Cranford’s Blog
How managed services reduces IT costs
Posted on 03 December 2009 by Simon Cranford
Until recently, managed services was always the preserve of the large corporation and outsourcing was the name of the game...
How managed services leads to improved SLAs
Posted on 26 October 2009 by Simon Cranford
Companies are often skeptical when we say that managed services can improve the service levels you receive from your suppliers; in case of point, a survey we conducted earlier this year found that 74 per cent of IT decision makers don’t actually beli ...
How to implement unified communications
Posted on 15 October 2009 by Simon Cranford
Because every situation is different and each system typically needs to be customised for the business, deployment requirements can vary by project (except for the IP telephony element which must always be pure IPT) so to illustrate the process ...
Why is it so difficult to get good TDA?
Posted on 11 January 2009 by Simon Cranford
For the purpose of gaining clarity, it may be judicious in the first instance to provide a definition for TDA (technical design authority) as it’s an abbreviation that’s often bandied around in the IT industry but not always fully understood.
Buying an international WAN - the questions you need to ask
Posted on 21 December 2008 by Simon Cranford
When international WAN projects go wrong, customers invariably ask: What should I have done differently?
The new Blackberry - a corporate solution for unified communications
Posted on 17 March 2008 by Simon Cranford
Blackberry always did the basics well but now it’s starting to do the “would like” features really well too.
Server virtualisation – what you need to know
Posted on 03 March 2008 by Simon Cranford
Server virtualisation is becoming increasingly popular, not only for the cost, availability and administrative benefits if offers, but also from a green IT perspective. So this week, I thought I’d take a look at some of the offerings in this area ...
How to configure a redundant LAN
Posted on 11 February 2008 by Simon Cranford
The main obstacle to network disaster recovery (DR) is legacy configurations. You need to ensure that any device on your network has all static routes and host files removed; these cause untold nightmares in rolling out new applications...
The truth about Microsoft OCS (Office Communications Server)
Posted on 21 January 2008 by Simon Cranford
Microsoft Office Communications Server appears to deliver the world, an end-user product or hosted solution that pulls together TDM IP-PBX phone systems, Internet based communications (IM, VoIP), voice mail and faxes, all into one portal, whilst...
Options for designing a redundant WAN for IPT and unified communications
Posted on 14 January 2008 by Simon Cranford
There are many ways to provide disaster recover for your primary WAN. One of the most expensive is a diversely routed MPLS solution; if your applications are so business critical that any downtime exceeds the cost of an additional WAN...
How to deploy and configure a wireless network for voice
Posted on 07 January 2008 by Simon Cranford
If you’re thinking about deploying, or upgrading, a wireless network for voice there are several things you need to consider in respect of the technology you use and the configurations you set up. Here’s an overview of the process I recommend ...
Implementing a converged home worker network
Posted on 10 December 2007 by Simon Cranford
If you’re planning to set up a home worker network, there are three major factors you need to take into account. They are...
Increasing your security for IPT and unified communications
Posted on 03 December 2007 by Simon Cranford
Why do we need additional security IPT and unified communications? The main reason is because, by implementing IPT and unified communications, you are making fundamental changes to your network...
How to optimise your WAN’s performance for convergence
Posted on 26 November 2007 by Simon Cranford
When you’re looking at WAN performance, especially with convergence, there are a lot of issues that can come up but, in all honesty, most of these arise because the WAN is not correctly configured to support QoS or the applications that are expected...
How does fixed mobile convergence (FMC) work?Fixed mobile convergence is about bringi
Posted on 19 November 2007 by Simon Cranford
Fixed mobile convergence is about bringing together a mobile GSM/GPRS/3G/UTMS network (e.g. Vodafone) with a fixed telecom network (e.g. BT) to provide a single communications platform for voice, video and data IP traffic. The best way to explain FMC...