Lunch & Learn at Lock’s Brasserie – Unified Communications Briefing

Advances in mobile and wireless technology offer organisations an unprecedented opportunity to do things differently. Thanks to unified communications and the convergence of multimedia channels we can all connect, collaborate and work together in new ways, boosting organisational productivity and driving down telecommunications costs.

But the ability to realise these benefits depends on the flexibility and capability of the underlying communications infrastructure.

Introducing brilliantly simple unified communications and contact centre solutions from Shoretel.

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It’s official. Cloud Computing is not just an expense but a contributor to cost-reduction and innovation.

By Paul Caffrey, Office 365 Specialist for O2 Telefonica, MJ Flood Technology

Follow me on Twitter: @PaulMMCaffrey

Cloud Computing is in its infancy but as broadband speeds and quality of service increase, organisations large and small are considering the option of moving IT services to the cloud.

In a recent survey conducted by MJ Flood Technology, we asked organisations if they would move all of their production data to the cloud. A little over one third or 36 per cent responded in the negative. Is this because they view cloud as an expense rather than a contributor to cost reduction and innovation?

Lero, Ireland’s National Software Engineering Research Centre has for the first time presented empirical evidence of the benefits of cloud computing.

Their findings outline that cloud computing changes how Irish businesses communicate with customers and how employees interact. This improves the innovation and collaboration for companies. The research also found that businesses can save up to 65 per cent on administration costs when compared to running technology onsite.

Dr Lorraine Morgan of NUI Galway stated; “The move away from perpetual capital expenditure to operational expenditure was also seen as a significant cost benefit of adopting cloud computing especially in the current economic environment where the Central Bank has highlighted the shortage of traditional loan finance for Irish business.”

And they’re not the only commentators lauding the benefits of cloud.

The European Commission recently published a new “Digital Strategy”, describing how faster adoption of cloud computing will increase the European GDP by a staggering €160 billion by 2020, that’s a whopping 1%!

So with this in mind and in the words of Taoiseach Enda Kenny who recently advocated Ireland’s potential to “become the cloud computing capital of the world”, another question comes to mind: is cloud computing just another expense that Irish businesses don’t need?

The phrase “cloud computing” describes how businesses can access applications over the internet, negating the need to run hardware and/or software locally such as email servers, data storage servers or business applications.

If we take the most fundamental IT service that most businesses provide – email – we see that the majority of organisations run on-premise solutions such as Microsoft Small Business Server or Microsoft Exchange. However, these on-premise solutions have limited onsite storage and many organisations are struggling with demands from users for bigger inboxes and greater storage capacity. In addition, we see the evolution of communications as businesses adopt tools such as instant messaging and online meetings.

Companies such as Microsoft have taken on-board these challenges and continue to work hard on solving email infrastructure problems like such as storage, security and remote access to data. They have also developed cloud services such as Office 365 to fulfil demands for multimedia, multi-channel communications and information exchange, which is slowly becoming a fundamental tenet of corporate life.

It is important to state that migrating to the cloud will improve business operations no matter what your business but the move to the cloud is a financial decision for businesses to make.

For most organisations, the days of investing large sums of money into onsite IT systems can be avoided as a move to the cloud significantly reduces capital costs. We are seeing cost savings of between 30 and 50 per cent in moving to cloud compared to on-premise solutions. It’s a massive saving and one which should provide some food for thought for businesses looking to leverage technology to improve business performance and improve customer service.

iPad in Business Event – Work Smarter, Work Happier

MJ Flood Technology, together with our partner O2, cordially invite you to join us at the exclusive Audi Club in The O2, to hear about how iPad can work for you in a business environment.

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Experience First-Hand the Power of iManage

iManage is one of the most comprehensive IT managed services available on the market and we believe, leagues ahead of any competitive offerings.

iManage is specifically designed to monitor and manage the basic building blocks of your IT infrastructure with optional add-ons, covering everything from security and disaster recovery to mobile device management and networking monitoring.

So much so, we’re opening our doors and inviting you to come and experience first-hand, the power of iManage.

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MJ Flood Technology to Harvest Apple’s Business to Business Market

Dublin, 4 October, 2012: Leading IT services provider, MJ Flood Technology today announced its official accreditation as an Authorised Apple Reseller. The appointment recognises the company’s track record and expertise in driving sales and supporting Apple’s range of desktop and mobile devices for the business to business market.

MJ Flood Technology will bundle Apple’s hardware, software and accessories with its own professional services, in an effort to help organisations streamline their business processes, boost employee productivity and secure greater operational efficiencies.

Commenting on the accreditation, James Finglas, managing director with MJ Flood Technology said:

“Apple’s products have fundamentally changed the way we consume information, blurring the lines between the business and consumer environment. We encourage customers to take a more holistic view of ‘smart’ device usage and to develop a defined mobile working policy. Planning mobile device integration in a structured way will successfully deliver productivity and efficiency improvements to their business.”

MJ Flood Technology also sees a major market opportunity to help organisations use the power of Apple’s ‘smart’ devices and custom-designed apps to re-engineer business processes and deliver an enhanced customer experience. Clients such as insurance loss adjuster, ProAdjust have blended the iPad with existing work practices to boost client service level agreements to 92 per cent.

“Our field-based loss adjusters are equipped with an iPad and a custom-designed app, which essentially replaces pen and paper,” explains Mitch Wallis, operations manager with ProAdjust. “As they visit the scene, the loss adjuster can directly complete all details of the site investigation notes for each claim. Before leaving the site, an agreed scope of works is generated by the app, which is automatically uploaded and sent to the insurance company and the insured. It’s a powerful solution that has helped our staff to be more productive and most importantly, enhance customer service levels to both parties.”