The Cloud-Based Telephone Solution That’s Revolutionizing Louisiana Businesses

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Speed and dependability are the beacons of business communication. What’s faster than a
cloud-based telephone system? LineOne provides instant access to Fortune 500
communication features for all Louisiana businesses. It also achieves dependability with
unlimited support and upgrades. No matter what your needs are, no matter when you need
them, GreenSky offers a unique solution for Louisiana business owners looking to upgrade their
phone systems.

Why Choose LineOne as Your Cloud-Based Telephone
System?

If you are looking to upgrade your phone system, there are four factors you should consider.
Reflecting on the purpose of your phone system, you need it to stay connected internally and
with your customers at all times. In order to do this effectively and efficiently, you need a
versatile system that can handle all of your needs, no matter what the scenario.

Mobility

Ever heard the phrase, ‘Anytime, anywhere’, and thought to yourself, “That would be great for
my business communications, but how do I make it happen?” That’s exactly what you will get
with this cloud-based telephone system. LineOne can connect to your employees’ cell
phones, tablets and laptops, for complete connectivity anytime, anywhere.

Versatility

From being able to reach your team on the other end of your building, or on the other end of the
globe, to a plethora of dynamic features, LineOne has the versatility to keep you up to pace
in the most competitive of business environments. Get the call management features you need
to give your customers an experience that’s always worth 5 stars.

Unity

Bring in all of your communication needs into one system. Get a direct line for all of your users.
Send your voicemails directly to email. LineOne is a complete telephone service that is
extremely user-friendly and efficient for businesses that are looking to simplify their process,
without compromising the necessary features your business needs to thrive in the Louisiana
market.

You can also create unity within your company by staying connected internally. LineOne
offers direct messaging for quick internal communication, regardless of physical boundaries.
Reach your mobile employees in an instant or get a quick answer from a coworker on a different
floor. Direct messaging keeps your team engaged and able to stay on task by avoiding
distracting trips from desk to desk.

Scalability

Upgrade your system at any time or even downscale at any time. LineOne offers unlimited
programming changes and best of all, a pay as you grow structure that is ideal for Louisiana
businesses of all sizes and potential. LineOne can take you all the way from startup to
industry leader and has all the features you’ll need along the way.

If you are looking for an affordable cloud-based telephone system, look no further. Contact the
experts at Universal ComOne to schedule your system install today.

How a Phone Bill Analysis Can Save Your Business Money

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Whether they’re running a big company or a small business, executives, managers, and business owners are always on the lookout for ways to save their company money. When you think about cost-saving measures, your company phone bill may not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, there’s a good chance that there are ways for you to save on your business phone bill right now. A phone bill analysis can help your business save money by identifying inaccuracies and providing tailored recommendations for cutting phone bill costs.

What is a Phone Bill Analysis?

Phone bills can be confusing, especially business telephone bills that include a variety of additional charges that you may not see on your personal telephone bill. While some business professionals struggle to understand all of these charges, others just accept the charges as is because they feel that it is too much trouble to get more information or debate unnecessary charges.

This is where a phone bill analysis can help you. A professional telecom service provider can review your company phone bill to ensure that the charges are accurate and look for unnecessary charges that you may be racking up each month, regardless of your current carrier. The telecom service provider can also consult with you to see if you are paying for anything that you don’t need and recommend beneficial changes to your current services.

Benefits of Telecom Consulting

Telecom consulting and phone bill analysis can provide many benefits to businesses in any industry. Here are just a few ways that a phone bill analysis can help your business:

  • Stop paying unnecessary charges. You may be paying for services or features that you don’t even use. A phone bill analysis can help you identify these unnecessary charges and save money.
  • Save more money. In addition to identifying unnecessary charges, a phone bill analysis can also help find other areas where your business could be saving money.
  • Get rid of hidden fees. With ongoing monthly telephone bill monitoring, you can make sure that your company is not paying any hidden fees each month.
  • Learn about better network options. A phone bill analysis can also help you discover better network options. Your telecom service provider can recommend the best competitive network connectivity options to run your business more efficiently.
  • Focus on core business. Reviewing your phone bill every month takes time. This is time that you could spend focusing on your core business. A phone bill analysis gives you the peace of mind in knowing that someone else is taking care of reviewing your phone bill for accuracy.

Lafayette Phone Bill Analysis

Are you ready to see how much you could be saving on your business phone bill? Universal Com One offers professional telecom consulting services, which include phone bill analysis, cost saving recommendations, carrier orders, monthly charge monitoring, network connectivity recommendations, and cost-effective implementation. Call us today for more information or to get started: (377) 205-9364

Choosing The Right IP Phone

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With the ubiquitous use of smartphones, one would think that phones are dead. Not really. IP Phone is used quite extensively by businesses. It is estimated that over 90% of office communication is through IP Phone.

With 100’s of IP Phones available on the market, how do you choose the one that is right for you? The confusing options from multiple vendors with attractive feature sets, voice quality and price points only increase the complexity of making a decision. Let us take a look at some of the broad factors that need to be considered in the decision to choose an IP Phone.

Do We Need IP Phones At All

There is no denying that the use of mobile phones in enterprise is soaring. At the same time, Nemertes Research has found that businesses still prefer tethered phones. The obvious first reason is call quality. Mobile phone signals are not always strong inside office buildings and office campuses.  We have a tendency to raise our own voice when we cannot hear the other party in a call properly. This may lead to a negative impression for a customer.

Expense is also a strong point.  The costs of supporting mobile devices are going up. If you want to use an executive’s mobile phone as an extension, you will have to bear his data connection costs. At the same time, VoIP and SIP enables executives to log into their work number from anywhere as well as make and receive calls. There is a major benefit to having roaming extensions.

Within the office, IP Phones deliver consistency, reliability and high voice quality that are hard to beat.

Match IP Phone Features to Service

IP Phones are available today from under $40 to $500 and above. It is important to look at the VoIP service’s features and price points before choosing an IP Phone. It does not make much sense to have to subscribe to more VoIP features that are not used just because your IP Phone can use those features. You may also need to integrate the IP Phones with your own internal applications as well as CRM platforms. Though it may make sense to spend a little more for future-proofing, it is not cost effective to go overboard.

Your decision to go with an on-premise VoIP or a cloud based/ hosted system will also have a bearing on the purchase decision of IP Phones.

Stick To Your Budget

All businesses work on a budget. When buying IP Phones, stick to the budget that has been decided. Some IP Phone features may be attractive, but that does not mean you should break your budget. When making a budget, look at all options and features, and decide what you need. Once that is done, stick to those features and budget.

About Universal ComOne

Universal ComOne offers award winning business telephone systems that are right for any business. We can design a solution to fit your needs. Please visit our VoIP Phone Systems page to get more details on our business phone capabilities.

Call 337-205-9364 for all your business phone system, data cabling and communication needs.

Office Phone Systems And IoT Alliance

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Internet of Things (IoT) has come with a lot of promises to keep us connected through every possible wearable, household and handheld tech device. It is truly the best thing that could have happened over the last few years. Smart devices are going to get smarter when office phone systems through VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and Internet of Things shake hands. All smart devices will start offering users the ultimate experience and usher in the future digital revolution. Since everything will be powered by the Internet, VoIP is going to play a very crucial role.

Communication Between Devices

According to the estimates of IT market pundits, a whopping 200 billion devices will be connected to the Internet. This implies that every individual across the world will be connected to approximately 9 devices! Office phone systems will receive a shot in the arm because connectivity will no longer be an issue. As you read through this post, there are terabytes of data being exchanged across various networks in the world.

Most of the office phone systems can connect and communicate with one another virtually and wirelessly from any location on earth only if there is an Internet connection. VoIP is completely an Internet-based technology, so it is going to provide an ideal platform for all devices to communicate. Users like you and me can now make optimal use of all the smart devices that we use in the office or our home.

VoIP technology has immense potential for future growth, something that started way back in 2000. Over the past decade it has not only become cheaper and faster but also a strong alternative to the traditional phone system that existed in our homes and offices. Old and cranky office phone systems are quickly being replaced by VoIP. By leveraging the potential of IoT, it is going to turn into an ideal choice for integrating and managing smart devices.

We are already familiar with various communication and social media apps like Facebook, Gtalk and Skype, which are powered by VoIP. Businesses as well as individuals are able to set up cloud-based as well as hosted VoIP services by subscribing to any of the VoIP service providing companies. These companies are offering a bouquet of services that include office communication, data storage and customer relation management, etc.

Both Internet of things and VoIP office phone systems can help users manage a host of devices efficiently. Here is a list of things that we can expect from the much anticipated alliance of VoIP and IoT.

Anytime Access to Data

Accessing data from anywhere at anytime will become a reality when we use devices powered by VoIP and IoT. Companies will be able to update all customer data related to their behaviors, buying patterns, preferences etc. and at the same time inform them about special offers and personalized discounts on a real-time basis. Since the data is hosted on the cloud, collaboration among different groups of customer support teams spread across different time zones will become far easier.

Remote Management Through Office Phone Systems

Smart devices are already remotely manageable and when these will be powered by VoIP and IoT, they will get even better. It will be possible for you to mange devices like security systems, thermostats, air conditioning systems, etc. You can not only enable them from anywhere using your smart device but disable them when not in use. Office phone systems can now be used to manage the power system at the office.

VoIP has been around for over a decade and it was available at a very small scale. It is now time for this powerful technology to hog the limelight and help in leveraging the full potential of the revolution called IoT.

About Universal ComOne

Universal ComOne offers award winning business telephone systems that are right for any business. We can design a solution to fit your needs. Please visit our VoIP Phone Systems page to get more details on our business phone capabilities.

Call 337-205-9364 for all your business phone system, data cabling and communication needs.

Is Your Business Prepared for a Hurricane or Major Disaster?

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Toshiba Strata CIX IP Communication Systems Family

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The CIX670 Provides Flexibility and Growth

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Strata CIX670 has the configuration flexibility to expand as your needs grow. Supports a complete line of Toshiba IP and digital telephones, analog telephones, as well as digital and analog Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) interfaces, and Strata-Net multi-system networking interfaces. Strata CIX670 can be configured to include any combination of the above devices working together.CIX670 - Small File Size

Customize Your Office Phone Systems

Businesses differ in needs, processes, and employees so why shouldn’t they differ in phone systems? The Strata CIX 670 is designed to be built to your specifications. Choose from a full line of digital and IP telephone models. Digital cordless phones give you the mobility you need. SoftIPT softphones are also available for call access from any laptop, PCs, or tablet.

Wireless Telephones, Softphones, and Digital Cordless Phones Add Mobility to the Strata CIX670 System

Most businesses today are taking advantage of the mobility available with technology and extending their work from the corporate office to home offices, start-up locations, branch offices and customer sites. The Strata CIX670 phone system includes digital cordless phones, softphones, and wireless telephones connected via your wireless local area network (WLAN) to help coordinate your communications wherever you work by:

  • Providing one integrated system for all your office locations.
  • Roaming anywhere your WLAN will go while maintaining critical voice and data functions.
  • Saving money by avoiding expensive long-distance charges on calls between various locations.

Toshiba’s cordless digital telephones specifically:

Give phone functionality a new meaning, with features like desk telephone extension numbers, Caller ID, call forwarding, multi-line access, and options to switch between your cordless and digital desk telephones during a call. Protect your phone’s frequency range, delivering maximum security.

Back to On-Location: Your Company Call Center

Your call center doesn’t have to be complex to be powerful. Strata’s Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) features make it easy to simplify call center operations, while increasing customer satisfaction. Effectively allocate inbound calls among your call-handling agents.

Intelligent Announcements play pre-recorded messages and inform holding callers of their place in the queue or estimated time before answer, and offers alternative actions like going to voicemail or asking callers to try back later.

Call Center Reports help you analyze agent performance, call center group activity, and system status, in addition to forecasting future call center staffing requirements by analyzing call volume patterns.

Profit Quickly and Continually

By getting the Strata CIX670, you can improve communications and your bottom line. The Strata CIX670 works to bring down your costs and increase your profitability by: Looking at incoming and outgoing call patterns to make stronger management decisions and simplify client billing. Restricting access to long-distance calls. Connecting easily to high-speed digital services. Using Voice over IP technology, which eliminates many long-distance charges. Routing your outgoing calls over the least costly trunk line or long-distance carrier.

CIX100 Provides Cost Effective Capabilities As Your Business Grows

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Here’s what your business can do with Toshiba’s Strata CIX100:

Networkable with other systems, the CIX100 phone systems can combine telephones, CO lines, and peripherals in any configuration — along with the ability to build out your system as needed. CIX 100

  • Expand up to 112 ports or even more by networking multiple systems.
  • Share important information and functions between your main office, branch offices, and remote locations.
  • Take advantage of remote user telephone connectivity and use your communication features anywhere you work by choosing from a full line of wireless and cordless phones.
  • Enjoy efficient communication with voice processing capabilities that include Voicemail, Auto Attendant, Automated Speech Recognition (ASR), Unified Messaging, Text-to-Speech (TTS) and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) capabilities.
  • Use convenient ACD/MIS call center features to answer incoming customer calls.
  • Have maximum security with Toshiba’s Cordless Digital Telephones that safeguard your phone’s frequency range.

Configure Flexibly Now And Still Manage Growth

Thinking about getting the CIX100, but worried that it won’t be able to accommodate your expanding business? The CIX100 is ready to accommodate your need to expand your system through its modular architecture that enables you to add capabilities and capacity later.

The CIX100 supports a full line of Toshiba digital, analog and IP telephones as well as digital and analog Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) interfaces, and StrataNet multi-system networking interfaces. You can configure your communication system to include any combination of these devices and rest assure they’ll work together.

Extend Company Communications To Anywhere

Today’s enterprise does not always end at the company doors, or reside in a single building but instead goes wherever opportunity takes it. Increasing numbers of employees who are taking care of business from branch offices, start-up locations, customer locations, and home offices need communications solutions to connect them.

The Strata CIX was engineered for just that—to keep you connected–wherever you work. How does the CIX100 maximize your bottom line and productivity by keeping you connected?
Provides one integrated system for all your office locations by networking multiple Strata CIX systems to work together.

Saves you money by avoiding costly long-distance charges on calls between various locations.

Turns a long-distance call into a local call by getting off the network when needed.

Ready, Set, Go Mobile

Missed calls lead to missed opportunities. Get easy access to voicemail and use your phone system’s calling features from almost anywhere. Take a call down the hall or in the conference room. Use Toshiba wireless IP telephones and SoftIPT Softphone clients that can run on your laptops, PDAs or tablet PCs via your wireless local area network (WLAN). Roam anywhere your WLAN goes, maintaining voice and data functions.

Made To Be Used Without Extensive Training or Prior Knowledge

Advanced features and extensive capabilities are easily accessed on the CIX100 because the phone system was built for simplicity and ease-of-use.
An intuitive interface matches the way you use the phone.

Programmable buttons make popular calling features easily accessible.

Profit Continuously and Quickly

Your bottom line can be improved by strengthening communications. The CIX100 works to save costs and increase profits by:

  • Restricting access to long-distance calls.
  • Evaluating incoming and outgoing call patterns to simplify billing.
  • Connecting easily to high-speed digital services.
  • Using Voice over IP technology to eliminate many long-distance charges.

Toshiba’s CIX40 is an ideal solution for small businesses

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The Strata CIX40 telephone system has built-in features like auto attendant, automatic call Strata CIX40routing, and call control useful for any small business.

Small businesses can enjoy all the easy-to-use features of the Strata CIX40 phone system. The Strata® CIX40 IP business communication system can function as a traditional telephone system or as an IP telephony system. The phone system can benefit any small business environment with:

  • A unique, wall-mountable, modular design
  • 8-16 digital telephone ports
  • 8 IP channels for IP telephone connections and IP Strata Net multi-system networking
  • 1-2 analog station ports

Built-In Features

Aside from the usual features like caller ID to see who callers are, voicemail to listen to messages, an LCD display to make information easy to read, and an auto attendant to guide callers to their point-of-contact, the Strata CIX40 phone system also has more extensive features including:

  • Programmable buttons, letting employees assign their own functions to their individual phones
  • Applications for Call Center ACD and Reporting, Unified Messaging, Voice Logging, CRM integration, as well as Web-based Personal and System Administration.
  • Ability to fully upgrade as well as add employee stations, telephone numbers, and fax lines easily
  • Can be networked with other Strata CIX systems and used as a branch location

Other Innovative Features That Can Save Your Company Money

The Strata CIX40 phone system can make your company’s operations more efficient through: Automatic call routing to the least costly carrier or line Call control, with the ability to restrict long-distance calls or certain area codes Remote programming and testing for fast and efficient upgrades

Stay Mobile And Be Connected

Roam anywhere your Internet connection is with Strata CIX40, maintaining voice and data quality, using wireless IP telephones and SoftIPT soft phone clients that run on notebooks, tablet PCs, or PDAs via a wireless local area network (WLAN).

VoIP Phone And 2016

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VoIP phone usage has been growing consistently since 2012. The growth rate has been around 7% every year. 2016 will be no different. That year will see the same growth in VoIP phone use. It is now a buyer’s market for IP-PBX. The market conditions are extremely favourable – low prices, large number of alternates, limited volatility in prices, and technological advances.

The market is highly competitive and is leading to mergers and acquisitions. Cisco, Avaya, NEC and Toshiba are the top four vendors for VoIP phones, services and accessories. By the end of 2015, VoIP services market will peak at some $75 billion.

The Adoption of Hosted Services

Companies are always looking to cut costs. That is not new. What is new is the companies today are ready to outsource a prime asset of the company – communication. Today, nearly 50% of companies of all sizes – small, medium and large – are selecting managed communication services over establishing their own in house. This augurs well for cloud based VoIP phone systems.

What About Homes?

Residential VoIP phone usage spend is expected to touch $377 billion by 2016. Around 25% of all US households have stopped using landlines. 60% of all people between the ages of 25 and 29 don’t have a landline. Inexpensive and reliable broadband, and improving connectivity as well as good voice quality is propelling this trend.

Advantages of Cloud Telephony

Before we get to that, let us foresee one important point – will cloud telephony completely kill in house IP-PBX? The answer is yes and no. Today the bulk of business IP telephony is supplied by premises-based solutions. Currently about 59% of the market is handled by in-house PBX. By 2016 end, this could change to 32%. Nearly 75% of respondents representing 100-999 employees have said they will stick with in-house systems. So all is not lost of premises based IP-PBX.

At the same time let us look at some of the advantages of cloud based systems:

1. Flexible, effective, and budget friendly.
2. Complete set of features including UC.
3. Easy to switch vendors.
4. Low upfront costs.
5. IoT as a disruptor. You cannot connect to 80 billion devices from your premises based IP-PBX.
6. Low costs for trying to switch from PSTN. Easy fallback.
7. Easy growth prospects.
8. Complete mobility solutions.
9. Pay only for capacity used.
10. Have access to enterprise scale exchanges without the cost of owning one.

2016 is going to be another exciting year for VoIP phone systems and other forms of IP based communication. PSTN is really dead. Mobile phones and VoIP are the primary forms of communication of the future. At least with the technologies we know and understand today.

About Universal ComOne

Universal ComOne offers award winning business telephone systems that are right for any business. We can design a solution to fit your needs.

Call 337-205-9364 for all your communication needs.