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29/04/2015

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02/01/2015

Should I Care About UC Trends in 2015?

Unified communications (UC) is one of those all-encompassing ideas that people claim they know they should be doing more with, will get to it soon, it might benefit them, and so on. In reality, these people are losing a serious competitive edge, because UC is an important way for businesses, employees, and customers to collaborate and communicate in real time.

From a one-person consulting business to tens of thousands of employees in Fortune 100 enterprises, UC has become a key technology solution that enables business growth. Why? The influx of smartphones and tablets and the growth of remote workers demand anywhere reachability now. From sales to customer care, contact centers can more frequently reach both internal and external customers by phone, instant message, audio or video conference, Web conference, social media channels, or text/SMS. Time is money and operational efficiency!

Let’s look at some upcoming trends that you absolutely should care about.

UC Today
UC in recent years has been driven by enterprise private branch exchange (PBX) suppliers that had no choice but to provide increased value through clumsy integrated add-on applications. All major phone systems were reliable and could process calls quickly and efficiently, so these suppliers looked to software applications to differentiate themselves. In addition, emerging hosted and cloud-based voice over IP PBX service providers wanted to provide large company services to clients of all sizes.

In enterprises, employees need to be able to locate and communicate with subject matter experts in real time and often use internal communities such as Chatter or Yammer to integrate with social channels, e-mail, and phone systems to make it as easy as possible for collaboration and communication among peers. Enterprise needs for external communication and collaboration include contact centers both inbound and outbound; phone calling; voicemail; voicemail to e-mail; audio, video, and Web conferencing; desktop sharing; file sharing; instant messaging (IM); customer relationship management integration; and business process integration.

Even one-person companies can purchase an 800 number and quickly integrate virtual PBX capabilities without buying an IP-PBX. They can have UC capabilities and Web-based administration that allows them to offer cutting-edge connectivity to their clients. Today, most IP PBX suppliers as well as hosted and cloud-based service providers have delivered rich UC features for businesses of all sizes.

UC Trends and UC in 2015
Major suppliers such as Microsoft and Cisco are leveraging the driving forces of mobility, video, and social media support for their emerging offerings. The term consumerization of IT takes on new meaning beyond simply Bring Your Own Device. The number of mobile devices is growing, and people use their devices for business and personal use. Many people have at least three devices: a smartphone, a tablet, and a computer. These devices need to be integrated with users’ work and business lives, and UC applications are emerging that enable this integration seamlessly across multiple platforms, making it easy for users to learn something once and use it anywhere on any device. This is a compelling driver for implementing UC.

Video is without doubt a critical success factor in business, from collaboration to educating your customers. By merging Skype, which is known to about 300 million consumers, with Microsoft Lync (soon to be Skype for Business), Microsoft is gaining UC traction through Microsoft Office 365. This trend is virtually unstoppable—a snowball rolling downhill. Get ready, it’s knocking at your business’ door, and you should take time to learn how it could enhance your business and your life.

Cisco, which has been delivering IP PBX and UC functionality for some time, is working on merging social media and community tools for enterprises into their business strategy with what it calls Project Squared. Details have not been announced, but Cisco has briefed enough analysts that you can find some trendy information from various blogs and research reports.

Other vendors are delivering similar capabilities, and the market space is exciting regardless of whether you choose an on-premises UC solution or US as a Service (UCaaS). The major trends are for small and medium-sized businesses to migrate to UCaaS, primarily to save costs but also to better service multiple locations, remote workers, and most importantly clients.

Why Should You Care?
With the mobile phones, tablets, and computers you use every day, you can now seamlessly:

Communicate how you need to, when you need to;
Use social media channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+);
Rely on the Web for presence, allowing customers to find your business through search; and
Use IM when a call isn’t possible or feasible.


All of this allows you to service your customers and partners as easily and as fast as possible, and you want to be reached anytime wherever you are. UC facilitates this capability and more. If you don’t have these capabilities today for your businesses, it’s time to educate yourself. Your business demands the capabilities and services that UC delivers.

Summary
What’s the best way to educate yourself so that you can enhance your business? The Web is your first source. Independent blog posts on IT Toolbox and the VoIP-News blogs, UC Strategies, and TMCNet all provide ample resources, and you or a trusted advisor can drive your vendor research through webinars, seminars, and training. Don’t wait too long: 2015 will be a banner year for feature-rich UC products and services to integrate mobile, video, and social media.

02/01/2015

Want to Place VoIP Calls Without a PC? Find Out How

Making phone calls by using voice over IP (VoIP) has proven cost-effective, and you don’t need to have a computer to do it. Vonage and Skype, for example, allow you to use VoIP technology with a smartphone or a broadband Internet connection and standard handset. Vonage uses a connection between your phone and broadband router or modem for VoIP calling. Vonage requires a monthly fee, but Skype is free for use, although you do need a smartphone or computer to use the service. This post examines free and “nearly free” VoIP services for use with only a smartphone or broadband connection.

Why Bother with VoIP if I Already Have a Smartphone?
Although your current mobile carrier may offer free mobile-to-mobile calling or a minutes plan you never exceed during normal use, you may need to contact friends, family, or business acquaintances internationally. Apps like Skype and Google Hangouts allow you to video chat, call, and send instant messages with your Internet connection, which doesn’t cost you anything. The only drawback is that both parties must be using the same service.

IP Phones
Another way to avoid purchasing a computer to use VoIP service is to buy a wireless IP phone that you can use with your router or modem. The Netgear SPH101 Skype phone does just that: it connects to a wireless router to enable you to use Skype anywhere within the wireless range.

Another alternative is to purchase a BT 1010 Digital Cordless Phone with a BD hub, which allows you to make VoIP calls. BT provides a virtual number to allow you to use the phone as if it were a traditional landline. The BT phone works only with the BT hub, which costs around $25 per month.

Apps
As previously mentioned, Skype and Google Hangouts are two of the top-rated and most-used apps, but alternatives are available for iOS, Android, and Kindle users as well such as Talkatone. Talkatone allows you to make calls and send texts for free just by downloading its app. Talkatone uses Google Voice as the channel for phone calls; you can even use it with your Google contacts list. To receive calls to your Talkatone account, you have to upgrade Google Voice to get a number; then, you can forward it to Google Chat.

Which is Best?
Whether using free apps, wireless phones connected to your router, or other means to avoid using a computer for calling, you have to make an investment in either a service or hardware. The best thing about these options is that international calling is invariably free or nearly free and will not cost nearly what a traditional landline service provider would charge. VoIP has become the cheapest and easiest way to make and receive phone calls. Voicemail is evolving as well, with services that translate your voicemails into text, forward them to another number, and more. The main thing to consider when using VoIP, however, is that not all VoIP services such as Skype offer emergency services and are not always secure. VoIP services are great for the casual and frequent caller, but be careful when providing any sensitive information over such a call.

02/01/2015

5 Enterprise VoIP Trends to Watch in 2015

The enterprise voice over IP (VoIP) trend forecast for 2015 is heavy into the cloud and mobility as more enterprises seek economical telephony infrastructure to support the changing nature of their workforce. Here are five enterprise VoIP trends to watch in 2015.

1. Hosted PBXs and the Cloud
Hosted PBX Gaining Popularity in 2015? These 5 Signs Say “Yes!” by Sheldon Smith talks up the popularity of hosted private branch exchanges (PBXs) in 2015. It’s a trend I’m seeing myself in the market. Moving to a cloud-based PBX frees businesses from many of the maintenance and repair costs that on-premises PBXs are known to have. It’s a common-sense move in today’s market.

Hosted PBXs also bring with them a slew of business user features that cloud VoIP providers can enable for their customers using a range of pricing models. The economics and rich feature sets of hosted PBXs are bound to remain a dominant VoIP trend even beyond 2015.

2. More Back-End Analytics
One of the 2015 VoIP trends that the Business Communications Trends in 2015 Modulis blog post mentions is more back-end analytics. VoIP’s move to the cloud makes possible the capability to support a range of back-end performance management analytics. Back-end analytics give customers another tool to compete better in the market because they have optimal control over VoIP communications.

3. More Mobile Devices Become Primary VoIP Handsets
More business desk phones are going to find their way to equipment closets and surplus auctions in 2015. Corporate-owned personally enabled and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) mobile devices are going to subsume the role of the business user’s primary phone handset. The changing nature of today’s workforce, with increasing numbers of mobile-first and remote workers, is going to propel this trend well beyond next year.

4. More Integration with Cloud Platforms and Productivty Applications
After writing about customer relationship management (CRM) this year for it.toolbox.com, I came across the exciting trend of VoIP integration with other cloud platforms like CRM, office productivity, and other back-office applications. A small to medium-sized business or any enterprise wanting to test VoIP or unified communications (UC) technologies may also get its first exposure through Microsoft Office 365 or Google Apps for Work. These cloud platforms may serve as an introduction to VoIP and UC (think Microsoft Lync and Google Hangouts as gateways to full-scale VoIP solutions).

When businesses get a first taste of VoIP, options in the market abound for integrating leading cloud-based VoIP systems with cloud VoIP platforms. I expect this trend to accelerate in 2015.

5. Further Convergence of VoIP and UC
2015 is going to bring the further convergence of enterprise VoIP and UC platforms. I don’t expect to be writing about VoIP and UC as separate subjects for much longer, because this convergence is beginning even now to accommodate today’s changing needs for mobile-first, BYOD, and geographically dispersed teams for communications and collaboration.

VoIP Ringing in 2015
The enterprise VoIP trends shaping up for 2015 will further help VoIP gain ground over traditional business telephone systems. Enterprise VoIP is going to become ubiquitous as the cloud and mobility become prime platforms.

10/12/2014

Ease of Deployment: More Hidden Value for VoIP

I’ve been writing for some time now about how all the enhanced features coming from VoIP represent a layer of “hidden value”. By now you should know by that, I mean these are features you may not be aware of or expect when going with VoIP. They’re not being kept behind a curtain from you; rather, VoIP providers simply don’t do a good job of communicating the benefits beyond the obvious. Marketing is not always their forte, so these things are often left unsaid, and maybe you’ll discover them once VoIP has been deployed – and maybe you won’t.

This series is working hard to make sure you do, and actually, I hope you do so before making your VoIP decision instead of after. Discovering these things after the fact is always more fun, but that may make you wonder what else am I missing? or what else didn’t the provider tell me? At best, this plants seeds of doubt, and given VoIP’s low switching costs, you could end up dropping them over what appear to be errors of omission. This may be true, but it’s just as likely that the VoIP provider didn’t think about these features as being strong selling points, and now that shortsightedness is causing buyer’s remorse.

I’m sure you’d agree you’ll be much better prepared going into VoIP knowing the full range of what to expect, as it will be easier to see which providers can give you full value. Speaking of getting full value, you may recall way back that my research indicates not one, but two forms of hidden value.

VoIP’s enhanced feature set is one such form, and that’s what my recent articles have been exploring. The second one is about ease of deployment, which translates into a very different set of benefits. Hidden value can take several forms, and like enhanced features, ease of deployment is another umbrella beneath which many benefits can be found. That’s what I’ll be addressing over the next few posts.

How Ease of Deployment Adds Value
When we think about value with VoIP, the natural focus is on end users, and how VoIP saves money. This is a natural association that goes back to VoIP’s early offerings, which were almost exclusively for consumers. At that time, incumbent carriers had a monopoly that kept prices artificially high, and that was a key impetus for VoIP. Once VoIP was offered, the savings were difficult to ignore, even if the quality was suspect. There was major pent-up demand for alternatives, and that was enough to allow VoIP to become established.

Today, VoIP is much more business-grade, and businesses are also drawn to the economics, which still largely defines value for the buyers. What makes this environment different from the residential space is that the buyers are not the end users. Employees don’t pay for VoIP, and once they start using all these enhanced features, the business will benefit from various forms of reduced costs.

IT decision makers, on the other hand, have other things to worry about besides how employees utilize VoIP’s rich feature set. As applications go, VoIP is actually pretty low maintenance, so once it’s deployed they can leave it in the hands of employees. What IT really needs to focus on is keeping the network running, and in that regard, VoIP provides another form of hidden value.

Since VoIP is new technology for long-time TDM users, it’s natural to expect apprehension about how this change will impact network operations. Remember, in the legacy world, telephony runs on its own network, so there aren’t many issues impacting the data network. Depending on what you read and/or know, you may still have reservations about what could change once VoIP is added to your data network.

Conclusion
The more you think about how this is different from legacy telephony, the more important ease of deployment becomes. In order to understand that, you need to know what to look for, as well as what questions to ask of potential VoIP providers. That’s what I’ll be focusing on over my next series of posts, as you really need to have a plan to make this transition trouble-free.

Switching from one legacy phone system to another raises little risk, as maintaining the status quo is always easy. Switching to a new technology is another matter, and you may not have thought through all the network-related implications that come with VoIP.

None of these changes needs to be problematic, as any established VoIP provider will be familiar with the terrain. Of course, not all VoIP providers are created equal, and once this upcoming series runs its course, I have no doubt you’ll know how to tell the difference, and with that, the hidden value around ease of deployment will become apparent.

10/12/2014

How to Select a Hosted VoIP Solution for Your Small Business

Selecting the right voice over IP (VoIP) solution for your small business (SB) is essential for ensuring that you are not paying for services you don’t need and are getting useful features that help you connect with your customers. The two main types of VoIP service are basic hosted and managed. You can purchase the equipment and basic service at little cost, but basic VoIP services often do not come with many features. Your service provider handles a managed VoIP service, which includes many more features than basic service. This overview provides insight into both service types.

The VoIP Market
Within the next two years, the VoIP market is predicted to exceed $375 billion because of the advances in cloud technology in both basic and managed VoIP systems. VoIP hardware does not require as many physical upgrades as it did in the early stages of VoIP. Software upgrades can be pushed to add new features without requiring hardware changes. VoIP is most likely to yield a greater telephony choice over traditional public switched telephone networks no matter which service you choose.

Basic VoIP Service
Basic VoIP service comes with all the same features as traditional analog phone service. You get a dial tone, some basic hardware, and a standard feature set that varies little between service providers. These features generally include call management, auto-attendant, monitoring, conference calling, voicemail, reporting, security, call paging, and directories.

Call management handles both incoming and outgoing calls through call holding, call waiting, call pick-up, call recording, speed dial, and other features. Auto-attendant is a nice feature because it automatically directs calls (through automated voice menus) to an extension in your network without the need for a receptionist.

Basic VoIP service is also available at no cost through services such as Microsoft Skype, which allows you to create an account for your computer or a smartphone application. Skype offers video chat, calling, and instant messaging. Although this service is free, it may not provide the best solution for your SB. Skype does not offer many of the basic features mentioned above, but it’s a great solution if you’re only using it for calling.

Managed VoIP Service
Managed VoIP service packages are designed to save you money but offer expansion capabilities. Managed VoIP includes all the features of basic VoIP with additional advanced features designed to enhance your communications efficiency. Managed service does not require in-house telephony or IT experts because your service provider manages it for you.

Advanced features available through managed VoIP include contact center; mobility; advanced messaging, voice, and security; hardware, software, and reporting integration; multisite management; and system administration. Multisite management allows you to expand your business without the hassle of changing your telephony infrastructure, providing extension lists for multiple locations. Mobility allows your employees to stay connected to the office while traveling or at offsite locations through services such as find me/follow me and extension anywhere, which allow a cell phone to become a separate extension while still connecting callers directly to that employee. Depending on your business goals, current telephony system, and budget, a managed VoIP service may be the right decision.

02/12/2014

Hybrid Phones: Make VoIP and Analog Calls from One Device

Phones have gone through several changes since they were first invented. Through the years, we have seen phones change from rotary to touch tone, digital, analog, and voice over IP (VoIP). Now, hybrid phones are available that combine analog and VoIP telephony solutions. The need for this type of phone may not last because VoIP continues to replace old analog phones, but they offer a solution that supports one VoIP line and a plain old telephone service (POTS) that produces what appears to be a POTS line. Let’s look at how this technology is useful in communicating in a world that still uses POTS.

How Do Hybrid Phone Systems Work?
A hybrid phone contains a component at the end points of a phone line on the public switched telephone network (PSTN) that converts two- and four-wire forms of a bidirectional audio path. The need for a hybrid comes from the nature of PSTN lines, where two directions need to be combined on a single two-wire pair. Switching and call transmission are mostly performed on four-wire circuits in a telephone network, where the two signals are separated. Hybrid phones perform the conversion on these circuits. On older PSTN systems, converting four-wire communication was necessary, so repeater amplifiers could be placed in links for long-distance calls. On modern digital phone systems, each voice direction has to be processed and transmitted independently.

Features
Some hybrid phone products allow you to place and receive calls on an analog line or a VoIP line and switch between the two while placing the call in a call waiting queue. These products can route calls or use a find me/follow me feature to connect or route inbound VoIP calls to an analog number and inbound analog calls to a VoIP number. You can also place an analog call and route the call to a VoIP number.

Some hybrid products start out as a VoIP device that supports analog lines as an afterthought. Hybrid devices can function on private branch exchanges (PBXs) and come with support for a number of analog lines, many local analog or IP extensions, and some remote extensions. Some hybrids can connect over a LAN to yield 16 analog lines and 16 VoIP trunks, with 32 local and 40 remote extensions and a capability to max out at 64 IP extensions. This type of hybrid PBX offers the perfect solution for any small to medium-sized business using VoIP and analog phone service.

Why is a Hybrid Phone System a Smart Choice?
A hybrid phone system offers the best of both worlds. They are somewhat less expensive than traditional analog systems because the cost of IP telephony is lower than analog service. These systems also offer relief to businesses that want to continue using their existing phones. Instead of replacing every analog phone on the system, a hybrid PBX can relieve the financial burden of direct replacements with VoIP phones. These systems allow businesses to slowly replace legacy equipment over time. As phone service continues to evolve, moving away from legacy equipment is a smart move but does not have to happen over night.

02/12/2014

An Early Look at VoLTE and iPhone 6

It’s been a big year for voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE). The new standard, which runs calls as data transmissions over the more efficient LTE network and promises to deliver high-quality audio, has been eagerly anticipated to take off in the United States for several years. Making the switch was a bit like asking a large ship to change course: it took some time and careful navigation. The move to VoLTE required massive upgrades to the underlying national communications infrastructure that could not be made quickly.

With much of that work now complete, VoLTE rollouts are beginning to come online. T-Mobile and AT&T began offering VoLTE in select cities this spring, and Verizon launched its service in September. AT&T and Verizon announced in early November that they would support VoLTE interoperability between their networks by early 2015. This news greatly increases VoLTE’s prospects because for the moment, VoLTE calls can only be initiated among customers who use the same carrier.

VoLTE and iPhone 6
Amidst this flurry of activity, Apple launched iPhone 6 in September with full support for VoLTE calls. Because not all devices support the new technology, yet, the mega-popular iPhone 6 has the potential to supercharge user adoption. In an interesting move, T-Mobile announced that its iPhone devices would not just support VoLTE calls but that the carrier would seamlessly hand them off to nearby Wi-Fi networks to extend coverage beyond the limits of its cellular network.

The iPhone 6 is having a big impact beyond that single development. Just a matter of weeks into the new smartphone’s rollout, industry analysts reported that US carriers had observed a major spike in VoLTE calls (this, mind you, with no interoperability between the carriers) and that 3G calls had already dropped by one-fifth compared with prior devices. On top of that, iPhone 6 users are consuming more data than their iPhone 5–using counterparts, which is exactly what Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile had hoped for. The transition to LTE has freed up a considerable amount of network capacity, allowing the carriers to serve up more data with lower administrative burden. They will now be able to provide more efficient service and greater quantities of data for this next generation of data-hungry mobile consumers.

What to Expect
This trend should only accelerate as people across the United States receive shiny new iPhone models for the holidays. When VoLTE interoperability comes online in the new year, adoption will pick up steam in a serious way. Although the core feature associated with VoLTE is high-definition voice, that’s just the beginning. Also due to arrive with the switch to LTE are video calling and a host of communications features falling under the umbrella of rich communications services (RCS)—rich messaging, chat, file transfer, and presence. In short, US consumers and businesses will soon find a considerably expanded suite of services on their smartphones in addition to the improved and more stable audio calling that comes with VoLTE. We can expect this improvement to cause a further rise in data consumption down the road, as well.

Will 2015 be the year of VoLTE? The future looks promising thanks in large part to the massive interest in Apple’s newest iPhone. It will be interesting to note how adoption proceeds when the enhanced set of features—RCS—arrives.

30/11/2014

VoIP Provides a Low-Cost Solution to Reaching Your Global Customers

Voice over IP (VoIP) has revolutionized the world of telecommunications ever since its inception. Businesses can save hundreds to thousands of dollars every year compared with traditional analog phone service. International calling is low cost and sometimes free through VoIP. Not only is VoIP a low-cost solution to national and international calls, but several features, such as auto-attendant, voicemail-to–e-mail transcription, and hold music, are often included in the service.

Not All Cheap VoIP is Good VoIP
Just because a VoIP service is free or inexpensive doesn’t mean it’s good, however. The problem is that there are so many VoIP service providers that it’s difficult to select the one that has the right solution for your business. Free VoIP services don’t always offer the stability and features that a fast-paced environment demands. Free VoIP doesn’t offer auto-assistant, three-way calling, conference calling, and other common features that a paid service does.

Some low-cost VoIP services are available at around $5 per month per user or extension with unlimited calling within the United States and Canada, limited free international calls, and smartphone support without an additional fee. Many low-cost service providers offer bundles for some of their more advanced features, including find me/follow me and call routing. Some of these providers have a history of providing excellent customer service and have a solid reputation in the industry.

Cost Aside, Other Considerations
In addition to cost, consider customer reviews of different VoIP providers and services to gain insight into which come with high recommendations. This information will certainly prove useful when selecting a service. Many businesses choose to stay with the VoIP service that their current broadband carrier provides in a bundled package. The least expensive option isn’t always the best option when it comes to selecting a service your business needs to operate.

Free services such as Microsoft Skype offer free calls between users of their service worldwide through an existing broadband connection. Skype offers instant messaging and video conferencing, as well, with the caveat that the connection must be made between Skype accounts. Although Skype may seem more like an app, it offers a temporary solution for companies looking to connect with their global offices and clients.

Low-Cost VoIP
Low-cost VoIP services offer a great resource for companies to connect to their global customers or companies looking to make global expansions. Many VoIP providers allow you to select phone numbers with different area codes worldwide to give the appearance of having established offices in those areas. This practice also gives clients in those area codes to dial a number local to them, which can save them on long-distance charges.

Mobility
More vendors are offering smartphone apps with their service, which helps businesses in remote and rural areas with a strong Internet or mobile service connection reach out to their global clients. Depending on the business, location no longer has to be a primary concern. Companies can offer remote or telecommuting options to their employees so that they can stay connected using their smartphones for both business and personal use. VoIP provides the low cost and mobile freedom businesses need to operate in a global market.