Page 102 - DMGT505_MANAGEMENT_INFORMATION_SYSTEM

Unit 6: Business Networks and Telecommunications

“Organizations are looking to increase productivity by focusing on the interactions between Notes
colleagues, partners, and customers, says John Chambers, Cisco Chairman and CEO. “Productive
interactions also help improve profitability and customer satisfaction, and they create new
opportunities for corporate growth and success.”
Today, successful companies around the world achieve that efficiency with network-based
communications tools such as e-mail and a Web presence. These tools support the high levels of
productivity and customer support that growing companies need to compete in larger and more
lucrative markets. A sound network foundation will also support the new technologies and
applications necessary to sustain ongoing competitiveness.

What is different about human communication in business organizations when it takes place via
the new communication technologies like electronic mail? The most distinctive quality of these
new technologies is that they are interactive in nature, in that they allow the participants in a
communication process to have control over, and exchange roles in, their mutual discourse.
Interactive communication technologies usually spread among the members of a system rather
slowly until a critical mass of adopters is reached, as the case of Internet illustrates. After the
critical mass occurred, the rate of adoption of Internet took off suddenly. Interactive
communication provides a relatively high degree of flexibility, which in turn allows the user to
have a high degree of control over the technology and the communication that takes place via
the new interactive technologies.
Every successful business needs to have the best communication equipment available on the
market. It’s just a simple fact. If you can’t properly communicate with your different branches,
then your efficiency will take a big hit. Communicating isn’t that hard though. There have been
many advances in the past few years that grant great advantages to your efforts.
One of the easiest would be in the form of a simple teleconference through something like the
polycom soundstation. You probably already know what this is. It’s basically just one big
conference, except you don’t need to pack everyone into one board room. There are a number of
advantages to this setup. The first is that you are in a perfect position to take full advantage of
telecommuting. Any of your remote workers can just press a few buttons and log into the
conference from their home phone. This also works for any remote branches who want to be
involved. There are nearly countless benefits to having one installed. You will have greater
function in your meetings and you’ll be able to include everyone without annoying travel
plans. There is also the usual ability to tape the conference for better archiving. Avaya IP office
phones will work in this capacity to make everything function a bit better.
It is important that you take the time to setup the connection properly though. There is no reason
to buy an inferior product for your teleconference. If you go cheap and don’t have it professionally
installed, then the static and poor pickup will effectively ruin any good conference. The good news
is that you have a lot of options. The Polycom system works to give you a large microphone range
which should be able to handle any small or medium room. There are other options though. Just
a basic search online will show a number of companies who want your business.

You could go with a phone system through Avaya partner ACS. They offer similar setups for
your conference needs. It’s really just about getting what you want from a reputable company.
Check to see who has local branches and then see whether one of their products fits your
capacity needs better. It’s hard to tell you what’s the best without understanding your exact
situation. These two companies should be a good place to start though. Just one phone call could
let you start having teleconferences that make everything run smoother and more efficiently.
The main communication technologies in business are:
1. Videoconferencing
2. Wireless Payments

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