Terminal Business Velocity Selects NextLevel Internet

News - September 8, 2005 - 0 Comments

NextLevel Internet, San Diego’s leading mission critical Internet access provider, has been selected by Terminal Business Velocity, an Escondido-based application service provider for the Electrical and Uninterrupted Power Source industry, to provide co-location and ASP hosting services at its state-of-the-art data facility, according to Jerry Morris, general manager of NextLevel Internet.

Launched this year, Terminal Business Velocity (TBV) is a spin-off of Computer Protection Technology, an Escondido-based company owned by Michael F. Murphy. TBV securely hosts a software suite of applications and database information that is highly available from anywhere on the Internet. Companies simply subscribe to TBV’s services and therefore have no need for their own in-house servers, software development engineers, or support staff to manage the traditional quality control issues related to such in-house software development projects. Initially, TBV’s targeted markets are companies that sell products and services specifically those that deploy and manage field service personnel. TBV is currently focusing on offering its services to the Electrical and Uninterruptible Power Source industry.

The Uninterruptible Power Source industry’s focus is on providing a reliable emergency support system, and reliable is the key word,” said TBV President John Durand. “Because of our customers focus on reliability, they are very critical about the reliability of the services TBV delivers. That’s why NextLevel Internet was the best choice to support these stringent customer requirements. I have personally hosted many diverse services since 1999 with NextLevel from online record labels to event management, to 911 emergency medical transport services. NextLevel’s proven track record combined with how they improve upon Level (3) Communications’ existing infrastructure is a huge asset to our company’s success.”

Michael Murphy, president and founder of Computer Protection Technology and a long-time Escondido resident and businessman, said

“TBV provides the best product that combines Customer Relationship Management, Contract Service Management and Service Delivery Management available. Reliability of its services is the key element of its success. For us, NextLevel was the only option to ensure this reliability factor for our clients. They have a proven track record for providing the highest level of service possible in the industry today.”

About NextLevel Internet

Founded in 1999, NextLevel Internet is a business-to-business co-location, Internet, and managed data services provider that matches its customers’ needs with the highest quality deliverables and customer service available.

The company specializes in providing service to companies whose loss of Internet connection will result in the loss of life, money or reputation. NextLevel Internet provides only the best clear channel connectivity direct to a fully redundant Tier 1 Internet backbone with unbeatable value. NextLevel Internet is managed and operated 24/7 by seasoned Internet and data professionals who understand that impeccable service is paramount. Certified engineers (CCNA, CCNP, MCSE) and highly trained personnel handle all of its client requests from complex design and build-out to simple routing, DNS, IP allocation, router replacement, and tail circuit issues directly and immediately. NextLevel Internet monitors its network connections through its Network Operation Center (NOC) 24×7 using ICMP/SNMP sampling.

For more information on NextLevel Internet, call 858.836.0703 or visit www.nextlevelinternet.com.

Continue Reading

SDBJ SPOTLIGHT: Internet Service Provider Taking It to the NextLevel

News - July 18, 2005 - 0 Comments

By Webb, Marion

Monday, July 18 2005

NextLevel Internet, Inc. founder Jerry Morris says his Internet service provider isn’t for everyone.

However, “If someone will lose money if their Internet connection is down, if they lose their life if their Internet connection is down, or if they will lose their reputation if their Internet connection is down, then NextLevel Internet is a very good choice for them,” said Morris, 35.

Founded in 1999, NextLevel serves such major local clients as the American Red Cross, Home Depot Online and Golden Hour Data Systems Inc.

Morris creates the analogy of providing “a thousand-lane highway,” so when a crisis hits like a fire, or a major event such as the Super Bowl takes place, causing millions of people to log on simultaneously, there’s no traffic jam.

NextLevel’s network rivals include such global giants as AT&T, SBC and MCI.

He says he can compete successfully against them by using the infrastructure of a major carrier, Level Three Communications, and improving upon it to try to serve local clients better.

Still, NextLevel is in an expansion mode.

With two offices, one in San Diego and another in Orange County, Morris hopes to expand into the markets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and another city, by 2010.

RESUME

Name: Jerry Morris.

Title: General manager and founder.

Company: NextLevel Internet, Inc.

Address: 3914 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite A-120, San Diego, CA 92123.

Phone: (858) 836-0703.

Founded: 1999.

Prior experience: Co-founder and general manager of US Net Solutions, Inc., an Internet service provider for businesses in San Diego from 1997 to 1999; worldwide business manager of Sony Electronics OEM Display Division 1995 to 1997 in San Diego; vice president of SRTF (Sandpoint Ranch Tree Farm), a family-run tree farm business, from 1992 to 1997.

Average hours worked weekly: 50.

Source of startup capital: $250,000 from personal savings, family and bank loans. 2005 estimated revenue: $2.6 million. 2004 revenue: $2 million.

Number of employees: Five full-time employees plus several outside contractors.

Web site: www.nextievelinternet.com.

BACKGROUND

Born: Jan. 24,1970, in West Covina; moved to San Diego four months later.

Education: M.B.A. from Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management in Phoenix; B.A. in business administration and Spanish from the University of San Diego.

City of residence: San Diego.

Family: Wife, Lisa; sons, Griffin, 5, and Camden, 3 1/2; and a baby girl due in August.

Hobbies: Beach volleyball, hiking, golf, travel. Spending time with family and good friends.

JUDGMENT CALLS

Reason for getting into the business: My mom and dad were entrepreneurs, so it has always been in my blood. I was working on an international business career within a large corporation, but found that I could not effect change quickly enough and became restless.

How I plan to grow the business: I will continue to work with a team of amazing people, resist any form of complacency by setting goals and achieving critical milestones.

Biggest plus of business ownership: Creating a game that I like to play. I like having the freedom to either personally change within the rules of the game or to change the rules to keep it fun.

Biggest drawback: A small business can be a jealous mistress. I thank my wife and family for their initial and ongoing support.

Biggest business strength: Except for my business partner, Elisa Henry, and her incredible enthusiasm, I believe our biggest business strength is our decision to place excellence in service ahead of the top or bottom lines. This vision has remained clear for us since the company’s inception in the late 1990s. VCs and Wall Street have stayed out of the decision-making processes for us entirely. Biggest business weakness: We are only willing to grow at a rate that does not disrupt our intrinsic value proposition of “service.”

Biggest risk: Not taking a calculated one.

Smartest business decision: Committing myself to being the best I can be.

Biggest business mistake: Introducing a VoIP (voice-over Internet protocol) product at a previous company eight years ago.

Toughest career decision: Leaving the perceived glamour of an international business career in exchange for a very local existence was a tough call for me at the crossroads.

Biggest ongoing challenge: I care deeply for and am loyal to the partners and employees who have built this company with me.

The most important part of my business: Our clients have always been the most important part of our business.

My business works best when: When goals are clearly set both individually and as a team.

Best way to stay competitive: Listen to your clients’ needs and respond to them. Be proactive. Hire talented people. Don’t be afraid to go right when the crowd is going left.

GOALS

Goals yet to be achieved: I haven’t yet maximized the time I spend in the wonderful, very important moment of now.

My five-year business plan: NextLevel Internet Orange County was opened 16 months ago and is now very successful. I want to open four other markets over the next five years and want the de facto brand of NextLevel Internet to be the “best” Internet access provider in the Southwest.

I would sell my business only if: I was unable to grow with the company.

Guiding principles: Do the right thing.

Most admired entrepreneur: My mom and dad, who fed me with their unwavering entrepreneurial spirit.

Important lessons learned: Take risks early and get started now, preferably with the support of your friends and family. Get ready to make more decisions than you have ever made in your life. Become an expert in your field. Never stop learning.

 

Continue Reading

Is Skype Robust Enough for Business Use?

NextLevel News - November 19, 2013 - 0 Comments

Is Skype able to serve businesses as well as it’s serving individuals?

The email header jumped out at me: “Will Dropbox follow the fate of Skype?” The pitch, sent by a PR person, argued that “Skype… a company that was wildly successful in the consumer market [has] not [been] able to convert that success into enterprise adoption” — mainly, the flack argued, because Skype’s service just isn’t business grade.

The Dropbox pitch did not grab me, but the gibe at Skype tantalized, especially in light of Microsoft’s $8.5 billion acquisition of the VoIP provider several years ago, a deal that was pursued, said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, because Microsoft specifically saw a rich future for Skype in the business market.

Which puts the spotlight on two questions: Does Skype deliver adequate security for business users, and does it deliver adequate quality?

Face it: If you are in a hotel room in Oshkosh and you use Skype video-calling to say hi to the tykes back home, you can easily ignore a little latency. And would you care so much if a global intelligence service were transcribing your every word and picture?

The answers are entirely different if you are calling the CEO of your company for an update on an acquisition deal that has been hanging in the wind.

Would you — could you — use Skype for sensitive business calls?

The answers surprise.

Steve Santorelli, an expert with security consultants Team Cymru, wrote in an email to me: “There is, as far as anyone in law enforcement can tell, no documented back door or secret key to decrypt Skype content that is available to either miscreants or the police.”

Understand, every Skype call is encrypted to a 256-bit standard. Barry Castle, product marketing manager of Skype Business Solutions, tells me: “I understand cellular carriers are encrypting to a similar standard.”

Even if a Skype data stream were intercepted and reassembled, it is highly unlikely that a miscreant would be able to do much, if anything, with the data. The encryption is that good.

Which is not to say that Skype is foolproof. Adds Santorelli: “The huge elephant in the room is the risk of compromise of the end-user’s machine. Pop the client” — break into it, that is — “and no level of encryption on the Skype traffic will prevent someone from listening in on your more sensitive conversations.”

That is the problem: Some kind of bug on an end point would deliver a clear voice stream to an eavesdropper, though the same could be said about any other VoIP or cellular service.

Bottom line: “A lot of people have probed Skype’s security and by and large, it has held up well,” says Dan York, chair of the VoIP Security Alliance, aka VoIPsa.

Numbers are elusive, but according to Skype, roughly 35 percent of its traffic appears to be business-related. Much of that is bootleg traffic — the exec who pulls up Skype on an iPad to make a free Skype-to-Skype video call to a colleague in Bangalore, or perhaps who uses it to call home from that Oshkosh hotel room.

But a growing reality is that “people — everybody — use Skype for international calls,” says York, and that is because Skype’s per-minute tariff even using Skype Out is usually a couple pennies per minute, versus the multiples higher that traditional carriers charge. Skype-to-Skype calls, of course, are free.

Business class
Does Skype deliver adequate call quality for business? Jerry Morris, founder of VoIP provider NextLevel Internet, sniffs that Skype calls do not have the same audio quality available in managed-VoIP solutions like those offered by his company and other VoIP providers focused specifically on the business market, such as Avaya or Cisco.

That may be true, though Skype vigorously disputes that its quality is deficient. But a reality is that our ears have been retrained by cellular networks to accept low quality audio that 15 years ago we would have loudly protested.

Let’s say call quality is in the ears of the listener and leave it at that.

I ask Skype’s Castle the billion-dollar question: Does Skype itself work on Skype?

He chuckles, “We talk about working at Skype speed — we use Skype extensively. Every aspect of our business is Skype-based. My real-time communication is entirely done through Skype.”

Castle points not just to VoIP, but also to videocalls, videoconferencing, IM’ing within a Skype session — a wide range of services built into the company’s platform. “We have created a more efficient way of working,” says Castle. “That is why we use it.”

Continue Reading

NextLevel Internet Launches NextLevel Voice Portal 3.0

NextLevel Services, NextLevel Voice - August 28, 2013 - 0 Comments

After two years of software development, NextLevel’s voice service expands functionality and enhances ease of use

SAN DIEGO, CA – NextLevel Internet, Inc., a leader in mission-critical Internet access and hosted voice services, today announced the launch of NextLevel Voice Portal 3.0. This new software release increases voice usability and functionality for organizations and end users. Current customers will be seamlessly upgraded to the latest version with all new features free of charge.
NextLevel Voice Portal 3.0 has been in development for nearly two years and is the product of market feedback and new feature requests. It’s an easy to use, highly customizable technology for organizations that are looking for a privately managed voice solution. As a 100 percent hosted solution, NextLevel Voice Portal 3.0 eliminates the requirement to purchase or lease both phone and networking hardware and eliminates costly maintenance and upgrade fees.
“Our hosted voice platform has seen massive success and adoption rates by businesses of all sizes and across most industries,” said Jerry Morris, founder of NextLevel Internet, Inc. “From first responders, to education, to financial services, many companies depend on our hosted platform because of the quality, cost and high availability aspects of the system. NextLevel manages, controls and monitors the private deployment 24/7, so our system is like an on-premise system, only better.”
Some of the features in NextLevel Voice Portal 3.0 include:

  • Flawless voice quality – NextLevel Voice delivers carrier-grade service over a Tier-1 network that is specifically designed to provide exceptional clarity, reliability and redundancy.
  • Completely new user interface – NextLevel Voice Portal 3.0 was redesigned from the ground up. The new, more user-friendly Portal lets administrators and end users manage their phone systems with drag and drop icons, pop-up menus, and intuitive layouts.
  • Visual voicemail and unified messaging – Users can view their complete voicemail history on the NextLevel Voice Portal 3.0. In-browser audio and voicemail-to-email features allow users to easily access all of their messages without having to dial into their extension.
  • Real time call data and charts – Administrators can see detailed analytics for their office or call center environment in real time via easy-to-read graphs. All call data can also be downloaded as a CSV and manipulated into custom formats.
  • Customizable contact lists – Users can import contacts from their address books in either Outlook or Google, create a favorite list, and click to call. NextLevel Voice Portal 3.0 also allows users to see who is on a call and who is available with companywide presence information.
  • Premium features – NextLevel Voice offers businesses feature sets comparable with solutions previously only available to large enterprises, including: Business-Class Voicemail, simple Web-based Administration, Extension Dialing, Conference Bridges, Call Transfer, 3-Way Calling, Call Forwarding, Distinctive Ringing, Multi-Site support, Call Center analytics all with Unlimited Domestic Calling plans available.
  • 24/7 support and service – NextLevel Internet strives to provide world-class service and prides itself on customer retention and satisfaction.

NextLevel Voice Portal 3.0 is available immediately with a seamless roll out to current customers. For organizations that would like to request more information on NextLevel Internet’s business-to-business co-location, Internet, hosted voice, and managed data services, please visit https://www.nextlevelinternet.com.

About NextLevel Internet
Founded in 1999, NextLevel Internet is a business-to-business voice, Internet, co-location, VoIP, and managed data services provider that matches its customers’ needs with the highest quality deliverables and customer service available. The company specializes in providing service to companies whose loss of Internet connection will result in the loss of life, money, or reputation.
NextLevel Internet provides only the best clear channel connectivity direct to a fully redundant Tier 1 Internet backbone with unbeatable value. NextLevel Internet is managed and operated 24/7 by seasoned Internet and data professionals who understand that impeccable service is paramount. Certified engineers (CCNA™, CCNP™, MCSE™) and highly trained personnel handle all client requests from complex design and build-out to simple routing, DNS, IP allocation, router replacement, and tail circuit issues directly and immediately. NextLevel Internet monitors its network connections through its Network Operation Center (NOC) 24x7x365 using active and passive polling systems.
For more information on NextLevel Internet, call 858-836-0703 or visit https://www.nextlevelinternet.com.

Continue Reading
«‹678