Volume 18 | July 30th, 2020
CARES ACT Update: Incorporating "The Retail Glitch" into your network infrastructure upgrades.

Hello Greetings!

This week’s newsletter and Granite business update is a very significant update related to Covid-19 and the 2020 Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Stability (CARES) Act.

The so-called “ Retail Glitch ” refers to an oversight in 2017 tax reform legislation that treated qualified improvement property as non-residential real property, ineligible for bonus depreciation. Per tax experts (see links below), the CARES Act allows businesses to take advantage of the 100% bonus depreciation on eligible improvement property through 2022.
Our carrier relations and regulatory teams within Granite have digested this complex legislation for you.

They have come up with an example scenario of cash savings based on infrastructure and technology improvements. Please bear in mind that the example is hypothetical and not intended as tax or legal advice.

However, based on our team’s experience working with retailers and other businesses affected by the pandemic, it is a good sample scenario that might be worth looking into while involving your finance or tax teams. 

The bottom line is that applying this deduction will allow you to bring the NET Project cost in year one of any infrastructure investment down by up to 20% .
QUALIFIED FACILITIES FOR FULL DEDUCTION

Qualified Improvement Properties (QIP)
• Retail space, restaurants & hospitality companies
• Hospitals, healthcare facilities & laboratories
• Factories, warehouses and plants
• Office buildings
• Logistics facilities
• Any other non-residential property

Return on Investment

We have worked with many of our customers on network infrastructure optimization and upgrades, such as SD-WAN technology.

These provide a Return on Investment (ROI) that your business typically recuperates within 3 to 18 months. By incorporating the “ Retail Glitch ” tax strategy and applying the increased deductions, your business might benefit from incremental ROI.

Please reach out to me directly to schedule a conversation with our Legal team and our Cost and Savings team to analyze and provide guidance on this potential infrastructure strategy.


Sincerely,



Raul


Raul Medina, Relationship Development Manager
P:  617-890-6782
M:  617-953-3070
Additional Informational Tax Resources
CARES Act ‘Retail Glitch’ Fix: Claiming the Bonus Depreciation
 
CARES ACT Update: IRS Details How to Benefit the Fix to the Retail Glitch

The “retail glitch” is finally fixed — and it applies to non-retail commercial properties too

Granite Achieves Cisco Premier Certified Partner Status
Communications Company Also Earns Specializations in Cloud, Managed Services, SD-WAN, Collaboration, SaaS, Webex and More
 
QUINCY, Mass. – July 15, 2020 –  Granite Telecommunications , LLC, a $1.5 billion provider of communications services to multi-location businesses and government agencies, announced today that it has become a Cisco Premier Certified Partner along with five other designations that recognize Granite’s expertise in deploying solutions based on Cisco’s advance technologies and services.
 
Granite was awarded these prestigious designations following a rigorous third-party audit, which validated Granite’s technology skills, business practices, customer satisfaction, presales and post-sales support capabilities, as well as other critical factors that customers consider when choosing a trusted partner.
 
“For some time now, Granite has invested heavily in its partnership with Cisco, committing technology, talent and time required to be a premier provider of Cisco-powered products and services,” said Rand Currier, COO of Granite. “We’re pleased to earn designations for multiple Cisco services and disciplines, which will give our business and government clients an extra measure of confidence in choosing Granite as their managed communications provider.”
 
Granite’s new Cisco designations include:
·           Premier Certified Partner
·           Cloud and Managed Services Advanced with Cisco-Powered Meraki SD-WAN
·           U.S. Federal Authorization
·           Collaboration SaaS Authorization
·           Cisco Webex Calling Partner
·           Express Specialization in Collaboration
 
These achievements recognize Granite’s ability to sell, procure, configure, maintain and support cloud and managed services to both commercial businesses and government organizations.
 
About Granite
Granite delivers one-stop communications solutions to multilocation businesses and government agencies throughout the United States and Canada. The $1.5 billion company serves more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100 companies in the United States and has 1.75 million voice and data lines under management. Granite launched in 2002 and grew quickly by helping businesses to simplify sourcing and management of local and long distance phone services with one point of contact and one invoice for all their office locations nationwide. Today, Granite is the leader in aggregating Plain Old Telephone Services (POTS), and has extended its unique value proposition – “one company, one contact, one bill” – to include a range of advance business communications services, including Internet access, SD-WAN, wireless WAN, hosted PBX, SIP trunking, mobile voice and data, mobile device management, managed security, network integration and much more. Granite employs more than 2,100 people at its headquarters in Quincy, Mass., and nine regional offices. For more information, visit  www.granitenet.com .
 
Cisco and the Cisco logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems Inc. in the United States and certain other countries.
Granite's "WAN" size fits all needs approach
North America’s Choice for SD-WAN



Today I am sharing a video that will help you understand our Granite “WAN” Size Fits all approach for SD-WAN Technology

What does it mean?

It means that Granite has the largest and most diverse selection of access products, which includes:

  • Mobility
  • Broadband
  • Dedicated Internet
  • and much more

These products can be delivered with industry-leading SD-WAN technologies from
  • Fortinet
  • Cisco 
  • vmware

Granite can deploy these solutions anywhere in North America, and we are continually adding new technologies.

With 24/7 monitoring, automated alerting, and proactive remediation, Granite’s US-based team, can provide technical assistance into your existing solution or build one to your specifications while managing it end to end.

In today’s evolving business landscape, It is more important to choose a partner that gives you the flexibility and reliability that Granite Guardian’s WAN Optimization platform can provide.
To ensure that you have the BEST Network solution and support for your business and your budget.

Let us be your choice for your WAN size fits all needs .

RAPID SIP Deployment
in 24 to 48 hrs turn-up
and
NO contractual term.
Granite Business SIP Trunking uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and our state-of-the-art voice optimized network.
•
24 - 48 hour turn up, no term
•
SIP Trunks provisioned and setup within 24- 48 hours
•
Same day testing available prior to deployment / installation
•
Nationwide coverage
•
IP Business Trunking is available as digital trunks or as emulated (Analog Handoff) PRI lines
•
Granite SIP Trunking is compatible with all major IP PBX’s that are capable of SIP registration
•
SIP helps save money compared to current local, long distance and Internet service rates