported the specific collaboration requirements of a particular division or team of people at the time – and these needs are likely to remain unchanged today.

For this reason, one of the best features of Vox Air is that you do not need to change any of the technology you currently use.

We will simply connect your current devices to the Vox Air platform, so that you are operational within hours.

Using existing devices will not cost you additional licensing fees as may be the case with other platforms.

3. Security

On Vox Air, all video calls and shared media are fully encrypted to keep your meetings and content confidential. All call participants are always displayed, no matter the device or medium used to connect, so hosts can identify and terminate unwanted participants.

Vox Air supports PIN-protected virtual meeting rooms (VMR) for an additional layer of security and allows all meeting hosts to lock the VMR once invited participants have joined the call.

Additional participants are then allowed to enter only through a lobby that is controlled by the host.

4. Efficiency and ease of use

Vox Air includes the latest artificial intelligence (AI) addition to video meetings – Adaptive Composition. No matter what device you connect to Vox Air with, whether you use brand new or 10-year-old room system, you can improve your meeting experience.

With Adaptive Composition, your users and hardware don’t have to change; instead, the meeting experience adapts to your users and hardware.

Adaptive Composition has the following benefits:

• Mimics natural conversation flow by automated framing, panning, and zooming
• Helps to maintain more natural eye contact
• Supports more realistic visual flows with smooth, seamless updates to images
• Fewer visual distractions such as manual camera control
• Reduces user complexity and works with any device.

Rated No. 1 by video conferencing users worldwide

In the latest Wainhouse Research, Pexip ranked:

• #1 with large companies
• #1 with frequent video users
• #1 with IT purchase authorities
• #1 with non-IT users
• #1 with users under 40 years old
• #1 with users for brand perception

 

Experience the power of Vox Air first-hand to see for yourself why users rate Pexip number one.  For more information and subscription options, connect with Andrew King at andrew.king@voxtelecom.co.za or 083 302 6166, or Gareth Edwards at Gareth.Edwards@voxtelecom.co.za or 066 253 9253.

Comprehensive IT protection for a fraction of the cost.

A well-known fact is that cyberattacks present a high impact, high likelihood risk to businesses throughout the world.

A lesser known fact is that more than 50% of cyber-attacks are perpetrated on small/medium sized businesses, and that South Africa has the third highest number of cybercrime victims worldwide.

The effects of such a debilitating attack range from financial to reputational loss, and as targeted security attacks grow exponentially, combating this criminal activity is becoming a critical element of every business strategy.

Cybersecurity is good for the economy

Small business, the driver of economic growth in our country, faces two challenges in effectively protecting against cyberattacks, namely:

• • Navigating this specialist field; and ultimately selecting all the required cybersecurity building blocks to ensure comprehensive protection.
  • Being able to afford this – sometimes costly, but crucial – cyber-security ecosystem.

A reliable cybersecurity umbrella has the following 5 essential and interdependent elements:

Affordable cybersecurity solutions made accessible

For most small businesses, implementing all these components can be prohibitively expensive.

Because of this, we have designed the Cybersecurity Toolbox specifically for customers with 20 IT users and less – that reduces the equivalent monthly cost by 40% and provides comprehensive IT protection with best-of-breed technology, for R1 975 p/m.

In partnership with specialists in the cybersecurity industry, we look forward to sharing valuable information and insights with you during the coming weeks.

In the interim; please contact your Account Manager, or email salesenterprise@voxtelecom.co.za .

Proactive monitoring, maintenance and support for your desktop environment.

Vox Managed Desktop is a proactive and on demand support service. Access to support is as easy as clicking a Vox support icon. Our industry leading Remote Management and Monitoring (RMM) software allows us to remotely correct issues before they become problems.

Key features of the service  

• Proactive Monitoring and Reporting
  • Proactive monitoring alerts our team of engineers of any issues within your IT environment so that we can resolve them when they are molehills rather than mountains. This keeps your IT environment healthy.
• Desktop Support
  • Remote support is only an icon click, email or call away.
• Patch Management
  • Keeping software current is crucial for businesses today, but in many disciplines, updating features may cause more problems than it solves. This is why our RMM software has full support for Microsoft’s new Monthly Security-Only updates, enabling us to keep your desktop secure while reducing the risk of incompatibilities with your software.
• Anti-virus
  • Every managed desktop includes the award-winning Bitdefender anti-virus engine.
• Third party vendor management
  • Vox provides end to end IT management which includes managing relationships with third party vendors.
• IT asset management
  • Comprehensive IT asset register can be used for warranty, insurance, tracking and tax purposes.

For our onsite customers, we provide a weekly engineer visit to interact with your employees so that small user issues can be resolved quickly and easily.

Our Managed Desktop service can be used by small businesses with five users and more. For larger companies, we offer a dedicated IT resource service, which means you can get an outsourced skilled engineer, backed by a team of engineers.

Do you need help supporting your staff working from home now? For more information on our current remote desktop support offers, contact your Account Manager.

Email continues to play a vital role in the modern business, with employees using it for engaging with others – whether internally with colleagues or externally with customers, suppliers, sales partners and others.

Integrated ICT and infrastructure provider Vox has launched a cloud-based email archiving service, which is aimed at providing small and medium-sized South African businesses with peace of mind that their email environment is protected in case of a cyber attack, equipment failure, or even accidental deletion.

“For smaller organisations, it is likely that their email inbox acts as a repository for critical business documents such as quotes, invoices and email-based agreements, while their email contacts list serves as the backbone of the company’s customer relationship management efforts,” says Mayleen Bywater, Senior Product Manager for Email at Vox.

The risk for business, however, is that email is increasingly the target of cyberattacks, with methods such as malware, ransomware or spyware attachments, being used to cripple business and hold their data hostage unless payment is made to the hackers. Even beyond having to deal with criminal elements, disaster could strike simply through equipment failure or data corruption.

“Vox Archiving provides local SMEs – ideally with between one and fifty users – with a cost-effective method of storing their email data, and complements their existing archiving and storage, by acting as an alternative repository so that emails can be restored even if they were accidentally deleted. Companies can even share their emails with legal entities should they be required to do so,” adds Bywater.

Vox Archiving comes with unlimited storage, so users do not have to worry about how much space their email inboxes take up, and stores users’ data for up to ten years – longer than most business regulations that require businesses to retain documentation for between five and seven years. This means that while it is primarily aimed at smaller businesses, it can work just as well for larger enterprises.

According to Bywater, all email data will be stored in local data centres – ensuring that customers making use of the service remain compliant with data residency or sovereignty regulation – with built-in redundancy to ensure that information is protected and available when needed.

In addition, Vox can cater for customers who have existing email archives and want to consolidate all their information into a single location, with the service being carried out at a minimal per gigabyte cost.

“Vox Archiving is billed per user, per month, at the maximum number of ‘live’ users over the period, meaning they do not pay for the archival of email inboxes of employees who have since left the organisation. This means that customers can scale up and down the number of users as and when needed,” says Bywater.

Vox Archiving is available to business customers at the cost of R32 per month per active email inbox user with a minimum of 5 users per client and subject to the signing of a 12-month contract. The service complements any email platform; as long as a journal link can be created to connect the inbox and the archive. Visit the Vox website for more information.

 

So, you’ve set up your spare bedroom and you’re good to go: Laptop, check; cellphone, check; Internet connection, strong. Basically, you’re sorted to work from home. You’re Skyping your team, collaborating on spreadsheets, to meet that looming deadline, and nothing can stop you – not even social distancing.

But, what about loadshedding? Or a low airtime balance? Without power, you can’t do much – no electricity means no Internet, and no Internet means you can’t buy minutes or data through your banking app.

If only you had an uninterruptible power source and an app you could make all those business calls on, despite the power cuts.

Powered up for productivity

Until now, a generator has been your main weapon against dark days, but now that you’re at home a lot more, you’re realising that you may just need a UPS to keep you connected when your laptop battery isn’t the obstacle to getting on with your nine-to-five out of the office.

“Turning to technology will be necessary to make flexible work a widespread success. This is because the nature of work is changing as well,” says Tahira Nagdee, Manager at PwC Research Services South Africa.

A handy UPS device is part of that change, giving you hours of power to charge your Wi-Fi router, so it’s business as usual – loadshedding or not.

Connected through convenience

“Work is more collaborative and people are expected to communicate and break down the silos to work towards a common organisational goal,” says Nagdee. “Virtual collaboration tools are thus a must to make remote working and virtual teams a reality.”

Not only does a UPS power this new reality, but non-traditional ways of voice communication are helping people all over the world get their message across clearer.

Softphone apps such as Vobi allow you to port your landline number from the office and use it from your mobile phone while you’re working from home. Not only is this convenient, but it saves you the admin of sorting through phone bills to claim back money spent on business calls at home.

From the familiar to the future

Uncapped voice options and continuous Internet access are the future of remote working – and chasing deadlines is easier when the (temporary) shift from the familiarity of the office, becomes less of a disruption and more of an opportunity to be creative with the same tasks, just in your home.

The Vobi app can be downloaded via Google Play and Apple App stores. Find out more about the Vox UPS here.

There’s never been a better time to stay connected. Working from home is much simpler with a seamless connection to the Internet.

Remote working isn’t a trend – it’s a way of life that’s going to be a reality for most of the global workforce. This is according to a survey by Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs. The report found that over the last 10 years, the number of people working from home has grown by over 91%.

Your company has sent you home to work from there for the foreseeable future, meaning you’re going to be spending a lot more time out of the office and at your desk in your study (or dining room table).

Now that you’ve stocked up on the essentials from the shops and the shelves are empty, it’s time to plug in and get down to business. Tasks like research, scheduling meetings, sending follow-up emails and holding said meetings (virtually) require three important traits from your Internet connection: Security, reliability and stability– all key benefits of a Fibre line.

1. Security

You’re responsible for looking after your company’s physical property, but when it comes to virtual security, a Fibre line will help protect information. Unlike regular copper lines, Fibre optical cables are not easily tapped into or prone to interference.

This means, with the combination of your employer’s antivirus software, any documents and files you create, send or downloaded are safe from hackers.

2. Reliability

Employees lose up to one week’s productivity annually because of slow Internet connection. If you’re at home, a lagging line could see you turn to another activity (hello dirty dishes) and throw you off-track – potentially disrupting productivity and getting you into trouble with your employer.

According to ResearchGate:

Fast Internet access is widely considered to be a productivity-enhancing factor.

A Fibre line in your home means more reliable performance, increased uptime and a stable connection. Files that would ordinarily take a long time to upload, take seconds.

3. Stability

Unstable connection doesn’t just slow down productivity, you could lose an hour’s worth of work – just like that. A seamless transition from your desk at work to your home is possible with Fibre. This budget-friendly option not only offers high speeds, but can also be upgraded when you know the demand will be higher than usual.

With the kids turning your lounge into a classroom over the next couple of weeks, and your spare bedroom becoming a home office, taking advantage of the Fibre revolution has never been easier.

Reliable, high speed, and just about everywhere makes Fibre the go-to technology for home and business users.

To check availability in your area, visit vox.co.za and sign up for Vox Fibre, and we will dispatch an expert technician to assist with set-up of your home Fibre line. You also have the option of self-installing your Fibre router through a quick and easy process, so you can connect to your world at the speed of light.

Small businesses still face big threats as cybercriminals up the ante in hacking company security systems.

PwC’s 2018 Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey identified cybercrime as the most disruptive economic crime likely to affect organisations.

Just because you run a small to medium enterprise (SME), it doesn’t make your business immune to hackers.

“Security technical skills are expensive and hard to come by, so SME owners try to do everything themselves,” says Ryan McGee, Head of Security Solutions at Vox.

The trouble with that is, you can’t always be the Jack of all trades, and often you don’t know what to protect the business against, making it easy for you to miss vital security soft spots.

Here are the top three Cybersecurity threats to be aware of:

1. Email security

According to Mimecast’s State of Email Security 2019 report, the number of global phishing attacks have increased. Last year 94% of businesses experienced phishing attacks, the report found.

If your SME is affected and you give into the hacker’s demands, your business could join 70% of SMEs that close their doors within six months of the breach after paying ransomware. Those that don’t close face reputational damage, loss of data, and expose their customer information to hackers.

2. Endpoint security

An antivirus doesn’t protect you from all cyber threats. “Technology advances, and evolution of the Internet leaves businesses more exposed to cyber-crime, with an estimated 325 000 unique threats every day,” says Mayleen Bywater, former Product Manager for Security Solutions at Vox.

Endpoints are seen by hackers as the easiest way of gaining access to a network. This is mainly because they are not fixed within the office environment. “Investing in endpoint security, provides an additional barrier to entry for otherwise easy targets,” says Bywater.

3. Cloud security

The advent of Cloud applications has resulted in a bigger chance for a breach to occur in your business’ security.

70% of SMEs that pay after a ransomware attack will close their doors within six months of the breach. those that don’t close still suffer reputational damage, loss of data, and exposed customer information that can potentially be distributed in the public domain.

 

Get a full-service IT partner

Security evolves everyday, so an IT partner who offers end-to-end managed services can help with an initial security assessment.

“Very few SMEs understand how best to do this assessment and how to really understand vulnerabilities,” says Craig Freer, Executive Head of Cloud at Vox. “It is quite complex for them to secure themselves as best as possible. It really is a case of they do not know what they do not know,” he adds.

Here are the traits to look for in a reliable managed IT partner:

• The company should have a team of people that can provide a broad spectrum of services – look for a one stop solution – a company that can service all your needs
• They should be very familiar with prevailing technologies
• Various certifications to back up what they are offering
• A track record with experience in similar vertical industries and in depth experience serving your specific needs
• Check if they provide a monthly service level agreement (SLA), to ensure you receive a full suite of services without discrepancies

In 2016 when Slack Technologies (NYSE: WORK) was just a few years old, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) seriously considered acquiring the workplace collaboration tool at a hefty price of $8 billion. Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates, alongside current CEO Satya Nadella, killed the idea and instead decided Microsoft could build its own platform. That platform was Microsoft Teams.

Slack and Teams have a lot of similarities especially when it comes to instant messaging, voice calling and web conferencing, so what are the differentiators and why is Teams – a more recent player – even seen as a competitor next to the well-established Slack?

Deployment and user experience

Slack is by far a much easier tool to deploy than Microsoft Teams because Teams is better designed for enterprise companies. However once deployed, Teams is an easier tool to use because it works within the familiar Office 365 environment.

Pricing

Slack is slightly more expensive than Teams on standard plans, but once you get to the higher end plans on both platforms, the pricing is much the same. Microsoft Teams however is included in the Office 365 Business Essentials and Business Premium plans, whereas Slack is a standalone tool. If you already have the Office 365 Business Essentials and Business Premium plans, Teams is free.

Integration and Interoperability

Slack integrates with over 1500 apps, making it easy to use with almost every popular app, including Office 365 and Outlook. Microsoft Teams on the other hand does not integrate with as many apps, but all Microsoft tools and apps are interoperable with Microsoft Teams. Interoperability is similar to integration, but it cuts out the middle man making it more advanced and user friendly than integration.

Another downside to integration versus interoperability is that you need to pay for the apps and services you add on. Whereas with the interoperability of Teams, most of the tools used are already included in the Office 365 package.

This is where Teams becomes a better tool for those already using Microsoft Apps like Outlook Word, Excel, Sharepoint, etc.

Both Slack and Teams are amazing collaboration tools and are keeping each other on their toes. The software you choose however will depend on the systems your organisation relies on.

Teams is available on both the Business Essentials and Business Premium License. Enhancements to the product like adding Cloud PBX and video conferencing to rooms is available through Vox. Contact  Gareth or Doug from Vox on  Gareth.Edwards@voxtelecom.co.za or dougm@braintree.co.za to find out more.

Microsoft Teams has grown from 13 million active users to 20 million from July 2019 to November 2019! According to Tech Crunch, Teams is Microsoft’s fastest growing product to date. 20 million is a lot, but it is also only ten percent of more than 200 million Office 365 commercial users, meaning the growth rate is only getting started and more users will be added soon, making Microsoft Teams the go-to tool for unified comms within your organisation.

What is Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams is a collaboration hub for shared files and calendars, collaborative editing, and easy switching between voice, video and text chat – a combination that gives everyone one place to get more done at maximum efficiency.

At its foundation, Teams can be summed up into four main components:

1. Allows users to make voice calls via desktop, mobile or tablet within the Teams environment
2. Allows for video conferencing of up to 250 people internally on Teams and externally by inviting external parties to a meeting as a guest.
3. Allows you to Instant message anyone on your Microsoft Teams environment
4. Allows users to share documents in one environment, which allows for team editing and contribution.

With the right hardware provider and service provider, like Vox, Teams functionality can expand its capability to do the following:

1. Breakout to external parties like Cloud PBX and extend call coverage
2. Enable several thousand people to join a single meeting by allowing video conferencing of up to 250 audio visual meeting rooms through room system integration.

Why Teams? Is Skype for Business not the same thing?

While there are similarities between Teams and Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams expands on the capabilities of Skype for Business. One of the most notable differences is that Teams can transcribe the meetings and translate it into multiple languages. Unlike Skype for Business, Teams also has additional security added to its offer. In fact, Teams is indirectly replacing Skype for Business. Microsoft have already confirmed that Skype for Business online will retire on 31 July 2021.

As a Cloud Unified Communications Platform, Teams will reduce the need for company travel and enhance communication within any organisation no matter the size.

Teams is available on both the Business Essentials and Business Premium License. Enhancements to the product like adding Cloud PBX and video conferencing to rooms is available through Vox. Contact  Gareth or Doug from Vox on  Gareth.Edwards@voxtelecom.co.za or dougm@braintree.co.za to find out more.