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Improving the customer relationship – that’s what small and medium business owners look for, whenever they deploy enhanced technologies. Hosted VoIP solution is one such technology that is helping the business to smoothen their transactions.

The most fascinating aspect of the hosted VoIP solutions is that they can play on the large fields against those large companies who install expensive telecommunication systems.

Talking of small business, they stretch to a certain limit. One can barely keep up with the demands when they think to focus on the core aspects of their business. If they had to look upon the non-core task with the same agility, then small business owners become overpowered.

For this reason, small business owners must focus on their resources and talent to manage all core functions and not those chore tasks.

What is the basic difference between core & chore? Chore or non-core function signifies the maintenance of computer systems, administrating the cleaning staffs or something that is not at all relevant to the company’s job profile. Whereas core functions denotes the primary business and their transaction materials.

Telecommunication is one such chore task that a small company should outsource to a third party who specializes in this category. Business cannot spend their precious time simply to manage their communications. Well, communication management does not bring any competitive advantage to business. Therefore, it is better to outsource the telecommunication processes.

Whatever may be the business size you have to make sure that you do not miss the opportunity of handling an incoming call? If you miss a call, you will miss the revenue. Providing quality customer service is an essential aspect to stay ahead in this competitive business environment.

Whether to buy or lease a VoIP

It is not possible for the business owners to predict the future. You do not know how big your business will grow in the next 12, 24 or 36 months. Will you buy a system in that case? If you are unsure about the changes that are going to strike your business in this scenario, then simply buying a system will not be a profitable step.

Having a Totally Reliable Phone System

Even if, you have a power cut or may be a tornado hits the city, you must make sure that your system keeps on syncing in spite of all the hazards. Hosted call center solutions, since it’s hosted in the cloud will not go down, even if the office is demolished by any natural crisis. Your users will be a back on the similar connection as soon as they connect business via the internet.

Hosted VoIP and Their Benefits

Quality Customer Service – Easy call routing and transferred to an agent or a telemarketer placed anywhere through Intelligent “Front Office” capabilities.

Alertness and Productivity – Employees have to productive on their desk and on their mobile phone, and can enhance the productivity any time they like.

Dignified Experience – Now to have such a good cup of experience you can have those HD voice and video, as game changers. Integrate the Outlook and Browsers to make the experience supple.

Reliability – Your business needs to be updated almost every time so that it customers find it reliable and futuristic.

Economically Ahead – Hosted VoIP makes you pay just the amount you use and not more than that. You can thus grow and shrink it, as you need.

These are just some of the basic things that you have to clear before you opt for a hosted VoIP for your business. Glance through them to bring profitable results.

Guest Post by:

Jenny Gomes is a small business entrepreneur recently hired an outbound call center to handle the telemarketing calls. The telemarketing company uses Hosted VoIP, which adds benefits to her business, and thus she writes about those benefits through her blog.

 iNum – which stands for “International Number” – was started in 2008 by Voxbone SA, a Belgian company that provides telephone numbers and VoIP telecommunications services. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocated a block of numbers in the +883 country code (intended for “International Networks”) to Voxbone for the iNum initiative. Its stated goal is to provide users with a single (15-digit) phone number that the entire world is able to access easily.

How can I get an iNum?

You can get an iNum number through many different VoIP companies. There is a list of service providers on the initiative’s official website.

How much does iNum cost?

The number itself will not cost you anything. Dialing from one iNum to another – that is, within the iNum community – is free of charge. Calls from outside the iNum network to numbers within, and vice versa, are billed on a per-minute rate. This rate will vary depending on the particular carrier.

How do you dial an iNum number?

Although it is considered a “global” number, the +883 number at the beginning of every iNum is still considered a “country code”. Therefore, depending on your service provider, you might have to dial the appropriate international exit code to connect.

For example, if you wanted to dial +883 5100 0000 0091 (an iNum number used for testing) from somewhere in the United States – you would enter 011 + 883 + 5100 0000 0091

Can I use any phone to call an iNum number?

If you have a VoIP phone (or a VoIP softphone/app) configured with a service provider that supports iNum (and there are many at this point), you simply dial the number as usual. Keep in mind that iNum is for IP communications, so any communication over the PSTN needs to be bridged at some point.

Therefore, if you want to dial an iNum from a traditional PSTN line, it might not work if your phone company doesn’t support it. One way around this, however, is to call one of the many local dial in numbers and then dial the desired iNum afterwards. When using a local dial in number you don’t have to use an international exit code.

For example, suppose you are in New York and wanted to dial the number in the earlier example, but the phone you are using doesn’t support iNum. You’d find the local dial in number and enter 1 646 843 6969, wait for a connection, then dial 883 5100 0000 0091

Does anyone even use iNum?

These ‘global’ numbers, each of which being with the digits +883-5100, are supposed to make communicating globally by phone easy and affordable. Sounds great, right? The only question is whether or not anyone actually uses iNum and, if so, who these people are.

A few searches online will yield an abundance of blog posts about the creation of iNum, heralding it as the next big thing. Additionally, there are numerous announcements from VoIP service providers that they now offer iNum numbers; or at least support calls from those who have them. Most of these results seem to be from between 2008 and 2010.

I’ve been searching the web – and I mean really searching – and can’t come up with one example of a real life user of iNum. The closest I’ve come are a few forum posts or blog entries where people talk about bridging VoIP calls using iNum or making test calls, but that’s about it. It seems to be a working platform either not widely used or not widely discussed. Does anyone use iNum? If so, let us know in the comments.

This post was provided by Bill Kilpatrick, a marketing consultant for Instant Answering Service. Mr. Kilpatrick is also the project manager at Spotted Frog Design, a Philadelphia based web development company. Connect with him on Google+.

With each passing day, more and more people are becoming exposed to the technology of the VoIP provider. The number of people that are aware of the benefits that VoIP can give them is growing exponentially as each day passes. You should be one of those people, because you can enjoy a lot of great things when you finally decide to put your telecommunication needs to rest with a Voice over Internet Protocol company. You’d be joining the rapidly growing population of individuals who have reaped the benefits that they sowed with their investment in a VoIP service.

What is VoIP?

If you haven’t heard about VoIP yet, then chances are you have heard about its alternate name: Internet telephony. This means that VoIP is simply technology that taps the architecture of the Internet in order to facilitate calls between two lines or even more! If you do not care about the technology behind, then VoIP is simply a cheaper alternative to your traditional landline service.

What would happen to your traditional landline? It would be rendered useless! You don’t need it anymore. VoIP will take over virtually everything that it has done for you. I would hate to say goodbye to something that has faithfully served me in the past few years, but VoIP is certainly here to stay. I am pretty certain that, in the near future, VoIP will overtake traditional landlines and become the de facto telecommunications service for everyone!

What Do I Need In Order to Avail of VoIP Services?

Will you need a special device in order to be a VoIP subscriber? Absolutely not! All you really need is a functioning Internet connection. A desktop or a laptop computer would do! If you cannot yourself a VoIP phone, a standard phone fitted with an ATA adapter would suffice as well. You just need to plug it into your LAN card to access the Internet and you’re good to go. When you sign up for a VoIP connection, you can be hooked up near instantaneously as well! Nearly no waiting time is involved when you sign up for a VoIP service, that I can say.

Call Capability Anytime, Anywhere… As Long As There is Internet!

VoIP is a further development over the capability provided by your cellular phone service. You can be mobile with your Internet telephony service. If you could get yourself and your laptop to an area where there is high-speed Internet connection, then you can certainly use your VoIP subscription to make a call! High-speed Internet gives you a capability that your mobile phone provider does not offer in its basic package – international coverage! As long as there is Internet, your VoIP service can be used wherever you may be in the world. You don’t have to pay extra fees for an extra service with a VoIP provider.

Indeed, the future of telecommunications has already arrived! With a subscription to a VoIP service, you get access to a load of exciting features that you wouldn’t find in your landline service… without paying an additional service fee, that is.

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If you are looking to make an enquiry to a business, or call up about a product or service, chances are that the telephone is one of the primary forces of communication that you are going to use, and the way that you are responded to and the type of telephone conversation that you have can have a major impact on the way that the business you have called is viewed – first impressions last.

As a business you may find that you are constantly faced by an increasingly competitive marketplace and as such you will likely be looking for a way to constantly push your business forward and make sure that you are able to take advantage of potential clients and present a much better service than that of your competitor as a result. For this reason it’s crucial that you arm yourself with a great telephone system, to give off an impressive first impression to your clients.

Telephone systems can be costly, but in order to give your clients a great service you don’t have to break the bank – you simply have to provide them with great customer service and a system which answers their questions and responds to their needs as is required. Leaving a client on-hold or constantly transferring them to the wrong area can be incredibly annoying for a caller and it could cause them to hang up, avoid this happening and make sure that your telephone system is both seamless and efficient.

A great telephone system is one that is both cost-effective and efficient for your business, so make sure that you choose one which specifically targets your needs, and with so many different options available on the market this shouldn’t be all that difficult. You also need to make sure that you are on the right tariff and that you have a payment plan that suits your business, if you are making a lot of telephone calls then try and get a discount for buying in bulk!

Regardless of the type of telephone system that you settle on, it’s crucial that you find one that suits the needs of your business and your clients, in turn you will keep your clients happy and keep your finances in the black. If you are unsure, then perhaps survey your clients and ask them what they are looking for in a telephone system – after all, the majority of clients you receive will likely come in through telephone calls and if you do want to retain these then it’s crucial that you have a great telephone system to give them the right impression.

You’re not just restricted to phone calls that use the same service provider; you can use the Ooma to make any phone call within the US as long as you have an Internet connection. Looking at the price, $250 upfront for the device itself seems pricey to most, plus a monthly fee of $4 is bound to be a turn off for most in the market for a telephone service, but most would argue that it’s definitely worth the service. It might also be good to know that you can find the device price reduced from $250 if you buy the device somewhere else online.

You save yourself the fuss of installation and configuration with Ooma Telo. Straight from the box, all you need to do is place the device where it can detect wireless Internet and connect a phone wire to the back of the device, wait for the lights to turn blue and you’re ready to go. Its intuitive setup does all the work for you, and you can use any old telephone you use for regular calls. This allows for the comfort of long telephone conversations with the phone you’ve grown used to. You don’t need to buy a new one specifically for making calls with the Ooma, and it doesn’t need a specific type of phone to use.

What I particularly like about the Ooma Telo is the device’s design. The symbol in the middle is blue when the device has a secure connection to the internet, allowing phone calls to come through. Our Internet connection does reach its optimal speed, as the provider promised, but the connection can get intermittent at times. It really helps that the Ooma Telo flashes a red light when there’s no internet connection. That way, everyone in the house knows when the internet needs troubleshooting.

The common trouble found in VoIP is the sound quality. You don’t want to get a telephone service when you can’t even hear the person you’re talking to clearly. That might present as an occasional problem with the Ooma Telo, since it’s not uncommon that the person you’re talking to sometimes develops a robot voice in the middle of talking. The line also sometimes drops all of a sudden, but the upside is that it won’t go unnoticed because you’ll hear the same chime that plays when you pick up the phone to make a call. It’s not a flawless service, but at least you don’t go talking on and on without knowing the person on the other line isn’t hearing you anymore. The reception often does get choppy, but that can be blamed on poor internet service.

So, is it recommended? Compared to other phone providers, it’s still competitive at the monthly rates they’re charging. The quality of the phone call is heavily dependent on your internet service. Ooma Telo requires a minimum Internet connection speed of 512 kbps. Any lower than that might make the device useless.

However, in order to reap the full benefits of cloud computing services such as those offered by RingCentral, you have to have the right phones. There are phone service providers who have a lineup of phones from which you can choose the ones you would use for virtual office or for virtual PBX or Private Branch Exchange. You can also make use of phones which are not found in the lineup of phones. Some of these phones are Apple’s IPhone5 and Samsung’s Galaxy S3 Android phone.

What makes these two phones ideal choices for use with cloud computing services? One important feature of the iPhone5 which makes it suitable for cloud computing services is the iCloud which is seamlessly integrated into the apps that you find in the said phone. One of the things that this feature does is it downloads to other Apple devices whatever you download in one device. For example, you download a business app from the cloud using your iPhone. The same business app will automatically be downloaded to your iMac and to your iPad. The nice thing about this is it allows you to continue the work that you started in one device in another device. With this feature, you need not go to the trouble of copying a file to another device such as your iMac or iPad. For example, you started working on an important document while on the road. When you get home or arrive at the office, you could continue working on that document on your iMac. The same thing could also be done when you are using a Samsung Galaxy S3 Android phone.

The difference between the two however is more devices can be linked to the Samsung Galaxy S3 Android phone. That’s because it makes use of DLNA which stands for Digital Living Network Alliances. With this, you can use the phone to transfer  files to different devices such as printers, TV sets, tablet personal computer, laptop computers, netbooks, and even other smartphones whose manufacturers are members of the alliance. The IPhone however, could only allow you to link up with IOS devices which are of course found in Apple products.

In spite of their differences, the features of these two phones make them suitable for cloud computing services. That’s because they do not only allow you to communicate with your customers using VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol, they also enable you to keep in touch with your computer database and manage this from any location. Your files are automatically updated which also makes it easy for you and your assistants to provide your customers with updated information regarding your products and services.

To succeed in business, it is important that a connection be established between you, your customers, and your business partners. You do this with the use of the business phone or a phone system such as the ones being offered by RingCentral to its clients. That’s because these provide a means by which you, your customers, or business partners are able to communicate with each other. This means of communication is even made better with the use of cloud computing. Simply, put cloud computing allows different devices to link with each other by means of the Internet or wireless communication.

This feature of cloud computing offers many possibilities for improving the way you, your customers, and business partners transact business especially through the use of the Internet. One such possibility is ensuring that information can only be accessed by you, the members of your staff, and your customers as well. Since your computing devices are able to connect with each other in your company’s cloud, you are assured that no unauthorized person can just gain access to secured information. Your customers feel safe because they are guaranteed that no unauthorized person would be able to get his or her hands on confidential information.

Another possibility that cloud computing offers to businesses like yours is improved mobility. That means this kind of technology allows your customers and assistants to communicate with other computing devices in the cloud by using their smartphones or their personal tablet computers.  By being able to download apps from your company database, your assistants become more efficient in their work and serve your customers better. Keep in mind that every day, the number of apps that can be used for iPhones, Android, as well as Blackberry phones continues to grow. The cloud makes it easy for your assistants to find apps that they believe would help them in doing their jobs with greater efficiency.

Aside from being able to download new apps from the cloud, cloud computing allows both your assistants and customers to reap the benefits of using social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Through the use of these social media, you, your assistants, and your customers are able to communicate your thoughts and ideas to each other. By accessing your Facebook or Twitter account from anywhere with their mobile phones or tablet personal computers, your customers are able to get information about the products and services that you offer. They also may be able to place orders for and make comments or suggestions about what you offer in your business.

By using Facebook or Twitter, your assistants who are taking calls in the field would be able to find out about the latest products or services that you could offer to your customers. Through these two social media, your assistants would be able to address their problems or even make suggestions on how to better improve the service to provide to your clients.

With the use of cloud computing, you might be able to strike up a partnership with another business. Through the cloud, you would be able to share resources and benefit from each other. This would certainly contribute to the increase in the sales of what you offer to your clients. As a result, you enjoy more profits. Truly cloud computing, if utilized well, does wonders for one’s business.

The telephone technology has been a huge factor in the development of communication. The telephone service itself advanced along with the enhancement in technology to give people additional reliable modes of communication. One of which is the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). This technology makes use of the Internet to transfer voice data. With the presence of companies which offers high speed Internet connection, the VoIP technology is considered as reliable as the traditional phone technology in the field of voice communication. It is easier to set-up a VoIP phone than the traditional phones because most VoIP phone service comes only with a modem and a hard phone

The VoIP technology is also considered to be more affordable than the traditional phones. Some Internet service providers (ISP) offer a package which includes cable TV and phone service along with the Internet service at a reasonable price.

In the recent TeleGeography Report on International Call Traffic, the international call traffic grew to 5%; from 467 billion minutes to 490 billion minutes in 2012. About 30% of the international call traffic in 2012 was transported through VoIP. According to the study, this has been attributed to the lower cost of making an international call through VoIP than a traditional phone service.

The world economic crisis affected the ability of consumers and the business owners to pay. There is a huge demand for a lower operational cost and lower prices for goods and services. People were looking for ways to save money and businesses are making huge cuts in their operating costs. Since VoIP phones offer reliable service at a cost lower than traditional phone service, people started switching to VoIP in making international calls. Looking at current trends, it is possible that the VoIP might dominate the international air traffic sometime in the future.

Current technology has made the Internet service more affordable and more reliable, and this makes VoIP services more appealing to people. One of the things that made VoIP very mobile is that it can be in a form of a software application in a desktop which enables the user to make video calls as well.

Skype is a good example of a VoIP service in a form of software application that can be used through computers. Modern technology has also enabled us to use VoIP software over smartphones. But if you prefer to use landline phone units, you can avail of VoIP phone service such as RingCentral phone service, Vonage, Phone Power, or any other VoIP phone service available in your area. The VoIP service is continually growing and it will not come as a surprise if the VoIP technology dominates the international call traffic in the years to come.

The rapid development in the Internet technology made it possible for ISPs to offer affordable and reliable Internet service package to its markets. This also opened the doors for people to avail affordable but reliable phone service through VoIP. In times like these when both consumers and business owners are in need of ways to cut cost while trying to meet their personal or business needs, the VoIP has proven to be a reliable option for both business owners and consumers to make international calls at a lesser cost. This is the best time to switch your phone service and enjoy the benefits of VoIP technology.

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To ensure that a conference call is successful, there are three essential roles that need to be taken cared of. These are the organizer, the host and the participants. The organizer is the person who arranges the meeting and brings the conference call together. The host is the person responsible for leading the meeting and making sure that the conference call runs smoothly while the participants are the people expected to cooperate and join in on the discussion.

Although the three roles are different, they are not always expected to be carried out by different people. In spite of that, they are three roles which play very pivotal roles in ensuring the conference call’s success. It is important for somebody who takes part of meetings such as these to know the different roles’ objectives so as to understand the goals and purpose of each.

Different people look after different tasks during a conference call. The organizer, who arranges the meeting, is responsible for the tasks that need to be attended to before and after the call. He or she will then give the responsibility to the host and the participants during the call itself. To understand better, listed below are detailed explanations of the responsibilities of each role.

• The organizer. The main purpose of the organizer is to help the host’s responsibilities. As mentioned earlier, all preparations leading up to the conference call and after the conference call are all handled by the organizer. Therefore, he or she will prepare the technology, system and software to be used, schedule the conference call in a way that everyone who is needed to attend can participate, come up with the agenda and the flow of the meeting, create a list of the people who are required to attend and ensure that everyone’s time is synchronized especially that there are times when people will be joining from all over the world.

• The host. The host’s role is to lead the meeting and conduct the business of the call whatever the business may be. Therefore, even if there would be instances when you and your people are outnumbered by people who have an opposite view, it is your job to make sure that your view prevails. As a host, you are expected to manage the discussion and make sure that your goals are met.

• Participant. If you are participant, it is never useful to just sit back and listen to the discussion. You will look bored and not to say, useless. The main responsibility of a participant is to contribute necessary information to the discussion. However, you have to contribute accordingly to what your job description is, your expertise, seniority, your brief and to who and what else is involved in the call. Before a conference call, a participant is expected to study the topic so that he or she can ask necessary questions if there are any and add information that would lead to achieving the overall objective of the call.

Using conference calling for business effectively improves businesses’ communication. To make sure that it is successful though, you must always consider the three roles mentioned above. It is important that there are people assigned to these roles to ensure that objectives are met and to guarantee an effective conference meeting. What do you think of the three roles mentioned above? If there are roles or other responsibilities that you may know of, make sure to let me know in the comments below!

Guest Post by:

Justin is a tech enthusiast who loves to share articles related to technology and internet especially VOIP and communication technology. 

VoIP is a type of technology that allows people to call using the Internet. This means that anyone can call anyone from all over the world. Thus, one of the latest devices Ooma released, that is capable of utilizing VoIP service from those subscribed from RingCentral, is the HD2 Handset VoIP Phone.

This phone had spread all over the online world with a blazing fire. “It is more than just a home phone” as what they say, as it beholds certain features that truly impressed the market. HD2 is a smart and home phone combined. It even has features that you would not expect from your usual phones at home, and thus, is a representation of a stronger communication in the family.

This phone is able to access to the Internet and even features Google, LinkedIn, Facebook and many more. It can also facilitate voice and text messaging with its astounding HD Voice Clarity. Certain reviews for this phone had turn out to be an edging turnabout to the Ooma Company. In addition, the HD2 Handset also has a Picture ID. Its 2-inch Screen color makes it fascinating for most consumers.

As for this Handset’s extreme features, the VoIP service certainly says it all. As what all people know, VoIP services have countless features. That not only one can call any family, relative and a friend from all over the world, but it comes inexpensive and flexible. Calling someone from out of the country is indeed a costly task, connoting that VoIP is indeed now a necessity especially for a smooth flow of communication not only between friends but also between business partners.

This handset is continuously making the world a better place to live as its integrated data feature goes synonymous with the steady progress of a possible business that owns it. Employers can now give instructions through voice services, and whilst they are away, (like on a business meeting, trips or something) they are assured that the staff is still working. The VoIP service of this handset is indeed an extreme feature that makes other telecommunication companies have a hard time competing.

However, certain reviews have also shown negative feedbacks to this handset, as people call out for a better headset jack that turned out to be of bad quality. Thus, when these problems arise, it is better to call the customer support of Ooma because surely, they will bring about the certain solutions needed for their consumer’s satisfaction. The customer service support had also turned out to be excellent according to many reviewers.

The world is now truly changing its course, as it is making the world a smaller place to live in. This upgrade of Ooma had made this factor feasible to the eyes of many people through the presence of this Handset. A true must have for everyone who wants to exclusively live their lives with their loved ones, or have a smooth business relationship with their employers or employees, no matter where they are in the globe.