4 telecom Trends That Every Business Should Be Following

In this day in age, it is technology that stimulates our senses and gives us a feeling of innovation and creativity. In the world of telecom, innovation increases year-by-year.

Over the past 25 years, technology, especially in the world of telecom, has changed the way we work and play almost beyond recognition. We want, and expect, more powerful devices and applications to help us do things faster, better and with more ease.

But keeping up with technology trends can be overwhelming, and you may find yourself asking, "which technology trends are for me?"

The obvious answers are to determine your needs, read and research (we've helped you with that one, read below!), try it out (many companies offer free trials), and if you don't understand it, don't be afraid to ask questions.

Here's a list of some of today's trending topics in telecom and technology.

Telecom Trends

  1. IP services - More and more companies are moving away from TDM and switching to IP services, such as SIP. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) provides many benefits for businesses including lower calling costs and a large capacity to serve an entire organization regardless of its size.
  2. Mobile Device Management (MDM) - As the use of personal devices in the workforce increases, the need for businesses to incorporate mobile device management becomes a necessity in order to protect corporate information and reduce security risks. If you’re looking for a MDM vendor, here is a list of the 10 leading vendors in the market today, drawn from the leaders and visionaries in Gartner's 2013. Magic Quadrant for Mobile Device Management Software.
  3. Apps, apps and more apps - Chances are that you have a smartphone, a tablet or maybe even both. These devices have transformed the way we communicate, especially in businesses. Mobile apps prove to be especially useful in businesses because they can help manage day-to-day activities (schedule meetings, manage contacts, set reminders, money/account-managing, etc.). If you haven’t done so already check out these great apps: Brewster (personal address book), Contactually (contact management), Asana (plan, organize and stay in sync with your team), and Basecamp (project management). There is an app for almost anything nowadays!
  4. The Cloud - With today’s dynamic office environments, cloud services are proving to be a surefire way to reduce costs and streamline operations. So what does it mean exactly ‘to move to the cloud’?
For some, the cloud means a storage locker in the sky; a place to save documents, pictures and videos online so that they can be stored, accessed and even shared whenever and from where ever there is Internet connection.

Not only has this made our personal lives easier (we no longer need to e-mail documents to ourselves or burn a CD of vacation pictures for family and friends), but businesses are looking into cloud-based data storage in support of protection efforts such as replication, backup, archiving, and disaster recovery.

For others, the cloud serves as a way to provide cost effective and scalable voice and data services. Commonly known as hosted communications or business VoIP, voice is provided over an IP backbone (the cloud) – the PBX and service is fully managed offsite by the provider. Cloud-based phone service provides more robust functionality beginning with crisp, clear voice quality and an abundance of features not available with traditional phone service. Since the service is completely outsourced and the PBX does not reside at the customer’s premises, upgrades are automatically provided by the provider in the background so there aren't any costs to upgrade.

Source: blog.touchtone.net

Windows 8.1 RTM Downloads Leaked is Now Available

The original Windows 8.1 RTM ISO images created by Microsoft has been leaked by WZOR. Microsoft has earlier completed the development of Windows 8.1 RTM, and compiled the new version of OS at build number 8.1—9600.16384.130821-1623 on August 21st, 2013. Microsoft has also set the official general availability (GA) release date for Windows 8.1 to October 18, 2013.

Unlikely prior Windows releases, this round not even the ‘privileged’ MSDN and TechNet subscribers will get the software earlier than the mass, despite Microsoft has immediately delivered Windows 8.1 to OEMs, in an obvious attempt to prevent a leak. But here comes the leak for Windows 8.1 RTM. But note that Microsoft has released more QFE (Quick Fix Engineering) updates for Windows 8.1 before GA to fix issues that are discovered after RTM, and that’s explained the gap between between RTM and GA.

Windows 8.1 packs a few new features, such as a single integrated search for documents, apps, and the web; redesigned Windows Store; more default apps such as Reading List; updates apps such as Photos app with editing capability and Mail app; Skydrive as built-in cloud storage; Internet Explorer 11; boot to desktop instead of Start and etc.

For the Windows enthusiasts who can’t wait for the general availability date of Windows 8.1, various editions and languages of Windows 8.1 RTM in ISO images have been leaked, available for free download via BitTorrent network.

Here’s the hash checksum information for the US English version of Windows 8.1 RTM. Magnet links for the download is available at the forum, downloadable with your favorite BT client.

Windows 8.1 x86 English

File Name: Windows_8.1_EN-US_x86.ISO
Build: 6.3.9600.16384.WINBLUE_RTM.130821-1623
Size: 2,915,131,392 bytes
SHA-1: 802CFCD3A411D99C097EA7E747F0B6697F9BDAC4
MD5: 7DD36FEA0D004ACFEDBDB3A5521EF5FF

Windows 8.1 x64 English

File Name: Windows_8.1_EN-US_x64.ISO
Build: 6.3.9600.16384.WINBLUE_RTM.130821-1623
Size: 3,899,295,744 byte
SHA-1: BC2F7FF5C91C9F0F8676E39E703085C65072139B
MD5: F104B78019E86E74B149AE5E510F7BE9

Windows 8 Enterprise x86 English (Volume)

File Name: Windows_8.1_Ent_EN-US_Vl_x86.ISO
Build: 6.3.9600.16384.WINBLUE_RTM.130821-1623
Size: 2,828,421,120 byte
SHA-1: 87DBCDB8491DBEF1BBC14BE8AB599086789E143C
MD5: 405091EFE4D58947DB45A106B37DD064

Windows 8 Enterprise x64 English (Volume)

File Name: Windows_8.1_Ent_EN-US_Vl_x64.ISO
Build: 6.3.9600.16384.WINBLUE_RTM.130821-1623
Size: 3,798,214,656 byte
SHA-1: 8311958EDDEDD29E326ED91FDF025D39B88E0FC8
MD5: 2A9589AEEFDC4B94CD527476FA979EE5

Note that although you may previously purchase a legit Windows 8 product key, the product key is unlikely able to be used to install or upgrade to Windows 8.1. Hence you will need the following product key to initiate the install or upgrade,

Windows 8 Core: 334NH-RXG76-64THK-C7CKG-D3VPT
Windows 8 Professional: XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB

But these serials can’t be activated though. To activate the Windows 8.1, reenter the legitimate Windows 8 retail or OEM product key (Microsoft promises free upgrade for Windows 8 users, don’t they?) to activate the Windows 8.1. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of reactivating Windows 8.1, then it’s wise to wait for GA, that’s when new Windows 8.1 will be made available as a free update via the Windows store for the existing Windows 8 users. It’s especially true for people who hacktivate Windows 8 with Windows 8 ProWMC (Windows Media Center) upgrade key, where you need to spend more time to get the system activated. Those using MAK product key, or KMS is unable to activate for now as Windows 8.1 has updated its KMS mechanism.

source: http://www.mydigitallife.info