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Rick Endres of The Washington Network, Inc. Shares Insights on Technology’s Rapid Growth Among SMBs With International Organization

 Alexandria, VA — MAY 24, 2011 — The Washington Network, Inc., a leading unified communications provider, announced expectations of heavy industry growth for the coming year during an interview with Technology Assurance Group (TAG), an international organization of unified communications companies spread throughout the United States and Canada. The TAG organization monitors sales, financial performance and other economic indicators among technology providers. “It’s exciting  to see that small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are ramping up acquisition of the latest technology across the country and that even some of the toughest pockets of the nation are beginning to show signs of strong growth,” stated Rick Endres, President of The Washington Network.

Several factors are contributing to the turnaround and technology is driving the next bull market. Historically, technology has proven itself to be one of the first sectors to pull the economy out of a recessionary period and business owners are investing heavily in disruptive technologies that cut costs and improve employee productivity.

One of the most influential and recent technological breakthroughs in business communications is Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). In simple terms, SIP supports any form of real-time communication regardless of whether the content is voice, video, instant- messaging, or a collaboration application.  Additionally, SIP enables users to inform others of their status, their availability, and how they can be contacted before a communication is even initiated. “SIP is reinventing the way we communicate and our customers now have an upper hand on their competition,” commented Endres.

Another powerful technology making its way into is the SMB marketplace is Hosted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Hosted VoIP serves the needs of entrepreneurs and enterprises alike, by delivering powerful features such as improved call quality, valuable disaster recovery tools, and applications designed specifically for telecommuters and remote workers.  Included in the system are advanced features such as unified messaging, automatic call distribution, auto attendant, call recording, call flow reporting as well as traditional telephony features.

A growing trend among business owners is to outsource the management of their IT networks with managed IT services. Consequently, this is stimulating the economy since these services are designed specifically to assist companies in maintaining and supporting their network and IT infrastructure.  Types of services may include remote network monitoring and reporting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, firewall monitoring, intrusion detection, patch assessment and vulnerability scanning, preventative tasks, disaster recovery, data backup and regular performance analysis.

“Today’s marketplace demands excellence from all areas of a business and several of the products and services we provide are enabling our customers to increase their profitability and gain a competitive advantage,” stated Mr. Endres Competition may be fierce, but we rest easy knowing that our customers can react more quickly and with greater efficiency than their competitors.”

Rick Endres was interviewed by TAG regarding his views on the future of technology because he is well-known in the industry, possesses substantial technical expertise and has built a strong reputation in his community. Dale Johnson, President of TAG added, “Rick has always been able to peer around the corner and see what’s coming so he can help his customers take advantage of what’s on the horizon. His organization expends a tremendous amount of effort to reside on the leading edge of technology but he does it simply because it is the right thing to do. We are proud to be associated with a technology futurist like Rick.”

 

ABOUT THE WASHINGTON NETWORK, INC.

 Founded in 1987, The Washington Network, Inc. in Alexandria, Virginia, provides computer networks, VoIP phone systems, IT support and other technology solutions for associations and businesses in the Washington, DC Metro area.

Serving clients without a large in-house IT staff, The Washington Network lowers operating costs while increasing worker productivity. The company’s flat-rate managed services include remote network monitoring, preventive maintenance, help desk, redundant back-ups and on-site support.

A member of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, The Washington Network has been honored as the Chamber’s Professional Service Business of the Year.

Through its strategic membership in the Technology Assurance Group, The Washington Network serves and supports clients with multiple locations across the U.S. and Canada.

The Washington Network is located at 30 South Quaker Lane, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. For more information on The Washington Network, call 703.212.7100 or visit http://www.washingtonnetwork.com/.

 

ABOUT TECHNOLOGY ASSURANCE GROUP (TAG)

Technology Assurance Group, LLC (TAG) is a national organization of leading independently owned telecommunications companies. TAG provides its members with the competitive advantages necessary to achieve a dominant position in their marketplace. Members benefit from programs including strategic partnerships with communication solution providers, best business and management practices, and advanced sales training programs.  TAG’s mission is to leverage it members’ combined economic power, to increase their sales and profit margins, and to bring advanced technology to the marketplace. For more information on TAG, please call 858-673-5800 or visit www.tagnational.com.