With the advancement in technology, the people behind the handling of medium to light truck fleets should remain ahead of trends by determining the current fleet management solutions in the industry to expand the general efficiency of the fleet.

Preserving the Vehicle

As the expense for keeping vehicles at its highest efficiency level keeps on increasing, the industry professionals have to find ways to reduce the cost of the vehicle maintenance. Among the largest trends to perform this was the change from a preventive maintenance to a more motivated method that will let the fleet influence its current information to change the parts before failing. The fleet companies have started shifting to current engine motor oils to enhance the fuel efficiency and to secure its engine. Although this exchange has been beneficial in the temporary expenses of fuel, the permanent expenses are rapidly increasing due to the necessary maintenance of these engines by the professional mechanics.

Reducing the General Spending of Fuel

The strategies and the limiting of fuel spending, which continue to move upward, are always the biggest element in the operational expenses. The fleet managers are continuously searching for the competitive advantage from fleet management solutions in developing fuel efficiency and a lot of concepts are to be taken into consideration like the use of smartphone apps to determine the lowest expense for fuel, the changing driver behavior, and the modification of vehicle specifications that will lessen the necessity for fuel.

Discovering Chance for the Substitute Fuels

Although other fuels were not taken up on a countrywide scale yet, there has already been an increasing inclination of its use. A lot of companies have taken up adopted, compressed natural gas to be a substitute fuel; however, there is a little uncertainty about this. The required cost of switching the whole fleet to a current fuel source is large enough for an investment for a an even larger part of the fleet. Also, the managers are uncertain about the type of alternate fuel source to support.

Shifting to Recaps

Repeated buying of new tires for the whole fleet will only bring weariness to the fleet managers. This is the reason why a lot of companies have been shifting to recaps for the required tire replacement.

Retreading the tires has evidently saved fleets with a minimum of 30% each tire over the purchase of a new one. Plus, the increased protection and dependability of newer recaps have also helped them become a viable choice for trucks.

Using Fleet Telematics

Telematics can enhance the efficiency of the whole fleet in a lot of ways, which brings in a surprise that some companies are yet to adopt its use. The managers are able to check the fuel spending, to lessen or remove available time, and locate the direction of the vehicle.

The utilization of telematics as part of fleet management is increasingly spreading as companies are now able to witness the advantages. From the capturing of diagnostic details to directing the vehicles in actual time, the fleet managers have observed development in the general operations by applying fleet telematics.

All organizations aim for greater efficiency in all aspects of their operations. In today’s world there is greater emphasis for speed of delivery, and lower costs. This is one of the reasons why many organizations have shifted their computing requirements to the cloud. To be efficient, an organization also needs to be reliable and somehow disaster-proof. It needs to have the ability to get back up and running after a disaster or disruption in the shortest time possible, and with minimal loss of data. This is where VMware DR cloud solutions come in, and it promises faster recovery times and much lower cost than onsite disaster recovery methods.

What Makes DR Cloud Solutions Better?

When an organization’s computing requirements are moved to the cloud, almost everything is done through virtual machines. Virtual machines are used to contain the operating systems and applications that the organization need for its operations. The same machines also contain software updates and data files. This makes it easier to scale cloud services and to replicate entire virtual servers. What makes it possible is the very nature of virtual servers which are really data, applications and operating systems bundled together in a cloud environment.

In the cloud, organizations do not have to deal with hardware – the cloud service providers take care of those. This makes it easy to move virtual servers and their contents from one place to the other safely. Whatever you need to backup d can be created in a very short time. As a bonus, data transfers are done more accurately and safely. Transferring entire virtual servers with all the software, software updates and data can be done in a snap – almost as easy as copy-paste operations. Very fast recovery times are possible as data is replicated from one storage area network (SAN) to another. When using physical computer servers for backup, the operating systems and applications need to be loaded onto them. Then all the loaded software needs to be updated up to the last configuration used. Only after that can data be restored.

Competition among cloud service providers is so strong that prices charged for services, including disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS), have gone down sharply. It is now cost effective to use online digital backup of files and data. This has made the use of tape backup methods almost obsolete – very few organizations use them anymore.

The lower cost of backup and data recovery services in the cloud has made warm site disaster recovery affordable. A preventative warm site lets you preload operating systems and applications on virtual servers, ready to receive recovered data when disaster strikes. Even the cost of hot sites featuring live updates is considerably lower. This online site explains the differences between disaster recovery cold, warm, and hot sites.

Security has also improved a lot, with most companies using various types of encryption technologies and firewalls which meet or exceed industry standards.

There is a DR cloud solution for your company out there. All it takes is a consultation with one of many cloud service providers to start the ball rolling.

When people discuss security systems, they usually think of home and business security set-ups. Very few people think of the security requirements at events; but software called C-Cure 9000 SiteServer provides all you need to run your event securely. C-Cure 9000 SiteServer is a web based security and event management suite with its own embedded operating system.

Events come in all shapes, sizes and forms and actually small events do not really need sophisticated security set-ups – but big ones do.

The Challenges Of Events Management

When people go to events they only see the end result of hundreds of hours of preparation. They don’t realize the many challenges that the organizers have gone through to prepare the site and make sure everything works as it should. This online article should provide an idea how complex planning for event security can be.

In the preparation stages alone there are a slew of workers and technicians who need to be given access to specific areas and at specific dates and times. When they are through their access privileges need to be revoked. There may be event participants who will need access at certain time prior to, during and perhaps even a little time after the event finishes. Demobilization crews need to be allowed to do their stuff upon completion of the event. And the most important thing is that the event should be able to proceed as per original schedule, unless anything changes.

C-Cure 9000 Solutions

C-Cure 9000 offers the following solutions for efficient and secure event management:

Access Control: ID and badge issuance for authorized personnel can be controlled through C-Cure 9000. ID’s and badges which have not been used can be automatically be disabled or delisted based on pre-determined criteria. Controlling includes the tracking of badges, some of which are temporary in nature, as they are used at entry and exit points. One key feature allows door monitoring for up to 14 inputs which may relate to lock release, fire alarm and many others. User names and passwords for network access are validated through email for greater security.

Even access to elevators, vehicle access, and parking slots may be controlled using the same system.

Intrusion detection: There is a Guard Tour capability which allows security people to patrol set location within a specified time frame, by event or through email notification. Intrusion sensors, surveillance video cameras are centrally controlled. Remote Access: If you want to check on site security you can do so from anywhere in the world through a computer with internet connection. You can change views, modify and filter data, and tweak other settings remotely through just a single screen. If you don’t have a connected computer you may also access C-Cure 9000 through a smart phone app called C-Cure Go.

Central Management: The entire system covering ID’s, intrusion detection, access control, fire alarms, surveillance video cameras, elevators, parking, etc. are controlled through a multi-dimensional single point event management control panel. This makes it easy to incorporate last minute changes in personnel availability and schedules into the system.

These features of C-Cure 9000 make security and event management easy.

The large format touch screen is getting more common. Where we used to see mostly small smart device and computer monitors we are now exposed to more useful and larger screens. The large format touch screen is finally emerging as a favored business tool, especially when used to encourage interaction with clients.

So why is it only recently that business finally makes use of the advantages of large touch screens? The answer to that question may lie with technological advancements and cost. The touch screens we now see, no matter the size, are much more useful than the ones that first came out. It makes them powerful tools that allow users to bigger images, and business to see the big picture. Even now organizations such as the Computer and Communications Industry Association continue to be on the lookout for new technology.

Old touch screens were able to track only a single touch at a time, while the latest ones can sense and track multiple touches and gestures. On the surface that may not seem such a big deal but being able to use multiple touches and gestures to manipulate content is a giant leap when measured in terms of immersive experience; it is that kind of experience which encourages interaction.

Why is encouraging interaction so important? Let us consider the uses of large touch screens:

In-house collaboration among employees of a business when used as a video wall or as a multi touch table: They make great presentation aids and allow participants an equal voice in discussions, which is essential to true collaboration.

When used for instructional purposes in a classroom setting: It is not only small children who are more responsive to physical instruction than staid classroom lectures, all of us are. Large multi touch monitors allow student-teacher interaction at a higher level than through the use of whiteboards – the students don’t even to stand up to give their inputs.

When used in advertising: When installed as indoor video walls they provide a very attractive way to generate client interest. The same can be said when they are installed in outdoor pathways with large foot traffic – they get the message across without being too obtrusive. In these two applications, bigger is usually better, so long as the whole area of the touch screen remains accessible to the user.

When used in real estate sales: You can have the buyers, builders and real estate agents interacting through large touch screens. What is better is that all the information on the screen can be instantly updated remotely; maintaining current info on prices and special offers has never been easier.

As powerful tools in trade shows: Large touch screens make attractive platforms for the most important products or service information you want your clients to view. And when they ask for help you have the beginnings of a sale. What made large multi touch screens more attractive, is a significant price drop also as a result of technological advances. So now we all see the bigger picture; and it is a beautiful one especially for the future of big touch screens.

Engaging in any form of commercial activity has become so competitive that only the best survive.  Lesser outfits are usually able to hang on for awhile, but only the best thrive.  In business, as in any other form of human endeavor, it takes a lot of effort to keep ahead of the pack.

The success of any business always involves efficiency – usually as compared to the efficiency of its competitors.  And efficiency is no more than the effective use of resources to achieve a business organization’s goals.  In manufacturing that means producing more products for less input in the form of raw materials, labor and equipment.  Service oriented industries aspire to provide more service for less time, labor and material cost.  Companies whose core activity is selling goods and services measure their efficiency in terms of closing rates, and reducing inputs.  All types of business need to use the resources available to them in the most effective manner.

Most companies recognize that their most valuable resource is their personnel.  While that is true of all companies you can think of, it is more pronounced in companies who sell products and services.  Good sales people are extremely hard to find; not all people have the skill needed to close a sale.  Only the most skilled sales people can be telemarketers, which is why call centers need to use this valuable human resource as efficiently as possible.  Organizations, such as the Manitoba Contract Center Association, promote efficiency through training and sharing of information through their network of members.

While some people may call it pampering, preparing everything a telemarketer needs to close a sale aids the bottom line.  Call centers have come to rely on various forms of outbound telemarketing software to assist their sales people with the tedious and really trivial aspects of marketing by phone lines.  They do not want to waste their telemarketer’s time dialing hundreds of phone numbers per day to field a few calls to prospective clients.  They use software to do the dialing for them.

More than that, they use software to pre-qualify the calls they pass on to their sales agents; they don’t just pass on a phone line when the system detects ringing at the other end.  If no human answers the phone after repeated rings, the software breaks off the contact.  If the software detects a fax tone it also rejects that call.  But if the system detects a human answer then the call gets passed on to a telemarketer.  For more on the effective use of software, click here.

Some telemarketing software for small business has features which allow the agent to read off prepared campaign scripts, so they don’t have to memorize anything.  That reduces errors and makes the call center agent sound like an expert.

Most software service for telemarketing are cloud based so managers and supervisors are always in contact with their sales people.  This also enables real time monitoring of the performances of each of their telemarketers.  Problems are detected sooner and corrective measures implemented instantly to increase telemarketer efficiency as far as it can go.