World Backup Day celebrates your business' data security

World Backup Day is designed to highlight the importance of businesses developing a comprehensive security solution. If you’ve ever misplaced your phone, you understand the panic of lost pictures, data, contacts, and more. Imagine that same scenario scaled up to your business.

Client data and revenue could be lost, and your business’ reputation would suffer. This World Backup Day, take the pledge, and learn strategies to keep your business ahead of cyber attacks, disasters, and data loss.

Document Backup and Restoration Processes | Vision Net will help your business develop procedures to develop backup protocols before disaster strikes and develop a plan for data recovery. Vision Net can help you implement a stronger security strategy.

Vision Net’s Managed Services can help your business plan ahead and proactively prevent threats, data loss, and cyber breaches. Our complete security suite will ensure your business is in the best possible security position so you can focus on your business. We’re here to help!

5 Phone Solutions to keep your business running

Your business needs a modern phone system to ensure smooth and efficient operation. Your phone system is the backbone of your business, and if they fail, your business can suffer tremendous downtime, customer complaints, and lost revenue. Vision Net is here to help you proactively ensure your business has a robust and responsive phone system. Following is a list of common issues with Vision Net’s solutions to keep your business running. Older hardware | As phones age, their hardware becomes obsolete. Over time, outdated phone systems will only cause additional problems and headaches for your business. Yesterday’s copper wired phone systems have been replaced by our fiber-rich Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems. Limited space and scaling | As your business grows, so do the demands on your phone system. Greater volume and call frequency is expected. Meeting these challenges requires scaling up, but with phone systems, that presents an investment that might be unfeasible or beyond your budget. Vision Net’s experienced team knows how to design a scalable VoIP phone system within your budget and needs. As your business continues to grow, we’ll be there to help you exceed your customer’s demands. High costs | A phone bill can represent a large expenditure for businesses using traditional landline phone services. Most small to medium-sized business might not know their total monthly bill, but it’s most likely an expensive expenditure relative to your total budget. Vision Net’s internet-based phone system provides superior service and a predictable monthly bill that fits your budget. Lost Data | Internet-based phone services give your business the ability to store information about the call, and having this data is invaluable. Vision Net’s Work from Anywhere Suite gives your employees the ability to save customer data, employee contacts, and stay engaged from an office, home setting, or other location with ease. Poor call quality | Vision Net’s VoIP services are flexible and with our robust fiber network, calls to and from your customers will be crystal clear, dynamic, and always ready. Vision Net’s professionals can design a system with your business’ needs in mind, ensuring you don’t pay for what you don’t need, or invest in a larger system than what is needed. Your business’ phone system is vital to productive operation, employee engagement, and client satisfaction. Vision Net is committed to helping your business operate a phone system for your needs. We’re here to help you lower costs, increase efficiency, and utilize the strength of our network.

2021 Technology Trends

2021 is here and with it, new opportunities for growth and trends among a variety of industries. As we saw in 2020 with the onset of COVID19, life can change quickly and the businesses that innovate and adapt are best positioned to survive and thrive. Learn about what is ahead for this new year, and how Vision Net will power what is ahead. Remote work and learning | Even after schools and businesses re-open to in-person work and learning, many parents, teachers, employees and employers will prefer to continue remote operations. Vision Net’s business solutions, including our Work Anywhere Suite, supports adaptable and flexible options so that schools, businesses, and organizations have the tools they need to be successful. According to a survey by Intermedia, 57% of small to medium-sized business owners said they will continue to offer remote work options into 2021. This means that you may need to invest in additional technology and software solutions to ensure that your employees can telework. Vision Net’s network of professionals can help you find the best solution for your business’ budget and needs. Videoconferencing | This area rapidly grew during the pandemic and shows no signs of slowing down. Microsoft Teams, Zoom and other videoconferencing are industry standards. Videoconferencing tools help remote teams engage, track workflow, and maintain productivity. With Vision Net’s Microsoft Teams platforms, your employees can create a virtual office that replicates working together in person, supported by our robust and reliable network to ensure output and communication is uninterrupted. Telehealth and telemedicine rapidly expand | The health care industry has shown its flexibility in providing care during the pandemic. A decade in the making, telemedicine has provided advanced medical technology to patients in rural areas. 2020 showed that telemedicine is an adaptable and viable option to in-person office visits and consultations. Many private and public practices have implemented telehealth options such as doctor-patient video chats, AI-based diagnostics, and no-contact-based medication delivery. Patient visits need to remain confidential and secure, and Vision Net’s security tools will keep all telehealth interactions secure and in compliance of HIPPA regulations. 5G | Demand for high-speed internet and a shift toward well-connected homes, smart cities, and autonomous mobility have pushed the advancement of 5G technology, a trend that will accelerate in 2021. This year, Vision Net will continue our investment in our robust and redundant fiber network along with the network upgrades to bring 5G to the region. Along with our partners, we are committed to ensuring businesses, communities, and our clients have the connectivity options they need.
Whatever 2021 brings, Vision Net has the resources and solutions to support your network, your business, and your success. Learn more on how Vision Net can help make 2021 an amazing year for your growth.

Next-generation 911 enhances Emergency Access to communities

Whether you are in an accident on the road, have an emergency at home, or an employee needs medical attention, no communication is more important than a call to 911. The landlines installed 100 years ago were not designed for today’s mobile and connected world. As businesses continue to move their communications onto the cloud, providing accurate 911 call routing and location management has become increasingly complicated. Partnering with Lumen Enterprise Business, Vision Net is under contract to provide the engineering expertise to power a statewide NG911 network. Next Generation 911 (NG911) technology means that in addition to your 911 call coming into a PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point), your location information is delivered to the 911 dispatcher. This provides better and more accurate information than landline-based 911, when callers could get a busy signal or have their call dropped. NG911 technology allows calls to be routed to an alternate Master Street Address Guide (MSAG) within seconds and location and other metadata is sent automatically to the call center, freeing the dispatcher to concentrate on the caller. Bill Daniels, Vision Net’s NG911 Supervisor, has overseen the dynamic growth and expansion of our 911 services. His team is responsible for maintaining and monitoring Montana’s Emergency Services network (ESINet), Network centers in Billings and Missoula, and the call-taking equipment for 47 of those counties. Bill’s team has worked hard to bring modern 911 to Montana communities and residents, providing a literal lifeline to many of Montana’s communities and residents. In addition to increased location accuracy, NG911 will have the capability of allowing 911 callers to send video, photos, and other metadata to the 911 dispatcher that helps first responders locate the emergency, provide care, and deliver better outcomes. Many counties in Montana already receive text messages from cell phones. Vision Net is excited about the potential for additional emergency data from vehicle-based services like OnStar and Sync, as well as other IP-connected devices. Vision Net’s secure, redundant, and expanding NG911 network was designed and built for optimized performance. Learn more about our expertise in building and expanding NG911 Service throughout the region.

Bandwidth on Demand: stay ahead of the competition

The world revolves around bandwidth, and the next evolution in our connected world is Bandwidth on Demand, an adaptable technology providing additional bandwidth as necessary to accommodate increased traffic. In the Cloud Computing age, static connectivity is not enough for businesses to operate. What is increasingly needed is a network that gives your business the bandwidth you need, when we need it.

A fast, reliable, and secure connection is the lifeblood of your business’ productivity, and trends show increasing bandwidth use across all industries. How can your business harness the power and flexibility of Bandwidth on Demand to stay ahead of your competitors?

The following are examples of Bandwidth on Demand that businesses will realize the benefits this service provides:

Sporting events | Stadiums and sporting arenas have drastically fluctuating bandwidth demands. During off-hours, these venues have little need for connectivity compared to when an event is happening. Compared to a typical Wednesday morning when very little is happening to when a baseball game is happening, the seats are full of fans on their own devices, and food and beverage transactions are being processed, there is such a massive difference in bandwidth demand that management researches options to bring their bill in line with their actual bandwidth use.

Healthcare | With emerging changes in privacy laws, record-keeping, telemedicine, and wearable health monitors, healthcare provider networks consistently struggle to keep their data infrastructure current. A dynamic and nimble broadband solution would help healthcare professionals stay ahead of the evolving and growing data needs of the healthcare industry to focus on client care.

Retail | As we enter the holiday shopping season, businesses can anticipate when their busiest days and times can adjust their bandwidth use to ensure credit card and online transactions can process with no interruption to the client experience. In addition, if an online retailer is releasing a new product with a special discount or gift for the first 4 hours of the product’s launch, they can order the bandwidth they will need for a discreet time.

Bandwidth on Demand allows your business to customize your connectivity parameters, giving you control over your network’s use and output like never before. For example, a business may request an increase in bandwidth from 1G to 10G every Saturday night, from 9pm to 1am, to perform a large-scale data backup.

Vision Net delivers the increased bandwidth you need and after that time period, your bandwidth service returns to normal usage levels. Vision Net’s professionals adapt to these network fluctuations with different approaches; your business can demand instant or scheduled bandwidth. As a technology solutions provider, we can help you determine the best needs for your business.

For businesses that require nimble and forward-thinking technology solutions, Vision Net’s Bandwidth on Demand provide flexible bandwidth, locations, and connectivity times.

Bandwidth on Demand is designed to assist your established network and provide your business with the flexibility of choice. Vision Net is here to help you find the best solution for your business, and our Bandwidth on Demand will ensure your business gets the fast, reliable speeds you need and your customers enjoy a seamless and fast service experience.

How to Power your Network with Carrier Ethernet

Carrier Ethernet is a universally popular and economical business solution. Offering enhanced Operation, Administration, and Maintenance capabilities combined with superior resilience make it ideal for your business. Supporting Vision Net’s Carrier Ethernet capabilities are our client-focused Wholesale Services. Together, they provide a complete technology solution for your business. As an innovative and forward-thinking company, our Carrier Ethernet is commonly employed in industries such as banking, healthcare, education, government, and military for high-capacity, high-performance application support. The 4 distinguishing features of Carrier Ethernet for your business are:
  1. Standardized Services | the biggest benefit to Carrier Ethernet is the standardized, ubiquitous services that streamline the delivery, billing, and network process.
  2. Reliability | Carrier Ethernet is designed to detect faults and recover without impacting your business’ day-to-day operations.
  3. Scalability | each business’ needs are unique, and Vision Net applies a network solution that fits each business’ needs and budget.
  4. Service Management | Vision Net monitors, diagnoses, and manages your network based on your business’ needs.
A distinct advantage of Vision Net’s Carrier Class Ethernet and Wholesale services are ease-of-operation, providing our clients with a single point of contact, customized billing, diverse fiber routes for network redundancy, high-speed and scalable bandwidth, network colocation, end-to-end circuit provisioning and testing, dedicated account management, protected statewide fiber optic network, nationwide connectivity, and aggressive installation schedules combined with 24/7 Network monitoring and technical support. Vision Net’s robust Wholesale Services ensures that your business does not have to worry about underlying connection issues or service disruptions that can negatively impact your business. We continue to build our fiber network, add new diverse routes, install metropolitan fiber, and invest in our network’s infrastructure. With Carrier Ethernet services supported by our client-focused Wholesale Services and our 24/7 Network operations Center, learn how Vision Net can power your network.

Your Business' Disaster Recovery Strategy

Businesses never want the worst to happen, but the worst often becomes a reality when you least expect it. Compounding a Worst-Case Scenario is the lack of a cohesive recovery plan, including the steps a business takes to get back on track as quickly as possible following a disaster or security breach. Vision Net leverages technology solutions like cloud services and our Network Operations Center to proactively monitor threats. Following these 5 steps to create a backup and disaster recovery plan will help your business be prepared for Worst Case Scenarios.

1. Be Proactive with Disaster Recovery Planning | Disaster planning is tricky because a business must consider a spectrum of contingencies and account for unforeseen circumstances, including Cyberattacks, power outages, and local disasters. A good business disaster recovery plan focuses on forming a planning and recovery team to create a focused, oriented task force that can methodically move through the stages of drafting procedures for each contingency. Vision Net’s security team can develop a proactive plan that considers likely and unlikely scenarios and remember; the best and most effective business disaster recovery plans are those that allow flexibility and anticipate a wide range of possibilities.

2. Identify your Business’ critical functions and infrastructure | A business impact analysis predicts possible causes and outcomes of disruptions in business processes and establishes critical functions your business would cease to run without. Critical functions take many forms according to the nature of the business. For example, an online retail business might require the ability of users to complete purchases on the website to function whereas a critical function for a financial institution might involve transmitting electronic transaction data securely. Vision Net works with businesses to develops security plans unique to each business’ needs.

3. Create Emergency Response Policies and Procedures | The response to an emergency or disaster hinges on several factors, including what the law requires businesses to do. Vision Net will help your business document the correct procedures and develop security protocols that will make it easy for staff and management to get your network running and your business succeeding.

4. Document Backup and Restoration Processes | Vision Net will help your business draft procedures to create backup operations prior to a disaster as well as policies regarding data recovery. Our plans include alternative methods to store and access data in the event that some infrastructure becomes compromised. Vision Net’s managed IT services help in these situations as well. If your business already leverages cloud services for critical backups for data recovery, Vision Net can help you implement a stronger security strategy.

5. Perform Routine Tests and Exercises | Making routine tests and exercises a part of the disaster planning process will benefit your business’ recovery process immensely. Vision Net has developed a security strategy that includes penetration testing, phishing tests, and other proactive solutions that will keep your network safe from the start. Exercising a recovery plan reduces the amount of time employees take enacting it because they will already know what to do in the event of a disaster. Vision Net’s testing examines each step of a plan to ensure that it will perform as needed, and your business can find out what will go wrong with their plan before it needs to work.

Vision Net’s Managed Services can help with stress testing a recovery plan by conducting frequent audits and reviews. We use the information obtained during this process to develop recommendations on Vision Net products and services to assist in mitigating the impact of a disaster. Businesses experiencing rapid growth and change will find this service especially valuable. Risks change as businesses change requiring a recovery plan that can accommodate more variables and unknowns. Do not leave recovery to chance, plan ahead! Vision Net services keeps businesses prepared for the worst. Whether there is a dramatic natural disaster or data breach, a business’ survival hinges on its ability to resume normal operations as quickly as possible.

Vision Net’s Suite of products (Vision Connect, Vision Secure, Vision Voice) place your business in the best possible position in the event that disaster recovery is necessary. From Vision Net’s PCI compliant off-site backups and dual provider SD-WAN connectivity solutions to Vision Voice and UCaaS, you can rest assured that you’ve taken the steps to be prepared.

Work Anywhere Suite: Empowers work-from-home business model

Even before COVID19 changed how and where we work, companies had begun shifting to remote workplace solutions. Businesses are working to provide employees with collaboration and productivity apps more than ever before.

However, communications, security and scalability are major concerns; your business’ security and communications platforms  are one of your smartest investments; a data breach, hack, or phishing scam can damage your business’ reputation and revenue. Your business needs robust cloud based systems supported by knowledgeable ,proactive technical and customer support.

Vision Voice is the foundation of our Work Anywhere Suite. This next-generation hosted platform combines the best attributes of UCaaS, VoIP, and traditional phone features. When you need to move your workforce to a remote platform, we provide a reliable, easy, and quick transition into industry-leading tools, combined with the security of Vision Net’s network. Your business can successfully bridge the gap between in-person and remote work functionality. Our work from anywhere suite is designed to reduce distance disparity, support the work model that works best for your business, and empower your employees to be active, engaged, and productive team members, no matter where they are.

Dedicated to Your Success

Vision Net has over 25 years’ experience designing, deploying, and managing technology solutions, and our experts are available 24x7x365 to run and optimize your remote work solutions so you can focus on what is important, your business.

By combining two critical business needs into a single offering Vision Net’s Work Anywhere Suite makes communication and security simple.

Key Benefits

Key Features

Regardless of your network, our technical teams are here to monitor and support your connection to ensure your teams can work with optimal productivity and collaboration. Contact Vision Net to learn about the functionality of our industry-leading Work Anywhere Suite.

VoIP is THE business phone system for your team

Outdated, analog phone service no longer delivers the convenience it once did, and many companies have switched to Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services to meet their increasing needs. Since its introduction to the market in the 1990s, VoIP continues to improve its offerings, quality, and availability, delivering businesses the high-quality service they need, and delivering a product far superior to analog.

How VoIP works

VoIP converts your voice into a digital signal that travels over the Internet. When you call, the signal is converted before it reaches the destination. VoIP routes your phone calls directly to your telephone using your high-speed internet connection, meaning that you don't pay a big bill to use the phone company's outdated copper wires.

VoIP give businesses the tools to make voice calls using a secured internet connection, letting businesses innovate, mobilize their workforce, and adapt to changing business models.

The convenience of VoIP allows employees to make a call directly from a computer, a special VoIP phone, or a traditional phone connected to an adapter. Vision Net’s VoIP provides a range of options for businesses to keep their employees connected; either remotely or in-person.

Why will VoIP work for my business?

Vision Net’s Hosted Voice and Unified Communications (UC) solution provides your business phone system over the internet, giving you access to the calling features you’re used to, but with the added benefits and extra features of next-generation mobility, advanced security, and unlimited and on-demand scalability.

Calling | Enrich your client and customer relationships with high-quality HD voice and video from any device or conference room

Messaging | Quick communications with 1 to 1 and group chat

Cost | Businesses of all sizes want cost-effective and reliable connectivity across all professional devices

Meeting | Improve collaboration with HD video, voice, messaging, and screen sharing

One of the biggest advantages of VoIP and UC is that it allows employees to bring their business phone line with them anywhere they go. Vision Voice features a mobile app that rings when a client or colleague calls that mirrors the business line and allows the employees to use their business line to make outgoing calls from their mobile phone.

VoIP for E911

An emerging and innovative technology, E911 is Enhanced 911 so that in addition to a 911 call, their exact location is delivered to the 911 call taker. Vision Net works with our partners to bring the next evolution of 911 using VoIP technology that will allow texts, photos, videos to be delivered to 911 call staff, ensuring better location accuracy, faster response times, and

VoIP for your Business

Vision Net can design a system for your needs now, and for the future. Contact Vision Net today to learn how we can help transform your business’ communication.

Vision Net’s Ethernet services move your business forward

Reliable and efficient access to data has become an important asset for businesses to gain a competitive advantage. File cabinets and mountains of papers have migrated to computers that store and manage information electronically. Coworkers 10 feet or hundreds of miles apart can share information seamlessly and securely, while workers in a single location can simultaneously review and send data online. All this is due to the strength and reliability of Ethernet.

Vision Net’s Ethernet solutions offer fiber-based connectivity to deliver fast and secure performance for your business; today, and into the future. Vision Net’s system engineers can design a complete solution for your business that includes bandwidth of up to 10Gbps. For 25 years, Vision Net has built our network to be Montana’s largest, providing businesses around the nation with secure access to Ethernet services supported by our world-class Network Operations Center.

Spanning nearly 5,000 miles to serve both small and large businesses, our networks allow us to provide a diverse, robust, and cost-effective service to our clients. We have secured our network through major wire centers, providing a higher level of service than most of our competitors. With ties to major areas throughout the United States and Canada, Vision Net can meet regional, national, and international circuit needs.

Vision Net provides more than support to our customers, we deliver solutions through quality service, operational excellence, and exceptional customer service. Using standards-based testing and certification methodologies such as Y.1731 we assure our clients will get the most out of their network. 

No matter how many locations you have or where they are located, Vision Net can design, install, monitor, and support a state-of-the-art Network for your business. Our networks allow us to provide a wide range of wholesale and network services with proven technologies such as Ethernet transport, Direct Internet Access, point-to-point, and multipoint wireless connections with one of the most robust networks in the region. Our multi-vendor, multi-location Tier 1 connections guarantee high speed, ultra-reliable network connections, and unprecedented flexibility in building and maintaining your network.

Benefit from Vision Net’s flexible and manageable Ethernet services that can scale as your business’ needs change. You can rely on the guaranteed performance and reliability of Vision Net’s fiber network backed by end-to-end SLAs and delivered by one of Montana’s largest Ethernet providers. Benefit from Vision Net’s flexible and manageable Ethernet services.