Blog | Advanced Global Communications

30 Apr 2020

Blog AGC 0 comment

Conveyor Belt Efficiency Rises

How can a video surveillance camera system increase conveyor belt efficiency and thus drive operational success? Designed by Advanced Global Communications, an intuitive video management system (VMS) with proper IP security cameras is able to capture products zipping down conveyor belts in exquisite detail. This integration of modern cameras and a VMS, which we have deployed in the local marketplace, can produce actionable intelligence in seconds or minutes if a problem occurs with a production line.

As was the case with one customer, when the conveyor flow was disrupted for some reason, product fell from the belt onto the floor. This was extremely costly in terms of product loss and subsequent downtime needed to recalibrate or repair the conveyors. Our video surveillance design now covers the moving conveyor-belt scene, including clear, detailed pictures despite motion. If a problem does occur, floor managers get detailed answers within minutes versus hours or days as to the cause. Our camera models have advanced processing and lens technologies to overcome not just motion but low-light conditions and vibration.

This means actionable intelligence to prevent costly reoccurrences and improved operations.

Additionally, our integrated security designs can feature advanced video analytics, such as heat maps, people counting, enter-exist virtual lines, queue management and data graphs. Audio analytics can even classify noise by types, such as breakage, explosions, screams or gunfire. This offers more benefits depending on your need or application.

Naturally, we think of video surveillance systems as protecting people and assets. However, the right design – based on your input – can achieve operational goals. It comes down to understanding today’s modern cameras and how to integrate them with the right video management system (VMS) based on specified needs in your setting or environment.

That’s our job. We’re problem solvers who listen to your needs. Contact us or call 502-583-6000.

03 Apr 2020

Blog AGC 0 comment

What is Managed IT Services?

Managed IT Services improves your IT system’s operations and devices (PCs, printers, IP cameras) while lowering costs thanks to a Managed Service Provider (MSP). An MSP based in Louisville, we offer this Internet as a Service through Service Level Agreements (SLA) that translate into smooth, efficient operations year after year.

From our Command Center, Advanced Global Communications fixes potential issues before they happen. Our people know your network like the backs of our hands.

This can be especially important as many organizations are practicing distancing and other precautions during the current COVID-19 outbreak. We are always here for you at 502-583-6000.

Services Include

24/7 Monitoring and support
IT planning and strategies plus other solutions
Backup disaster recovery
Or, managed online cloud backup

How We Charge

Charge is flat rate per PC.
We work daily to help ensure no repairs needed.
Go year after year without costly repairs while freeing up time, resources.
If repairs are needed, we fix them at no hourly charge.
It’s all part of the flat rate.

Get More Info or Quote

31 Mar 2020

Blog AGC 0 comment

Work-from-home solutions

Advanced Global Communications based in Louisville, Kentucky offers these steps to create a realistic office experience for those working from home. These pertain to advantages inherent with cloud-hosted telephone systems.

Use Your Business Number, Ext. from Home — Our cloud-hosted telephone system’s mobile app enables you to use your business phone number (caller ID) and extension while working from home. You are connected to your team and office from anywhere in the country as long as you have cellular data coverage.
Conference Calls — You can have 3-way conference calls using this app. If you need more than 3 people on a call, the app enables you to host and manage conference bridges, and it allows you to stay connected to your remote office and teams at all times.
Office Handsets Work at Home — The desk phones can be moved to your home office for those who do not have a personal smart phone for business (or do not want to use one).  As long as the customer has Wi-Fi or a modem at home to plug into, the desk phone will work exactly the same way as in an office setting.  You can do extension dialing and see line presence to know who is on a call and who is available. You can transfer calls to other remote workers’ extensions or mobile apps. 
PC Becomes Soft Phone, Video Conference Enabled — Our hosted system comes with a Hosted Teams client that allows your PC to operate as a soft phone to make and receive calls through the PC’s speaker and microphone. You stay connected via video conference using the camera on your laptop or PC with up to 4 callers at a time.  Video conferencing through the client allows for screen sharing to share documents and is a nice way to have that “in-person feel.” Use this tool to give live product demonstrations and limit the need for in-person visits.
Remote ‘Front Desk’ Capability — Serving the role of a front-desk receptionist, the virtual Auto Attendant greets all callers then automatically routes them to the appropriate employee. Calls can be forwarded to any device, with messages accessible from any cell phone or home phone. Employees can work remotely while maintaining excellent communication with coworkers and customers.
Mass Notifications — Auto Attendants can be programmed to convey changes to work schedules, operating hours or return-to-normal expectations. They offer greater customization than before.
Triage calls — Modern telephone systems can triage or reprioritize calls to ensure critical messages are conveyed. You can set up after-hours messages too.
Remote fixes — More broadly, many telecom or IT service calls (telephones, PCs and networks) can be handled remotely from our command center to speed up resolution. Command center coverage can also prevent breaks, crashes or other problems from otherwise occurring. You avoid needless interactions as well.

26 Mar 2020

Blog AGC 0 comment

Video Storage, Bandwidth Advice

As our decades of experience has shown, not all security cameras are the same and certainly not all video management systems (VMS) are alike.

Coming up with a final configuration that works for your organization – including costs and your security goals – means weighing many different variables. A quick fix or “out-of-the-box” approach by an installer could mean an ineffective or useless system. This results in a
security vulnerability and headaches in trying to get resolution or starting the project over.

Cameras and servers come out of the box, but real solutions typically do not. They require listening, understanding and being a partner.

Advanced Global Communications Team

To offer some clarity, camera specs like Storage Rates, Total Storage and Camera Traffic, vary by a model’s compression and resolution values. Another factor affecting these values is scene-capacity levels, which vary from low to medium to high, depending on your needs.
This matters in our ability to design a solution that aligns a specially configured server with these camera needs, showing spare capacity levels as available.

As another consideration, the size of camera lenses determines what views are available based on what you need to capture. For example, if you require a two-foot view of a given target, a camera 42 feet from that target will need a 100mm lens. You can see how the correct lens focal length is critical to designing and effective video surveillance system.

All of this is to demonstrate how being a true integrator and designer of solutions can make a tremendous difference. Cameras and servers come out of the box, but real solutions typically do not. They require listening, understanding and being a partner.

Here are some questions to consider:

What type of surveillance goals are you trying to accomplish? Does your project involve indoor or outdoor needs? How much detail or space needs capturing? What about storage and bandwidth needs?
How many cameras are ultimately needed? Which make or models work best and how about compression, resolution and scene requirements?
How does this affect your server options? Examples run from operating systems (Windows OS or Linux OS), alarm inputs, redundant power supply or client software hosting.

Advanced Global Communications in Louisville, KY is available at 502-583-6000 or by contacting support. If needed, we can arrive onsite to help with resolution, offer advice or listen to your needs, bringing your system into proper focus.

25 Mar 2020

Blog AGC World 0 comment

Network, video intercom issue resolved

Remodeling an entire office suite can be exciting for any firm. Unexpected network problems stemming from the project’s chain of events, however, creates the opposite feeling; It can be a true downer that harms productivity while escalating frustrations.

In a recent case, Advanced Global Communications stepped in to fix such an issue. After remodeling its office suite, a Kentucky firm’s new floorplan called for the use of a video intercom system to monitor the main entrance. However, the video intercom’s live feeds inadvertently crashed the data network each time non credentialled visitors used the main entrance, causing productivity loss among employees.

“This was about productivity for the firm and eliminating duplicate technology at their desks.”

Advanced Global Communications Team

Live feeds from the intercom camera were designed to be accessible from the employees’ desktops. The idea was for an employee to open the door from a workstation when needed. The configuration not only crashed the network, but employees had to walk some distance to the main entrance to grant visitor access.

This was hardly an ideal setup for a successful firm operating within a fast-paced office suite.

How We Fixed the Problem

Although Advanced Global Communications wasn’t involved in the video doorbell work, that didn’t prevent our teams from diagnosing and resolving the problem to everyone’s relief. Our teams installed a customized solution that grants tight security while freeing up the network so employees can focus on their jobs.

Our approach involved the installation of new telephone handsets capable of displaying both the intercom video while operating as an advanced, feature-rich VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephone. This was important because employees didn’t want two handsets on their desks – one dedicated to the doorbell and the other to normal telephone use.

How We Boosted Productivity

To boost productivity higher, the new handsets offer one-touch features, a big plus for a busy office with little time for training. These include one-touch transfer, park, record, conferencing and send-to-voicemail. The firm also benefits from Auto Attendant with flexible routing, customized greetings, voicemail-to-email and system redundancy with auto failover and flexible queuing.

Sometimes challenges lead to something better. That’s the mindset which guided our teams as they stepped in to offer some much-needed assistance.

23 Mar 2020

Blog AGC 0 comment

Browse hosted phones

Cloud-hosted business phones transmit voice and data over the internet, enabling organizations to soar in productivity, savings, call management and business continuity. Beautiful handsets are part of the package, too. Browse our line of Yealink models to see how these handsets would fit your office.

03 Mar 2020

Blog AGC 2 Comments

Modern phones explained

Thanks to the power of cloud communications, our business telephone handsets — plus the unified communications system that enables their functionality — make it possible to do more in less time. Keep in mind cloud-hosted telephones are most effective when the handsets and phone service are customized and configured to the needs of a small business, doctor’s office, restaurant, call center, Fortune 500 firm or other customers.

This is what separates Advanced Global Communications based in Louisville, Kentucky from national phone-service providers. Customers may also save up to 50% or more with each phone bill.

We also have another goal: you becoming an informed buyer. Understanding the following info can help you to understand what you are paying for when buying cloud-hosted phones.

Cloud 101

Cloud-hosted means your voice and data communications are transmitted over the Internet. All applications, switching and storage are hosted by a third-party outside your organization and are accessible over the Internet. With the cloud, there is no major capital expenditure for an in-house PBX (Private Branch Exchange) system. A term dating to the days of switchboard operators, a PBX is an organization’s telephone cabinet.

Next Comes the Telephone Solution

Configuring modern handsets with Advanced Global Communications’ Unified Communications platform can produce an amazing telecom system for your office.

Examples include a real estate office getting more listings, a firm never missing a call, a restaurant boosting its carry-out orders, call center employees getting real-time coaching and making sure critical calls go to the right people.

Unified Communications is the term we use to describe your phone system’s blended features, technologies and services. Basically, this refers to the bells and whistles your employees would use every day.

Hosted PBX and VoIP – These are technologies or systems that enable call recording, call forward, ring groups, chat, conferencing, voicemail transcription, commercials/music on hold, visual voicemail and auto attendant. In fact, we have some 80 features like these to bring your office into the 21^st century.

Contact Center & IVR (Interactive Voice Response) – This refers to customer service that is provided by teams of call center agents and voice response technologies, including the many call features customer agents and their supervisors would see on their consoles.

Mobile Applications –These transform your mobile phone into a mobile office. Features include office extension, extension-to-extension dialing, chat, video, conference calls and visual voicemail with voice-to-text, among others.

Additional Benefits – Other benefits range from plugins for Microsoft Outlook, hosted fax, screen pops and SIP Trunking.

Telephone Handsets

Looking at cloud-hosted handsets, at Advanced Global Communications our inventory includes Yealink’s newest release, the T5 Business Phone Series.

We offer two main categories in this new series:

Yealink’s Prime Business Phones T53, T53W, T54W and T57W. These are ideal for highly active voice communication users.
The Yealink T58A and Yealink T58A with Camera, and the Yealink Flagship Smart Video Phone VP59. These are desktop collaboration tools for executive offices and huddle rooms. You get leading capabilities and affordable access to professional HD video.

Let’s Look at Two Phones To Get a Glimpse of Features

Yealink Prime Business Phone T57W

Premium-level phone for executives and busy managers with heavy call load
7” 800×480-pixel color touch display, fully adjustable
29 touch keys, 16 SIP accounts
USB port integrated for call recording and wireless headset

Yealink Flagship Smart Video Phone VP59

Flagship smart video phone for C-levels and workgroups with video collaboration demands
8” 1280 x 800-pixel color touch display, fully adjustable
1080p HD business video
27 touch memory keys, 16 SIP accounts
HDMI output
Call recording and wireless USB headset support

Cloud-Hosted Savings

Eliminating the need for onsite technicians, phone lines, maintenance fees and surcharges for advanced capabilities can drastically reduce your costs— by up to 50% or more per month on your phone bill in some cases. As calls run through the Internet, you don’t pay for additional equipment to connect workers at home and different locations.

08 Jan 2020

Blog AGC World 0 comment

Ins and Outs of Data Cabling

Your Cable Installation Checklist!

The installation of data cabling, known also as structured cabling, may have more ins-and-outs than you realize.

Data cabling refers to the wiring that supports computer and other hardware uses. In most cases, a given installation has certain requirements or considerations that may not seem apparent. Keep this checklist handy to avoid installation problems.

Plenum vs. non-plenum ceilings – A plenum ceiling uses its cavity as the return-air vent instead of duct. These ceilings require “plenum-rated cabling,” which burns slower if exposed to fire or extreme heat, thereby emitting lower amounts of chemicals. This is required by code, but some firms will install plenum in all circumstances as an extra safety measure. However, since its plastic coating is thinner, plenum tears easily compared to non-plenum cabling. To prevent tears, installers should be extra careful when routing plenum around corners or edges. If tears occur, you may have to reinstall the cabling, which can drive up costs and frustrations.

‘End-to-end solutions’ offer warranties – These refer to an installation that uses data jacks and cabling made by the same manufacturer or cooperating manufacturers. Manufacturers typically offer 20- to 25-year warranty coverage for the jacks and cable (if the installed cabling is not disturbed). You may also be able to sell the warranty with the building, if such opportunities arise. Therefore, end-to-end solutions may offer a warranty advantage.

Data closet location – Don’t let the data closet’s location become an afterthought when constructing a facility. Depending on the facility’s square footage, the cost of the installation only goes higher the farther data closets are from workstations, conference rooms, etc. Centralizing data closets or using a “star configuration” when designing your cabling and connections may offer tremendous savings.

Installation practices — Proper designing, planning, adequate pathways and installations adhering to industry standards allow for future changes and adds without undue costs. One thing certain is changes always occur, even with the best-planned projects. With installations involving drop ceilings, do not install cabling so it’s lying on the tiles or routed directly above florescent lighting ballasts. The cables are required to be installed to the ceiling structure above them.

Project managers should ensure all cable installations are in accordance with current editions of the following codes.*

National Electrical Code®
BICSI Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual
BICSI Cabling Installation Manual
Latest issue of ANSI/TIA/EIA Standards as published by Global Engineering Documents as TIA/EIA Telecommunications Building Wiring Standards
All local codes and ordinances

For more information, contact Advanced Global Communications at 502-583-6000 or visit www.agcworld.com.

* BICSI stands for Building Industry Consulting Service International; ANSI: American National Standards Institute; TIA: Telecommunications Industry Association; EIA: Electronic Industries Alliance.

← Previous 1 2