AccessLine Protection of Customers Personal Information (CPI) Summary
AccessLine places the highest priority on protecting Customer Personal Information. AccessLine has developed and maintains a set of processes and procedures to secure and control customer’s personal information (CPI) which includes:
● Subscriber name
● All credit card information (number, expiration date and billing address)
● Address
● Phone number
● Email address
● IP address
● Call history
● Fax and voicemail

NOTE: It is AccessLine’s policy to NOT collect or have access to customers’ social security number, driver license number or other information not listed above.

AccessLine’s controls have been designed to comply with Federal, State and Industry regulations. These regulations include (but are not limited to):
● Sarbanes-Oxley IT,
● Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard,
● FCC Customers Proprietary network Information (CPNI),
● Massachusetts Regulation 201 CMR 17.00 (Personal Information Data Security)

Regarding HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) requirements, AccessLine is not a “Covered Entity” or “Business Associate” as defined by the HIPAA regulations; therefore HIPAA requirements do not apply to AccessLine’s network. AccessLine simply provides a connection for you to transfer voice and data communications. It is your responsibility, however, to ensure that the applications used and the methods in which you transfer information over AccessLine’s connection are done in compliance with the HIPAA requirements. If you use AccessLine’s fax or voicemail service, you could & should incorporate their service into your privacy and security plan for HIPAA and be compliant. AccessLine simply provides a service or tool that can be used (securely) to meet Personal Information Security Regulations like Massachusetts Regulation 201 CMR 17.00 or HIPAA.

AccessLine’s processes to secure and control their customers’ personal information include the following:
● Documented employee policy that clearly identifies illegal use of CPI is a crime and cause for termination.
● Limiting access of CPI to small set of authorized employees.
● All access to CPI information requires login and password authorization.
● Review of all employees who have CPI access on a monthly basis.
● No storing of CPI in unsecure system, including but not limited to e-mail, web server logs, paper or notepads and unsecure computers or laptops.
● CPI information is never allowed to leave the facilities, except via secure courier to offsite storage.
● All CPI information is located on secure network server that is isolated from public network.
● Standard network architecture and security is employed to prevent access to internal network, including but not limited to firewalls, DMZ and security patch maintenance.
● Quarterly audit of network security by third party (PCI authorized) vendor.
● Transmitting of CPI to third party vendors is via secure private network.

AccessLine’s commitment to Customer Personal Information security is one of their highest priorities.

http://www.accessline.com

AccessLine’s Fax Service security represents a step forward from industry standard faxing.

Standard fax machines print out documents upon receipt. The printouts are unprotected by Personal Identifying Numbers (PIN), and, if the fax machine is in a public office space, the information printed is at risk. By contrast, using AccessLine Fax Service, NO document is accessible without PINs and can be accessed via secure web access. AccessLine’s Customer Personal Information (CPI) Data Security Policies and Procedures ensure the information contained within the fax while stored in AccessLine’s systems is secure. See AccessLine’s Protection of Customers Personal Information Summary for details.

Proper safeguarding of PINs, customer-based fax printing processes and comprehensive CPI data security procedures are the responsibility of the service customer.

http://www.accessline.com

A Branch Office Anywhere In The Country For Only 50¢

Remote Market Numbers (sometimes referred to as “Foreign Exchange” numbers) let companies purchase a phone number specific to any chosen area, regardless of their current location, giving them a local presence in a market that might be across the city, across the state, or across the nation. It’s a terrific way to establish a local presence without the costs of setting up an office, commuting, or staffing. Why spend thousands of dollars establishing a branch office out of state ?

Get Remote Market Numbers For Just Pennies Apiece!
Unlike many competitors, AccessLine offers FREE installation of this feature, as well as a low monthly fee of only 50¢! Look at what some of their competitors are charging!

Qwest: Install = $41.00, Monthly = $16.00
Vonage: Install = $9.99, Monthly = $4.99
VoicePulse: Install = $7.99, Monthly = $4.99
AccessLine: Install = $0.00, Monthly = $0.50

Establish A Local Presence In Any Remote Market
Using a Remote Market Number can help expose new and untapped markets. It helps you expand your customer base to those who may be wary of doing business with an out-of state company, and also helps you reach out to customers wary of doing business with a company that only uses an 800 number. Many businesses are realizing the potential in establishing a local presence in a remote market. Businesses with a local presence often find opportunities to establish themselves as market insiders, which in turn helps them make valuable new sales connections and pick up on important changes in the local marketplace.

http://www.accessline.com

Efficient Communication Solutions has just completed a security camera project for a local Seattle television station.  ECS assisted in expanding their current camera surveillance system which consisted of cable installation, termination, camera mounting and view adjustments.  The television station has an existing closed circuit system that did not cover all sensitive areas they wanted monitored by surveillance, including entrances, walkways, and even public locations, like reception areas.

ECS added eight camera locations including installation work on the roof, through central core areas and in the entry/reception areas.  Much of the work was done using scissor lifts, extension ladders and was done both indoors and outside.  With the new cameras, the facilities team can have instant views of all areas covered by the cameras.

The television station will be using the cameras in conjunction with and as a supplement to their access control and alarm systems for building security.  While interesting, and a must see for the station’s facility team, I don’t expect to see any of the footage on air for a new reality television show.

ECS designs, installs, and/or services Analog, IP, & Hybrid Camera Solutions for customers large and small.  Call today to discuss your surveillance needs.

(Article by Charles Bressler – ECS Account Manager)

Xima Software’s Chronicall is a robust call history and reporting suite for Avaya IP Office. Chronicall offers a revolutionary set of features designed to overcome the limitations of traditional call history and reporting software. It provides far more detailed and accurate information than the competition by connecting directly to your phone system and logging everything that happens on each call, from the moment it starts to the second it ends.

With a thin-client web interface and no licensing restrictions, Chronicall is simple to deploy and scale. A single inexpensive site license allows you to report on all of your agents, groups, trunks, and extensions with absolutely no configuration of your Avaya IP Office phone system.

Since Chronicall’s original release, it has been in rapid and aggressive development. What started out as a simple call event monitoring application has evolved into a feature-rich suite of historical and real-time reporting tools. Today, Chronicall is being used across the globe to provide powerful statistics to a wide array of businesses, from small offices to large, distributed contact centers. With enterprise-class features at a small business price, Chronicall is revolutionizing the call reporting industry.

Cradle to Grave
As soon as Chronicall is installed, it begins recording detailed information about every call that enters or leaves your phone network. Cradle to Grave is an intuitive and simple way to view this information. It shows you exactly what happened to any call on your system from the moment the call arrived at your phone switch to the instant the call ended.

True Cradle to Grave reporting means that you can expand each and every call to view its ringing, talking, queue, hold, and transfer events; conference call information; and the agents, hunt groups, and external parties involved at each step along the way. You can sort, search, filter, and rearrange the tabular data or export it directly to a spreadsheet program for further analysis.

Standard Reports
At Xima Software, we know that collecting information is only as valuable as your ability to find and analyze it. Our developers have created over 50 accurate and vibrant reports, charts, and graphs that use everything from the simplest criteria to some of the most detailed and specific statistics available from any call reporting software. You are free to run these reports as many times as you like to find invaluable information on your calls, events, conferences, agents, groups, queues, and trunks.

Each installation of Chronicall gives you access to these powerful reports and the intuitive Report Scheduler, which tells Chronicall to run reports automatically every hour, day, week, or month and send them to an email address or save them to a file.

Reports can be viewed or saved in many standard formats:
•Adobe Reader (.pdf)
•Microsoft Excel (.xls/.csv)
•OpenOffice.org (.odt)
•IE / Firefox / Chrome / Opera / Safari (.html)

Modules
At Xima Software, we know that when it comes to business, it’s all about having the right tools at the right time for the right job. Because of this, we developed Chronicall as modular software. This means that you can create a custom Chronicall software package to fit your needs; you can get the features you want without paying for the features you don’t.

Every installation of Chronicall includes our powerful and flexible Cradle to Grave interface and over 50 Standard Reports. From there, Chronicall can be expanded with the Custom Reports, Recording Library, and Realtime modules.

To see how Chronicall can make the most of your time and energy while improving the accuracy and efficiency of your call data, contact ECS to sign up for a free 14-day trial today.

http://www.ximasoftware.com/chronicall

I Am Also a User

Do you remember those men’s hair loss club commercials from several years ago; where the guy in the commercial affirms that he is not only the president of the company, but he’s also a member?  He can espouse the benefits of his product because he not only works there, but uses the product as well.

That’s how I feel with Avaya’s IP Office.  I have been involved with Avaya since the late 90’s, installing, programming, selling and managing installs over the years.  I can heartily say that I really like the product.  IP Office was introduced in 2002 to be Avaya’s “all-in-one” converged voice and data communications solution for small and mid-sized businesses.  And, they have succeeded in creating a great product.

There have been so many advancements in features and functionality since then.  What Avaya has produced is a VoIP/Digital/Analog “Hybrid” phone system that functions great whether you work strictly at a desk, from home, in the field or any combination of the three.  And, regardless if you have ten employees, or 1,000, all of those features are readily available and ready to work for you.

As I mentioned, I’m also a client, using IP Office everyday to stay in touch with me customers and my team.  At the office we use mobile twinning, forwarding functions and VM to email to stay in touch no matter where we are.

I love being a mobility user.  I use the mobile twinning feature every day.  I am not tied to my desk, giving me the freedom to visit potential customers or current jobsites, while still being readily available.  My east coast customers can reach me even if I haven’t arrived at the office yet, or, like in the case of emergencies, any time of day.

Giving customers a “one number” solution makes it easy for them to reach me and is a great way for them to manage their contacts list.  Plus, even if I can’t get to the phone, I can forward the call so they can reach someone else on our team, or leave me a message that I get via email in seconds after they leave it.  Staying in the loop was never easier than it is with IP Office.

If you are not familiar with these features, contact ECS today.  If you have an IP Office, Mobile Twinning is free for all users on Release 8 or above.  (If not R8, ask ECS how to upgrade today!)

(Article by Charles Bressler – ECS Account Manager)

How can you rein in IT Operations outside your control ?
Driven by cloud computing and the consumerization of IT, Companies are being forced to change how they operate. The explosion of consumer smartphones and tablets for business usage, known as BYOD (bring-your-own-device), is forcing IT organizations to deal with more tech-savvy business users, who are ushering in the era of Shadow IT.

How do you maintain productivity but gain insight to these non-malicious acts that can cause chaos to your network ?

Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Why you should address causes and not symptoms of Shadow IT How to control Shadow IT with policies and selective blocking
What technology best fits your need to counteract the chaos

Dell SonicWall provides Next-Generation Firewall & Unified Threat Management.

Deepest protection and control.
Dell SonicWALL Next-Generation Firewalls, deliver superior intrusion prevention, malware protection, application intelligence and control, real-time traffic visualization and inspection for SSL encrypted sessions at the gateway by tightly integrating a patented Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection engine with multi-core hardware. Essential to an intelligent and highly adaptive security system, Dell SonicWALL Next-Generation Firewalls scan every byte of every packet for the deepest level of network protection and, unlike competitive offerings, massively scale to extend state-of-the-art security to growing and distributed enterprise networks. Dell SonicWALL firewalls provide a comprehensive layer of defense by combining gateway content filtering, anti-spam, anti-virus, anti-spyware, intrusion prevention, and regain visibility into the network through application

The SonicOS Network Security platform.
The Dell SonicWALL SonicOS operating system combines deep packet inspection technology with a multi-core architecture to scan all network traffic while delivering, high performance and low latency. This powerful architecture serves as the foundation for application intelligence, control and visualization, intrusion prevention, anti-malware, SSL inspection, high-speed virtual private networking (VPN) technology and other robust security capabilities.

Seize control of your applications.
Dell SonicWALL Application Intelligence, Control and Visualization monitors and displays application traffic in real time. This enables the creation of granular policy-based controls that identify and guarantee bandwidth to mission-critical applications while restricting or blocking non-productive applications

Shut out threats at the gateway.
Dell SonicWALL firewalls scan all inbound and outbound traffic to stop intrusions, viruses, spyware, and other malicious traffic from compromising your network. Dell SonicWALL is unique in its ability to scan all flows, across all protocols and interfaces without file size limitations, providing low latency and uncompromised network performance.

Secure and control your remote access.
Dell SonicWALL firewalls feature both integrated SSL VPN and IPSec VPN, extending easy-to-manage intrusion prevention and anti-malware to mobile employees and branch offices. The unique Dell SonicWALL Clean VPN™ solution supports Windows®, Mac®, Linux® and smartphone devices, while simultaneously providing remote application intelligence and control to the mobile workforce.

Take command of it all.
Control thousands of Dell SonicWALL appliances from one central console, with the Dell SonicWALL Global Management System (GMS®). GMS gives large distributed enterprises, value added resellers (VARs) and managed service providers (MSPs) flexible, powerful and intuitive tools to manage configurations, view real-time monitoring metrics, and integrate policy and compliance reporting, all from a single location.

Sanitize your wireless traffic.
Built into SonicOS is an integrated secure wireless controller. In conjunction with Dell SonicPoint secure wireless access points, this allows you to deploy seamless and secure 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless networks, protected by Dell SonicWALL Clean Wireless™ technology and Dell SonicWALL Application Intelligence and Control. SonicPoints are automatically provisioned and updated by the firewall for easy management and configuration.

Forget about downtime.
With Active/Passive and Active/Active DPI failover, your network will continue to operate without interruption, even if there is a hardware or software failure. Stateful synchronization across the appliances enables failover with no interruption to existing network traffic and VPN tunnels.

Beef up your networking platform.
Dell SonicWALL provides all the capabilities you need, with a flexible platform that fits into any networking environment, regardless of complexity. With unique features like inbound load balancing, simple network guest services, single sign-on and powerful diagnostic tools, Dell SonicWALL firewalls retain their ease of use to minimize total cost of ownership.

SonicWALL Mobile Connect
SonicWALL Mobile Connect, a single unified client app for Apple® iOS and Google® Android™, provides smartphone and tablet users superior network-level access to corporate and academic resources over encrypted SSL VPN connections.

Contact ECS regarding how SonicWall security solutions can keep your organization protected from continually evolving threats.

ECS has been selected by a leader in providing high-quality, culturally appropriate, comprehensive health care to all people in Astoria Oregon to implement VoIP to a new location being opened.  The company is also migrating away from their old analog telephone lines to more current SIP Trunks.

The health care provider has outgrown their existing location and need to expand, but they don’t want to buy a new telephone system for the new location.  They also don’t want to lose the ability to dial from extension to extension to any other staff member, or to be able transfer callers from staff member to staff member.  They also like being able to send copies of voicemail messages to other users on the system as needed.  Answer: upgrade the Avaya IP Office telephone system, IP enable it, and add IP Phones at the new remote location.  Now both sites will operate as if all the telephones/extensions are still in the same building.

One problem the health care provider has been experiencing is that based on their analog lines, whenever they make an out-bound call, the caller ID shows the telephone number of whatever line they are calling out on, so line 2, line 3, line 4, etc.  With today’s caller ID technology, many people return telephone calls by redialing from the caller ID provided.  The problem this creates is that people don’t know the main number, and may not ring into the appropriate destination after-hours. The health care provider has traditionally forwarded their main number to an answering service or routed to specific destinations for after hours call handling.  Having clients call back on line 2, line 3, line 4, etc. does no good, as those lines are not re-routed after-hours like the main number. The new SIP Trunking will always show the main telephone number on out-bound calls, so problem solved & customer service improved.

The new SIP Trunking will also provide the ability for both locations to have Enhanced 911 (E911) capabilities.  This means that even though both locations share the same Avaya IP Office telephone system, the out-bound caller ID for calls to 911 will be different depending on which location an extension is at when calling 911. This means that calls to 911 will show the correct caller ID & address info, which means safety & security for the staff and clients.

The SIP Trunking will also allow for multiple direct inward dial (DID) telephone numbers to be assigned so specific individuals, groups, or departments can receive incoming calls without the caller having to go through the receptionist and be transferred. Improved efficiency & improved customer service!

The SIP Trunking also provides a block of FREE out-bound long distance calling to the Domestic US per SIP telephone line ordered. Extra Value & Extra Savings!

Bottom Line = more features, increased functionality, & lower monthly telephone line costs!

ECS, Avaya IP Office, & AccessLine SIP = a Winning Combination.

ECS recently completed a cabling re-vamp for a national cold storage facility.  The re-vamp included replacing a hodgepodge of old cable from Cat 3, 5 and 5e to all new Category 6, with new patch panels and a more uniform labeling scheme to allow the customer’s IT staff to quickly and effectively maintain a complete data and voice network.

Part of the cable installation was replacing the connectors on cabling for the warehouse Wireless Access Points.  Being a cold storage facility, those WAPs were used for the forklift drivers/pickers as they race around the refrigerated warehouse with scanners and electronic pick lists.

The cable was originally installed by a maintenance crew and was, to speak plainly, not installed to code.  In fact, the cable was poorly anchored and the terminations were not to spec.  Huge “loops of cable were left at the ends and were left blowing back and forth with the powerful fans near the ceiling.  The customer complained of intermittent connection loss of those WAPs, making it difficult for the pickers to be affective.

ECS used a 26’ scissor lift to access the WAPs, correct the service loop size, re-anchor the cable, re-terminate the cable, and test for performance.  The technicians were not only able to bring the cable to code; they were able to maximize the performance of the cable as well.

All of this while in a very cold environment, sometimes at 30 degrees below freezing.  The installation took some time to complete, with the technicians being in the freezer for about twenty minutes, then out for about twenty minutes to re-heat appendages!

The customer was very pleased with the outcome and now has a cabling system they can depend on.  Wet or damp; high in the air or beneath the ground; hot or cold ECS will create the solution.

(Article by Charles Bressler – ECS Account Manager)

Since coming on board with Efficient Communication Solutions a few months ago I’ve been impressed with the overall attitude of every team member.  From our customer service reps to the technicians and engineers in the field, the attitude continues to be that of a “can-do” spirit, without question.  It’s a positive atmosphere with a willingness to work hard to achieve customer satisfaction.

From being in the business of commercial communications services for over thirteen years, I have seen a lot of communication contractors come and go.  I have always strived to make sure my customers receive the best treatment possible. I’ve been a part of good teams and a part of not-so-good teams.  And, I’m very protective of the customers that I have worked with for most of that time in the business.  That said, I couldn’t ask for a better team than the one that ECS has put together.  Knowledgeable technicians, friendly staff, with excellent processes in place, are some of the things that make a great team work.

Time after time, which each project that ECS has accomplished since I’ve been here, I’ve been proud to receive positive reviews from each customer.

I know the buzz words that talk a good service game. And, I know that a lot of times they are just that, buzz words & lip service.  These buzz words often never truly go beyond the slogans posted on business cards and websites.  For me, true customer service means finding a balance between great service and great pricing.  Its finding products to recommend and use that are the very best in the marketplace.  It is not taking shortcuts, but finding real solutions that work with the customer’s needs, and, within the customer’s budget.  Great customer service also includes following industry standards.

The best accolade is not that ECS always goes way over and above what we say we will do (which is often the case), it is simply that we do what we say we will, every time, on schedule, and within budget.  I am constantly thanking all the staff for making me look good to my clients.

(Article by Charles Bressler – ECS Account Manager)