Disaster Recovery Journal, Fall 2010

Is the world getting smaller, or is it just me?

You’ve probably noticed it too— with the growth of email, smart phones and all the rest, the world seems to be shrinking. These days it’s just as easy to talk with a colleague across the globe as one across the hall—sometimes it’s even easier. Every day more people are working from remote offices or distant locations. While doing business in far-flung places is rewarding, there’s also a certain amount of risk, which makes reliable communication all the more important.

With some staff at headquarters and others scattered around the globe, can you reach everyone quickly when seconds count? If there’s an emergency in one office that impacts the rest, can you reach out and direct business, no matter where you are?

To reach all of your people quickly you need an emergency notification solution that works with the most common communication methods in business today—cell phones, landline phones, email and SMS. All of these have one thing in common—telephony, the modern communications backbone. Understanding telephony is crucial in finding a solution you can count on.

Telephony, in the simplest of terms, is the electronic transmission of human voice. Telephony makes the world assessable by providing the conduits, or ports, for communication. If a notification is sent to many people through just a few ports, or if the ports are busy or blocked, the message delivery will be delayed. So choosing a port configuration for

notification is critical—but it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Of the four basic port configurations
(unlimited, shared, reserved or
dedicated), what is the best arrange-
ment for your needs? Can you really
rely on shared ports, or does your
business need reserved or dedicated
ports? Understand telephony and the
decision becomes easy. Apply that to
your notification solution, and you’ll
see the world really isn’t as big as it
once seemed.