VoIP Supply Donates Over 200 Meals To The Buffalo City Mission

January 18, 2017 by Angela Burgin-Logan

AMHERST, NY – VoIP Supply, North America’s leading Voice over Internet Protocol solutions provider, has donated over 200 meals to the Buffalo City Mission.

VoIP Supply helped to answer the call to provide warm meals to those in need this winter by donating 249 meals to the Buffalo City Mission. The Mission’s vision is to restore hope to the homeless and hurting of Western New York by providing emergency shelter and nourishing meals to thousands of homeless men, women and children.

VoIP Supply is a certified B Corp that is passionate about helping the communities that they serve. Paula Griffo VoIP Supply President and CFO shared that the company’s mission is to build a great company, with great people who do great things. Griffo said, “One of the greatest things that we can do is to help the communities that we serve. We are pleased to have been able to provide a meal and hope to over 200 people in Western New York this winter.”

The company kicked off their effort to support the Buffalo City Mission on Giving Tuesday and continued throughout the month of December donating a meal for every web order placed. The tech company also harnessed the power of the internet to drive awareness and donations creatively launching a social media effort supporting this social good that provided a donation of one meal to the Buffalo City Mission for each consumer social media post engagement about the program.

Each year, an estimated 5,500 individuals are homeless in Western New York and half are experiencing homelessness for the first time. The Buffalo City Mission provides innovative programs, warm meals and the hope that these individuals need to regain independence. The donation by VoIP Supply reflects the company’s long time commitment to Do Great Things as they do well and is grounded in enhancing the communities that they serve.

About the Buffalo City Mission The Buffalo City Mission, founded in 1917, is a nonprofit organization providing preventative, emergency, and transitional housing programs to thousands of people who are homeless and impoverished. The Mission includes a Women and Children’s Shelter (Cornerstone Manor), the Men’s Community Center, and the BCM Thrift Store located on Dick Road in Depew to serve the Western New York community. For more information, please visit www.buffalocitymission.org or call (716) 854-8181.

About VoIP Supply

VoIP Supply, LLC (www.voipsupply.com) is North America’s leading VoIP solutions provider. Since 2002, VoIP Supply has delivered valuable solutions for some 125,000 customers worldwide. With passionate employees, 6,500 products, 20,000 square feet of office space and an unlimited number of VoIP solutions to meet your needs, whether you are a consumer, business, service provider or reseller, VoIP Supply has everything you need for VoIP. For sales and media inquiries contact [email protected].

To learn more, call (800) 398-8647, or visit voipsupply.com and follow us on social media: Facebook (VoIPSupply), Twitter (VoIPSupply) and LinkedIn (VoIPSupply)

VoIP News! The Latest On 3CX And Elastix, Yealink T4S Phones, IT EXPO And More!

by Angela Burgin-Logan

What the VoIP? There’s been big news in the Voice over Internet Protocol industry. Mary Cheney Marketing Supervisor at VoIP Supply, North America’s leading VoIP solutions provider covers the latest and greatest in the companies VoIP News Update series.

PaloSanto Solutions creator of Elastix shocked many when it was announced that 3CX has taken control of Elastix 5! The move is said to have happened so that the company could shift their focus to Cloud PBX and call center offerings. Elastix has over 100,000 installations worldwide and tens of thousands of monthly downloads. When additional announcements that Elastix 2.5 and Elastix 4 trainings would be shut down effective immediately the bright orange Elastix community seemed to be turning red as customers were shaken up. So what does this all mean? Elastix 5 will be powered by 3CX instead of Asterisk. Elastix 2.5 and Elastix 4 installations will still work and repositories will be available. See our RIP Elastix post for more on this change. For those looking to migrate from Elastix consider Renegade PBX Mini from VoIP Supply.

The VoIP News Update reveals more about the new Yealink T4S series which will feature device performance enhancements, faster response on the phone’s user interface, enhanced speaker performance, and more!

VoIP Supply will again be at one of the biggest Telecom conferences of the year, IT EXPO! You can schedule a one on one meeting with VoIP Supply at the conference to explore ways that VoIP can enhance your business. You can find VoIP Supply at Booth #428 at the Asterisk World Pavilion during IT EXPO taking place at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida from February 8th through the 10th. Everyone will be there! Don’t miss out on the fun! Get your FREE IT EXPO PLUS PASS from VoIP Supply here.

The Difference Between Regular VoIP Service and magicJack

January 16, 2017 by Jon Garbin

magicJack VocalTec, the popular VoIP service you might have seen on TV or at local drugstores, is known for its low pricing and simple setup process to billions of users across the world.

We’ve got a lot of customers asking about magicJack. “Can I replace my regular VoIP service with magicJack to reduce the service cost? Is it good enough for my business?” “What’s the difference between using regular VoIP service and using magicJack?”

To answer those questions, you have to first understand how magicJack works and what advantages and disadvantages it brings.

The Pros and Cons of magicJack

Just like other VoIP service providers, magicJack utilizes existing Internet connection to enable you to make phone calls without an additional telephone service.

Pros: One of the biggest advantages of magicJack is a cheap VoIP service fee. With around $30 to $35 annual fee, you can make unlimited local and long distance phone calls to mobile phones and landlines in US, Canada, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands. However, be aware of the hidden costs that might come with the service such as taxes, fees in addition to the annual service fee, the cost of equipment, etc.

It’s also very simple to set up. Simply connect your computer or ethernet port to your phone through magicJack and power it, you are ready to call. (See setup diagram)

Cons: If you are a busy multitasker, you might be disappointed by magicJack as it only works on a high-speed Internet connection such as cable modem and DSL. We’ve heard customers encountered issues such as program crashing when they tried to run multiple tasks on their computers. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t normally have more than one program running at once.

Another common complaint is that magicJack reduces its costs by placing advertisements on users’ computers, which can be unprofessional and distracting. This usually doesn’t happen for regular VoIP services.

For business users, you might find the features provided magicJack limited. Although it covers the basic phone features such as call forwarding/ waiting/ transferring and caller ID, regular VoIP service provides a more comprehensive package including advanced analysis reports and voicemail to text message.

So, magicJack or Regular VoIP Service?

It all depends on how you will be using VoIP services. We can’t speak for everyone but the general rule is: if you are just looking for a cheap VoIP solution to call your friends or family occasionally, magicJack is enough to handle your needs; if you are looking for a solution to build a small to medium size business or even a call center, regular VoIP service will be a way more reliable choice in terms of stability and features comparing to magicJack’s.

Although the pricing and setup process of regular VoIP services are not as sweet as magicJack, it’s all going to be paid off from the service and quality you get in the long term. Some customers also consider using magicJack as a supplement rather than replacing the existing service completely. Contact our VoIP specialists for a free consultation today at 800-398-VoIP to find out the best solution for your business.

See a quick comparison between magicJack and regular VoIP service here:

magicJack and regular service

Are you using magicJack? How’s your experience?

[Infographic] Refurbished Phone Checklist: 5 Factors to Consider

January 12, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

(Note: Infographic was created through Canva.com)

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Browsing through countless VoIP stores, you finally locate something you love. Just when you are about to check out, you realize you don’t have enough budget for that.

Does this sound familiar to you? Are you hesitant to update to a VoIP system because of the high expense? Before you leave with your hands empty, rethink it. There’s a way for you to upgrade on your budget – Consider refurbished VoIP equipment, a low-cost alternative to new VoIP hardware.

What is a refurbished phone?

Refurbished phones are the used phones that were sent back by customers who no longer needed them to exchange for a certain dollar amount. The phones that were sent back will then be repaired and/or updated before they are placed on the market for sale again.

Since it’s not a brand new product, purchasing from a reliable source is critical. Here, we will share the top five factors to consider when choosing a refurbished phone: Price, Condition, Upgrade, Warranty, and Support.

What to consider when buying a refurbished phone?

Price: Low price is the biggest incentive for most refurbished phone buyers. Pay attention to the price difference between the refurbished phones and the brand-new ones. Is the price now within your budget? Is the price competitive? However, don’t let the extremely low price fool you. Keep in mind that there might be a trade-off between price and the phone’s condition or the service that comes with it.

Condition: Generally, there are three grades of conditions: Grade A refurbished phones are sealed new or have very little wear. Grade B phones might have some scratches or mild damage. Grade C phones can have obvious signs of wear. Regardless the used look, most sellers basically make sure the phone can function normally when you purchase them.

Upgrade: Some refurbished phones are outdated. Make sure the seller examines the product before they resell it to you. Is the hardware upgraded? Is it compatible with your current system? With Refresh from VoIP Supply, you can be sure all of our refurbished products are center examined, upgraded, set to factory defaults and repackaged, making them look and function as if they were new.

Warranty: Many people overlook the importance of a warranty on refurbished phones. This can save you a lot of trouble when you need it. Does the seller offer warranties? How long is the warranty? What’s covered? Our Refresh products all come with a full six months warranty to guarantee your satisfaction. You also have the option to be covered for an additional six months for a small fee.

Support: If you are not a VoIP expert, make sure you have a tech support expert to contact should you encounter issues during the installation or integration process. VoIP Supply offers great pre- and post-sales support to ensure that your products are functioning as perfect as possible.

To learn more about Refurbished Phones, visit our Refresh Center or call our experts at 866-582-3715.

VoIPisms! What An ATA Is And Does

January 11, 2017 by Angela Burgin-Logan

Acronyms are everywhere these days. Especially on social media with acronyms like BRB (be right back), LOL (laugh out loud), and DM (direct message). Acronyms can even pop up in the business world with clever terms like MTD (month to date), ETA (estimated time of arrival) and OOO (out of office).

When it comes to the VoIP world, you will see acronyms like DID (direct inward dialing), FXO (foreign exchange office), FXS (foreign exchange station) and more telecommunications terms.

But, knowing what VoIP terms stand for and knowing how they can help businesses and residential customers can be two different things! Luckily, we speak VoIP! In our new series, VoIPisms we are going to be demystifying common VoIP acronyms and terms from A to Z! First up we explore what an ATA is.

ATA – Analog Telephone Adapter

It sounds pretty simple, right? But what does it do? An ATA, or analog telephone adapter, is a device that’s used to connect your old analog telephones or fax machines to a VoIP network. If you are looking to start using VoIP but you’re not comfortable getting rid of your old analog phones yet, this is the device that you’re going to want to start looking into. These devices are pretty small and compact. Small enough to fit in your pocket!

A good example of how small ATA’s can get would be the Grandstream HT802. The Grandstream HT802 is an advanced 2-port ATA that is packed into an award winning stylish compact design. Grandstream’s HT802 has market leading VoIP features and functionalities that are suitable for residential and business deployment. You can watch VoIP Supply unbox the new Grandstream HT802 here.

If you’re looking for more information on how ATA’s actually work, you can download our free Buyer’s Guide! You can purchase Grandstream’s HT802 ATA here. If you have more questions about ATA’s, VoIP products or services feel free to give the VoIP Supply experts a call at (800) 398-8647, or visit voipsupply.com

How Do I Reboot Grandstream GXP2130?

by Ying-Hui Chen

Our tech support team at VoIP Supply offers great pre- and post-sales support plus provisioning, consultations, configuration, and installation help. We get a lot of VoIP hardware and software questions and would like to share the solutions with everyone.

In the previous Mom’s calling Q&A series, we have discussed: Grandstream PBX UCM6102 Shows Account is not Registered. What Can I do? Today, we have more new real questions and answers from VoIP users just like you.

How Do I Reboot Grandstream GXP2130?

Q: Is there a way to reboot Grandstream GXP2130 without physically unplugging them? When we have a power outage, some of the phones don’t reconnect properly. The incoming and outgoing calls can no longer work. The phones need to be rebooted for the entire system to work.

A: You would have to reboot the switch then (hard reboot). On the phone display press the right arrow on the navigation pad where on the LCD display you will see the two dots “..” Then there should be an option to “Reboot”.

Stay Tuned

Come back for more VoIP questions and answers next time! If you have VoIP questions to ask us, please submit a technical support ticket or contact our VoIP experts today at 866-582-8591

More from: Q & A Ying-Hui Chen Grandstream Q&A

VoIP Supply Named Eastern Region Direct Partner Of The Year At NextCon

by Angela Burgin-Logan

NextCon–Nextiva (www.nextiva.com), an industry-leading cloud communications company, awarded VoIP Supply North America’s leading Voice over Internet Protocol solutions provider, as their Eastern Region Direct Partner of the Year at NextCon16.

VoIP Supply and Nextiva have created a strong partnership which is grounded in helping businesses succeed. Nextiva’s commitment to businesses was showcased at NextCon. The breakthrough business conference drew over 1,500 attendees who were inspired by 50 speakers including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former chief evangelist of Apple Guy Kawasaki and other high octane tech superstars at 40 sessions which focused on multiple tracks ranging from entrepreneurship, business development, sales, marketing, IT, customer service and more.

“Our mission at VoIP Supply is to build a great company, with great people, who do great things. We endeavor to provide the utmost care for our customers and community placing them at the forefront of all that we do. We are proud to partner with a company like Nextiva who has a similar mission. We are tremendously honored for this recognition from a company that we admire and collaborate with to help businesses succeed.” said Benjamin P. Sayers.

Tomas Gorny, Nextiva’s CEO said, “Our company DNA is not just about selling products,” adding. “It is about helping businesses get better.”

VoIP Supply is a company whose goals are centered around what’s best for the customer a sentiment that was echoed by Carl Katz, director of eastern U.S. channel sales at Nextiva who shared at NextCon that the company’s business model isn’t focused on simply selling a commoditized phone service instead he underscored Nextiva’s commitment to helping deliver what companies need to grow their business saying that Nextiva is focused on “solution selling”.

VoIP Supply which became Western New York’s first certified B Corporation driven by their commitment to improve the communities that they serve joined in with Nextiva’s social media campaign, #NextCon16. Nextiva has connected NextCon with their philanthropic and community outreach program Nextiva Cares and has made NextCon a non-profit event. Throughout #NextCon16 attendees were encouraged to share their experience on social media using #NextCon16. Nextiva Cares pledged five dollars to local non-profits for every social media post that included the hashtag on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. This led to over 4,100 social posts in just three days. As a result, Nextiva Cares donated $20,500 to twelve local non-profit organizations.

Highlights from NextCon16!

ABOUT NEXTIVA Nextiva provides cloud-based communications and collaboration solutions designed to simplify the way businesses communicate. Founded in 2006 on the principle of Amazing Service®, Nextiva serves more than 100,000 businesses in the United States from its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. Learn more at www.nextiva.com.

About VoIP Supply

To learn more, call (800) 398-8647, or visit voipsupply.com and follow VoIP Supply on social media: Facebook (VoIPSupply), Twitter (VoIPSupply) and LinkedIn (VoIPSupply)

VoIP Supply to Exhibit at ITEXPO Florida 2017

January 10, 2017 by Mary Cheney

VoIP Supply will showcase the RenegadePBX Mini, Partner Program and VoIP Fulfillment on February 8-10th at world’s leading business technology show.

Buffalo, NY – January 10, 2017 – VoIP Supply, North America’s leading Voice over Internet Protocol solutions provider, announced today that it will be showcasing its RenegadePBX Mini, Partner Program and VoIP Fulfillment at ITEXPO, held February 8-10, 2017 at Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. ITEXPO is the world’s leading business technology tradeshow, and will converge education, innovation and networking across the entire community of IT professionals and thought leaders. Meet VoIP Supply at ITEXPO at booth #428 to learn more about the RenegadePBX Mini, Partner Program and VoIP Fulfillment.

At ITEXPO, executives, technology buyers, sellers, resellers and manufacturers from companies of all sizes and industries will assemble to forge new business partnerships, collaborate and learn together and from one another. Dozens of conferences sessions, keynotes and panels will be focused on helping attendees move their businesses forward.

“We are very excited to be participating as a Platinum Partner at ITEXPO this year.” said Paula Griffo, President and CFO of VoIP Supply. “It is a great opportunity for us to showcase our RenegadePBX Mini and programs to the technology community.”

Since 2002, VoIP Supply has provided expert knowledge to the VoIP industry, its customers, and has also provided unmatched product availability to over 125,000 customers. In early 2015, Founder and CEO Ben Sayers saw a need in the current VoIP market for a simple, universal, and unique appliance that would meet the demands of a growing industry. With our RenegadePBX line, we are able to provide our customers with an affordable solution for VoIP that allows them the freedom to choose the model that best fits their needs. The VoIP Supply Partner Program is designed to assist all of our partners who want to offer the perfect telecommunications solution to their clients. Our straightforward program and commission structure makes it easy for you to choose what is best for your business. And lastly but certainly not least Fulfillment by VoIP Supply. The team behind VoIP Fulfillment has been providing provisioning and fulfillment to VoIP Service Providers since the industry’s beginning. Our services have continued to evolve and improve over time, leveraging current technologies and passing along the access and efficiency to our customers.

Event: ITEXPO Florida 2017

Date & Time: February 8-10, 2017

Location: Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Booth #428

Reserve your seats at ITEXPO today!

Simple Phone Co. Increases Sales and Efficiency with Fulfillment by VoIP Supply

January 9, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

Simple Phone Co. is a cloud-based phone service provider for business and teams based in California. What started as tiny IT consulting project in 2009 is now a growing start-up making a splash in the vast ocean of voice. Their mission is to build incredible experiences that take the hassle out of managing phone solutions, and just this month launched their unique Provide white-label solution for wholesale and providers.

Lost Time in Managing Fulfillment and Inventories

As Simple Phone Co. expands their personalized support and intuitive solutions, they realized they had lost critical time in managing fulfillment and inventories – which distracted them from their core experience focuses. At that point, Simple Phone Company started looking for a professional fulfillment team who shares the same attention to detail and efficiency on product fulfillment, to meet their fast growing needs.

Referred by their Managed Network development partner, Simple Phone Company consulted and partnered with VoIP Supply to discuss their growth and how VoIP Supply could assist them with their Fulfillment needs.

When asked about the reason they chose VoIP Supply, Chris Meadows, Founder and CEO of Simple Phone Company, said “Relationship is the basis of any work with a partner or vendor we do business with. With every phone and box shipped and delivered with VoIP Supply, our customers receive the experience only possible between two partners who value it so critically. Every phone delivers on time, with quick fulfillment upon order, in clean boxes, and perfectly placed collateral…When was the last time you received a clean package, and delivered with straight labels?”

Quick Delivery with Customized Colors and Logo

Since partnering with Fulfillment by VoIP Supply, Simple Phone Company has enjoyed the quick delivery service and worry-free inventory management. They benefit from the wide array of hardware resources that enables Simple Phone Company to ship phones in every make and model, in customized colors, with their own logo, and personalized collateral. And, most important of all, now they finally have more time to focus on their core business development and continuing to develop more great experiences.

They have not only seen an increase in sales and customer satisfaction but they were also able to bring their unique fulfillment experience to their exciting new wholesale solutions by allowing white-label users to tap into the same great resources.

“As a critical partner, VoIP Supply has enabled us to better master the tangible parts of our experience, while allowing our teams to deliver great hardware and work like our users – around the world and in any time zone.” – Chris Meadows, Founder and CEO of Simple Phone Co.

Simple Phone Company plans to expand their deliverable resources with Fulfillment by VoIP Supply in 2017 to meet their business growth needs.

Does your business need a VoIP fulfillment service? What’s your fulfillment experience? Contact our Channel Manager, Don Stefanie, at 716-213-6906 for a free consultation today to discover your business potential.

Updated VoIP Guides Available!

January 6, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

Are you a VoIP beginner who likes to learn at your own pace? Are you interested in learning VoIP with an easy-to-follow guide? Take advantage of our free VoIP Buyers Guides!

The educational guides offer you an understandable definition and examples of the VoIP hardware, system, or service being discussed. The guides also show you applicable situations for which the respective hardware can fit into.

What Updated VoIP Guides Are Available?

To make your learning experience even better, we have updated some of our VoIP guides. Follow the links below to find the four updated VoIP guides:

What Other VoIP Guides Do I Have?

As of today, our VoIP guides cover 10 main topics. Aside from the four topics above, we also provide:

If any of the guide content raises any questions, just raise your hand by calling 800-398-VoIP to talk to an Account Manager. We look forward to helping your VoIP learning!

VoIP Supply Donates Over 200 Meals To The Buffalo City Mission

VoIP News! The Latest On 3CX And Elastix, Yealink T4S Phones, IT EXPO And More!

The Difference Between Regular VoIP Service and magicJack

The Pros and Cons of magicJack

So, magicJack or Regular VoIP Service?

[Infographic] Refurbished Phone Checklist: 5 Factors to Consider

What is a refurbished phone?

What to consider when buying a refurbished phone?

VoIPisms! What An ATA Is And Does

ATA – Analog Telephone Adapter

How Do I Reboot Grandstream GXP2130?

How Do I Reboot Grandstream GXP2130?

Stay Tuned

VoIP Supply Named Eastern Region Direct Partner Of The Year At NextCon

VoIP Supply to Exhibit at ITEXPO Florida 2017

Simple Phone Co. Increases Sales and Efficiency with Fulfillment by VoIP Supply

Lost Time in Managing Fulfillment and Inventories

Quick Delivery with Customized Colors and Logo

Updated VoIP Guides Available!

What Updated VoIP Guides Are Available?

What Other VoIP Guides Do I Have?

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