March, 2014
Tales From The Inside
Telecom is not set it and forget it.  You need a check-up!  As your business evolves and changes, it's important that your voice and data networks keep the right pace, too.  We recently performed a voice traffic study for a customer and found that half of their circuits were underutilized.    

As you can see, there are advantages to performing usage analyses on a routine basis. Our Insiders will work with you to optimize your networks and reduce communications costs. Please contact us today for a free Insider review.

 

Carrisa Baptiste, Sr. Customer Support Manager
Community Insiders
The Insiders love to give back to our community, and the first quarterly community project of 2014 was hosting Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's Family BINGO Night Barbecue on March 20th.  If you've ever had a sick child in the hospital, you know it can be one of the most difficult times for a parent or guardian. This event helped relieve stress by providing a catered dinner, games and prizes for both patients and family members.  

In some small way, we know that our volunteers made a positive impact by giving 130 children and family members time to relax and enjoy a fun-filled evening .

L-R: Carrisa Baptiste, Michelle Bennett (Children's Healthcare of Atlanta), Susan Schroeder, Carol Kelly, Sabrina Vaughn

 
 
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Risky Business
Are Cloud Services Endangering Your Organization?

"Are you aware of all the high risk applications being utilized across the enterprise?"  The truth is, most IT organizations are finding it extremely challenging to manage cloud services. Case in point: a client recently engaged Advocate to: 
  • Discover and identify cloud services
  • Rank security threat levels
  • Recommend a course of action
Our Cloud Insight Assessment discovered some surprising findings.

Driving Innovation
Culture And Team:
Two Pillars Of Innovation
 
On April 26th, Advocate sponsored and attended the TAG Georgia Technology Summit.  Terry Jones, founder of Travelocity.com and chairman of Kayak.com provided insight and real life examples on how to foster innovation within your company.

Jones, author of "On Innovation" believes that innovation rests on two pillars: Culture and Team. The author affirms that "If you get culture and team right, you put the gas in the tank of innovation."
 
Does your culture and team have what it takes to be truly innovative? 
Did You Know...
Cloud Stats & Facts

Here are 10 cloud computing stats you must consider before implementing a cloud strategy.
 
  1. Cloud spending to surge more than 25% in 2014
  2. Over 70% of businesses claim employees are using apps not sanctioned by IT
  3. 35% of IT expenditures will happen outside of the corporate IT budget
  4. On average, organizations have 545 cloud services in use
  5. 80% of cloud adopters saw improvements within 6 months of moving to the cloud
  6. More than half of organizations transfer sensitive or confidential data to the cloud
  7. Over 60% of companies utilize cloud for performing IT-related operations
  8. 60% of CIOs indicate cloud computing is top priority
  9. 82% saved money by moving to the cloud
  10. 14% of companies downsized their IT after cloud adoption
Are you looking to migrate to the cloud? Advocate will get you there faster.