Fastmetrics Business Blog

Author: Cody Miller

7 Phone Automation Techniques To Boost Sales

Best Phone Automation Tips For Business Efficiency

Phone automation has become extremely popular for businesses in many sectors. While the helpfulness of this technology is well established for serving customers, some disregard the potential it has for outbound sales. Phone automation, together with other sales tools, may help your sales team find new businesses, communicate more efficiently with prospects and boost conversion rates.

Here are some of the most effective phone automation techniques to consider to increase business sales:

1. Using A Call Menu To Give Callers Options
Call menus or an auto attendant are a useful tool for phone automation. If your business hasn’t utilized this kind of technology, you’re missing out on one of the best ways to route and manage your phone calls efficiently. There’s a common misconception that it only works for bigger businesses that have large call volumes. No business is too small to utilize a call menu.

An automated call menu can make you sound more professional when clients are making inbound calls. Today, most people tend to work with businesses or companies that respond efficiently and professionally. The menu greets callers, allows them to choose an option to hear important information, and directs them to the department or person they need.

2. Make A Business Directory
Creating a business directory allows you to instantly direct callers in a more professional way, to the correct person. With the help of a business directory, there’s no need for your customers to speak to a receptionist, before being directed to the right person. When someone makes a call, they can dial the extension that links to the right department or person without speaking to a live call agent. Callers can hear the extension corresponding with the department or person they need. From then on, callers can dial that extension directly anytime. This is helpful and effective for callers, especially when you have a small number of employees.

3. Invest In Auto-Dialer
Today, you’ll be able to see a lot of auto-dialers in the market as phone automation is becoming more and more relevant to businesses. If you want to use this option to make mass cold calls, you may want to invest in an app such as Call Cowboy Autodialer. By growing call volumes exponentially, employees can reach more targets. Whether you’re conducting B2C advertising activities or B2B sales campaigns on a regular basis, these apps can allow you to maximize productivity and efficiency.

Also, if you want to use your existing phone, but want to keep your personal and business life separate, an auto-dialer app can make that possible. Boost caller productivity by automating cold calls from your telephone list, all while protecting personal numbers. Apps like these can take care of outbound calls, boost productivity and help you to look like a big business. You can also receive inbound calls, send SMS, and make custom notes on sales leads. Apps like Call Cowboy offer a predictive dialer. This can automatically dial several numbers simultaneously from a call list. Agents are then only get connected to a live answer.

4. Scheduled Forwarding
This phone automation technique is beneficial if you want your business to organize a custom schedule for managing inbound calls. This call time frame feature can be limited to certain virtual phone services. This feature enables call forwarding schedules by a user or extension basis, to ensure the right people are on a call schedule at the right time. This is great for automating shift alterations in your business and accommodating different employees who are working different days. The moment the forwarding schedules are set for a phone or device, this phone will only ring during the time frames scheduled.

5. Email Notifications For Incoming Messages
Email notification for your business messages is crucial because you may not always have free time to check your messages. And, in some cases, you happen to miss important messages that come through your phone. The main purpose of an email notification is for voicemails. You can set up your account to send a new voicemail message to a certain email address, choose any email address that you want aside from the account holder, and you’ll get notified once customers leave voicemails for you. This is a standard feature of the cloud based metricVOICE service from Fastmetrics.

You can also set up several mailboxes for employees. Then, set every mailbox to route to the email of the person. Aside from voicemail, you’ll also get alerted every time new text messages come in from customers if you’re only utilizing business text messaging. You can set one email address to get new message notifications or, set up several email addresses to ensure that someone in your business is sure to respond right away.

6. Set Business Hours
Setting business hours when utilizing a virtual phone system is important, especially if you want to ensure when phones should ring. For instance, if you set your business hours from 6 am to 6 pm, then calls only ring your forwarding phone during this period. This will guarantee that your forwarding phone won’t be ringing at night. When you notice that your business is receiving lots of calls after business hours, you may want to set afterhours audio messages and offer the option to leave voicemails.

7. Use A Call Recording System
Using a call recording system will benefit your marketing team, as they’ll know what customers think about the services or products you offer. By recording phone calls with customers, the communications and marketing teams can review these and determine the positive points from the customers and which areas need improvement. The marketing team can then think of innovative ways to address these issues in its campaigns. The team can watch out for keywords that customers are using to maximize the ads and publications. A recording system keeps an archive of recorded calls, which can be helpful in verifying client information.

It may not be necessary to incorporate such features into your phone system. However, at the very least, automating call management can make for a better experience for your caller or customer. A goal of phone automation is to enhance the experience of clients who are reaching out. As well as your experience when it comes to handling calls.

Why You Should Consider Phone Automation For Your Business

Most companies are constantly finding ways to improve their operating processes, whether these improve simplifying tasks, improve sales, or retain customers. Regardless of the areas you want to improve in your business operations, phone automation is an effective way to monitor communications and tasks in the company.

Phone automation is one innovation that businesses may consider. It can save you on labor and time and provide a better call experience. It’ll also help prevent lost sales probably due to frustrated or confused sellers. There are ways automation can help make your business operate better. Read on further.

When A Receptionist Isn’t Available, Someone Will Cover The Phone
If your business only has one person to answer all incoming voice calls, what will happen when they’re out on a break, on vacation, or sick? You can hire a temporary worker or train other employees to do the job temporarily. If you consider phone automation, you’ll be able to cover the phone even though the employee isn’t around. It’s also helpful for answering incoming calls when your business is closed over the weekend or at night.

Save On Labor Expenses
Another good reason to automate your phone system is to save on your fixed labor expenses. Is call volume at your business overwhelming one employee? Instead of hiring employees to answer the phone, setting up an automated system can be beneficial. Phone automation can also provide basic information via pre-recorded messages. This can free up workers who previously needed to take or make calls.

Process Payments
If your business is processing payments via the phone, you can save time by considering phone automation. Callers can provide details via voice after verifying their accounts. A system can then handle the verification and transaction automatically, saving you some effort.

Providing Important Information
There are times when a caller doesn’t need to speak with someone at your company just to obtain the details needed. A customer can look for store locations or working hours by simply pressing a dedicated button in the system. In addition with automation, your phone will determine the caller by checking the caller ID details, which a business can assess to perceive which clients are calling during after-hours.

Increase Customer Satisfaction
Recommendations or referrals remain one of the most trusted forms of marketing. Convincing clients to recommend your business will supply you with effective leads that can drive brand reputation and conversions. In order to secure these referrals, you need to offer existing and prospective customers with a great customer experience. Phone automation is an efficient way to improve customer experience, by allowing customers to get information and resolve queries without taking too much time.

To Boost Renewals
Phone automation can allow your sales team to better track when a contract ends, as well as enable them to work proactively to engage customers in renewals. Voice and CRM integration is one such feature available with metricVOICE, which offers click-to-dial from any CRM.

Final Say
Without a doubt, phone automation is transforming how companies do business. It affects how sales professionals and marketers reach prospective clients in a professional, effective and efficient way. In fact, it helps businesses to better understand the needs of consumers and can offer conversations reflecting the pain points of prospects, thereby seeing higher conversion rates and engagement, while saving effort and time.

Don’t underestimate the potential of phone automation in sales, as well as the overall positive effects it can have on your business. Phone automation might lack the human touch of live operators, but it can help you run your business in a more efficient way, giving clients information and account access. To support phone automation, consider a high-speed reliable Internet service to avoid costly downtime and interruptions in your workflow.

About Fastmetrics, Inc. Building & Business ISP

Since 2002, Fastmetrics is the Bay Area’s only dedicated business ISP. We provide telecommunication services in California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Reliable service – backed by better live and local support. From install to 24-7 proactive monitoring, get treated like a VIP customer. Not a number by a faceless call center. We specialize in managed business internet and phones, dedicated high speed business fiber internet, business WiFi, SIP voice solutions / UCaaS and managed network services. We are a Microsoft and Cisco Meraki Partner. Our team are Certified Cisco Specialists, Ubiquiti Enterprise Wireless Accredited and Polycom Authorized Solution Advisors. We take care of your business network, so you can focus on growth.

May 6, 2021
Fastmetrics Powering Mill Valley Little League Streaming

Mill Valley Little League Live Streaming via Twitch TV

Fastmetrics is pleased to be able to support the Mill Valley Little League. The MVLL is an entirely volunteer run organization, which started locally in 1964. To assist this local volunteer organization, we’ve setup free Internet service for the league to stream games via Twitch TV from Boyle Park. Combined with GoPro camera technology, our managed Internet service now powers live streaming for fans, players and parents via the Twitch streaming platform. Fastmetrics has vast amounts of experience with similar setups. Various current customers utilize our Internet services to support security cameras, live streaming and to also power surveillance operations.

How To Watch Mill Valley Little League Games

Live streams of all Mill Valley little league games can now be viewed via the Mill Valley Little League channel on Twitch or via the video player below. All streaming is from Boyle Park. For fans and parents, live stream notifications of the little league can be activated by signing up and following the Mill Valley Twitch TV channel.

Watch Twitch TV Live Streaming

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Mill Valley Little League Information

The Mill Valley Little League has been purely volunteer run for over fifty seven years. The first season of Mill Valley Little League (MVLL) was played at Boyle Park way back in 1964. The first league season consisted of games played between two local teams from Mill Valley – the Yankees and the Indians. Other local teams included the Giants baseball team of Sausalito and the Braves from Tiburon in the inaugural season.

Today with the help of a dedicated group of volunteers, the MVLL has grown to a include a number of different teams. The MVLL continues to organize and help more than six hundred local Bay Area kids play and enjoy baseball, every single season. More information about the little league, game schedules, calendar events, parent / team info and merchandise can be found on the MVLL website here.

About Fastmetrics, Inc. Building & Business ISP

Since 2002, Fastmetrics is the Bay Area’s only dedicated business ISP. We provide telecommunication services in California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Reliable service – backed by better live and local support. From install to 24-7 proactive monitoring, get treated like a VIP customer. Not a number by a faceless call center. We specialize in managed business internet and phones, dedicated high speed business fiber internet, business WiFi, SIP voice solutions / UCaaS and managed network services. We are a Microsoft and Cisco Meraki Partner. Our team are Certified Cisco Specialists, Ubiquiti Enterprise Wireless Accredited and Polycom Authorized Solution Advisors. We take care of your business network, so you can focus on growth.

April 23, 2021
Network Engineer Jobs San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area Network Engineer Job FAQs

At Fastmetrics, we are currently not hiring for more network engineers, but if you are looking for network engineer jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area, check out some of these latest positions available below. This customized jobs feed filters out other generalist positions to purely focus on network engineer and associated positions available in the Bay Area. Simply click on a network engineer listing link, to see more details about the position. Note: you will be redirected to the Indeed jobs website after clicking on a job listing.

Network Engineer Job Description & FAQs

What Does a Network Engineer Do In Their Role?

Wondering what a network engineer does? A network engineer’s job description consists of being responsible for ensuring data passes through and between computers on a given network to facilitate communication between users. As a network engineer, you’ll be setting up, developing, and maintaining computer networks within an organization or between organizations. These networks can include computer, voice, and firewall.

Another part of your network engineer job role is offering support to users of those networks and troubleshooting problems. In some cases, you may need to design a new network to ensure network availability and maximum network performance for users.

A network engineer may work as a company employee as part of the business’s IT team, or they may provide their services as an external IT consultancy company. A network engineer is often referred to as a network architect, network administrator, Cisco engineer, or IT/systems design support engineer. You’ll typically work a regular workweek. However, you may be called on outside of office hours or expected to come in on weekends or evenings if there are problems with the network.

What Types Of Network Engineer Qualifications Do You Need?

If you want to work as a network engineer, companies look for candidates that have at least a bachelor’s degree to indicate they’ve taken the right network engineering courses in computer science, information technology systems, or computer engineering. In some cases, companies may also require an advanced degree like a master’s network engineer degree in business administration. Having completed a network engineer internship is another thing they might look for in a prospect’s learning path.

Network engineer requirements and network engineer training may also indicate you have an understanding of network computer systems and networks of people through personal experience, and good analytical, problem-solving, and technical skills. If you’re just starting, here are the key requirements regarding your level of skill and the general networking skills you should focus on developing:
- Knowing how applications, email, websites, and pages connect via networks
- Understanding how IP addresses work
- Being familiar with the hardware behind any network
- Knowing how firewalls and routers work
An aptitude in mathematics is necessary for the job, along with communication skills, as you’ll often need to translate business needs into technical specifications. Additionally, you’ll also need LAN and WAN experience and experience with network security measures.

What Is the Average Salary for Network Engineers in the San Francisco Bay Area?

According to Glassdoor, the average network engineer salary in the San Francisco Bay Area is a median wage of $102,567/year. This is based on 549 anonymously submitted annual salaries from other network engineer specialists employed in San Francisco. Keep in mind salaries vary from one company to the next and that your overall experience may influence how much you can make. Salary is also influenced by the size, type, and industry of the company you work for, as well as its location and the size of their network installation.

What Types of Businesses Commonly Employ Network Engineers?

As a network engineer, you can work for a wide variety of businesses. Typically, companies hiring a network engineer belong to the following major industries:
- Banks and financial agencies
- Retail groups
- Various government departments
- Schools and hospitals
- Utility companies
- Transport providers
There are also smaller companies and local authorities that often outsource their IT needs to IT companies, so you can also look for employment with one of those businesses. It’s worth mentioning that large companies like Microsoft are also known to hire network engineers, as they provide a wide range of installation and support services for both corporate clients and small businesses.

What Are Some Career Prospects / Advancement Opportunities for Network Engineers?

If you want to advance your career as a network engineer, you’ll need to invest in your skills continually. This is due to the rapidly changing nature of the industry. A couple of network engineer certifications we suggest getting include the Cisco Certified Network and Microsoft certifications, among others.

After becoming a certified network engineer, your career path will depend on the size of your industry and the company you work for. As you get more relevant experience, you can advance to network management positions and work as a senior network manager or senior network controller. Another option is to expand your career into network infrastructure protocols and project management or network architecture. Or you may want to start your own IT company and provide your network services as an outside contractor for several different clients.
April 22, 2021
5 Reasons Remote Work Is Easier Than Ever

Remote Work – The Future?

Short answer, remote work is here to stay. During the COVID-19 pandemic, major tech companies announced permanent work from home options, for employees which preferred it. For technology focused businesses, of which many rely on constant Internet service connectivity remote working models are now ingrained in business operations. Many other businesses are now following this change. Twitter announced employees can work from home “forever” if they choose to. Google has had a long standing remote work policy. Other workplaces have operated on a remote work model since starting and have lead the way in educating other businesses in adapting to the ‘new normal’.

For those people who have jobs which rely heavily on computers or Internet based work, there was never really any reason not to work remotely. Unless of course for necessary in-person meetings, setting up or fixing physical hardware, or for social inclusion and interaction (important for many). Many employers have been hesitant in the past to let employees work with a remote arrangement. Often stating concerns that productivity levels might be affected. This has certainly been debunked by the pandemic, with further support for the saying; “a happy worker is a productive worker”.

It took the COVID-19 pandemic to make employers and executive recruiting firms, realize that not only is working remotely viable, but necessary. The technology for remote work has been available for some time, but underutilized. Even so, there were employers who were caught unprepared, when there was a sudden need to provide the necessary tools for employees to work remotely. Certainly, many employers were not prepared by the numerous changes the pandemic forced upon nearly every aspect of society.

Still, after initial adjustments were made, most employers discovered that workers could still be productive and focused, even when not working in a traditional office setup. For many employees, remote working is the way to go.

Now that many employers and remote workers have adjusted to the new normal, and kinks have been, (for the most part) ironed out, tech tools and apps for remote working have stepped up. With effective remote technical support for business, employers and employees are finding out that this setup is working and, surprisingly, becoming easier than ever.

Reasons Remote Work Is Taking Off

1. Work Anywhere
There’s a good chance that if you’re working remotely, your office is at your home. You might have a little nook set aside in a room, with a desk and a chair and your PC set up. However, your office can be anywhere you can take your used laptops and other gadgets with you. Remote working doesn’t have to mean working from home. You can be one of those people typing away at coffee shops looking super busy, if you’re into that.

You can even be on a trip, instead of being contained to an office or some claustrophobic cubicle. Anyway, with today’s tech tools and apps, you can take care of tasks or projects, attend meetings remotely and all of those other office-y things. You won’t be missing anything when it comes to what you need to do work. Sure, there are some tasks that can’t be remotely, but many can. There are even services that let you send and receive paperless faxes, like MyFax.

2. Save Money
One of the biggest benefits to remote work is the savings you’re making from not commuting to an office or workplace every single day. Whether you take your own car or use public transportation to and from work, the money and time you spend each day traveling can add up. With remote working, you can save the money you’re using for transportation, and your commute time can be spent on more productive tasks. You also won’t have to set aside money for your snacks, lunch, and beverages like coffee or tea. You can make your own food and drinks at home. You also won’t have to contend with the stress of commuting during rush hour.

3. Flexible Schedule
Flexibility, when it comes to schedule, is also one of the perks of working remotely. If you have a job as a software developer for example, you can set your own schedule. Who cares if you start work at 10? As long you put in the hours and meet your deadlines, you should be fine. There is no classic 9 – 5 in the remote working world. You can work around the time when you’re most productive. If you’re required to work at certain times or to put in a requisite number of hours, you can still set your own breaks. You can take power naps, take in an episode or two of your favorite TV show, or enjoy some playtime with your pets. All these are proven stress-killers, so you can come back and complete your hours refreshed and raring to go.

4. Learn To Work Unsupervised
You won’t have someone looking over your shoulder to check work or micromanage every minute of the working day. Working remotely, learn how to work in a way and method that best suits you. In any case, getting in touch with someone from work if you have a question is easy enough via instant messaging, email or apps. After a time, working remotely can teach you a lot about your working methods, productivity without direct supervision and your work ethic. You’ll also learn how to rely on your ability and when to ask for help.

5. More Productive Meetings
Few employees enjoy lengthy meetings in stuffy conference rooms. Especially introverts who find being around lots of people for long periods of time, exhausting. With remote meetings, you can participate in meetings from the comfort of your own home or an environment of your choosing. There are numerous apps out there, free or paid, that make remote meetings possible. You may even be given a business phone or handset for working from your home office. Even these devices, a laptop or your desktop can now integrate with collaboration apps like Microsoft Teams. As technology becomes more accessible via Internet connectivity, the evolution of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) has grown and brings remote workforces closer together.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has forced many businesses to adapt to the new reality of working remotely. Remote working was a solution to limit human contact. Wwith the help of services, apps, tools and other technology, it is now easier than ever for both employers and employees to adjust to this new way of working.

About Fastmetrics, Inc. Building & Business ISP

Since 2002, Fastmetrics is the Bay Area’s only dedicated business ISP. We provide telecommunication services in California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Reliable service – backed by better live and local support. From install to 24-7 proactive monitoring, get treated like a VIP customer. Not a number by a faceless call center. We specialize in managed business internet and phones, dedicated high speed business fiber internet, business WiFi, SIP voice solutions / UCaaS and managed network services. We are a Microsoft and Cisco Meraki Partner. Our team are Certified Cisco Specialists, Ubiquiti Enterprise Wireless Accredited and Polycom Authorized Solution Advisors. We take care of your business network, so you can focus on growth.

April 14, 2021
Top Cybersecurity Threats: 2021

What Are Some Typical Cybersecurity Threats In 2021?

As remote work, learning and teaching continues to grow, many companies who did not need to consider cybersecurity, are now are faced with new challenges. Global cybercrime is growing. It is expected to increase over the next few years. Companies that got by without major cybersecurity support may need to reconsider. Cyberattacks can be devastating for a company’s reputation, not to mention the threat of lost data or compromised information. There is nothing more damaging than becoming the victim of a cyberattack. Trust is hard to win back. Customers will take their business elsewhere to protect personal information.

If your business is starting the process of working out what kind of cyber security solutions need to be put in place to prevent attacks from increasingly sophisticated threats, don’t fret. There are various types of cybersecurity threats. But if you know what they are, you can plan to protect yourself and your business. Below are some of the latest from 2021.

Top Cybersecurity Threats For 2021

1. Cloud Threats
Perhaps the most common, and the most dangerous security threat to any company is a cloud-based attack. The cloud has become the place to store all kinds of information that is sensitive and intended to stay private. While this helps with efficiency and cutting costs, it can open any size company up to cyberattack. The major issues that expose business up to a cloud attack are cloud app vulnerabilities, incomplete data deletion, and incorrect configurations. It is wise to spend a little more on your cloud app support to protect your data. This makes sure that access is controlled carefully. All it takes is one password that goes astray to become the victim of this kind of attack.

2. Insider Attacks Growing
This threat is all too common and harder to prevent than you might think. 30% of security breaches occur due to internal actors. This can come in the form of malicious attacks as well as negligence on the part of employees. In either case, the trouble with insider attacks is that you have to trust your employees with a certain amount of security freedom, to do their jobs. This can lead to issues related to unauthorized logins, installing of applications that are not approved, users incorrectly given admin access to a device or application, or even the addition of devices that are not approved to be on the network.

3. Phishing Attacks
An old classic that is enjoying new life lately, phishing continues to be one of the primary ways that bad actors gain access to your data. Emails that are designed carefully and worded just right can trick even the most loyal and educated employees. Sadly, these phishing attacks grow ever more sophisticated and it has become more difficult to use protection software to grab them before they get to users. The best defense for this type of attack is an educated workforce along with email protection software.

4. Remote Access Attacks
As work from home becomes more common due to COVID-19, it has highlighted the need for better and truly secure remote access options for your company. Hackers are increasingly skilled at gaining access to remote access points that are not well-protected. There is really no excuse anymore for not using a top-of-the-line remote access VPN structure to protect off-network access. Remote endpoint management tools can help with security in these situations and it never hurts to educate your employees about the threat that their off-site access can pose to company data.

5. Deep Fakes
Machine learning and AI intelligence are growing areas of research and they have birthed a means to manipulate videos or images to show activity that did not actually happen. This means that fraud activity might be disguised through this method of security attack. This kind of malicious intent is not as common as other items on this list, but it is likely to become a daily part of cybersecurity risk in the not-to-distant future.

6. Malvertising
This new malicious threat uses ads to spread malware. The slight lull in malware as a cyber threat has gone away with this new and unfortunate means to deposit malware onto devices. These threats are a new form of the old browser-locking webpages and fake alerts about computer virus infections that have worked for years. This is another threat that can be remedied by a correctly educated workforce. While more sophisticated, these ads are still quite easy to detect if you make sure that your workforce knows what to look for.

7. Ransomware
Last, but certainly not least, ransomware is likely never going to go away. This sophisticated process utilizes hackers who gain access to company data through Dark Web ransomware kits. These kinds of attacks are successful annually against major companies as well as smaller entities.
This is an expensive attack to resolve as you will almost certainly have to pay the ransom to get your data back.

Protect Yourself Before You Become a Victim

Never assume your business or company will not be the victim of a cyberattack. If you have employees working from home, or you do not have security processes or measures in place, this can be exploited by ‘bad actors’. Investing in cybersecurity protection or at a minimum, following best practice, is a small price to pay, rather than being the victim of a malicious attack. Educate employees and protect your company with the best cyberattack prevention tactics from the beginning. In cybersecurity, the best defense is a good offense.

About Fastmetrics, Inc. Building & Business ISP

Since 2002, Fastmetrics is the Bay Area’s only dedicated business ISP. We provide telecommunication services in California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Reliable service – backed by better live and local support. From install to 24-7 proactive monitoring, get treated like a VIP customer. Not a number by a faceless call center. We specialize in managed business internet and phones, dedicated high speed business fiber internet, business WiFi, SIP voice solutions / UCaaS and managed network services. We are a Microsoft and Cisco Meraki Partner. Our team are Certified Cisco Specialists, Ubiquiti Enterprise Wireless Accredited and Polycom Authorized Solution Advisors. We take care of your business network, so you can focus on growth.

March 18, 2021
Unified Communications & UCaaS Explained
What Are Unified Communications & UCaaS?

Unified communications is a concept that has been around for a long time – it is far from new. It is the process of combining or integrating communications (such as telephony, chat and video, with non real-time communication services, like email, fax, voicemail and SMS) under the same platform or device. Some basic examples of common unified communications include; the ability to send a fax via email or even sending work email from your iPhone.

Basically, unified communications simplifies and combines, providing a consistent user-experience across devices and media types. ‘UC’ reduces the need for multiple devices, systems or software installations, to perform different communications tasks.

Unified Communications Brings Devices & People Together

More recently, unified communications have evolved. Fast. Today, ‘UC’ includes many different services, from voice, video, texting, conferencing, collaboration, email and more. All possible due to the emergence of technology. There are now specialist providers of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS). Most UCaaS providers offer service which allow users to unify multiple communications methods from a single provider. (As a UCaaS provider ourselves, we offer the ability to make unlimited free calls, texts, chats and conferences from a browser, phone or desktop, via a single cloud hosted solution). Typically, combining these communication methods under the same umbrella for a workforce is both more efficient and cost effective. Further benefits of UCaaS can be seen by clicking the link.

To explain Unified Communications (UC) further, below is a short explainer video and transcript from UC Today News, with everything you need to know;

Video transcript: We’re living in a brand new world spurred by digital transformation. As technology continues to evolve, we’ve entered an era where work is no longer refined to a specific desk, phone or computer screen. Business professionals have the freedom to share their skills and pursue new opportunities across the globe, all with nothing but the right device and a cloud connection.

Now that almost half of the world are beginning to work remotely. Companies need to find a way to serve users that refuse to be tethered by wires and physical locations. The result has been an influx of fantastic communication tools designed for almost every touch point in the average business.

The only problem is that we’ve innovated so fast that the sheer number of communication tools available is enough to overwhelm any worker or IT team. Fortunately, we have a new solution. Enter unified communications. The term “unified communications” or UC, describes not only how we connect different communication systems for the digital workforce but collaboration tools too.

That’s why you will often hear the phrase “UC and C” which simply means unified communications and collaboration. Seamless UC ensures a high level of interaction throughout the globally-dispersed workforce. It breaks down the silos between the enterprise teams and ensures that no matter where you work, you can still access the same secure system.

What Services Does Unified Communications & UCaaS Include?

In short, UC incorporates messaging, voice and video calling, team collaboration, video conferencing and file sharing and so much more. In a world defined by a dizzying mix of platforms designed to suit organizations spread across vast places, UC simplifies the world of work. The right UC platform gathers everything your employees need to connect, share and work together on ideas in the same streamlined interface.

What Are Some Benefits Of Unified Communications & UCaaS?

Here are some of the major benefits of UC. Better productivity. Teams can connect however they feel most comfortable using any device or medium they choose.
- Reduced costs. Because UC systems operate on the cloud, they allow companies to shift away from the traditional CapEx model to more of an OpEx model with fewer initial expenses.
- Stronger performance. Because employees can both communicate and collaborate in an instant, they can solve customer problems faster and improve your business reputation.
- Enhanced user experience (UX). A good UC strategy can delight your employees and even reduce turnover in your organization, by giving people more freedom to work as they choose.
How Popular Are Unified Communications?

The popularity of UC systems has grown more every year. In fact recent research indicates that the market will see an annual growth rate of 12.3% leading to a value of about 46 billion by 2020. More than ever, companies are beginning to understand how UC can help them better serve clients and employees alike.

Perhaps the biggest trend driving the adoption of UC is digital transformation and the rise of the digital workforce. At its core, the digital workforce thrives on the idea that people should be able to access the tools they need to perform wherever they are and whatever device they use. Combine that with the ever emerging move to cloud communications and add all methodologies and you’ve got an environment primed for UC. As the workplace innovates faster, breaches global boundaries and discovers new opportunities, UC is the path to better connections and productivity.

The words “communication” and “collaboration” appear so closely together in the modern world, that some people have begun to believe that they mean the same thing. After all, thanks to the widespread popularity of UC and communication apps equipped with collaboration tools, it’s easy to see how the two concepts go hand in hand. In fact collaboration in the workforce simply can’t exist without good communication. However just because the two ideas connect on a fundamental level doesn’t mean they’re the same thing.

What’s The Difference Between Communication & Collaboration?

All companies need communication to thrive. It doesn’t matter whether you’re running a small business of say three or four people, or a huge enterprise with dedicated call centers. You need communication. A communication strategy can come in various forms. Most organizations have an external communication strategy, which is a plan that they use to connect with customers, clients, shareholders and suppliers. Increasingly, external communication plans are becoming omni-channels, stretching all the way from VoIP to social media, SMS and much more.

It’s equally important to have an internal communication strategy. This is the plan that companies use to keep internal staff members connected. It ensures that remote workers can connect with in-office employees through video conferencing and everyone can stay in touch in real time through persistent chat. Like external communication, internal communication often involves multiple channels. Where communication is about sharing knowledge, collaboration is about actively working together to achieve mutual goals. For instance, if you call someone on a VoIP channel to talk about an upcoming project, it’s communication. However if while you’re talking, you also start sharing screens and editing a project together, then it’s collaboration. Essentially, collaboration brings action to the communication space. The fact that collaboration and communication are so closely connected is what makes them so hard to distinguish at times. Even the collaboration tools we see on the market today can blur the definitions a little.

After all, Slack is often touted as a collaboration tool but sending someone a message on Slack doesn’t necessarily mean you’re collaborating. However Slack does provide channels where teams can collaborate on projects together. Ultimately collaboration in the modern workforce is about providing an avenue for employees, executives or anyone else in a business to work together on the same project, no matter where they are.

While today the conversation about collaboration is heating up, it’s important to remember that communication will always be the underlying ingredient of good collaboration. Without communication, we would be left with multiple people working on their own versions of a project using the same tool. Communication provides the insight and knowledge to connect minds across the workforce.

It’s worth mentioning that collaboration tools have largely accommodated internal teams. However things are changing. We’re starting to see intercompany collaboration rising in popularity with features like guest access and shared channels.

Communication and collaboration are natural partners in the digitally-transformed and in globally-distributed workforce. However before any enterprise can begin to successfully invest in collaboration tools, they need to first ensure they’re getting the most out of their communication strategy. If communication isn’t clear, accessible and easy to use across a range of touch points, then collaboration can’t work. Empower your people to share knowledge. Then you can help them to work together on tasks.

There’s lots of more to tell you about UC and that’s why UC Today offers a whole host of free and available content for you to explore. From the latest news and products to smart guides and videos available at UCToday.com. Thanks for watching.

About Fastmetrics, Inc. Building & Business ISP

Since 2002, Fastmetrics is the Bay Area’s only dedicated business ISP. We provide telecommunication services in California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Reliable service – backed by better live and local support. From install to 24-7 proactive monitoring, get treated like a VIP customer. Not a number by a faceless call center. We specialize in managed business internet and phones, dedicated high speed business fiber internet, business WiFi, SIP voice solutions / UCaaS and managed network services. We are a Microsoft and Cisco Meraki Partner. Our team are Certified Cisco Specialists, Ubiquiti Enterprise Wireless Accredited and Polycom Authorized Solution Advisors. We take care of your business network, so you can focus on growth.
March 10, 2021
Starting A Business – 10 Things To Do
10 Things to Do Before Starting A Business

Starting a business is not a decision to be taken lightly. Investment and financial planning are two things to keep in mind before you start a business. With nine out of ten new businesses going under within the first five years, it’s a cost many can’t afford. You have to wear numerous hats, work unsocial hours, and forgo paid vacations. Combining these factors often results in a loss of sleep, money, family time, and relationships. However, 84% of business owners said they’d do it all over again!

If you’re to join the successful few, there are some factors to consider before starting a business and things you need to know about running one. Becoming an entrepreneur is, for most, an evolutionary process, where we grow along with our company. Allow us to help, to ensure your business evolves. Here’s 10 things to do before starting your business.

1. What Is The First Thing To Do Before Starting a Business?

There’s little point in investing your time and effort if you can’t afford to bring your new business to fruition. Start by calculating your net worth, improve your credit score, clear any outstanding credit card debts, and add up all available financial reserves, such as savings. Ensure you can start your business without jeopardizing your present situation. Ideally, have enough savings to cover household expenses, mortgage and car repayments for a minimum of a year.

2. Research Your Business Opportunity

If you’re familiar with the business you’re entering, you know what you’ll require, such as experience, staff, and equipment. However, if you’re entering an unknown market place based solely on either a good business idea, fulfilling a life-long dream, it pays to do your research. Avoid learning on the job as it’s often expensive and stressful, due to mistakes and time lost. Try working in the industry for a couple of months (even for free), as the experience you’ll gain will be invaluable. If that’s not possible, contact people in the same business and seek their advice. Entrepreneurs are a helpful bunch and are often willing to share advice, that might help you avoid making the same mistakes they did.

3. Research the Market

Always research a market to ensure it’s viable and there’s space for your business by conducting market analysis. Some things you should know before starting your business are:
- Who dominates your market, and can you provide something that will enable you to compete?
- What are the marketing strategies required for promoting your business?
- Have you the skills to implement such strategies?
- What are the sales cycles?
- Who’s your target market?
By answering these questions, you’ll gain the knowledge required for making the right decisions before starting your business.

4. Develop a Customer Profile

After identifying your competition and market requirements, you must determine your target audience. As you have to know who they are, where they are, and how they purchase your product or service to reach, connect, engage, and sell to them. A customer profile finds those answers by creating a semi-fictional representation of your target audience. You make it using market research and any real data you can obtain about your future customers. Some ways of finding that information by looking at your competitor’s websites, social media platforms, their FAQs, and any reviews. When creating your profile, use your customer demographics, their motivations, behavior patterns, and pain points to ensure you make one that correctly portrays your target audience.

5. Create a Marketing Plan

Every new business should have a marketing plan. Your plan will act as a guide, one you can refer to as you move forward while establishing your business. And a clear marketing plan also outlines your approach, enabling you to reach your goals. Your plan serves to identify the right marketing channels and strategies for your business. It could be a website with an email campaign to drive leads or social media to promote your physical store and connect directly with your customers. Or you might need to use local platforms such as niche press, radio and Google My Business.

6. Create A Brand For Your Business

Easy to say, but is it easy to do? Fortunately, it’s never been easier thanks to the range of branding tools now available. And it’s just as well because branding is essential for business growth. Consumers have infinite business options to choose from, and it’s the businesses with relatable and consistent branding that succeed in engaging and connecting with their target audiences. And as branding creates familiarity, consumers get to know about your company the more you brand it.
An essential element of any brand is authenticity, as 64% of consumers said shared values were the main reason they choose to use a brand.

7. Secure Your URL, Then Name Your Business

If that sounds like putting the cart before the horse, but hear us out. You need a website to be in business. If you think otherwise, you’re in for a cold, sharp shock because 97% of people check a business’s online presence, before deciding to visit them. So, you want to ensure the business name you’ve chosen is available as a URL before registering and paying for advertising. But if your first choice isn’t available, ensure what you do use is memorable, easy to say and write, and looks good in both a digital and physical format.

No matter how small your business is right now, registering your business name is a smart move. Get to brand your company, gain credibility and gain more customers to get an identity of its own.

8. Legal Things To Do Before Starting Business

You have to establish your legal entity before trading and obtain the necessary insurance, licenses, and permits. Ideally, if you can afford to, you should incorporate your business as an S-Corp or an LLC to remove personal liability. Another reason is consumers tend to trust companies with these types of legal structures attached, more than a sole proprietorship. You can determine your legal requirements regarding insurance, licenses, and permits by searching your state website.

9. Apply For Your EIN Number And Business Account

Once you’ve registered as a legal entity, you can apply for an EIN (Employer Identification Number) via the IRS website. When you receive it, you can open a business bank account. Having a business account helps to simplify your annual returns and decreases your accountancy fees.

10. Develop Your Business Product or Service and Test

If you’re selling a product, now’s the time to order samples and test them; most suppliers provide pre-order examples for this purpose. Whatever your product, test it in real-life situations and by as many non-biased users as possible. If you’re making a product, produce a batch and send it out to family and friends. If you have a social media platform, have followers receive the product and provide feedback directly (not reviews). Also, it helps if you add a question form/checklist, so they know what to assess. If it’s a service, provide test runs for friends and family, or offer your service for free to a local company.

About Fastmetrics, Inc. Building & Business ISP

Since 2002, Fastmetrics is the Bay Area’s only dedicated business ISP. We provide telecommunication services in California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Reliable service – backed by better live and local support. From install to 24-7 proactive monitoring, get treated like a VIP customer. Not a number by a faceless call center. We specialize in managed business internet and phones, dedicated high speed business fiber internet, business WiFi, SIP voice solutions / UCaaS and managed network services. We are a Microsoft and Cisco Meraki Partner. Our team are Certified Cisco Specialists, Ubiquiti Enterprise Wireless Accredited and Polycom Authorized Solution Advisors. We take care of your business network, so you can focus on growth.
February 23, 2021
How IT Support Has Evolved Over Time
IT Support Has Evolved – Has Your Business?

During the early days of information technology, organizations encountered numerous issues implementing a solid IT support system. This process was either costly or inconvenient. Although the current IT sector is not issue free, it has evolved quickly. This has eliminated many problems of sourcing solid IT support, that once plagued businesses.

Unfortunately, it takes a person with considerable knowledge of IT support to determine which tech is useful to a business. Even with the advancement of IT support, systems can become obsolete, insecure or not fit for purpose. Regular updates, maintenance and best practice processes need to be performed routinely, to get the best out of systems within a business. In a rapidly evolving online world, keeping an eye on the latest IT news and developments, plus more advanced solutions, is beneficial. So let’s look deeper into the history of IT support and how it has evolved over time.

Top Reasons To Get IT Support

Technically, IT support refers to any assistance provided through the help of technology, hence the name. However, for businesses, IT support is seen as the process of monitoring or managing computer networks and systems of an organization. Every company that uses computers, (practically every organization nowadays), will require IT support in some form. In other words, a business can’t run without IT support, regardless of the industry it’s in. Some may require smaller scale IT support than others, but still use information technology nonetheless. The list below shows the different benefits IT support can provide to businesses.

Seamless Data Management

Most businesses keep tabs on information such as an employee’s hiring date, salary, position and the like. Naturally, employees wouldn’t want such confidential information to be leaked to the public, and it’s the company’s responsibility to ensure its protection. Hence, data protection can be challenging if there’s no solid system in place. One function of IT support is to manage and store data securely and efficiently. IT support experts also incorporate data backup systems in case of emergencies such as data breaches.

Longer Term IT Security

It’s also the job of managed IT services to protect organizations and private networks from a variety of threats. Examples of these security threats include;
- Phishing
- Worms
- Adware
- Trojan horse
- Spyware
- Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks
IT support creates or implements cybersecurity programs or firewalls to protect databases from cyberattacks. Experts make sure these programs are always up-to-date, since security threats are ever evolving. (Even the largest companies have fallen prey to malware and viruses). Depending on the scale of IT support, a team may also monitor the activities of your business regularly to spot anything out of place. So the chances of security threats occurring are significantly lower with IT support.

Smart Use Of Technology

Technologies such as cloud computing, Machine Learning Operations (MLOps), and automation are popular among businesses. However, without the help of an expert who’s knowledgeable about these innovations, you can’t make use of these for management systems. This is another concrete reason to get IT support. IT experts incorporate high-tech tools to make a streamlined workflow for employees. Below are the most common technologies utilized by IT experts;
- Help desk automation tools
- AI self-service
- Automated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools
- Collaborative systems
- Mind-mapping software
- Workflow Automation tools (E.g. Integrations of Slack with Microsoft Teams)
IT support also involve the addition of hardware to increase the memory storage and processing power of organizations, which can prove useful for many situations.

Accurate Market Research

Although IT support specializes in the management of network systems, some services also consist of the use of marketing tools that result in accurate market research. Normally, you’d do market research by looking into public comments, video conferences, industry forums, among others. However, IT support integrates tools such as Google Analytics and CRMs into your hardware, allowing you to track the development of the industry.

Depending on the kind of IT services you have, you can reap many benefits without many risks. Some businesses may also focus more on network management. The bottom line is, you should choose the suitable IT services for your business to reap all the benefits. After learning the benefits of IT support to your business, it’s time to know how it was introduced to the world.

Satisfactory Customer Support

As a business, you have to create at least one channel for customers to reach you. It may be through social media messaging, text, email, or phone. Fortunately, IT services ensure that these channels are equipped with their own management system, allowing employees to have a smoother workflow. Besides, you can always expand your business by hiring or outsourcing the personnel, in case the volume of queries and concerns increases dramatically.

Advent of IT Support Through Break/Fix

A term you’ll often see in getting IT support is break/fix. Break/fix refers to the process of getting IT support only when IT problems occur. For example, if your network suddenly crashes, you’ll call IT support or ISP support to fix the problem. Other instances when break/fix is required include;
- Network repairs
- Implementation of new defense software
- Software upgrades or installation
- Equipment installation
- Training of employees
This kind of service is one of the oldest systems within the IT support industry, and it has been around for a long time due to benefits such as:
1. Control: With the break/fix system, businesses can rest assured knowing that they have full control over their system—thus gaining full control over the IT department as well.
2. Cost-efficient: You only have to pay the IT Company if they successfully fix an IT problem, making it cheaper than hiring a full-time IT expert.
3. Privacy: An IT company doesn’t have to concern itself with confidential information about your business since you only need them to fix certain issues. Although businesses can gain some benefits with this system, it isn’t always smooth sailing. You’ll also encounter issues like the following:
4. Uncertainty: If you’re a businessperson, you should know how important it is to keep tabs on your budget. Unfortunately, with the break/fix system, you can’t be sure how much you’ll end up spending, especially since IT problems aren’t predictable.
5. Relationship: Most businesses nowadays have IT technicians that work with them full-time. This allows the organization to familiarize themselves with IT, but that’s not possible if you only call on IT experts on an ad hoc basis.
6. Risk Prevention: They say that prevention is better than cure, so many businesses try to have an IT tech or someone with IT knowledge on staff. Not only does this prevent issues, but it can also help optimize the network systems of the business. This is not the case for a break/fix system, since IT technicians are always on call. These and many other issues make the break/fix system hard to deal with, and that’s why a different IT support system was developed.
Third-Party Service Providers

Managed IT and network services are the exact opposite of break/fix. Instead of relying on IT support in an event of a problem, organizations will outsource the IT services to a third-party provider. These service providers will then take part in the business’ dealings to optimize network systems and prevent any IT problems from occurring. Most IT companies will have their own team of personnel who are responsible for the following;
- System maintenance
- Software patches and updates
- Hardware arrangements
- Help desk support
- Administrative management
- 24/7 monitoring and security
Businesses can now allocate a budget for IT services, prevent IT problems from happening, and maintain a healthy business relationship with the service provider. IT service providers share the burden of the business, giving you peace of mind knowing that there’s an organization backing you up. Through this, the IT sector came up with a more streamlined process of providing IT support to businesses.

Continuous Improvement of IT Support

After establishing the aforementioned ‘break/fix’ system, the information technology sector didn’t stop developing IT support. One particular technique that has made a difference in the IT sector is verbose logging. Verbose logging refers to the practice of documenting or recording any information regarding the runtime of software into a medium. For instance, when using management software, an IT technician will relay all the logs from software into a medium such as Stack Overflow in the hopes of finding out what’s causing the software to experience issues.

This process is used by IT experts whenever they’re having problems with certain software or systems. Although the chances of actually finding the inconsistency are slim, many experts were able to resolve difficult problems with this technique. However, this is not the most convenient technique, and sometimes you might suffer from the large volume of data required to pull it off. This takes us to the next innovation within the IT support sector.
Introduction To Seamless Storage

In the early days of IT support, experts often use physical storage mediums that take up space in the workplace. Enterprises tend to encounter numerous problems regarding this matter. Maintenance of these storage mediums is just one of these problems. You also have to worry about the limits of physical storage. On that note, when cloud computing was introduced to the IT sector, companies happily integrated cloud computing into their tools and applications. But that’s not the only innovation that made storage convenient and seamless.

Integration of Programming Into IT Support

It can be said that programming and IT support go hand in hand, but that wasn’t the case until recently. Most of the time, IT support relies on network engineering, and programming is seldom involved in such processes. However, defensive programming paved the way for the integration of programming into IT support. Defensive programming is a popular design used by programmers in protecting their software. In its simplest form, defensive programming is when a programmer assumes that a problem will occur within the software, and adds protective codes in advance.

When it comes to IT support, defensive programming is the IT experts’ preparation of countermeasures for potential IT problems, allowing them to eliminate the chances of losing profit due to excessive downtime. Below are some of the most common defensive programming practices programmers use that are now prevalent in the IT support sector:
- SQL injection
- Cross-Site scripting
- Hard-coded secrets
- Input/Data validation
- Information disclosure
The Future of IT Support

Given the various changes happening in the IT sector, it’s not difficult to see the bright future of IT support. Innovations such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are still in development, but it doesn’t take an IT expert to know that these will contribute to the future of IT support.
Internet of Things is an innovation that allows hardware to connect through sensors or software embedded into them.

Hence, it can provide what IT experts have been dreaming of since the dawn of information technology—a seamless connection between different hardware. Artificial intelligence, on the other hand, is capable of giving machines human intelligence, one that adapts quickly to a situation. In other words, it can automate CRM tasks, which are often time-consuming for IT experts.

Progress within these technologies is bound to help not only the IT sector, but also other industries. And as these innovations get closer to perfection, they will become more in-demand to companies, and IT professionals will have to add these into their skill set. Apart from these innovations, there are hundreds more under development. It’s only a matter of time before another significant evolution within the IT sector occurs.

About Fastmetrics, Inc. Building & Business ISP

Since 2002, Fastmetrics is the Bay Area’s only dedicated business ISP. We provide telecommunication services in California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Reliable service – backed by better live and local support. From install to 24-7 proactive monitoring, get treated like a VIP customer. Not a number by a faceless call center. We specialize in managed business internet and phones, dedicated high speed business fiber internet, business WiFi, SIP voice solutions / UCaaS and managed network services. We are a Microsoft and Cisco Meraki Partner. Our team are Certified Cisco Specialists, Ubiquiti Enterprise Wireless Accredited and Polycom Authorized Solution Advisors. We take care of your business network, so you can focus on growth.
February 8, 2021
Fastmetrics Sponsoring NANOG 81 Virtual Expo 2021
NANOG 81 Virtual – Event Registration Open

This year the North American Network Operator’s Group (NANOG) is going virtual for their NANOG 81 Virtual event. Registration is now open.

Fastmetrics is pleased to once again be sponsoring another NANOG event. Last year we enjoyed meeting lots of attendees and giving away swag as a break sponsor at NANOG 78 at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco!

NANOG 81 Virtual – Event Details & Information
- NANOG 81 will be held completely online. The conference starts on Monday, February 8th at 12:00 (US Eastern time). It runs until 17:00 on Wednesday February 10th, 2021
- Registration options include both paid access for $100 USD and also a free option
- Paid registration offers; “full access to our three-day virtual program of peer-reviewed talks, tutorials, keynotes, and panels, including special sessions (Women in Tech, Newcomers, and BoFs), a Virtual Expo, opportunities for networking, games + prizes, and more”
- Keynote speeches so far, include ‘A Brief History of Router Architecture’ by Tony Li of Arista Networks. As well as ‘Securing Internet Applications from Routing Attacks’ by Dr Jennifer Rexford of Princeton University
- Every NANOG event includes a hackathon. This year the NANOG hackathon will be virtual, running over Saturday and Sunday February 6th and 7th. Registration for the hackathon is free
- A range of event swag is also available and can be purchased
NANOG Event Sponsorship Info

Fastmetrics is one of the ‘Virtual Expo Sponsors’ for this NANOG online event. Other event sponsors include;
- The ‘Diamond Sponsor’ of the event is Fastly, a leading edge cloud platform
- The ‘Platinum Sponsor’ is the American Registry For Internet Numbers (ARIN) (Fastmetrics previously sponsored the ARIN 35 event in San Francisco, back in 2015)
- The ‘Gold Sponsor’ of the event is Verisign, a global provider of domain name registry services and Internet infrastructure
- The ‘Scavenger Hunt Sponsor’ is opengear which provides secure remote access and IT infrastructure management
- Gaming sponsors include; Infinera who provide open optical network solutions, IPv4.Global who are a broker of IPv4 addresses and offer an online marketplace to and buy and sell IPv4 addresses and Telia Carrier, a global Internet backbone provider
Register now to check out all the great keynote speeches, talks, activities, giveaways and access to exclusive NANOG content over this 3 day virtual event. We hope to see you online at our virtual booth!

About Fastmetrics, Inc. Building & Business ISP

Since 2002, Fastmetrics is the Bay Area’s only dedicated business ISP. We provide telecommunication services in California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Reliable service – backed by better live and local support. From install to 24-7 proactive monitoring, get treated like a VIP customer. Not a number by a faceless call center. We specialize in managed business internet and phones, dedicated high speed business fiber internet, business WiFi, SIP voice solutions / UCaaS and managed network services. We are a Microsoft and Cisco Meraki Partner. Our team are Certified Cisco Specialists, Ubiquiti Enterprise Wireless Accredited and Polycom Authorized Solution Advisors. We take care of your business network, so you can focus on growth.
January 27, 2021
CCPA – What Bay Area Businesses Need To Know

Business Guide To The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

Californians just acquired brand new privacy rights, via CCPA. Now, they will have greater control over their online information and activities. This is due to the passing into law of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The statewide legislation curbs the authority of businesses over their clients’ data. One of the major pieces of legislation within the Act is that people can now ask companies to delete their data completely.

Even before the ink dries on the Act, privacy advocates are already calling for caution. They state that passing the law is just half the journey. The law will only work when consumers read and understand it. If consumers are unaware of their rights, businesses will violate them just like they were doing before the law. Therefore, if your business is operating in the Bay Area, you should take steps to educate your customers. Once your customers see your genuine intentions, they will trust you more with their information.

CCPA: What Your Bay Area Business Needs To Know

Generally, the main impact of CCPA is that your business must disclose all data aspects to your clients. Your customers must know what you collect, how you store it, and its use. One way of complying with the law is to create pop-up disclosures on your side. Pop-up disclosures allow you to comply with CCPA and GDPR. However, this is just scratching the surface. The law gives consumers the power to demand several things from your business.

First, the clients can ask your business to release their personal information. You will have to send a detailed report to the client. For example, you have to submit things such as gender, race, age, income, and browsing history. Similarly, clients can stop you from selling their information. If you want to sell information about persons aged between 13 and 16, you must get their explicit consent. Furthermore, you can’t sell information about a person below the age of 13 if their guardian or parents don’t give consent.

The other significant impact is that people have the right to be forgotten. Your website’s consumers can demand a complete deletion of their information. People who bought the data from you must also delete that data.

What Businesses Are Affected By CCPA Laws?

Not every business will be affected by the new laws. Companies with an annual income of at least 25 million US dollars, or a customer base of at least 50,000 people per annum, will have to comply to CCPA. The same applies to any business getting 50% of its income from the sale of personal data. The affected companies are required to give responses to all their client’s questions. If a client sends a request concerning their information, you are legally obligated to respond. Businesses that have not complied by the 1st of July 2021 will pay fines of $7500 for each violation. The state is first concentrating on large corporations. They want to create an example from the large data conglomerates in California before taking the war to small retailers.

When Does CCPA Implementation Begin?

Implementation of the CCPA began on January 1st, 2020. This was when America’s privacy laws changed forever. The CCPA is perhaps America’s most comprehensive data law, and it has been in the works for many years. Nevertheless, the law’s implementation by the attorney general’s office officially starts on July 1st, 2020, or after the state’s legislature has drafted all regulations. In 2020, the Attorney General began working with legislatures, businesses, and data activists to create a comprehensive new law. Many professionals reviewed the original draft, and each proposed certain amendments. In the end, very few amendments were taken into consideration. Despite that, many stakeholders believe that the law could reduce or eliminate data privacy violations.

Far-reaching Affects

So much has changed in the world over the last decade. It’s surprising that lawmakers took such a long time to appreciate the importance of digital data. However, this does not mean there aren’t people who have always been pushing for the respect of privacy rights. California decided to get ahead of the rest of the country by taking this problem head-on. Proponents of CCPA concede that it will take a long time for the law to be fully implemented. Already, there is extensive resistance from many brands. Many of them have refused to sensitize their clients about the effects of CCPA. Either way, all brands will have to comply ultimately.

Opposition To The New CCPA Law

Not everybody is particularly pleased with CCPA. Several advocacy groups have faulted the law’s broad reach. Their contention is that the law targets technology companies.

CCPA Conclusion

Consumer data protection is a big topic right now. If your business does not comply with the CCPA, it will face extensive fines. In some cases, you may go to jail. Therefore, it is wise to contact us for more information about this law.

About Fastmetrics, Inc. Building & Business ISP

Since 2002, Fastmetrics is the Bay Area’s only dedicated business ISP. We provide telecommunication services in California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Reliable service – backed by better live and local support. From install to 24-7 proactive monitoring, get treated like a VIP customer. Not a number by a faceless call center. We specialize in managed business internet and phones, dedicated high speed business fiber internet, business WiFi, SIP voice solutions / UCaaS and managed network services. We are a Microsoft and Cisco Meraki Partner. Our team are Certified Cisco Specialists, Ubiquiti Enterprise Wireless Accredited and Polycom Authorized Solution Advisors. We take care of your business network, so you can focus on growth.

January 26, 2021