A new partnership tier puts dedicated SASE capacity directly in Matrix Networks' hands, so clients move faster, modernize sooner, and get more out of every Cato deployment. 

 Matrix Networks announced an expansion of our partnership with Cato Networks. The headline is straightforward: Cato has granted us access to the Cato Pooled Bandwidth Partnership, a tier reserved for partners with proven depth in designing, deploying, and operating Cato environments at scale. 

You've got firewalls. You've got endpoint protection. You've probably got a compliance framework you can wave at auditors and a patch cadence that felt reasonable the last time you benchmarked it. But here's the question worth sitting with: if the threat environment your security program is built around doesn't exist anymore, would your program know?

You've got backups. You've got firewalls. You've probably got a drawer full of vendor promises that everything will be fine. But here's the question nobody wants to sit with: if your entire environment went dark tomorrow morning, do you actually know what happens next? 

Every day, your business relies on a technology that most people never see and only notice when it fails. That technology is DNS, or Domain Name Service, often referred to as the “phone book of the Internet.” It’s a foundational system that allows users to access websites, send emails, and connect to cloud services without memorizing IP addresses.

At Matrix Networks, we believe that understanding DNS isn’t just for network engineers, it’s for every IT leader looking to build resilient, secure, and high-performing infrastructure. DNS may be invisible most of the time, but the moment it goes down, everything else grinds to a halt.

For more than two decades, IT professionals have heard the same message: IPv6 is coming. Yet, despite being standardized in 1998, IPv6 adoption has been slow and inconsistent. Many organizations still operate comfortably in an IPv4 world, even as address exhaustion, rising device counts, and cloud-first architectures push the limits of legacy networking.

At Matrix Networks, we see IPv6 not as a distant goal but as a necessary step in building a scalable, secure, and future-ready infrastructure. Whether you manage a global WAN, a hybrid data center, or a distributed enterprise network, IPv6 readiness will determine how resilient and adaptable your environment will be in the years ahead.

When Wi-Fi works, nobody thinks about it. When it doesn’t, suddenly every complaint comes your way. The reality is, poor wireless performance is usually not caused by a lack of bandwidth or bad hardware. It’s the result of misconfigured access points, interference, or flawed design. Optimizing Wi-Fi starts with understanding what’s really happening in the RF air-space around your users.

Let’s walk through what a properly tuned wireless environment looks like, how to detect what’s wrong, and how to fix it.

When it comes to designing or upgrading a network, one of the first questions IT teams face is whether to use copper or fiber cabling. The answer? It depends on distance, speed requirements, budget, and sometimes even what’s already in place. But understanding the strengths and limits of each option is key to making the right choice for your infrastructure.

This post breaks it all down: copper categories, fiber types, optics, connectors, and even a few of those small but critical gotchas that can make or break your deployment.

As we find ourselves in the throes of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, this analogy seems fitting. In hockey, the greats don’t chase the puck, they skate to where it’s going. The same applies to IT leaders navigating today’s AI landscape. Too many teams are being pulled into the AI conversation late, reacting to executive mandates or vendor hype rather than setting the strategic direction. The result? Disconnected tools, unclear goals, and missed opportunities.

It’s time for IT to stop chasing the puck, and start owning the play.

Mitel filing for bankruptcy (march 10th 2025) marks a significant moment in the communications industry. While the full impact of this development is still uncertain, it does raise important questions about the future of Mitel solutions, ongoing support, and long-term viability. 

In a recent interview with Matrix Networks' Senior Network Engineer Brian Thompson, we asked him to explain how the Internet works. He provided an explanation on the intricacies of how the internet functions. This deep dive into the digital infrastructure is especially relevant for any tech enthusiast or professional aiming to improve their understanding of internet operations and network connectivity. 

This year is Matrix Networks 40th anniversary. To commemorate four decades of technological innovation and growth, we wanted to sit down with the founder, David Ness, whose vision and leadership were pivotal from the very beginning. Our interview with David was not only a look back at the challenges and victories but also a vivid portrayal of the personality and principles that have shaped Matrix Networks into the company it is today.

We hope you enjoy the insights and anecdotes of this engaging interview with David Ness, where we learned more about the people and technology that propelled Matrix Networks from a modest venture in David’s garage to a successful company supporting business technology solutions across the U.S.

Securing your network infrastructure is crucial—there’s no room for shortcuts. The same devices and setups that keep your network running can become vulnerabilities if they aren’t managed correctly. From verifying hardware authenticity to using better credential practices, strong infrastructure security comes down to careful management and following best practices.

We’ll cover the essential steps to strengthen your network security, sharing lessons learned from real-world audits and onboarding experiences.

In this article, we’ll delve into the successful strategies we've employed with our clients, explore why network segmentation is crucial, and review the solutions that have proven effective in various environments. Let's get started by understanding what network segmentation is and why it's essential.

Mitel's announcement regarding the End-of-Life (EOL) of the ShoreTel/MiVoice Connect (premise PBX) is now widely known. In this announcement, Mitel stated that these systems will be supported through 2029, a statement that has caused confusion among many ShoreTel Administrators and business owners who depend on their ShoreTel phone systems. While it may seem like there is ample time until 2029, at Matrix Networks, we are already encountering significant challenges in supporting these systems. This indicates that the time for transition is now.

In a world where 80% of consumers anticipated improved customer service during the pandemic, the quest for a more human touch in customer interactions has never been more critical. As businesses race to meet these evolving expectations, the focus often shifts heavily towards digital transformation, sometimes overlooking the vital human element that 75% of customers crave. This is where Matrix Networks steps in, bridging the gap between technology and the cherished human connection, enhancing not only customer satisfaction but also your business value. 

In this final blog post of our series on the crazy ways businesses in 2023 have lost internet (and what to do to help safeguard yourself), we'll delve into some truly unexpected scenarios with reasons ranging from Taiwanize ships to angry beavers, and explore how investing in SD-WAN can ensure reliable and secure internet connectivity for your organization no matter what the crazy reason is.

Welcome back to part 2 of our blog series on real-life scenarios where organizations faced unexpected internet outages. In our previous post, we shared some humorous and frustrating stories, including an RV fire and a tractor-trailer accident causing internet outages. But as IT administrators, we know that internet disruptions can happen in various ways, and the impact can be significant. 

The spinning wheel of death is something nobody wants to see during their workday, whether you're a CEO, Director of IT, or a first-week intern. But what happens when it's not just your personal connection that's down, but the entire internet?

In today's Internet first world, prioritizing cybersecurity is essential for businesses of all sizes. Implementing a Zero Trust Network Access strategy is a crucial aspect of robust security, and network segmentation plays a vital role in achieving Zero Trust. In this article, we'll discuss the importance of network segmentation for Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and how Matrix Networks can help you achieve it using Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and Network Access Control (NAC). 

In today's fast-paced business world, efficient communication is crucial to success. Choosing the right Unified Communications (UC) or Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solution is just the first step. Proper deployment and implementation of your new phone system can make all the difference between a seamless experience and a world of frustration. That's where Matrix Networks' Concierge Service comes in, offering professional deployment and support to ensure your cloud phone solution exceeds expectations.

There is a lot of discussion and marketing of IVA’s (Intelligent Virtual Assistants/Agents) and when you read it at first you ask yourself what’s the big deal? This is not new-- this stuff has been around for a number of years. People associate IVAs with chatbots, speech recognition IVR (Intelligent Voice Response) and/or AA (Auto Attendants). Many times, they are influenced by negative experiences with these applications. In this article, you will learn the basics of where this technology has come from and where we are headed in the future as we leapfrog traditional IVA and enter the world of Virtual Assistance-Employee-Agent 2.0.

Everything you need to know about migrating from ShoreTel to RingCentral. Current RingCentral promotions for making the move, a live demonstration of RingCentral, and client testimonials who have successfully made the move themselves.

SAN DIEGO, Calif., Feb. 1, 2022 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) (AP NEWSWIRE)— Matrix Networks announced its recent acquisition of LANtelligence to create a new business venture enabling a powerful combination of modern business technology.

We humans have a tendency to make decisions based on what we’re most comfortable with. Because I rarely go out to restaurants, whenever I do, I choose only those dishes that I know are good. I don’t want to be dissatisfied on a rare trip to one of my favorite restaurants. I also know the best route home from that restaurant, and I likely won’t take a different path – unless, of course, there is an accident.

My dad got a new set of golf clubs a few years ago, which was big for him. As a traditionalist, he had a hard time moving on from his wooden clubs that he learned to play with in high school, so upgrading to a new set was pivotal.

We’ve all been there. Sitting at our workspace, wondering why all these programs we’re working with can’t work together. According to Kyle Holmes, CEO of Matrix Networks, the average employee in the US uses at least eight different applications in their day-to-day tasks. Small companies average around 40 apps to conduct business while larger companies can range in the hundreds. So many apps create a lot of touchpoints for information gathering, and workplace efficiency is threatened by lagging databases and challenging security risks.

If you were asked a year ago, “What will 2020 be like?” few could imagine the reality. The grim truths of COVID, the protests for racial reckoning, and the most significant economic downturn since the Great Depression would have you guessing the apocalypse had come. Indeed, these are difficult times, but Leo Howell, the CISO at the University of Oregon, highlights the opportunities inherent in such tumultuous times for businesses and IT professionals to introduce disruptive technology and increase buy-in from sometimes reticent stakeholders.

As many aspiring baseballers can attest, hitting a curveball is hard. The bigger the curve, the harder it is to hit it. Hitters must see it as soon as possible and adjust their swing to make clean contact.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a huge curveball, affecting many aspects of our lives. From potential unemployment to our health, we have all been forced to adapt to ensure our families are as safe and as happy as possible. At home and in public, we are diligent to stifle contagion by social distancing, wearing masks, and avoiding large gatherings.