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Guides & Tips

Softphones: What are the Advantages of Using them?

By Gideon Hack January 2, 2018

Softphones have become very popular across the world due to its cost-effectiveness, the multiple features offered by the software and the ability of the device to offer unified communications, including voice, video, instant messaging and fixed-mobile convergence. The 6 Benefits of Using Softphones: Cost of softphones Softphones are inexpensive and many products are available free of charge. In addition, softphones allow expensive desk and SIP phones to be replaced, and the cost of maintaining this hardware is no longer a consideration. Any upgrades to the softphone are generally free-of-charge and are easily installed without requiring expensive technical assistance. Save on calls In general, VoIP-to-VoIP calls are completely free. International and long-distance rates are much lower when using a VoIP softphone versus traditional telephony, so those making regular or frequent calls out-of-state or country can effect significant cost savings. Also, traditional landlines require a high general operating fee in order to…

Guides & Tips

How to Choose a Cloud PBX Provider

By Gideon Hack December 20, 2017

When using a cloud PBX, customers have access to advanced features and enterprise-level functionality, while enjoying reduced infrastructure costs and minimized system administration concerns. However, you should diligently compare providers to ensure that you do not subscribe to a service that does not fit your needs and goals. This article lists some points to consider before committing to any hosted PBX phone service provider and should assist you in choosing a service that meets your communication needs. Are my feature set requirements satisfied? Before you start looking for a provider, you must compile a list of features that are essential to your business model and operational requirements, and also consider what features you might need in the future. In many cases, the cloud PBX provider charges for a specific set of features, or bills on a per-feature basis. Therefore, it may be useful to differentiate between “must have” features, and…

People & Interviews

Mark Spencer: Mastering the Software-Based PBX

By Carlota Vilalva November 29, 2017

Few have contributed as greatly to the open-source world of VoIP and telecommunications as Mark Spencer. Faced with financial obstacles, he did what any good leader would and built his own solution that has since then benefitted businesses around the world. His open-source framework Asterisk has been able to disrupt the status quo of PBX or Private Branch Exchange, systems while giving business owners a way to inexpensively manage their telecommunications. Education and Beginnings Mark Spencer wasn’t a man who came out of nowhere and built this innovative program. He was enrolled at Auburn University as a computer engineer when the entrepreneurial spirit first hit him. While still a student and finishing up his degree, Spencer decided it was time to put his education to the test and found his own business. This culminated in Linux Support Systems, a company started in 1999 with the original aim of supplying Linux support…

Telecom News

Call Center Challenges: Inbound Calling in Focus

By Gideon Hack November 27, 2017

Call centers are at the front line of customer service and are expected to run at peak efficiency while maintaining a high call volume. There are many challenges in managing and operating a call center, one of them being securing inbound calling services that meet both current and future needs. Voice support serves as the backbone for the call center, and it is short-sighted for a brand to risk their reputation by exposing consumers to a substandard voice product. Management is constantly concerned with basic communication issues. Are callers getting a busy signal? Are calls being dropped? Is the voice quality satisfactory? At the same time, the concurrent call requirements have to be managed, to ensure sufficient capacity without wasting money on excess channels. Furthermore, in recent years, organizations have seen their customer base contact them not only through more media channels but also from diverse locations around the globe.…

Guides & Tips

How to Choose the Best Softphone for You

By Gideon Hack November 27, 2017

Well-designed software and plentiful features are essential to having the best softphone: effective and useful. This is especially true of the user interface (UI), where all the necessary functions must be displayed front and center, smoothly integrating voice operations with the workflow processes. In many cases, the softphone is designed to resemble a traditional telephone, with a display panel and buttons for user control, very much like a standard phone interface. Over and above the importance of the user interface, there are a number of factors to consider when choosing the right product. We will discuss these factors in order to assist you in making an informed decision in selecting the best softphone. Cost There is a wide range of both free and paid softphones. In many cases, vendors offer a free, limited-feature version of their paid products. If you wish to use the free version, then you should carefully evaluate this…

Guides & Tips

How to Choose the Right DID Provider

By Gideon Hack November 27, 2017

The VoIP industry is booming, and this has created a significant demand for DID (Direct Inbound Dialing) services and choosing a DID provider has become harder. Very often, these services are essential to the basic premise of the business or enterprise; incoming calls should reach their required destination efficiently with the proper quality and expected reliability. In all likelihood, voice support serves as the backbone for your business, and it is short-sighted to risk your reputation by exposing employees and consumers to a substandard voice product. Selecting a provider that satisfies your requirements for coverage, quality, scalability, and pricing is a complex issue, and some of the essential criteria to consider during this decision process are: Global Coverage Ensure that your DID provider includes the geographic coverage of numbers that you require for your business, including toll-free, local, mobile, national and SMS-enabled numbers. In addition, the provider should be actively…

Telecom News

OrecX Turns Call Recording Feature into a Platform

By Carlota Vilalva November 9, 2017

“This call may be monitored and recorded for record-keeping, training and quality-assurance purposes,” is a message that probably all of us have heard before when calling a contact center. But once an agent answers the phone, we immediately forget that we are being recorded, after all, we will most likely never hear that call recording. For the Contact Center, on the other hand, that recording is extremely useful. It allows business to collect and analyze a set of data that enables them to improve and optimize their service. However, there is much more to call recording than the eyes can meet. Steve Kaiser, Co-founder and CEO of OrecX Open Source Recording, shows us that it is not only a great feature available thanks to Business VoIP and the Cloud, but a powerful tool to boost your business. Why do businesses use call recording? Businesses are aware that nowadays customer experience…

Market Trends

SIP Trunking Market to Grow at CAGR of 18.23%

By Gisele Dahis November 5, 2017

According to Technavio’s analysts, the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Trunking market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18.23% by 2021. SIP Trunking is an Internet-based service that allows businesses to extend VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony beyond the organization’s firewall without the need for an IP-PSTN gateway. It allows VoIP users to stay connected in local and long-distance calls to and from endpoints in the traditional phone network. The report ‘Global Session Initiation Protocol Trunking Market 2017-2021’, was based on detailed and reliable data gathered from an extensive research and an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. It provides a complete market and vendor landscape as well as a SWOT analysis of the key vendors and major factors that influence the market such as drivers, opportunities, and challenges. Session Initiation Protocol Trunking Market Driver: – The increasing adoption of cloud-based solutions is…

Telecom News

Small Companies Struggle with Proposed Robo Calling Solution

By Carlota Vilalva October 30, 2017

According to the American Cable Association (ACA), small VoIP providers may struggle to meet the technology demands of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposed robo calling solution plan. ACA represents around 750 of the smaller and mid-sized firms distributed around the US market. The association claims that most of its members might not afford the technology required for the SHAKEN/STIR FCC’s proposal. The SHAKEN (Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs) is a framework that has been developed by STIR (Secure Telephone Identity Revised), a working group that is looking for ways to prevent the 2.4 billion robo calls made to Americans every month. The system uses digital certificates, based on common public key cryptography techniques to ensure that a calling number is accurate and secure and has not been spoofed. The service can be provided by a carrier, a third party company or even via software built into a…