Wi-Fi in the air

Commuting is part and parcel of working life be this a short stroll to work for a very lucky few to the endless train or car journey to the office. For some, it may even involve hoping on a plane. One thing is for sure though, the time to and from work can be utilised to reduce the hours you have to spend in the office thanks to the addition of Wi-Fi hot spots.

For those that have to drive sadly there’s not much chance of finishing that last minute presentation but for those on public transport, the addition of Wi-Fi hot spots and connectivity has opened the gates for extra working hours.

Got to travel for business, still need to catch up on emails or send the presentation over before you land? No problem. Simply check if your flight has a Wi-Fi symbol next to it.... and you thought ordering your food choice was as complicated as it got?

You can even buy a wireless card courtesy of Go Go in-flight internet allowing you to surf till your heart’s content for a mere few dollars when pre purchased for US flights. 

Over 38% off domestic flights in the US now have Wi-Fi access which has grown from 5% to 7% per year. There is also set to be an even larger rate of increase as more company’s roll out the satellite based technology.

Now even 120 London underground tube stations also have access to the internet provided either through monthly contract with selected ISPs or a pre paid daily, weekly or monthly subscription.

But, is it worth it? Surely, when we have free internet access at work already or can pop to Starbucks or McDonalds at lunch and log on for free, are the commuter services just cashing in on our need for constant data? In one sense, yes, it does bring in extra revenue to the flight and rail services but the benefit to the customer can out way the cost.

With house prices still high in city locations despite the economic downturn, we have had to up sticks and join the waft of commuters filing onto the trains in the morning. With train journeys taking upwards of an hour, that extra time to finish documents, arrange meetings and clear down your inbox can be hugely beneficial.

Time travelling internationally used to eat into the working day, flights would be booked early to ensure the working day would not be affected but now, with on-board Wi-Fi your office can be tens of thousands of feet high in the sky and no one need be any wiser to your location.

Obviously, the time spent travelling does not have to be used for work. Catching up on the latest Apprentice episode, the news or instagram video can all be done while waiting for the train. And with many companies banning the use of social networking sites during working hours, the need to find out whose done what can be intense.

With smart phone and tablets already offering us connection via our data plans we can of course  just use our phones but there’s something alluring about turning the Wi-Fi on, the extra speed, potential cost saving when using free Wi-Fi and the capacity to send and receive higher bandwidths can be just too tempting.

So embrace the Wi-Fi revolution, log on where you can, buy the monthly cards to save you cash and of course, ensure your business has free Wi-Fi to bring in the punters. 

APC Solutions finalists for the 2013 Comms Business Awards - what a night it was

What a night the 20^th June was. APC attended, and was nominated for two categories of the Comms Business Awards which took place at The Lancaster Hotel in London’s Hyde Park.

The glittering event was hosted by Debra Stevenson and featured 19 categories. The national awards are a testament to the communication industry covering resellers, distributors, service providers, product and employee categories.

Independently judged, The Comms Business Awards are designed to genuinely recognise excellence in the Channel. Acknowledging the successes of the reseller community, the vendors, distributors and service providers as well as those successful individuals who truly set the standard, these Awards are the industry's most sought after accolade.

APC Solutions was finalists for the SMB Convergence Solutions category and its Director, David Bell was shortlisted for Entrepreneur of the Year. The Comms awards are national and both APC and David were up against major players within the Comms industry. 

Reaching the finals of such prestigious and national awards is a huge testament to the APC team. David Bell comments: “When the nominations came out we were both shocked and proud to see just who we were up against. From our humble beginnings, APC is now competing with major national companies, many of whom have been around for many more years than APC.  All of our outstanding team are to thank for our nominations, I even credit the team for my own nomination as without them, I wouldn't have achieved what I have.

“Sadly, this year both APC and I were pipped to the post but we will be back next year. To our clients, suppliers and team thank you for your support in getting us this far and here’s to a big push for next year?”

The winners were:

1. Distributor of the Year - Reader Vote
WINNER: - Trust Distribution FINALISTS: - Capstan Communications Micro-P Nimans ScanSource Europe
2. Internet Service Provider of the Year - Reader Vote
WINNER: - Virtual1 FINALISTS: - Entanet Gamma Griffin Zen Internet
3. Network Operator of the Year - Reader Vote
WINNER: - Gamma FINALISTS: - BT Kcom O2 Virgin Media Business
Solutions Categories	Award Sponsors
4. SMB Convergence Solution
WINNER: - alwaysON Ltd FINALISTS: - APC Solutions Green Fields Technology M12 Solutions Switch Communications
5. Mid-Market Convergence Solution
WINNER: - Britannic Technologies FINALISTS: - Damovo UK Excell Group Foehn Gamma Business Communications
6. Enterprise Convergence Solution
WINNER: -Excell Group FINALISTS: - Channel Telecom Europacom.net Response Data Communications
Product Categories	Award Sponsors
7. Most Innovative Channel Product (Hardware)
WINNER: - Sennheiser UK FINALISTS: - Grandstream Neworks Inc Jabra Plantronics Talari Networks
8. Most Innovative Channel Product (On Premise Software Application)
WINNER: - Oak FINALISTS: - Kcom SpliceCom Limited Tollring Union Street Technologies
9. Most Innovative Channel Product (Professional Services)
WINNER: - Cirrus FINALISTS: - Atrium Telecom Channel Intellect IP-Netix Virtual1
10 . Most Innovative Channel Product (Cloud Based Solution Deployed)
WINNER: - Outsourcery FINALISTS: - Akixi ChannelCloud Cirrus PRD Technologies
11 . Channel Product of the Year - Overall
WINNER: - Outsourcery
People Categories	Award Sponsors
12. Channel Sales Person of Year
WINNER: - racie Wilkes of Frontier Voice & Data FINALISTS: - Adam Cathcart of Outsourcery Steve Harrington of tIPicall
13. Channel Entrepreneur of the Year
WINNER: - Tom O'Hagan of Virtual1 FINALISTS: - David Bell of APC Solutions Mark Gordon of Evolve Telecom Tony Cook of Union Street Technologies
14. Emerging Channel Company of the Year
WINNER: - tIPicall FINALISTS: - Cirrus Creation Application
Reseller Categories	Award Sponsors
15. Wholesale Service Provider
WINNER: - Virtual1 FINALISTS: - Channel Telecom Entanet Frontier Voice & Data Nine Group
16. Reseller of the Year (Small)
WINNER: - M12 Solutions FINALISTS: - EOS Communications Fusion Media Networks GHM Communications Ltd NetDatatel
17. Reseller of the Year (Medium)
WINNER: - Communicate Better FINALISTS: - 360 Solutions Incom Business Systems STL Communications TMS
18. Reseller of the Year (Large)
WINNER: - Excell Group FINALISTS: - Britannic Technologies Damovo UK Focus Group HighNet Telecoms
19. Overall Reseller of the Year
WINNER: - Excell Group

Just how much do we rely on WiFi and do we frequent establishments without it?

You know the drill, pop out for coffee, find table, turn WiFi on, connect to coffee shops free WiFi, save on your data and get your daily Facebook or news fix while sipping your double shot latte. But, would you stay as long as you do, order that extra coffee or pastry or even go there at all without the free WiFi?

Just this week, the tourist town of Taos in New Mexico had its major fibre optic cable severed and all connection to the town was lost. Just one hotel kept its connection, the rest of the stores, coffee shops, hotels and homes lost their connection. Mobile phone coverage went down, WiFi went off and the town grew quiet from the buzz of communication save for the old age of conversation.

Just how much do we rely on the internet, our tablets and our phones to communicate? Even birthday and Christmas cards are sent using online card companies with local high street stores facing administration. The art of looking for the perfect card is now just a click away.

We use our phones and their wireless coverage for everything from shopping to sending a simple email. Our weekly shop is stored in an app and delivered to our door, if we were to actually drive to the store, would we even know where the items we wanted were?

This may all sound negative but communication using Wi-Fi is also fundamental. We have to travel on business, using apps like Facetime or Skype allow other halves and children to maintain contact with their partner or parents. Skype bridges the gap across oceans to allow us to see our loved ones or conduct a business meeting without costly air miles. Also saving valuable green miles using the airwaves over the train, car or air travel.

Offering free Wi-Fi drives sales to your business, offering a free hot spot ensures customers stay for longer and have an added bonus of using your office, store or restaurant. We are a time poor society, gone are the long business lunch days, now it is a quick hour-long lunch as can be seen by Wolfgang Pucks hour lunch menu at Cut. Within the hour we need to socialise, secure the deal and check in to the office to ensure that last minute email arrived and the deal is done before the overseas office is closed.

Walk into an office when the internet has gone down and see the panic..... We rely so heavily on our internet connection these days, that the demand for greater bandwidth and more reliable solutions is becoming the need and driver for so many business and organisations.  

If only Taos had thought about a resilient or more reliable solution.  Could wireless backhaul be the answer?  We certainly think so!

BYOD security debate rumbles on

A report issued recently by analyst firm Garter confirms worldwide security software revenues reached $19.2bn in 2012 compared to $17.7bn in 2011. As the BYOD debate rumbles on, are firms prepared to increase their security outlay to ensure employees own devices are safe?

The rise of employees using their own tablets, phones and laptops has meant companies need to consider their company security. Should a device be left on the train home or local coffee house, without the necessary security encryption, a company’s security could be breached and once it is breached, the BYOD debate really kicks off.

So can a company really afford to allow its employees to bring their devices to work? Of course, but only if strict security guidelines are followed and of course, regularly updated. There is no point rolling out a security programme, ensuing your employee has the relevant software on all their devices to find that the contract lapsed a month ago? Companies need to ensure their IT departments are constantly on top of their security and of course, ensure employees are willing to work with them to ensure the safety of company files and information.

Is it easier to not allow employees to bring their own devices into the work place? Of course, but is it practical? No. With the latest versions being released yearly if not more frequently, companies cannot keep abreast of the latest versions and why would an employee use an old version when their own device is quicker, more reliable and easier to use?

So, it looks like the security firms revenue is set to increase further over the next few years. But, could the technology firms cash in on the BYOD revolution? By working with companies to offer their own range of security protection if the device is used at work, could companies bridge the gap between employees own and company owned devices. As the customer purchased their device, if their company was registered with the retailer could the security be added to the device in store to the company’s desired spec? For instance, if the company approaches a retailer, ensures its employees purchase their own devices from said supplier at a discount and have it work ready? Could this ensure that employees can still have the freedom of their own device and allow them to upgrade in their own time but at a discount and protected by the employer? It would certainly make it easier to manage.

However, until that happens, it is left with employees to be honest of their own device usage and for companies to be vigilant of their security software updates. Of course, as long as employees cannot access the company network without specific log in details this will allow the company to keep on top of this. But security is and always will be paramount to BYOD being integrated into best working practice.