| Letter from
the CEO |
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Dear Valued
Customers and Partners:
Productivity: “A measure of the amount of output
per unit of input.” That seems like such a
simplistic definition for a term that represents
a key ratio upon which organizational – and
personal – performance is measured. Even in the
best of times, we are constantly looking for
ways to improve productivity; in a turbulent
economy, our very survival can depend upon it.
That’s where
technology can truly be an ally. A wise
investment in certain technology tools can often
provide ROIs of 12 to 18 months or less, with
productivity gains extending far into the
future. In this issue of eConsultant, you will
learn about practical applications of technology
for collaboration, virtualization and unified
communications and how they can streamline
operations and help you do more with less.
In the right
sidebar, please note our lineup of upcoming
seminars. These events are sponsored by our
partners and provide an excellent opportunity
for you to learn valuable information in an
entertaining environment while minimizing your
time away from the office. If you have an
interest in attending any of these seminars,
please contact your MasterLink Account Manager
or email us at
seminars@emasterlink.com.
Sincerely,
Wayne Piontek
CEO |
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Productivity Trends
By Virginia Kramer
|
 “Business
without borders”: that is the motto for
Generation Y. Companies looking to grow in these
economic times need to find ways to do so
without significantly increasing operating
expenses. How can this be achieved? The answer
is to leverage technology to allow employees to
work more effectively, not only with each other
but with your customers and partners as well.
As companies struggle with extending
geographical reach, obtaining top talent or more
effectively reaching customers, some of the
methods being implemented to address these needs
include:
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Teleworking Programs: The
implementation of a teleworking program
allows employees to work from home
either a few days a week or 100% of the
time. This enables access to qualified
employees who might not otherwise be
accessible due to relocation fees and
such. Allowing employees to work
remotely supports head count in new
geographic areas without the cost of
renting office space.
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Web
Collaboration: There are numerous
applications available to provide
collaboration functions which allow
effective real-time discussions with
employees, vendors or clients. These
technology solutions provide companies
with the ability to share data and to
make changes live in a collaborative
environment. Companies have the option
of purchasing these applications and
managing them internally, or utilizing
hosted models on a usage basis. |
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Read More |
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Teleworking
Benefits
By Virginia Kramer
|
 Today’s
work force is changing; teleworking is on the
rise and is no longer just driven by employees
but by companies that are seeing the real
benefit. In a recent study by Gartner Group,
teleworking increased by 22.5% over the past 12
months.
According to a
recent study conducted by the International
Telework Association and Council, on average
teleworking yields:
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22%
increase in employee productivity |
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20%
decrease in employee turnover |
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60%
decrease in employee absenteeism |
Teleworking is now
becoming the norm for many companies. That does
not mean that there is no one working in the
traditional office setting, but the use of
teleworking one-three days a week for employees
is on the rise. Many companies are finding that
teleworking provides numerous benefits both to
the employees and to the company as well.
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Read More |
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Productivity in Network Management:
The Benefits of Virtualization
By Margaret Knight
|
 There are a number
of challenges in today’s IT world, the biggest
of which is how to do more with less of
everything – money, staff, equipment, etc. This
drives technology and IT departments to find
better ways to provide the same or enhanced
services through creative means. It is this
creativity that led users of virtualization
software to expand its role from test/dev to
production environments. This progression has
occurred over the last few years and has proven
out the stability and capabilities of a
virtualized environment.
Virtualization is a software technology that
allows multiple isolated operating systems to
run on the same server at the same time.
Virtualization technology has been in use for
decades, but moved to the client/server world in
the last ten years. This technology has been
used in the past to lower overall equipment
costs by requiring fewer servers. Virtual server
technology has helped organizations achieve
greater service levels, provide higher
application availability, and reduce data center
space, power and cooling costs.
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Read More |
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Benefits of
Unified Communications in the Workplace
By Virginia Kramer |
 Unified
communications (UC) can help businesses realize
a multitude of benefits in terms of employee
time savings and financial savings. Unified
business communications applications not only
facilitate productivity improvements for
employees wherever their work takes them, they
also enhance the way in which all employees
communicate. UC can increase productivity,
reduce costs, speed up customer service and even
protect the environment.
With an increasingly mobile workforce,
businesses are rarely centralized in one
location. UC allows for easier, more direct
collaboration between co-workers and with
suppliers and clients, even if they are not
physically on the same site. Advanced
capabilities like presence, mobile
communications, and call processing enhance
communications because people reach the right
resource right away. The utilization of wireless
handsets can enable personnel to spend more time
out of their offices with customers instead of
at their desk or laptop. Human delays are
minimized or eliminated, resulting in better,
faster interaction and service-delivery for the
customer, and cost savings for the business. |
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Read More |
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June 2009
Calendar of Events
Save the Date!
 MasterLink,
in conjunction with our partners, is hosting the
following informational seminars.
If you are interested in attending, please
contact your MasterLink Account Manager or send
an email to
seminars@emasterlink.com
July 29, 2009
Miller Park
Storage Solutions and Virtualization
Presentations by IBM and VMWare
5:00 pm seminar followed by 7:05 Brewers game
and dinner
August 26, 2009
Miller Park
Integrated Web, Data and Email Security
Solutions
Presentation by Websense
5:00 pm seminar followed by 7:05 Brewers game
and dinner
Websense Essential Information Protection
defends cross-channel communications, safeguards
Web 2.0 usage, and prevents data loss. Websense
integrates Web security, email security, and
data security to protect essential information
and enable productive, safe use of the Internet
platform.
Download the Essential Information Protection
whitepaper.
September 9, 2009
Miller Park
Authentication and Encryption Solutions for
Financial Institutions
Presentation by Entrust
11:00 am seminar followed by 1:05 Brewers game
and lunch |
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