Telecom News

3 Phone Features Small Businesses Cannot Live Without

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Wed, 06 May 2015 18:36:00 +0000

First impressions count, especially in business. Setting up (or adding) only a few key phone features can make any size business look and sound more professional overnight, while ensuring that customers reach you when they need to. With so many features to choose from, we narrowed down our top 3.

1. Call Forwarding

With Call Forwarding, you can forward calls to another phone number (including a cell phone or home number) so you never have to worry about missing an important call.

You can set up rules, menus, and queues based on your needs.

Call Forwarding categories include:

- All Calls
- When Busy
- Do Not Disturb
- No Answer
- Selective Forwarding
- When Out of Service

With Call Forwarding, you can also choose to have calls blocked all together, or sent directly to voicemail.

2. Auto Attendant

An auto attendant acts like a virtual assistant and replaces the need for an actual receptionist or operator. It automatically greets callers and directs them to the right person or department by simply pressing a button.

For example: for Sales, press 1; for Support, press 2; to dial by name, press 3.

You can customize your auto attendant with a number of options.

- Dial by name directory
- Dial by extension directory
- Transfer to user
- Transfer to a user’s voicemail
- Transfer to another Auto Attendant

You can set up multiple auto attendants, including an auto attendant for employees.

For example:
To speak with John, press 1.

Once the call is transferred, a second auto attendant can be set up with additional options.

To leave a message, press 1; to reach me on my cell, press 2; to speak with someone in Support immediately, press 3.

Benefits of an Auto Attendant:

- Look bigger and sound more professional
- Replace the receptionist and/or operator
- Route calls efficiently and effectively
- Customize (set up separate auto attendants for business hours, after hours, and holidays)
- Record directly from your phone or upload a pre-recorded greeting

3. Find Me Follow Me (also referred to as Mobile Office)

With Find Me Follow Me, your office doesn’t have to be restricted to your main place of business. This powerful feature allows your employees to receive calls anywhere, anytime and from any device while still connecting all of your employees under one corporate phone system. Calls can be routed to a cell phone, another number (like a home office or hotel room), or another person (like a receptionist or a co-worker). You can even customize how you receive calls by day, time and even caller.

Benefits of Find Me Follow Me:

- Give out one number and work from anywhere without missing a call
- Keep your cell phone and home numbers private
- Customize how you receive your calls by day, time, and even caller
- Have calls ring to multiple phones at the same time or in an order of your choice (for
example: ring your cell phone first, and then your home office).

TouchTone Business VoIP phone service arms customers with powerful calling features like these to help them run their business more efficiently.

Why Call Centers are Making the Switch to SIP

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 16:43:00 +0000

Save money & simplify IT management

Many call and contact centers have chosen to make the switch from TDM to SIP trunking to not only cut costs and simplify IT management, but for its flexibility. Regardless of size, every call center will experience peak periods, or occasionally have spikes in call volume (especially those with outbound calling campaigns). SIP trunking accommodates these bursts in voice traffic quickly and easily.

Why SIP for Call Centers

Flexibility - With a T1/PRI, the number of simultaneous calls that can be made/had is limited to the number of lines you have. With SIP, you can add/remove lines as needed easily and quickly (in a matter of minutes) by calling your provider and purchasing additional SIP trunks, or in some cases just increasing your data connection.

SIP offers a better utilization of the Internet because it combines voice and data traffic on a single network. Calls are routed through the Internet rather than the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), eliminating the need for costly dedicated voice T-1/PRI circuits and the expensive telecom services that go along with them. SIP technology enables locations to share unused call capacity. Companies can manage costs by merging multi-location businesses behind a single SIP trunk group
TouchTone’s IP platform intelligently assigns bandwidth based on call volume or Internet usage ensuring optimal use of available bandwidth at all times. When phones are not in use, additional bandwidth is assigned to Internet browsing and data applications.

Failover - SIP trunks can be configured with call queuing rules and can re-route inbound calls (automatically) in case of power failure or Internet outage.

Advanced features - Because SIP uses standard protocol, third parties applications, like call recording, call analytics and automatic call-backs, can be easily integrated.

Why Carriers Hate Call Center Traffic

It takes a lot of time, energy, and resources to ensure that a service provider’s network can handle short duration and dialer long distance. Because of this, service providers tend to stay away from call centers with short duration needs simply because they don’t make any money on these types of calls.
TouchTone has invested a great deal of time and money in its technology and network, and has cultivated strong relationships with Tier 1 carriers to offer quality, reliable and scalable dialer and short duration termination solutions.

Terminating over a billon call center calls each year, TouchTone provides on-demand, premium short duration and dialer termination to call centers with short duration needs, specifically those using predictive dialers, auto dialers, voice broadcasting or robocalls.

The company’s high-performing switch and redundancy capabilities can handle a massive amount of concurrent calls without sacrificing quality. With pay-as-you-go pricing and no short duration penalties, customers can count on TouchTone Communications to deliver consistent, quality voice termination to support demanding call center needs.

To learn more about call center SIP trunking, visit http://www.touchtone.net/enterprise-voip.htmlor call 800-900-3668.

Maintaining Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity with SIP Trunking

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 19:18:00 +0000

Business as usual, no matter what the weather

The National Hurricane Center released separate storm surge warnings for the 2015 storm season – this is in addition to warnings about tropical storm and hurricane-force winds.

As the number of natural disasters and cases of extreme weather rise, it becomes increasingly important for businesses, small and large, to have a clear and detailed business continuity and disaster recovery plan in place to help alleviate risk after a service disruption.

Severe weather can strike at any time, leaving permanent and long term loss. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that more than 40 percent of businesses never reopen following a natural disaster. Of the remaining companies, at least 25 percent will close within two years of the disaster occurring.

A properly designed business continuity plan is intended to help reduce the overall impact of an unexpected event (natural or man-made) and return a company to pre-disaster operation as quickly as possible.

Why a Business Continuity Plan

- Protect employees
- Minimize rash decision making in a time of crisis
- Minimize loss of data
- Facilitate timely recovery of business functions
- Minimize loss of revenue/customers
- Maintain public image, brand, and reputation

Having the Right Technology

One of the most important components of an effective business continuity plan is making sure that your business is equipped with the right technology.

Compared to traditional circuits, SIP trunking doesn’t only provide cost savings and simplifies IT management, but also delivers an incredible amount of flexibility.

Trunks can be provisioned in minutes rather than weeks, and phone lines can be added and removed quickly and easily.

But not all service providers offer the same features. When looking for a SIP trunking provider it is important to look for one that offers automatic failure in the unfortunate event of service disruption.

Businesses need to be to be available 24/7 regardless of the weather outside. SIP trunks can be pre-configured with call queuing rules, and can re-route inbound calls (automatically) in case of power failure or Internet outage. For example, if your Los Angeles office encounters a service disruption, calls can be forwarded to your San Francisco office, your home or an auto attendant.

And because SIP Trunking numbers aren’t fixed to a geographical location, outbound calls can be made using the same numbers and phone system features from another location as if you were in the office.

SIP trunking provides businesses with a powerful, highly adaptable and scalable communication solution to ensure that no matter what the weather outside, they are up and running.

To learn more about TouchTone’s SIP trunking solution, including automatic failover, please contact your sales manager or call 800-900-3668.

Choosing the right Internet connection and speed for your business

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 15:33:00 +0000

The Internet connection and speed you choose for your business depends largely on several factors. In addition to speed and cost, you should also consider reliability, consistency and security. Keep in mind that pricing and availability vary greatly on location. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can advise you of the best and cost effective options.

Factors to consider:

Employees / size of company
What is your Internet being used for / what is your current usage?
Does your company / staff use a lot of video and audio applications? Video and audio files are large, and transmitting them over a network uses a lot of bandwidth. As your company looks to use multimedia, it is important that you have adequate bandwidth to manage these large files.
Do you use, or plan to use cloud solutions in the near future? When you are accessing cloud services, you will require a more robust Internet connection.
Do you use, or plan to switch to VoIP? VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, and is commonly referred to as Internet phone service. VoIP technology allows users to make and receive calls using a high-speed Internet connection instead of a standard landline. When making or receiving a VoIP call, sound (voice) quality can be affected if not enough bandwidth is available. On average, each phone call will consume about 88kbps of upload and download bandwidth. Not enough bandwidth may cause choppy or garbled calls and delayed audio.

Internet service types can be broken down into 3 main categories:

Dedicated Internet Access (DIA)
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
Private Lines / Point to Point

Connection Types Available:

DSL
Fixed Wireless
Ethernet / EoC / Fast Ethernet
T1
DS3
OC3
OC12
GigE
Cable
Satellite
Wireless
nxT1

DSL can satisfy most home offices and small businesses, but for companies that require more speed and reliability, an Integrated T1 is a more practical and cost effective option. It is highly flexible and could be used to run multiple services (such as voice and data) over the same line.

If you are connecting two or more locations, most companies opt for a Point-to-Point Private Line or MPLS network not only for cost purposes, but for security and reliability.

Here is a breakdown of some of the advantages of each type of Internet circuit. Your Internet Service Provider can discuss the most viable and cost effective options with you based on your requirements. Speak with an Internet Specialist now.

Dedicated Internet Access (DIA)
Dedicated Internet Access provides congestion-free transmissions with speeds that range from 1.5 Mbps - 10 Gbps. DIA is a perfect solution for those businesses that require reliable Internet connectivity, but still want to leverage the cost advantages of using the public Internet.

Connection Types Available

T1
n xT1
T3 , DS3
OC3, OC12, OC48
Fast Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet

Advantages

Reliable, high-speed Internet connectivity - 99.9% network availability guarantee
Pay one flat fee for unlimited usage
Supports growing demands for Internet access and data sharing
Get high-performance network quality and availability with service level agreements (SLAs).
Manage costs for service provisioning, bandwidth changes, and site development.

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) / VPN
MPLS offers customers a great deal of adaptability when it comes to network set up because it allows them to mix and match access types and speeds for each of their individual locations. This offers a significant cost savings, 10% to 25% over comparable data services (frame relay and ATM); and almost 40% for companies who add voice and video traffic.

A VPN keeps data safe as it crosses the public Internet by using encryption. A MPLS VPN refers to a virtual private network that is built on top of a multiprotocol label switching network. MPLS VPN is deployed to create a secure connection between branch offices at different geographical locations.

Connection Types Available

DSL
Fixed Wireless
Ethernet / EoC / Fast Ethernet
T1
DS3
OC3
OC12
GigE

Advantages

Cost savings – Perfect for multi-location businesses and enterprises. MPLS allows for multiple access types and speeds for each of your individual locations to deliver the most cost effective Internet solution while maintaining performance, reliability, and security.
Private, safe and secure – A VPN keeps data safe as it crosses the public Internet by using encryption such as IP-Sec, PPP, or SSL
Flexible Routing – Customers can choose a CPE and managed router services, or they can maintain control over their own routing.
Improved performance – MPLS offers Class of Service (CoS) and Quality of Service (QoS) network-wide routing based on individual business requirements. Data can be split into different categories such as real time traffic, priority traffic, and low priority traffic.
SLA-Backed - Customers receive 99.9% uptime, network availability, packet delivery, latency, and jitter guarantees.

Private Lines
Private lines provide high-speed dedicated point-to-point connectivity for voice, data, and video applications. Private lines serve as secure options for companies looking to connect to the Internet, connect multiple locations, or interconnect data centers.

Connection Type Available

T1
DS3
OC3
OC12
Ethernet / Fast Ethernet
GigE circuits

Advantages

No limitations due to network congestion
Guaranteed throughput
No restrictions based on time of day or day of the week
Constant and predictable latency
A secure, dedicated channel
A predictable price without usage based variations

Have questions, or would like a free quote, call 888-TOUCHTONE or e-mail sales@touchtone.net.

Job Listing: VoIP Engineer

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 18:09:00 +0000

Position: VoIP Engineer

Company: TouchTone Communications – Whippany, NJ

Experience: Mid-Senior Level

Job Function: Engineering

Employment Type: Full-Time

Industry: Telecommunications

Job Description

Provide engineering support for TouchTone VoIP and TDM Networks across the U.S. This key position is responsible for technical operations support and performance management of all elements of the TouchTone Network. This position will be instrumental in assisting the company to deliver high levels of service availability.

Desired Skills and Experience

Must have a thorough understanding of call flows and signaling protocols which include SIP, RTP, TDM including ISDN, DTMF and FXS/FXO, TCP/IP, LAN Switching, Routing protocols, L2/L3, device configuration, VLAN, etc.
Must have strong knowledge in the following: Sansay VSXi or similar VoIP Telephony, Lucent LCS or similar TDM experience, Cisco and Juniper data networking routers and switches.
STRONG KNOWLEDGE and combination experience of TDM - signaling PRI, CAS(DTMF), FXS/FXO, Data - LAN/WAN and VoIP - SIP/RTP.
Demonstrated experience using Wireshark and other quality based IP tools used to monitor Jitter, Packet Loss, etc.
Knowledge of telecom principals and terminology, including DID and Toll Free numbers, LATA OCN and NPA/NXX.
Full understanding of VoIP architecture, including SIP and VoIP implementation.

About TouchTone Communications

Headquartered in Whippany, NJ, TouchTone Communications is a privately-held, debt free company established in 1993. TouchTone provides nationwide voice, data and VoIP services, including Dedicated Voice and Data, Hosted PBX, Enterprise SIP, Call Center Termination, Conferencing, MPLS and Ethernet, and Switched LD services to residential, SMB, public sector enterprise, government and wholesale customers. TouchTone is a facilities-based carrier offering services through its own proprietary network and through multiple Tier 1 networks, with major points of presence in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Newark, NJ. TouchTone prides itself on providing the highest quality service at the most competitive rates, while always maintaining highest levels of customer service.

What We Offer

* High-energy atmosphere                * Work with a highly motivated and dedicated team

* Competitive salary                         * 401K

* Medical    Benefits                   * Generous PTO program

Send cover letter and resume to JOBS@TOUCHTONE.NET.

Need to get the word out fast? An IVR solution can help!

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 15:00:00 +0000

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solutions are increasingly being implemented by both small and large businesses to improve overall customer experience and to cut costs.

An outbound IVR solution allows companies to deliver automated, personalized messages to hundreds of people quickly and inexpensively. Messages can be pre-recorded or event triggered. Event triggered messages can offer a wide range of options and/or require further action to be taken by the person answering the phone (for example, “Your appointment is scheduled for Monday, July 21. To keep this appointment, press 1. To reschedule, press 2.”). Responses can be collected through the phone’s keypad or though spoken words with voice recognition.

Common applications for outbound IVR applications include:

Appointment reminders
Payment reminders
Order statuses
Shipment notifications
Appointment confirmations
Account alerts
Shipment notifications
Surveys
Refills/reorders
Fundraising requests
Notifications and closings

Industries benefiting from IVR technology:

Financial
Airlines
Banks
Pharmacies
Political
Travel and tourism
Polling and surveys
City and state governments
Non-profit organizations
Schools
Churches
Healthcare organizations
Customer service and call centers
Collections agencies

Benefits of outbound IVR solutions:

Cost advantages – leveraging VoIP technology, large volumes of outbound messages can be sent quickly, reliably, and inexpensively.
Frees up office personnel and call center employees to work on more valuable tasks.
Calls can be made off business hours when customers are more readily available.
Flexible and scalable – IVR technology allows different events to trigger different responses allowing for a better overall customer experience.
Proactively reach customers – avoid high volumes of inbound calls during business hours.

IVR service and software provider reputations depend on who they choose as their voice termination provider. An IVR solution is only as good as its ability to complete calls.

TouchTone Communications works with Tier 1 carriers to deliver reliable, quality voice termination to IVR service and software providers. TouchTone's high-performing switch and redundancy capabilities can handle a massive amount of concurrent calls without sacrificing quality. With pay-as-you-go pricing and no short duration penalties, customers can count on TouchTone Communications to deliver consistent, quality voice termination to support demanding needs.

Looking for IVR voice termination? Call 1-888-TOUCHTONE, or e-mail sales@touchtone.net.

What’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 14:56:00 +0000

and How Can It Help Your Company or Business

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an effective tool to get messages out in a timely, professional, and cost effective manner. Many businesses are using IVR technology to help cut costs and to improve customer sales and support.

Interactive Voice Response allows a computer to automate interactions with telephone callers through the use of voice recognition and touch-tone telephone keypad entry.

IVR solutions use pre-recorded voice prompts and menus to present information and options to callers, and entries made on a phone's keypad to collect responses. Some also enable responses to be gathered through spoken words through voice recognition.

For example, airlines use an IVR system to help retrieve flight information and real-time flight delays. They can set up their IVR system to recognize callers by their registered phone number.

For example: Would you like to check the status of your flight to Chicago? For yes, press or say 1. To hear additional options, press or say 2.

Businesses and companies use an IVR to help direct customers to the appropriate party and to help streamline customer service.

For example: Hello and thank you for calling Joe's Auto Parts. If you know the extension of the party you wish to reach, please enter it now. To speak with the operator, press 0 at any time. For Sales, press 1. For Support, press 2. For Billing, press 3. To repeat this message, press pound.

TouchTone Communications’ customer, New York-based Dial Global, is a full-service radio network that produces and distributes radio programming to more than 6,000 stations in the U.S. One of their services, Radio Voodoo (an IVR system), answers phones for radio stations and makes it possible to use caller recordings in station programming. Dial Global provides the technology, and TouchTone provides the toll-free and DID termination.

"Radio Voodoo is a service that specializes in allowing radio stations to have their phones answered by an IVR. Stations then use the audio left by listeners during radio shows or in promotional announcements. Radio Voodoo has partnered with TouchTone as a provider of toll free origination and DID termination. As you can imagine, radio station traffic has great highs during contesting and sometimes great lows depending on market size. TouchTone has been able to balance the sometimes huge spikes from stations in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles while servicing the smaller stations in Lubbock, TX, Massena NY and St. Joseph, MO.

The best part about working with TouchTone has to be the customer service. At Radio Voodoo, so much of our success has been the team at TouchTone coming up with creative ways to find solutions to our problems. They are energized, engaged, and do not rest until we arrive at a solution. TouchTone is very much a part of the team that has made Radio Voodoo a must have for radio stations across the country."

~Dee Perkins, Distribution Sales Manager
Dial Global

Looking for IVR voice termination? TouchTone Communications provides quality, low-cost in-bound (local and toll-free) and outbound calling to IVR service and software providers. To learn more call 888-TOUCHTONE or e-mail sales@touchtone.net

Cool Technology Trends

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 14:13:00 +0000

From wearables to apps to self-sterilizing keyboards, technology is helping to make lives easier and more enjoyable. We've compiled a list of some cool (and innovative) technology trends to look out for.

Wearables!

Fashionable yet functional, the wearable tech craze has just begun and it's not going to slow down anytime soon.

From glasses to watches to baby monitors, these gadgets can do anything from track your daily fitness activities to monitor your baby’s sleeping patterns.

Liquid Image Co® is a leading Action Camera manufacturer and the developers of the first in-goggle camera with the lens mounted at eye level, allowing for True POV video capture. The Apex HD+ is a Full HD Video Snow Goggle with WiFi for live streaming to Smartphones and Tablets. With the camera lens positioned just above the eyes, the Apex captures True POV footage of everything you see. (pictured above)
Intel unveiled a headset nicknamed “Jarvis” that is supposed to act like a personal assistant.
Razer’s Nabu is a smartband health tracker that reports calories burned, steps taken and hours slept, among other things.
A SmartOne infant sleep monitor fits into a chest pocket and sends information and active alerts ontemperature, baby orientation, and breathing to a parent's mobile device.
The Quardiocore heart monitor can send the electrocardiogram to a smartphone and the EKG can be forwarded to a physician for remote heart monitoring.
YEI Technology's PrioVR, a virtual reality gaming accessory, allows sensors on the player to translate movement into the game.

Rumor has it that Google is coming out with a watch that has it all! Rather than having to pull out your smartphone or tablet for frequent email, text and social media updates, you’ll glance at your watch.

Check out more wearable technology at http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/wearable-technology-ces-2014/.

Apps

Technology companies are constantly developing new apps to make our lives easier. There’s literally an app for everything!
Five years ago, Apple only offered 500 apps for download on its brand new App Store on iTunes. As of October 2013, Apple announced 1 million apps in its App Store.

Top Apps of 2014 from CBS News

Beautified is an app that offers discounted spa services and helps you find and book same-day beauty appointments.
Hotel Tonight is an app that features last-minute hotel deals.
Groupon Reserve gets you 20 to 40 percent off last-minute dinner reservations.
TodayTix is a new app that gets you up to 50 percent off theater tickets.

Self-sterilizing Keyboards

Forget all the Lysol and hand sanitizer! The ultra-modern UVLightBoard zaps bacteria from its surface as you type.

Smart TVs getting smarter

Nowadays more and more customers expect the ability to use Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video and their web browser via their televisions. As a result, television manufactures are working harder and harder to make their TVs even smarter.

Smart TV shipments are expected to reach 123 million in 2014 – up from about 84 million in 2012.

3D Printing

The world has already seen some amazing things from 3D printing. However, from the looks of things it’s only the tip of the iceberg.

The Business & Leisure Quandary:

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 14:52:00 +0000

5 Tips to a Stress-Free Vacation

A true vacation is tough for many small business owners and managers who feel the need to relentlessly check e-mail and texts from the beach. Many fear of missed opportunities, employees slacking off, or that business will not operate smoothly when they are away.

In a recent survey commissioned by Sam's Club, nearly 50% of small business owners only take major holidays off (if any days at all). And when they do find time to relax, many still find themselves attached to their laptops or smartphones and taking calls.

However, taking a vacation is an important component to avoiding burnout, relieving stress and re-energizing creativity. Here are a few steps that you can take to help you achieve a more enjoyable (and much deserved) vacation.

5 Steps to a Stress-Free Vacation

1. Plan your vacation around slow periods in your business
For those owners and managers who fear that going away will wreak havoc on the business, experts suggest scheduling a vacation in a historically slower time for your company. These ‘slow periods’ depend on your industry. If you are a florist, taking a vacation during any holiday season may not be ideal. However, if you have an office job, holidays may be the best time.

2. Tie up loose ends and complete any big projects
If you must, stay late for a couple of days and make sure that any big projects that you are working on are completed before you leave for your vacation. Not only will you have less weighing you down when you're away, but if you're able to start fresh, you'll also have a smoother transition back to the office.

3. Empower your employees and delegate
Put a good plan in place with your employees and don’t forget to delegate tasks and responsibilities. Start handing off assignments early so you can answer any questions well before you leave. If certain aspects of the business are of particular concern to you, ask for brief daily emailed updates to keep your mind at ease.

Do not assume the worst, trust your employees.

If necessary, pick the right person to manage your small business while you're on vacation and train them to do it ahead of time. You should do this even if you're not planning a vacation just in case you are unable to work for some reason.

4. Set a Schedule (to check in, if you must)
If it makes you feel more at ease to keep tabs on things, set aside specific times during the day to check e-mail or make calls. But stick to only those times. For example, check your email first thing in the morning before your kids get up.

Use technology. It is your friend.

Many business owners and managers are able to take advantage of current technology and take their work with them when they travel (just in case something should come up). As long as you can work remotely and are vacationing in places with acceptable technological resources (such as electricity and wireless Internet) you can use your smartphone or laptop/tablet to check in.

Many business phone systems also offer advanced call routing so you can have calls forwarded directly to your hotel room or cell phone. You can even customize your settings by day, time and caller.

5. Manage Client Expectations
Tell any clients that you work with directly when you will be taking vacation well in advance so you can address any concerns before-hand. Also, inform them of who they can contact in case a question or issue should arise while you are away.

Planning a stress-free vacation takes a little planning on your part, but it will be well worth it in the end. And once you have your processes and procedures solidified you may be surprised by how many more “vacation” days you could actually take (and enjoy).

Find Me Follow Me: Intelligent Call Routing

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Mon, 12 May 2014 15:54:00 +0000

Receive calls anytime, any place and from any device - never miss another important call again

Find Me Follow Me, also referred to as Mobile Office, is one of the most beneficial features of a business phone system.

With Find Me Follow Me, your office doesn’t have to be restricted to your main place of business. This powerful feature allows your employees to receive calls anywhere, anytime and from any device with the appearance of them being in the office. Calls can be routed to a cell phone, another number (like a home office or hotel room), or another person (like a receptionist or a co-worker). You can even customize how you receive calls by day, time and even caller.

Benefits

Give out one number and work from anywhere without missing a call
Keep your cell phone and home numbers private
Customize how you receive your calls by day, time, and even caller
Have calls ring to multiple phones at the same time or in an order of your choice (for example: ring your cell phone first, and then your home office).

More business VoIP phone service features

How Call Forwarding can benefit your business

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Tue, 06 May 2014 18:10:00 +0000

Click here to view larger image

First impressions count, especially in business. That's why it's important to have a phone system that not only makes you look and sound professional, but guarantees that your customers reach you when they need to.

Call Forwarding allows you to forward calls to another phone number (including a cell phone or home number) so you never have to worry about missing an important call.

You can set up rules, menus, and queues based on your needs.

Call Forwarding categories include:
-    All Calls
-    When Busy
-    Do Not Disturb
-    No Answer
-    Selective Forwarding
-    When Out of Service

With Call Forwarding, you can also choose to have calls blocked all together, or sent directly to voicemail.

Call Forwarding is included free with TouchTone’s Business VoIP phone service. To learn more, call 800-900-5474, or visit http://www.touchtone.net/business-phone-service.html.

More Business VoIP phone service features.

TouchTone Communications Offers 30-Day Free Trial of Business VoIP Phone Service

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 14:09:00 +0000

NEWS ALERT

WHIPPANY, N.J. (April 28, 2014) – TouchTone Communications, a nationwide voice and data provider, today announced a 30-day free trial promotion of its Business VoIP phone service.

Using existing Internet connection, Business VoIP delivers a complete turnkey business phone solution including unlimited local and long distance, faxing, conference calling, and full-featured VoIP phones.

The free trial was designed to help businesses who are considering making the switch to a VoIP service more easily evaluate how well VoIP technology can cut overall costs, increase productivity among employees, and simplify IT management. The 30-day trial includes TouchTone’s standard office Business VoIP voice plan plus rental of a VoIP phone. Those interested in participating in the free trial can sign up at https://www.touchtone.net/business-phone-service-free-trial.aspx.

“In addition to considerable cost savings, Business VoIP provides a disaster proof, feature rich and scalable phone system at the fraction of the cost of traditional phone service,” said Pino Bio, President of TouchTone Communications. “With dozens of enterprise-class calling features to choose from, even the smallest companies can look bigger and sound more professional overnight.”

The system allows users to make and receive calls anytime, anywhere and from any device, and also connects multiple locations, remote employees and home offices under one main number, one extension list and one set of unified calling features.

“We are a small business with several offices. Phone systems always required a ‘closet’ for the equipment and an expense commitment. Our problem was keeping in contact with employees when they were working out of the office,” said Bob DuVal, President of UCC, Inc.

“With TouchTone we have no equipment to house, our phones are portable and we have one telephone number no matter how many locations we use. Monthly usage charges are much less. Our employees are always linked with one phone system no matter where they are working. The TouchTone system is reliable, call quality is perfect and if we need help utilizing a seldom used feature, the customer support staff is knowledgeable and quick to help,” added DuVal.

The service eliminates upfront capital investments and ongoing overhead expenses by enabling businesses to leverage the cloud as a platform to deploy communications devices and applications. Both the service and PBX are fully managed off-site by TouchTone Communications; so unlike traditional phone systems, customers do not have to install and manage complicated and costly equipment.

Although large communication providers like RingCentral, Vonage, AT&T and Verizon are in the hosted VoIP game, Bio believes that not only does TouchTone’s Business VoIP phone service compare in both price and features, but outperforms in customer service.

“TouchTone’s Business VoIP caters specifically to small and medium sized businesses and home offices. Many times with larger providers these types of customers get lost because of their size. SMBs are the bread and butter of America and we want to make certain that they receive the same great benefits of a Fortune 500 phone system, but at a price that they can afford,” said Bio.

Businesses and IT professionals can select from a choice of plans, may mix and match feature sets including advance calling and unified messaging features and choose from a variety of VoIP Phones from Cisco and Polycom.

TouchTone Communications offers a comprehensive portfolio of voice, data, cloud and managed services that can be customized to meet the communications needs of any size business.

About TouchTone Communications, Inc.:
Incorporated in 1993, TouchTone Communications provides a comprehensive suite of voice and data services via its proprietary network and through multiple Tier 1 service providers. Serving residential, enterprise, SMB, government and wholesale customers nationwide, TouchTone prides itself on providing the highest quality service at the most competitive rates, while always maintaining first-class customer service. For more information please call 1-800-266-4006, or visit http://www.touchtone.net. More information on TouchTone can be found at:

Twitter: @TouchToneNet
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/touchtone-communications
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TouchToneCommunications
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TouchToneComm/feed

How can an Auto Attendant help your business?

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 12:00:00 +0000

The benefits of an auto attendant.

An auto attendant acts like a virtual assistant and replaces the need for an actual receptionist or operator. An auto attendant automatically greets callers and directs them to the right person or department by simply pressing a button.

For example: for Sales, press 1; for Support, press 2; to dial by name, press 3.

It can make any size business look bigger and sound more professional overnight. It is one of the many powerful calling features offered by Business VoIP phone service.

Customize your auto attendant to suite your needs. You can set up your auto attendant with the following options:

-    Dial by name directory
-    Dial by extension directory
-    Transfer to user
-    Transfer to a user’s voicemail
-    Transfer to another Auto Attendant

You can set up multiple auto attendants, including an auto attendant for employees.

For example:

To speak with John, press 1.

Once the call is transferred, a second auto attendant can be set up with additional options.

To leave a message, press 1; to reach me on my cell, press 2; to speak with someone in Support immediately, press 3.

Benefits of an Auto Attendant:

-    Look bigger and sound more professional
-    Replace the receptionist and/or operator
-    Route calls efficiently and effectively
-    Customize (set up separate auto attendants for business hours, after hours, and holidays)
-    Record directly from your phone or upload a pre-recorded greeting

To learn more about TouchTone’s Business VoIP phone service, visit http://www.touchtone.net/business-phone-service.html.

Opportunity in Telecom: VoIP Sales Representative Position Available

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 14:03:00 +0000

Base salary + uncapped commissions + benefits

TouchTone Communications has immediate opening for a VoIP Inside Sales Representative in their corporate Whippany office.

As a member of the Business Sales team, the VoIP Inside Sales Representative is responsible for acquiring and maintaining new business opportunities by selling TouchTone’s Business VoIP solution to small and medium sized business customers; including generating interest, qualifying leads, and signing up new customer accounts.

The ideal candidate must be a college graduate with previous sales experience or sales professionals with one to three years related inside/outside sales experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Aggressive compensation plan including salary and commissions. For successful professionals, there is no cap on commissions with unlimited income potential.

Core Responsibilities:

Qualifying lead referrals and closing new accounts/customers.
Developing new leads through building relationships, cold calling, referrals, Internet research, and social media.
Up-selling existing business customers as needed.
Preparing, processing, and ensuring accurate completion of new quotes/proposals as well as service contract documents.
Managing and tracking activities and progress in Company databases.
Conducting product demonstrations via the phone and Web conferencing.
Handling inbound customer calls and engaging resources to solve concern.
Present a professional image in all communications to potential customers.
Maintain confidentiality of all customer and Company records and account numbers.

Required Skills:

1-3 years professional sales experience, preferably in VoIP or business telephone systems
Working knowledge of voice and data communications including VoIP and business telephone systems
Proven track record of exceeding corporate objectives and quota attainment
Self-driven, motivated and results-oriented
Professional demeanor; team player orientation
Strong sales ability, problem solving skills, and responsiveness
Energetic and positive attitude
Strong organizational skills
Desire to thrive in a high energy, quota driven, and evolving sales environment
Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and manage time effectively
Proficient in Microsoft Office
Bi-lingual is a plus

Apply online at
http://jobview.monster.com/VoIP-Sales-Representative-Job-Whippany-NJ-132897725.aspx

Expand Your Customer Base to Include IVR Solution Providers

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 14:39:00 +0000

If you haven't already included IVR service and software providers to your customer demographic, it's time you expanded into this very lucrative market. Depending on their size, IVRs can average thousands, if not millions, of minutes in traffic each month. If you know of any IVR companies in your area, call or e-mail them to see if they need a (new) long distance service provider. And if you don't know of any, the Internet is a good place to find some.

So what's an IVR?
An IVR (Interactive Voice Response) allows a computer to automate interactions with telephone callers through the use of voice and touch-tone telephone keypad entry. Many business and enterprise customers (such as credit card companies, pharmacies, call centers and political campaigns) are using IVR applications to help cut costs and help improve customer sales and support. They provide the technology, but require a reliable service provider to deliver quality, low-cost voice services.

TouchTone Communications customer, New York-based Dial Global, is a full-service radio network that produces and distributes radio programming to more than 6,000 stations in the U.S. One of their services, Radio Voodoo (an IVR system), answers phones for radio stations and makes it possible to use caller recordings in station programming. Dial Global provides the technology, and TouchTone provides the toll-free and DID termination.

"Radio Voodoo is a service that specializes in allowing radio stations to have their phones answered by an IVR. Stations then use the audio left by listeners during radio shows or in promotional announcements. Radio Voodoo has partnered with TouchTone as a provider of toll free origination and DID termination. As you can imagine, radio station traffic has great highs during contesting and sometimes great lows depending on market size. TouchTone has been able to balance the sometimes huge spikes from stations in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles while servicing the smaller stations in Lubbock, TX, Massena NY and St. Joseph, MO. The best part about working with TouchTone has to be the customer service. At Radio Voodoo, so much of our success has been the team at TouchTone coming up with creative ways to find solutions to our problems. They are energized, engaged, and do not rest until we arrive at a solution. TouchTone is very much a part of the team that has made Radio Voodoo a must have for radio stations across the country."

~ Dee Perkins, Distribution Sales Manager
Dial Global

TouchTone provides quality, low-cost in-bound (local and toll-free) and outbound calling to IVR service and software providers. To learn more email business.support@touchtone.net.

Spring Cleaning Your Customer Marketing List

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 14:01:00 +0000

Warm weather means more than just a clean house, it also means spring cleaning for your business. And one item on your checklist should be cleaning your marketing list.

As important as it is to have a customer marketing list (or prospect list), it is just as critical to

make sure that you have a clean one. This means removing people who do not read, or are no longer interested, in getting your emails or advertisements. You should clean your customer list at least twice a year.

This includes removing

Duplicates
Inactive customers. Take off customers who are no longer active customers. Save that list separately for any future win-backs programs.
Unsubscribes. Most email marketing providers will automatically remove people who have unsubscribed from your marketing list, however, it’s also important to update any internal databases and/or lists you may have.

A clean list means

Fewer (spam) complaints.
Better return on your marketing dollar and efforts – many email service providers charge you based on the size of your customer list.
Higher engagement. People who get your emails and advertisements actual want to hear from you.
Better brand image.

Happy cleaning!

Answering the Need for Short Duration & Dialer Termination

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Outbound call centers, specifically those using IVRs, predictive dialers, auto dialers, voice broadcasting, or robocalls require a long distance service provider that not only provides quality and low cost voice service, but without short duration penalties. These types of call centers can average thousands, if not millions, of minutes in traffic each month. Choosing the wrong long distance service provider can cost you THOUSANDS of dollars each month.

If you are a business customer, such as a credit card company, pharmacy or political organization, that automates their calls, you require a service provider that can answer the need for short duration and dialer termination.

At TouchTone, we understand that not every customer is created equal. That is why our call center services are customized to fit each individual customer's needs. Choose your platform, carrier, or connect directly to TouchTone's switch. You can count on TouchTone to deliver consistent, quality voice termination for your demanding call center needs.

Call Center/Short Duration Voice Termination

• Flat rate or NPA/NXX billing available
• No short duration penalties or surcharges for incomplete calls
• Tier 1/multi-carrier network options
• High ASR
• High CPS capability
• 6/6 second billing
• No volume commitments
• POI billing available
• 24/7 in-house NOC support
• International dialer termination
• Toll-free numbers available

Call center rates and more information

History of the @ sign

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 15:52:00 +0000

It was once considered a letter in the English language. The Chinese call it a little mouse, Danes & Swedes call it 'elephant's trunk', Germans a spider monkey, and Italians a snail. Israelis pronounce it 'strudels' and the Czechs say 'rollmops’. What is it?

The @ sign!

While in the English language, @ is now referred to as the "at sign," other countries have different names for the symbol (commonly associated with either food or animals – see list below for more names for the @ sign).

But by modern standards, the @ symbol is now commonly used and accepted around the world in e-mail transmissions/emails and Twitter handles. But today’s definition of @ wasn’t recognized until 1972, when Ray Tomlinson sent the first electronic message (e-mail) using the @ symbol to denote sending message from one location (computer) to another location (computer) -- user-name@name-of-the-computer.

But before the @ sign became what we know it today, the sign has a long and ambiguous history.

One theory states that medieval monks looking for shortcuts while copying manuscripts changed the Latin word for “toward” (ad) to “a” with the back part of the “d” as a tail to shorten the amount of pen strokes (resulting in the @ sign).

Other linguists will argue that the @ symbol is a more recent development, appearing sometime in the 18th century as a symbol used in commerce to indicate price per unit, signifying “at the rate of.” For example, 10 pigs @ $1.

In 2000, documents were discovered from the 14th century that showed the @ sign to indicate a measure of quantity.

Its true origin is still up for debate. Today, the @ sign has been inducted into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, which said its modern use as an example of “elegance, economy, intellectual transparency, and a sense of the possible future directions that are embedded in the arts of our time.”

William F. Allman (September 2012). The Accidental History of the @ Symbol. Retrieved from
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-accidental-history-of-the-symbol-18054936/#b3Eg3aO0SIi7RXtx.99.

Meanings Around the World for @

Afrikaans - In South Africa, it is called aapstert, meaning "moneky's tail"
The Arabic word for @ is fi, the Arabic translation of atBosnian, Croatian and Serbian - In these countries, it is referred to as the "Crazy I"
Cantonese - In Hong Kong it is generally referred to as "the at sign," just as in England and America
Catalan - In Catalonia, it is called arrova, a unit of weight
Czech - In the Czech Republic, it is called zavinac, meaning "rollmop," or "pickled herring"
Danish - It is called alfa-tegn, meaning "alpha-sign" or snabel-a, meaning "elephant's trunk" or grisehale, meaning "pig's tail"
Dutch - Since English is prominent in the Netherlands, the English "at" is commonly used. However, the Dutch also call it apestaart, meaning monkey's tail," apestaartje, meaning "little monkey's tail" or slingeraap, meaning "swinging monkey"
French - In France, it is called arobase the name of the symbol. It is also referred to as un a commercial, meaning "business a", a enroule, meaning "coiled a", and sometimes escargot, meaning "snail" or petit escargot, meaning "little snail"
German - In Germany, it is called Affenschwanz, meaning "monkey's tail" or Klammeraffe, meaning "hanging monkey"
Greek - In Greece, it is called papaki, meaning "little duck"
Hebrew - It is shablul or shablool, meaning "snail" or a shtrudl, meaning "strudel"
Hungarian - In Hungary, it is called a kukac, meaning "worm" or "maggot"
Italian - In Italy it is called chiocciola, meaning "snail" and a commerciale, meaning "business a"
Japanese - In Japan, it is called atto maaku, meaning "at mark"
Mandarin Chinese - In Taiwan it is called xiao lao-shu, meaning "little mouse," lao shu-hao, meaning "mouse sign," at-hao, meaning "at sign" or lao shu-hao, meaning "mouse sign"
Norwegian - In Norway, it is called either grisehale, meaning "pig's tail" or kro/llalfa, meaning "curly alpha." In academia, the English term "at" is widely used
Polish - In Poland, it is called malpa, meaning "monkey." It is also called kotek, meaning "little cat" and ucho s'wini, meaning "pig's ear"
Portuguese - In Portugal it is called arroba, a unit of weight
Romanian - In Romania, it is called la, a direct translation of English "at"
Russian - Russians officially call it a kommercheskoe, meaning "commercial a", but it is usually called sobachka, meaning "little dog"
Spanish -- Like in Portugal, in Spain it is called arroba, a unit of weight
Swedish - The official term in Sweden is snabel-a, meaning "trunk-a," or "a with an elephant's trunk"
Thai - There is no official word for it in Thai, but it is often called ai tua yiukyiu, meaning "the wiggling worm-like character"
Turkish - In Turkey, most e-mailers call it kulak, meaning "ear"

The History of the @ Sign (June 24, 2010). Retrieved from http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/HistoryofAtSign.asp.

Zig Ziglar: Memorable Quotes to Live By

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 21:51:00 +0000

Attitude Makes a Difference

Your attitude, particularly in business, makes a difference. Life is not perfect and every now and then we all get throw a curve ball or two. How you deal with these situations can make or break the success of your business. Successful business owners do not focus on the negative, but instead channel their energy on what they can do to move their business forward.

(Photo courtesy of
http://winthecustomer.com/customer-service-attitude)

Having a positive attitude and staying motivated takes patience and practice. The father of motivational speaking, Zig Ziglar said it best,

“Of course motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on a regular basis.”

A World War II veteran, Ziglar became the top sales person in several organizations before going out on his own as a motivational speaker and author. Ziglar wrote over two dozen books and enchanted millions with his lessons in positivity and leading a balanced life. Passing away at 86, Ziglar will be remembered as a man who inspired millions of people to believe in themselves and their dreams.

So the next time you need a little positive push, think of some of these memorable and reassuring Zig Ziglar quotes.

“If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”
“Remember that failure is an event, not a person."
“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.”
“Attitude, not Aptitude, determines Altitude.”
“Of course motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on regular basis.”
“Among the things you can give and still keep are your word, a smile, and a grateful heart.”
“Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.”
“There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.”
“A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.”
“A goal properly set is halfway reached.”
“If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere."

Increase Sales Without Spending a Lot of Money

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 18:07:00 +0000

One of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to increase sales is to keep your current customers happy. Sounds pretty obvious, right? However, as simple as it seems you'd be surprised by just how many companies don’t execute a retention strategy. If you haven't already implemented a retention plan or are looking to improve the one you already have, we've included a few simple and effective tactics.

3 Reasons Why to Implement a Retention Strategy Today

It is 6-7 times more costly to attract a new customer than it is to retain an existing customer. (White House Office of Consumer Affairs).
A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%. (Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murph).
Depending on your industry, reducing your customer defection rate by 5% can increase your profitability by 25-125%. (Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murph)

Simple & Effective Customer Retention Strategies

Start a VIP Program. VIP programs make people feel special and give them a sense of status. Identify top customers and offer them specialized services, special promotions, incentives, or exclusive access to new products and services.
Exceptional Customer Service. Fact: 89% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company after experiencing poor customer service. (RightNow Customer Experience Impact Report). Besides having representatives that are knowledgeable and courteous, it is also important that your customers can reach you when they need to. Advancements in technology offer businesses of any size (big or small) the ability to look bigger and sound more professional overnight. If you don’t already have a business VoIP solution installed in your office/business, it’s time you looked at some of the benefits it can bring – such as cost savings and Fortune 500 calling features such as Virtual Receptionist, Voicemail to Email and Find Me Follow Me (which allows your customers to reach you anytime, anywhere and from any device).
Implement customer feedback surveys. Price is not the main reason for customer churn, it is actually due to the overall poor quality of customer service. (Accenture global customer satisfaction report 2008). Surveys can help you find out what your customers’ expectations are, what you are doing well,
Start a blog. A blog can be a great place to not only keep your current customers happy, but also attract new ones. Everyday people search the Web for answers – become an expert in your field. Cover topics that your audience would find of value and become the 'go-to-guy' in your industry.
Build relationships through social media. These days, people are glued to their computer screens and smartphones. You can use this opportunity to connect with your customers through social media venues like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. You can post things such as company news and pictures, promotions, tips, and contests.
Referral programs. Start a program that rewards both your customers as well as their referrals. Show your customers that you not only appreciate their business, but that their referrals make a big difference in your business as well.

Why SMBs are making the switch to Business VoIP

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 17:48:00 +0000

Many SMBs and home offices are walking away from their traditional phone service (AKA POTS) and embracing VoIP for its functionality and ability support their growing (and demanding) business needs.

Traditional phones systems can be complex and expensive. VoIP technology allows companies to cut costs, make offices and employees more efficient, and simplify IT management. Business VoIP delivers a complete office phone system including voice, dozens of Fortune 500 features, and IP phones for one low price (depending on your needs, many providers offer both an unlimited calling and metered/pay per minute plans).

How Business VoIP Works

Business VoIP is a hosted PBX solution that uses the Internet to transit calls. VoIP technology converts voice into little packets of data so that it can be sent over the Internet using high-speed or fiber connection.

Why Businesses are Choosing to Make the Switch

Saves money!
Saving money does not only mean getting great deals and discounts. It also means making smart business decisions that can save you more (both money and headaches!) in the long run.

Lines and Service Fees - Business VoIP uses the Internet to transmit calls, which is significantly cheaper than standard phone lines (which average $50/per line per month). This doesn’t include any hardware or maintenance fees. With a business VoIP solution you’ll typically pay $24.99 per extension per month for an unlimited calling plan (and as low as $12.99/month for a metered plan), and $34.99 for unlimited calling and rental of an IP phone.
Hardware - Voice is provided over an IP backbone ("the cloud"). Since both the service and PBX are fully managed (“hosted”) off-site, companies don't have to install and manage complicated and costly equipment.
Support and maintenance fees – Since the PBX does not reside at the customer’s location, any upgrades and updates are automatically provided by the service provider in the background so there aren't any costs to you.

Scalability
VoIP grows as your business grows. Unlike traditional phone service, VoIP allows you to quickly (and inexpensively) add or remove users (lines), and enable and disable features as needed. While cost savings is a motivating factor for making the switch, business VoIP also allows businesses to connect remote employees and multiple locations under one calling group.

Features
Business VoIP delivers big business presence on a small business budget. You don’t have to break the bank to receive dozens of Fortune 500 features like Find Me Follow Me, Auto Attendant, Hunt Groups, Conference Calling, Hold Music, Time of Day Routing and much more. Even the smallest companies can look bigger and sound more professional overnight.

Conclusion
Many companies have already adopted VoIP technology to lower their overall office expenses, for its ability set up quickly and easily, and for its flexible configuration. We understand though that it can be difficult to make the switch to something unfamiliar. If you have any questions about business VoIP, one of our VoIP Specialists will be happy to assist you. To speak with a VoIP Specialist call 1-800-900-5474, or e-mail business.support@touchtone.net.

Christmas Fun Facts!

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 16:29:00 +0000

Norwegian scientists have hypothesized that Rudolph’s red nose is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.
The world’s largest Christmas present was the Statue of Liberty. The French gave it to the US in 1886. It is 46.5 meters high and weighs 225 tons. Talk about a big gift!
The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of dyed goose feathers.
The name Santa Claus was created by the Dutch who settled in the New York region of America, the term Sinterklaas, the Dutch name for St. Nicholas, was Americanized to produce the name Santa Claus.
Over 45,000 multi-colored LED lights adorn the 76 foot tall Norway Spruce in Rockefeller Center. Interestingly, the very first tree at Rockefeller Center was unadorned. Construction workers placed a bare tree there at the center of a construction site in 1931.
Approximately 30-35 million living Christmas trees are sold each year in the U.S. And on that note, Teddy Roosevelt banned the Christmas tree from the White House for environmental reasons.
Each year more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. alone.
According to the Guinness world records, the tallest Christmas tree ever cut was a 221-foot Douglas fir that was displayed in 1950 at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington.
Christmas wasn’t declared an official holiday in the United States until June 26, 1870. Alabama was the first state to declare Christmas a legal holiday in 1836, and Oklahoma was the last to declare it in 1907.

Proverbs to Live by in Business

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 20:43:00 +0000

5 Ways to Kill a Business Deal

He who fails to prepare, prepares to fail.
Let’s face it, ‘winging it’ hasn’t worked since high school and even then I can recount the numerous times I’ve flopped a big presentation or bombed a quiz because I wasn't fully prepared. When it comes to business lack of preparation only leads to embarrassment, angry customers, and empty pockets.

VP of Sales Ken McCormack says it best, "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight." First impressions count so always put your best foot forward. Whether you are sending out a quote or attending a sales meeting, sometimes you only get one chance to make or break a sale. It is important that you not only understand your customer's needs, but also address any potential concerns. When you are prepared, you appear more professional, intelligent and competent.

For example, if you are meeting with a CTO or CIO, make sure you bring a sales engineer; if you are meeting with a Fortune 500 company, then bring your VP. Use your resources as a competitive advantage.

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
Kids are question-kings and masters of nagging. They are resilient and will stop at nothing until they get what they want. So what happened to that courage, that no holds barred, ask anything attitude? Now, as adults, we’d rather spend countless hours spinning our wheels and coming up with excuses rather than to simply 'just ask'. So why the hesitation? For some it may be fear of rejection or embarrassment, and for others, just plain ego. Regardless, I bet for every ‘no’ you've received, you've received triple, if not quadruple, the yes’es. So the next time you want something or have a question, what’s the harm in asking? Asking is a skill that functions like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger you get.

The early bird catches the worm.
Does ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ sound all too familiar'? Don’t let procrastination run your life. Success comes to those who act on what they want today, not tomorrow. Some opportunities are only available to the first competitors.

Honesty is the best policy.
Don't make promises unless you can keep them. Reliability is critical to any good relationship. It is important that you deliver on your promise and if you cannot for any reason, address the situation (be honest and upfront no matter how difficult it can be), and determine why you failed so it can be prevented in the future.

Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.
Treat others as you would like to be treated. Respect is perhaps the most important component in any successful relationship, whether business or personal. Respect is not given, it is earned.

Read more articles from TouchTone's Partner Newsletter

One-Touch Conference Calling

noreply@blogger.com (Telecom News) — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 14:10:00 +0000

Building on its experience of telecom and computer technology, ZipBridge has partnered with TouchTone Communications, a full-service voice and data provider, to deliver a highly unique outbound conference calling service. Powered by TouchTone Communications, ZipBridge provides users the ability to launch a conference call or send a SMS or text message to a group of people simultaneously from their smartphone, tablet, or computer.

For a limited time, ZipBridge is offering a free trial at http://ZipBridge.net/TouchTone.

“There is no conference bridge number to call into. At the touch of a button and from the convenience of any device, ZipBridge calls everyone in the group for you. It’s that easy,” said Leidy Smith, President of ZipBridge. “

ZipBridge not only provides a way to make conference calls quickly and easily, but allows users to communicate instantly in case of an emergency.”

As part of the partnership, ZipBridge will co-locate its servers to TouchTone’s geographically diverse data centers and exclusively utilize TouchTone’s carrier network for call completion. ZipBridge will continue to provide its own billing, while TouchTone will provide all the network services.

The inspiration for ZipBridge came after a conversation the company’s president had with a college IT director whose biggest frustration was trying to get key people on the phone right away during an emergency.

“We searched for a conference calling service that called the parties rather than the other way around, but couldn’t find one. So we built one ourselves,” said Smith.

TouchTone will offer ZipBridge outbound conferencing solutions to customers through its network of authorized agents, who are located throughout the United States.

“At TouchTone, we continually strive to bring our agents differentiated service offerings that can solve problems for their clients. ZipBridge is an excellent example of that because it offers a better and easier way to do something most of our end-user clients do every day – make and host conference calls,” said Pino Bio, President of TouchTone Communications.

About the partnership, Smith shared, “We are very excited to be working so closely with a carrier with the depth and resources of TouchTone. This partnership will help launch ZipBridge in the commercial market while solidifying our position in the Disaster Recovery market by giving us a geographically diverse serving infrastructure.”

What's Trending In Telecom

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 20:05:00 +0000

In this day in age, it is technology that stimulates our senses and gives us a feeling of innovation and creativity. In the world of telecom, innovation increases year-by-year.

Over the past 25 years, technology, especially in the world of telecom, has changed the way we work and play almost beyond recognition. We want, and expect, more powerful devices and applications to help us do things faster, better and with more ease.

But keeping up with technology trends can be overwhelming, and you may find yourself asking, "which technology trends are for me."

The obvious answers are to determine your needs, read and research (we've helped you with that one, read below!), try it out (many companies offer free trials), and if you don't understand it, don't be afraid to ask questions.

Here's a list of some of today's trending topics in telecom and technology.

Telecom Trends

IP services- More and more companies are moving away from TDM and switching to IP services, such as SIP. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) provides many benefits for businesses including lower calling costs and a large capacity to serve an entire organization regardless of its size.
Mobile Device Management (MDM)- As the use of personal devices in the workforce increases, the need for businesses to incorporate mobile device management becomes a necessity in order to protect corporate information and reduce security risks. If you’re looking for a MDM vendor, here is a list of the 10 leading vendors in the market today, drawn from the leaders and visionaries in Gartner's 2013. Magic Quadrant for Mobile Device Management Software.
Apps, apps and more apps- Chances are that you have a smartphone, a tablet or maybe even both. These devices have transformed the way we communicate, especially in businesses. Mobile apps prove to be especially useful in businesses because they can help manage day-to-day activities (schedule meetings, manage contacts, set reminders, money/account-managing, etc.). If you haven’t done so already check out these great apps: Brewster (personal address book), Contactually (contact management), Asana (plan, organize and stay in sync with your team), and Basecamp (project management). There is an app for almost anything nowadays!
The Cloud- With today’s dynamic office environments, cloud services are proving to be a surefire way to reduce costs and streamline operations. So what does it mean exactly ‘to move to the cloud’?

For some, the cloud means a storage locker in the sky; a place to save documents, pictures and videos online so that they can be stored, accessed and even shared whenever and from where ever there is Internet connection.

Not only has this made our personal lives easier (we no longer need to e-mail documents to ourselves or burn a CD of vacation pictures for family and friends), but businesses are looking into cloud-based data storage in support of protection efforts such as replication, backup, archiving, and disaster recovery.

For others, the cloud serves as a way to provide cost effective and scalable voice and data services. Commonly known as hosted communications or business VoIP, voice is provided over an IP backbone (the cloud) – the PBX and service is fully managed offsite by the provider. Cloud-based phone service provides more robust functionality beginning with crisp, clear voice quality and an abundance of features not available with traditional phone service. Since the service is completely outsourced and the PBX does not reside at the customer’s premises, upgrades are automatically provided by the provider in the background so there aren't any costs to upgrade. Learn more about cloud-based phone service.