It’s 10 p.m. on a Friday. The production line is running full-tilt to meet the commitment you’ve made to a key customer. On a die-cutter, Sensor 8a records a malfunction and, in seconds, sends the information via SMS text to the technician on call. Within the hour, they’re on the factory floor fixing the problem.
Internet of Things (IoT) in manufacturing Just as smart devices have become more common in the consumer space, they’re proliferating in the manufacturing environment, enabling businesses to operate more nimbly and efficiently. Decisions once made by people can now be settled autonomously or semi-autonomously by cyber-physical systems or individual machines.
“[IoT] allows us to do things that previously would have been very difficult, like monitoring, sensing, looking at situations, automating the triggering of special conditions and really allowing people to work more efficiently,” said Tony Pereira, Mitel’s Vice President, Business Accelerator. “So the secret is, how do you..

Connecticut’s Taft School, a private boarding and day school founded in 1890, was founded by Horace D. Taft with the goal of helping students not to be served, but to serve.
The school’s mission is to create well-rounded, engaged students, often focusing on service-based programs and many different types of abilities, including academic, artistic and athletic. Taft School is comprised of a diverse group, with 595 students from 44 countries with 129 faculty members.
And just as the school encourages its students to be forward-thinking and prepared for a changing world, its IT leaders are dedicated to doing the same for the school’s technology.
Looking for change A long-time Mitel customer, Taft School had an analog system that served it well. But feeling the need for digital transformation, Taft School’s systems administrator, Frank Trosky, started exploring potential upgrades and the possibility of utilizing cloud communications for its schools.
Trosky realized the school might wan..

Many K-12 schools cope with antiquated phone systems that don’t offer now-standard features like mass notification and mobile support. To meet district needs and keep the systems running, they often have to bolt on piecemeal solutions. What’s more, these older systems can end up costing schools more money to maintain over time, even as they fail to deliver on ease of use and functionality.
But replacing an aging phone system is fraught with challenges. How can administrators balance the need for a flexible and robust communications solution while also lowering the total cost of ownership? It’s a tough but unavoidable question, because at some point that old, inadequate system is going to have to be replaced.
Fortunately, K-12 administrators today have options. Advances in communications technology, such as unified and cloud communications, make it possible for you to quickly and easily deploy a more feature-rich solution. On top of that, today’s systems result in a lower TCO. This fr..

Many K-12 schools cope with antiquated phone systems that don’t offer now-standard features like mass notification and mobile support. To meet district needs and keep the systems running, they often have to bolt on piecemeal solutions. What’s more, these older systems can end up costing schools more money to maintain over time, even as they fail to deliver on ease of use and functionality.
But replacing an aging phone system is fraught with challenges. How can administrators balance the need for a flexible and robust communications solution while also lowering the total cost of ownership? It’s a tough but unavoidable question, because at some point that old, inadequate system is going to have to be replaced.
Fortunately, K-12 administrators today have options. Advances in communications technology, such as unified and cloud communications, make it possible for you to quickly and easily deploy a more feature-rich solution. On top of that, today’s systems result in a lower TCO. This fr..

Every field services company wants to provide a good customer experience, so you're likely to schedule appointments quickly and make sure your tech arrives on time. And while you hope that the matter is resolved on your first visit, you may expect a service call to take a second trip before it's fixed. After all, the tech has to figure out what's going on, assess the problem and see if the parts are on the truck, etc.
If that describes your approach, I've got bad news. You're emphasizing the wrong standards. Customers care more about getting the job done right the first time than anything else.
In fact, a report from the Aberdeen Group suggests that the biggest complaints customers have is that the repair didn't get fixed the first time (61 percent), with fewer complaining about waiting to get an appointment (51 percent) or the technician showing up on time (41 percent).
In other words, your customer experience will stand out from the competition more i..

As healthcare enterprises — including hospitals, retail or hospital-based clinics, physicians’ practices and the myriad of other healthcare-related businesses — move away from on-site PBX model of communications to a unified communications as a service (UCaaS) model, many IT/telecom decision-makers are increasingly asking themselves—and asking Mitel—why they should move to the cloud.
Concerns about security top the list of issues, although we also hear that companies are not ready to give up on the expensive PBX systems that were purchased not all that long ago. These are legitimate concerns.
Because there is no one-size-fits-all solution, Mitel and its partners work closely with organizations to aid in the transition to a UCaaS solution, helping them protect their investments and make the change on their own terms, according to their own timeline.
Bottom line: In addition to offering further functionality such as mobility, switching to a UCaaS model saves healthcare enterprise..

Buying a communications system, particularly one as complex as a hospitality communications system, is no small feat. Hospitality communications systems are a long-term investment, and it’s important to find a solution that will grow and scale as your needs change. We have a guide not only to help you find the right communications hardware, but also to find a system that will improve your customer experience, boost employee productivity and grow with technology as it changes over time.
Not sure if you need a new phone system? Or unsure which system is right for you? We’ll help you find the answer.
Everyone uses mobile devices: do I really still need a PBX? Yes–even with the technological improvements that make integrating with mobile devices a necessity, your hotel requires a telephone system to address (at least) the following:
Inbound calls for reservations, business inquiries and guest calls In-house communications with the front desk and staff Emergency calls
I have an older..

Mobility, the speed of communications, and employee demographics have changed the business landscape. Today’s market environment is always moving, continuously connected and faster than ever before. Your ability to maintain and increase your competitive advantage in this dynamic environment is determined by how well your organization adapts to the new norm. By leveraging the most advanced communications and collaboration tools, you can improve the efficiency of daily communications between employees and with customers.
New expectations require new solutions To adapt and succeed, you must address the forces at play. Incredible advances in mobile communications technology have served as the catalyst for change. Most people now have mobile devices that are more powerful communications tools than the desktop computers that were in every office 10 years ago.
For many employees, a smartphone is the first thing they pick up in the morning and the last thing they put down at night. These dev..

With the advent of the digital communication age, customers have new ways to communicate and shop that didn’t exist 30 years ago. Effectively, for the customer — and therefore for your business — the world has become a much smaller place.
A customer’s interaction with a business today rarely occurs in person. Most contact happens through electronic means.
Thirty years ago, businesses drove technological advances. But today, consumers are driving technological advances. They are demanding the ability to interact with your business in the way that is most convenient for them.

The new digital experience Further, today’s consumer choices have broadened; they aren’t limited to visiting the local mall to shop. Instead, using digital technology, they can shop anyplace in the world. Just think about the holiday shopping season — because of expanding mobile commerce, customers can get their shopping done at the busiest time of year without setting foot in a store or post office.
Not long a..

Picture this: The largest football game in the United States. More than a million people attending related events over the course of a weekend. More than 10 law enforcement agencies are on hand to ensure the public’s safety, each with their own devices, running on their own communication systems: smartphones, two-way radios, laptops, desktops. A recipe for disaster? A Tower of Babel?
In this case we’re talking about a Super Bowl, but it’s the kind of challenge that government agencies face all over the world. The technology of state and provincial offices, law enforcement and federal agencies has grown organically over the decades. As a result, communicating across these different platforms routinely gets in the way of vital communications, collaboration and overall efficiency.
“You’re never going to get a whole bunch of government agencies at federal, state, local, county, across various disciplines to all choose the same platforms,” explains Niki Papazoglakis, Program Coordinator f..