TBL Networks

TBL in Tech Elite 250 Again

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 07:22:43 -0500

Third Annual List recognizes TBL Networks’ deep technical expertise and premier certifications

TBL Networks announced today it has been named to CRN’s third annual list of the Tech Elite 250. Companies on the 2013 Tech Elite 250 list represent an elite group of IT Solution Providers that have invested in the training and education needed to earn the most technical certifications in the IT Channel.

In compiling the list, CRN editors worked with the UBM Tech Channel research group and a team of outside experts to define the most customer-beneficial technical certifications in the IT channel. These technical certifications have enabled solution providers to deliver the most premium products, service and support to their North American customers.

“TBL Networks is very honored to be named to CRN’s 2013 Tech Elite 250,” said Alan Sears, President and CEO of TBL Networks, Inc. “This recognition reflects our dedication to providing our clients with business-relavant technology solutions and unmatched customer service.”

TBL Networks’ dedication to training and certifications were instrumental in their selection. Founded by three Cisco Voice CCIEs, TBL’s staff also includes the only VMware VCDX in Central Virginia, in addition to two 2012 VMware vExperts. TBL Networks is a Cisco Certified Gold Partner, a VMware Enterprise Solutions Provider, an EMC Premier Velocity Partner, and a VCE Vblock Qualified Partner.

“The 2013 Tech Elite 250 list recognizes an exclusive group of solution providers that have invested in training and technical know-how to help their customers understand the benefits of some of the most sophisticated technology deployments in the market – and have shown a dedication to helping customers innovate while reducing costs,” said Kelley Damore, Senior Vice President, Editorial Director at UBM Tech Channel. “By identifying and adapting to the skills and training needed to best serve today’s customers, members of the Tech Elite 250 have proven their commitment to delivering the products and services that today’s customers value most.”

A sample of CRN’s 2013 “Tech Elite 250” list is featured in the February issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.crn.com.

About TBL Networks, Inc.
TBL Networks is about moving forward with innovative technology. With over 60 years of combined technical expertise, we empower clients’ collaboration, virtualization and data centers to do more with less. TBL delivers these advanced solutions directly where it counts the most – the desktop. Building secure and reliable solutions that introduce efficiencies in human interaction is how we see the future. Let us take you there at www.theblinkylight.com.

Cisco Recognizes TBL Networks with Customer Satisfaction Excellence

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:14:12 -0500

Cisco Systems is pleased to recognize and congratulate TBL Networks, Inc. for achieving Cisco Channel Customer Satisfaction Excellence.

Customer Satisfaction Excellence is the highest distinction a partner can achieve within the Cisco Channel Partner Program. TBL Networks, Inc. will be recognized for Customer Satisfaction Excellence in the Cisco Partner Locator with a special star indicator representing its achievement. Customers, Cisco personnel and partners will be able to identify TBL Networks, Inc. as having achieved outstanding customer satisfaction as part of Cisco’s worldwide assessment process.

Channel Customer Satisfaction Excellence assessment is based upon the customer satisfaction results captured in the Cisco Partner Access Online tool. Each quarter, Cisco will acknowledge Certified Partners that have the highest customer satisfaction distinction within each geographic region.

Customer Satisfaction Excellence is a core value Cisco and TBL Networks, Inc. share and a key driver of current and future success. Cisco thanks TBL Networks, Inc. for their commitment to the success of their customers.

TBL Lunch & Learn - Review of Cisco Collaboration 9.1

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 19:42:31 -0500

Wednesday, January 30th at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse

Join us for lunch to learn more about the recently released version 9.1 of Cisco Collaboration technologies.

Topics:

New Features of CUCM 9.1
Licensing Implications - “The Death of the DLU”
Upgrade Path to Version 9.1
Appliance to Virtual Machine Updates
Mobile Collaboration/Jabber Overview

Who should attend:
Anyone interested in how to transform your organization with the latest in communication, collaboration, and video solutions.
Maximum of two attendees per organization.

Agenda
11:30 AM - Registration
11:35 AM - Order Lunch
12:00 PM - Discussion with Patrick
1:30 PM - Event Close

Register Today at

http://tbl-cisco-collab91-richmond-eorg.eventbrite.com/

4th Annual Virtual Open Golf Tournament

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 13:20:30 -0500

Who plays golf in February? We do! TBL Networks has cracked the code on successful golf in February, just like we design and implement successful virtualization strategies for our clients. Wear your best golf attire to complete the experience. No coats, sweaters, or rain gear will be necessary. Food and drink will be provided throughout your round of golf. Finally, it’s completely free!

In addition, TBL will be making a donation for the event to benefit CJ’s Thumbs Up Foundation, a local non-profit that raises funds to assist families of children with chronic and life threatening illnesses.

To register for the event, please click HERE.

When:
Friday, February 8th: 1PM – 5 PM

Where:
TBL Networks Office: 1801 Bayberry Court, Suite 202, Richmond, VA 23226

How:
Wii Golf Foursomes
Shotgun Start, Two Heats

Entry: $0 – Just come have fun!

Prizes:
Top 3 Finishers
Longest Drive
Closest to the Pin
Longest Put

Going Mobile

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 08:28:48 -0500

Posted by Steve Glissman

As the year comes to a close, I realized that I had not accomplished one of my personal goals – working more references to legendary rock band The Who into my blog. I had pondered blending references to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) with Who song titles (potential candidates included “My BYOD Generation,” “BYOD O’Reily,” and my personal favorite – “You
BYOD, You Bet.”), but I could never pull the trigger.

Fortunately, Mary Meeker’s December 2012 Internet Trends Update rescued me from pushing the limits of taste and puns. This year’s report highlighted the tremendous progress of mobile and potential for further growth in the near future.

TBL Client Golf Invitational: The Club at Viniterra on 10/24

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 09:56:52 -0400

The TBL team would like to formally invite you to participate in our 1^st Client Golf Invitational. It will be held at the best new course in Central Virginia, The Club at Viniterra. Hosted by your TBL sales team, the event will be kicked off with a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy session led by Cisco Collaboration experts, followed by warm-ups, and then a great round of golf. Breakfast and a boxed lunch with be provided, and beverages will be available throughout your round of golf.

So come out and participate in TBL’s 1^st Client Golf Invitational Tournament.

We hope to see you there!

When:
Wednesday October 24^th, 2012

7:30 AM Registration

8:00 AM BYOD Presentation

9:00 AM Warm-up

9:30 AM Shot Gun Start

2:00 PM Awards and Refreshments

Where:
The Club at Viniterra: 8400 Old Church Road, New Kent, VA 23124

How:
Golf Foursomes
Shotgun Start

Entry: $0 – Just come have fun!

Prizes:
Top 3 Finishers
Longest Drive
Closest to the Pin
Longest Put

TBL Networks Ranked 1100 on the 2012 Inc. 5000

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 17:25:12 -0400

Richmond, VA, August 23, 2012 – Inc. magazine has ranked TBL Networks, Inc. number 1100 on its Inc. 5000 list, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy — America’s independent entrepreneurs. This is TBL’s second straight year of being recognized on the prestigious list.

TBL Networks is a major source of expertise for the technology sector in Central Virginia. Earlier this year, TBL Networks was named to the 12^th spot of Virginia’s Fantastic 50 and included on CRN’s Tech Elite 250 channel partner list. TBL’s CEO was recognized as one of Richmond’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2011. TBL Networks is the only technology integrator in Virginia with four Cisco Voice CCIEs, employs Central Virginia’s only VMware VCDX, and had two engineers recognized as 2012 VMware vExperts.

TBL Networks has experienced remarkable expansion in the marketplace, with a three-year sales growth of 289% that earned them their ranking. “It is an honor for TBL Networks to be recognized by Inc. two years in a row,” said TBL President and CEO Alan Sears. “This award is a testament to the hard work and expertise of our team of employees. Their dedication to providing exceptional customer service to our clients is a major component of our success.”

In a stagnant economic environment, median growth rate of 2012 Inc. 5000 companies remains an impressive 97 percent. The companies on this year’s list report having created over 400,000 jobs in the past three years, and aggregate revenue among the honorees reached $299 billion.

The 2012 Inc. 5000 was unveiled on the company’s website at http://www.inc.com/inc5000/list/2012.

About Inc.
Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures, Inc. is the only major brand dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies, with the aim to deliver real solutions for today’s innovative company builders. Total monthly audience reach for the brand has grown significantly from 2,000,000 in 2010 to over 6,000,000 today.

Two Years of Cancer Research

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 08:08:23 -0400

On July 1, 2010 TBL Networks began a partnership with the World Community Grid. The World Community Grid allows organizations with idle compute capacity to donate it for use in research projects ranging from cancer research to clean energy. When idle, a member computer will request data on a specific project from World Community Grid’s server, and perform computations on this data, sending the results back to the server, and then ask the server for new work. Each computation that a computer performs provides scientists with critical information that accelerates the pace of human discovery. In 2010, TBL Networks fired up a 40 machine Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environment using VMware View on our Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) dual B-series blade farm and dedicated all of those machines’ computing power to find a cure for cancer.

On our first anniversary, we reported that the 365 days of donated capacity had resulted in 18 years, 352 days and 6 hours of computing power.

Building the Case for Corporate Video Collaboration

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 07:56:05 -0400

Posted by Alan Sears

Video technology has evolved over the past ten years to allow people to communicate and collaborate better in both their personal and professional lives. Applications like Skype or Facetime are useful for adding a video element to remote conversations with your friends and family. But the requirements by businesses for lifelike and interactive systems are driving the development and adoption of more robust solutions for connecting with internal and external stakeholders.

The latest high-definition video systems enable real-time communication while also bringing a personal level of interaction through face-to-face conversation. Video collaboration or telepresence technologies provide an efficient solution for training sessions, meetings and collaboration across geographical boundaries. Organizations of all sizes have realized that they can deploy these technologies within their existing network infrastructure to help quickly influence growth and success.

Is It Time for a Private Cloud?

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:21:18 -0400

Posted by Alan Sears

You probably remember from my recent post on What “The Cloud” Means to Your Company that there are both public clouds and private clouds. We defined private clouds are resources shared by one organization. More specifically, private clouds offer dedicated server space that is hosted either internally or externally. The platform can be managed in-house or a third party can support and maintain the hardware and applications.

A private cloud provides your company with a pool of IT resources that can be allocated across departments. This allows you to quickly and easily deploy services based on the needs of your employees. The old process of buying a new server to support the requirements of a specific business unit has been replaced with a system that allows you to create virtual servers and carve out the necessary resources to support your team.

Increase Employee Engagement with Cisco Quad

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 21:43:08 -0400

Posted by Alan Sears

Collaboration is changing the way businesses operate. As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts it helps increase productivity, improve teamwork and enable decision making. Smart organizations have embraced collaborative technologies to connect and build relationships with prospects, clients and partners. But they are also realizing that these technologies can be used to improve engagement with and between their employees.

The workplace is dramatically shifting due to the adoption of mobility, changing workforce demographics and application delivery options. Employees are becoming more comfortable with social media and virtual interaction in the course of conducting business. And the latest mobile devices and applications have left all of your stakeholders expecting to conduct business through their preferred means.

What “The Cloud” Means to Your Company

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:36:08 -0400

Posted by Alan Sears

There has been plenty of buzz about “The Cloud” over the past few years. The hype seems to have peaked recently with companies buying TV ads to highlight the benefits to consumers. For a price you can now access all of your personal content like music, documents and photos remotely. In addition, you can sync up your information between mobile devices and home based-based networks through intermediary technologies known as “The Cloud.”

But what does that mean for your company?

First, it is helpful to understand what The Cloud actually is.

TBL Networks named to the 2012 Virginia Chamber of Commerce Fantastic 50

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:10:35 -0400

Richmond, VA, April 27, 2012—The Virginia Chamber announced TBL Networks as one of fifty of the fastest growing Virginia companies at the seventeenth annual Virginia’s Fantastic 50 Awards Banquet on April 26 at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly. Nearly 400 attendees at the ceremony saluted the winners for their entrepreneurial success and contribution to Virginia’s economy. The evening’s keynote speaker, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, gave an inspirational address recognizing the pivotal role of small businesses and entrepreneurs in growing Virginia’s economy.

To be eligible, a company must be privately held with headquarters in Virginia, show sales between $200,000 and $100 million, and demonstrate positive revenue growth and positive net income in its most recent fiscal year over the previous year. Companies are judged on four-year sales revenue history. The professional service firm Dixon Hughes Goodman verifies all award entries.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the Virginia economy, creating jobs and opportunity across the Commonwealth, said Virginia Chamber president and CEO Barry DuVal. “We are proud to recognize the achievements of our entrepreneurs at the Fantastic 50 banquet.”

TBL Networks is a major source of expertise for the technology sector in Central Virginia. In 2010, TBL Networks was named Collaboration Partner of the Year for Cisco’s East Area as well as RichTech’s Emerging Company of the Year. Last year, TBL Networks was ranked 406 on the 2011 Inc. 500 list. Recently, TBL was named to CRN magazine’s Tech Elite 250 list for 2012. TBL Networks is the only technology integrator in Virginia with four Cisco Voice CCIEs, employs the area’s only VMware VCDX, and had two engineers recognized as 2012 VMware vExperts.

“On behalf of TBL Networks, I am honored to accept the award for the Virginia Chamber’s Fantastic 50,” said Dan Griles, Sales Manager of TBL Networks. “This distinction reflects TBL’s commitment to offer the best information technology solutions to small and medium businesses, while delivering the highest level of customer service.”

About the Award
Virginia’s FANTASTIC 50 award program is a signature event of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. The FANTASTIC 50 awards recognize leading businesses across the Commonwealth in all types of industries, and are the only statewide awards of this type in Virginia. Nominations for the 2012 FANTASTIC 50 were sought last fall from local chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and through the sponsors’ networks; companies may also nominate themselves.

Embracing Technology to Support Collaboration

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:28:27 -0400

Posted by Alan Sears

Collaboration is critical to an organization’s success. It helps drive innovation, improve customer service and support a communicative corporate culture. How you embrace technology will help define the impact of collaboration on your employees and your customer base.

To that point our partner Cisco offers an entire suite of collaboration tools that help improve engagement with all of your stakeholders. These include Collaboration Applications, Customer Collaboration, TelePresence and Unified Communications. Their products will help your team make decisions, solve problems, reduce costs and accelerate time to market. In addition, their solutions offer the flexibility to accommodate new developments as your needs evolve and help protect existing IT investments related to their technologies.

Collaboration Applications like WebEx can help add an online component to your capabilities. The application brings voice, video, and web conferencing capabilities individuals spread out at different locations. It can be used for real-time communication for meetings, sales, training, customer support and events. WebEx conferencing solutions will also help optimize the IT resources you already have in place as they are delivered through the SaaS model to support easy implementation and scaleability throughout your organization.

Two TBL Data Center Solutions Engineers Named vExperts 2012

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:09:43 -0400

TBL Networks is very proud to announce that two of our Data Center Solutions Engineers, Sean Crookston and Harley Stagner, have been named as vExperts for the second year in a row by VMware. Sean and Harley received this designation as recognition of their contributions to the VMware, virtualization, and cloud computing communities.

According to VMware, “the vExperts are people who have gone above and beyond their day jobs in their contributions to the virtualization and VMware user community. vExperts are the bloggers, the book authors, the VMUG leaders, the tool builders and town criers, the tinkerers and speakers and thinkers who are moving us all forward as an IT industry.”

TBL Networks Solutions Engineer Sean Crookston also has the title of VMware Certified Advanced Professional in Data Center Administration (VCAP-DCA). Sean is only the 47thperson worldwide to achieve this elite virtualization certification.

TBL Networks Solutions Engineer Harley Stagner is the only VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX) in Central Virginia, and just the 46th person worldwide to hold this title. The VCDX is the highest certification available from VMware.

Congratulations again to Sean Crookston and Harley Stagner – vExperts again in 2012.

TBL Network earns Cisco Advanced Data Center Architecture Specialization

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:31:55 -0400

Cisco announced today that TBL Networks, Inc. has met the requirements and criteria necessary to earn the Cisco Advanced Data Center Architecture Specialization, the pinnacle data center partner certification available from Cisco.

Achieving the Cisco Data Center Architecture Specialization demonstrates a partner’s expert knowledge in selling, designing, installing, and supporting the Cisco Unified Data Center Architecture, a complete platform for delivering IT as a service within an organization. Cisco’s Unified Data Center includes products and solutions in three critical areas: Unified Management, Unified Fabric, and Unified Computing. Cisco avoids the complexity of a converged infrastructure through an innovative data center architecture designed specifically to support virtualization in the data center. Cisco Unified Data Center provides outstanding performance across physical and virtualized resources, cost efficiency through elimination of silos and simplification of deployment and operating tasks, fast deployment of a highly secure, proven infrastructure to support new business initiatives, and a broad range of storage, virtualization, application, and management alliance partners.

“TBL Networks is extremely proud to be recognized as a Cisco Advanced Data Center Architecture Specialized Partner,” said Alan Sears, President and CEO of TBL Networks, Inc. “This certification not only recognizes our success in delivering unmatched solutions through the most talented expertise in Central Virginia, but also recognizes our commitment to providing our clients with outstanding customer service.”

TBL Networks is home to Central Virginia’s only VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX) and two EMC Technical Architects. In 2011, two TBL data center engineers were recognized as 2011 VMware vExperts.

About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

Learn, Communicate, Collaborate & Grow with Digital Video

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:31:20 -0400

Posted by Alan Sears

Corporate use of video has become increasingly popular over the past few years. Businesses are embracing it to promote their offerings to customers, train their workforce and increase visibility for their organization. If implemented effectively this platform provides an additional channel to connect with your stakeholders. If it isn’t rolled out strategically or by a strong business partner it just becomes an investment in technology that is underutilized.

Cisco has done a good job of addressing the need for enterprise video with their Digital Media Suite. The offering includes a comprehensive suite of webcasting and video sharing applications. Specific resources like Digital Signage, Cast and Show and Share can help transform how organizations learn, communicate, collaborate and grow.

CJ’s Thumbs Up Foundation: An Exclusive Club

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:09:23 -0500

TBL Networks is proud to present guest blogger Rachel Reynolds, Executive Director at CJSTUF.

Many of you belong to clubs. Some of those clubs were easy to join. You just had to sign up, pay some small annual dues, and enjoy the benefits of membership. Other clubs are more exclusive: the country club, the garden club, fraternal organizations. All of these clubs carry with them a common cause, a sense of belonging, and a certain set of privileges for membership.

On January 20, 2009, our family joined an exclusive club in which nobody wants membership. That was the day our daughter Charlotte was diagnosed with cancer. We became one of the many families affected by chronic and life threatening illness.

Each school day, 47 families nationwide join this club when a child is diagnosed with cancer. Each day, up to 75 children seek treatment on the 7^th floor of Children’s Hospital of Richmond at MCV. Many of these children are frequent flyers, making multiple visits every year and requiring care for illnesses such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, tumors, leukemia, other types of cancer, and complications due to HIV.

The dues in this club are steep. They include draining of emotional energy, sleeplessness, medical bills, financial hardship due to job loss or a leave of absence from work and excessive weight gain (or loss). Sometimes, you pay the ultimate price: the life of your child.

At CJ’s Thumbs Up Foundation, our primary goal is to help the families who have joined this club. In a way, we help pay their dues. In our first two years, we provided over $30,000 in financial assistance to over 60 families. This year, we are poised to do the same. Unfortunately, membership in the club continues to grow. CJSTUF currently has a waiting list of families requesting financial assistance and we do not expect this demand to wane.

When individuals and businesses like TBL Networks support CJSTUF with their financial contribution, they help families pay their dues to a club they never wanted to join. With your contribution, you help Roger and I pay forward the kindness that we received during our darkest hours in 2009. With your contribution, you can help a family in your own community in their time of need.

If you would like to know more about our organization, visit our website for information on how to get involved. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook or hook into our blog for the latest updates.

TBL Networks Named to CRN’s 2012 List of Tech Elite 250

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:50:00 -0500

Second Annual List recognizes TBL’s deep technical expertise and premier certifications

TBL Networks announced today it has been named to CRN’s second annual list of the Tech Elite 250. Companies on the 2012 Tech Elite 250 list represent an elite group of IT Solution Providers that have invested in the training and education needed to earn the most technical certifications in the IT Channel.

In compiling the list, CRN editors worked with the UBM Channel research group and a team of outside experts to define the most customer-beneficial technical certifications in the IT channel. These technical certifications have enabled solution providers to deliver the most premium products, service and support to their North American customers.

“TBL Networks is very honored to be named to CRN’s 2012 Tech Elite 250,” said Alan Sears, President and CEO of TBL Networks, Inc. “This recognition is especially appreciated as it reflects our dedication to providing our clients with impactful technology solutions and unmatched customer service.”

TBL Networks’ dedication to training and certifications were instrumental in their selection. Founded by three Cisco Voice CCIEs, TBL’s staff also includes the only VMware VCDX in Central Virginia, in addition to two 2011 VMware vExperts. TBL Networks is a Cisco Certified Gold Partner, a VMware Enterprise Solutions Provider, an EMC Premier Velocity Partner, and a VCE Vblock Qualified Partner.

“The 2012 Tech Elite 250 list recognizes an exclusive group of Solution Providers that have shown a dedication to helping customers innovate while reducing costs,” said Kelley Damore, Vice President, Editorial Director at UBM Channel. “By identifying and adapting to the skills and training needed to best serve today’s customers, members of the Tech Elite 250 have proven their commitment to delivering the products and services that today’s end-users value most.”

A sample of CRN’s 2012 “Tech Elite 250” list is featured in the February issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.crn.com.

TBL 3rd Annual Virtual Open Golf Tournament

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:11:37 -0500

On February 10th, TBL Networks brought the thrills of playing TPC Sawgrass, including the legendary 17th hole , right inside our headquarters here in Richmond, Virginia. With this help of our friends and the power of Nintendo Wii, TBL Networks hosted our 3rd Annual Virtual Open Golf Tournament.

In addition to great climate controlled golf, our tournament featured live demonstrations of TBL’s solutions, including a live leader board powered by Cisco WebEx, our Cisco TelePresence 1100 rooms, a demonstration of the EMC VNX line and the future of VDI powered by VMware. In addition, we were able to show the intersection of VMware, Cisco and EMC in the converged infrastructure of VCE’s Vblock.