Midland Communications Launches Program to Help Local Businesses Go “Green”

Midland Communications, an industry leader in unified communications, announced today that the company is launching a program to help businesses in their efforts to go “green”. The latest advancements in communications technology have enabled companies to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint, while at the same enhance employee productivity and increase operational efficiency. Midland Communications has made a strategic business decision to highlight the types of technology that impact the environment and the community in a positive manner. The objective is to bring awareness to technology that supports business processes resulting in an organization’s pursuit to become environmentally friendly.
“Lowering an organization’s carbon footprint not only makes sense for the environment, but it also makes perfect business sense,” said Jason Smith, Sales Manager of Midland Communications. “The world has a fixed amount of natural resources - some of which are already depleted. So as population growth greatly strains our finite resources, there are fewer available. By making the right “green” decisions companies have the ability to reduce cost, retain and hire better people, and save time. As a company we are passionate about technology and the huge difference it can make, not only on our environment but also in our lives as well. “Green” technologies are proven to work and are being used by companies around the world. Unfortunately, most small to mid-sized businesses are not familiar with it and don’t even realize how to proceed. It is our job to show them the way.”

Midland Communications has been helping companies go “green” for quite some time through a host of technologies. For example, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) plays a critical role in giving businesses the ability to deploy a remote workforce. Unlike regular phone service, VoIP conversations are transformed into digital information and sent over a broadband data network. VoIP calls connect to a server where voice information is truncated into packets and sent across the Internet bypassing the long distance carrier altogether. This essentially means that VoIP callers do not use traditional phone lines and can avoid expensive long-distance charges. Most importantly, this technology enables companies to create a “virtual office” anywhere they want. Employees have access to their company’s LAN and can conduct business as if they were physically on site. “With commute times ever increasing, the cost of gas and harmful emissions, implementing a telecommuting company policy makes sound business sense,” added Mr. Smith.
In addition, IP video conferencing is a phenomenal technology that has recently experienced significant advancements making its adoption cost effective for small to mid-sized businesses. As the costs of both video conferencing and high speed Internet access continue to fall, video conferencing systems are being used more extensively than ever. IP video conferencing eliminates the need for many traditional face-to-face meetings. This not only impacts energy but also reduces travel costs and employee time associated with long business trips. Furthermore, communications manufacturers are including video monitors in office phones so on the fly meetings occur through ease of use and immediacy.

Fax machines have been around for years; however, today there is a better way of transferring critically important documents. Fax to email eliminates the need for a fax machine altogether, thus, reducing the need for physical hardware, paper, ink, and the energy utilized to run it. Email faxing is more efficient because it enables one to forward, archive, or delete the fax. Plus, it better supports the virtual office environment.
“As consumers become more environmentally conscious and energy costs continue to rise, businesses are rapidly adopting environmentally friendly business practices,” commented Mr. Smith. “Many business owners fear it’s too costly to adopt eco-friendly practices; however, small investments can reap large gains. Green practices can save money, while creating happier customers and a healthier community. Communications technology is an area where everybody wins and we’re excited about educating our customers on this topic.”

New Technology and Innovative Programs Benefit Companies Even More During an Economic Downturn

Whether you think we’re in a recession or not the fact of the matter is the economy has experienced a dramatic downturn. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), economic growth in the United States is expected to slow to a crawl of just 0.5% this year, which would mark the worst pace in 17 years. The United States won't fare much better next year either. The IMF projected the U.S. economy will grow by a feeble 0.6% in 2009.
With a recession comes a weeding out process in the business world. Those companies with the right people, making the right decisions, and implementing the right strategies will come out of the recession with flying colors while those that do the opposite will be a distant memory. With the advent of new communications technology and the gaining popularity of innovative programs with the sole purpose of increasing profitability and giving competitive advantage the impact of a recession will be significantly reduced for those businesses that adopt these solutions. As a result, they will have a higher probability of survival and eventual success.

One of the most basic business 101 concepts says – why pay cash for a depreciating asset. Just like driving a new car off the lot, the minute your business implements new technology it becomes outdated. Cash is king, especially during a recession so why would any organization dump thousands of dollars up front in owning technology. It just doesn’t make sense. The method of buying technology on a lease agreement is not new; however, subtle changes have been made that eliminate technology’s two greatest risks – obsolescence and price (also known as outright ownership). Midland Communications’ Current Technology Assurance Plan (C-TAP) ensures that the communications environments are refreshed with the latest advancements and value added solutions, thereby eliminating technology’s obsolescence. For instance, updates (also known as refresh) to a company’s voice and data system can occur anytime after 24 months with no change in their monthly payment.

Furthermore, C-TAP focuses on the cost of technology rather than its price, thus eliminating the second risk. The cost is a known entity and customers on C-TAP never receive another invoice. Because of C-TAP, companies are able to transfer technology costs from a capital expense to a fixed monthly expense absorbed by an organization’s operating budget. This enhances the financial health from both tax and budgeting standpoints.
Luckily, recent advancements in communications technology that have only scratched the surface in market penetration such as SIP Trunking will also help companies minimize the effects of a recession. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) raises the bar of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications by adding intelligence to business processes and providing companies with greater control over their communications. In simple terms, SIP supports any form of real-time communication regardless of whether the content is voice, video, instant messaging, or a collaboration application.

Many companies have made the transition to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) based phone systems; however, most are only using it for communication on the LAN. In this scenario VoIP is only being used as a one-to-one replacement for traditional telephony. These businesses realize a sound return on investment by lowering administrative costs as well as costs associated with calls made within the company. SIP trunking, on the other hand, provides a greater return because it takes VoIP a step further. For instance, full potential for IP communications can be realized only when communication is taken outside of an organization’s LAN. SIP trunks thus eliminate the need for local PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) gateways, costly BRIs (Basic Rate Interfaces) or PRIs (Primary Rate Interfaces). Furthermore, it directly operates with existing IP PBXs so there is no need for additional hardware.
A third area that will greatly benefit companies especially during recession is in managed network services. Essentially, managed services was designed to assist companies in maintaining and supporting their network, IT infrastructure, and phone system. Types of services may include remote network monitoring and reporting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, firewall monitoring, intrusion detection, patch assessment and vulnerability scanning, preventative tasks, disaster recovery, data backup and regular performance analysis.

Outsourcing the support of a company’s network has a number of unique benefits. First and foremost, experts in the field analyze the network to develop a complete game plan. Modeling and simulation tools assess current network traffic and evaluate the performance of desired enhancements and upgrades to determine the most appropriate solution before implementation. The end result is a custom designed system that supports future growth and change through flexible and scalable network environments. Why pay one or more full time in-house IT professionals and all of the loaded costs that come with it when this function can be outsourced saving your business thousands of dollars each year?

A recession is a time where companies need to think about how to do business differently. It requires solid answers to a number of mission critical issues such as why own a depreciating asset, why utilize antiquated technology when new solutions can provide increased profits and a competitive advantage, and why manage something in-house when it has nothing to do with your core competency. The previously mentioned solutions provide an arsenal that will help attack the recession head on and in the end propel your company ahead of its competition.