Lifesize, a global innovator of video conferencing solutions, and Serenova, a leading contact center-as-a-service (CCaaS) provider, announced a merger. With this merger, these two companies expect to provide customers a complementary platform of enterprise-grade, cloud-based, HD video collaboration and contact solutions together.
āLifesize has a long track record of innovation in business communications and a strong dedication to customer success,ā said Serenova CEO John Lynch. āThe synergies between Serenova and Lifesize solutions will allow us to revolutionize how businesses communicate with their customers and will deepen the value we can offer to our existing contact center customers worldwide.ā
A VoIP number is the number you use to make voice calls with your contacts. Depending on how you set up your service, these VoIP calls can be completed through a VoIP desk phone, a regular landline telephone converted by an adapter, or even through your cellular phone. Basically your VoIP number is the number that will show on the other end of the phone call so your contact can recognize you.
International Direct In-Dial Numbers (DIDs)
Most of the VoIP service providers now are able to provide you with international DIDs. This will give your business a worldwide presence with direct in-dial numbers, making it easy for you to expand your international reach.
More VoIP Call Features
Thatās not all! VoIP has a lot of potential. There are many more VoIP call features you can take advantage fo to make efficient calls such as:
Find Me/Follow Me – you control how your calls are directed!
Voicemail to Text – instantly transcribe and send your voicemail to your email
Auto Attendant – a personalized greeting that allows your customers to choose the person/ department they want to reach
Call Queuing – organize different departments into queues so that callers can be routed accordingly
Many businesses are set up for employees to work from home, is yours ready? Our team put together a simple checklist in this post to help you get prepared for working from home or anywhere you need to be! Letās check out what you will need:
#1 Mobile App/ Softphone
When you are out of your office, your mobile phone plays an important role. Almost all VoIP service providers now provide their own mobile app for Android and iOS users. Check with your service provider to make sure you have your cell phone set up for VoIP calls so you can stay connected wherever you go!
What about hosting a meeting remotely? A video conferencing solution is all you need! To help you choose the best video conferencing solution, letās break down your options into three room sizes:
You may also want to check out Lifesizeās bundle solutions. Lifesize provides tailored solutions based on how many participants you will have and their systems are very easy to install and get started. Try Lifesize Go, a free video conferencing platform on the go, today!
For executive-level professionals, you may want a personal camera and/or a reliable speakerphone in your home office so that your team can see and hear you clearly. Logitech has some affordable portable HD cameras available such as the BCC950 and the C920 camera. See more popular options below:
Letās be honest, how do you stay focused when your dog is barking and your kids are crying in the same space? A great quality VoIP headset with advanced noise cancelling features will come to rescue!
Monaural, binaural, wired, wireless,….choose what works best for you! Here are some popular VoIP headsets with strong noise cancelling features:
Remote collaboration can be quite different from face-to-face interaction. Donāt forget to take advantage of the VoIP features that will enhance your team efficiency:
In the last post, we talked about what SIP is and how it works. Today, we are going to go one step further to discuss what a VoIP phone is and how to select your VoIP phones. Letās get started!
What is a VoIP Phone?
A VoIP phone is a telephone with built-in IP technology and transport protocols that is used in conjunction with a VoIP phone system or VoIP service allowing you to send and receive calls. VoIP phones are similar to a traditional desktop telephone (landline) except it uses a different underlying technology (IP).
Thereās a VoIP phone for every role! Selecting your ideal VoIP phone doesnāt have to be complicated. You can start from answering a few questions:
1. What phone system or VoIP service provider are you using?
Itās important to make sure that your phone is compatible with your VoIP phone system or service provider! Many of our customers thought they could just plug in the phone and get it work with any provider. Thatās not true! You can download our compatibility guide here to learn more about it.
2. Who will be using these VoIP phones?
An executive probably needs several line appearances to accommodate multi-party conference calls; while a manager might need a VoIP phone that has the ability to pick up, transfer and juddle several calls at once. Determine the role first will help you narrow down your options quickly. From there, you can decide what features and functionalities are necessary for your user.
3. Whatās the typical call volume?
Your typical daily call volume will determine how many line appearances your VoIP phone should have. Usually 3 to 5 lines will be sufficient for an average office worker, however, for receptionists and operators, you will probably need more than 10 lines.
4. Whatās your budget?
Believe it or not – a VoIP phone price can range from $40 to over $400! While price should never be the most important factor in selecting an IP Phone it is important that you have a budget set for your IP phones, since you don’t want to overspend. A budget will also force you to take a hard look at what features and functions are most important to you.
The easiest way to find an ideal VoIP phone? Call one of our VoIP consultants at 1-800-8647! We have an experienced team here to help you, why not take advantage of it?
Kariās law and Ray Baumās act went into effect earlier this month and many of our partners and customers are nervous about how this new law can affect their business. Letās learn from the basics:
What are the requirements under Karisās law and Ray Baumās act?
Kariās law and Ray Baumās act are created to make it easy for people in distress to contact 911 for emergency events. Multi-line phone systems in the United States are now required to:
Enable direct dialing to 911 centers.
Notify designated personnel when the call has been made
Transmit critical data directly to 911 centers
Note that every state has its own specific requirements so you will want to check with your lawyer to find out more details.
How to become compliant with Kariās law with 3CX
3CX v16 Update 5 Alpha 2 introduced new features to further assist emergency response units. Now our partners are able to set rapid response emergency number options:
Custom Outbound Caller ID ā You can now set a custom Caller ID for each of the emergency numberās defined routes. This ID represents an Emergency Location Identification Number (ELIN), that you can associate through your VoIP providerās portal with an Emergency Response Location (ERL).
Emergency Policy Name ā The ā%%EMERGENCYRULENAME%%ā parameter can be added to the message template to transmit more data to help in an emergency situation.
Buffalo, NY – VoIP Supply, a leading VoIP provider in North America, is excited to announce their new affiliate program. VoIP Supply has emerged as the leading VoIP hardware and service supplier in the VoIP market space and this is one of the easiest programs to join and participate in.
By joining the VoIP Supply Affiliate Program, partners are able to work with an authorized partner to ensure their customerās products are supported and provide their customers access to one of the largest VoIP hardware catalogs out there.
Affiliates will track all referring traffic via a unique URL placed on their website and receive a commision payout when a transaction is made.
ā We are very excited to be able to offer this type of program to our partners. It saves them valuable time and ensures their customers will have a great customer experience. At VoIP Supply we pride ourselves in delivering the best customer experience and having this program allows us to extend that to other partners in the industry. ” – Paula Griffo, Managing Director at VoIP Supply
Submit your application here and wait for approval emails within 48 hours. Learn more about VoIP Supplyās Affiliate Program here: https://www.voipsupply.com/affiliate-program
About VoIP Supply
VoIP Supply, LLC is your trusted source for everything VoIP; from our large selection of name-brand hardware to our CloudSpan Marketplace. VoIP Supply provides you with a fully staffed inbound call center with licensed, certified and highly trained VoIP experts that can help you with any problem you might have. Whether you are a home user, business, reseller or service provider, VoIP Supply has the products, experience and expertise to make your deployment a success.
VoIP Supply is a three-time Inc. 500/5000 honoree, listed by Business First as one of WNYās Most Admired Companies, as well as being consistently ranked one of Western New York’s Best Places to Work. VoIP Supply is also the first Certified B Corporation in Western New York.
Our dedicated Solution Specialists are here to help, so call us today at 1-800-398-VoIP or visit our website at https://www.voipsupply.com
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 previous Momās calling Q&A series, we have discussed: Fanvil X6 IP Phone Failed to Transfer Calls via PBXs. Today, we have more new real questions and answers from VoIP users just like you.
Are Fanvil’s H Series Hotel Phones Certified with 3CX?
Q: What Hospitality Platforms Are Fanvilās H Series IP Phones Certified On?
A: As of now, Fanvil’s H Series hotel phones are certified with 3CX and 3CX has its own hotel modules.
The 3CX Hotel Module is an optional module for 3CX Phone System and turns it into a full featured Hotel PBX. The 3CX Hotel module is available with or without PMS (Property Management System) integration. Learn more about 3CX hotel module here!
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
IPā¦.Iāve heard of that before. Thatās right! Most of you must have heard of IP. IP stands for Internet Protocol. Itās a method of transporting packets across your local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). But what about SIP?Ā
What is SIP?
SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol. It is a communication protocol used for initiating and integrating real-time multimedia communication sessions including video, voice, messaging and other applications.Ā
What does SIP do? SIP bridges communication services between multiple endpoints. Basically, you need SIP to set up a call through the Internet and get two or more telephones to talk to each other.Ā
Utilizing a combination of hardware, software, and voice protocols, your conversations are carried over the IP network to its intended destination. A VoIP system converts the analog audio signals (your voice) into digital data that can be understood by the VoIP devices and transmitted over the IP network to the other end of the call.Ā
When it comes to selecting an IP Phone there is a lot to consider. Do I need a color display? How many SIP accounts? Do I need it to support Bluetooth or WiFi? All great questions that play a big role in the ultimate decision. Thankfully, with VoIP Supplyās Refresh line of refurbished IP Phones, there is one major factor that does not have to be difficult- price. With Refresh, you get used quality phones for a fraction of the cost of new ones. So that you can be sure that you will not exceed your spending budget while still finding a phone that has the features you need for your work scenario.Ā
Take our Polycom VVX 300 for example. This is a robust entry-level device that has a clean and sleek appearance. It can handle up to 6 line appearances. This is a phone ideal for call center operators or cubicle workers that need high definition voice quality without the other bells and whistles.
Polycom VVX 300 Features at a glance:
6 Line appearances
Polycom HD Voice
208×104 Backlit 8 Level Grayscale graphical LCD
Dual 10/100 RJ45 Ports
RJ9 headset port
Built-in auto sensing IEEE 802.3 af Power over Ethernet
Optional 48V DC power supply (not included)
Learn more about the VVX 300 by reading its datasheet here.
If what you’re needing is an IP phone with more features and a color display then the VVX 411 is a great option. The VVX 411 supports up to 12 line appearances and has a 3.5 backlit color display with a modern and sleek design. It easily integrates with third party applications making it a great fit for the professional user. Features such as managing calendars, receiving meeting reminders and alerts and accessing the instant messaging (IM) presence status can be done right on the phoneās display.Ā
Polycom VVX 411 features at a glance:
12 Line appearances
Polycom HD Voice
3.5″ (320×240) Backlit Color LCD
Dual Gigabit RJ45 Ports
RJ9 headset port
Built-in auto sensing IEEE 802.3 af Power over Ethernet
Optional 48V DC power supply (not included)
Easy integration with Unified Communication platforms
VVX Expansion Module support
4-way directional navigation key
12 hard keys with basic icon keys included
Wired or Wireless Headset Support
Learn more about the VVX 411 by reading its datasheet here.
Another great option for the professional user is the Yealink T46S IP phone. This model also offers an elegant and sleek design, but features a color touch-screen display and support for up to 16 SIP accounts. The T46S stands out with its Opus Support and enhanced speakerphone performance for calls that are clear regardless of whether you are on the handset or using the speakerphone.
Yealink T46S Features at a glance:
4.3-inch 480 x 272-pixel color touch screen
USB2.0
Opus
Up to 16 SIP accounts
Paperless label design
Headset and EHS support
Wi-Fi via WF40
Bluetooth via BT40
USB recording
Support for expansion modules
Stand with two adjustable angles
Wall-mountable
Learn more about the Yealink T46S by reading its datasheet here.
Refresh has a lot more IP phones options and conference phone models as well. If you have questions about our Refresh line or would like to learn more, donāt be shy, give us a call at 1-800-398-8647.
Going wireless with Grandstream is easier than ever! Grandstreamās GWN Access Points (APs) are designed for small-to-mid-sized businesses and/or multiple floor offices. These access points provide dual-band network throughput and create a true wireless work environment.
As your business expands, you might need to add more GWN access points to your network to provide a wider WiFi coverage range. Today, we are going to walk you through the steps of pairing and managing multiple GWN APs under one GWN AP controller. Letās get started!
How to Pair and Manage Multiple GWN APs Under One Controller
You can pair and manage up to 50 different GWN APs under one GWN AP controller. First of all, make sure the GWN access points you want to connect are not currently connected to another controller or acting as a controller before you start the pairing.
Once you are clear, follow these steps:
Power on your APs and connect them to the same network as the controller
Log in to your GWN AP controller web interface
Go to Access Points
The system will now automatically search the GWN APs available and display their basic information such as firmware, device type, Name, IP address, etc.
Click āPairā next to the desired access point
Thatās it! Your GWN AP will now be paired and available to be added to a Network Group.
