Vintage Filings Business Blog

The telephone industry is full of complex-sounding jargon and acronyms, and the term PBX is one of them. While the term might sound like a new form of extreme peanut butter and jelly sandwich or another new daring sport, it actually represents one of the most common business phone systems used by growing companies.

To help end the confusion, my1voice, the small business virtual phone service, sheds light on some of the factors small business owners should consider when selecting a business phone service:

• Defining PBX. Private branch exchange, or PBX, is an equipment-based business phone system that funnels incoming business calls from a single phone number to several phones by way of extensions and call-forwarding.
• Understanding the differences between traditional and virtual PBX. Unlike a traditional PBX system that requires the purchase of equipment, virtual PBX is a, cost-effective service that provides the same kind of functionality as a traditional PBX but while using your existing business telephone lines. This is done without adding any extra equipment. A virtual PBX allows for easy online maintenance and scheduling and can connect calls to any type of phone, whether it is in or outside an office. Other features include auto-attendant, toll-free phone numbers, call-forwarding, extensions, caller ID, call routing and more. Traditional PBX services may offer similar features but with it comes costly new telephone equipment, pricey maintenance and no Web-based features like voicemail to e-mail.
• Lowering the cost to talk. A new, traditional PBX system can cost upwards of $20,000 plus the cost of new phone equipment. A virtual PBX like my1voice costs as little as $10 USD a month with no additional equipment to buy since it works with an existing phone line and phones.
• Bringing a distributed workforce under one phone number. Telecommuters and mobile employees are no different than anyone else in the office to a virtual PBX. Assign extensions for workers outside the main office, link them to a unified phone number and the system will ring the call through, even if they’re across the country. One phone number for an entire virtual office.
• Creating a more professional business persona. While a “boutique image” often speaks to quality, a small business must take care not to look too small. For example, if you’re out of the office but don’t want to miss any calls, you can forward your extension to your mobile phone. Or, you can set up the system to ring specific high-priority numbers (such as your best customers or a vendor) to your phone, without going through the auto-attendant. If you decide to let calls go to voicemail, you can receive voicemail via email rather than waiting to get back to your office to retrieve messages.

Over a quarter of UK employees are so work obsessed they can’t resist using a mobile device such as a laptop in bed before they go to sleep according to a survey released today by CREDANT Technologies. The survey discovered that of those people who do work in bed, 57% do so for between 2 and 6 hours every week. Little wonder that the survey also found that the majority of their bed companions found their partners’ obsession with their mobiles “a very annoying habit.” A staggering 8% of people admitted that they spend more time on their mobile devices during the evening than talking to their partners!

The survey into “Laptop use in bed and the security implications” was conducted amongst 300 city workers who were interviewed to determine whether the UK has become a nation of work obsessed, laptop dependent, key tappers and to highlight the security implications of unsecured mobile devices. Almost half the respondents (44%) admitted they are holding important work documents on their mobile devices of which 54% were not adequately secured with encryption. This will sound alarm bells for the many in-house IT departments who are tasked with trying to secure an ever increasing mobile workforce who are using data on the move and consequently losing more unsecured data than ever before.

Additionally, snooping neighbours or even malicious infiltrators could hack into the devices that are being used in bed, as a fifth of people are not using a secure wireless network as they busily tap away under their duvets.

Michael Callahan, Vice President at Credant Technologies, explains, “This survey confirms that there is a growing population that is no longer restricted by working hours or confined to the office building itself. People are mobile and will work anywhere – even in bed. Therefore, when sensitive and valuable data is being held on these devices and they get lost, it can have pretty detrimental and far-reaching consequences to both the worker and their employer.

“With increasing pressures on companies to comply with regulations, such as the Data Protection Act, we all have to respect our customers and employers by protecting the data held on our mobile devices, wherever we may be.”

The most favoured way to connect to the Internet, and subsequently back to the office, whilst lying in bed is via a wireless network (87%). Disturbingly, almost a fifth of people spoken to are using a wireless network that they know is insecure, with 56% down/uploading company information.

When staying in hotels, people are happy to connect to the hotel’s wireless network, expecting the hotel to ensure it’s secure. 47% admit that they do so without even considering the security implications.

When asked “What is the last thing you do before going to sleep?” it is reassuring to learn that, for 96% of the people questioned, it is kiss their partners goodnight. For the other 4%, (71% of which are male), who confess to completing work and checking their emails, it would be advisable for them to take a long hard look at their gadget obsessed lives.

Five Tips When Engaging In Electronic Pillow Talk

Tip One: If your laptop or mobile device contains important/sensitive data relating to your employer, especially clients’ information, then the data protection act requires it be adequately protected. Ask your IT department to encrypt the mobile device.

Tip Two: Always use a strong password – combining numbers, letters and symbols, to access your device or network. Don’t make exposure easy.

Tip Three: Be aware of all the points of connection and access so you don’t risk disclosure.

Tip Four: Don’t leave your mobile device open to access (e.g. leaving Bluetooth or WiFi turned on) somewhere visible and unsecured.

Tip Five: Finally, use your bedroom for what it’s designed for. And, if you’re not feeling sleepy, your laptop is the last thing you should be turning to!

How is your online marketing efforts going?  The Fournaise Marketing Group has measured that the marketing and advertising campaigns it tracked in offline and online media around the world generated 21% less response from the target audience during the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2008.

Specialised in tracking, measuring and auditing the real-time performance of marketing and advertising campaigns deployed in both traditional and online media, Fournaise used its proprietary marketing effectiveness tracking solutions to measure the ability of its clients’ advertising campaigns to generate tangible and intangible, direct and indirect engagement with their target audience, and therefore their ability to boost the advertisers’ Profit & Loss (P&L) through:
- increase in leads/prospects captured;
- increase in positive target audience conditioning;
- increase in retail traffic; and/or
- increase in sales.

Fournaise tracked that the overall 1Q2009-versus-1Q2008 fall in advertising response in mature markets (such as the US, Europe and Australia) was the highest at 28%, while developing markets like China and India experienced a relatively lower 14% decrease.

“This decrease in marketing and advertising response is very much in line with what’s going on in the world economy right now. Despite the stimulus packages released by the local governments, consumers and businesses in recession-hit countries in Europe, the US and Australia have been tightening their belts and controlling their expenditures, and this makes them much less receptive to the campaigns targeting them” says Jerome Fontaine, CEO & Chief Tracker of Fournaise.

“However for consumers and businesses in relatively less-affected (developing) economies such as China and India, there seems to be much less of a change in their response to the messages pushed by the brands” Fontaine added.

Fournaise revealed that overall, big-ticket item industries seem to be the most hit. The industries for which it tracked an above-21% decrease in target audience response to the advertising campaigns it measured were:
1. Automobile
2. Travel and airlines
3. Financial institutions (including banks, investment and insurance companies)

On the other hand, the industries for which it tracked positive growth in response were retail and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), a sign that the current economic crisis may have a lesser impact on lower value products and services.

Not surprisingly, Fournaise also measured that despite the budget cuts it noticed in the first quarter of 2009 and despite the better deals proposed by media organisations in both mature and developing markets, the average global Marketing Wastage Rate (MWR) it tracked in the first quarter of 2009 reached 61% − a 13% increase compared to the first quarter of 2008.

Some live paycheck to paycheck. Financial uncertainty is the rule, rather than the exception. And all look for ways to stretch their dollars, while maintaining a positive outlook.

Those were some of the stories that emerged Thursday at a series of Intuit Town Hall meetings held at the company’s Mountain View, Calif. headquarters and moderated by personal finance expert and author Farnoosh Torabi.

The 30 participants also shared personal accounts of the recession’s effect on their lives and the steps they are taking to save and make money. With no clear end in sight to the recession, they also received tips and advice from Intuit (Nasdaq:INTU) and Torabi on how to move forward until the inevitable upturn.

“Consumers have been hit hard – losing investments, jobs and even their homes – but our conversations at the Intuit Town Hall revealed there is a silver lining in the downturn,” said Torabi. “While being forced to get creative with finances and maybe even finding an entirely new livelihood, people are connecting more with friends, family and their communities.”

As a result of the Town Hall, Torabi and Intuit recommended seven ways to save money:

• Make just five phone calls. Call your credit card company; ask for a lower rate. Call your insurance company; take advantage of every available discount. Call your cell phone company; check out shared plan savings with family and even friends. Call your college; ask about more financial aid. Call your utilities company; request the latest deal or incentive. It may take several calls, but persistence can produce savings.
• Save six months’ cash for emergency and then spend wisely. Squirrel away enough money to cover at least six months of living expenses for emergencies. And while saving is important, now is actually a good time for some purchases, thanks to low prices and tax breaks. Buying a house, taking a vacation or stocking up on common household goods can be a great bargain. Taking a calculated risk now can bring benefits in the upturn.
• Be open to bartering. The number of listings in the barter section of craigslist jumped 100 percent in the past year. If you have a valuable skill, check if your doctor, hair stylist or plumber will trade your skilled labor in exchange for theirs.
• Join the freelance economy. Whether you’re unemployed or just looking to moonlight for extra cash, know that freelancers are bringing home the bacon. Employers are turning to part-time or contract workers because they are less expensive since they don’t have to pay benefits. Sites like Elance.com or Odesk.com may have freelance work for you.
• Look beyond your regular bank. With the FDIC guaranteeing balances up to $250,000, don’t be afraid to look beyond your regular bank. Consider keeping that cash in online banks or credit unions for higher returns. Compare rates at BankingMyWay.com or Bankrate.com.
• Free money is free money, keep investing in your 401(k). While your 401(k) may feel more like a 201(k), make sure to invest at least as much as your company will match; odds are it will pay off in the long run.
• Go generic. These days, generics are a great value and are typically the same formulas as higher-priced brands. The FDA says that generic drugs have the exact same exact ingredients and effects as brand name versions. From groceries to prescriptions, it’s money in your pocket.

India Small and medium businesses (SMBs or companies with up to 999 employees) are on track to spend US$1.04 billion on networking products and services this year, up by 11% over 2008. Medium businesses (MBs or companies with 100 to 999 employees) will be generating a major portion of this spending accounting for nearly 59% of the total SMB networking expenditure. The growth in networking spending among small businesses (SBs or companies with up to 99 employees) will be spearheaded by wireless networking. The estimated growth level is down amid this current economic slowdown, but is still much better than other geographies. The number of LAN-based businesses for the SMB sector in India will have a marginal growth of 12% in 2009.

New technologies will impact the vendors and the channels that offer networking equipment. “2009 will be a challenging year for the channels, especially the networking channels. Advancements in WAN optimization, hosted unified communications, network access control and wireless 802.11n protocol will help the channels attract the attention of the SMB sector,” says Sumeeta Misra, Research Associate with AMI-Partners.

The market for WAN optimization is expanding, as businesses deploy more robust infrastructures. WAN optimization will help SMBs grow rapidly even during this downturn as it helps improve the network performance without the need to purchase additional, expensive hardware. WAN optimization also helps accelerate applications accessed by network users and improve the speed of massive data transfers. “By deploying such technologies, SMBs are looking at cutting costs, making data protection faster and cheaper, realizing better ROI, thereby reforming the business and preparing it for the future,” says Ms. Misra. The number of WAN-based businesses for India SMBs will show a significant growth of almost 20% in 2009.

The economic slowdown will provide a demand for Hosted Unified Communications and Collaboration solutions by India SMBs. Many vendors have come up with these solutions for the SMB sector to provide them with a cost-effective way of communication. Collaboration is also now spreading across companies between multiple sites, customers and other partners. To achieve this, hosted unified communications and collaboration solutions are on the rise. The structural design supporting this shift is based on the network, and can effectively integrate all network requirements to have a flawless collaboration experience. SMB market is attracted more to on-demand collaboration applications and network-based solutions for delivering a seamless business-to-business partnership. Hosted VoIP is expected to grow at almost 10% in 2009 over 2008.

The shift in the SMB sector towards an Internet-enabled business model has given rise to the adoption of network access control. By having a security doorway at the entrance of a network, allows the administrator to have a comprehensive control over endpoints, with a variety of access methods such as LAN, wireless access methods, remote access and over the WAN. “More and more businesses are turning to the Internet for running their operations. This has resulted in an increased focus on network security,” says Ms. Misra.

This year will also see the start of broad-based adoption of the 802.11n protocol to deploy new wireless applications. The protocol momentum would help organizations better manage and secure access points. Small and medium business in India can invest in technologies that can help them reduce cost and improve their overall performance and getting them to be more competitive. VoIP over Wi-Fi will attract the interest of SMB sector. The most promising technology will be the next generation of Wi-Fi: 802.11n. Verticals like logistics, manufacturing and retail can immediately leverage advanced 802.11n wireless connectivity to provide high performance and reliable wireless control and tracking solutions and will be the early adopters.

The network is becoming more intelligent due to emergence of new technologies like virtualization, embedded software on open platforms and software-as-a-service (SAAS) model. SMBs will show an increased focus on services and applications delivered over a robust network infrastructure.

Research released today by BDO Seidman, has identified general
economic conditions (96%) and credit availability and company indebtedness (93%) as the most common risk factors among the 100 largest public U.S. retailers. While the economy was also cited as a leading factor in 2008, credit and financing jumped from number 11 on the list in 2008 to number two this year, indicating retailers’ acute concerns over their access to financing. Seventy four percent of retailers identified consumer confidence and spending as a leading risk, which was up from 58 percent in 2008, reinforcing retailers’ dependence on consumer sentiment. Certain risk factors such as competition and consolidation (#3) and impediments to expansion (#11) dropped in importance from 2008 showing that retailers are less focused on growth in the difficult economic climate.

“When consumers stop spending and retail sales fall, banks become increasingly concerned about lending to retailers,” said Doug Hart, a Partner in the Retail and Consumer Product Practice at BDO Seidman, LLP. “In order for retailers to improve their credit standing, they either have to reduce costs, leading to layoffs; or increase sales, which is dependent on consumer spending. On a positive note, there are some bright spots on the horizon that may signal an end to the cycle. An increase in consumer confidence in April, along with incoming tax refunds, may bode well for consumer spending and the greater economy.”

These are just a few of the findings in The 2009 BDO Seidman RiskFactor Report for Retail Businesses. The report examined the risk factors listed in the most recent SEC filings of the largest 100 publicly traded U.S. retailers; the factors were analyzed and ranked by order of frequency cited.

The following is the list of the Top 20 Risk Factors of the 100 Largest U.S. Retailers:

*This ranking has been amended to include breakout statistics for consumer confidence and debt levels

Further findings in the 2009 BDO Seidman RiskFactor Report for Retail Businesses:

• General Economic Conditions. Of the 96 percent of retailers that cited general economic conditions as a concern, financial market turmoil was most frequently cited (97%) followed by energy and oil (69%), unemployment (62%), interest rates (50%), inflation/deflation (33%), and the housing market (31%). In 2008, of the 82 percent of retailers that cited general economic concern, energy and oil was highlighted most frequently (75%), followed by interest rates (55%), unemployment (53%), financial market turmoil (43%), inflation (37%) and the housing market (23%).
• Consumer Confidence Comeback to Boost Spending? The Conference Board reported an increase in consumer confidence from 26.9 in March to 39.2 in April. While still low, any boost in consumer confidence may have a correlative impact on spending – which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity; this may provide some relief for the 74 percent of retailers that cite consumer confidence and spending as a concern.
• Acute Sensitivity to Consumer Pain. Forty-nine percent of retailers showed increasing concern over consumer credit and/or debt levels, up from 26 percent in 2008. Since 63 percent are paying attention to general trends and demand, an increase from 45 percent who cited it as a concern last year, retailers are likely to adjust their merchandising plans to recognize changes in consumer sentiment.
• Retailers React to Fewer Shoppers. With fewer consumers hitting the stores, balancing inventory levels and having the right promotional strategy is crucial. Forty-one percent of retailers cite maintaining inventory levels as a risk for 2009, which is a big jump from 22 percent last year. The number of retailers concerned over promotions and the dissemination of consumer information increased even more drastically – 42 percent of retailers cited it as a concern in 2009, compared to 19 percent last year.
• Regulatory Risk. More than half (66%) of retailers declared that changes in federal, state and local regulations may impact their bottom line. Some reports specifically cite changes in: tax, wages and hours, consumer credit, privacy and information security laws. Also, slightly more than one third (44%) percent of the retailers state that accounting standards presented risk, up from 36 percent last year. These concerns are likely driven by fear that increased government spending and regulation may result in higher taxes to retailers and consumers.
• Privacy Pressures. Since retailers store consumer data to focus marketing efforts, they remain wary about cyber security. Forty-six percent of retailers cite consumer data security breaches as a concern, up from 40 percent last year.

Endeca Technologies announced findings of a survey conducted last week at Endeca’s European eBusiness Forum where more than 150 business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) eCommerce executives gathered to explore how search applications can drive traffic, increase page views, and lift conversion rates, as well as connect people to the right information when and where they need it. Survey results suggest that commerce businesses can attract more customers and boost their bottom lines over the next twelve months by providing a more personalized online experience.

Executives from leading organizations including The Guardian, Haymarket Media Group, Kiddicare.com, Premier Farnell, RS Components, and Trader Media Group attended this two-day event focused on industry trends and best practices to achieve online business success. The eBusiness Forum Survey revealed that nearly 75 percent of respondents agree that designing a personalized user experience drives revenue, customer loyalty, and site traffic. Almost 60 percent predict that search engine marketing (SEM) and content spotlighting will be major focus areas for their eBusiness strategy for the next twelve months.

“Our survey results validate what we hear from our customers and prospects every day. In a world of web search, aggregators, and global competition, companies must differentiate their online presence,” said Jason Purcell, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Management, Endeca. “These firms need innovative technology that easily integrates with current infrastructures to support the creativity of the business. We help our customers build the search applications they need to access content of all kinds, and help them to continue to build on this investment year after year.”

Palo Alto Networks just released an industry study which reveals that legacy security products are not controlling users’ applications of choice within the enterprise, despite more than $6B spent annually on these products.

These are results of the company’s third Application Usage and Risk Report, a semi-annual analysis of application usage on enterprise networks. Unlike other industry reports that are based on behavioral surveys, Palo Alto Networks’ usage report looks at which applications are in use, identifies emerging trends, and discusses the associated business risks or benefits. Made available today, this edition of the report summarizes traffic assessments of nearly 900,000 users across more than 60 large organizations that span markets including financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, government, retail and education.

Despite the fact that every organization in the study was equipped with a legacy firewall and 87 percent had one or more additional controls such as a proxy, an IPS or URL filtering, the sample was unable to have visibility into, nor control of, application traffic. Examples from the report include:

• An average of six peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing applications were found in 92 percent of the sample networks – with some organizations having as many as 17 variants. Common examples included Xunlei, BitTorrent and GnuNet.
• Browser-based file sharing was found in 76 percent of the organizations, with an average of five variants. The most common examples were YouSendIt!, MegaUpload and MediaSpace.
• In nearly every organization, applications that enable users to bypass security controls (public proxies, encrypted tunnels, remote desktop control) were found.

Today’s applications are built for accessibility using standard features that enable them to automatically slip through security controls. The analysis shows that more than half of the nearly 500 unique applications found enable accessibility by hopping ports or using port 80 or 443 (typically open to enable web browsing or SSL traffic).

In addition to the business and security risks that the lack of visibility over these applications poses, applications also consume an organization’s bandwidth at a significant rate. From the report, more than half of the bandwidth was being consumed by 28 percent of the applications, most of which were consumer oriented.

“The findings in this report are significant, especially when you consider these tough economic times and the money organizations are spending on security products which are not working,” said Lane Bess, President and CEO of Palo Alto Networks. “It’s clear that applications and threats have evolved and legacy firewall technology has not kept up. Administrators need a security infrastructure that does more than look at ports and protocols to provide the visibility and control necessary to fully protect their networks.”

When it comes to many of the challenges the U.S. faces today, whether it is a stalled automobile industry, an ailing education system or expensive medical costs, a majority of consumers believe advanced technology could be the answer. Consumers are looking to technology to improve their lives and want very practical applications to solve their current problems.

With regard to the advanced technology, more specifically:

• Almost three-quarters of Americans (73%) believe that investing in innovation and advanced technology sciences in education is the key to the country’s long term success;
• Consumers also send a strong message to the U.S. automobile industry to invest in hybrids and alternative fuels, as seven in ten Americans (71%) said not only an investment but a leadership role in these technologies could mean survival for our auto industry;
• Seven in ten adults (71%) believe that travel costs for businesses could be cut if technology such as video conferencing were better utilized; and,
• Other ideas that are widely supported are the use of technology to produce “green products and services” (67%) and to manage medical records and patient care (67%).

Some practical applications of high tech

Advanced technology is particularly valuable when it is practical. Looking at several advanced wireless, mobile device applications that are just entering the marketplace or will be introduced in the near future one area explored was traffic and transportation usage. Over a quarter of consumers (28%) strongly or very strongly liked the idea of using GPS technology to balance and monitor traffic to determine the most effective routes in real time for an effective transportation system.

About one-third of consumers (31%) indicated they would be highly interested in purchasing mobile, wireless devices to monitor their car in real time, advising them of developing problems and even updating engine software to keep their car running at peak performance – essentially a mobile tune up.

Considering the importance of the cell phone in many people’s lives, it is no surprise that 27% of consumers very strongly or strongly like the idea of controlling home systems or appliances from a mobile device and it should be encouraging to many wireless service providers that are in the process of or poised to roll out their next generation networks that 26% of consumers very strongly or strongly like a 4G wireless network that could provide seamless voice, Internet, and entertainment to their homes and mobile devices. On the other side of the equation, seemingly unable to put privacy aside, two in five (40%) of Americans say they would not like it at all if their doctor could monitor their vital signs in real time using a mobile device.

Many people have reservations about high tech

Looking at the other side of the coin, many Americans have reservations about the impact of high technology on our lives. Three in five Americans (61%) do not believe technology that enables people to be more mobile makes people more productive. Also, two-thirds of Americans (65%) agree that society is too dependent on electronics and electronic gadgets. Surprisingly perhaps, there is also no age divide. Fully 58% of Echo Boomers (those aged 18-32) say mobile technology does not make Americans more productive while almost three-quarters (72%) of Echo Boomers believe that society is too dependent of electronics and electronic gadgets.

So What?

While many Americans indicate they do not believe mobile technology enables people to be more productive, the solution may be to make the devices easier to use. Under half of Americans (46%) say they only use about half of the features and functionality of their technology devices. It might be that the productivity gains people are seeking are offered by an application or function they have never used or considered.