The internet offers any business the opportunity to present a commercial image independent of the organisation's size and location. Small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) across the UK have exploited the internet as it has evolved from an interesting medium for the technology-aware to an essential commercial platform. With this increasing importance, and the internet's ability to extend the reach of a business, it is valuable to realise precisely what different internet service providers (ISPs) offer before buying. This includes evaluating service level and support capabilities and understanding how these vary throughout the UK. ...
26/11/2008 | Soaring across the regions - full size2.pdf | VIEW
The internet has grown rapidly from a random collection of mainly academic networks and military control and routing protocols into a global, integrated and sophisticated commercial utility. No longer simply an ‘Information Superhighway', it has extended to embrace voice telephony, video and mobile communications as part of a converged network. Connection options and services have expanded, with opportunities for internet service providers (ISPs) to add value beyond simply forwarding bit and bytes. This report explores the challenges and opportunities these companies face and takes a look at how their industry might evolve. ...
25/09/2008 | ZyXEL ISP report standard.pdf | VIEW
Even when facing challenging economic times, businesses still need to communicate and rely on technology to connect with customers, partners, suppliers and their own employees. Cutting back on communications spending will have a negative effect in a long downturn. It will leave any business that does so with fewer options when conditions improve and at a disadvantage compared to competitors that continue to invest. However, there are 10 steps that can be taken to grow the value and use of communications, while controlling costs. ...
08/08/2008 | Comms efficiency final.pdf | VIEW
Over the past decade the internet has evolved from a technical environment into a commercial marketplace. The impact on consumers and large enterprises has been significant, but what about the small and medium sized business? With few of the skills and resources of their larger counterparts, these organisations need to get the best value from the internet and the network based services it enables, without risking day-to-day operations. Although employees will be increasingly aware of the options for connecting to the internet as consumers, this does not readily translate into the right knowledge for how to select the most appropriate alternatives from internet service providers for the business they work for. ...
29/05/2008 | Soaring not Surfing_optimised.pdf | VIEW
When faced with what appear to be insurmountable challenges, what are the options? Think about Keith Waterhouse's challenged hero Billy Liar, agonising about the future with his (favourite) girlfriend. He said he turned over a new leaf every day, but the blots still showed through. She said he was like a child on the edge of a paddling pool, wanting to step in but afraid to take the plunge. So he thought he should turn over a new paddling pool. ...
16/02/2009 | Thinking outside of the paddling pool.pdf | VIEW
As client-server technology developed through the early 1990s, it became clear that there was a problem. While workstations and PCs could make users more productive, and their use of computers more enjoyable, many of the most important applications, and the data associated with them, resided on proprietary mainframe computers. To make client-server really useful it needed to be linked in with these legacy applications. ...
09/02/2009 | The value of automated web reading.pdf | VIEW
Wide areas networks (WANs) are essential to the majority of businesses, connecting remote locations and individuals back to centralised IT resources. But as the network is expected to handle more bandwidth intensive applications such as voice and video it is essential to ensure the WAN usage is well managed - eliminating unwanted traffic and accelerating business content ...
04/06/2007 | Quocirca_-_Faster_WANs_-_June_2007.pdf | VIEW
The personal mobile channel in every consumer's pocket. In a shrinking world where individuals have more choices in almost any aspect of their lives than ever before, and more ways to communicate with each other and the world at large, the bonds and inertia that held consumers and employees loyal to their suppliers and employers have disappeared. Markets are fragmenting, industries are converging, and relationships are more dynamic and fragile. So how do organisations build a connection and maintain an ongoing dialogue with their current and future customers? ...
11/12/2006 | mobile_market_paper.pdf | VIEW
The best way to get reliable performance out of a wide area network (WAN) is to install your own high-speed gigabit fibre optic cables between all the locations in your organisation. This could provide seemingly unlimited bandwidth for your employees to use the applications they like and not have to think twice about the volume of content they send around the network. ...
17/07/2007 | Speeding up the net - is it possible.pdf | VIEW
Digital Britain is the UK government’s strategic vision for the UK digital economy. While social inclusion and rights protection are major themes, the plans will also have a significant impact on businesses. In stimulating investment in faster and more pervasive broadband access, Digital Britain will encourage the distribution and virtualisation of functions within businesses and further interconnectivity between organisations, their customers, suppliers and employees, wherever they are located. Businesses need to be aware that this will affect security and risk, and they should be taking steps now to minimise any harmful impact. ...
01/10/2009 | sonicwall final Oct.pdf | VIEW
