Blog

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

I haven’t been able to get ahead this week to plan and prep food in advance, so I ran to Café Rio after work to pick up dinner for the family.  I met a gentleman outside who was asking for change.  I didn’t have any cash, so I offered to buy him dinner while IRead more

I wanted to share the care bags for the homeless I’ve put together. I went to the store and got basic health items, plus some extras.  I put these together in a bag and tuck in bottles of water. They are perfect for the homeless in my area, something that is very prevalent where IRead 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

I love to read and I love our local library. The staff has faced many challenges during COVID, having to limit access to the building and only offering curbside pickup. They still manage to get books out to readers in our community and everyday there are people stopping by to check out books. I decidedRead more

National cleaning company offloads support and finds wireless savings. Client Bio: Nationwide facilities cleaning and maintenance company with over 5,000 employees. Challenge: The client was struggling to manage wireless expenses with limited resources.  They had one person managing over 400 devices in addition to her other responsibilities and it was taking an increasing amount ofRead more

On National Random Act of Kindness day, we had to drop our car off at the service station to get some work done.  This mechanic has been great to us, always helping when me, Chris or our girls have a car problem. They’ve proven to be trustworthy, helpful and never steer us the wrong direction.Read more

Global engineering firm realizes savings from SD-WAN & network optimization with the right team to deliver on the strategy and deployment. Client Bio: A large global engineering firm with over 50 locations and 1500 employees. Challenge:  Client purchased a Versa SD-WAN solution from a trusted IT solution partner and needed to source dual network connectivity.Read 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

Introducing ARG’s Newest Addition, David DeCillis! ARG is thrilled to welcome Senior Product Specialist – Network, David DeCillis, to the team. David, an industry veteran, is approaching his 25th year in the IT world. He most recently served as Vice President of IT for a national transportation and logistics company supporting over 2,300 users across 40+Read 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

A few minutes of prevention can protect your business. With remote work impacting where and how payments are processed, COVID-19 has had a profound effect on accounting functions. We have seen an uptick in clients shut down for nonpayment due to address changes by providers. For example: If you previously sent your Verizon payments toRead more

I just ran up to CVS with my son to go to the ATM machine to get him cash, he is going to Lake George this weekend with a friend of his who is in our Covid bubble. I wanted to walk, he wanted to drive, so we compromised and took the Suburban. On 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

Prioritize Business Traffic for a Better Experience. Working from home offers tremendous flexibility, but with school starting online across the country, many of us are experiencing new challenges. As parents and students share the same internet connection, slow bandwidth, jitter, dropped calls, and video issues increase. What many people don’t know is that there areRead more

My neighbor takes care of her three grandchildren. Due to new COVID-19 school regulations, she needed to acquire a laptop for her grandchildren to use for homeschooling. So, I used my Random Act of Kindness funds to help her purchase a new laptop for her “students”. – Stephanie EvansRead more

Client Profile A Top 10 Federal Defense Contractor with over 20,000 employees. Previous State The client was managing a complex environment with large Avaya and Cisco infrastructure footprints for PBX and Contact Center. They utilized multiple SIP carriers and numerous collaboration tools, including Microsoft Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco WebEx. Need for ChangeRead more

Client Overview The client provides innovative and cost-effective services to national security and industry customers focused on the convergence of C4ISR, information, and cyber systems. They are leading the way for national security and commercial space integration, developing innovative solutions to tomorrow’s challenges today. They currently have 250 employees with a plan to grow toRead more

Here are some photos from the mass pie peeling/production that I managed to accomplish in one day and on a covert solo mission. 😊 It was insane, but so much fun! Over 200 pounds of apples peeled in under 2 hours…I call that successful. It took about 2 hours on the chop/cook, then about 3Read 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

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