What to Aim for When Negotiating With Telecom Vendors in New Hampshire

The first step in securing telecom plans would involve asking for proposals from the various telecom vendors servicing the area. In New Hampshire, there is a wide range of options, owing to the state’s thriving telecoms industry.

For companies, this means having to screen numerous offers, the terms of which would not necessarily be perfect the first time around. Because of this, businesses would have to engage in telecom contract negotiations, which can only be successful when it is based on a concrete set of goals.

Below is a list of what to aim for, when negotiating with these telecom partners.

Responsive service level agreements (SLAs). Service level agreements articulate the commitment between the telecom service provider and the client, in terms of such parameters as availability, location and duration of service, and time required to complete repairs. Among the best of breed providers, SLAs would be crafted so thoroughly as to reflect even more specific commitments to boost the delivery of their company’s promises. Said provisions would, for example, indicate what happens when the client is not satisfied with the proposed resolution to a telecom issue, or if an untoward incident happened for the second time. The company may promise service extensions, discounted packages, or credit, and more importantly, articulate how these may be availed.

Better pricing. Businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, should have in mind a range of how much it is willing spend on telecom services. Otherwise, it will be drawn to spend on whatever add-ons sound appealing, but which it does not actually need. The goal of telecom negotiations should be gaining more useful features, more coverage for the services, for less. Terms can be adjusted to prolong the contract’s effectivity period, or using a technology that is not necessarily the latest but is more relevant to the company’s requirements.

Reliable customer service. At the heart of any telecom contract should be the expression of the service provider’s genuine desire to assist its clients in achieving its telecommunication goals, especially through providing reliable customer support. Always, this should mean well-trained and knowledgeable warm bodies who will be devoted to responding to queries and troubleshooting demands as they arise - and not simply based on pre-set schedules.

Access to the best technology and services. It should be the goal of any telecom partnership to provide businesses with access to the best technologies and services: from mobile devices, to data storage systems, internet access, and voice services. The client’s representative should negotiate for a contract that indicates the telecom partner’s commitment to offering timely updates on tech developments in the industry, and upgrades should it be deemed necessary.

If you are looking for the best of today’s pool of telecom vendors in New Hampshire, talk to the Noble Eightfold team. Noble Eightfold offers best-in-class telecom proposal evaluation, wireline and wireless contract negotiation, vendor screening and selection, and telecom expense management services.

Mobile Device Management

Today is the age of mobile. Owing to itsaccessibility, affordability, and flexibility, it now pervades daily life across the globe, and has become acritical business tool for a growing number of companies.To fully realize its potential, however,these companies will benefit from tapping mobile device management services.

Mobile device management puts businesses in complete control of this technology as a communication platform.With its adoption comes the promise of being able to procure the right devices for the organization’s communication needs, optimize the use of mobile for daily operations, manage all costs related to its deployment, and implement policies regarding security, governance, and compliance.

Firms offering this service regularly monitor trends in the telecommunications industry, while keenly probing the communication and information exchange requirements as well as the business goals of their clients. Because of this, they are able to help respond to the following pertinent questions regarding mobile usage: What mobile solutions should the company invest on? What are the regulatory standards that govern corporate use of mobile?What kinds of transactions can be authorized on company issue mobile devices? How can sensitive corporate data be protected while being accessible to the entire organization?What is the best way to distribute applications, data, and software upgrades on multiple units? How can expenses related to all mobile use be accounted for, settled, and audited promptly?

In so doing, mobile device management services can help businesses simplify processes and workflows regarding corporate mobile use, drastically reduce operational costs, promote data security, and ensure growth within their organizations through efficient communication.

Talk to us today here at Noble Eightfold to learn more about mobile device management services and telecom contract negotiation for your small or medium-sized business. We pride in our thorough understanding of the conditions faced by emerging entrepreneurs, as well as our constantly updated knowledge of what is new in the mobile industry.

What is WAR?

Personally, I don’t think I have ever heard one stat so closely related and synonyms with a player then Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is with Mike Trout.  The reason being is that is an annual occurrence that Trout puts up video-game like numbers, thrusting him into the MVP discussion but this is where it gets dicey.  It is widely known that the Angels have under performed in stocking talent around Trout which usually results in the team narrowly missing the playoffs. But the problem that most MVP voters argue is: If Trout isn’t good enough to single handedly drag the Angels into the playoffs, then is he really the Most Valuable Player in the League?

Now you don’t need to be an expert in fantasy baseball strategy to realize the obvious point that the game of baseball is more of a team sport than almost any other in existence.  Players only get a handful of opportunities to impact the game, but baseball is a game known for it’s failures so you can’t expect one to dominate in day in and day out.  So like everything else in the MLB, there is a stat the solely measures the number of wins a player brings to his team and that is WAR.  In the most simplest terms, WAR measures how many wins a single player brings to his team. They do this by comparing how the team would do if instead of that player being in the lineup, if a readily available minor leaguer or veteran player was instead inserted into the lineup for that player.  This part of the stat is where it is not so black and white but the basis for each player is the same.  Note this has no direct fantasy baseball impact but rather indirectly is based on the fantasy baseball numbers a player is able to put up throughout the entirety of a season.

So to give you some sort of scale on what is a good and bad WAR, we present the following.  A player with a WAR of 0 is average, actually more than average, meaning that he is easily replaceable by any one in the league.  A player with a negative WAR is plain bad and really shouldn’t be starting in the majors on a regular basis.  On the other edge of the spectrum, a player with a WAR eight or better is going to be into MVP contention because that, on it’s own, could be the difference for a team being a playoff team or not. So what kind of WAR does Trout sport?  Not including his rookie season (where he only played 40 games) not including the 2017 season, Trout’s lowest season WAR is an astonishing 7.9.  That should come as no surprise as Trout has finished first or second in MVP voting in every season of eligibility for the prestigious award.

McGregor v. Mayweather

On Saturday August 26th, in Las Vegas, Nevada, one of the biggest sporting events in history will be on display as the two of the biggest superstars in all of sports go against each other in the ring.  Conor McGregor, the biggest name in fantasy UFC, and Floyd “Money” Mayweather, the undisputed champion of boxing, will square off for what will surely be a pay-per view event for the ages.   I think it is fair to say that whenever either of these men’s names are attached to a sporting event, a majority of the daily fantasy MMA population will tune in, and rightfully so. Let’s break down the tale of the tape so you know everything vital to your fantasy MMA research so you can win big on whatever or whoever you bet on.

First, let us start with the foreigner, Conor McGregor.  McGregor hails from Ireland and is the reigning UFC lightweight champion and former UFC featherweight champion.  In his career, McGregor holds a record of 21 wins and 3 losses, with 18 of his wins coming via the knockout.  He is no stranger to the big stages as he holds four of the top six highest grossing pay-per-view fights in UFC history; in addition to the most buys ever during UFC 202 against Nate Diaz.

On the other hand, Mayweather has quite the number of accolades his name as well.  In his professional career, he has garnered the following stats:   49 wins, 0 losses, 26 wins via the knockout, Bronze medal in 1996 Olympics, Five-Division world champion, and Fifteen total world championships. Put that all together, and at the age of 40, Mayweather has to be the most decorated boxer of all time.

You are probably thinking to yourself: “If Mayweather is the best boxer of all time, then what the heck is McGregor doing going into this element and trying to beat the undisputed champ in his backyard?”  Nobody really knows what McGregor is thinking other than the fact that he thinks much differently than the rest of us. He is a true showman and is looking for the next bigger stage for him to conquer.  Now, this is no small feat going into Las Vegas and attempting to dethrone the best boxer, this generation, and possibly all-time.  Make sure to tune in on the 26th to see what surely will be a fight for the ages.

Taking Advantage of the Dog Days in June

Because the baseball season is a long one with a total of 162 games, it can take a toll on the players during the middle of the season. Players may lose motivation and start to tire out from playing so many games. Not only this, but with the blistering summer heat coaches are more inclined to rest players in games in the middle of the season because they seem “meaningless”.

In order to prevent this from happening, coaches often bring up younger prospects to play. Coaches put in newer pitchers in the middle of the season so the new pitchers can potentially get into the major leagues of baseball and be apart of the everyday roster.  It is very advantageous to roster players from a team who is facing a younger pitcher because younger players do not have much experience and they are usually not as skilled has an average major league pitcher. This a very interesting daily fantasy baseball strategy to utilize. Granted, this takes a large amount of research and prospect watching in order to target the correct youngsters to stack your team against.  Younger pitchers also lack the skills and tricks that regular major league pitchers have which can give your team an advantage. When you have a new pitcher getting called up for the first time, their ability to play is unpredictable.

Younger pitchers are also more prone to making mistakes due to lack of experience.They may play very well one time , yet play badly in another game. This is advantageous to fantasy baseball teams because new pitchers are not as consistent in their pitching skills as seasoned major league pitchers. Younger pitchers don’t have as much experience as they have just started in the leagues, they must build up their repertoire in order to climb up to the major leagues. It is interesting to see younger pitchers face off against teams with experienced pitchers because it add pressure to the younger pitchers to do well for their team. When the younger pitcher is not as skilled, the other team has a much better chance of winning the game if the opposing team has a seasoned pitcher on the team.

Draftking's Interleague Slates

If there is one thing soccer enthusiasts could agree on it is this: There is not enough of it in DFS.  Draftkings was the pioneer of making Daily Fantasy Soccer a reality and the userbase ran with it.  Draftkings simply could not make enough slates to make, some of the most passionate sports fans in the world, satisfied.  FanDuel recently stepped into the DFS soccer realm but did so minimally only offering slates for the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League games.  About a month ago, DraftKings revolutionized fantasy soccer by creating their own kind of soccer slates called Interleague.

The Interleague slates are simply extraordinaire.  These slates are comprised of some of the biggest soccer matches around Europe’s top five leagues. The leagues that have been featured so far are: Barclay’s Premier League (in England), La Liga (in Spain). Ligue 1 (in France), Bundesliga (in Germany), and Serie A (in Italy).  This allows for some pretty awesome lineup construction and even harder fantasy analysis for the top plays of the slate.  Imagine pairing Gigi Buffon in your goal with Lionel Messi at the Attack and David Alaba anchoring your defensive line. To have this much exposure to some of the greatest in the world translates into some of the most exhilarating one hundred and fifty minutes in Daily Fantasy Sports.

Although with this much exposure to all of these different leagues, these slates can be some of the hardest.  Previously, the soccer novice could join a Champions League and/or a Barclay’s slate and comprise their team of the big name super stars (Cristiano Ronaldo and Alexis Sanchez) and fill their team around them with guys they have little knowledge about.  Unfortunately in Interleague, that soccer strategy is doomed.  With soccer being the world’s most popular sport, there are fanatics everywhere looking to get into any kind of fantasy action.  Against these passionate and knowledge fans, it will be nearly impossible to compete in these slates without the proper fantasy soccer research, strategy, and analysis.  Although Draftkings made fantasy soccer more accessible to everyone; they definitely upped the ante quite a bit thanks in part to this large increase in competition as more players than ever are playing fantasy soccer.

Promoting efficient data management among hedge funds

Data management is a critical component of any hedge fund operations. After all, datasets – from client investors, from the financial market, or from the global economy in general – form the basis of any investment or policy decision for hedge funds.

More specifically, fund managers use data to determine market trends, and predict the potential returns that will come with each particular investment move. They use data to evaluate the investment-worthiness of companies, or the costs that the client investors’ assets can carry. They also use data to conduct risk modelling analyses.

Fortunately, we live in a time when most hedge fund executives already have a deep appreciation of the importance of proper data management. Moreover, so many tools are now available for efficient and cost-effective execution of this function.

Cloud-based platforms, for one, may be a taken-for-granted development, but it adopting this kind of solution represents a huge step for any hedge fund management firm. Through a Cloud-enabled technology, real-time collaboration is now possible online – an affordable, fast, and convenient way to perform data management tasks. Client investors, the fund managers, partners, and other stakeholders can now easily make complex calculations, communicate, and upload, access, and edit files – from wherever they are on the globe.

The best breed of these platforms offer access configurations that promote security and privacy of information, can accommodate the use of multiple languages and currencies, accommodate different report types, are capable of different kinds of data visualization, and allow for easy retrieval of information.

Adopting the latest solutions can admittedly be cost-prohibitive for hedge fund management firms. But today, an option that many managers are adopting is tapping the assistance of asset servicing firms.

The top third party service providers help hedge funds access first-rate technology for data management sans the usual costs involved. Instead, this access becomes part of a bigger package of many functions that they can take on as they perform asset servicing tasks, which include such middle and back office functions as risk management, compliance management, accounting, shareholder reporting, fund payments, and tax reporting.

In addition, these asset servicing firms free their client hedge fund managers from the hassles of choosing the best out of what may be a hundred solutions for their business type, as well as the costs involved in recruiting and training people how to take advantage of these technologies. With their help, the task of data management becomes much more manageable.