NEC Resource Center

Many organizations find that they need to update their existing communications systems, but lack the Capital budget to do so, or they’re simply apprehensive to make an investment in technology which seems to be ever-changing.  However, in our current business climate, the status quo when it comes to technology upgrades quickly leads to reduced productivity, poor customer service and increased cost. For this reason, many leading organizations have moved their technology upgrades from their Capital budget to their Operating budget by leveraging financing.

To replace or not to replace?

Let’s face it, advances in technology are designed to make us more productive and give us the ability to perform more efficiently while enhancing responses to our customer’s needs. That being said, if you’re not leveraging technology to provide better service, you may be at a disadvantage when compared to your competitors.

Technology is changing so rapidly that whatever you acquire today may be obsolete within five years. If you’re wrestling with the dilemma of whether or not upgrading seems worth it, you’re not alone. More and more businesses are reaping all the benefits of new technology while simultaneously hedging against technology obsolescence through a Fair Market Value lease. A Fair Market Value lease option allows your organization to obtain all of the productivity benefits and enhanced customer service capability delivered by today’s Unified Communications, Mobility & Collaboration tools while giving you the ability to retain your hard-earned cash and providing you with the least-cost option to deliver a solid ROI.

A good example of this is NEC Financial Services’ current offering of Fair Market Value leases with rates at or even below zero percent. For many organizations, these rates produce a monthly cost figure on a new solution which often falls well below what the organization is currently spending for maintenance alone. With these figures, finding the elusive ROI becomes easily achievable. Additionally, this financing structure provides all the benefits derived from the use of the new technology without having to worry about ownership and the risks associated with long-term investment in ever-changing technology.

You don’t have to spend money to make money!

If you think you have to expend large amounts of capital just to grow your business, think again. Financing opportunities like the one mentioned above lends other options. Are you wondering how this is possible? Take a look at the following example: 

ABC Company has identified that upgrading their outdated PBX provides an opportunity for significant cost savings. But there’s a problem. With no funds left in this year’s Capital budget, their IT Department will pay more for their existing, inefficient infrastructure until funds are available. Not to mention the risks associated with operating an outdated system that exposes the business to equipment failure.

What now?

With the help of NEC Corporation of America, ABC Company performs a cost analysis and determines that by leveraging NEC Financial Services’ 0% Fair Market Value promotional lease, they’re able to obtain the technology they need now at a rate that falls below what they’re currently spending for maintenance alone! Moreover, the improved productivity and enhanced customer service experience they’re able to produce by implementing Unified Communications and Collaboration is helping them to retain and acquire more customers. This makes the new solution a revenue producer rather than a cost burden.

Don’t get stuck in a rut like ABC Company - leverage a technology financing partner who offers the most accommodating (and cost reducing) structure for you. With NEC Financial Services, it’s a win-win with 0% FMV offered for 48 or 60 months on select communications systems. You’ll want to take advantage of this offer quickly. The savings are great but they won’t last. The offer ends August 30, 2013. For additional details, click here.

For more information and to learn how you can take advantage of a 0% Fair Market Value Lease, ask your authorized NEC Associate, or click below. If you don’t have an Associate, you can find one here.
 

NEC recently attended the 2013 National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) Conference in Orlando, Florida. The NADA Convention is the automotive industry event of the year and the world's largest international gathering place for franchised new-vehicle dealers.

NEC participated with Phillip Sherman, CEO of Telecom Advisors Group, Inc. and one of the leading independent automotive industry technology consultants in the nation.

Like many companies today, auto dealerships are interested in the best ways to cut costs and increase the productivity of their sales team and services advisors. The NADA convention gave the perfect opportunity to show the ROI of Unified Communications (UC) technology and demonstrate how it helps the rapidly growing automotive industry reduce cost, improve productivity, and increase customer satisfaction. Customer Satisfaction is important in any industry, but particularly in the automotive industry, which relies heavily on its Customer Service Index (CSI) score. For example, JD Power and Associates reported that dealerships with high CSI scores during the first three years of ownership retained 79 percent of dollars spent on maintenance and repairs during the first five years of vehicle ownership.

The auto industry is heavily impacted by technology to help make improvements for both the dealer and the customer. NEC employees were also on hand demonstrating our communications solutions to more than 20,000 conference attendees. With the need for uninterrupted roaming and productivity from any location within a dealership, applications that allow cellular and Wi-Fi roaming were of key interest to attendees. For those automotive dealerships tired of losing revenue due to appointment no-shows, we demonstrated our Appointment Reminder to show them how to alleviate this frustration by simplifying the appointment reminder process and communicating with their customers more efficiently. In the auto sales environment, responding to and distributing call-in and internet leads is critically important. Leveraging contact center technology that queues, distributes and tracks customer opportunities provides dealers with a competitive advantage and the ability to respond as quickly as possible.

To learn how uMobility or Appointment Reminder can enhance your organization click below.

Are you considering relocating your data center? Or maybe you’re thinking about moving your entire organization. Either way, we know moving can be an extremely stressful (and expensive) process, and one you’d prefer not to repeat often, so we’ve gathered some helpful tips to help you address, and consequently avoid, common oversights when moving. Whether you’re moving for business or technology reasons, remember that, when moving day comes, it is important to establish and maintain focus. It is likely that everything will not go exactly according to plan. Focus, combined with a well-developed plan, will help you overcome the speed bumps, and before you know it you will be settled in your new location and back in the flow of day-to-day business.

1. Think ahead – It is never too early to begin planning for your move. Moving a company is a huge project, and it is always beneficial to develop a well thought-out game plan.  Moving is a good opportunity to take inventory, so to speak.  Are you planning to move your communication system as a whole, or use the move as an opportunity to upgrade?  Perhaps you’re considering moving to Unified Communications as a service (UCaaS). Regardless of where you stand, don’t just plan for today. Assess the needs and analyze the growth of your business up to ten years ahead, that way you get the most out of your move.

2. Location, location, location – Aside from moving to a location that is convenient for your customers, it is important to look at a low-risk location in terms of natural disaster. Also in terms of safety, avoid locations near major highways as part of risk mitigation. Conduct an analysis to determine whether the intended site is suitable to house your data center. Aside from geography, other factors to consider include power availability and budget.

3. Power – When you are moving it is important to consider what your current and future power needs will be. Some questions to consider are: Is power abundant? (This is perhaps the most important question to ask), where are you on the power grid? Are there at least two sub stations providing power to the building? Does the building have a backup generator? According to a Transitional Data Services report, in 2010 data centers consumed about 2 percent of all electricity generated in the U.S., and the same report projected that power consumption would continue a rapid growth. Any site under consideration should have easy access to abundant power from multiple sources of electricity, taking advantage of low cost providers whenever possible. When assessing your power needs, also consider the following:

• Fiber - Be sure to research how many and which fiber providers connect to the building. 
• HVAC – does the AC run only during the week? This is often overlooked but it is important to keep your server room cool during the weekends too.

4. Budget - While it is difficult to estimate a fixed budget for a project as complex as a move, you can alleviate some stress in this area by taking an in-depth look at what hardware and software your company is using. That old PBX that you’ve been using for the past 10 years might not be worth moving, so why pay to have it moved?

5. Enlist your employees - Before you begin the moving process, it is important to note which employees will be involved in the move and keep them informed every step of the way. Once you know who will be involved, determine how your manpower will be allocated: What will employees be responsible for? Be sure to announce what the company will and will not transfer with the move.

6. Data backup – Just as the IT staff should perform data backups prior to the move, you should also remind your employees to back up their personal work computers before the move as well. This will help to limit downtime once the move is complete.

7. Communications - We may be mentioning this tip last, but that doesn’t mean it should be taken lightly. If your move is communicated poorly, it could result in customer resentment and consequently a loss of business for you. Be sure to give advance notice, not just a last minute e-mail. MARKET, MARKET, MARKET: tell your customers you are moving and how your new facilities will better accommodate their needs.

Proper planning can help you avoid prolonged downtime and business disruption, as well as the need to move more often than necessary. These tips are a good start to help you prepare for your move. As the economy continues to change, an increasing number of organizations are relocating their data centers and offices as a whole. Good luck with your move!

When your employees need information right away, where do they turn first? Is it a phone call? Text message? Or perhaps a tablet or other personal device? Regardless of which device your employee chooses to utilize first, mobility and easy-access is the driving force behind Unified Communications (UC) and how your communications strategy can enhance workforce productivity. How much importance do you place on “anytime, anyplace” access when making decisions about your organization’s communications strategy?

UC addresses how your organization unifies messaging, voice and video conferencing into a secure communications system; through this unification, UC solutions enhance collaboration and productivity in a way that no other communications strategy can. With UC, you are afforded the ability to share screens, collaborate on shared documents and applications, and communicate through audio and video conferencing.

In a study from International Data Corporation (IDC), Respondents ranked increased employee productivity and reduced operating costs as top benefits of UC. How does UC make this possible? For starters, Web conferencing and unified communication solutions help employees and customers meet, communicate, and collaborate online without spending the time, resources and expenses associated with travel. With this in mind, organizations avoid lost productivity when team members are out of the office and can use the saved resources to fund other areas of their budget. 

Video conferencing is also an important component of virtual team collaboration. A significant change we’ve noticed in recent years is the downturn in the economy and its effect on company budgets, and as a result, a greater emphasis being placed on the importance of expense management. This is of particular importance to the small and medium-sized business sector, and has contributed to the rise in digital alternatives over face-to-face meetings. A reported 45 percent of medium-sized businesses utilize some form of technology to conference in a virtual environment.

Web conferencing enables a more visual method of communication which in turn increases comprehension, data absorption, and audience engagement. With interactive participation, decision-making can be enhanced and meetings made shorter to increase time dedicated to other tasks, thus allowing another avenue for increased productivity.

A now-dated August 2007 Aberdeen Group survey highlighting the communications strategies of over 360 organizations shows that Unified Communications (UC) solutions –both fixed and mobile – have a measurable impact on the productivity of an organization’s workforce.

Fast forward four years later, and, despite a steadily declining economy, UC implementation in the U.S doubled from 2010 to 2011. While this may show that improving communications with customers also improves communications in your workplace, and produces a greater ROI, affordability concerns in implementing such a strategy have raised a great deal of skepticism – where do you stand?

As a member of the Small-to-medium business (SMB) sector,  you can benefit greatly from Unified Communications (UC), as it allows you to cost effectively utilize comprehensive solutions previously only affordable to large enterprises.  Smaller staff and fewer finances don’t have to inhibit your communications capabilities and being a growing organization shouldn’t stop you from gaining a competitive edge.  UC can help you do this while containing costs and simultaneously furthering your ability to execute and innovate. 

Today’s UC offerings are continuously improving in order to enhance the business value of unified communications for SMBs.  As a small-to-medium business, your implementation of UC differs greatly from that of a larger organization.  With high priorities placed on an immediate payoff to your business and communication simplicity, SMBs should look for a provider who supplies enhanced platforms designed to deliver all UC applications from a single-server solution to shave cost and simplify deployment and management.    Here are a few things to keep in mind to determine if a UC provider is catering to your SMB needs:

1. Mobility facilitates better employee communications while enhancing and improving productivity no matter where work takes them.  As SMBs become progressively more mobile, look for UC providers to cater to your need for voice and data support.  Many UC providers are designing and, more importantly, pricing, mobile solutions to meet these criteria.

2. Standards-based software solutions allow use of industry standards servers and reduces capital expense. With these solutions, you have the option of utilizing multiple devices, which benefits smaller businesses by allowing them to easily implement various forms of communications for different workers within the organization.  Imagine the ease of communication with your choice of voice and video collaboration for geographically dispersed teams as well as softphones for your remote workers.

3. Video & web collaboration can add a whole new, affordable dimension to your business communication.  What’s more is it provides smaller organizations with a cost-effective, premises-based tool to simplify internal information sharing among employees with the added benefit of easy information distribution with partners, suppliers and customers as well.  In a recent report, IDC noted the importance of SMBs controlling costs and reported that 45% currently use conferencing technology.

Click here to learn what steps NEC has taken to accommodate the growing business needs of the SMB market.