As we deployed the last few users of Hosted Lync in Singapore for one of the world’s leading integrated producers and marketers of commodities, the thought crossed our minds of what could have been. A few of us in the office were brought up on Gordon Gekko and his famous quotes, suits, red braces, oversized telephones, slick back hair and power. The truth is, back then, he was something of an idol. Someone who we wanted to be like….until we discovered all about his insider trading and then how he would even sell his daughter to make money! The point is that can you imagine how much richer Gekko would have been if he used a Hosted Lync solution from Green Cloud Hosting. He could use it on the big mobile phones he had, He could use it in his black limo, he could be using it sat in the best restaurant New York had to offer and lets not forget he could use it sat on the beach at his Hamptons retreat! You see, with a Hosted Lync solution from Green Cloud Hosting you can be anywhere and access presence, instant messaging, voice, video and Web conferencing in a single interface not to mention communicate from within the applications you use every day, including Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft SharePoint.

All them reams of green print paper could now be viewed with all his pals including Bud Fox at the same time using the document sharing function no matter if they were all in separate locations!

Hosted Lync is a fantastic tool to enable staff to communicate more effectively…The quote below just shows you why…

Gekko
Fox, where the hell are you? I am losing MILLIONS! You got me into this airline and you sure as hell better get me out or the only job you’ll ever have on the Street is SWEEPING IT! You hear me, Fox?

If he had simply checked Bud Fox’s “presence” status on Lync he would have seen that Bud was out with one of his lady friends at a restaurant with his phone turned off.

We’ll keep you posted!

P.S Anyone want to give us a hand putting the wooden frame up??

Microsoft Lync delivers a new connected user experience transforming every communication into an interaction that is more collaborative, engaging, and accessible from anywhere. What is Lync Well for IT, the benefits are equally powerful, with a highly secure and reliable system that works with existing tools and systems for easier management, lower cost of ownership, smoother deployment and migration, and greater choice and flexibility

Users seek communications tools that make their work easier and are available anywhere, anytime—including within the context of other applications. Microsoft Lync 2010 provides a single interface that unites voice communications, IM, and audio, video, and Web conferencing into a richer, more contextual offering.

So to answer the question What is Lync. Lync is a platform where all your communication tools are in one place

For more info and to try Microsoft Lync for free contact us on 0800 019 3878 or email support@greencloudhosting.co.uk

Take a look at our guest post here

http://www.businessgrowthhub.com/blog-posts/2012-year-of-the-cloud-for-business

What do you think of it?

If you are looking for a Cloud Computing provider in Manchester make sure you check out our free 30 day trial on our services.

Give us a call today and find out how we can help.

Tel 0800 019 3878

Hosted lync 2010

It uses a broad range of communication options such as voice, instant messaging and video conferencing. The solution also intergrates with Microsoft Office products such as Outlook, Word, Excel and Dynamics CRM to help provide a simply user experience.

Using Hosted Lync 2010 creates a single, easy to use platform that helps you to communicate in a more efficient way.

Hosted Lync 2010 enables you to communicate with all your contacts from virtually anywhere using an internet connection

We provide Hosted Lync 2010 as a 30 day free trial so what have you got to loose?

Contact us now on 0800 019 3878 to arrange a trial

The business benefits of Cloud Computing have been highly documented such as cost savings, business flexibility, increased security and basically pay as you go, hassle free IT.

But what next? This brief guide should give you a few things to think about before moving to a Cloud solution.

Sit down and have a think
With companies, IT managers and directors now gaining a better understanding of the full business benefits of Cloud Computing it’s now more when rather than if to implement a Cloud solution.
Before signing any Cloud Computing contract, or even, renewing the on-premise IT agreement, an IT head should sit down with his team to understand the benefits and total cost of the IT department to the business, and compare his current solution to a Cloud-based alternative.
With this in mind we thought it would be great to provide a few insider tips on Cloud Computing and your business.

Have a plan
Cloud computing is quickly becoming one of the hottest technologies for IT across all sizes of business, with a growing number of companies looking to the Cloud to simplify and streamline their technology. Jumping in with both feet isn’t always the best approach. You must have a plan or roadmap right from the start to ensure the business is getting the most out of the solution whilst reducing risk.

Software and hardware costs
When running an IT department on premise, the IT head has to not only take the IT hardware and infrastructure purchasing and installation costs into account, but also the on-going maintenance costs, which can be substantial.
As an example of these costs just think about the prospect of replacing a number of large servers on-premise. I think we are all in agreement that this would be a considerable upfront cost; this in turn will affect a business’s cash flow. Using a Cloud service provider to replace the hardware and software requirement would not only reduce the initial cash outlay; the business would also benefit from always having the latest software version, top of the range IT resources, facilities, infrastructure and virtual hardware that would ordinarily be only available to the top companies in the UK.

New methods of business communication
The new generation of staff entering the world of business are so used to different forms of communication in their personal lives with services like Skype and MSN Messenger that they now expect it within a business, and why not?
This new breed of staff is not simply constrained to email and the desk phone. To make the most of your company’s communication the Cloud services on offer provide a much richer experience than simply email and voice. Video calling, instant messaging, conference calling and presence is now becoming the norm of how to communicate so why not embrace this new technology to benefit your business?
Employee flexibility and inter business communication response times can be increased and this new technology enables your staff to communicate better and more effectively.

Sharing is caring
Share your employee’s knowledge and let them work together on documents no matter where they are. With a Cloud Solution the sharing of documents leads directly to collaborating on documents.
To many users, this is one of the most important advantages of Cloud computing—multiple users can collaborate easily on documents and projects. Because the documents are hosted in the Cloud, not on individual computers, all you need is a computer with an Internet connection, and you’re collaborating.

Flexible working and staff mobility
Ever get home from work and realise that you left an important document at the office? Forget to take a file with you on the road? That’s not a problem with Cloud Computing, because you don’t take your documents with you. Instead, they stay in the Cloud, and staff can access them whenever they have a computer and an Internet connection.
All your documents are instantly available from wherever you are. With this in mind staff can work from virtually anywhere and still have access to the resources they would normally have sat behind the desk at work.

The next step
When you have researched into what could potentially be moved to the Cloud and you are sure that it’s the right solution for the business, you then need to find a provider and the best way to make the move with little disruption.
For our customers a Cloud transition workshop has worked well. What better way than to sit down with experts and gain a deeper understanding of how to roll out your plan. Others prefer to take complete control and manage the transition themselves.
Whichever way you go, you need to ensure it creates as little disruption as possible. The provider should give you the guaranteed uptime of the solution and also inform you of exactly where your data is kept. Is it in the UK or elsewhere? How does this affect your legal responsibilities or sector specific standards?

Support
Now this is only what WE think is best practice! Your chosen provider should focus on optimising and supporting your solution after deployment. Their approach to service delivery should ensure they reliably meet the needs of your business. A UK based service desk that provides comprehensive support and a single point of contact is a must, with the expertise to fault find and resolve any issues across all products and technologies.

Please check out our latest company video on Cloud Computing, its the link above! We think its great but what do you think?

Just wanted to give you an update on the availability and success of our Lync 2010 Trial.

So far this year the Lync 2010 Trial feedback has been amazingly positive! Thanks for the feedback to all our customers!The most important part of the feedback was the customer comments on moving from the trial to using it on a daily basis in their businesses. This will form part of our white papers moving forward so please keep an eye out.

One point to note is that customers felt the 14 day trial wasn’t quite long enough to get the full use from Lync 2010 in a hosted environment.

With this in mind we have extended the Lync 2010 Trial to 30 days!! This is based on feedback from our customers.

Also we are making it way easier for any of you new potential users out there to sign up for a trial with a revamp of the website. We are about to launch the new trial page that is easier to request a trial and also add on any other services that may be of interest. This page will also have the option to download help guides, white papers and further info to help you gain a better understanding of how Lync 2010 in a hosted environment can empower your business.

Green Cloud provides Hosted Lync 2010 through 2 platform options (CLICK THE LINK ABOVE TO SEE OUR DATASHEET)

Can Lync 2010 perform PSTN Break out? – Right now Green Cloud is one of the only providers to deliver full PSTN break out via a multi-tenant platform.

Microsoft Lync 2010 is a next generation unified communications (UC) technology that integrates seamlessly with IT infrastructures to provide enterprise class voice, secure business messaging and conferencing capabilities from a single unified client, transforming every communication into an interaction that is more collaborative, engaging and accessible from anywhere.

Want to no more about which platform is best for you? Please contact us for further info, data sheets, whitepapers, demo or even a Lync 2010 free trial!

In response to a customer question – Can Lync 2010 perform PSTN breakout?