MSPNetworks Blog

It wasn’t too long ago when the idea of video conferencing was a very complicated one. The technology just wasn’t there to make it a major benefit for companies. As conferencing technology has been innovated upon, however, it now presents a laundry list of substantial benefits. Let’s take a look at some benefits you can see by moving to video-driven meetings. 

#1 - Engagement - Businesses have been using telephone-based audio meetings to their benefit for a while; and, have been successful in doing so. With the technology that is available today, however, allowing for better engagement through video. This isn’t just because meeting attendees can see a presenter, but because each person can now choose to see other attendees. This changes the communication skills that are needed. A well-run and efficient video conference can function much like a meeting where everyone is physically in the same room. 

#2 - It Connects Teams - With many businesses trying to take advantage of remote computing solutions, having a video conferencing platform available allows teams to connect in ways that were just impossible only a few years ago. Workers are happier when they don’t have to travel to a central office, and video conferencing makes it possible to have regular and productive meetings, even if people are out of the office. It also gives organizations the opportunities to cut down on their human resources costs by taking advantage of freelancers.

#3 - Helps You Get to the Point - With better engagement and more structure to the meetings you hold, meetings won’t go on very long and you and your team can hash out the issues they need to address and then get back to work quickly. 

#4 - Employee Satisfaction - As was stated earlier, people like to work from home. Even if they are working the same amount, they feel like their work/life balance is in their control. This is a major selling point for any employee, and can result in less turnover, fewer complaints, and a higher employee retention rate. 

#5 - It’s Efficient and Effective - In-person meetings can take up a large portion of the work day. This is largely because there are tangents that go on in the duration of a meeting that don’t have anything to do with the stated objective of the meeting. Video conferencing can present a great alternative that will keep people on point and working toward the goals of the meeting. 

If you are looking to cut down on your meeting times, while also getting a solution that will work from anywhere with an Internet connection, look no further than the video conferencing options you can get through MSPNetworks. Call our knowledgeable consultants today for more information at (516) 403-9001.

How often do you find a message in your SMS inbox that has clearly come from a business, but you almost have to wonder, simply because the incoming number seems to be randomized? Google has taken notice of this challenge, and so has rolled out a means for businesses to confirm that they are in fact the ones sending a particular message. 

If you are currently using text messaging via the Android platform’s Messages application as a way to communicate, taking advantage of Verified SMS is something that you shouldn’t pass up.

How Does Verified SMS Actually Work?

Take yourself out of the role of a business owner for a moment. Instead, consider the following from the perspective of someone talking to a business as a prospect or customer.

Let’s say that you are inquiring with a business about their services, or a deal you saw advertised, and you are exercising your capability to communicate through text. At least, you hope that you’re talking to the business… each time you have a new conversation, the number it comes from changes. Weird, right?

When a business uses Verified SMS, each bit of content that they send out is verified per message to have actually come from them. Once the message is verified, the user will receive it, tagged with the business’ name, logo, and confirmed with a verification badge.

According to Google, a message’s content is never revealed to them, and all of these communications are secure.

How to Turn on Verified SMS

If you have an Android device, you can turn on Verified SMS to increase your own confidence in your own communications. Doing so is simple:

• Open the stock Android Messages app
• In the three-dot menu, access your Settings
• Access Verified SMS
• Switch on Verify business message sender 

Communication is a key part of any successful business. Find out how MSPNetworks can help you optimize yours! Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 today.

Once thought to just be a cool feature of the Internet--or the entirety of the Internet to your Great Aunt Maddie--instant messaging has a long history on the web. In fact, one could argue that it was the first great Internet-based application. Today, we take a look back at the history of Instant Messaging and how your organization can use it to create a better business.

History of Instant Messaging
In 1988, the development of Internet Relay Chat (IRC) allowed users to connect to networks with third-party software to chat in real-time. This was effectively the first chat program, and is still used today. As the Internet started to get more prevalent, chat rooms were one of the first novelty applications available to users. Being able to communicate with other people on your computer was a complete revelation for users, and it didn’t take long for innovations to make their mark.

In 1996, an Israeli company called Mirabilis launched ICQ. ICQ allowed users to have one-on-one chats, send files, and search for other users online. It quickly became successful and the following year, probably the most successful chat program of the early Internet was developed, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). AIM added the “buddy list” feature, which was a shortcut to open a chat with other users and a way to see if a person was online or not.

AIM was followed by Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger and for the first part of the 2000s the four competed for the IM market share. As social networks began to innovate and provide their users the ability to interact in real-time, the value of the chat program for personal use was left wanting. While there are still many chat programs, most of them allow users to send SMS messages (text messages) and other files. As of this writing, ICQ is the only one of the first four that still continues to function.

Messaging for Business
As the 2010s began, and mobility was growing very rapidly, mobile-based messaging applications began to completely replace the old IM services. Not only did the new chat services provide more options, but they were attached to popular web-based software. Business use of IM was more of a reaction than a planned implementation. People message other people constantly. For a while, business owners tried to limit this behavior at work, but with the workforce getting younger, it became evident that instant messaging was here to stay.

Today, the instant messaging application is a major part of most business’ communications strategies. This is because it is cost-effective, convenient, and scalable for almost any device. In some cases it has completely replaced email as the most important communications tool a company has. In other cases it is a nice supplementary collaboratory application that can move projects and tasks along faster. In fact, there have been some innovations in instant messaging technology that are designed for project management.

Collaboration apps, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams are taking instant messaging and adding powerful business-line integrations to help users collaborate more effectively. In each chat, users have the ability to bring in information from outside applications, including project management, customer relationship management, and productivity features that help them build more lucrative conversations. In doing so, these applications are being used by many organizations that have workers that work in different places. Since they are cloud-hosted, team members can access the chat, and the integrated information from more places, improving the speed and effectiveness of the project or task in progress.

For all of the benefits new instant messaging can bring to a business, there are some pretty important detriments to note. One is that it is easy to interrupt people with information that isn’t crucial to the workers’ tasks that can be distracting. This constant distraction, once a major consideration for keeping instant messaging tools out of a business’ cache of applications, is often looked upon as a part of the cost of doing business, with ROI figures providing impetus for continued use of these applications.

Further detriments come in industries that have to meet regulatory compliance. For example, businesses that need to meet the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have to have a solution in place to properly log and archive instant messages in order for them to be put in reports as needed. This presents complications and additional expense for a business.

Instant messaging can be a great addition to any business’ communications strategy. For more information about instant messaging and the role it can take in your business, call MSPNetworks at (516) 403-9001 today.