Training Information for Business Telecommunication System – Helpful or Horrifying?

Anyone who has worked in a business with a professional telecommunication system knows that these systems occasionally experience technical issues. From having to program the phone for the first time to reprogramming the phones for new staff to general troubleshooting, I think most people who have had to deal with those issues would agree… Telecommunication system manufacturers’ handbooks and training materials can be pretty scary.


As an example, I met an office manager whose office has an old Merlin system or something (it was a system that I had never heard of at the time I was speaking to her) and she was talking about how frustrating it is to have small issues with that Merlin system arise. The reason was that whenever something small and seemingly easy to troubleshoot happened, she would go to the admin phone and follow the directions in the manual to get her desired result. She said that it appeared as if something different happened each time she performed the same function on that admin phone and eventually, she would just give up and call in the IT person.

There is no good reason why it should work that way… Training materials and manuals should be straightforward tools that help you get the job done without having to call your IT person to come out (and charge you for the visit) for basic functions on your system. Good news! Here at Phones Plus, our training department is coming up with innovative (and best of all simple!) training tools and quick reference guides to help our Toshiba and Zultys customers through the basic functions of their telecommunication system. I have seen the material myself and I think it is going to change the way our customers view their telecommunication systems – they will no longer be this huge challenge to manage and work with. Instead, there will be understandable material that showcases how easy making simple changes to your phones can really be. Don’t get me wrong, for the big stuff it is still a good idea to have an IT person on standby, however there is a lot that you can do for yourself too.

So, what does one do if they are not our customer, or do not have a Toshiba or Zultys system in their office? Well, jump on the bandwagon friends! These are great phones, great platforms and if you already have a Toshiba or Zultys system in place, you can make us your authorized retailer and you will get the training materials along with access to great Partnership Programs to protect your investment. For more information on anything in this blog, please contact Phones Plus, Inc. at 262-784-2311 today and we will be happy to help you out with all of your business telecommunication needs!

Data Backup and Recovery

You can never be too careful when dealing with data that needs to stay safe and secure, but also at your fingertips in the office. What happens if your computers crash or if someone breaks in and steals equipment from your office? Where is that data going to end up in the long run? In the hands of some hacker that is going to find every way in the book to use that information to not only steal from you, but from your loyal customer base as well? It has been published that 70% of businesses that suffer a serious data loss are out of business within just 2 years… You don’t want that to be you, right?

So, what can you do to protect this ever important data from being lost or stolen from your office? You can certainly handle it yourself… Taking care of data backup the “old school” way – using tapes that need to be changed out sometimes several times in a day. You have to assign someone to handle the upkeep of the tapes so you are sure that you aren’t losing any data along the way. Then, there is the storage issue. Where do you keep them? Offsite - so they are perhaps safer, but then it will take longer to retrieve the data if your system goes down. You could keep them onsite, but that kind of defeats the purpose in terms of safety if there is a break in.

I would propose that you find a solution that would store all of the data for you both onsite and offsite. It should be an automatic storage system so you don’t have to worry about changing tapes. There should be ample storage and you should have the option of longer term data retention – maybe even up to a year? This should all be affordable and should provide you with a minimum amount of time that you have to live without critical information in your office.

Great news! Just such a solution exists! Phones Plus has recently partnered with Do IT Smarter, a company that specializes in data backup and recovery with several options that can limit your downtime to just minutes by using a virtual server. They will manage your data backup for you and you can store your data for up to a year using this solution. I have attached the specs for their different solutions and for more information you should contact Phones Plus at 262-784-2311. Thank you and have a great week!

Sorry, the excel sheet doesn't lend itself to a blog post - for a better copy, please get in touch and I will be happy to e-mail it to you so it makes more sense.

Aurora Series

A150 A500 A1000 A2000 A3000 A5000 A10000

Storage Capacity 150GB 500GB 1TB 2TB 3TB 5TB 10TB

Storage Configuration 1x 500 GB HD 1x 1TB HD 2x 1 TB RAID 1, 1 TB OS Drive 3x 1 TB RAID 5, 1 TB OS Drive 6x 1 TB RAID 10, 1 TB OS Drive 10x 1 TB RAID 10, 1 TB OS Drive 12x 1 TB RAID 6, 1 TB RAID 1 OS Drive

Processor 2.8 Ghz 64 Bit, AMD Dual Core 2.8 Ghz 64 Bit, AMD Dual Core 2.8 Ghz 64 Bit, AMD Quad Core 2.8 Ghz 64 Bit, Intel Quad Core 2.8 Ghz 64 Bit, Intel Quad Core 2 X 2.6 Ghz 64 Bit, Intel Quad Core 2 X 2.6 Ghz 64 Bit, Intel Quad Core

Memory 4GB 8GB 8GB 12GB 16GB 24GB 36GB

Gigabit Ethernet 1 2 2 2 4 4 4

Form Factor MicroATX Tower MicroATX Tower MicroATX Tower 2U Rack Mount 2U Rack Mount 3U Rack Mount 3U Rack Mount

# of machines that can be backud up 1 Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited

Simultanious VMs 1 2-3 2-3 3-6 4-8 8-12 8-12

Server Licenses included 1 2 2 2 4 6 6

G & Z Series

G/Z 250 Z 500 GR/ZR 500 Z 1000 GR / ZR 1000

Storage Capacity 250 GB 500 GB 500 GB 1TB 1TB

Storage Configuration 1x 250GB 1x 500GB 2x 500GB RAID 1 1x 1TB 2x 1TB RAID 1

Processor 1.5 Ghz VIA 1.5 Ghz VIA 1.5 Ghz VIA 1.5 Ghz VIA 1.5 Ghz VIA

Memory 1GB 1GB 1GB 1GB 1GB

Gigabit Ethernet 2 Ports 2 Ports 2 Ports 2 Ports 2 Ports

Form Factor Mini ITX Mini ITX Mini ITX Mini ITX Mini ITX

GX Series

GX2000 GX3000 GX4000 GX5000

Storage Capacity 2TB 3TB 4TB 5TB

Storage Configuration 3x 1TB RAID 5 4x 1TB RAID 5 5x 1TB RAID 5 6x 1TB RAID 5

Processor Dual 2.6 Ghz Dual 2.6 Ghz Dual 2.6 Ghz Dual 2.6 Ghz

Memory 2GB 2GB 4GB 4GB

Gigabit Ethernet 3 Ports 3 Ports 4 Ports 4 Ports

Form Factor 2U Rack Mount 2U Rack Mount 2U Rack Mount 2U Rack Mount

Product Comparison

G Series GX Series Z Series Aurora Series

On-Site Backup √ √ √ √

Off-Site Backup √ √ √ √

Windows Domain Support √ √ √ √

Free US Based Technical Support √ √ √ √

3 Year Hardware Warranty √ √ √ √

No Incidental Fees √ √ √ √

No Recovery Fees √ √ √ √

FTP Access to Off-Site Data √ √ √ √

Centralized Management Console √ √ √ √

Free Roundtrip Seed Drive √ √ √ √

Free Data Recovery Service √ √ √ √

Point to Point Replication Optional Optional Optional Optional

1 Year Off-Site Daily Data Archiving √ √

Bare Metal Restore Capable Optional Optional Optional √

Installation Service Optional Optional Optional Optional

Daily Monitoring and Management Optional Optional Optional √

Secure Linux Based OS √ √ √

On-Site Virtualization Capabilities √

Off-Site Virtualization Capabilities √

Instant Virtualization √

Exchange Message Level Recovery √

Data Deduplication √

Granular Sharepoint Recovery √

Advanced Off-Site Image Verification √

Unattended Virtualization √

Why the holdup?????

Hey there everyone...  You may be wondering why we are stalling on posting any new information lately.  The answer is simple - we are currently working on a "for dummies" series of posts.  These will be posts that deal with decoding some of the tech-talk you have probably heard and perhaps don't understand.  This is not so much a "for dummies" as it will be a "for the rest of us" series and we hope you will find it helpful!
So, please be patient while we are working on translating things into a format that is easily understood and we will be back in the phone booth again before you know it!  Thanks!

Phones Plus, Inc. Offers Innovative Data Backup Solutions to Protect Their Customers' Critical Information

Region’s Leading Unified Communications Provider Supports Business Continuity Planning While Enhancing Peace of Mind Among Small to Mid-sized Companies

NEW BERLIN, WI — June 24, 2010 — Phones Plus, Inc., an industry leader in unified communications, announced today that the company is offering innovative, off-site, data back up solutions to protect their customers’ critical information. In an effort to enhance business continuity planning among the region’s small to mid-sized companies, Phones Plus, Inc. provides owners with the peace of mind, knowing that their valuable information is continually backed up in the event of a natural disaster, power outage, or virus attack.

More than ever before, today’s market is pressing owners to reexamine the threats that could cause business interruption. According to an information security breaches survey conducted by DTI/PriceWaterhouse, 70% of businesses that suffer a serious data loss are out of business in 2 years. Many risks are unavoidable but technological advances have created a way for businesses to continue to run smoothly, even in the midst of uncertainty.

Organizations of all sizes are generating and depending on larger amounts of data that must be readily available and easily accessible. Consequently, companies have to effectively manage more infrastructure resources, including servers, networks, and storage, to ensure data is protected in a timely manner while at the same time providing adequate performance and capacity and securing data for access when needed. Unfortunately, the archaic data backup method for most companies is to backup vital information on a data tape and let an employee such as an IT manager take it home for safe keeping. Today’s latest technology enables the backup of information to take place on the “cloud” instead of servers on-site. Therefore, if an event should occur the business can keep running as if nothing happened.

“The concept of business continuity is experiencing a growth in popularity, and experts are attributing this primarily to its simplicity,” Thomas Sodemann, Vice President of Phones Plus. “As a business owner, operating without a data backup solution in place is simply a risk I would not be willing to take. The pace of today’s business environment is faster than it has ever been, and business owners cannot afford to lose their valuable data. In my opinion, it’s like driving over 100mph without wearing a seatbelt,” commented Sodemann.

All businesses face a certain degree of risk, but most intelligent business owners are looking to eliminate unnecessary risks as well as uncertainty. Disaster recovery solutions provide business owners with a safety net that enables organizations to get back up and running before anyone notices that there was a slip-up. Whether a natural disaster, virus attack or power outage, remote data backup provides businesses with the assurance that they will be able to compete in today’s markets.

ABOUT PHONES PLUS, INC.

Since 1981, Phones Plus has committed to establishing lasting business relationships with our clients. Phones Plus offers innovative voice, video, and data networking solutions that increase our clients’ profitability and gives them a competitive advantage in their marketplace.

Phones Plus recognizes the critical need for a communications company that combines leading technology with top-quality service and support.

Our mission is to provide exceptional value through managed services that eliminate technological obsolescence, ensure a fixed cost for our business partners, and maximize the profits, productivity, image, and competitive advantage of those partners. Highly trained and motivated professionals give you measurable results.