Is Your Technology Ready for The Next Generation?

Posted on March 27, 2012 by ardanklefsen 
By: Greg Bell, VP of Operations and Technical Services

In today’s ever-changing communications environment, it has become increasingly complicated not only to keep up with complex expanding technology and interoperability, but to also understand how these technologies, devices, software and applications can improve your company’s value to your customers and to the bottom line.

As the next generation of workers infiltrates the market, employers need to be conscious of the technologies they require to communicate.  Text messaging, instant messaging and mobility, are just a few along with the explosion of social networking, requiring employers to think twice about the tools needed to conduct business. Young workers grew up with these technologies and expect these tools to be present with their new employers. Just look at your teens and the number of phone calls they make with their cell phones versus how many text messages they make and take? Ask them if they have an email address? Bet the answer is no? We have to change. The tools we use to communicate have to change and follow the demand of the market place. We need to be ready for the next mode of communication, while ensuring that the trusted tried and true systems we use today are ready for the future.

STL Communications can help you navigate your way through the disorienting minefield of modern technology and work with you to sift through the growing number of options that have value to your customers, improve productivity, and enhance your bottom line. We concentrate on an organizations communication challenges; we analyze and provide recommendations that help you align communications infrastructure with your organizational strategy.

STL Communications is an Avaya Business Partner and Avaya SME Expert. We have a well certified staff of Avaya installation specialists and are a Co-Delivery Partner for Avaya support and maintenance services.
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STL Communications: A Clear Choice for Your Avaya Communication Needs

Posted on March 20, 2012 by ardanklefsen

STL Communications has the know-how, dedication, and attention to detail for solving business problems, developing strategies and collaboration improvement ideas to help our customers. We believe that technology benefits business only when it:

  •  Increases employee productivity and information transport resulting in an increase in customer satisfaction
  • Save costs with combined information sources and endpoints
  • Speeds up information access allowing for faster decision making decreasing human latency using event triggers

At STL Communications we apply technology to solve business problems and our key differentiators are:

  • Our people make the difference
  • We have a culture of putting the customer first
  • Our intellectual capital and experience drive innovative solutions
  • Our customers tell us that our service response and break fix is exceptional
  • We are certified best-in-class for problem resolution and technical certifications
  • We employ a full staff of Avaya certified engineers for design, installation, and service

We are the clear choice for all of your communications and collaboration needs. Our intellectual strengths are our customers advantage. We have:

  • Over 25 years of history in the communications industry
  • Long history with AT&T, Lucent, and Avaya
  • Over 400 years combined experience
  • Rated “Best-in-Class” and “World-Class” through Avaya audits for service and project management
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Best Response Time For After Business Hours

Posted on March 20, 2012 by ardanklefsen

Avaya Communications rates STL Communications as a “best-in-class” co-delivery partner. One reason is our fast response times providing break-fix and support services for all Avaya communication systems. Whether it is an Avaya Aura Communication Manager, IP Office, a legacy Definity, or a Partner system, STL has you covered.

To this end, and to ensure our customers have the best response time for after business hours support, STL awards $1,000 annually to the on-call technician who has the quickest response time for an after business hours service call. Throughout the year management makes middle of the night calls into our services 800 number and starts the stop watch. The goal is to motivate and reward our best service technician and to continue to provide exceptional customer service.

Pictured in the photo is our 2011 winner, Jason Heise with a response time of 1 minute and 37 seconds. Congratulations Jason, job well done!

This is yet another reason why STL Communications leads the way in Avaya system installation, support, break-fix, and innovative solution design and why our customers keep coming back.

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2011 Exceptional Customer Service Award

Posted on March 20, 2012 by ardanklefsen

Customer Service is the commitment to providing value added services to external and internal customers, including attitude knowledge, technical support and quality of service in a timely manner. Exceptional Customer Service is the ability of an organization or individual to constantly and consistently exceed the customer’s expectations. STL Communications rewards its people on exceptional customer service. We do this through our gold coin contest. Whenever an employee goes above and beyond as told to management through a customer email, phone call, or another employee, they are awarded 1 gold coin. The employee with the most gold coins at the end of the year is awarded $1,000 cash.

Congratulations to Greg Hall for the 2011 award! Pictured to the right are Steve Leidholdt (President and CEO) and Greg Hall (Technician Extraordinaire). Greg provides installation, project management, and expert support services for Avaya IP Office, Nortel, and Avaya CM phone systems. He is good at what he does and it shows.

Thank you Greg for your Exceptional Customer Service in 2011! We appreciate it and so do our customers!

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Acquisition of Radvision to Make Avaya a Contender in Videoconferencing

Posted on March 19, 2012 by ardanklefsen

Avaya announced it has signed a merger agreement to acquire RADVISION. Through this acquisition, Avaya will provide its enterprise customers of every size a highly integrated and interoperable suite of cost-effective, low-bandwidth, high-definition video collaboration products, with the ability to plug and play nearly every mobile device available, including Apple iPad® and Google Android™ devices.

This acquisition further evolves Avaya’s video portfolio with business collaboration solutions, and strengthens Avaya’s commitment to enabling The Power of We™.

This is an important milestone for both customers and for the collaboration market; with this combination, we believe Avaya will be the only vendor to offer an easy-to-use, fully integrated voice and video solution for anytime, anywhere collaboration available in open, standards-based environments (H323 and SIP). It is a great example of Avaya’s commitment to enable faster collaboration, smarter decisions and better business results, and help our customers better meet the demands of today’s workforce.

Upon closing, Avaya would acquire RADVISION’s entire line of videoconferencing products, video communications management, bridging technologies and its extensive expertise in serving both enterprises and service providers. The integrated RADVISION portfolio complements the Avaya video offering available today and is comprised of standards-based applications, infrastructure and endpoints for ad-hoc and scheduled videoconferencing from multiple devices. It provides highly flexible collaboration environments that are designed to grow with the needs of the business, and to help reduce the total cost of ownership.

We are excited about the opportunity this represents for Avaya, and for you as our customer. Until the transaction closes, both companies will continue to operate independently. The transaction is expected to close within the next 90 days.

When this acquisition closes, we will be powerfully positioned to bring your business true collaboration via video, helping you to work more efficiently.

Avaya fully intends to continue its support for all current Avaya video installations after the closing event. We will be creating and rolling out an integrated roadmap as soon as the appropriate closing activities are conducted. In the meantime, I am happy to work with you to identify potential opportunities that this merger, once closed, can offer your business.

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Is Your WLAN Ready for the Wireless Revolution of BYOD?

Posted on March 15, 2012 by ardanklefsen

BYOD on Avaya NetworksOn average, a new wireless device, complete with its own quirks and running on an increasingly sophisticated array of operating systems, reaches the market every 45 days. Once simply a means of maintaining communications, these devices are now capable of running powerful business applications, processing high definition video and consuming ever more bandwidth.

As these devices become more powerful and plentiful, more people will bring them to work. Wireless smart devices will replace cumbersome equipment once thought indispensable to business, enabling employees to choose the tools they are most comfortable with to perform their duties.

For IT departments whose networks are ready to support the surge in wireless traffic, the “bring your own device” (BYOD) revolution promises huge gains in productivity, mobility and cost savings, all on devices purchased by the employees.Meeting the needs of a truly wireless enterprise

Wireless networks are becoming more and more dominant and the following considerations are crucial to building a wireless network that can withstand the BYOD invasion

  • Access and authentication control: Enterprise users have, on average, four wireless devices that need provisioning and monitoring. Any solution that fails to allow IT managers to quickly and easily add, remove and change devices on the network will end up costing much more than it’s worth.
  • Security: Open by nature, wireless networks must be secure enough to protect the enterprise from malicious attacks, viruses and rogue devices.
  • Scalability: Because devices and users can jump on and off at any point, any wireless network trying to compete in the market must be instantly scalable.
  • Guest Management: Solution must provide for both active and passive guest management, allowing IT managers to take a direct interest in an individual guest’s level of access, or let that access level be predetermined by guest location and other factors.
  • QoS Assurance: A wireless network that cannot assure Quality of Service is not worth having.

Go to http://www.stlcom.com/document-library/13/mobility to read the rest of the story.

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Inside Social Media Marketing for Small and Midsize Companies

Posted on March 9, 2012 by ardanklefsen

For small and midsize businesses today, using social media is no longer a question of why, but when. The average U.S. user now spends about eight hours a month on Facebook: some 15 minutes every day. While there is no guarantee that a specific social media site will retain its popularity, the Facebook idea—the use of the Internet for interactive communication and engagement—is here to stay.

With so many people flocking to these sites, having a social media presence is like locating your business in a prime location with easy access to highways, mass transit, etc. You create more opportunity for more people to learn about you and what your business offers by:

  •  Reaching more potential customers: customers can search for you and view the recommendations of friends.
  • Staying in touch with existing customers: tweets, blog posts, etc. all offer a way to stay in touch and provide value.
  • Enhancing your professional relationships and partnerships: networking with colleagues and leading groups focused on your business or industry raises your stature.
  • Getting more traffic on your website: having links to your website, on your social media pages (and on the pages of people connected to you) can all generate more traffic.
  • Increasing your rankings in search engines: more content on social media sites means more links to you, which raises your rankings in search engines, such as Google.

Which social media site is right for your business? CMO.com regularly reviews which social media sites to take advantage of and why. Here are some of its current recommendations. (For the full report, go to http://www.cmo.com/social-media/2011-cmos-guide-social-landscape)

  • Facebook: Facebook is the top site for getting your message out and listening to customers. Because of its huge volume, it’s a major way to drive traffic to your website.
  • Twitter: It isn’t what you’re saying on Twitter that exposes your business. It’s what you can get others to say about you that has the real impact. Getting retweets and interactions can do more for the exposure of your company than any other social site.
  • LinkedIn: Great for personal branding of professional organizations and showing the professional firepower of your team. Encourage employees to maintain complete profiles.
  • YouTube: Second only to Facebook in driving awareness. But the images conveyed through online video are so indelible, be certain that they align (in content, tone and production value) with what you want as your perceived company persona.
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STL Communications Exhibits at Indiana Rural Health Assoc – Spring Symposium

Posted on March 5, 2012 by ardanklefsen

STL Healthcare WheelPlainfield, IN – The Indiana Rural Health Association (IRHA) Spring Into Quality Symposium was held at the Primo West Banquet and Conference Center on Friday, March 2, 2012. The agenda included discussions regarding: Medical Home Models, Key Benchmarking Pillars for Hospital Sustainability, and breakout sessions on topics of finance and operational quality.

STL Communications (STL), a proud Silver Sponsor exhibitor, has been sponsoring the IRHA shows for the past four years. ”We provide communication and collaboration solutions from Avaya and Polycom”, said Al Danklefsen Vice President of Sales and Marketing for STL. “Our technology enables process and drives out costs and increase efficiency within the hospital continuum of care”, Danklefsen continued. STL solutions include: phone systems, video conferencing, wireless phones, data networking, nurse call, and support services.

“For every event we attend we always give away a unique prize”, Don Ortman, Health-care Sales Executive for the Indiana Health-care Market explained. ”One year we gave away golf for two at the Brickyard, another year it was University Mascot Hats”. Medical Monopoly was the prize awarded at The Spring Into Quality Symposium event. Presented during the luncheon portion of the event, Al Danklefsen, stood up to the microphone, welcomed the conference participants, and thanked them for letting STL participate. The tension was electrifying as the crowd waited with anticipation as to who the winner of this $25 game would be (tongue in cheek). “The winner is……Amy Miller, Director of Performance Improvement at Greene County General Hospital”, Al announced. Congratulations to Amy Miller and enjoy and thank you for visiting our exhibit.

Thank you to all who came by the STL booth. Visitors were able to see video conferencing on an iPad, wireless phones for nursing, wireless scanners built into the phone, and wired telephone solutions from Avaya. STL looks forward to the Annual Meeting on June 14th and 15th at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis. We are working on a new prize this year, something exciting and different, just like STL Communications.

Visit our website at stlcom.com or give us a call. We can show you how our communication solutions improve patient satisfaction, drive out costs, are exciting, and different. Let us show you why we are in the top 2% of Avaya Business Partners and why our customers keep coming back.

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See How to Be A Smart Hospital STL Communications Gold Sponsor

Posted on March 2, 2012 by ardanklefsen

 

The best in rural health comes to Denver April 17-20

Rural health advocates and experts from across the country will arrive in Denver for networking, education and advocacy April 17-20 for NRHA’s 35th Annual Rural Health Conference.

Come early for the annual Rural Medical Educators Conference on April 17. Scholarships are availablehere on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Author and documentary filmmaker T.R. Reid will give the keynote address. Reid wrote the New York Times-best seller, “The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care.”

And don’t miss Kathy Greenlee, U.S. assistant secretary for aging, plus more than 50 innovative, practical and cost-saving sessions addressing workforce, federal policy and programs, disease prevention and treatment, primary care collaborations and much more.

The National Rural Health Association’s federal partners at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Office of Rural Health Policy and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will debrief you on the latest changes impacting rural health care delivery and funding.

Exclusive tracks are planned for:

•policy
•hospital and clinic management
•clinical
•state health resources
•rural education
•rural community 


For more information on the largest gathering of rural health pros in the country, clickhere to register and save $100.

Also of note: The exhibit hall is now sold out.
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The Value of STL Communications for Avaya Phone System Support

Posted on February 29, 2012 by ardanklefsen

STL Communications has a best-in-class, highly qualified infrastructure of experts, and a certified network of contacts within the Avaya ecosystem. An STL Support Services agreement will deliver investment protection and risk avoidance to your organization. The benefits of an STL Support Services agreement are:

  1. 99% Isolation and Resolution of System Generated Alarms proprietary remote monitoring tool
  2. Access to the latest training and services documentations for all STL Communications staff
  3. Access to Tier III and IV expertise for major outages and advanced software troubleshooting
  4. Inventory management infrastructure to ensure the delivery of the correct, authentic spare part
  5. Software updates and security patches to ensure maximum uptime
  6. Full-spectrum services expertise in Avaya solutions including voice and data, so that you can migrate to IP at your own pace
  7. Crash-kit options for critical spares
  8. Full Manufacturer Support
  9. On-site response
  10. Remote and on-site moves, adds, and changes
  11. A plan and available equipment to restore service as soon as possible following a calamitous event
  12. On average; 20% support services cost savings over our closest competitor

Trust your Avaya phone system to STL Support Services. We will tailor a solution to fit the needs of your organization. Call or email us to find out more.

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