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News from Accent Information Systems
Greetings!
In May, Accent Information Systems proudly celebrated its 20-year anniversary. In looking back to our beginning, I thought of literally hundreds of changes that have taken place in the business world. I hope you join us in looking back over the some of the most significant changes that have taken place since then.
Companies spend a lot of time trying to trim costs and increase efficiency, and in doing so, they must continually upgrade their technology to gain and keep that competitive edge. But staying abreast of the changes can be overwhelming. What may sound like a smart and cost-effective change may result in an inefficiency over which you have no control. Let us be your technology expert!
With kindest regards,
Frank L. Goode, President |
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Twenty Years of Progress in Telephone Communications
Since 1991, our goal of providing the best communication services to our clients has not changed. What has changed are the tools we have. Take a quick look at where we've been: - Just 30 years ago, we would literally "dial" our telephones in order to make a call.
- It was necessary to employ a receptionist or phone operator to forward phone calls to individual extensions.
- Voicemail was a feature that needed to be sold to clients, and thus, many businesses relied on hand-written notes to document missed phone calls and messages.
- Beepers or pagers were commonly used to "stay reachable",
- Cell phones were still considered a luxury, and a day out of the office often meant a day "out of touch with the office".
- Many were paying 20 cents per minute to make a long distance call.
Today, we can conduct meetings without traveling, we can talk to multiple people at once, and we can retrieve messages left on our office voicemail from our cell phones. Calls to our office phones can be forwarded to our cell phones so that we are always present to respond to our customers. "Telephone communications" is now referred to as "Unified Communications" - the seamless integration of multiple real-time and non-real-time communication services resulting in on-the-go, always-available communication. What's next? It is certain that technology won't stop here. Let us be your communication experts, and guide you through the ever-changing world of technology!    |
A Look Back at Cabling
As the exchange of information has increased over the past 20 years, so has the "backbone " of the information exchange - cable. It was 1991 when the first cable standard was published. Back then, standards were in place for Category 3 cable, intended primarily for low-frequency installations. Not until later that year were there standards for "higher grade" cable, Cat 4 and Cat 5 (which had a network data rate of 100 Mbits/second). Today, Cat 6A cable has a network data rate of 10 Gbits/second!
It's estimated that network speeds increase by a factor of 10 about every 5 years. Cable has had to evolve in order to support such advances. What's next? "Fiber to the desktop" will likely be the buzz words in the near future, as the cost of the electronics to support fiber optics becomes affordable.
 Accent's RCDD (Registered Communications Distribution Designer), Scott King, is uniquely positioned to create the detailed design of new systems and/or the integration of a design into an existing system. Through his required continuing education, he stays current regarding changes, updates and revisions in the industry, so that your cabling will be designed with the future in mind.
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The Computer World in 1991
To some of us, the year 1991 doesn't really seem all that long ago. But how things have changed! Here are a few facts just to show you how much.
In 1991:
- the Web, developed as a research tool, was launched to the public. Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist at the European Partial Physics Laboratory (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland is credited for this major step. Just imagine...prior to 1991, there were no search engines, and there was no audio or video "sharing".
- the National Science Board (NSF) lifted restrictions on commercial use of 'the web', thus resulting in the net's dramatic growth.
- only about 1% of the U.S. population used the Internet. Today, there are over 2 billion Internet users worldwide.
- the term "Information Superhighway" hadn't been coined yet by Al Gore (that didn't happen until 1994).
- the first sound card for PC's, The Sound Blaster Pro Deluxe, was introduced by Creative Labs.
- Brad Siverberg, Microsoft Vice President said DOS will be "with us forever. We've learned how passionate people are about DOS."
And to really put things into perspective, a 286 processor with printer cost around $1,600. How far we have come! |
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Telecom Industry Changes...Has Service Improved?
We know how Accent has changed over the last 20 years, but what has changed in the Telecom industry? Those of us who have been around for years remember how it used to be. If your phone did not work like it should, you would contact the telephone company and they fixed it.
Today, your telephone service may come from the local telephone company, from a telephone company in a remote city, from the Cable TV provider, or it may come from some new company that is reselling another company's services. Your local Internet Provider may be bundling the telephone service in with their services. Or, in the case of SIP (Session Initiated Protocol) services, your phone service may even come from a company in a distant state.
Unfortunately, we have found that there are times when the only solution to your service issues must be resolved by another entity (the service provider), and not the equipment provider. Although the above variables cause challenges to resolving customer issues, and although we alone may not be able to solve such problems, we will continue to provide excellent service to our customers, and will do our very best to assist in minimizing these frustrations. We will continue to put the "Accent" on services. |
Technology Tip of the Quarter: Thinking of Replacing PCs?
If you're looking for a highly mobile, thin and light notebook, while providing manageability, security, upgradeable wireless and enhanced performance, the HP EliteNotebook PCs are well worthy of consideration. They are business-rugged, and are HP's most reliable. Let us show you how to get enhanced protection and, along with Windows 7 Professional and Office 2010, reach new levels of productivity and collaboration. Click here to request more info.
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ShoreTel Again Rated Highest in Customer Satisfaction
In August, the Eastern Management Group, a leading independent research firm, published findings from its customer satisfaction study. The findings were gathered from over 8,000 IT professionals from over 1,000 companies in the U.S. and Canada. It reported that ShoreTel earned the highest ratings, placing it above all other vendors including Avaya, Cisco, Mitel and others. Key measures included customer service, installation, management tools, technology, and value. |
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Accent is
proud to work with
these "partners":
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Click here to visit our website and check out all of our services!
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"Accent At A Glance"
Information technology isn't just phone systems. See our "Accent At A Glance" brochure. From the structured cabling backbone to the exchange of information via "the cloud" and everything in between, this portfolio of our services shows how it all works together. Take a glance. You might just find something that would make your office more productive, help you focus on your customers, grow your core business and maintain more of your bottom line. |
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