Nex-Tech Blog | Technology Tips and Tricks | Industry News

If there’s anything for certain in IT, it’s that things are uncertain. Computers crash, software doesn’t work as it should, and small problems can easily derail your day to zero productivity. When that happens, the way that you respond can be the difference between a minor hiccup and a full- blown business interruption. What if you could catch and address those issues before they become a big deal? Wouldn’t it be great if that happened automatically, without you even having to get involved? This might sound too good to be true, but that is actually exactly what a Remote Monitoring and Management tool can do for you!

The use of electronic access control is gaining popularity as an approach to aid businesses in securing their facilities.  Access control has been in place since the invention of the mechanical key to keep people secured or locked out of areas.  Just like everything else, technology now plays a large role in today’s access control by eliminating the need to deploy physical metal keys through the use of electronic locking solutions.  Today’s systems allow detailed control over the physical security of the business by controlling who has access to the building, which doors they have access to, and at what times they can access that door.

Shared-usage of computing resources, better known as virtualization, has been a technology staple for a long time.  Back in the 1960’s, IBM developed a system to time-share their mainframe computing power to their customers.  IBM posited that their mainframe resources could see more efficient use if they could spread those resources to many different clients at the same time.  From those beginnings at IBM, virtualization has grown, but the basic principles remain the same.  Virtualization is simply the process of creating a software version of what was once a physical piece of hardware.  Virtualization encompasses servers, storage, networks, and even PCs.  The rationale for virtualization also remains the same in that it gives the benefits of reducing capital costs, minimizes downtime, increases efficiency, provisions faster, and simplifies management of resources.

I am asked many times what Tech Edge is all about and the vision is very simple. To connect people with technology and give them an edge over their competition.

You may know by now I am a huge gadget fan and the IoT (Internet of Things) has fueled my gadget bug. From ChromeCast to the Nest Thermostat, I find it all fun to play with and there are some real advantages to the smart home. Until recently, I didn’t see the value to business. It was pointed out to me that the advantages of IoT not only can save businesses time and money, they can make a customer experience better or save lives.

It seems that I have recently run into a lot of people who say they are too busy to get anything done at work or at home. While at the conference,  I had the benefit of seeing a presentation from Hardin Byars, a business coach and leader, that addressed this and gave a simple diagram that I think can help a lot of these people.

I sometimes refer to my role within Nex-Tech as a firefighter.  We all have those days where we feel like a firefighter, working from one issue to another putting out fires.  Don’t get me wrong, these aren’t always fires, but issues customers may have that I can assist them with.

It was nearly 20 years ago and I had just started with Nex-Tech, or at that time Rural Telephone Service.  While touring one of our central offices, I was introduced to Ed.  Ed was a seasoned Central Office Tech that had been with the company for what I believed forever.  With a strong German accent, he told stories of “back in da day”.

Ethernet emerged in the 1980s and 1990s as the de facto layer 2 protocol for LAN networks but distance restrictions, technology limitation, and customer traffic primarily composed of voice services limited Ethernet expansion as a WAN network service.  However, 21^st century has shifted primary WAN traffic from voice services to packet-based data services which has led to new implementations and standardizations of technologies and protocols by organizations - International Telecommunications Union-Telecommunication Standards Bureau (ITU-T), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) - to support the increasing demand of packet-based data services including VoIP, video services, wireless backhaul, and data center interconnect.  This has led to the 21^st century emergence of Ethernet as a viable carrier service based on the protocol’s capabilities of supporting packet-based data services and the reduction of limitations when integrating Ethernet on a WAN. To further reduce the complexity of Ethernet integrated services on the WAN, Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) was formed as a global industry alliance with a mission to accelerate the worldwide adoption of Carrier-class Ethernet networks and services.  The MEF distinguishes Carrier Ethernet (CE) services from traditional LAN-based Ethernet services based on five attributes:

If you’re like most independent telephone companies investing to deliver bigger and better broadband services, you may also be seeing special access revenue slowly replaced with Virtual Private Network Service (VPNs) over Internet, or even point to point wireless service.  This has been a common challenge within the industry, as many cost recovery Telco’s only have Interstate Tariff’s and investing into their networks may be driving rates higher.  As these rates climb, it pushes IT personnel from local banks, hospitals and businesses to give up their reliable T1 or Ethernet Transport Services (ETS) to less expensive VPN over Internet service.