Shanyce Watkins

Real-time Inventory with Expert Sourcing

June 30, 2015 by Shanyce Watkins

You were just asked to order a long grocery list of products for your IT network that have a wide variety of functions. As the person responsible for keeping your business or organization’s network up and running, you probably have days where you have to procure everything from cabling to network equipment. From new builds, upgrades, to changing out broken equipment, availability is key to any IT person’s network.

Buying equipment or accessories is not always as simple as going to a website and choosing one item of many from a page. When you are in the purchasing process, you look for reviews and advice from others on what you should buy. Important questions need to be asked: will your network increase in size? Will you be adding devices to your network?

We understand that product selection and availability are essential to serving you well, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to ensure we always have the products you need, whenever you need them. And, to make things even easier, our real-time inventory system lets you know exactly what’s in stock before you order. If we don’t have what you need on hand, or you need more than shown, we’ll do everything we can to have those products to you as quickly as possible with our expert sourcing. We’ve got what you need, as well as great turnaround time on those hard to find products.

As you enter into the last phase of your buying process, the thought of shipping comes to mind. Will it be expensive? How long will it take to get to you? When placing an order, you will be presented with several shipping options. You will also be pleasantly surprised that we offer same-day shipping. Yup, you read that correctly! All expedited orders placed with CablesAndKits by 8:00 pm EST will ship the same day. We understand the value in having the needed products in stock and delivering them to you in a timely fashion.

When you don’t have access to the products you need to keep your business up and running, it can cost hours of time and productivity. The CablesAndKits team is committed to providing the largest possible selection of Cisco equipment and accessories for your business.

Serving Others With Rainbow Village

June 3, 2015 by Shanyce Watkins

Last weekend, CablesAndKits hosted the 3rd Annual Family Fun Day supporting Rainbow Village, a transitional housing community for homeless families with children. Serving Others is a core value that CablesAndKits employees incorporate in their daily lives. The “I’m for you” mentality as well as perpetually seeking ways to assist others embodies the Serve Others mantra.

CablesAndKits provided a circus-themed fun day that included a delicious BBQ meal, a face-painting clown, and a cake walk. Parents and children of all ages participated in the various activities along with our employees’ children. The day was filled with activities such as making origami animals, a ring toss, and they even had the opportunity to test their strength on the high strike.

The main event, however, was the infamous dunk booth, where the fiancé of one of our Customer Support Specialists took a chance with the collapsing seat as the children of Rainbow Village tried their hand at throwing the ball at the target.

We are so thankful for the opportunity to bless these children and their families with a day of fun.

Here are some pictures from CablesAndKits employees who attended the family day:

Save $$ + No Stress = CK’s Deployment Packages

June 1, 2015 by Shanyce Watkins

Cake and ice cream, peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti and meatballs… what do all of these combinations have in common? They are all a match made in heaven, two peas in a pod. Okay, I’m sure you get what I am saying by now, everyone loves a deal—and so does CablesAndKits! Allow us to introduce our deployment bundles, encompassing everything you may need to set up a network or signal at a lesser cost. Just like shampoo and conditioner, we have combined items that we know you will need together to gain its greatest use, and at the best price possible.

Are you a medium to large size business who’s looking for top of the line, upgradeable switches? Well, we’ve got the perfect deployment packages for you! The Cisco 3750X Series 48 Port and the Cisco 3750 Series 48 Port PoE Switch (each of which have their own deployment package available) allow efficiency by giving IT managers the needed support for enterprise applications and advance traffic management.

Cisco 3750-X Deployment Package

The 48 port Cisco 3750-X PoE switch has all the bells and whistles you may ever need to successfully run your medium to large business. The switch can be customized and scaled to support nearly any application, and it also includes StackPower power sharing and StackWise Plus logical port aggregation. StackPower is a power sharing feature in which you can stack all of your switches and manage its common power through a single cable, while StackWise Plus improves the ability to hold up to 9 switches and be manageable under one IP address.

Cisco 3750X Four Port Gigabit Ethernet Network Module, C3KX-NM-1G

This network module offers one Gigabit Ethernet network connection through SFP connectors. Any combination of standard SFP (mini-GBIC) modules are supported on this unit and is also very reliable with a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) of a whopping 5,083,574 hours.

Cisco Original 1000 BASE-SX SFP Module, GLC-SX-MM

The Cisco original, hot swappable, GLC-SX-MM’s provide gigabit up-link capabilities in many Cisco switches, routers and firewalls. These SFP’s, or Small Form-factor Pluggable, devices offer support for 50/125, 62.5/125 and laser optimized 50/125 (OM3) fiber providing the ability to connect, or uplink, switches and other Cisco devices. This flexibility allows users to use existing cable runs in distances up to 550 m on 50/125, 220M on 62.5/125 and 1km over 50/125 OM3 fiber cables.

Cisco StackWise Stacking Cable

Cisco StackWise stacking cables can connect a combination of Catalyst 3750 and 3750-E stackable switches to form a single switching unit. It is designed for Gigabit Ethernet and to allow switch additions, deletions and redeployment without service interruption. You can stack up to nine switches to be united as a single unit with a selected master switch.

Cisco 3750X 715WAC Power Supply

This 715W internal AC power will offer you a backup supply, in case a power supply fails.

Cisco 3750 Series Deployment Package

If you have a midsized business, then the Cisco 3750 Series 48 Port PoE switch will be perfect for you. This switch eases deployment of converged applications and adapts to constant business changes by providing configuration flexibility, support for converged network patterns, and automation of intelligent network-services configurations. This switch is also optimized for high-density Gigabit Ethernet deployments that meet access, aggregation, or small-network backbone-connectivity requirements.

Cisco Original 1000 Base-SX SFP Module

This module can deployed in a “mix-use” environment of single-mode/multi-mode SFP’s and a variety of Cisco GBIC’s providing a flexible and customizable solution to meet the demands of today’s IT infrastructures. These Small Form-factor Pluggable devices offer support for 50/125, 62.5/125 and laser optimized 50/125 (OM3) fiber providing the ability to connect, or uplink, switches and other Cisco devices. This flexibility allows users to use existing cable runs in distances up to 550 m on 50/125, 220M on 62.5/125 and 1km over 50/125 OM3 fiber cables.

Cisco Stackwise Stacking Cable

Cisco Stackwise stacking cables can connect a combination of Catalyst 3750 and 3750-E stackable switches to form a single switching unit. This cable is designed to allow switch additions, deletions and redeployment without service interruption. Stacking allows up to nine switches to be united as a single unit with a selected master switch.

Now we know how much you love bundles, so we’ve created a few more for your use. Check out the rest of our Cisco equipment deployment packages that will assist you in your IT endeavors. All of these packages have you and your pockets in mind, so take advantage of these deals for your company!

FAQ

Is this switch stackable?

Yes, both 3750-X and 3750 Series Switches are stackable with the use of the Stackwise Stacking Cable.

Can I upgrade the Flash or DRAM?

No, you cannot upgrade the Flash or DRAM on either switches.

Is this for small or enterprise office?

The 3750 is great for small or enterprise offices. If you are running a larger enterprise, we would suggest the 3750-X series.

Rethink Refurb

May 18, 2015 by Shanyce Watkins

Refurbished technology has made its mark in the technology field and has left a question in everyone’s mind; should I buy something refurbished? What does refurbished actually mean? Why buy refurbished, if I can buy new?

I’ll admit that I was skeptical of using anything refurbished, but it wasn’t until I understood the quality and warranty that came along with buying refurbished at a cost-effective price.

Let’s take a look at why refurbished Cisco VOIP phones (oh, and other types of equipment) are the way to go:

Quality: It’s practically brand new!

A refurbished product is simply a product that has been gently used and may have some almost unrecognizable wear and tear on it. CablesAndKits assures the quality of each refurbished Cisco VOIP phone, and we pride ourselves on the standard of each product. At times, we receive phones that have a minor defect that our testing technician will inspect and fix to bring it back to brand new standards. Our phone refurbishing process reinforces the quality of each phone that is sold.

Cost Effectiveness: Who doesn’t like to save money?

The average cost savings for a consumer when buying a refurbished product is about 40%. So if you have a phone system upgrade project estimated to cost $10,000, you could’ve budgeted for $6,000 by buying refurbished. Imagine what other projects you could add in the budget with all that extra money! Purchasing refurbished Cisco phones is the answer to getting the biggest bang for your buck and accomplishing your mission of receiving an awesome VOIP phone system for your business.

Lifetime Warranty: Awesome is guaranteed!

We test and certify all Cisco VOIP phones that come from CablesAndKits. With risk-free purchasing and hassle-free returns, awesome is guaranteed. Test out the phones and if you decide they are not right for you, we’ll take them back and refund your money. CablesAndKits will also provide a lifetime advance replacement, just in case your phone experiences a malfunction or failure during the full lifetime of your ownership. Our customer service members will even expedite the shipment so you will not have to worry about an extended downtime.

So, as you can see purchasing refurbished, pre-owned equipment is not scary at all. It has great benefits for your business as well as your “budget and support” sanity. If you still have questions about purchasing refurbished items, shoot us an email or give us a call. We would love to chat with you and find the best solution to meet your needs today.

The Source of our Phone Refurb Power

May 1, 2015 by Shanyce Watkins

Ever wondered what process the refurbished phones go through. We put our phones through an extensive process to refurbish and make new. The phones go through a 4 step process to ensure each phone is up to code and satisfaction.

CablesAndKits takes phones that have been gently cared for in the past and brings them up to speed. The inspection team physically inspects each phone by its physical appearance and its ability to perform its job. Each phone goes through testing and if all is well, they are reset back to factory defaults. If the phone passes its test, it will go to the [Read more…] about The Source of our Phone Refurb Power

5 Ways to Mark Earth Day in your Company

April 22, 2015 by Shanyce Watkins

April 22, 2015 marks the 25^th anniversary of Earth Day, a day we celebrate the birth of the modern environmental movement. Today we celebrate Mother Nature and highlight the different ways we can help save the planet in our daily lives while working for any tech-savvy company.

Here are five steps you can take to help save the Earth and build sustainability into your daily operations:

Switch computers off at the end of the day

Computers should be turned off at the close of business and on weekends to save energy. According to IBM, by telling their employees to turn off their computers for at least one hour each day, can save the company $1 million per year in energy cost.

Use recycled paper and double side Printing

Using recycled paper not only saves trees but it also helps to save energy, water and landfill paper. The recycled paper produces less pollution that is essential for a healthy environment. In efforts to save trees, double side printing will be a great start. By using half the amount of printing paper, you will in turn save some money while being eco-friendly.

Use the Cloud

The cloud is a network of servers that can store all your saved documents and data with accessibility from anywhere. The cloud gives you the capability to share documents with coworkers without having to print. Using the cloud gives you the opportunity to save energy and the earth by reducing the need to print documents.

Source energy efficient servers and VOIP Phones

Brands such as Cisco provide a program named EnergyWise on their products that measure and control energy between the network devices and endpoints. Company’s such as CablesAndKits offer products that are energy efficient to helpful in more than the intended reason.

Use a laptop instead of a desktop computer

Laptops use less power than a desktop. Most desktops consume between 70 and 200 watts while in use, while laptops use between 15 and 60 watts. Laptops tend to use less electricity than a desktop in turns uses less energy.

Many times we overlook the one thing that can be a huge energy drain- our computers. Let’s help out our beautiful world and make a difference!

Did we miss any helpful tips? Comment and let us know or tweet us @cablesandkits using the hashtag #EarthDayatCK