A glance at where the world is moving toward ...

I am a lady, but not any kind of lady, I am a lady who is completely and utterly in love, no, obsessed with technology and the way the world evolves around it. I love it so much that I made a career out of it. Fourteen years later, here I stand. Every now and then, I gaze at what is, what was and what will be?

The evidence that technology is made the world flat is irrefutable. Those of us who are technophobes are being roped in by new user interfaces such as touch screens and voice activation. Gone are the days where one could shy away from being connected and gone are the days when we could simply disappear for days without an IM, DM or SMS asking "where are you?" Yes, technology has invaded every sphere of life.
As a consumer, the way we transact online is becoming simpler yet more complex. We demand user friendly front-end experiences, safe and secure back-end experiences and because of our assumptions that is should be there, sometimes, we fall prey to hoax sites and scams.

Here are some tips to keep you safe online:

• If the company is a relatively new one, search for it via GOOGLE and BING, legitimate companies have a track record, even the new ones.  If you cannot find anything on them, step away from the browser!
• Look for Trust Seals or Digital Certificates which indicate that the company belongs to some kind of membership organisation or has been verified by a trustworthy company.

• When transacting online, ensure that your browser displays a secure lock and https (not only http).

• Browse around to see which other companies offer the products you are looking for. This will give a relatively good idea on what to expect on this kind of business website.
• Email the company and ask for information on delivery or products, if they 
• don't respond, this is a bad sign of service and or their non-existence
• respond one week later, also a bad sign, it may take you ages to receive your goods as well
• My Favourite, find them on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Most companies have profiles set up on at least these social networking platforms and judging by the amount of fans and followers, this is a good indication of the kind of business they operate.

What about businesses? How are they affected? Businesses are being bombarded by information overload, a flurry of new and ever improving web applications and life is starting to move into the Cloud. Bottom line? Businesses need to ensure that:

• their existing processes cater for new set of demands consumers make
• their networks need to be secure and stable enough to handle the extra load due to:
• smart phones
• cell phones
• table pc's
• laptops
• their company policies are modified for information sharing and "leakage"
• their staff pc's, laptops and smart phones are protected against hackers and viruses
• they have a presence on social networking platforms
• they engage with their consumers/customers
• they move to web application environment, since staff are travelling more and working remotely

Tips for business?

• Be VIGILANT against VIRUSES. Audit your existing Anti-Virus packages and update regularly
• BACKUP your data, daily and by the hour
• Monitor bandwidth consumption and make adjustments where needed
• Communicate and engage with your customers, they are starting to expect this as the norm
• Allow your staff to engage on social media platforms, they too are the voice of your company, although audit sites (such as pornographic ones) when monitoring bandwidth

At the end of the day, be careful online but enjoy it. There are so many applications and websites designed to enjoy and make life easier. Knowing how to filter the fluff from the awesomely-incredible is an art you learn over time, but ...... it does happen. 

Info overload because of unsolicited email? We can help!

Checking email first thing in the morning adds the first layer of anxiety for the day. First, we look for important email, but the holy grail of emails seems to be drenched in that which we call "UNSOLICITED EMAIL". One cup of tea/coffee down and we're already "ansi" about the day ahead.

Wouldn't it be great if we could reduce our
email by as much as 90%?

We've spent years researching and testing various ways to do JUST that and have developed a SPAM SCANNING SOLUTION.

How does it work?

• All mail is scored on its probability of being SPAM
• Mail under a certain threshold score, is let as non-SPAM
• Mail over a certain threshold score, is discarded as SPAM, and if there is a valid sender associated with the mail, the sender with be notified of the action taken.

WHAT HAPPENS to DISCARDED MAIL? It is kept for 5 days in the event recovery is required.

For more information on our SPAM SCANNING SOLUTION, download the brochure explaining more.

We care about providing solutions which solve your problems, saving you time and money. Give the brochure a browse, then give us a call.

Dark fibre? What is it and how can your business benefit?

I've been reading up on connectivity and fibre and came across Dark Fibre. A dark fibre network is a privately operated optical fibre network that is run directly by its operator over dark fibre leased or purchased from another supplier, rather than by purchasing bandwidth or leased line capacity.

It is quite new to the South African market, but has been the standard in Europe for years. How can dark fibre benefit your business? 

From the research I've gathered, it seems as if Dark Fibre is carrier neutral (great) and is able to carry voice, data and internet, seamlessly.

What can Dark fibre networks be used for? We can call the Dark Fibre, the landlord allowing:

1. private networking
2. Internet access
3. Internet infrastructure networking

Dark fibre networks may be:

1. point-to-point
2. point-to-multipoint
3. use self-healing ring or mesh topologies

So what's the big deal?
Dark Fibre access allows companies to increase business operations without spending huge amounts of cash (capital) and all of this possible due to the change in the Electronics Communications Act in 2004. Prior to the change in Act, operators were simply not allowed to offer their own networks, now they can.

More on How Dark Fibre can benefit your business at EzineArticles.

Should you have any queries on fibre in general, contact our sales department at sales@enetworks.co.za or call 0861 55 33 11.