Blog

Summary ARG assisted a $13 billion in revenue technology and consulting company reduce its IT spend by 30%. The project is a case study in clearly defined goals and consistent communication leading to a true partnership. Acquisitions create turmoil in IT organizations. Establishing accurate inventory, assessing future needs, and driving reductions in services to meetRead more

What you need to know about Vulnerability Scans and Penetration Tests. Clients are often unsure where to begin on their cybersecurity journey. A natural starting point is to identify how secure you are today and there are several ways to approach it. The terms Vulnerability Scan and Penetration (Pen) Test sometimes get used interchangeably whenRead more

Everything you need to know to travel internationally with a 5G phone. Spring has sprung and travel is opening up but a large percentage of countries do not have 5G.  As you plan that business trip or go on vacation, your international plan may do you no good unless you turn off 5G. With thatRead more

Client Bio AbsoluteCare is a leading healthcare provider that focuses on providing comprehensive and preventative care to the most vulnerable populations in the United States. Since 2000, AbsoluteCare has enabled the treatment of thousands of chronically ill patients by using innovative health management tools.   Challenge To deliver quality patient-facing programs and associated technologies, dataRead more

Client Bio: An office REIT and S&P MidCap 400 company with 120 locations. Challenge: The client had already consolidated on a national network aggregator but was looking for operational support and additional cost savings. They were spending $160k/month to support their 120 locations. Solution: In addition to operational support, ARG’s continual contract evaluation and optimizationRead more

We are thrilled to announce Kara Semon’s promotion to ARG’s Vice President of Client Experience. August 16, 2021 – ARG is pleased to announce the promotion of Kara Semon to Vice President of Client Experience. This move adds depth to the executive team in support of ARG’s three-pronged growth strategy, which includes expanding relationships withRead more

ARG has been named one of the Washington Post’s 2021 Top Workplaces in the Washington DC area, ranking 13th out of the 80 small businesses recognized. Over 3,500 organizations are invited to participate and the top 200 are recognized in the awards. Selection is based solely on employee feedback gathered through an anonymous third-party surveyRead more

On April 20, 2021, Apple announced the upcoming launch of the new iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, and iPad Pro models. The pre-order and launch dates vary by model. Below are the models, pre-order, and launch dates: Apple iPhone 12 – Purple Pre-order begins on Friday, April 23, 2021, at 5 a.m. PT General availability isRead more

What to expect from RingCentral’s new desktop application in May. ARG’s mission is to protect clients from obsolescence by providing IT clarity. IT clarity doesn’t stop with identifying the right technology solution.  In addition to deployment and adoption support, ARG’s value realization process continues to educate clients on the features and benefits being rolled outRead more

Verizon has issued a recall in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for Ellipsis Jetpack mobile hotspot devices (model numbers MHS900L, MHS900LS and MHS900LPP) after the company was made aware that the lithium-ion battery in the hotspots can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard. As part of the recall, Verizon will exchangeRead more

Sierra Wireless has confirmed that its internal IT infrastructure was subjected to a ransomware attack. No ARG clients have reported any impact. ARG continues to monitor the situation. Sierra Wireless’s internal technology infrastructure was largely shut down this week due to a ransomware attack. Manufacturing and administrative services were halted at several locations, and itsRead more

With the updates to cell phones coming at lightning speed, you may not notice small changes, but you will definitely notice iOS 14 Widget Stacks/Smart Stack Widget. Starting in iOS 14, Apple introduced widgets on the iPhone home screen. There is a built-in Smart Stack widget that automatically cycles through widgets in the stack. It isRead more

With the updates to cell phones coming at lightning speed, you may not notice small changes, but you will definitely notice iOS 14 Widget Stacks/Smart Stack Widget. Starting in iOS 14, Apple introduced widgets on the iPhone home screen. There is a built-in Smart Stack widget that automatically cycles through widgets in the stack. It isRead more

Many organizations are struggling to meet the rapidly changing expectations of their clients and employees in our current environment. Eighty percent of client engagements today are initiated by chat, email, or social media. Omnichannel solutions are critical to optimizing communication and client experience by supporting the preferences of Boomers, the forgotten Gen Xers, Gen Y,Read more

Verizon Releases New and Improved Unlimited Plans for Business Verizon just released their new corporate unlimited plans. These updated plans offer more flexibility than ever before (e.g. unlimited up to 25gb w/up to 15gb of hotspot OR unlimited up to 22gb w/up to 10gb of hotspot). For users who might not have fallen within theRead more

On July 15, AT&T expanded the AT&T International Day Pass for Business from 100+ countries to 200+ countries. Because International Day Pass for Business charges now apply in all the same countries previously included only in AT&T Passport & AT&T Passport Pro, organizations that had both in the past should choose between International Day PassRead more

Technology Town Hall: Making Work from Home Work for You If you couldn’t make it to our Technology Town Hall: Making Work from Home Work for You on April 16th, have no fear… you can watch the recording here! We are helping thousands of clients facing challenges with remote work and how to do moreRead more

With phishing and other security attacks on the rise, are you confident that your network is secure? We ask clients all the time how they would know if a cyber-attack compromised their network or users. Responses generally include: – When someone has an issue with their computer – If we start getting complaints that theRead more

2020 Vision: Unified Communications If you couldn’t make it to our 2020 Vision: Unified Communications Webinar on March 25th or April 2nd, have no fear… you can watch the recording here! Tune in for a 360 view of the current Unified Communications marketplace and what you can expect to see next. You will walk awayRead more

We are in the midst of a situation that no one could have anticipated with the spread of COVID-19. If your employees are working from home due to the novel Coronavirus, the resulting increase in mobile usage may create huge overage costs for your business. As your partner, we want to help protect your businessRead more

As much of the country moves to a telework environment, reliable internet bandwidth is a common challenge. We recommend having your staff complete basic network reliability testing on their home networks as you send them home. This will be most needed if you don’t currently have a remote working policy in place as most policiesRead more

As organizations move to remote work to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, many clients are unsure of the capabilities of their existing services.  To provide easy access for our clients, we will be collecting all that data, separated by provider below.  We will continue to update as we receive more information. For clientsRead more

Simple Guidelines for Measuring Your Organization’s Web Conferencing Preparedness With the growing concerns around the Coronavirus pandemic, we see a dramatic increase in remote work and virtual meetings. With this in mind, it is critical for organizations to ensure that their employees are equipped with the proper tools for remote collaboration. All users should haveRead more

As you may know, Apple and Samsung are in the midst of inventory constraints related to their smartphone supply chains. This is tied to numerous factors, but COVID-19 seems to be the primary cause. It has been difficult to fully narrow the details due to the sensitive nature of the information regarding the virus. WeRead more

Engaging Raving Fans Through Value Realization   In 2019, we launched ARG’s value realization process. The process builds on the business value identification in our consulting process and carries it beyond deployment to ensure that our clients fully implement and operationalize the benefits of new technology. A year following the value realization rollout, we satRead more

Cell coverage on cruises can be a challenge. Verizon has a new plan that makes it simpler.   To use your cell phone on your cruise, you have two options — either connect to the ship’s cellular service or connect to the ship’s wi-fi. Both will cost you extra and costs vary widely by ship.  TravelpassRead more

ARG was recently named one of the 2020 Best Places to Work in Virginia by Virginia Business Magazine and Best Companies Group for the 6th year in a row! This statewide survey and awards program is designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Virginia, benefiting the state’s economy, workforce andRead more

Exciting News for International Travelers: New Options are Available on AT&T Previously AT&T offered two international options (outside of Day Pass) 1Gb/3Gb – voice at $0.35 per minute and unlimited text. You could buy the plan for 30 days or recurring on your plan for regular travel.  This week, new plans launched – see belowRead more