Small Business Communication Systems

/in , , , , , /by

The domain of small business communication systems is rapidly expanding because it is no longer limited to the traditional PSTN phones or PBX systems. It would be wrong to say that modern businesses have stopped using the PBX systems – there are many that still use digital PBX systems. Several organizations are switching to advanced, more cost effective small business communication systems that facilitate voice and video calls, data sharing, web conferencing, wireless and several other applications that run on one Internet Protocol or IP network.

The latest small business communication systems come loaded with amazing telephony features which you can leverage the power of the new technology to propel the growth of your business. In this article, we are going to look at the benefits of an IP (or VoIP) small business telephone system.

One interface for multiple applications:

Any of the latest small business communication systems that run on your secure network will facilitate the access to other applications. This might include voicemail, video conferencing, softphone and database queries, all of which have a common interface.

Collaboration on a real-time basis:

The latest small business communication systems facilitate real-time collaboration among your employees. This communication solution is not only cost effective but also much more powerful than the traditional phone system. Communication among your employees can be carried out easily, and you or your employees can communicate with suppliers, business partners, vendors or customers using voice, video, data and mobility applications.

Features that you need today and in the future:

The small business communications that are available in the market can meet not only the current business communication needs of your business but also any other future requirements. These business phone systems can grow and adapt to your changing business communication needs. The latest small business system can be loaded with features that you will need like intercom, paging, presence technology and automated attendant. Presence is one feature that helps you to determine which employees are available within the company for quick communication via web conference, phone call, video conference, IM chat and any other interaction. The phone system can also be integrated with several other useful business applications, which are used on a regular basis like CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and calendar. Thus, you will be able to provide your employees with easy to use tools that take care of all their modern communication needs. Integration of useful business applications like CRM will help your customer support representatives with real-time data pertaining to the customers.

There are several reasons why a business should migrate to the latest small business communication system. Some of the most prominent reasons are:

Set monthly budget for communication – It is better to know beforehand the monthly expenses for using your business telephone system. This will help you to keep your budget and expenses in check and there are no chances of overspending.

No extra overhead for IT staff – Small businesses cannot afford to spend their money on maintaining a full-time IT team. The latest small business communication systems do not need any kind of complex management, so you can do with very few technical staff on-hand.

There are several other reasons for migrating to the latest small business communication systems, but it is the cost savings that drive the demand for such systems. Contact us for more information on the small business communication system that best meets your needs.

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.

Toshiba Releases UCedge!

/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

One of the hindrances of using a business phone system is the wide variety of end devices you may need to use. For example, you will use an IP or Digital phone to make a call. At the same time, if you want to access a data file, you may need to use a computer. But what if all these can be combined to a single end device, and at the same time, give you mobility and flexibility? That is exactly what UCedge does.

Designed to work with VIPedge, IPEdge, and Strata CIX, UCedge has an application that you can download and install on your Windows or Mac laptop, any tablet and your Apple or Android smartphone. Once the application is installed, UCedge can federate multiple networks and give you access to all the features on the server.

For more details on the product release, click here.

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.

 

IP Backhaul in Mobile Communications

/in , , /by

IP backhaul will definitely sound alien to all of us who have not dwelled deep into understanding the technology behind VoIP. However, when I decided to decode the latest enigma called IP backhaul, I was surprised to find out that it is not as alien as I thought it to be. Our telecommunication networks are not made of just the LAN and gateways; it also includes intermediate networks that link the core network along with the other small networks. Backhaul is a service provider’s obligation to transmit packets to and from the global network. To put it simply, IP backhaul is a commercial provider of bandwidth services who guarantees QOS or Quality of Service to their customers.

Multiple Choices in Mobile

If you are looking for choices when it comes to mobile backhaul then you platter is full as you can choose from the wide array of PTN technologies liked T-MPLS, IP/MPLS, and PBB-TE. However here you need to take a number of factors into consideration and then decide on the one that proves to be highly effective in mobile backhaul. The expansion of mobile data services have started to consume high bandwidth by using the mobile backhaul. These mobile services include the latest 3G HSPA that tends to consume very high bandwidth. The traditional technologies like SDH/SONET and PDH are considered to be very effective in transporting the TDM services.

The rapid growth of data services along with mobile network development is moving towards an all IP-based service. Thus the operators have to choose the technology that they want to use for transporting their data services as well as complying with their carrier-class service requirements. The mobile services currently existing in the market are putting heavy demands on the mobile backhaul that resides between the BSC/RNC and BTS/Node. Some of the facilities offered by the mobile backhaul network are good scalability, high reliability, high bandwidth, high QoS, low cost and robust support for the data, voice and video services.

When we look at the packet switching technology, we find that it does quite well for data services but fails to meet the carrier-class service requirements. However, feature enhancements for packet switching can meet for mobile backhaul needs. In a similar manner, the PTN technologies, which includes T-MPLS, IP/MPLS and PBB-TE, are able to meet the requirements of the carrier-class. However, you will need to learn a bit more to find out the one that suits your mobile IP backhaul.

PBB-TE

The traditional Ethernet facilitates multiple services while supporting P2P (point-to-point), P2MP (Point to Multipoint) and MP2MP (Multipoint to Multipoint) service distribution. The PBB technology retains the STP or spanning tree protocol technology and the forwarding table is set depending on a self-learning mechanism and flooding based delivery. However it does not provide adequate protection for all services.

IP/MPLS

This is the technology that combines the layer-3 (L3) routes with L2 properties. The labeling mechanism is used and it helps in segregating data forwarding from route selection. The primary advantages of MPLS technology lies with the QoS guarantee, creation of VPN and traffic engineering.

T-MPLS

The .8110.1 and G.8112 from ITU-T includes recommendations about the T-MPLS technology. MPLS technology is pretty complex and it even increases the costs of equipment while increasing the network complexity. The T-MPLS is based on MPLS technology and this is done to meet the requirements of packet transport.

You will need to analyze all the above three technologies before determining the one that suits your Mobile IP backhauling.

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.

Benefits of Unified Communications

/in , , , /by

Unification is the buzz word for UC. It combines business data and telephony in the same network and allows businesses to use and combine voice and data information in a common business application. One can save and forward faxes, instant messages, emails, use video conferencing or do voice phone calls as just a simple chunk of data. Above all UC can encrypt the data. Thus when your data floats on the web, there are no chances of it being intercepted by the wrong person.

Unifed CommunicationsThe advantages of Unified Communication go beyond this and can be experienced when an employee uses a single phone number or handset and an inbox, which is unified for all their communications. It is different from other standard systems which are server-based and use digital networks and IP. Here are some of the applications and their benefits.

Advanced Telephony

If your business is spread over multiple geographical locations, your employees can communicate directly with each other by using UC. Unlike with a normal PSTN system, they don’t even have to remember the area code. You can also offer advanced call forwarding to various devices. With hunt groups, the incoming calls may search for an idle extension. Regardless of the location, UC can offer ringing of multiple devices like mobile phone, desk phone and desktop simultaneously. Thus, as a phone user you are benefitted by having a single number for all your devices.

Users also benefit from UC by only having a single unified voicemail box to check messages. These messages can also be sent to your email inbox for more convenience.

Cheaper calls and simplified billing

UC offers lower cost calling than the traditional telephony as it is mainly based on a digital network. As the voice and videos are carried as data over the various networks, businesses receive the benefit of reducing their phone bills by using this unified system in their organizations.

With it, the billing system can be simplified and even system administration becomes much easier. And combining the disparate services through a single vendor also reduces the total cost of conferencing. With UC, businesses can get predictable bills and thus can estimate their monthly costs.

Presence and knowing when you can take a call

With UC, businesses get Presence technology which allows different business associates and colleagues to find out who is available online and whether they can be contacted or not. Just as one sees the status of their friends in social networks, the presence of one individual is indicated if they are available either on their home phone, mobile or desk phone. The users can also state whether they are driving or are in a meeting and are allowed to put a comment about their status.

Another way presence is beneficial is that with it, an employee can easily locate an expert on a specific issue and get connected to them easily with UC. For example, if there is a problem of any critical technological aspect, one can get to the expert and get the solution. In such situations the communication starts with a simple SMS or instant messaging, and then they may be escalated all the way up to video conferencing if required.

Unified Communications and Contact Management

Last but not the least, contact management integration can be easily done with UC; hence, employees can easily access a single phone book for all business contacts, throughout the organization and across the globe.

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.