What You Should Consider For a WAN Optimization Solution

You're evaluating your WAN (Wide Area Network) and wondering how you can optimize performance across the network. What are you're realistic options for a solution?

Keep in mind that this isn't necessarily a bandwidth solution, such as say MPLS or ethernet is. Rather it's a bandwidth utilization question.

I would suggest looking at WAN optimization appliances: Riverbed, Juniper, Packeteer. In many cases they do a very good job with latency, especially if the main source of the problem is CIFS WAN-unaware issues (copying/opening/modifying files using Windows).

The first step in my view is to find out the path your IP packets are taking. A delay can be caused if your connection is going through satellite and not a land line (Earthbound wireless, fibre- underwater or land, etc.).

First I would suggest tracing your packets' route ..... then making an SLA with your service provider and see if they can guarantee the quality parameters you want concerning BW, delay, jitter etc.

I wouldn't jump into buying or installing anything before that!

Keep in mind that all WAN-accelerators solve Latency issues. So choose any Vendor that does WAN-acceleration. But choosing the right one is not that easy. It depends on your WAN-traffic.

If you use applications (like Citrix, SAP) than a traffic priorizing Accelerator (Like Packeteer or Ipanema) will offer you the best results. However, if your traffic is more file oriented (MS-Office) ..... than you will get the best results with the Data reduction Accelerators, like Riverbed, Juniper Citrix and Cisco. In general you'll likely get the best results with Riverbed.

Wan Optimizations appliances have an effect only on TCP flows. If you have latency issues with UDP flows (voip) I don't think you can do anything against that (real time traffic is very sensitive to latency)

About generic TCP flows optimization, you'll find many vendors in the market selling products which fit well according to your needs : Citrix WanScaler, Cisco WAAS, Juniper, Riverbed, Expand and probably a lot of other vendors...

Here is the trick they all use to hide the effects of latency (they don't hide latency, because it already exists, they hide the effects), Wan optimization solutions act like a transparent TCP proxy, spoofing server's IP address to the client, and spoofing client's IP address to the server, and they send the TCP Ack messages locally. So you don't have to wait for the round trip time to get the ACK message. It helps to "fill-the-pipe" quickly. This is the great solution to avoid latency effects, as TCP throughput is highly sensitive to latency, due to the Ack return messages, also congestion control has an horrible effect when the TCP connections start.

Also they implement selective Acks and large initial flow control windows to use the total bandwidth of the WAN link. Add to this some compression mechanisms to artificially increase the bandwidth available and some layer 7 optimizations (mainly CIFS for file sharing, but also HTTP-based compression), embedded QoS stuff, and you have an overview of what we call "Wan optimization".

Whatever the vendor you choose, they all implement what I described above.

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Keep in Better Touch With a 4G Network Provider

By now, you've heard of 4G network coverage as a faster, more convenient way to surf the web at home or around town. The 4G network uses the latest WiMax technology to send signals from your laptop to the Internet, ensuring a clear, constant connection. This coverage expands from your basement to the furthest reaches of your city limit, making the entire city your virtual playground. For a low monthly price, you are privy to the benefits that come with always having online access and you can opt to have network coverage in your home, all over the city, or both.

In addition to changing the way you surf the web, your 4G network provider can also change how you make phone calls. You can add on a voice plan to your 4G wireless coverage and stay better connected online and on the phone. Under this plan, you are able to make unlimited long distance phone calls at a low monthly cost. Keep in better touch with your sister in Minneapolis or use the voice plan for weekly phone check-ups with your son in college. Regardless of where you're calling or for how long you talk, your 4G wireless technology provider keeps you connected via phone as well.

Your voice plan not only keeps you better connected to loved ones who are at a long distance but also helps you monitor your phone calls better. With a voice plan and 4G network coverage, you can actually forward all of your voicemails to your e-mail account. The voicemails come in Wav attachments and enable you to listen to voicemails from calls that you may have missed from your home while you're at the supermarket, the gym, or at work. This feature from your 4G wireless technology provider enables you to get your messages and return calls faster.

Finally, with your 4G wireless provider, you can better control who can get a hold of you on your phone and when. The phone plan allows you to actually forward calls from your home phone to your mobile or vice versa. Additionally, it enables you to block calls from specific persons or companies. This means you may never have to hear from another telemarketer again. These features from your 4G wireless technology provider enable you to control how and whom you communicate with.

With a voice plan from your 4G provider, you can stay in better touch with loved ones and clients for a low monthly cost. The plan works in conjunction with your 4G coverage, which allows you to stay better connected through unlimited long distance calling. In addition to checking your bank account and paying your bills with your 4G coverage, you can also receive and listen to your voicemails. Furthermore, this plan puts you in control of how you communicate by allowing you to forward and block calls. These services forever change the way you communicate by enabling you to have an affordable, easy way to stay online and on the phone.

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Recognizing Stress in Your Clients

Wouldn't it be nice if your clients were only concerned about negotiating a fair price for the product at hand, or working through the details of complex negotiations? The fact of the matter is, we are all are at one time or another carrying stress into the marketplace. My belief is we cannot escape the tendency on occasion to seek on an unconscious level a lowering of our stress, on top of the external objectives we are negotiating.

In the restaurant and hospitality industry for instance, where the client's overt objective is simply to indulge in a pleasure experience, or pay for a matter of convenience, very different attitudes are exhibited from those who are simply there to relish the moment, and those who are on a limited budget, have limited time to fit another experience into their day, or have other things on their minds. When these clients come through the door, whether they are seeking food, a hotel room, or a new copy machine contractor, are we able to read the signs and respond to the stress component?

All too many times I have found that co-workers tend to react to these nuanced behaviors-stubbornness, impatience, dissatisfaction, loss of temper, excessive demand-in moral and etiquette oriented ways. Some of us react with the sense that this client is disrespecting us, and so needs to be taught some good manners. Some of us react with the sense that this person is overly demanding or merely perfectionistic, and so needs to get with the program.

The fact of the matter is, whether for good, bad or worse, stress generates an additional set of control issues. Appearance in the marketplace-whether we are getting a bargain, getting had, or paying a fair price for a quality product-can become overly important when stress is in play. Excessive demands or hair-trigger dissatisfaction can be signs of stress levels high enough such that any location where venting can occur is turned into a necessary opportunity to unload some of the emotional and physiological discomfort that characterizes stress. That place is likely to be the marketplace.

In reading about customer complaint behavior and stress, and through my own personal experience with dissatisfied, obviously-and not so obviously-stressed clientele, the stress component is mis- or under-identified and rarely appreciated. We need to recognize that stress can manage itself at times through venting, an attempt at over-control or through complaint. That doesn't mean we become dysfunctional, but we may tend to find these unconscious ways of re-balancing the client's internal stress picture in play. I liken this to Sigmund Freud's Freudian slip.

We informally enter into a negotiation, say a discrepancy over the route a cabbie is taking, and suddenly we find ourselves unloading on the guy because he's chosen a route we are unfamiliar with. All of a sudden, our stress has added to the equation by rocketing through the assessment of his reasons and telescoping into judgement prudent responses and caution before jumping to conclusions. We know he's trying to rip us off. But no-one has stopped to ask if there was stress coming into the transaction. And more often than not, I'd bet the answer is yes.

If we are aware of the likelihood that stress is coming through the door, and we don't relegate it to 'the other guy's problem', we create an opportunity for value- added service in the marketplace. First, we must be supportive of staff members that deal directly with clientele. They need support especially under stressful circumstances. We can assess performance separately from this support role that managers and senior level leaders need to offer.

Secondly, those of us on the front line can learn to recognize and respond to the stress component in our clientele by noting when we believe stress is a part of the transaction from the client's view, and giving that component validity on its own terms. This doesn't mean satisfying the client's demands the client's way each and every time, but it may mean withholding an exchange that puts demands in confrontation with one another: 'I'll give you this when you give me that'. This is a basic de-escalatory tactic, but one which we sometimes seem to neglect.

I am a big proponent of rehearsal, because rehearsal is like a fire drill. With a good practice, when we are blind sided by a reaction from a client in a transaction, instead of repressing our reaction, or reacting in kind, we trigger a different program entirely. In a fire drill, the alarm is used in a calm rehearsal of the anticipated situation, so that the neural pathways and responses are reinforced with the state of calm, and proactive responses are programmed that flow from the trigger of the fire alarm when the real thing occurs. When the client walks into the marketplace with stress, the best way to attain customer satisfaction will be to reduce the stress, as well as the providing for the client's wants or needs. That way, all the client is talking about on the way out the door is what a great experience they've had.

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Wi-Fi Internet Radio

The Internet really is a fantastic place - everything there at our fingertips for us to use as and when. This is the case with Internet radio. It's great - you can listen to stations from all over the world or perhaps even small local radio stations that are only available online.

The issue that we have here is that the computer usually limits you as to where you can listen to the radio. Not everyone has a computer in every room, not everyone has speakers in every room that can be rigged up to the computer. This is restrictive and that is not desirable.

This creates a restriction - with the freedom of the Internet we do not want to be restricted. Well now there is a solution - the Wireless Internet Radio.

This device is almost a mini computer in itself - it connects to your existing wireless network as if it was, for example, a laptop computer connecting. This regular looking radio then allows you to access the tens of thousands of stations from anywhere within range. This could be in your back garden, in the bathroom, the kitchen or any other room that you may like to be in.

Not only do you have the ability to listen to all these radio stations but the product allows you to utilise such audio delights as podcasts and listen again services similar to that offered by the BBC - if this is not available for your favourite channel it most likely soon will be as listening to your favourite show, at a time to suit you, is becoming ever more popular.

As an added bonus the Internet radio will also allow you to stream music from your PC to the radio. This means that all your favourite songs that you have stored on your computer no longer need to heard in the same room as your computer.

This versatile little device is surely going to be very popular in the future. Of course, you do need a wireless network to begin with but most good ISPs are now giving wireless routers away for free when you sign up.

The final thing that I must point out - the subscription to these thousands of channels is Free or charge - you pay for the radio then that is it - Free from then on. How good is that?

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An 8-Step Strategic Marketing Approach For New Business From Former Clients

How much of your marketing effort is dedicated to marketing and obtaining new clients or customers? Are you devoting your entire marketing effort to find new clients? Or are you using some strategic thinking and developing a strategy to get back in touch with former clients to gain new business from them? It has always intrigued me in my business coaching and business consulting practices that so many businesses give very little effort to or totally ignore past clients and customers that are no longer active.

Not keeping in touch with former clients and customers is very short-term thinking and definitely is not strategic thinking. Actually, former clients and customers can be the best source of new business for you. Remember, it costs anywhere from 2 to 40 times as much to acquire a new client or customer than to keep an existing client or customer. With this in mind, Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach offers the following 8 strategic steps to gain new business from your former clients and customers by building an effective contact program.

Strategic Step #1: Develop a list of all your former clients and customers, as well as centers of influence and other referral sources. This may mean sorting through old business cards, address lists in word processing files or old address books, etc, You should also put on that list the names and contact information of friends, colleagues, suppliers, professional associates, etc. The most important thing is to compile the list and then you can look at the list later to determine if any contacts should be deleted.

Strategic Step #2: Determine the message you want to deliver to the contacts on your list. You do not need a specific reason to contact them. It is legitimate to contact them to see how they are doing and to "just touch base" with them. When developing your message, you must incorporate what action you want the recipient of your message to take after receiving it.

Strategic Step #3: Determine the methods of contact to deliver your message. This will probably include: telephone calls, an email, or a letter. The key here is to be as personal as possible when you make the contacts. You will probably break your list into categories of method of contact.

Strategic Step #4: Determine the number of contacts you want to make and within what specified time period. Prioritization of your contact list is a strategic thinking move. You only have so much time, so use it wisely and strategically.
This may also cause you to do a "time-released" contact due to the needed follow-up after the contacts.

Strategic Step #5: Determine your "follow-up" plan. This will be dependent upon what action you have asked your contact to take after receiving your message. You must commit to making sure you do the follow-up contacts in a timely manner.

Strategic Step #6: Develop and implement a tracking program so you can evaluate the effectiveness of your client/customer contact program.

Strategic Step #7: Commit to continuous improvement in your client/customer contact program. Review your efforts on a regular basis and adjust your program as needed.

Strategic Step #8: Seek outside advice and assistance from a business coach or marketing consultant to gain additional insights and to be sure you hold yourself accountable in this effort.

Your strategic thinking business coach encourages you to fully realize the benefits of business coaching to strategically market and grow a profitable business. If you would like to learn more about how a strategic thinking business coach can facilitate and guide you in that endeavor, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at http://www.businesscoach4u.com or by email at jgecoach@aol.com

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Do your Clients Expect Promotional Items?

Do your clients expect promotional items? The short answer to that question is yes. However, it is more complex than simply assuming that all clients are waiting for you to give out free items! When understanding the relationship you have with your clients, promotional items say a lot, so make sure to review all aspects in order to best choose whether or not to use promotional products in your business.

First and foremost, look at the context in which promotional items could potentially be given. If you and your business attend countless events like trade shows, conventions, and fairs, having promotional items is a must to attract customers to your stand in the first place. Remember, these are arenas in which you are in competition directly with other tables or booths in your area in order to get people to actually stop and spend a minute learning about your products or services. Having promotional items is the only way to do this unless the person really is looking for a company that does exactly what you are doing. You don't have to give away large and expensive promotional items. Even items as small and simple as pens make a big impact, especially when displayed correctly.

Also important to understand is that the nature of some businesses is simply more conducive to the use of promotional items. While you'll rarely see restaurants giving away large promotional items, other businesses, like car dealerships, are almost expected to do so. Basically, look at the investment your customers or clients are making. If they are spending enough money to warrant a loan to make the purchase, such as you'd find with a car or house, promotional items as a thank you token are more than appropriate.

Remember that promotional items should never be a bribe for your clients. Although you may want to mention the may perks of working with your company, it is unethical to promise free items in order to get certain customers to work with you. Instead, offer the same promotional items to all customers and clients. You may want to set up levels to use. For example, if a client spends $50, they get a free promotional pen, but if they spend $100, they get a free promotional hat (and so forth).

Promotional items, don't forget, are also something that many people expect in the capacity as an employee as well. If your team has been working hard, consider giving them promotional items (as well as bonuses), especially around the holidays. This will help to keep up the morale of your employees, as well as show them that you appreciate all of the work they do for you and your business.

At the end of the day, promotional items are simply necessary for a successful business. You don't have to give away large items or even give away lots of different items. You simply need a way to say that you care. Promotional items come in all shapes and sizes, so it shouldn't be hard to find some that are perfect for your company.

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Career Management - Do Your Friends Know What You Do?

Most people can recall at least one time when they needed help with something and without hesitation a friend or relative offered a referral. Have a pain in your neck? See Dr. Weber. Need a math tutor? Call Mary Jones. Not sure how to report the gain on the sale of your home? Call my tax guy.

But as quick as they were to recommend a doctor, a tutor, or a tax preparer, do these same people know what you do? If they were in a similar conversation with someone about what you do for a living, would they even think of offering your name? If they tripped over the perfect job for you, would they know it? For most of us, the answer is, no.

It is your job to help people understand what you do. You need to create a marketing campaign about you, so that job opportunities will come to you without you even being present in the conversation.

Consider this conversation between a data security manager and a friend:

Data Security Manager: "If I don't find someone quickly who knows about Extranet & Internet DMZs and network security, I'm going to have some serious problems on my hands. Just today we had another major problem with our PIX Firewalls and Split Managed VPN, and all our routers and switches went down."

Friend: "I haven't the slightest idea what that means, but I know a guy who does. Here's his name and number; give him a call and maybe he can help."

Whether you are in the market for a new job or not, this is how you want to be known. But before you start broadcasting to the world what you do, prepare a carefully thought out marketing pitch and try it on some trusted colleagues.

Avoid Expansive Labels

Telling people you are a banker, a consultant, or a sales person won't even begin to educate them in what you do. Be more specific.

A lawyer can be a criminal lawyer, an intellectual property lawyer, an immigration lawyer, a securities lawyer, a real estate lawyer, a tax lawyer, an international lawyer, a family lawyer, and a multiplicity of other specialties.

Educate

Much like the lawyer paradigm, telling someone you are a programmer is not precise enough, but might also evoke a deer-in-the-headlights question, "So...what do you do, then...?"

Don't assume the other person knows much about computers. Be prepared to define your specialty at varying levels of understanding, and be patient even if you have to explain Programming 101; "Computers follow instructions from programming languages that require a great deal of precision and completeness to enable the computer to produce the intended action. There are many different languages, but my specialty is helping companies design first class web pages using HTML programming."

Promote Your Value Proposition - Not Yourself

Offering your job title does little to help people understand what you do and can also be perceived as condescending. Think in terms of a marketing brochure, not a resume.

If you are a consultant, your marketing message should be something like, "I help organizations improve productivity and customer satisfaction, which in turn enables my clients to reduce costs and increase sales." That says a whole lot more than, "I'm a management consultant."

Your goal is to keep the conversation going, so when you pitch yourself in terms of what you do for others it often evokes curiosity with typical follow-up questions such as, "How do you do that...?"

Give people a reason to think of you, to contact you, and to refer you.

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