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Best Practice Tips on Building a Unified Communications Business Case

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

This white paper tells you how to understand the benefits of UC in your organization, identify the preferred modes and means of communications, and then use that criterion as a guide to seek out the best UC solution.

Most organizations find that UC enhances user productivity or business processes - or both.

UC for user productivity (UC-U) concentrates on helping individual users better manage their communications. These UC capabilities include as presence status, click-to-communicate, instant messaging, and rapid set up of audio, video and Web conferences.
UC for business processes (UC-B) focuses on integrating communications capabilities within workflows and processes in order to enhance business activities.

Many organizations begin by focusing on using UC to enhance user productivity, but they soon find that both productivity and business processes can be improved by UC.

To achieve breakthrough results, it's important to think about communications in a new way. Unified communications is not so much a system as it is a way of thinking about the impact of the next generation of communications capabilities on businesses large and small. This white paper helps you change your thinking.

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77 Features For Windows 7 That Every IT Professional Should Know About

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Windows 7 builds on Windows Vista's positives and eliminates many of the negatives. It adds new functionality, is less resource-hungry, and starts and shuts down noticeably faster. Whether you're upgrading from Vista or moving up from Windows XP, these 77 tips and tricks, along with other new and enhanced features, deliver improved performance and productivity, better troubleshooting, stronger security, and a whole lot more.

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Microsoft and the Cloud: Five Essential Things To Know

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Many of the world's leading companies are making significant investments in cloud computing, and cloud computing continues to evolve. Essentially, cloud computing is a "pay for use" model similar to a utility company. Over time, Microsoft has steadily increased its investments in the cloud as well as partnered with major global companies on cloud-based initiatives. These investments reflect not only the importance Microsoft places on this technology trend, but they indicate where MS executives think the future of computing is headed. This white paper explores five things you need to know about Microsoft and cloud computing.

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Virtualization 101

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

This white paper defines virtualization and focuses on how certain trends, such as server virtualization, are changing the datacenter. They'll look at what makes virtualization so compelling to companies in terms of efficiencies, improved resource utilization, cost reductions, and automation, to name a few. They'll also address the ways in which virtualization optimizes the performance of servers, desktops, applications, and users.

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The Cloud: Promises and Realities

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Explore some of the early drivers of cloud services and how these drivers have influenced current expectations. You'll learn about how different technologies have helped create those promises - some that have been realized, and others that haven't. Finally, you'll discover the current realities of cloud computing as they relate to data control, performance, security and ROI.

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Windows 7 Troubleshooting Tips

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Your Company has finally migrated to Windows 7. Congratulations! And now you have your first support call. This Microsoft white paper will tell you all you need to know about the new troubleshooting tools that are bundled with Windows 7 and provide you with the knowledge to quickly figure out what's happening "under the hood" on a Windows 7 computer. The selected tools described in this Microsoft white paper are a subset of the tools available on Windows 7; the focus is on timely troubleshooting of the operating system and software applications.

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The Four Steps to Virtual Port Channel

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Virtual Port Channel (VPC) takes redundancy to a new level in the data center. With the right equipment, you can leverage the functionalities of VPC by making all available paths usable and giving all the bandwidth that you have to your hosts. This white paper reviews the basics of VPC and the options available to tailor it for your needs.

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SharePoint 2010: Ten Tips for Creating a Collaborative Framework for your Company

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

SharePoint has consistently increased in complexity over time and now includes new capabilities, such as cloud service and Silverlight development, among a host of other additions. In order to achieve a smooth transition to using SharePoint 2010, there are a number of areas to keep in mind. This white paper offers a selection of tips that suggest ways to bring together multiple data flows, improve information sharing, and create an effective collaborative framework for your company.

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Ten Things You Should Know About SharePoint 2010

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Whenever the new version of a popular application is released, it receives a lot of attention. SharePoint Server 2010 (SPS 2010) is no exception. Because its deployment affects so many areas of an organization, its new features and requirements should get careful consideration. SPS is definitely not just a new face on an old product, its predecessor Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS).

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Top 10 Things System Administrators Need to Know About Virtualization

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

We are quickly moving away from thinking about a "one operating system per one server" model to one that says "how many operating systems can we place on a single server?" This single but monumental change in datacenter design can be very difficult for system administrators to grasp. Today, we are experiencing one of the greatest paradigm shifts that computing has seen yet: virtualization, discover the 10 things systems administrators need to know.

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14 Common Virtualization Mistakes - And How To Avoid Them

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

As you start migrating your physical server environments to virtual environment, you have to know the common mistakes that most people make during this process. This white paper will help you with some basics and common issues that you will see as you make this transition.

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Ten Rules of RIPv2

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

RIPv2 was created in 1998 to overcome the limitations of RIPv1 and to add some additional features. There are 10 simple rules to how RIPv2 works. They are detailed in this white paper with configuration, or output, examples taken from a Cisco Systems router.

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10 Ways to Save with Desktop Virtualization

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

View is VMware's VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) tool that makes virtual Windows XP, Vista, and/or 7 desktop VMs accessible through a common interface, across the LAN or WAN, focusing on the money-saving aspects of VDI.

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Inbound Marketing 101: Tips for a Better Inbound Marketing Program!

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Learn the basics of Inbound Marketing in this free eBook written by the SEO firm, Brick Marketing. Learn what Inbound Marketing is as well as typical inbound marketing myths and much more. Also with this free eBook you will receive FREE SEO & Search Engine Marketing Tips via email each week.

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The Role of Software in Asset Performance Management: Reduce Maintenance Cost, Downtime and Safety Incidents

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

At the same time, your maintenance organization is being pressured to take a stance of zero tolerance toward safety incidents while reducing maintenance costs and minimizing asset downtime. Read this in-depth Aberdeen Group report, based on responses from 117 executives of successful companies, to find out how best-in-class businesses are proactively managing these challenges. You'll learn these techniques for optimizing maintenance and operations--and more: creating a culture of collaboration among teams across your enterprise; empowering decision makers with appropriate, highly accurate metrics; and leveraging predictive management and analytics to manage assets throughout their life cycle.

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Predictive Maintenance for Manufacturing - How to Improve Productivity, Minimize Downtime and Reduce Costs

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Your goal is clear--produce high-quality goods while optimizing resources at every step of production. And in today's uncertain economy, cost-control efforts may never have been more important. Unscheduled downtime because of equipment failure can have a serious impact on your organization's bottom line. Predictive analytics helps you in a number of ways: identify when equipment is likely to fail or need maintenance and take action to maximize uptime and reduce future warranty claims costs; optimize allocated labor resources and spare part inventories, helping eliminate undue maintenance, prevent downtime and reduce inventory costs; and determine why certain production runs fail more often than others, identify the cause and analyze whether those runs warrant a recall.

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SIP Trunks and UC Security

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

The appeal of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks as a means of connecting Unified Communication Systems to the outside world is growing in popularity.

SIP trunks offer significant benefits over legacy PRI trunks, including:

lower operating costs
more flexibility in ordering service and capacities
advanced features, such as virtual phone numbers in different geographies

Since SIP trunks use IP-based protocols that require a system to be opened up to a wide area network (WAN) that should be assumed insecure, organizations must educate themselves about the salient security aspects pertaining to SIP trunks and how to ensure the appropriate level of security.

This white paper examines security considerations for SIP trunks, and provides valuable information and insight into the security options available today.

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Nemertes Research PilotHouse Awards: IP Telephony

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

For the past eight years, independent research firm, Nemertes Research, has surveyed IT professionals for its annual benchmark on IP telephony using notable evaluation criteria. Each year, ShoreTel has received the highest ratings and been awarded Best Overall IP Telephony Provider.

The results are based 100% on the views and experiences of actual technology buyers. Nemertes determines the methodology, conducts the research and analyzes the findings, however, Nemertes has no influence over vendor performance. The opinions rest with real buyers.

Find out what important criteria are used in evaluating IP telephony vendors, what real customers are saying about their experiences, and the state of the IP telephony industry today.

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Comparison of Avaya and ShoreTel Unified Communication Solutions

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Unlike ShoreTel's all-in-one, all-IP solution, the Avaya platforms have been adapted from legacy technology and assembled piecemeal. The result is a complex solution that can require extensive time and resources to manage.

By contrast, the ShoreTel Unified Communications system was designed from the ground up expressly for IP to provide a single, all-in-one solution that integrates a full range of communications capabilities.

The white paper walks you through direct apples-to-apples comparisons of different aspects of each solution, including:

Deployment and management
Redundancy and availability
Scalability and upgrades
Overall total cost of ownership (TCO)
Customer satisfaction ratings

The paper also demonstrates that ShoreTel UC offers numerous advantages that enable businesses to capitalize on the benefits of unified communications without adding costs or complexity.

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Resource Guide: Top 10 Benefits of a Server Refresh

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:50:01 -0800

Read this resource guide to learn the top five tech benefits and top five business benefits to be found by replacing outdated servers with more current hardware solutions.

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Virtualization Reduces Costs and Complexity for Mid-Sized Businesses

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:50:01 -0800

Virtualization is not just for large enterprises. It can also be a key strategy for small and mid-size businesses.

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Offshore

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:50:02 -0800

Offshore provides a rich editorial blend of international news and technology for marine/offshore operations around the world. Topics covered include seismic services, exploration, drilling, production, processing, pipelining, operating problems and design solutions.

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10 Critical Sales Management Reports that Salesforce.com Can't Generate and 10 Reasons to Care

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:50:02 -0800

Explore this free white paper and you will discover what advanced snapshot analysis, historical trending, and more can do to make your business more competitive.

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Requirements of a BI Solution: The 11 Key Questions to Ask

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:50:02 -0800

Find the answers that promote a winning strategy - including valuable knowledge about:

Historical analysis and reporting
Forecasting and projections
Integrating information from multiple business functions
Exploring data that supports your reporting and analysis

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Gleansight Deep Dive: How Companies Achieve Success by Migrating From Traditional BI to Agile Business Analytics

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:50:02 -0800

Implementing an effective analytics strategy has never been more important, yet remains a challenge as traditional BI tools struggle to meet the demands of today's dynamic environments. Agile Business Analytics offers an alternative by enabling flexibility in the technical, operational and economic aspects of BI. BI that is agile delivers actionable content to its users and enables organizations to derive maximum insight and benefit from its BI infrastructure and data.

Sponsored by: Gleanster

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How to Utilize a CRM Within Your Organization

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

CRM's enable organizations to manage interactions with prospects and customers on a real-time basis. Technology is leveraged with CRM to manage marketing techniques, lead flow, prospect information and customer data.

Download this white paper and learn about the Top 4 Benefits CRM and Sales Software can provide to your company and receive price quotes from leading CRM and Sales Software Vendors.

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New eBook: How to Master Facebook Marketing in 10 Days

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:50:01 -0800

Whether it's Facebook's complexity or simplicity that has you stymied, if you put in just a little effort-- for 10 days--you can boost your Facebook interactions by 10, 20, even 30 percent or more.

In HubSpot's new eBook “How to Master Facebook Marketing in 10 Days” you'll learn how to:

Evaluate successful Facebook pages
Understand Facebook best practices
Speak Facebook-ese
Create custom Welcome Pages
Create a content calendar
Understand Edge
Rank and the art of engagement
Put on a show
Create a contest
Run a targeted ad campaign
Use Facebook's analytics package 'Insights'

Start garnering fans and customers who will spend real money as a result of your social marketing magic. Download the new eBook “How to Master Facebook Marketing in 10 Days” now!

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Free eBook: 8 Google Tools to Improve Your Marketing Effectiveness

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:20:01 -0800

The search engine remains the dominant destination people land on when they do research, look for reviews and shop. However, Google is not only a search engine. It also owns a range of assets that provide marketers with social networking and content creation opportunities.

Find out about some of Google's lesser known tools and learn how to use them for marketing your business. HubSpot's latest eBook will help you get started with 8 of these tools and improve your marketing effectiveness.

In this eBook you will learn how your marketing can benefit from:

Google AdWords
Google Docs
Google Keyword Tool
Google Alerts
Google News
Google Reader
Google Places
Google+

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TEC White Paper: The Three Pitfalls of Business Expansion-- And How You Can Avoid Them

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:50:01 -0800

Expansion is often one of the most daunting challenges a successful business will face, whether its growth is organic, or via Merger and Acquisitions (M&As). Regardless of the form expansion takes, businesses can struggle with management and visibility issues across three areas in particular:

business processes (including localization and compliance requirements)
analytics
information systems

This report explores these pitfalls and identifies what you can do to avoid them.

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Aberdeen Paper Performance Management: What the Mid-Market Can Learn from the Large Enterprises

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:50:01 -0800

This is a set of capabilities that many large enterprises have been exercising for some time, and mid-sized companies are increasingly looking to adopt. For this research, mid-sized (or mid-market) is defined as organizations with annual revenues between $50m and $500m. The differences in strategy, capabilities and technologies used by the mid-market compared to large companies are also examined. Key recommendations are drawn for mid-market businesses to increase the value they derive from performance management.

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Enhancing Governance, Risk, and Compliance Through Effective Access Risk Management

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:50:01 -0800

This approach is equivalent to applying a band-aid to the injury, where the focus is on recovery but not necessarily on the avoidance of risk-prone scenarios in the future. This myopic approach to risk management only adds to costs and frustration in the long run. Companies therefore need to adopt a holistic view when it comes to reducing and managing risks. Read this newly released Aberdeen Group Analyst Report Enhancing GRC Through Effective Access Control.

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Leveraging a Performance Dashboard to Increase Transparency

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:50:01 -0800

The Washington State Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) is an independent state agency that awards about US$80 million per year in grants to city and county street projects.

In order to track projects and business performance with greater accuracy and transparency, TIB built a performance management dashboard using Xcelsius® software from the SAP® BusinessObjects™ portfolio.

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Roadmap to Mobile Commerce 2.0 Measurement, Differentiation and Significant Sales

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:50:01 -0800

Back in 2005 a research firm predicted mobile payments would total $10 billion by 2010. The actual total was nearly $100 billion, and it is expected to be double that in 2011. Retailers that have already made their initial forays into mobile commerce--and those few still on the sidelines--are seeing the need to move their initiatives to the next level, by applying mobile-specific measurement and achieving true differentiation from their competitors in order to grow significant sales. This Mobile Commerce Roadmap will provide signposts to point the way to Mobile Commerce 2.0.

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Supply Chain Visibility Excellence

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:50:01 -0800

In the most recent supply chain visibility survey, the growing supply chain complexity was the top business pressure (44%). This, in turn, has contributed to increased supply chain management costs. It is not surprising that in the situation of global economic turmoil that visibility is taking center stage. This report focuses on gaining visibility into critical elements across the end-to-end logistics network for improving cost and service. But before a company can reduce inventory or landed cost, it needs visibility into them. Only then can it apply tools to agilely adapt to the information it collects.

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Driving Sustained Improvements with Supply Chain Metrics and Analytics

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:50:01 -0800

Improving a company's supply chain operations is a complex process. The SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference) model provides a unique framework that links business processes, metrics, best practices, and technology into a unified structure designed to improve supply chain management effectiveness.

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3 Questions to Ensure You're Collaborating Effectively Across Your Supply Chain

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:50:01 -0800

Read this report to learn the answer to these three questions: How Can You Better View Customer Demand and Respond to Changes? How Can You Improve Supplier Lead Times and Responsiveness? How Do You Manage Your Manufacturing Network Outside of Your Own Four Walls? The report includes three case studies from Colgate-Palmolive, Sauer-Danfoss and Conair.

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Creating Competitive Advantage with Business Intelligence Pervasiveness

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:50:01 -0800

Few, if any, organizations exist whose management does not at least review periodic financial performance reports. Such reporting or analysis is often conducted with standalone spreadsheets, basic reports from accounting, or sales applications or static paper reports. This fact suggests that Business Intelligence (BI) is already pervasively available at organizations of all sizes and that viewing such reports is enough to manage performance and compete in one's industry.

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Self-Service: An Essential Capability Of BI

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:50:01 -0800

To meet these changing conditions, companies of all sizes are progressively more dependent on increasing the productivity of knowledge workers. However, the workflows, tool sets, and skills that these knowledge workers are using are more grounded in Industrial Revolution-era thinking and have not been modernized to adapt to the business realities of today. As a result, many of these workers are at a breaking point, spending more and more time looking through and sorting information and less time adding value to it. This current state creates a potentially tremendous opportunity for breakthrough productivity gains for companies that confront this rising time of information chaos.

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The Five (5) Potential Quality Compromises in Coding Technology & How to Avoid Them

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:50:01 -0800

Typically, code size, contrast, and quality are sacrificed in order to achieve higher production speeds, but the consequences of cutting corners can be immense. Missing or illegible codes can lead to a major loss in production output. But it doesn't have to be this way. There is a way to maintain the quality of your product coding without sacrificing efficiency. A new white paper from Domino North America -- "The Five (5) Potential Quality Compromises in Coding Technology & How to Avoid Them" -- highlights print quality challenges, and details how current laser marking systems overcome - such obstacles.

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Carolina Canners Makes Their Mark With Domino

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:50:01 -0800

In today's manufacturing environment, code quality is often sacrificed in order to achieve higher production speeds. However, corner cutting in product coding can be extremely costly. Fortunately, there is a solution, and leading companies are taking notice. A case study from Domino explains how soft drink giant Carolina Canners improved its code quality, efficiency and productivity using the latest laser coding technology.

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