Integra EoC Footprint Surpasses 460,000 Businesses

Integra Increases Their Footprint
By Sean Buckley 

Integra is continuing its aggressive Ethernet buildout strategy, expanding its Ethernet over Copper (EoC) network to another 43 fiber-fed ILEC Local Serving Offices (LSOs). Through this expansion, Integra's EoC access service now reaches a total of 187 on-network LSOs, enabling it to reach more than 460,000 businesses in over 140,000 commercial buildings. Providing up to 100 Mbps of bandwidth over existing copper pairs, the expansion accommodates growth in seven of the CLEC's existing markets: California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Minnesota and Colorado.

Brian Washburn, service director, Global Business Network and IT Services for Current Analysis, said in an interview with FierceTelecom that Integra's milestone reflects its move to extend Ethernet into secondary markets that have not been traditional targets for Ethernet deployments. "What's really nice about this for Integra is it is getting Ethernet over Copper into a lot places that are maybe not as well loved as the U.S. East Coast or the Pacific Northwest," he said. Washburn added that Integra will face competitive headwinds from area incumbent telcos, particularly CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL), which has been expanding its EoC footprint in many of the markets where Integra provides service.

"The flipside to this is among the incumbent local carriers, CenturyLink is one of the bigger proponents of Ethernet over Copper," he said. "In that respect, it's behaving more like Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN) or Frontier (Nasdaq: FTR) and being kind of pro deployment of Ethernet over Copper inside of its carrier incumbent footprint." Data transport is only one part of the EoC equation. Current and new EoC customers can also get access to its broader portfolio of Ethernet-based services, such as its IP/MPLS VPN Solutions, Hosted Voice Services and other managed and cloud services.

While Integra has built a sizeable network that supports a suite of fiber-based Ethernet, EoC has been a key element in extending Ethernet service into areas that it currently can't reach with fiber. Over the past two years, it has been enhancing its EoC portfolio, introducing a 60 Mbps symmetrical EoC service in November 2012 and later a 100 Mbps capability.

Hot IT Job skills in 2014: Mobile, Web Development, and Big Data Colorado

Technology Full Speed Ahead
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Expertise in Web development, mobile development, and large-scale data analysis will be much sought-after by IT hiring managers this year.

The clients of Doug Schade, principal consultant in the software technology search division at hiring firm WinterWyman, are especially interested in Web developers who know open source languages. In addition to Java skills, Ruby and Python development backgrounds are desirable, reflecting a development trend that de-emphasizes Microsoft languages, he said. Also on InfoWorld: Hotshot young techies, take heed of these 10 hard-earned lessons of a lifetime in IT.  Get a digest of the day's top tech stories in the InfoWorld Daily newsletter.

Java and .Net skills are especially valuable for Web development projects, said Jack Cullen, president of IT staffing firm Modis. In the mobile space, experience with developing for Apple's iOS leads the way in desired backgrounds, said John Reed, senior executive director at staffing firm Robert Half Technology.

There's also some demand for other platforms like Microsoft's Windows Phone, he said. Understanding how to create a site that can be easily viewed and navigated from a handheld device is just as important to employers as knowing how to develop a mobile application, he added.



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Contact me at Tduggan@Cogentco.com at Cogent for more Info or to Network. Cogent delivers customers with Highly Reliable, Secure and Scalable Networks with over 190 markets throughout 38 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with over 57,900 route miles of long-haul fiber and over 27,400 miles of metropolitan fiber.

Channel Sales Defining Sales Goals 2014!

Contact me at tradd.duggan@integratelecom.com at Integra  for more Info 3o3-884-4294: Whether your company needs Managed Network Services, price shopping, Cloud Firewall Solutions, Ethernet or Fiber Services, MPLS- Data protection, VOIP-SIP-Integra has a suite of offerings that nobody else can provide.

5 Things To Get Smart About in Telecom & Cloud Technology For 2014

Cloud Technology Getting Brighter
Posted on by Andrew Pryfogle
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Headed into 2014, I’ve been asked what the key areas are that people need to get smarter about to be successful selling Cloud in the new year. Even after several years of buzz and progress, there remains a tremendous amount of confusion around Cloud. Trusted advisors who understand how to apply Cloud technologies to solve real business problems are at a true premium.

Those who invest in getting smarter about Cloud are going to be the big winners next year. But with so much noise around all things Cloud, where is the right place to start? What technologies should you explore more deeply now to set yourself up for big success in 2014?

Here are my top 5:
#1: Desktop as a Service (DaaS) I recently posed the question, “Is DaaS the next hosted VoIP?” There are certainly compelling parallels between the adoption of these technologies. Hosted VoIP (voice-over IP) was a big idea with lots of promise for a long time before it went mainstream. 

#2: Cloud-Enabled Colo More and more customers are recognizing that it makes more sense to park their infrastructure in someone else’s closet instead of their own. Cloud is becoming a popular destination for that infrastructure but rarely is it a pure play Cloud solution.

  #3: Cloud Contact Centers You may have heard me say in the past that contact centers simply belong in the Cloud. I still believe that, and, in fact, nearly every contact center developer and manufacturer has embraced that thinking.

#4: Video as a Service (VaaS) I’m convinced this will finally be the year when VaaS breaks out. The value of video conferencing can’t be argued, and with the explosion in mobility, video adoption is finally accelerating. Web RTC will throw gas on that fire, and Cloud is making video accessible to the masses. I love the innovative solutions that Simple Signal and Arkadin are doing in this exciting space.

#5: Selling is Dead: The Evolution of Solution Selling I read a book this year called The Challenger Sale – Taking Control of the Customer Conversation. It’s the best book I’ve read recently on the subject of solution selling. The bottom line is this: Cloud demands a different sales approach.

Customers are swimming in a sea of confusion and desperately need help navigating those waters.

Contact me at tradd.duggan@integratelecom.com at Integra  for more Info 3o3-884-4294: Whether your company needs Managed Network Services, price shopping, Cloud Firewall Solutions, Ethernet or Fiber Services, MPLS- Data protection, VOIP-SIP-Integra has a suite of offerings that nobody else can provide.

Colorado Employment Update: New Sales Job Search Tips for 2014!

Positive, broad-based job growth forecast for Colorado in 2014, says CU Leeds School of Business

Colorado will continue on the road to recovery and add a variety of jobs in 2014 across almost all business sectors following a positive year in 2013, according to economist Richard Wobbekind of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. Wobbekind’s announcement is part of the 49th annual Colorado Business Economic Outlook Forum to be delivered Dec. 9 by the Business Research Division of the Leeds School and presented by Noble Energy.

The comprehensive outlook report for 2014 features forecasts and trends for 13 business sectors prepared by more than 100 key business, government and industry professionals. “With Colorado’s skilled workforce, high-tech diversified economy, relatively low cost of doing business, global economic access and exceptional quality of life, the state is poised for long-term economic growth,” Wobbekind wrote in the outlook. Wobbekind is the executive director of the Leeds School’s Business Research Division.

- See more at: http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2013/12/09/positive-broad-based-job-growth-forecast-colorado-2014-says-cu-leeds-school#sthash.qQ1d6DUj.dpuf


Contact me at tradd.duggan@integratelecom.com at Integra  for more Info 3o3-884-4294: Whether your company needs Managed Network Services, price shopping, Cloud Firewall Solutions, Ethernet or Fiber Services, MPLS- Data protection, VOIP-SIP-Integra has a suite of offerings that nobody else can provide.

12 Best Practices That Help Sales Managers Make Their Teams Successful

12 Best Practices That Help Sales Managers Make Their Teams Successful 
Oct 4 2012 By Walter Rogers
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Sales managers are uniquely positioned to influence and empower sales reps to greater levels of success, but sales managers sometimes become so busy and distracted that they neglect their own professional development as they get caught up trying to survive the latest fire drill. It only takes insight into three key areas to dramatically increase the positive impact the sales manager can make on the whole sales team: Alignment, Motivation, and Performance. As we continue to work with successful sales organizations all around the world, we have discovered that highly effective sales managers have a set of skills and characteristics in common that set them above all the rest, and which enable them to help their teams to achieve results that are also way above average. These characteristics are defined in the topics below:

1. Too many sales teams are over-managed and under-led, which is to say that many sales managers rely too much on metrics and deadlines to drive performance. Highly effective sales managers find numerous ways to come alongside team members to motivate and reward them in a social format that brings out the best in them in a way that inspires everyone.

2. Culture eats strategy for breakfast. This is just a way of saying that highly effective sales managers don’t rely on theoretical or arbitrary programs to drive sales team performance. Yes, every team should have a sales process and set goals and measure pipeline, but it works best to align those organizational goals to a social network. Leveraging social goals gives sales individuals targets that are practical, comfortable, and therefore more natural. Of course, behavior that feels more natural will always work better and longer than activities that don’t.

 3. Building the team; finding and hiring talent. Effective sales managers are committed to hiring the best talent available. If you want the best, hire the best, and save loads of time and money on training while protecting yourself from failure six months down the road. It costs more up front, but it definitely pays off over time. Look for individuals with social goals that are already more aligned with your organizational goals. Screen shot 2012-10-17 at 3.05.18 PM

4. Cadence and Consistency: Set and manage the heartbeat of the team. A sales team thrives when all the components of the sales and management process follow regular standards and schedules. If sales managers have the tools, real time tracking and instantaneous feedback are by far the best methods. When sales reps don’t feel a need to stop and check in or work against intermittent review “events,” they can give more energy to selling and immediately incorporate managers’ instant feedback with deals in motion.

5. Key Performance Indicators: The glue of your communication strategy. An integral part of a consistent winning cadence is the tone and the topics of your communications with your sales team. Nothing is more important to sales makers than knowing what is expected of them and when it is expected. Effective sales managers keep their communication clear and their expectations well defined, so that team members know what to aim for, and understand what will happen if they hit it (or not).

6. Manage the Forward Pipeline: The difference between pipeline and forecasting. Most sales managers understand the necessity of communicating regularly with team members about pipeline and forecasting. However, highly effective sales managers understand there is a difference between the two. Forecasting is focused on late stage deals. It does little to help with future quarters. Pipeline is focused on the future development of sales, which ultimately impacts later forecasts. Most managers don’t differentiate or understand the difference between the two. Keep this in mind when aligning new goals. When coaching for performance, help some reps better understand your coaching by pointing out the respective impact on pipeline or forecasting.

 7. Process: Don’t over engineer it, but don’t ignore it. Every sales team works within a standardized process which defines how to approach, qualify, work with and close the customer. This is a good thing. However, highly effective sales managers know it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Highly regimented, complex sales processes can confuse a sales rep and tie their hands. So, an effective sales manager will use all the tech and tools available to track performance in real time. Up-to-the-minute tracking lets managers make up-to-the-minute adjustments, giving their teams “guided flexibility” that is optimal in modern dynamic sales environments.

8. Coaching: In the day – in the moment. Coaching is the responsibility most neglected by sales managers, because it requires them to borrow time from their already busy day. Highly effective sales managers realize that placing a high priority on coaching will build confidence and drive production for their team better and faster than any other single practice. Therefore, they take advantage of every opportunity, scheduled or unscheduled, to provide feedback that will make their sales reps Perform better

 9. Herding cats: Dealing with the mavericks and high performers. It takes a special kind of person to thrive as a sales professional. The highly competitive profile of a successful sales rep can make them a challenge to work with and lead. Effective sales managers know how to motivate and reward this unique breed of cat, to maximize performance and minimize conflict, thus taking a “good” sales professional making them “great.” Shrewd managers also leverage social networking, using the success of high performers to motivate others, turning great individual performers into great performing teams.

10. Leading Indicators: Worrisome patterns of behavior. Effective sales managers are always thinking ahead; they can recognize what small trends indicate before they become big problems. By noticing small changes in sales rep performance in what otherwise might look like still “reasonably” good numbers, the sales manager can be proactive by coaching reps as they perform. In doing so, the manager helps prevent weaker performances from becoming anchored as bad habits that sap overall yearly productivity and sales.

11. Protect their time: You can’t sell if you aren’t spending time with customers. Highly effective sales managers practice good time management habits, and they enable their sales teams to make the most of their time by eliminating demands on their time that don’t directly help drive revenue. With clearly aligned goals, all activities can be quickly evaluated. activities that don’t support these goals can be eliminated or updated to bring them into alignment.

12. Celebrate: Winning is fun. Celebrate it! This ought to be self-explanatory, but some sales managers wait too long and then don’t celebrate enough. Effective sales managers understand that the best way to dispel some of the pressure is to reward wins – even small ones – as often as possible and use it as an opportunity to give everyone a little boost. A little celebration creates motivation and that goes a long way.

Contact me at tradd.duggan@integratelecom.com at Integra  for more Info 3o3-884-4294: Whether your company needs Managed Network Services, price shopping, Cloud Firewall Solutions, Ethernet or Fiber Services, MPLS- Data protection, VOIP-SIP-Integra has a suite of offerings that nobody else can provide.

Top Technology Trends in 2014: Mobile Cloud, Big Data, 3D Tools and More!

Top Technology Trends for 2014
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IEEE Computer Society journals, magazines, and conferences are continually at the forefront of current technology trends.

That's just one of the reasons that IEEE Computer Society is the community for technology leaders. As a technology professional, keeping on top of trends is crucial. Below are a list of technology topics that Computer Society magazines, journals, and conferences will be focusing on next year:

1. Emergence of the Mobile Cloud Mobile distributed computing paradigm will lead to explosion of new services. Mobile and cloud computing are converging to create a new platform—one that has the potential to provide unlimited computing resources. Mobile devices are constrained by their memory, processing power, and battery life. But combined with cloud computing, data processing and storage can happen outside of mobile devices. 

2. From Internet of Things to Web of Things Need connectivity, internetworking to link physical and digital. Going beyond the Internet of Things, where identifiable objects are seamlessly integrated into the information network, the Web of Things takes advantage of mobile devices' and sensors' ability to observe and monitor their environments, increasing the coordination between things in the real world and their counterparts on the Web. 

3. From Big Data to Extreme Data Simpler analytics tools needed to leverage the data deluge. It's more than the three Vs—volume, velocity, and variety—that make big data such a difficult tiger to tame. It's that the technology world hasn't quite caught up with the need for trained data scientists and the demand for easy-to-use tools that can give industries—from financial and insurance companies to marketing, healthcare, and scientific research organization—the ability to put the data they gather into meaningful perspective.

4. The Revolution Will Be 3D New tools, techniques bring 3D printing power to masses. New 3D printing tools and techniques are empowering everyone from global corporations to do-it-yourselfers to create new devices and realize new concepts more quickly, cheaply, and easily than ever—from car parts, batteries, prosthetics, and computer chips to jewelry, clothing, firearms, and even pizza. A future where digital functionality can be "printed into" a physical object will continue to be built on in 2014, driven by new toolkits, services, and platforms and innovative business models and processes, such as online 3D printing bureaus and crowdfunding sites. 

5. Supporting New Learning Styles Online courses demand seamless, ubiquitous approach. These days, students from all corners of the world can sign up for online classes to study everything from computer science, digital signal processing, and machine learning to European history, psychology, and astronomy–and all for free. As interest in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) continues to explode, there will be a corresponding need for technology to support these new learning systems and styles. 

6. Next-generation mobile networks Mobile infrastructure must catch up with user needs. Ubiquitous mobile computing is all around us, not only when we use smartphones to connect with friends and family across states and countries, but also when we use ticketing systems on buses and trains, purchase food from mobile vendors, watch videos, and listen to music on our phones and portable music playing devices. As a result, mobile computing systems must rise to the demand. The Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update projects that global mobile data traffic will increase 18-fold between 2011 and 2016.

  7. Balancing Identity and Privacy Growing risks and concerns about social networks. Social networks have quickly become the key organizing principle of Internet communication and collaboration. Al

8. Smart and Connected Healthcare Intelligent systems, assistive devices will improve health. Computing plays an important role in many facets of our lives, increasingly so in aspects of individual and social well-being. Individual health is encouraged with the development of intelligent systems, apps, gadgets, and mobile systems that focus on diet, exercise, and information provision.

  9. E-Government Interoperability a big challenge to delivering information. Electronic government, e-government, or digital government refers to the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to provide and improve government services, transactions, and interactions with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government.
 
10. Scientific Cloud Computing Key to solving grand challenges, pursuing breakthroughs. Scientific computing has already begun to change how science is done, enabling scientific breakthroughs through new kinds of experiments that would have been impossible only a decade ago. I




Contact me at tradd.duggan@integratelecom.com at Integra  for more Info 3o3-884-4294: Whether your company needs Managed Network Services, price shopping, Cloud Firewall Solutions, Ethernet or Fiber Services, MPLS- Data protection, VOIP-SIP-Integra has a suite of offerings that nobody else can provide.