Archive for January, 2009
VoIP Pbx Solutions: Enjoy the Benefits of Unified Communication
With its two inherent benefits- cost and excellent voice quality, the business users are shifting to VoIP PBX solutions from existing PSTN services for facilitating their voice communication. An increase in the returns on investment or RoI is natural to this trend. Importantly, with the IP PBX solutions, business and corporate houses can even keep their regular PSTN telephone numbers working. These advanced solutions connect the business employees with each other, regardless of their physical locations.
An IP PBX or Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange helps the enterprises to manage their telephone lines more effectively. The business users can share, add and extend the telephone lines in the pre-existing IP PBX systems. These solutions act as a gateway to both voice and data networks.
This packet switching technology includes ‘unified’ communication features such as scalability and robustness, which any organization seeks for. Moreover, these advanced solutions are able to connect the calls to traditional PSTN lines with the help of optional gateways. Therefore, the users can easily switch the calls between the VoIP and a traditional telephone line – just like any other conventional PBX systems.
To enjoy the communication over the IP PBX VoIP system, an organization requires one or more SIP phones and an IP PBX server. The VoIP Gateway is optional, as it helps to connect to existing PSTN lines. Moreover, the IP PBX system also has a directory of all phones/users and their corresponding SIP address.
To conclude, it can be said that investing in the VoIP PBX solutions helps the business and corporate houses to deliver significant savings in the management maintenance. Not only this, business entities can enjoy varied features such as better phone usability, hot desking & roaming, round the clock customer service and scalability. Importantly, most of the features are performed from the user-friendly Windows GUI interface.
For more information, visit: VoIP PBX solutions offered by one of the best VoIP provider.
Call Centre Software – a Myriad of Roles and Responsibilities
To achieve high quality services and enviable growth rates, call centres have to depend heavily on specialised software such as call centre management software, predictive diallers, softphone diallers, VoIP call control, etc.
But these software tools can be expensive and different kinds of software are intended to suit different kinds of processes and turnover magnitudes. So how do you decide which one would suit your operations best?
Deciding on the best call centre software solution
Start by analysing your current message/call turnover and other functions. This analysis will throw up the following facts:
· Number of service requests per day, and per month.
· Channels through which a particular request is being made. In other words, which are the major media for the service requests, whether they are coming via phone, Internet, email, SMS etc.
· What is the primary nature of calls? Whether they are for after-sales service or for telemarketing or whether they are inbound or outbound.
· Number of agents handling the calls and whether there are multiple locations involved.
· Are there any parameters to judge agents’ performance? If yes, what are they and how effective are they in accurately measuring the performance.
· The type of phone system being used and the suitability of the same for your type of operations
After you have analysed the different aspects of your call centre, match your requirements, budget and IT infrastructure with the features, benefits and cost of the call centre software products such as predictive diallers, softphone diallers, VoIP call controllers. This will enable you to buy the right one.
Once a particular software suite is purchased and implemented, the call centre management needs to understand how the software can help them in various tasks, especially in monitoring and assessment. Here is how it can be done:
How does the call centre software help the management tackle different issues?
Since call centre operations involve so many agents and so many different channels of customer-agent interaction, such as emails, web, voice calls etc., it is imperative that there is a high level of integration and monitoring.
Call centre software suites which come loaded with features such as, softphone diallers, VoIP call control, call centre monitoring software, call centre scheduling software etc. are of great help to the management to run its operations smoothly and maintain a high, yet discreet, level of monitoring and assessment. These technologies, in general, enable the call centre managers to do the following:
1. Manage various call centre tasks and functions better, as these software solutions give them a complete overview of the various processes.
2. Meet deadlines – call centre monitoring software affords the managers to schedule and assign various tasks as per the requirement and the recourses available.
3. Meet the performance criteria as chalked out in their SLA (service level agreement) – call centre monitoring software will give a clear picture of agents’ performance by providing key performance indicators.
4. With advanced call centre software, managers can analyse call distribution and trends as they relate to various demographics and even seasons. They are thus able to offer optimum solutions to the client.
5. Accurately forecast the future performance based on the past performance indicators as provided by call centre management software. This software even suggests ways to improve upon the past performance and helps implementing the solutions.
Kate Dawson is a call centre administrator and has in-depth knowledge about call centre software such as call centre monitoring software, soft phone dialler, VoIP call control etc.
The REAL Benefits of VoIP
Here are a few examples;
Cheaper Phone Calls – as your utilising existing data networks
Simpler Infrastructure – one set of CAT5 cables
Scalable – simply extend the existing data network
Reduced Operating Costs – converged system is simpler to manage
Enhanced Customer Service – “Click to Talk” web services and easy role out application like call centres
Flexibility – Remote or home workers can work as if in the office
Its fair to say that most people focus on the costs savings but in most cases the business improvements far out way the costs savings.
For example if your business operated from multiple sites it would be possible to have a single centralised system located at one site, with optimal staffing resources to operate, manage and support. No need to have 3 receptionists when one will do!
Say you had staff that wanted to work from home or from a remote office. With this technology it would be easy to give them the look and feel of being in the office and the transparency that their co-workers and customers enjoy.
Rolling out a distributed business application such as a contact centre or call centre is much easier and more robust.
But….its not that simple to get right!
You must consider;
Quality of Service – across the data network
Reliability – Think when did your LAN / telephone system last fail?
Security – May increase exposure to data and voice
Support – Which department is now responsible – training?
With the latest handsets it is possible for them to act like a PC with their own IP address and with the right handsets they can even run XML applications cutting down the need for unnecessary PC’s etc.
To get it right requires the right planning and foresight to make sure that your systems will grow and deliver the maximum benefit with the minimum risk.
Copyright 2005 Nicholas Windley
Business Phone Systems : Comz4Biz Mercia
Telephone System Education Zone
Voice Over IP (VoIP) Education Zone
nic.windley@comz4biz.com
VoIP Canada Providers Give Fantastic Value For Phone Calls
If you are interested in using VoIP Canada you will need to first find yourself a VoIP Canada service provider, but this is quite straightforward and should not take you too long. So go online and tight VoIP Canada into your search engine and this will then give you a full list of all the different VoIP providers who service Canada. Some of the sites will even give you a list of different VoIP Canada providers and show a comparison of their prices and the various deals that they are running at any one given time. Depending on your telephone usage you might want to opt for a VoIP Canada provider who will give you cheap overseas phone calls, or you might be looking for a deal that has many different features or one that charges a set amount for a specific number of minutes. However whatever provider you choose is totally up to you as you will know what your requirements are from your VoIP provider.
As soon as you have chosen a VoIP Canada service provider that meets your needs you can then sign up to their service and create an account. Normally this is not take very long and you can be using your new VoIP account in an hour or so, however for more information on this check with your VoIP Canada provider.
Businesses who rely on phone calls for much of their business should also look towards using VoIP Canada provider to help them get fantastic value for their phone calls. Call centres or people who are working remotely can benefit massively from using VoIP Canada as setting up extra lines is fast and very cheap and it means that people in a business can work from anywhere in the world with a PC and an Internet connection. Gone are the days when the business had to have all its staff in one building. Now thanks to VoIP Canada workers can work from home using their business VoIP account and this can help the business to save money on office space also.
VoIP Canada really is a smart choice for anyone who wants to continue to use their telephone and get fantastic value from their phone calls. Regardless of whether you use the phone all day long or just a few times a day, VoIP Canada will still help you to stay in touch and at a price that anyone is able to easily afford.
VBuzzer is a leading VoIP service provider with its all in one communication and
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voip Canada and voip in Canada.
VoIP Pbx Systems Taking Advantage of VoIP Telephony
At this juncture, when VoIP entered the scene, many entrepreneurs watched it boosting their profits by mammoth rates with eyes wide open in astonishment. VoIP PBX is, undoubtedly, the reason to rejoice across the globe as it is nothing less than an efficient, smart and most importantly least paid worker of any organisation. Needless to say, VoIP technology penetrated deeply into the realms of businesses in practically no time.
Riding on the principle of Internet, this technology has brought down long distance communication rates to the ground levels. Talking to your acquaintances based overseas is not even a bit more expensive than having a textual chat with them on the Internet.
VoIP PBX needs nothing more than a sound Internet connection. The IP PBX method can switch calls between conventional phone users and VoIP users with an amazing flair. These systems make use of voiced networks and converged data.
The IP PBX have the calibre to transmit not only voiced data but also image and video over the merged IP network. This technology generally finds its usage in corporate houses where communication is the major revenue generating tool. For Instance, the customer service industry where the bustling call centres assist the domestic and the international customers day in and day out working 24 x 7. These industries have witnessed an abrupt boom with the arrival of the VoIP solutions. These customer service organisations would have become bankrupt if the VoIP technology had not been there to take up the entire communication burden.
Superb voice quality clubbed with pocket friendly cost make this innovation a hit. Without a split second’s thought, the corporate houses are incorporating VoIP.
The traditional PBX architecture has undergone a facelift with the addition of the VoIP technology. The utilities of PBX have increased manifold in the contemporary scenario. The dynamism and flexibility of the VoIP solutions is what makes them the most potent mode of communication today. Telecommunication has found an indisputable reason to make merry. The IP PBX VoIP has myriad utilities apart from affordable rates. The VoIP communication devices provide boundless other facilities which are hard to find in the conventional communication means. Call diversion, call forwarding, caller identification, call routing etc. accompany the other advantages of VoIP.
Not only the businesses, but also the households are availing the bountiful benefits of VoIP PBX solutions. One can extract maximum gain from the VoIP technology if he makes long distance calls. The reason is , distance is not a factor in VoIP. Your call rates to a domestic destination will cost the same as an inter-continental call. So, no need to keep a watch on time while talking to your kith and kins. VoIP dissolves the distances between your loved ones.
For more information, visit: VoIP PBX solutions offered by one of the best VoIP solution provider.
Why Businesses Are Switching To VoIP
VoIP uses IP addresses instead of phone numbers, and Ethernet cables in place of the phone line. There are lots of VoIP applications like Skype, as well as hardware such as specially designed IP phones.
What’s more, with VoIP you can save a lot of money on conventional ‘landline’ phonebills, whilst making internet-to-internet and internet-to-phone calls all over the world. VoIP just plugs into any computer or laptop, making it completely portable, affordable way of staying in touch. Many businesses worldwide are looking to improve business communication through the use of VoIP phone services.
The communication requirements for businesses may vary according to their nature, but the key factors remain the same; Maintaining frequent contact with customers, suppliers, dealers and distributors. To improve business communication, many organisations employ VoIP phone services. They are an affordable means of communication, and are more flexible than traditional phone systems, allowing data to be more easily archived and syndicated.
Businesses can continue using existing permanent phone lines and mobiles, and VoIP allows users to make multiple international phone calls while browsing the web. It is generally accepted that most businesses could benefit from introducing VoIP communication services, to help make tremendous improvements and cut the cost of business communication.
VoIP systems have fax detection built in, to automatically route these calls to the fax machine. VoIP systems allow easy recording of phone calls, allowing for playback for review or to take note of important details. The compression of the sound is adjustable so a large bandwidth is not necessary.
VoIP also allows remote access to computer systems for technicians or managers. Travel, time and money is saved. VoIP can allow home and mobile users to obtain the same amount of access and functionality they would expect when working from the office, and allows a single communications network to handle all communication needs.
Despite their flexibility and convenience, they are not yet desireable for home users, since to use VoIP effectively, a VoIP gateway must be installed at every location where you intend to call regular phones from. This expense may not be cancelled out by the savings in phone bills, which explains why VoIP is still the preserve of major corporations and call centres that ca afford the initial expenditure required to setup a VoIP network.
G3 Telecommunications designs and installs VoIP solutions using IP telephony technology which can stand up to the daily rigors of even the most demanding of enterprise environments.
Toddler Dies After 911 Call Over VoIP
Eighteen-month-old Elijah Luck died after his family called 911 over a VoIP phone and the ambulance was dispatched to their former home in Ontario instead of their current home in Calgary.
It took two ambulances 40 minutes to get to him thanks to one ambulance being dispatched to the wrong city. The tragic death of 18-month-old Elijah Luck demonstrates the critical differences between the 911 services of traditional land-lines and phone companies that now use voice over Internet technology.
Elijah Luck went into medical distress and his family made an emergency call for an ambulance. However thanks to the nomadic VOIP service they were using the emergency services were shown the wrong address information and dispatched an ambulance in Mississauga, Ontario, more than twenty-five-hundred miles away.
Comwave says the Internet phone technology is transportable so there’s no physical address attached to the numbers.
Cellphones work better than “nomadic” connections — like those used by VoIP phone providers Comwave and Vonage — because emergency responders get a phone number and a location of the nearest cellphone tower, but are still more limited than landlines, said Terry Owen, director of technology services with the City of Edmonton’s community services branch.
Devon Card, branch manager of operational services for the City of Edmonton, said enhanced 911 — available through fixed VoIP systems, like those offered by Shaw puts you through to an emergency communication centre in the same city as the call, and automatically provides the address and telephone number if the call is disconnected or the caller cannot speak.
After waiting a half an hour for the ambulance the parents rang again from a landline and an ambulance arrived six minutes later, though the baby was pronounced dead upon reaching the Alberta Childrens Hospital.
Fire rescue services spokeswoman Nikki Booth was not sure if delays have happened in Edmonton because of VoIP. “People need to be asking a lot of questions,” Booth explained.
In a press release, Card said it is up to the consumer to research how to access 911 with VoIP phones.
“You don’t want to find out about those limitations during an emergency. Consumers need to be asking questions so they have a full understanding of their service,” Card said.
Fixed landlines and VOIP services automatically route an emergency call to the nearest call centre. Nomadic VOIP services however do not always give the correct information and so, as in this case, the call can be routed to the wrong call centre and the emergency operator can be given the wrong address information. This is why many VOIP services, such as Skype, specifically give the disclaimer that they are not to be used for emergency calls.
Paul Godin, a spokesperson for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, said the CRTC is working on enhancing the service. The CRTC ruled in 2005 that phone providers must inform customers of limitations yearly.
Comwave representative Allison George said that following the incident in Calgary, the company will now inform customers of limitations with 911 twice a year by e-mail, instead of just annually.
The Canadian authorities are now looking at better ways to deal with nomadic VOIP services alongside making consumers more aware of the limitations of the service in an emergency context.
According to the Vonage website, customers need to activate 911, and some customers cannot get even basic service.
“You don’t want to go into where does the fault lie? It’s just so tragic.’ George said from Toronto.
“It’s more if you’re a VoIP subscriber, please understand how this service differs and why.
George said Comwave customers do not have the option of enhanced 911, and customers are asked to confirm location when on the phone with emergency services personnel. George said Comwave phones will not turn on until customers acknowledge limitations with 911.
Standard wireline phone still offers the most reliable service where emergency dispatch operators instantly have your name and address even if you are unable to speak or get disconnected.
“What we want people to do is make sure that they have a good, clear understanding of the phone service they subscribe to and what that looks like and how that can connect with 911,” said Brochu.
All phone companies in Canada are regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
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How to Use VoIP Call Termination to your Benefit
For instance, it can help to tremendously increase the productivity of a business by unifying the communication structure between different branches of the company. This is a well proven fact established by the users of voice over IP services. With the help of VoIP business solution, service providers can inter-link the different corporate offices of an organisation at no additional cost through VoIP telephony service. It thus helps to unify the operations of a company by helping the people to work in tandem with each other.
There are several premium service providers by the likes of Vonage, Go-to-call and iCallGlobe, among others, who provide DID numbers. These numbers enable your clients to call to a number which might not be the geographical area code of the area where the office is situated. So, you can be sitting in India and receiving calls on a U.S or U.K number. Your clients would be charged according to the local call tariff and you get the advantage of using your head office area code for other branches located around the globe. This is especially beneficial for contact centres and those companies who are operating globally or want to expand their business round the world.
A major concern, of the corporates specially, is the reliability and security of the service provided. This concern is appropriate, keeping in mind that the voice is transmitted over the Internet. Hence, problems like hacking and phone tapping do arise. If you get your services from an established VoIP provider then there is no need to worry about this either, as they would keep the security of your telephony services as top most priority in their books.
Call shops, calling card companies and Internet telephony service providers can increase their profit margin by almost double through utilising voice over IP for calling. Since the total call cost comes down by almost the half than that of PSTN or PBX, they can provide their customers with a cheaper mode of communication, thereby increasing their clientage and their profits along with it.
Similarly, Internet service providers, network integrators and software and hardware product providers can increase their service line by integrating their services with VoIP call termination services. The process of integration is quiet easy too, for minimum investment is needed for the purpose. They do not need to spend money on building up infrastructure or procuring any technical devices for the purpose. All this is handled by the VoIP service providers. Moreover, they do not have to get any special technical personnel at their end to maintain the services or handle backend processes either, as these too are done by the provider. All that is required of them is to concentrate on marketing the service which is what they are best at.
Bundling up their existing products with a new and user-friendly technology will also give them a competitive advantage against their competitor companies.
For cheap and reliable long distance calling, visit: VoIP Call Termination Provider
VoIP Solution- the Sole Solution to the Communication Needs of Business
Gradually, both small and large companies are opting for voice over Internet protocol solutions in order to maximise their profits, enhanced productivity and for robust security features.
Service providers of VoIP offer services like VoIP solution, VoIP telephony services and wholesale carrier services and reseller programs.
VoIP solution is the best service that a business could get to improve their communication department and minimise their monthly phone bills. Ideally, it is most suitable for contact centres since they have to provide support to their local, national and international clients. By utilising the services of VoIP, it becomes incredibly cheaper to make calls.
ISP and ITSP’s can make use of voice over IP to increase their profits and productivity. Internet service providers sell broadband connections to their customers. They can add on VoIP to their services and thus offer a complete package to their clients. Internet telephony service providers on the other hand provide local, long distance and international telephony services to their clients. They can utilise voice over Internet protocol for call transmission, thereby cutting down their expenses considerably and raising up their profits as a result. Since the call transmission would be cheaper, they can further reduce calling prices, thereby attracting the customers and increasing their sales.
A large number of network solutions, and hardware and software production companies, have also started presetting their devices with voice over IP. As a result, clients find it better to purchase their devices, since it is providing a wholesome service to them and saving them the time and money to search for another provider for VoIP or the device.
Good voip service providers offer customised reseller programs wherein resellers get the privilege to sell the service using their own brand name. As a result, they get the benefits of having their own telephony services without making a huge investment in setting up infrastructure and procuring technical equipments that are needed for call transmission.
Similarly, call back service providers, call shops, PC to phone service companies, and system integrators too can utilise voice over Internet telephony solution to move with the industry trend and be among the first ones to utilise the benefits of this upcoming technology.
VoIP solution is beneficial for all the sectors of the industry and is not dependent on the scale of operations of that sector either. This makes it even more flexible to integrate with an organisation’s existing communication department
To Know More, Visit: VoIP Solution