Are you wasting cash flow on your telecom and data services ?

How can you tell ?

We will help you

We understand the billing and accounting processes as well as the technology aspect of the services. This combined knowledge, along with an understanding of industry trends and pricing, enables us to make informed recommendations for optimizing networks, and therefore reducing overall costs.

Our 4 Step Optimization Process:

• Interview – Understand your needs from your point of view.
• Evaluate – Profile your existing services (local and long distance voice, data, and wireless)
• Analyze – Scrutinize Billings/Services down to the circuit level and line item.
• Network Map – Create a system that can be measured, modified and re-designed to meet your business needs.

Our recommendations are offered for all categories of service in an easy to understand format using our proprietary Network Optimization Blueprint.

The Blueprint is developed utilizing a combination of telecom customer service records, invoicing, infrastructure, and, financial and contractual analysis. Its’ simple form allows our clients to review a complete solution provided in a familiar format that allows for an easy to understand picture of the telecom services being provided, how they are used by your organization, and whether or not they are cost effective. This comprehensive analysis and resulting blueprint allows ease in facilitating future expansion, contraction, or adoption of internet based business solutions.

With this customized approach, we accommodate every service you need to support today, and help you plan for future uses. This holistic approach and can solve not only today’s problems, but prepare your business to continue to lead into the future.

We keep your phone company honest – get YOUR money back !

Trivatech Group.

888-352-6563

www.trivatechgroup.com

“The latest Yahoo hack is a doozy you shouldn’t ignore.

The company said on Thursday at least 500 million user accounts were affected by a massive data breach. The hack happened in 2014, when “state-sponsored actor” stole account information, including names, emails, passwords, telephone numbers and answers to some security questions.

So what should you do if you have a Yahoo account?

First and foremost, you’ll want to change your password immediately. All Yahoo account holders should also change their security questions and answers.

If your account is one Yahoo suspects was compromised, you’ll be prompted to enter a new password as soon as you log on. If you used the same password on other accounts, change those, too.

Here are other steps to take to secure your online accounts.

Change passwords often

Yahoo is asking anyone who hasn’t changed their password since 2014 to update it. This is good advice for everyone: Passwords should be changed often. You won’t always get a timely notice from a company that an account was compromised — and sometimes it might not even know about a hack until much later. In this case, it took two years for the company to confirm the breach.

Never use the same password twice

Repeat after us: Never use the same password twice. If hackers get the password for one of your online accounts, they can try to use it to access your other accounts that take the same credentials.

Pick better passwords

Consider using a phrase instead of single words that are more easily guessed. Don’t go for common phrases like cliches: Pick a combination of words that don’t go together — i.e. rather than “herecomesthesun,” go for something like “wombatbootsparade”.

Avoid using common passwords like 1-2-3-4-5-6 or p-a-s-s-w-o-r-d  and include a mixture of numbers, letters and characters.

Use a password manager

Since strong unique passwords are a huge pain to memorize, try a password manager like 1Password or LastPass. These platforms generate and store passwords and security answers for every account you have, so you only have to remember a single master password.

Update those security questions

If you forget a password, using security questions is an easy way to gain access back into your own account — its not like you’ll ever forget your mom’s maiden name. But some Yahoo security answers and questions were a part of the breach. The company has already disabled any unencrypted security answers on its accounts.

If you frequently use the same security questions and answers for other online accounts, you’ll want to change those, as well. Attackers could use the information taken from Yahoo to obtain access to other online accounts that contain even more sensitive information.

Avoid choosing the obvious questions and don’t provide answers that are easy to find online through Google searches, social media sites or old Live Journal entries.

Be alert

The company is urging users to look through their Yahoo accounts (email, calendar, groups, etc.) for any signs of suspicious activity. Although it doesn’t say what to look for, start by checking outgoing emails.

Be extra careful about clicking on links or opening downloads from unknown email addresses. If anyone emails asking for your password, it’s a red flag — even if it looks like it’s coming from a legitimate place like Yahoo or a bank. Never share any account information or passwords over email.

Turn on two-factor authentication

On its own, a password isn’t a strong line of defense. Adding a second type of authentication, like a one-time code sent over text message or generated by an app, can greatly secure your online accounts.

Yahoo is recommending people turn on its two-factor authentication tool: Yahoo Account Key. It even eliminates the need to memorize a Yahoo password.

If you use the Yahoo Android or iOS app, log in to your account, go to your profile and select Account Key. You can also set it up in a web browser. Each time you try to access your account, Yahoo will send a confirmation to your phone.

While it’s certainly an extra step, make it a part of your daily routine. Next time there’s a story about a massive data breach, you’ll be glad you did.”

Trivatech Group.

888-352-6563

www.trivatechgroup.com

money.cnndotcom

huffingtonpostdotcom

huffingtonpostdotcom

“We’ve all seen slick pitches by information security vendors eager to grab budget. Some are valid, concentrating on the critical controls required in today’s world to protect our data; others are of slightly less need and merit.

Sales will be sales; compensation drives behavior, and when you’re faced with a sales team earning a significant commission from selling tools that protect you from all the “l337 h4x0rs,” sometimes that behavior is less than in the best interests of the buyer. As much as a vendor will advise you on which technology is best suited for the issues faced, remember they are often primarily trying to sell their solution. When was the last time you went to a BMW dealer to look for a new car and, after discussing your requirements, they suggested an Audi? Or even less probable, they said that you should keep what you have and just give it a clean and a service?

This isn’t a rant about sales teams; I’ve worked with some amazing salespeople who care about the customer and the problems they face. This is more about what you should consider before signing on the dotted line.

Security technologies are rarely simple, more often requiring effort to manage and operationalize effectively to gain the level of protection evangelized in the sales process. A good CISO friend of mine once told me that no matter what the vendor of a product tells him (including me), he always calculates the cost of managing any control at a 5:1 ratio — calculating the operational costs as five times the amount spent on actual licenses. Far too many companies want to throw money at a silver bullet rather than put the effort into actually fixing the problem, which leads to lots of license sales but low return on investment.

Beware Of Shelfware

It seems odd that companies would spend a huge amount of money on a technology and not implement it fully, but shelfware (or underutilized technology) is a known problem in the industry. When Target got popped at the end of 2013, reading the kill chain analysis gave a sobering and clear view of the problem. The retailer had spent a significant amount of money ($1.6 million) on a market-leading anti-malware solution to defend against the very attacks it experienced, but it ignored the alarms raised by the platform, idly standing by as critical data flowed out into the hands of cybercriminals. Target had invested nearly $2 million on a control many would argue is the right approach to addressing the threat of targeted malware. Yet due to an inability to actually operationalize the control effectively, the retailer paid an even bigger price. Simply buying an expensive security technology is useless if it’s not implemented properly.

With every purchase, more consideration should be given to how the product will add value to the overall business. People, process, and technology are often cited as the critical considerations to think about for a control. But for me, I also like to think about measure, validate, and communicate.

I like to pose three simple questions when talking about implementing any control or suggesting an investment in a technology:

• How will you measure that the control is effectively deployed and fully functional?
• How will you test and validate that the control is giving the desired level of protection?
• How will you demonstrate iterative improvements to the overall security of the organization and communicate the value of the investment made?

So next time you’re across the table from a vendor, try posing these questions. Vendors with a desire to help and a solid approach will undoubtedly provide guidance through examples of other work they’ve done with similar customers, metrics to use to measure the operational efficiency, and advice on how to demonstrate the value of the solution.

Vendors love to state that their solution is “almost plug and play,” or that you can “just drop it in and it works like a charm with proactive protection out of the box.” But after the proof of concept is done, the purchase orders are sent, and the license keys are received, make sure you’re getting the most value you can from the investment, because security budgets are tight enough already.”

Ask us any or all of these questions.

Trivatech Group.

888-352-6563

www.trivatechgroup.com

darkreadingdotcom

“Many hundreds of years ago in a small Italian town, a merchant had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the merchant’s beautiful daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the merchant’s debt if he could marry the daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.

The moneylender told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become the moneylender’s wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

 They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the merchant’s garden. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick her pebble from the bag.

 The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

 “Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.” Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an advantageous one.

 Most complex problems do have a solution, sometimes we have to think about them in a different way.”

Can we help you with your complex Telecom and Data service?

Trivatech Group.

888-352-6563

www.trivatechgroup.com

thelivingtreasuredotcom

“Netflix says that broadband Internet data caps are unreasonable, unfair, and serve no legitimate purpose in the marketplace. The streaming video giant is asking the FCC to pressure Internet providers to stop charging customers based on how much Internet they use, so that people can—among other things—stream as much Netflix as they want, without paying extra.

Comcast and other home Internet providers have slowly been instituting these caps—or “data thresholds,” as they prefer to call them—in select markets around the country. The plans allow Internet providers to charge customers more when they surpass a monthly data allotment.

Naturally, consumers have complained mightily about the plans, which can result in surprising fees being tacked onto monthly bills. After coming under widespread criticism, Comcast decided to raise data threshold levels in some markets as of June 1.

But any plan that discourages consumers from using the Internet freely is obviously bad for consumers, and it’s especially bad for a streaming service like Netflix. So it’s understandable why Netflix reached out to the FCC recently concerning data caps, as Ars Technica reported.

In its filing sent to the FCC, Netflix wrote:

“Data caps (especially low data caps) and usage-based pricing (‘UBP’) discourage a consumer’s consumption of broadband, and may impede the ability of some households to watch Internet television in a manner and amount that they would like. For this reason, the Commission should hold that data caps on fixed-line networks–and low data caps on mobile networks–may unreasonably limit Internet television viewing.”

Quite simply, “Data caps and UBP raise the cost of using the the connections that consumers have paid for, making it more expensive to watch Internet television,” Netflix wrote.

Comcast has argued that data caps are fair because they charge more to people who use more data. But Netflix says, “Data caps on fixed-line networks do not appear to serve a legitimate purpose.”

Internet providers don’t incur significantly higher costs due to customers using more data, and the data caps do not help lower congestion and improve Internet speeds. So instead of serving a legitimate purpose, data caps seem to be a simple money grab.”

What do you think Netflix’s angle is here?

Trivatech Group.

888-352-6563

www.trivatechgroup.com

timedotcom

“Telecom carriers have over 100 years of setting the rules under which rates will be determined… In their favor! And once you understand the rules, they move the goal posts! Here’s how to take control of the game.

Understand your traffic patterns and what you spend better than they do.                  Many people rely on their carrier to tell them what to do. This is ill-advised and reflects laziness on the part of the person making the determination. Given the choice, a telecom carrier will always sell you a gold plated Mercedes, whether you need it or not, on a 50 year lease, which only increases in cost every year, that you can never get rid of, even after the wheels have long fallen off. Don’t fall for this trap. You make the rules. It’s your money!

Package your services into something that you can explain to the carrier market in their terms.                                                                                                                                          Measure service by origination, type, distance, and per unit expense. Roll it all up from perfect granularity to absolute 100,000 foot (30,480.0 m) level.

Identify the minimum level of service that is required to meet the needs of your organization.                                                                                                                                            This doesn’t mean cheap, it means that the combination of services you buy should exactly meet your needs, being neither greater than, or less than your needs. You don’t need to pay for widgets you can’t use, and you don’t want your users to go without services which are critical to the success of your business.

Identify the carriers that provide service in the locations where you originate a need for service.                                                                                                                                        For instance, it doesn’t matter if XYZ carrier has nationwide service to major cities, if your main city is not on their list. Get market comps from reliable sources. The carriers may be telling you the best rate is a nickel, while other may be paying a penny, and they will never enlighten you beyond that which they need to. Other top performing end users probably have the best rate information, which you can informally exchange. Be sure not to just look at the leading rates that are generally followed, but look at the entire list of services. Recognize that the largest companies with the highest volume do not necessarily pay the best rates. They often suffer from ossified contracts that have been carried forward after far too many “good guy deals” have been cut. Carriers will always be quick to cite others who are paying more money than you are. Don’t worry, they only cite the higher ones, keeping the ones getting a good deal private.

Invite every carrier to compete for your business that has even the slightest chance of winning your business.                                                                                                                      Even if its just a single circuit. The more the better. Don’t invite carriers who you wouldn’t seriously consider giving business to, which is called using “stalking horses.” If you do this, the market won’t respect you. Don’t give any one carrier any advantage that every other carrier is not getting. Make it fair. Use a level playing field. Make everyone compete using the same information, released at the same time, and under the same rules. Don’t give anyone more time than you could perform within. Open the information from all of the carriers in private, sharing it with the minimum number of internal people required to do the work. The more people that know of your internal influences, the more they will share it with the market, and not to your benefit.”

Contact us for quality service and cost savings.

Trivatech Group.

888-352-6563

www.trivatechgroup.com

wikihow

I wasn’t going to, but a I am going to weigh in on a controversial topic that has been in the news for a few weeks now.  I will start with two definitions because I have been trying to figure out what (disrespecting) one has to do with the other.

Opression..

“The Latin root means “pressed against,” and oppression feels like hands pressing your head, keeping you down. Oppression can be widespread throughout a culture, or felt by a single individual, like enduring the sun’s oppression on a hot summer day.”

The Star Spangled Banner origin..

“Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the lyrics to the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ after he had been detained by the British and had watched the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore on the night of September 13-14, 1814. Unsure of the outcome of the battle he looked towards Fort Henry dreading to see the Union Jack flying over the fort. Instead, he saw the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ proudly flying and realized that the brave Americans had been victorious.”

I am not going to argue if Colin Kaepernick and other athletes have the right to sit or kneel during OUR National Anthem because that right is protected by the First Amendment. It is absolutely their right to do so.

However they should bear in mind that their rights are protected by the men and women who have fought and or died for their rights under the very flag and Anthem they are protesting.

I also am not going to argue if he, or any of the other athletes protesting have felt oppression or not. I believe at one point in our lives we have all felt oppression or even racism. I will not go into detail but I know I have felt the pressures of racism and oppression by peers, and police.

I believe professional athletes have a platform greater than most to share their beliefs but I think they should consider their methods carefully and those that sit during our National Anthem have used that platform in a (to put it mildly) extremely disrespectful manner.

Feel free to let us know what you think, or how you feel.

Trivatech Group.

888-352-6563

www.trivatechgroup.com

american-historama.org,.wikipedia.org,dictionary.com

Understanding the Telecom and Data industry.

The key to making a good decision is in how the telecommunications and data business works.

A point to make here is that the provider contracts with your company to provide a certain suite of services at a certain level of performance.  Many terms and conditions of newer contracts with providers are listed on a web page, how easy is it for the carrier to change the terms ?

And what about carriers consolidating and merging ?  Will your direct representative be with that carrier in 3 months ?  A year ?

How about care for you after the sale ?

Is it a local office ?  A call center ?

Can the direct carrier representative actually assist you, or do they get paid once to sell and move on ?

The Truth

Carrier direct representatives likely will not be employed for more than 18 months. You are left with a contract and no advocate to assist you. Most likely a  call center out of state and an 800 number to reach a cryptic system where you punch in your account number and then have to repeat yourself 3 times to get an answer, and usually they will insult you and claim the problem is on your end of the connection.

How can a prospective client sort through 3 or 4 providers information and make an educated decision about a provider at contract renewal time ?

Well frankly you can dedicate the next few weeks to research, study and reviewing terms and conditions, service level agreements (SLA) and calling current clients of the prospective vendors. Or just call an independent consultant in your area.

The Solution

Call an independent telecom consultant, who knows the available providers, the services available and negotiates many telecom contracts every year.

Telecom consultants are experts,  and with all the change in the carrier space, consultants  have  direct connections to carriers.   Many clients just like you who turn to telecom consultants for answers, recieving a live local response to their needs.

Independent telecom consultants work for you.  When  hired they are  paid to assist you and to make sure you receive what you are paying for.  In many cases the independent consultant will not get paid unless your services are installed and invoices continue to be paid.

Telecom consultants are paid to assist you today, and when it’s contract renewal time.  Independents are responsive, timely and know each and every carrier that is available for you to choose from.

In many cases they search for 3-5 quotes to source your services.  They continue to earn your business every month when you pay your invoice.  In addition the independent consultant will analyze your needs BEFORE suggesting a certain product or service.

Why Not ?

Why not try buying your products and services the smart way ?

Trivatech Group

888-352-6563

ww.trivatechgroup.com