Staying Connected

Last year, about this time, you probably had your ICT plan in place for 2020 and looking back, it probably had more than a bit of variance.  In this podcast we discuss what is important, as disrupted as 2020 has been, and how some of that disruption is going to last for years to come and affect what enterprises buy – and from whom.

In this 8 minute podcast, TC2 Directors Theresa Knutson, Tony Mangino, and Joe Schmidt share client observations from 2020 and suggest guidance on what to do when developing your company’s ICT plan in 2021.

When we discuss regulatory matters on Staying Connected, listeners likely squirm a bit worrying whether they’re doing the right thing for their companies.  Undoubtedly, two of the most important regulatory topics we stay on top of are the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

On this 11 minute podcast, LB3’s Deb Boehling, a Partner at LB3, and Patrick Whittle, who is Of Counsel, along with TC2’s Joe Schmidt  look at an EU regulatory issue known as "Schrems II" and explain why it has made complying with GDPR a lot tougher. 

* 12th November 2020 – EU releases draft Implementing Decision with updated Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers from the EU to third countries.  Comments due by 10th December; final SCCs expected early 2021.  The draft updated SCCs align with our strategies in this podcast.

Practically every mobile app you use, as well as the operating systems of most smartphones, track your location, along with other information they’ve gathered about you and they share it with third parties.  If you ever had that feeling that you’re being followed, you’re right.

On this 8 minute podcast, Kevin DiLallo, a Partner at LB3, and TC2’s Joe Schmidt explore the extent and implications of location tracking, explain the legal rights you may have with respect to your location information; they take out the crystal ball and predict what may be coming in the future, both in terms of the technology and your legal rights.

Before COVID-19 slammed all of us, you probably participated on the occasional conference call.  But today, you’re probably connecting using any number of UC platforms on a regular basis to communicate with colleagues, customers, vendors, family, friends … well, you get the picture.  Regardless of what UC platform you use, it’s a good idea to be thinking about whether that UC session is safe and secure.

In this 10 minute podcast, Kevin DiLallo, a Partner at LB3, discusses with TC2’s Joe Schmidt the privacy and security policies and practices of Cisco’s Webex and other major UC providers.  Kevin also provides some important precautions you’ll want to take to protect yourself and your company.

Gartner recently published their Market Guide for Telecom Expense Management Services, and the report provides some very good analytical insight into the everchanging TEM industry.  At TC2 and LB3, we have been supporting clients with their TEM needs long before the TEM industry as we now know it existed, and in this 10 minute podcast, TC2’s Contract Compliance and Optimization practice leads Theresa Knutson and Julie Gardner, along with Joe Schmidt, provide their perspective on the top global suppliers listed in the Gartner report.  You’ll also receive some important tips on how to get the most from your TEM providers.

In this 12 minute part-two podcast, TC2’s David Lee and Joe Schmidt continue their discussion about why enterprises are depending on unified communications, or UC, more than ever.  How do companies decide if a premise-based or UCaaS solution is the right fit, and which companies are worthy of consideration?  Of the hundreds of UC solution features available, David and Joe highlight some of the top features they think are important and relevant for enterprises today – and the list might just surprise you.

In part one of this two-part series, we highlighted some areas where your trusted ICT vendors might not be delivering everything you thought you bought.  On this part-two of the podcast series, we offer up some guidance on what enterprises can do to get what you paid for.

Listen to this 11 minute podcast as Deb Boehling, a Partner at LB3, and TC2 Directors Keith Cook and Joe Schmidt discuss approaches and legal provisions that will improve your chances of receiving everything you bought.

Companies spend a lot of time planning and implementing cost effective, resilient technical solutions and programs to support their business needs.  But how do you guarantee what you’re paying for, with an increasingly limited IT budget, is actually being delivered by your service providers?  And what do you do if you find out it’s not?

Listen to this 10 minute part one of a two-part podcast as TC2 Directors Keith Cook and Joe Schmidt highlight some of the areas where you better be keeping a watchful eye or you run the risk of paying for something that your trusted partner might not be delivering.

Companies are increasingly re-evaluating their Unified Communications (UC) solutions, because as The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted, during the COVID-19 pandemic enterprise UC solutions are supporting the physical and emotional health of many companies.  This new dependency on UC has also revealed several issues and, perhaps, opportunities with enterprise communications solutions. 

In this 12 minute part-one of a two-part podcast series, TC2’s Technical Director, David Lee, and Director Joe Schmidt discuss the importance of developing a UC strategy, describe what to include in a strategy, and talk through the steps to take to competitively procure a solution.

CenturyLink, a Tier 1 ISP and a major provider of network services to enterprise customers, has changed its name to “Lumen”.  After sorting through many of the PR and marketing announcements, it’s pretty clear that this is a rebranding and renaming strategy, at least for right now.  It is possible that the name change may also be setting the stage for a later reorganization of CenturyLink’s business… or it may not. 

Listen to this 12 minute podcast as TC2’s Theresa Knutson and LB3’s Andrew Brown discuss with TC2’s Joe Schmidt this new name and how the name change could have potential operational and legal impact on enterprise customers.