Small Business VoIP

Playing basketball at both the collegiate (Go Penn State!) and professional level taught me a number of invaluable lessons that I’ve carried with me into my professional career. Charging onto the basketball court, fueled with adrenaline, passion for the game and conviction that we were the best, my teammates and I were given exactly the same opportunity to contribute to the game— and ultimately the win.

 

I learned that there is no room for me to lower my game, play as an individual, or not foster a seamless unit with my teammates. Short or tall, freshman or senior, rookie or veteran, we all had to strategize, learn our position and capitalize on where are contributions would prove best for the team. Over the years, both on and off the court, I have learned that the sweetest times of success came from a well structured group of individuals from varied backgrounds coming together over a common, difficult task and pulling it off and collectively participating in the victory.

 

Today, as president of Concentric, a business unit of XO Communications, I find myself on a different playing field, but the challenges remain the same. My team and I provide enterprise-hosted IT solutions that streamline IT management, improve security and uptime and reduce costs for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

 

According to the IRS reports, there are 31.3 million businesses in the U.S., of which 29.9 gross less than $1 million a year. Given that most million-dollar businesses can only support five to 10 employees, most businesses actually fall below the SMB level. Even though these SMBS may appear to function informally and entrepreneurially, they need the ability to thrive and compete with bigger corporations. The average SMB has a shared server, email server, fax server, networked printer/copier and a phone system. It’s not smart business for SMBs to house their IT systems in a cramped, dusty closet that’s overheated, under-maintained and not backed-up.

 

More than ever, SMBs want and deserve the same quality of hosted services available to larger businesses. In today’s tough economic times, delivering cost-effective, reliable, scalable, and secure hosted IT services and solutions is critical. At Concentric, we offer a range of Software as a Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) and hosted applications to help you compete and succeed on the SMB playing field.

 

We provide hosted services on a patented Clustered Technology architecture, a platform that delivers greater reliability, speed and performance than traditional shared platforms. Concentric's (News - Alert) technology provides dynamic resources and multiple tiers of system and application security. Our services include web hosting, business-class email, hosted Microsoft (News - Alert) Exchange, perimeter email protection, secure instant chat, managed server, and managed back-up.

 

Working closely with you, we can help you differentiate your business by providing your SMB customers with top-notch service. There’s always going to be another competitor who is stronger and faster with bigger name recognition. By providing the best solutions with the best service, you will be able to make an impact in the SMB community.