Cloud Trends We Love!

The Cloud is only getting better; making business more flexible, optimal for growth, and secure. We have plenty of products and services to choose from, but here’s a couple trends we feel confident about this year.

#1) IT services, such as IT HelpDesk feel like everyday support in an organization. These IT services enable an IT employee, or department to tackle bigger projects other than the minutiae of daily hassles. And it makes the smaller details much easier. The daily hassles can also be formulated into analytics and data to assist IT with these duties. If a smaller sized company is without an IT department, Cloud IT services can certainly function as one.
The capacity to expand lies within the utilization of Cloud IT services.

#2) Hybrid Cloud…an feasible option for many businesses. One foot in the cloud and one foot on the ground. It’s come with a “playing it safe” stigma in the past, but it is now openly accepted as the right path for some organizations. There are solutions and services built to support this model. Everything is always in transition. Even for companies that want to be “all-in” when it comes to cloud adoption, it’s not always possible. Other organizations prefer it that way. Cloud technology makes it possible.

Help Desk Does More For The IT Department!

Matrix’ Help Desk Frees Up The IT Department
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Designed to help your business reach the next level seamlessly, we offer you a solution by Matrix to help with tasks that overwhelm the IT Department. Its like having your own IT department you can trust to keep you operational.

Their Help Desk product is a stand-alone product to help ease the burden of adds, moves, changes, lost passwords, login assistance & more from the IT Department.

This allows them to focus on the bigger projects essential to keeping the network running smooth and efficient.

*Matrix offers several Cloud service solutions!

When Leaders Fail…

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Our latest on Linked In: A study from John Hopkins found that only 2% of American hospitals let patients know when they’ve made a mistake. To say our society leaves no room for error, whether you now about them or not, is an understatement and actually discouraging.

Failure is one of those words we like to stay away from at a safe distance. As a leader, we feel the pressure to have it all together 100% of the time and have all the answers 100 out of 100 times.

But I feel confident in saying leaders can always learn and you can’t learn without some failure to go along with it. I hate to tell you, but failure is unavoidable. There will be circumstances outside of your best laid plan. There are a 100 moving parts- something can go wrong even under the best leader.

In light of this, the fastest way to learning whether you’re a good leader or not is when people still trust you after a mistake. After all, being human is a leadership trait as well. Or I’d like it to become one!

Interestingly enough, Oregon passed a law stating that an apology from a doctor wont be used against him or her. An oops may not mean career suicide anymore! Furthermore, the University of Michigan Health System has launched an initiative in which patients will be promptly told if an error has been made regarding their care. (Reader’s Digest, May 2016)

An offered settlement immediately has cut hospitals’ cost up to 60%. “I’m sorry” could finally be acceptable. Studies have shown it is less damaging to admit a mistake sooner than to cover up one, when ultimately trust is lost.

After a mistake, there is a moment of ‘What now?!’

This is a crucial moment! People want to know what happens next. Maybe they think you’re a bad leader. They might be angry. Let down.

If a mistake snowballs into an episode of self-depreciation, then you’ll lose confidence. Therefore, people will not be confident in your ability to lead.

Confidence doesn’t come from what others think about you, it comes from what you think about yourself.

Introducing…New Cloud Voice Product

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Integra has partnered with Mitel to bring you & your clients a comprehensive Enterprise-level Cloud Voice solution!

Run over Integra’s private Internet infrastructure, it provides a secure, encrypted connection with the use
of the Mitel hosted phones.

This is a feature-rich system that includes all the standard features & functions of a hosted platform, along with the features & functions of a standard on-premise system. It is the best of both worlds!

This service can be provided anywhere within Integra’s footprint, with a minimum of 8 seats required.
The pricing per seat is very competitive & they have also deeply discounted the Internet connection, with the order of this service.
We are excited to bring this as another solution to you & your clients!

Check out our Hosted Cloud Solutions: https://nwmap.com/services/voip/

Rebranding Yourself (or Your Company)

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A few months ago, we began a journey which we later referred to as “rebranding”. First we started with adding new products and services, streamlining existing, and last but not least improving our online presence with a brand new website update.

It’s been several years since we’ve looked at how our branding was effecting our online presence. Obvious lesson learned: Rebranding may not be necessary, but revisiting your online presence and branding efforts should be a regular item on you checklist.

Rebranding: a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors, competitors, etc.

What goes into the rebranding effort? It means different things for different businesses; from small to large, and simple to complex. It’s a change that needs to be in harmony with your current status and an inclination of where you want to be in the future/future goals/growth.

You can have the best company in the galaxy, but truth is, image and brand matter…a lot.

Rebranding efforts should include:
•image, visuals, and first impressions matter to your online branding. It’s a visual world and images (even colors) are considered a first impression! You can get an idea where you stand by checking out your competitors.
• lead with what’s popular (products and services change over time); Cloud technology is big in my world. With the new website and rebranding efforts, I’ve emphasized Cloud services and new products.
•audiences change; your consumers and audience changes over time and it’s crucial to pay attention to who you want to appeal to, broaden your reach to, or focus on. You also want to appeal to an audience/consumer you hope to attract and grow with.
• double the efforts. Rebranding and restoring relevancy to your company is a conscious effort, and some may choose to do everything radically all at once/complete overhaul, I’ve chosen to introduce new elements to my business over the course of 3 months. This website revamp was the tip of the iceberg for me.
•consistency is key. your brand should be consistent with all your social media, your business itself, the industry, and your website. For many companies, it won’t hurt to stand out a little. Getting recognized is half the battle.

At the end of your rebranding journey, you should be able to see exactly where you started, the path of your business or your career, and what the future has in store. All the transitions will seamlessly fall into place.

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