You could switch over to Hosted VoIP for small business because:

1. The voice clarity is astonishingly good,
2. The cost is very low when compared to your regular phone bills and in most cases,
3. It is just a matter of downloading and installing VoIP software onto an already existing computer or IPad.

Voice over IP or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has made it possible to make local and international calls using internet. Every business today, has an email id which also means they have access to the internet. Internet therefore, is the connection between all businesses. All that was left to do was to use this media to communicate. When that happened, VoIP was born.

Tools for quality VoIP for small business

You can setup a VoIP communication with just the following tools:

1. Broadband - Reasonably high-speed internet connection (commonly known as broadband with speeds starting at 1Mbps)
2. Hardware - A computer with microphone and speakers (these days phone-to-internet devices are also available)
3. VoIP software (e.g. Skype)

If you have the first two of the above tools, you can download and install the third (VoIP software). Before you download VoIP software, know that you can choose between FREE business VoIP software and PAID VoIP software. The former will obviously bombard you with adverts and the voice quality might not be all that impressive.

Let‘˜s examine each of the three tools required for VoIP for Business:

Broadband You need a minimum speed of 500 Kbps (ideally 1Mbps and above). Anything less than 500Kbps will result is broken speech and too much lag time.

Hardware You may use your laptop/desktop/IPad or Tablet PC. Whatever you use, it needs a microphone and a speaker. These days, the market is also flooded with VoIP phones. These have the ability to directly connect to the internet via a standard broadband cable or Wi-Fi.

VoIP Software The right VoIP software (e.g. Skype) enables you to not only connect with people who might be connected to the internet when you make the call, it also enables you to dial cell phone and landline numbers. The latter usually requires a paid subscription.

Limitations of Small Business VoIP

No technology is perfect. Every person using Voice over IP or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) requires a broadband connection. So if you plan to telephonic conference using VoIP, be aware that every participant needs to have the above three tools.

This limitation can be removed if you have a paid subscription. A paid subscription permits you to also dial a cell phone or landline connection.

How does VoIP help small businesses?

If all participants of a telephonic conversation are online, you can use VoIP to make a totally FREE telephone call (commonly called internet call). The participants could be located anywhere on the globe. So long as they are connected to the internet, their physical location is immaterial.

The only payment you need to make is when you make calls to cell phone and landline numbers. Here too, with increasing number of people possessing a GPRS enabled Smartphone, you could make a VoIP call to the person‘˜s cell phone thereby reducing your phone bill to negligible amounts.

Change over to Virtual Call Center today.

Het bericht VoIP for Small Business verscheen eerst op Emea Persberichten.

VoIP routers provide the following benefits;

à¢â‚¬¢ QoS Quality of Service
à¢â‚¬¢ SIP Server Redundancy
à¢â‚¬¢ Traffic Shaping
à¢â‚¬¢ VoIP Proxy

VoIP Terms Defined

QoS: stands for Quality of Service: QoS does several things, on a network that shares voice and data, a QoS capable router gives priority to voice traffic. This is important because there will be times when you are on the phone and someone else using your network sends or receives a large file or downloads a video and you do not want this to affect the voice quality of your call. A router that can provide QoS will prevent this from happening.

SIP Server Redundancy: A quality VoIP Service Provider has servers at more than one location. If one location goes out of service, the secondary or back up location automatically takes over. A true VoIP router will automatically route calls to the backup location if the primary location is out of service. The router you get from your ISP or Best Buy does not have this capability.

Traffic Shaping: Allows you to decide how much bandwidth to allocate to voice and how much to data. If you give priority to voice traffic, you could use up all your available bandwidth and your computers will not be able to access the internet. VoIP routers have this built in.

VoIP Proxy: Allows phones on your network to register directly with the PSTN. If your cannot do this your call first has to travel to your VoIP Service Provider‘˜s SIP server and then to the PSTN. Any increase in distance that your VoIP packets have to travel increases the chance of lost packets and other forms of network interference.

Most quality Business VoIP providers strongly recommend that you install a router designed for VoIP traffic in order to guarantee Quality of Service. They are hesitant to require it because of the higher costs. If your business depends on your phone, you would be wise to get a VoIP router.

Check out also for Hosted Call Center and Small Business VoIP

Het bericht Routers are a Critical VoIP Component verscheen eerst op Emea Persberichten.

If you are like most businesses, you will probably want to take your existing phone system with you to your new office location. This means that you will have to break the system down and reassemble it at your new location. While your system is in transit, your company is without phone service. You will probably try and do this over the weekend so as to not be without phone service during normal business hours (assuming a normal business hour does not include evenings and weekends).

If you are lucky and things go as planned, you can accomplish this move in a single weekend. Unfortunately, things don‘˜t always go as planned. Your company could be without phone service until your old system has been reinstalled in the new location.

Moving a Hosted PBX Costs Next to Nothing

Moving a Hosted VoIP phone system costs next to nothing. Depending on the size and complexity of your existing PBX phone system, the cost to move your system can easily run into the thousands of dollars. At a minimum, you are looking at a couple of grand to move even a small system.
There is an easier way to move a phone system.

Sell your old system on eBay and use the proceeds to buy a Hosted VoIP phone system. Actually, you don‘˜t buy a Hosted VoIP phone system, you pay for the service on a monthly basis. The only equipment you buy is the IP phone sets and a specialized VoIP router. That is why moving a Hosted VoIP phone system is a breeze.

If the proceeds from the sale of your old system are enough to pay for the components of a Hosted VoIP phone system, then you have actually come out ahead. How so? The reason you have come out ahead is that you have upgraded to state-of-the-art phone system without taking money out of your pocket. Remember, the only hardware required for a Hosted VoIP phone system are the IP Phone sets and a VoIP router. IP Phone sets range in price from $150.00 to $400.00. A VoIP router costs less than $1,000.00.

Install and Test Hosted VoIP before Moving

Before moving to your new office location, you can install and test the Hosted VoIP System. (Moving office locations is confusing enough, moving and learning a new phone system is a nightmare.) The VoIP Provider can assign temporary numbers to your Hosted VoIP phone system so your employees can practice and test the new system. The new phone system will be completely independent of and will not affect your existing phone system.

Once you have tested the new phone system and your staff is comfortable using it, the VoIP Service Provider can port (transfer) your existing phone numbers from your old system to your new Hosted VoIP phone system. You are now using the new VoIP system at your old office location.

Why is it easy to move a Hosted VoIP Phone System?

On the day of your move, all that has to be done to move a Hosted VoIP phone system is to unplug the IP Phone Sets and move them to their new locations. Most companies have their employees move their phones. If your employees are unable to move the phones, you can have your IT person pack up the phones. It is simply a matter of unplugging the phones from the from your network and unplugging from the electrical outlet.

The reinstallation of the phones at your new location is simply a matter of plugging in the phones at each employees work station. The only difficult part is that each employee must have the same phone on the new desk as they had on their old desk. As soon as the network in your new location is ready, your Business VoIP Phone system will function exactly as it did at your old office location.

Your Hosted VoIP Phone System Never Goes Down

After you have turned out the lights at your old office location and before you have installed your Hosted VoIP phone system at your new location, your phone system will continue to function. That‘˜s right, during the time your phone system is in the box on the truck, it will continue to function. This is just one of the many benefits of a Hosted VoIP phone system.

Callers to your company will hear your company greeting, if a caller calls one of your employees, they will either be connected directly to that employees voice mail or, your employee could have set up call forwarding before they left and had all calls transferred to their cell phone. To the outside world, it appears as if nothing has changed.

If a caller has left a voice mail message, the system will convert that message into a .wav file and e-mail it to any e-mail account including a smart phone e-mail. If an employee does not have a smart phone, the system will send a text message notification that a voice mail has been received. The employee can dial into their voice mail account a listen to their voice mail messages. They can even forward those messages to other employees. This all takes place while you system is in transit.

Check out also for Business VoIP Provider and Hosted Call Center

Het bericht Moving a Hosted VoIP Phone System is not Really Moving verscheen eerst op Emea Persberichten.

Along came VoIP and suddenly businesses had another option. However, businesses soon learned this new VoIP technology was not quite as reliable as traditional phone service. That was 5-7 years ago when VoIP was in its infancy.

Hosted VoIP technology has matured to the point where the call quality and reliability is comparable to traditional phone service. The real benefit to the small businesses is the PBX Features that VoIP technology delivers.

Most Hosted Business VoIP Phone systems offer a feature rich package of PBX functions that include Auto-Attendants, Hunt Groups, Voice Mail, Call Transfer, etc (see a full list of VoIP PBX Features) without requiring you to purchase expensive telecommunications hardware.

Hosted VoIP makes it easy to incorporate a geographically distributed group of employees, even remote works that work out of a home office can be incorporated into your business phone system. With a Hosted VoIP Phone system the only hardware your business needs are the IP Phones and a VoIP router.

A Business VoIP Phone System allows businesses to only pay for the PBX services actually used. Upgrading a Hosted VoIP Phone system is a simple process from a technical perspective and generally does not require additional telecommunications hardware.

Creating a multi-location system is no different than adding a phone to your current office system. Hosted VoIP Phone systems simplify adding additional geographic locations, including home based employees. New office locations can be added in any location that has a high speed internet connection.

To learn more about AVAD Technologies Hosted Call Center systems please calls (800) 733-4136, or visit us on the web at AvadTechnologies.com

Het bericht Business Hosted VoIP Small Business Benefits verscheen eerst op Emea Persberichten.

You have clients to deal with, projects to work on, marketing to do ...and the list goes on.

One area that consultants should give more consideration to is outsourcing. You can outsource a whole host of areas of your business, but let‘˜s just look at one today - your telephone communications.

When you first hear the word call center you probably think of a big open office floor with hundreds of cubicles and phones ringing off the hook ... a buzz of men and women quick talking to take an order or to provide support filling the air.

Valuable in More Than One Way

Today however, call center services go way beyond this and as a consultant can help you in more than one area of your business.

Here are just a few examples:

* You‘˜ll be out at meetings or on the road all day ... call centers generally offer an answering service and can receive your calls for you and forward them to your mobile phone if and when needed.
* You‘˜re putting on a seminar or have created an information product you want to sell - of course you‘˜ll have registration online, but many people still prefer calling in - this is a perfect job for a call center to help you with.
* Your business is growing, and while you‘˜re not quite ready to hire a full time assistant you do want and need someone answering your day to day calls ... call centers often have receptionist services that can help you with all of that and more.
* And there‘˜s a whole other angle to this too. Call centers can be useful for your client projects. When you want to conduct a survey or some research .. call centers can help you get that data by making those calls for you.

Choosing the Right Provider

The virtual call center market is a crowded one and you‘˜ll find all kinds of companies offering a wide array of services. Before you choose one to work with be sure that they clearly understand your goals, are open to doing an initial project like a trial so you can see if you like the working arrangements, and be sure take a look at their client list (and don‘˜t be afraid to give one or two a call to get the whole story).

Hosted Call Center Strategy to Find New Clients

Let me share with you another way that all of this can help you to bring in new clients. If you‘˜ve been reading this blog for a while you‘˜ll know I‘˜m a big believer in edu-marketing - that is marketing through educating prospective clients and not bombarding them with hardcore sales messages.

A classic edu-marketing strategy is to offer a free video or report on your website, in your marketing materials, ads and so forth. By giving your prospects the option to call a 24/7 voice mail system that automatically collects their name and contact info they feel better because they know they won‘˜t be ´pushed to buy‘˜ and are then more likely to request your information ... which is great for you because the more people that see your materials and the value in what you offer the better.

Hope you enjoyed this look into how you can make call center software work for your consulting business. We‘˜ll continue to look at other ways you can outsource aspects of your business for growth in future posts.

If you‘˜ve used call center services and have a story (good or bad) to share, would love to hear about it in the comments below.

Article Source: http://www.consulting-business.com/how-consultants-use-call-centers.html

Het bericht How Consultants Use Call Centers verscheen eerst op Emea Persberichten.

Why You Need To Manage Incoming Calls

Every employee, customer and prospective customer at some point will interact with your company over the telephone. It is extremely important to carefully map out your company‘˜s incoming and outgoing call flow to make this process as effecient as possible or you risk losing business. An effective call handling process ensures your company has a professional image.

A Hosted VoIP phone system gives you complete control over how incoming and outgoing calls are processed. Having an effective process avoids problems such as losing important calls and transferring callers to the wrong person or department.

Your customers do not like being transferred incorrectly from one department to the other. Routing a customer call to the appropriate department on the first try is very important, especially if that customer is already upset about something. Don‘˜t compound the problem by incorrectly handling these calls. We have all had this experience and it leaves a very bad taste.

We see a lot companies that let the calling experience just happen, evolve over time, or allow empolyees to decide how customer calls should be handled. This is not the way you want to manage such a critically important business function. You would be surprised how many companies manage the phone system this way.

The good news is that you can easily turn this situation from a problem into a benefit with a Hosted VoIP phone system.

A Hosted VoIP Phone System Is Affordable

Most small businesses don‘˜t realize how affordable Hosted Business VoIP phone system that has state-of-the-art is. This is great news for the growing business. Many of your competitors have fallen into the same trap of portraying an unprofessional image simply because they don‘˜t realize how easily a Hosted VoIP phone system can correct this problem.

The initial investment to get a fully functional Business VoIP phone system is a lot less than you might think. You can buy quality IP phones for less than $125.00. The only other hardware required is a VoIP router. For a 15 person company, a VoIP router costs less than $750.00.

You can add more items like conference phones and video conferencing phones, but in order to get a fully functioning phone system all you really need are the IP Phone sets and a VoIP router.

Only Pay For The Services You Need No Hardware

With a traditional phone system, you have to purchase the hardware required for the services your phone system needs. If your company needs an Auto-Attendant, you have to purchase Auto-Attendant hardware and pay for the installation. In the future, if you need to add a second Auto-Attendant in a different location, you are forced to purchase additional hardware.

This is not the case with a Business VoIP phone system. You get complete freedom to change your phone system at any time without purchasing additional hardware and paying for installation. You can literally change, add or remove phones, auto-attendents, hunt groups, call centers on-line and in real time.

The Flexibility To Adapt As Conditions Change

Flexibility is the true benefit of a Business VoIP phone system. You will no longer have to adapt your business to the limitations imposed by your phone system. If you think about it, almost everything you do and every change you make to your company requires changes to your phone system. Often, it is the cost of the changes to your phone system that prevents companies from executing strategies.

It is difficult to measure the cost of not executing a strategy, but companies that do not adapt often do not succeed.

If you would like to learn more about how AVAD Technologies can help your company convert to a Hosted VoIP phone service, Virtual Call Center, please call (800) 733-4136 to speak with a Business VoIP Specialist

Het bericht VoIP Saves Money And Improves Productivity verscheen eerst op Emea Persberichten.