BCI Answers

Business Communications, Inc Announces Acquisition of VO2 Networx

Business Communications, Inc Announces Acquisition of VO2 Networx

Information Technology Service Provider Expands Unified Communications Expertise Through Merger

 

Ridgeland, MS – January 23, 2012

 

One of the Southeast’s top information technology companies, Business Communications, Inc. (BCI) announced today the acquisition of Memphis, TN-based VO2 Networx - leaders in business telephony, networking and data services. This acquisition further enhances BCI’s business commitment to providing customers with an end-to-end Business Solution.

 

This acquisition allows BCI, a leading cloud computing service provider, and VO2 Networx to capitalize on complementary strengths and employee expertise by sharing best practices for innovative Information Technology and Cloud Services. Utilizing VO2 Networx’s knowledge of Hosted Voice Solutions is another way BCI will build on its total solution offerings.

 

“The acquisition of VO2 Networx is a strategic addition to the BCI family and provides even more opportunities for BCI to deliver every technology and cloud solution a growing business needs. VO2 Networx and BCI will provide the best solution at every stage of the business planning process, delivering fanatical customer service and becoming a trusted advisor for those customers whom we serve,” said Tom Hinds, BCI’s President and COO.

 

VO2 Networx will continue to operate out of Memphis, TN, with new positions soon becoming available as a result of the acquisition. By combining the expertise and capabilities of BCI and

VO2 Networx, each organization will experience growth through expanded services such as, unified communications and cloud offerings. By joining together, both companies will gain broader customer insights, which ultimately lead to better customer experiences.

 

Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

 

About BCI

With fiscal year 2011 sales of $65 million, Business Communications is the Southeast’s Leading Service Provider of Information technology and Cloud Computing Services. For more information, visit bcianswers.com.

 

About VO2 Networx

Since its inception in 2003, VO2 Networx has been dedicated to the idea that all businesses, regardless of size, should be able to afford the sophisticated telecommunications systems they need in order to be competitive.  For more information, visit vo2networx.com.

 

 

Media Contact: 
Wendi Garrison

Director of Marketing and Partner Relations

Phone:  800.748.6317
Email: wgarrison@bcianswers.com

 

The Cloud - Debunked

Cloud computing is a nebulous concept for many which ends up (more times than not) making it seem scary, undefined, or risky. I hope to simplify the concept in this post (or over a series of posts) for many of you – specifically business users that are not so technical.

The term “cloud” has been around for a while, and you probably have seen IT folks draw a picture of a cloud when sketching out their Wide-Area Network (WAN) or the Internet. The cloud has been the generally accepted icon for both of those because you really don’t know what kind of hardware/software is out there, how they are physically connected, etc.

You really don’t even care – you just want to be connected from point A to point B.

Well, now the industry has taken cloud and applied it to computing because of the same reason. You don’t care what kind of hardware/software, how it is physically connected, where it is located, etc. You just want to connect from you (point a) to your application (point b).

In most instances, the cloud is little more than just abstraction of the infrastructure – so let’s dig a little deeper by being a little more technical.

Resource Usage

In most environments, you have an application (or multiple apps) installed on a particular O/S running on a server with specific hardware requirements. The implications from this scenario include:

• If that application is not doing much, then the server’s resources (RAM/memory, disk space, network connectivity, etc) are under-utilized.  In my experience, servers use less than 20% of the resources on average.   So you have planned for growth, have overbought, or just purchased incorrectly – in any of these cases you are arguably wasting your capital dollars.
• If that application is demanding TOO many resources, then that server can’t go get more resources without you spending more money and experiencing downtime to add them… even if the server next to it is running at 10% capacity.  

So to summarize, each application is physically dependent on one piece of hardware… this is not very efficient or effective.   

To give a real life example, I had two brothers and a sister growing up.   The three boys shared a bathroom and my sister had her own bathroom. We were strictly prohibited from using her bathroom (DON’T ASK!), so if one of my brothers was in our bathroom (using up the resources), I couldn’t borrow my sister’s bathroom (borrow her resources). I couldn’t get an additional bathroom budgeted for the boy department, and while our bosses/parents were willing to add on to our bathroom, we couldn’t live through the downtime of NO resources while the additional resources were added. 

Virtualization 

Along comes virtualization, which is the cloud-enabler!

This piece of software is installed on multiple servers and makes it virtually appear as one. It is a little more complicated than this, but I am simplifying. You still install the application(s) into the operating system, but now you can run multiple of these little virtual machines on one or more physical servers. Now, instead of having 10 physical servers for 10 applications, you might only have 2 or 3 servers.  If one server is out of resources, the virtual machine just moves on over to a server that has free resources without anyone noticing. 

In my personal case, I would just go over and use my sister’s bathroom anytime she wasn’t there. Long story short – virtualization software like VMware’s VSphere, Citrix’s ZenServer, Microsoft’s HyperV, etc., removes the operating system’s dependence on physical hardware. 

 Efficiency 

Most importantly, Cloud Computing offers IT better redundancy, more efficient usage of resources, and more effective use of resources – all which will now be done while actually having LESS resources. Have you implemented any cloud based applications or thinking about migrating to the cloud? I would love to hear about your experiences, issues and successes. 

 

Business Communications Inc. Launches New Customer Focused Website

Business Communications Inc. Launches New Customer Focused Website

Plug into Cloud Computing Services with one of Mississippi’s Top Information Technology Companies

Ridgeland, MS - November 17, 2011  

One of the Southeast’s top information technology companies, Business Communications, Inc, shifts its focus to customers and cloud services with a newly redesigned website bcianswers.com.  The new website provides new and current customers with easy access to product information and highlights BCI’s new Data Center and suite of cloud services.

The new website offers more solution based information, organized to provide quick, direct access to topics such as dedicated managed servers and cloud computing services. BCIAnswers.com’s home page features center around practices areas and customer segments served. These two navigation features take visitors quickly to what they are looking for but also allow them to explore different practices areas, services, and technology partners.  Serving diverse customer needs, the site is optimized for the IT Manager looking to “take things off their plate” and the Small Business Owner needing to “plug into the cloud.” The entire site is geared to make Information Technology more customer-friendly.

The new bcianswers.com has been in development for the past year with BCI’s marketing department leading the project and working with all levels of management to ensure the site reflects BCI’s core values.

“The new site was created specifically for customers, including both technical and non-technical visitors,” says Wendi Garrison, BCI’s Director of Marketing and Partner Relations.  “It’s packed with information on our new data center, news, events, and multiple ways for customers to connect with BCI via social technology.”

 

About BCI

BCI is a technology services company passionate about understanding our customers and utilizing Information Technology to drive business outcomes.

 

Media Contact: 
Wendi Garrison, Director of Marketing and Partner Relations

Phone:  800.748.6317
Email: wgarrison@bcianswers.com

A Non-technical Perspective on the Cloud

My introduction to the information technology world came 2 short years ago. When you consider that I came from a non-technical background, I can be considered an infant in technical years. Right at the time I was on-boarding at BCI is when cloud technology was really beginning to build momentum; huge players like Cisco, Citrix and VMWare were beginning to rev their cloud engines.

Over the past year, especially the past 6 months, BCI has been all about the cloud.  Since my post is in the Marketing department, our focus has been getting our customers into our cloud, building cloud knowledge within our employee and customer base, and learning about partner cloud offerings.

After being immersed in cloud creation, cloud marketing, and putting on Cloud-inspiried events - I began to ponder...What does the cloud mean to me and all of the millions of other non-technical people that help power the IT industry?

IT As a Service

To me, the cloud simply allows IT to be provided as a service. The cloud unlocks the power of IT and allows for many more businesses to take advantage of cutting-edge technology. For example, today's small business can invest zero in capital, pay one monthly fee, and get all of their applications, storage, security, telephone, and backup needs delivered to them over any internet enabled device, minus the IT staff, maintenance, and upgrades.

No matter how many times I hear this example I still get as excited as I did when the first the proverbial light bulb went off. Now, superior competitive-edge enabling technology is not just for enterprise level business with huge IT budgets. As we continue to move towards the "IT as a commodity" mindset, more businesses will be able to leverage the power of IT to accelerate their profits.

IT Resources on Demand

On the flip side, how will the cloud affect businesses with huge IT budgets and the staff to support their environment?

This question is a challenge to the businesses that believe their equipment must be located on premises for them to maintain control.

I'd argue that no matter how unique one's business requirements or needs are, the cloud fits, its not one size fits all, it's what you need when you need it.

For enterprise-level businesses, the cloud brings a level of flexibility and scalability that has never before been available. A business that experiences 2 peak seasons per year no longer has to invest in equipment that will be under utilized during non-peak times. With the cloud, you can supplement your current IT environment to cover business activity influxes, while keeping the "surprise" out of your IT costs. For example, the cloud unlocks servers, bandwidth, and storage space-allowing resources to scale up or down - as needed and on demand.

It's 2 years later and I'm making my way into the toddler technical knowledge phase....being part of BCI's marketing team has been amazing, but getting to watch how the cloud is helping revolutionize how businesses are taking advantage of IT is alarmingly exciting.