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The retail industry poses significant challenges, stemming not only from the ever-changing technology landscape but also from formidable competitors like Amazon and macro-level obstacles such as the Covid-19 pandemic. These unpredictable hurdles will endure, emphasizing the imperative for retailers to be adaptable in their approach. For small businesses, we can see these challenges reflected in…
Wireline Decommissioning and POTS Replacement – Current State About 10 years ago I asked my parents to upgrade their internet service from DSL to the local carrier fiber-based service. My mom was all in because it meant better video calls with her grandkids. My dad was dubious. He was concerned because he heard that once…
The many benefits of IoT in healthcare extend to patients, practitioners, healthcare enterprises, and affiliate industry components like cybersecurity companies and insurance underwriters. But what do these IoT telehealth solutions look like in the real world? Let’s look at some of the ways IoT in healthcare is transforming the telehealth landscape. 1. Remote Patient Monitoring…
In episode five of the Techie & the Biz podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing my colleague Lori Thomas, SVP of Strategic Engagement and Transformation (SET) at MetTel, and hear her expound upon how she built the customer experience for MetTel’s top clients through her consulting organization, and her focus on women in technology…
Modern networks have come a long way from the traditional on-premise, single-location architectures. Today, businesses are getting into hybrid and cloud setups. These contemporary network models offer unparalleled flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency, enabling organizations to seamlessly integrate multiple locations, data centers, and cloud services into a cohesive and agile network infrastructure. Unfortunately, this poses a…
As urban areas continue to evolve and adapt to the demands of a rapidly changing world, the concept of smart cities has emerged as a transformative force. With the integration of advanced technologies and data-driven solutions, cities are becoming more efficient and sustainable than ever before. In this blog, we’ll explore 10 emerging technologies for…
Extra Space Storage Modernizes Their Network As local exchange carriers are decommissioning service and raising rates for local telephone service, organizations are feeling pressure to move away from copper / POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) voice infrastructure and support. Extra Space Storage (NYSE: EXR) felt this pressure and turned their copper retirement into an opportunity…
A Zero Trust Approach to Meet Today’s Network Security Demands Enterprises want to establish the highest level of network security while also giving employees the access they need to do their jobs. This is especially true with today’s remote and distributed workforces. In striving for this sweet spot, more organizations have been turning to a…
MetTel’s Single SIM Can Change the Way You Work In today’s increasingly mobile and interconnected world, managing a mobile workforce presents unique challenges. Organizations often struggle to provide consistent connectivity for their employees, leading to decreased productivity and hindered data collection. However, a solution has emerged that tackles these obstacles head-on: the multi-carrier Single SIM….
Each year, people’s lives become increasingly connected. Digital assistants, smart homes and the like were only possible in the realm of science fiction not too long ago. Consumers are starting to see the Internet of Things (IoT) expanding into more and more aspects of their daily lives. It is fair to say that the IoT…
Cyberattacks on corporate networks are relentless. Almost as quickly as software is updated to stop the latest attack, a new attack vector is created. Secure access service edge (SASE) empowers organizations to quickly and securely connect employees, customers, and business partners using cloud-native services. By leveraging a secure access service edge solution, risk is reduced…
For most of us, mobile devices are an indispensable tool, so staying connected is critical in managing work responsibilities—especially in today’s hybrid workplace. Accidental breaks or unexpected complications in a mobile device can bring a workday to a screeching halt. Instead of throwing the broken phone into the “cell phone cemetery” that IT professionals dread,…
Driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, the business landscape has experienced a drastic shakeup, with a shift toward remote and hybrid environments that has changed how we work. Did you know that 12% of the workforce works fully remotely, while 28% operate in hybrid environments? These new working patterns come with benefits like more freedom and…
We recently held our 2023 MetTel Innovation Summit at the JW Mariott Resort in San Antonio. The 9th edition was our biggest and best yet (like everything else in Texas)! It was great to see so many familiar faces in person as well as a number of first-time attendees and special guests. As always, our…
For some, POTS can be a new and even foreign topic. So, what is plain old telephone service? Plain old telephone service (POTS) is a type of telecommunications service that offers traditional analog, landline telephone services. Still the most widely used form of telecommunication today, POTS utilizes twisted pair copper wires to transmit voice calls…
As remote enterprise branch locations digitally transform, requiring more bandwidth, SD-WAN sets the stage for mass adoption of space-based comms.
If there’s one word that could sum up how business leaders are feeling about this year it would have to be “uncertainty.” Business leaders are looking at a landscape with tremendous risk, including inflation, cybersecurity, shifting geopolitical dynamics and the looming threat of recession. But each new challenge also presents an opportunity for growth, with…
Something big is happening in the world of IT communications. Over the past few years, quietly and discreetly, the world’s biggest telecom providers have been retiring their physical copper lines to fully digitalize their plain old telephone service (POTS). This digital transformation is better for telecommunications carriers/network providers and businesses alike, as copper networks are…
When you use your bank’s credit or debit card to buy goods or services, chances are, FIS is processing the payment. As the largest financial institution core processor and biggest payment processor in the world, we manage over half the world’s overall wealth, work with 95 percent of the globe’s leading banks, and process $10…
The leading telecommunications industry advocacy group, INCOMPAS recently named its Board of Directors for 2023. I am delighted to be re-appointed to the INCOMPAS Executive Committee of its Board of Directors for another year. Congratulations to my fellow Executive Committee appointees: Michael B. Galvin (chair) of Granite Telecommunications, LLC; Kurt Van Wagenen of FirstLight Fiber; Brian…
We are honored to share with our customers and partners that Gartner has once again placed MetTel in the “Leaders” quadrant for Managed Network Services. Achieving this status is recognition by Gartner and the industry at large not only of our expertise in digital transformation services and specialization in IT communications, but also recognizes our…
We’re familiar with software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and even infrastructure as a service (IaaS). So many “as-a-service” models now exist that some brands are consolidating them all into one offering: everything as a service (or XaaS). Of course, XaaS is far more than just thrusting all the various “as-a-service”…
Access to fast and affordable broadband is no longer a luxury; instead, it has become a necessity. Accelerated by the pandemic, the introduction of video conference platforms and remote or hybrid learning means that both businesses and consumers require more bandwidth than ever to work, learn or even stay in touch with loved ones. For…
Water is a necessity, not a commodity. That’s why, during the COVID-19 pandemic, business operations at Primo Water continued to flow. If anything, much of our activity was accelerated as demand for home delivery services increased. But we also needed to make sure our refill and exchange locations were constantly stocked, and that we were…
FIS is the largest financial institution core processor and biggest payment processor in the world. Whenever you swipe your credit card, all that information flows through FIS. We manage over half the world’s overall wealth, work with 95 percent of the globe’s leading banks, and process $10 trillion of transactions annually. That’s twice as much as our…
The pandemic has indelibly shaped the way we do business, and we may never go back to the way we functioned before it. As Michael Dell recently reasoned in an op-ed, we need to stop thinking about the future through the lens of a post-Covid world. This is no longer the new normal—it is now our…
MetTel’s new partnership with Microsoft allows Teams users to make or receive calls from any number in the world, ushering in the hybrid working model of the future. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of our planet. But, even as much of our world returns to some semblance of normality in the years following…
Gerd Leonard, futurist, delivered the Innovation Summit keynote: “The Next 10 Years: Understanding the Exponential Transformation of Commerce, Business and Society.” Where can you get major telecom carriers, enterprise IT providers, cybersecurity experts and even global PR/marcom firms who are direct competitors to sit side by side in complementary, thoughtful discussions about the most impactful…
Handling mobile device-as-a-service needs lets customers more quickly adapt in today’s flexible workplaces. Mobile devices have become an essential part of daily life and work, surpassing the desktop as the primary way that people now access the internet. Consider the following: By the end of 2021, there were 27.1 billion mobile devices — more than three…
It has been more than two years since the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract was activated, which means the final EIS deadlines are fast approaching. By March 31, 90% of an agency’s telecom inventory must be moved to EIS, and by Sept. 30 that increases to 100%. Those agencies that have not yet chosen an…
Carriers are ushering in the end of perhaps the most widely used technology of the past 20 years, which presents some unforeseen challenges for businesses. At the beginning of each year, technology industry leaders prognosticate about incredible things that new and emerging technologies are on the cusp of accomplishing. The reason for this forward-looking optimism…
Shortly after the world was brought to its knees by the Great Recession of 2008, the modern IT communications market started taking shape fueled largely by one of the greatest expansions of technology the world had seen. Everything from cloud, the explosion of mobile, the commoditization of data center hardware, and the emergence of software-defined…
As we turn the calendar page on 2021, what has been a challenging two years in the midst of the pandemic is finally giving way to hope and promise for the new year. As the pandemic greatly accelerated companies’ digital transformations and their use of innovative technologies, the new normal will see businesses needing to…
Straight to the Point is a new blog series by Zachary Grant, MetTel’s Vice President of Solution Architecture. Each article will break down the benefits and functionality of the latest communications technology in an easy-to-understand way that gets past the fluff and gets Straight to the Point. Zachary oversees a fleet of Senior Technology Architects…
It’s no surprise that the security threat landscape is rapidly becoming more sophisticated, as evidenced by the recent attacks involving Colonial Pipeline, Kaseya and SolarWinds. Considering the pace of digital transformation in today’s businesses, a single cyberattack can bring a company’s operations to a standstill. In June, FBI director Christopher Wray commented that the cyber…
Among the many factors that are driving more and more organizations to adopt IoT solutions for enterprises, “ease of deployment” might be the most important. Companies and businesses are looking for an easier route to IoT deployment that won’t bog them down with customized requirements and other professional service engagements that will slow them on…
2021 will go down as another year to remember – for many reasons. Many thought we would finally exit the pandemic, only to see the emergence of new variants, once again finding change as the only constant in our daily lives. Learning to adapt and navigate trends like the hybrid workplace, the “Great Resignation” and…
Last year, MetTel achieved a rare feat – reaching Leader status in our first appearance in a Gartner Magic Quadrant. Today, we announced that MetTel has once again been named a Leader by Gartner – this time in the Gartner 2021 Magic Quadrant for Managed Network Services.* With two consecutive appearances in the Leader quadrant,…
In 2021, while many companies continue to completely rethink their business models, MetTel has been celebrating another exceptional year. Today, we reached another significant milestone: for the second time in two years, we were once again recognized as a Leader in the second Gartner Magic Quadrant for Managed Network Services (MNS). MetTel once again appeared…
Job openings reached a new high in May 2021, with 9.21 million available positions. Despite the strain of the pandemic, research indicates job seekers are taking their time. A June 2021 survey from Indeed.com revealed only around 10% of respondents were “urgently” seeking a job. In a job seeker’s market, companies will have to go the extra mile to…
Now is the time for companies to adopt a reliable replacement to their POTS lines as carriers retire copper services.
In the last decade, digital transformation has moved from early adoption to mainstream status. This has been especially evident during the last year, with McKinsey finding that the pandemic increased the share of digital/digitally-enabled products by “a shocking seven years.” It seems that nearly every company is either currently undergoing a transformation, or else, desperately…
While a recent survey examining the state of IoT adoptions in the enterprise world described 78% of IoT projects as “somewhat successful,” the same report indicates that most organizations are moving forward with plans for digital transformation. In fact, if anything, the pandemic over the last year and a half is only increasing companies’ resolve…
Some years ago, our neighbors shared that their daughter, who was attending college at the time, had chosen to major in engineering. As a woman working in technology, I was excited to hear that a young woman I had watched grow up was proactively pursuing a STEM field for her career. In recent years, there…
Last year was a time of significant change, with nearly every business leader forced to adapt their models in response to pandemic restrictions. Those that were able to quickly pivot to the demands and requirements of a new environment that featured remote workforces and socially distanced interactions as the norm fared better, while others still…
The FTC recently shared some informative guidelines to help businesses leverage the power and insights of AI technology, but to do so in a manner that keeps fairness, truth, and equity firmly in mind. At MetTel, we’ve been paying close attention for years to the technologies—from AI to mobility and IoT connectivity—that are serving as…
As Microsoft Teams’ popularity increases, there’s still one feature companies were missing: external calling. Until now. The increase in remote work is driving people to Microsoft Teams Between April and October 2020, Microsoft grew from 75 million daily active users to 115 million daily active users. This 50% increase in users in just a few…
The adage “hindsight is 20/20” is fitting since, with the introspection of a year, we can now fully appreciate all the ways that the year 2020 has forever changed the way we work and live. Very swiftly, the pandemic demanded a rethinking of the workplace, as companies struggled to adapt to the new normal. For…
We see our flagship cellular-IoT product, Quest, as a way for orthopedics to digitally transform in a way that reduces waste, enhances patient safety, and ultimately delivers orthopedic distributors, manufacturers, and providers superior bottom-line performance. Vic Nunes, QMed CEO & Founder More than 7 million people require orthopedic surgery annually and the implant market is…
A recent story about a group of hackers that gained access to a network of over 150,000 cloud-based surveillance cameras in hospitals, prisons, banks, and schools highlights some of the existing concerns over IoT security, safety, and the potential risks of the ongoing digital transformation of cities and communities. But it also highlights something else:…
While the reverberations of COVID-19 will likely be felt for decades to come, a near-term consequence has been a renewed focus on preparing for the future. The pandemic has revealed bandwidth gaps and shortcomings across the government sector, as the system has been tested like never before. However, this has also provided an opportunity for…
When you consider the fact that 89% of the U.S. population (and 68% of the world population) is projected to live in urban areas by the year 2050*, the need for smarter, more efficient technologies to help these areas manage city-wide operations is becoming more and more critical. There is a lot of talk right…
Since 2019, Rotech Healthcare, a national leader in providing ventilators, oxygen, sleep apnea treatment, wound care solutions, and home medical equipment, has been undergoing digital transformation (DX) to become completely paperless in order to improve operational efficiencies and service patients more effectively. We defined a roadmap and strategy for our digital transformation and executed that…
As we enter 2021, I’d like to briefly look back at the year that was to reflect on all that happened — and to gain insights into what to expect in the new year. I think it goes without saying that 2020 was a year like we’ve never experienced before. This year, the switch to…
2020 was a year marked by change as many of us adjusted to disruptions in both our work and personal lives. While the enormous impact of the pandemic was unexpected, it has acted as a catalyst for transformation across the workplace. By forcing businesses to become more agile and adaptable, the past year has accelerated…
With an estimated 24.9 billion internet of things (IoT) connections being made by the year 2025, organizations, as well as municipalities, seem poised to collect vast amounts of real-time, actionable data from virtually any device, piece of equipment, vehicle, or worker in the field. This developing technology has long held the promise of enabling more…
5G’s upside is great, but the downside lies in its misunderstanding and misalignment with business objectives. We’ve all heard the incredible promises associated with 5G – lightning-fast speeds, reduced latency and greater capacity, which will help to support an array of transformative new applications, changing the way we work and live. It’s easy to imagine…
When considering where AI can make an immediate impact on IT operations, one application stands head and shoulders above others: hyperscale automation with intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been hailed as the answer to just about every IT problem, including eliminating the dreaded skills gap, supercharging productivity, securing networks and ensuring competitiveness. Its potential seems…
Congratulations—you made it through 2020! You’ve learned to adapt to the “new normal” by working from home, managing employees remotely, and trying to drive efficiencies. Operationally, you’ve likely been challenged to reduce costs wherever you can. Enterprise mobility can be a key driver of cost efficiency. Hundreds of federal and enterprise clients have turned to…
New interactive technologies have the potential to intelligently transform the customer experience, delivering a deeper level of brand engagement. Despite these innovations, adoption for these solutions remains sluggish: A recent Microsoft survey (via AINews) found that U.S. companies are among the slowest surveyed globally to adopt AI technology. Given the seamless experience consumers expect with businesses…
To say 2020 was an eventful year would be an understatement. To say “2020” is to use a metaphor and a meme for anything and everything that went wrong. The hardships were really hard, downright overwhelming. From a global pandemic that forced us to rethink how we work and connect remotely, to civil unrest and…
Nearly a decade ago, we recognized that a new software defined WAN would be an integral part of all our customers’ digital transformation journey. We worked closely with partners and customers to develop and refine our WAN capabilities, even prior to the now ubiquitous term “SD-WAN.” While many of the bigger players in the industry…
In the post COVID-19 environment, business leaders are quickly realizing the benefits of building more agile, efficient and adaptable operations that can thrive in a rapidly changing and unpredictable environment. Although digital transformation (DX) has been a hot topic for the past few years, the pandemic has made clear the DX benefits to be captured as businesses work to accommodate the needs of a largely remote…
Over the past 20 years, advances in mobility-enabling technologies have driven a slow and steady revolution. The poster child for this revolution has been the smartphone, which as we know has transformed everything from dating and socializing to working and shopping. While the impact of the smartphone has been well documented, there’s also been another…
While we’ve all heard the hype about 5G for many years now, many businesses have yet to experience any benefits. So is 5G just another overhyped technology? The truth is, the promise of 5G is enormous, but all the benefits won’t be immediately realized today. Partners in the 5G revolution As the first step toward…
What is a Smart Meter? A smart meter is a device that records data, including the consumption of utilities such as natural gas, water, and electricity. What differentiates smart meters from traditional meters is that they provide two-way communication between the meter onsite and the utility’s central controls. Meters installed in homes give regular updates…
When I started in the telecom industry almost three decades ago, the world of telecommunications was nothing like it is today. In the early days (well, my early days, at least) analog signals were still the norm, call billing used very archaic measurement tools and the first U.S. 1G network was as good as it…
Smart city initiatives are a way for communities to respond to challenges of sustainability and efficiency. With the world’s population expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030 and 60% of this population living in urban areas, cities are facing unprecedented pressures. Smart cities have implemented tech in innovative ways to overcome these challenges. 1. What…
U.S. students wrapping up their 2020 summer vacations face uncertainty—remote learning or in-person classes? While early optimism envisioned schools returning to normal by the end of summer, COVID-19’s continued spread has meant the start of the school year will look very different than previous years. Many schools have decided to begin the year with virtual…
As many American workers have transitioned to a new remote reality in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, often-overlooked core operations have increasingly come back into focus for businesses across the spectrum. With so many employees working from home and beyond normal controls – and new business slowing to a crawl – companies may be…
For businesses, the world has never been as fraught with risk as it is right now. The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how we work and do business, and for some industries, it’s shut them down altogether. And even as we deal with the fallout from the pandemic, we can’t forget that other threats have not…
Who would have thought a virus, an invisible germ, would infect our modern, globalized economy? The current battle plan for the majority of businesses is one of survival – tread water and keep afloat until calm and normalcy return. We’ve survived crises before and we’ll get through this one. The Congressional Budget Office projected the U.S….
Some version of this statement is everywhere you turn these days: “Cloud computing, 5G, mobility, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) are transforming the ways we work, collaborate and live.” There’s a good reason we hear it everywhere: it’s true. These technologies are radically reshaping not only the way we do business but also…
On Thursday, May 28th, MetTel, along with the government telecommunications industry, lost an industry legend. Diana Gowen, Senior Vice President and General Manager of our Federal Practice, passed away after a long battle with cancer. Diana was a remarkably strong and revered veteran of government telecommunications. Under her tireless leadership, she built a powerful federal…
Digital transformation (DX) has been on everyone’s lips for the past couple of years, but now with the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re seeing that the necessity of DX has been greatly accelerated, as many businesses attempt to cope with the demands of a remote workforce and customers. Digital transformation (DX), of course, can mean many different things,…
Ten years ago, businesses were just beginning to come to terms with the smartphone revolution, as iPhones and Blackberries were becoming mainstays in offices throughout the US. Just as the Internet and personal computers transformed business in the decades before that, the smartphone upended traditional operations and provided a powerful new productivity tool. Now as…
As we begin a new decade, it’s useful to spend a moment reflecting on how far we’ve come over the past decade and look ahead to see what’s on the horizon. In technology, this is an especially important exercise, as the advancing rate of change in capabilities is dizzying — which in turn lends itself…
“All human activity will eventually be digitized,” said Professor Michio Kaku, noted physicist and successor to the great Albert Einstein. If that doesn’t sum up the overall impact of Digital Transformation (DX), I don’t know what else possibly could. We were honored to have Michio as our first keynote speaker at MetTel’s Innovation Summit 2020 on February 25…
Digital Transformation (DX) can be a loaded term; it means different things to different people. Even when you ask organizations that are measuring it what DX means, such as Gartner and IDC, you might get different definitions. However, no matter what our own definition is we can agree that we all share the same digital…
Details about Apple’s 2020 iPhone lineup are starting to make headlines, and if to be believed, it will be a busy year for Apple. Reports indicate that the new phone, what Forbes calls the “presumptively-named iPhone 9…is going to be the biggest departure for Tim Cook’s Apple in many years.” Looking out a bit further,…
When it comes to being productive on the job, beyond our laptop or desktop, few would argue that a mobile device is our most relied upon productivity tool. However, as more and more businesses provide company-owned phones or allow personal phones to connect to the network, so too, does the risk for increased security breaches….
Technologies like cloud computing, 5G, mobility, artificial intelligence (AI), and internet of things (IoT)-enabled devices are transforming the ways we work, collaborate and design for the future. While these technologies often dominate tech news, software-defined networking (SD-WAN) is the unsung hero in the background enabling all these technologies. In much the same way virtualization has…
How MetTel & Our Customers are Transforming CommunicationsDigital transformation was top of mind for many of our customers and partners over this last year. As cloud, IoT, SD-WAN, and 5G continue to dominate the discussions we’ve had over the last 12 months, enterprises are increasingly asking us for solutions—and partners are turning to MetTel to…
I have little doubt that 5G will be a catalyst for incredible innovation in how we live and work — but not for every industry, business or function. 5G certainly is getting its share of headlines, from carriers rushing to announce commercial availability to promises of being able to download a full-length movie in seconds, beaming avatars into meetings and…
Max Silber VP of Mobility MetTel Over the past several years, the balance of power has shifted from the seller to the buyer as the digital consumer took to the Internet and took control of the transaction process. Armed with Apple’s iPhone.
Like many cities across the United States, the city of Phoenix is looking for ways to deliver efficient, cost-effective and safe public services. As the fifth largest city in the U.S., Phoenix is challenged with managing and conserving 270 million gallons of tap water and treating 135 million gallons of wastewater daily. Water is the…
We’ve all been there….in a car, on a train or even a plane. You get on a call with your colleagues to discuss an important presentation but typically spend 5 minutes just looking for that email with a key attachment among all those other hundreds of emails you receive. With TrueUC, that search is not necessary…
Over the past several years, the balance of power has shifted from the seller to the buyer as the digital consumer took to the Internet and took control of the transaction process. Armed with Apple’s iPhone, the first true consumer smartphone arriving in 2007, retail and other B to C industries were forever turned upside…
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