At the core of M3 services is IT support. The company is specialized in providing maintenance for critical computer services, such as network and server monitoring, backup supervising, and security management, preventing most unplanned system failures.

By using remote support, M3 is able to provide much of its IT support without the need of sending their consultants to the clients. Consultants could remotely perform routine tasks and management operations, saving money and time without sacrificing the quality of the support services.

Remote support has also proven its usefulness in the evaluation of the severity of many problems. By remotely connecting to their clients, M3 can immediately get a glimpse of what is happening without having to wait for the technician to get on site. This allows one technician to evaluate what is going on while another travels to the location in order to provide onsite technical support with a real assessment of what he might expect, speeding up the recovery of the system.

Remote support is about providing a quick response and quick solutions to real problems. Many critics of remote support solutions often state that it can’t substitute onsite support when addressing more serious problems and, in many cases, they are right. Onsite presence is vital when dealing with critical outages but many operations can be substituted by an effective remote support service.

Key to the success of an effective remote support service is the solution adopted by the company providing it. Having this in mind, M3 has chosen RHUB TurboSupport appliance between the many solutions available in the market.

The reasons are easy to understand. RHUB’s TurboSupport is very easy to use; the quality of the connection is very high. It has inbuilt security measures which make it very difficult to exploit, and it require little to no maintenance and being very easily deployed in any IT environment without jeopardizing it.

M3 Technology Consultants was founded by the still president Joseph Migliozzi in March 2003. With the corporate office located in Centreville, Virginia, M3 has its customer base in the Washington Metropolitan area. In the last five years has registered a growth of more than 400%.

RHUB Communications, a leader in high-quality web conferencing and remote support appliances, was founded in 2005 by Dr. John Mao and Larry Dorie. It is especially known for its TurboSupport appliance and 6-in-1 TurboMeeting appliance that combines six technologies in one package: remote support, remote access, video conferencing, web conferencing, audio conferencing and webinar.

RHUB Communications, a leader in remote support and video conferencing solutions, is helping the Community Assistance Network reaching out for those in need. Community Assistance Network (CAN), a nonprofit organization founded in 1964, is using RHUB’s TurboMeeting video and web conferencing appliances to streamline its operations and reduce vulnerability among the poor, while promoting growth, stability and self-sufficiency of individuals in the Baltimore area.

RHUB’s TurboMeeting appliance offers a set of six powerful tools (remote support, remote access, video conferencing, web conferencing, audio conferencing and web seminar) which are helping CAN revamp their communications and operations, saving precious dollars on meeting trips and providing remote support to employees, volunteers and community partners.

Key among the several reasons to adopt RHUB TurboMeeting appliance over other solutions available in the market was its value. RHUB’s appliance has a great return of investment because it is very easy to install and it requires no maintenance or other special hardware, which means that it can easily adapt to most existing systems. Turbo meeting is also very easy to use and doesn’t require any special knowledge of computing whatsoever, and does it without sacrificing quality or security.

For a nonprofit organization such as CAN the ability to save dollars is key to their existence, especially because it allows them to focus their funds on what is really important: the people.

The CAN is part of a larger network of community action agencies, being one of the 17 members of the Maryland Community Action Partnership and one of the over 1,000 agencies that constitute the National Community Action Partnership. CAN also belongs to the National Community Action Foundation and CAPLAW.

In Baltimore, the Community Assistance Network operates the three largest homeless shelters: the Hannah More Emergency Shelter, the Eastside Family Emergency Shelter, and the Men’s Westside Emergency Shelter. The organization also provides food packages to families in need and is serving, right now, an average of 1,000 emergency food packages each month. Additionally, every Christmas CAN serves an extra 1,500 holiday food boxes.

CAN also provides free financial counseling for Baltimore residents. By providing financial counseling, the organization expects to improve awareness about money management, credit scores and cash flow, hoping to eliminate financial related stress and create self-sufficient individuals and families.

Additional services provided by CAN include family daycare, energy assistance and home weatherization.
Founded in 2005, RHUB Communications is the leader in cheap and high-quality video conferencing and remote support appliances which empower organizations all over the world.

With the mission of providing superior customer service through technology and teamwork, the A.L. Insurance Group is also using the TurboMeeting appliance to provide remote support to its clients. The technology allows the insurance company to provide better and faster support to its clients while decreasing costs associated with travelling.

“We provide services that, quite literally, our competition cannot. We’re large enough to offer virtually any assistance our customers require from a risk management perspective while small enough to provide the type of service everyone wants from a local provider,” stated Ken Schmidt, A.L. Insurance Group President.
To the A.L. Insurance Group the key to success is in the staff. Staffs that can solve problems and understand the needs, as well as discover opportunities for all clients (old and new) can provide superior customer service and help customers save hundreds of dollars per year in their insurance.

This is where the RHUB’s technology comes in. By using the powerful TurboMeeting appliance the A.L. Insurance Group can train its staff and host sales webinars, improving the staff expertise without having to rent expensive locations to receive the staff and host seminars. TurboMeeting allows the insurance company to train its staff without them having to leave their agencies, saving costs associated with travel and saving time as well.

Because webinars using the TurboMeeting appliance are so easy to launch, the company can host virtual seminars without making big preparations in advance.

The A.L. Insurance Group was launched in 1985 with the opening of its Vancouver headquarters. In 1995 the company merged with the Boatright agency, in 2007 with both General Insurance Services in Silverdale and Port Townsend, and in 2008 the company acquired the Gribbin Insurance Agency in Silverdale. The A.L. Insurance Group has several partners, including BizAssure Consulting, and provides many services, among them auto insurance, business insurance, life insurance and health insurance.

RHUB is the creator and developer of the powerful TurboMeeting appliance, which incorporates six technologies into one package: remote support, remote access, video conferencing, web conferencing, audio conferencing and web seminar. The company was founded by Larry Dorie and Dr. John Mao in 2005.

The Dwyer Group has adopted RHUB TurboMeeting appliance to revamp its customer support services and to implement video and web conferencing in its operations, enhancing communications and reducing costs associated with travels and the carbon footprint. According to the company, the TurboMeeting appliance is being used by the IT department to shadow users for support.

The Dwyer Group owns seven different brands (Aire Serv, Glass Doctor, Mr. Appliance, Mr. Rooter, Mr. Electric, Rainbow International, and The Grounds Guys) and provides a broad range of services to over 1,300 franchises all over the United States and Canada plus 300 other franchises located in seven other countries. They have found RHUB TurboMeeting appliance particularly useful to remotely assist its franchises with their systems training and support.

Using the technology, the Dwyer Group was able to increase productivity and save costs associated with travelling as well as providing better support to its users and customers, discovering what many companies all over the world are already realizing: that video conferencing and remote support systems provide greater flexibility to both managers and employees, allowing them to communicate with each other and provide complete user support without the need of being physically on site.

RHUB is a developer and provider of high quality remote support and web conferencing systems. Founded by Larry Dorie and Dr. John Mao in 2005, the company developed the well known TurboMeeting 6-in-1 appliance, which offers six different services in one package: remote support, remote access, video conferencing, web conferencing, audio conferencing and web seminar.

The reason why TurboMeeting is so popular is because the appliance is very easy to deploy requiring almost no maintenance, because it is very easy to use offering a wide array of tools over a clean interface, and because it uses both SSL and proprietary encryption making TurboMeeting very secure against outside intrusions. RHUB solutions end users amount to over one million and cover a wide array of market segments, including government, healthcare and manufacturing.

The Dwyer Group was founded in 1981 by Don Dwyer, Sr when he created Rainbow International. Based in Waco, Texas, the Dwyer Group is a member of the International Franchise Association (IFA), the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) and one of the founding companies of the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative (VetFran).

One of the greatest fears behind the adoption of remote access solutions is the possibility of a creating a security breach in an already well functioning IT infrastructure.  These fears are not unfounded, there are reports of security breaches in IT infrastructures being created by the deployment of remote solutions and companies have reason to be a little afraid when adopting these products and services.

But whose fault is it? Many product developers believe that the burden is mainly on the user, that wrong decisions and improper use weaken the infrastructure, that it is up to the IT department to make sure that the infrastructure is truly secure. They say that if their product is poorly handled then it is doomed to fail, despite all the technical innovations they implemented to make their solution more secure. They claim that it is much like a car, with its seat belts, airbags, blind spot sensors and anti-lock brakes, being driven off a cliff.

But what’s wrong with this analogy? What’s wrong with it is that it is extreme. If you’re driving off a cliff then, in truth, there is no technical innovation that might save you, but the fact is that most car accidents happen on the street and not driving off cliffs. In normal circumstances, technical innovations make the difference and do save lives.

By comparing users to mad drivers jumping off cliffs, product providers are really saying that they have no responsibility at all if anything bad happens, they’re saying it is the user’s fault. The truth is that users aren’t blameless, especially when they choose solutions with almost no security measures, but product providers share part of the fault as well.

One only has to look at SaaS (software as a service) remote access solutions to understand that these put the users at risk, since these remote connections pass through third party servers over which the user has no control whatsoever.

Then there are other solutions, such as on-premise appliance products, which put the user back in control. More than SaaS-based solutions’ protection measures, which are customary SSL and proprietary encryption systems, on-premise remote access appliance adds another level of security protection by allowing users to deploy the appliance behind the firewall. In addition, users keep all of their remote access sessions data, sreen recordings, and audit conversations logs on-premise, eliminating the security risks of SaaS-based remote access tools that pass sensitive data through a third-party server. Appliance also offers LDAP integration with identity management solutions, to ensure only authorized users can remotely access computers and provide unattended remote access service.

These protective measures, just like the airbags, seat belts, blind spot sensors and anti-lock brakes in the cars, increase data security and prevent outside data breaches. On-premise appliance is also very easy to implement and requires little or no IT maintenance. It helps IT departments keep the whole system under their watchful eyes.

RHUB 6-in-1 appliance was not ACCI’s first choice for web conferencing and remote support. Before adopting TurboMeeting the company has used both LogMeIn and GoToMeeting hosted products but felt that they didn’t deliver the service they were looking for. In fact, many companies are now starting to realize that hosted solutions fall short when compared to the appliance counterparts and are starting to make the transition from one to the other.

Hosted solutions, while apparently easier to use since all they require is an internet connection, have two major negative aspects: cost and security.

Hosted solutions are more expensive than their appliance counterparts because they charge recurring monthly fees. As the number of users increases, the licensing cost could become an ongoing cost to the company. On the other side, appliance-based solutions are bought and owned by the company. On the long run, monthly fees surpass many times the one-time payment for an appliance.

Security concern is another reason for ACCI’s switch from hosted to appliance-based solutions. Most companies need to have complete control over their own data flow and video and web conferencing transmissions. But hosted solutions could not provide this level of security. Appliance-based solutions, on the other hand, allow companies to deploy the servers behind the firewall and give companies complete control over the system.

In addition to the cost and security, other reasons companies are changing from hosted to appliance-based solutions include the LDAP integration, branding and floating licensing options.

The 6-in-1 TurboMeeting appliance was developed by RHUB and offers six different services in a single package: video conferencing, web conferencing, audio conferencing, remote support, remote access, and web seminar.  The appliance is easy to install. It requires no IT maintenance, and all the services are easy to use.

Recently Spc. Joshua Kennedy, who is stationed at an army base in Afghanistan, was asked to make a testimony on an attempted murder trial in Stark County.  He sat and, in front of a web cam, he swore to tell the truth in front of a jury thousands of miles away.

This was the first time that videoconferencing has been used in Stark County in a felony trial, and follows another videoconference testimony used in a civil trial in January.

According to the Common Pleas Judge Trayn L.Heath, “it was a kind of new territory for the court in general.”

The request to put Spc. Kennedy on the stand was made by Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Fred Scott, who figured out the equipment available at the Afghanistan army base. When faced with the request, Stark County court network administrator Brian Wadian replied that “we’ve never done it before, but it sounds like it’s feasible.”

Though the case resulted in a mistrial, the experiment with videoconferencing was considered a success and it opens many possibilities for the future. One of the benefits of videoconferencing technology is that it allows for a live interaction between attorneys and witnesses, something that video recorded testimonies didn’t allow.

Videoconferencing also streamline cases by saving time and transportation costs, increasing the court system efficiency, while also allowing witnesses in remote locations and those that have mobility issues to give their testimony in trial cases.

According to the report, while technology has always played an important in the public sector, its importance is now growing. The main reason is that it is starting to be seen, by council managers, as a way to reduce costs and expenses, since they are under pressure to bring operational costs down and to make the best with their tight budgets.

This, according to the report, has had another consequence: the influence of IT managers is growing as well.

“The influence of ICT continues to rise as more services are directly delivered through lower cost ICT-assisted channels. Technology is also helping reduce accommodation costs as the workforce becomes more mobile,” said Glyn Evans, Socitm President.

“However, with greater dependence on ICT, organizations must ensure processes and procedures are kept up to date, and greater attention is paid to accuracy, provenance and security of information,” he added.

The report shows that spending on contract services will increase and that organizations are making their employees more mobile, allowing them to work from home and to use their own devices at work.

The top five technologies to be adopted by organizations are mobile computing and telecommuting, virtualization, GIS, e-forms, and content management. With the top efficiency programs being self-service, shared services, remote working, document management, and virtualization.

The report also shows that the major shift has been in remote working. While three years ago the idea of allowing employees to use their home equipment to work was frowned upon, now over 90% of respondents have declared themselves happy to allow their workforce to use their home PCs to remote access their office computers.

Hosted web services are also becoming a major concern for IT managers, as well as network and data security. Appliances, such as RHUB 6-in-1 TurboMeeting (named as the Product of Year by Government Computer News recently) are often the best alternative to web hosted solutions, since appliances are cheaper and offer a higher level of security than the hosted ones.

These benefits will be offered to Virginia companies who implement telecommuting starting the 1^st January 2012.   With this new law, state officials expect to reduce Virginia’s transportation problems by encouraging companies to keep their employees at home.

According to Fairfaz County Supervisor Jeff McKay, D-Lee, “it’s a lot more inexpensive to deal with our transportation problem than it is to just keep building roads.”

But it’s about more than just roads, it’s also about making employees happy and helping the environment.

“I have seen personally the benefits of telecommuting, and I think we should replicate that throughout Northern Virginia,” stated Del. Mark Keam, D-Vienna, who is backing the law.

“It’s had a tremendous benefit to us personally, because the fact that my wife doesn’t have to travel to Alexandria every day means she can be here when the kids get home from school,” he added.

These tax breaks make of Virginia one of the few states in the U.S. that actively supports and encourages remote working.

“Virginia’s been ahead of the game since Tim Kaine was governor, because he really was behind telework,” stated Chuck Wilsker, president of the Telework Coalition.

In the Washington area there are 600,000 that work remotely on occasion, with an extra 500,000 ready to start if their companies implement real-time collaboration systems and solutions which allow them to work from their homes.

With today’s technologies, remote work can be seamlessly implemented allowing employees to work from their homes as if they were in their offices. Web conferencing tools allow them to collaborate on the same project and remote access solutions allow them to access their office computers and networks from their home computers, granting them access to everything they might need to perform their work at the best of their capabilities.

Remote working solutions, such as RHUB 6-in-1 web conferencing and remote support appliance, give companies all they need to implement telecommuting and start taking advantage of the tax break their state offers them. These solutions have remote desktop and web meeting tools in the same package as well as integrated video conferencing and audio conferencing services which make communication much easier and clearer.  RHUB is named a Best Product of 2011 by Government Computer News (GCN) because of its “excellent price, ease of setup and the fact that it fills a specific need.”

According to a survey from Regus, 64% of US workers would be working during the last week of the year with a little more than half of them (56%) going to the office to do so, which means that some of them would be working remotely during the holidays.

Still, the same survey shows that 39% of the respondents believe that the work they will be doing during the holidays won’t be productive, while 58% believe that they will be using their time to wrap up unfinished tasks.

But do companies really benefit from having workers working when they should be spending some time with families?

As Guillermo Rotman, CEO Americas, Regus, simply put it: “Are workers choosing to power through the break really producing the best value for their efforts? Many managers believe that time off with the family can give employees a refreshed outlook and a chance to decompress before returning to work.”

But what about those that have chosen to stay at home with their families and to disconnect completely from their work? Could they really get away?

With Americans using more and more computer devices every year (a recent report stated that 63% were using at least two devices and that 15% were using four or more different devices in their daily and working lives) it might be difficult to stay away from work. Even if they don’t go to their offices their offices can come to them.

In fact, a report shows that 83% of Americans find it is necessary to remotely access their working space while they are away from the office and 74% have stated that doing so is important while on vacation.

With the proliferation of many remote access solutions, like RHUB TurboMeeting appliance, it is easier than ever to stay at home and work remotely. While remote access solutions have brought so many benefits to employees and workers around the world, the fact is that establishing boundaries between work and home has become more difficult. It remains one of the biggest challenges to all the remote workers in the world.  Happy New Year!