Right now, your business telephony system is probably equipped with a number of features that make your job easier. A VoIP setup may allow incoming calls to flash on your computer screen so you can properly identify who is calling your office, and multi-line systems let you transfer callers to other offices and voice mail boxes. If you have not included call forwarding as part of your plan, it’s definitely something to consider. Even if your office closes promptly at five, there’s no need for after hours phone calls to become lost or uncompleted.

Consider these reasons for adding call forwarding to your business telephony:

• Remote forwarding automatically sends a caller to your mobile phone, wherever you are. If you have to leave the officer during business hours, or if you are on a corporate trip, you can remain connected to your most important clients. A call placed to your office will instantly transfer to an assigned phone off-site, and you can conduct business as normal. Missed calls may be transferred to a mobile voice mailbox, so you don’t have to access a remote inbox at work.
• You can utilizing a remote forwarding feature to connect to a toll free number, which in turn allows long-distance customers to contact you. In this age of mobile telephony you may not think having a toll free option is important anymore, but for those potential clients who prefer calling a number that’s easy to remember, you can communicate with them more quickly.
• Call forwarding allows you to deal with emergencies on a timely basis. If you leave for the day and a problem arises with equipment or other aspect of your work, you may not learn about it until it’s too late. With call forwarding, crucial calls reach you quickly so you can extinguish any fires before they cause too much damage.

Call forwarding is an essential part of your commercial communications. Talk with your VoIP or telephony provider about your options.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on Norfolk business telephone services and Virginia Beach IT services.

Thanks to innovations in business telephony, you’ll find the phone on your desk does more than ring and let you speak with customers. Multi-line systems let you join in on conferences and transfer calls to co-workers, and you can save and forward important messages from your voice mailbox. With a VoIP phone system, you gain a number of features designed to improve productivity.

With a Voiceover Internet Protocol system, you’ll soon discover that it is easier to connect with clients and potential customers. Just some of the features that improve functionality over a standard phone include:

• LCD Display – With a display on your phone system, you can utilize Caller ID and easily transfer calls within your office.
• Voice clarity – Because VoIP phones function over Internet lines rather than standard phone lines, you may experience clearer calls and in turn better understand communication with clients.
• Headset jack – With this phone system, you can attach a hands-free headset that allows you to work freely without sacrificing a typing hand for the phone, nor do you have to crick your neck pinning a receiver to your ear.
• Specialized ringtones – If you’re not at your desk, a specific ringtone assigned to a contact (or general caller) can alert you from a distance. You can determine if you need to hurry to answer, or if you can afford to let the call go to voice mail.
• Security features – If you have concerns about how data transferred via VoIP is protected, you can discuss encryption options with your IT/telephony provider.

What else can one do with a VoIP phone? Features once considered “premium” for standard phone systems are practically the norm with these systems:

• 3-Way Calling – If you need to conference with more than one client, you can set your phone to connect with multiple parties.
• Call Waiting – One of the more common features on a home phone, Call Waiting alerts you when another party is trying to reach you.
• Voice mail – Voice mail acts as your answering machine. You can save or delete messages or transfer them elsewhere in your building.
• Group pickup – If a colleagues phone rings incessantly, and you know he/she is out for the day, you can pick up the calls without leaving your office with this feature.

A VoIP phone system offers many benefits to your company, regardless of size or industry. Clearer communication, ability to save and forward calls, and hands-free communication are just some of the ways you can see your productivity improve.

Even with a company of five to ten people, it is crucial to maintain communication with clients and vendors. You may not occupy the entire floor of an office building – in fact, you may work out of a tiny storefront – but this doesn’t mean your connectivity is any less important. Therefore, when you are ready to update your phone and Internet systems to apply Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, you should approach your search for a network partner with great care.

One advantage to choosing a network partner that specializes in working with smaller businesses is that these companies know your needs. A reputable company will not sell you on complicated equipment more suitable for a Fortune 100 corporation. You should receive personal attention to your setup and prompt troubleshooting from a turnkey solution that can be easily administered on a daily basis, regardless of whether you plan to hire somebody to manage your IT or keep the network partner on retainer.

As you research potential companies ready to install your new network, you want to consider the following features to simplify your network administration:

Network Design and Installation – Where office desks are currently equipped with a computer and phone on separate lines, the application of VoIP converges both and allows for streamlined connectivity. If needed in your business, you can also arrange to take your “phone” with you through laptop computers.

Virus Protection – If one person should click on a suspicious e-mail, you don’t want the rest of the office to catch the virus. Your network partner should offer a suitable program that handles all incoming problems.

Video and Internet Conferencing – Even a small business may need video conferencing capability. Your network provider can equip you with the tools to communicate with anybody, anywhere in the world.

Voicemail to E-Mail – Wherever you are, clients trying to reach you by phone can reach you through this functionality. If you are the type who constantly checks e-mails for updates, you can keep track of office issues through your network. Depending on the technology, you can click a message to hear your client or have the message transferred to text.

Your small business must come into the new age in order to thrive. Your network partner should recognize the scope of your business and the equipment required to manage communications effectively. As you research potential solutions, be mindful of companies that specialize in VOIP technology suited to your budget.

It’s amazing to think that 30-40 years ago, businesses relied mainly on a traditional phone service with a long distance option and the postal service to conduct all affairs. As I sit at my desk now, within reach of a multi-line phone and my computer, I wonder how I would be able to get my work done should any of my equipment break down. The recent addition of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology stands to make my job easier and hopefully allow me to better communicate with clients. VOIP modernizes the office while also bringing a sense of simplicity that helps improve my productivity.

Where I once had a network cable and a phone cable running down from my desk, a single VOIP cable now converges both. This transition leave all telecommunications at my station running over a single wire and creating a simplified administration. Before VOIP the network cable ran to a network switch while the voice cable was connected to a PBX. The new system gives me one cable to my desk from a network switch, which goes into a phone system. With most systems like this, the phone station is typically a Linux-based computer.

Therefore, the network switch is also the phone system, the voice mail, and the network in the improved office. The “phone,” therefore, can extend to anywhere I have an Internet connection, depending on the connectivity available to me. If I wished, and if the company installing the IT system gave us the option, I could have a “soft phone” that plugs into my laptop and allows me to take the “phone” with me when I leave the office. For people who travel for work, or take it home with them, this is definitely a big selling point.

What’s more, everything has centralized administration. This system can control the whole telecommunications environment from one pane of glass. Wireless is supported by these systems as well.

Another plus to VOIP technology is the voice mail to e-mail feature, which is essential if your office needs to contact you in case of emergency. As you receive new voice messages, your e-mail is alerted. Depending on the system you use, you can click on the e-mail to hear the message, or else have the message transcribed.

In terms of business telecommunications, we have definitely come a long way. Voice Over Internet Protocol technology allows me improved communications with clients and potential clients and brings me closer to my industry.

Components of a Quality Business Telephone System

Depending on the size and scope of your business, you may have an idea of what you need in terms of telecommunications equipment. Owners and managers of smaller companies may feel that all one needs is a phone system with several lines and a voice mail system, but you will find a quality system can offer you so much more than the ability to put one party on hold while you talk to somebody else. Some components that may interest you include:

• LCD Displays for Caller Identification. Knowing who is on the other end of the line before you pick up can help prepare you for an important client call. Caller ID in business is also helpful in discouraging unwanted solicitation.
• Handsfree Functionality. For employees who multi-task, you want a phone system that allows people to wear comfortable headsets while continuing to work.
• Call Forwarding. Employees who work remotely should make use of a phone system that allows calls to forward to a mobile number when necessary.
• Clear Conferencing. You should be able to hear every voice over the line crystal clear when you have your phones in conference mode.
• Digital Keysets. Digital keysets make phone management simpler for the user. These shortcuts allow callers to be transferred to other stations or voice mail with ease.

Once you have decided it’s time to upgrade your telecommunications system, you will want to consult with a local communications company that specializes in installing phone systems for businesses. Look for a company that offers not only an affiliation with a trusted brand in connectivity, but is available to you 24/7 in the event of emergencies and for employee training. The sooner you are wired to a new system, the sooner you can grow your own business through professional communication.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on Norfolk phone systems for business and Norfolk business phone installation.

For this blog I’m going to focus on one feature in particular included in the Office 365 Professional Plan ($6 per month per user) that really makes sense for the Small Office / Home Office (SOHO) user: Microsoft Exchange Online.

Microsoft Exchange Online is basically Microsoft Exchange Server hosted by Microsoft in the cloud.  Exchange Server, whether it’s running on your server or on Microsoft’s, enables Outlook users with some great advanced features that would not otherwise be obtainable in small offices with just a few people.

Many of us use Outlook to manage our business and personal lives and it has been the standard in business communications for a long time because it packs such a great feature set.  If you don’t own or work for a big company, you may not know about some of the features enabled when Outlook connects to its server counterpart.  I’m going to highlight 2 features that are big ones for the SOHO user but first let’s talk about the issues of the past.

Challenges for the small office Outlook lover:

1. You love Outlook when you’re in the office and you keep everything perfectly organized in appropriate folders, but when you’re out of the office and need access to this information you are out of luck.
2. If you try and use your webmail for organizing mail, keeping an address book, or keeping your calendar appointments, you are sorely disappointed at the feature set and long for what Outlook has to offer.
3. When you reply to an e-mail in the office and need to see what your reply was while out of the office you are out of luck; that message is in Outlook, but not in your webmail.
4. Inverse of number 3, you are out of the office and reply to an important message and later you are in the office searching for what you said and it’s not there.
5. When you setup to receive e-mail on your smart phone you once again have a third place where e-mail resides that may or may not reside in the other 2 locations, Outlook and webmail.
6. You want to set an automatic reply when you’re on vacation but the feature is grayed out on the menu in Outlook.

Solution: Microsoft Exchange Online

When Outlook is connected to Exchange it is no longer the home base for your mail, calendar, tasks, and address book like it used to be.  What you see in Outlook is an exact copy of what is stored in Exchange and Microsoft is hosting it for you in the cloud.  This means that when you move things, reply to mail, set a calendar appointment, create a task, these things are directly synchronized to Exchange.

You may have more than one computer with Outlook on it such as the computer in your office and the laptop you use on the road. All of these computers with Outlook will stay up-to-date with the latest information.

Also included in Office 365 is the Outlook Web App.  This is the web-based interface that looks and feels much like Outlook.  It is 10 times better than the webmail you may have now.

The reason you could never get an Out-of-Office response to work is because the server is the one to respond, not your Outlook.  If your computer running Outlook was closed or shut down no response would ever get generated.  This feature becomes available when Outlook is connected to Exchange and once you have it you’ll never know what you did without it.

Since Microsoft Exchange has the lion’s share of the e-mail server market all major smart phone companies include a way to connect to it.  This includes iPhone, Android, & BlackBerry and the always up-to-date information you now enjoy within Outlook happens on your phone as well.

Office 365 for the small office is such a great value at $6 per month per user that even without all the other features (which I’ll write about in future blogs) is worth the price of admission.

Posted by Eric O. Schueler, A+, MCP, MCSE, MCTS, CSSA, ACSP. Eric is the Senior V.P. of Information Technology at HRCT.  He has been in the business of providing IT and consulting for small and medium business for more than 15 years.

For more information and to ask questions, click here to contact Eric Schueler.

Hampton Roads Communication Technologies (HRCT) provides quality business telecommunications solutions, like Business Telephone Systems to companies and organizations throughout the Hampton Roads Virginia cities of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Newport News and Hampton, north into Williamsburg and south into the Outer Banks of North Carolina. HRCT keeps your company connected. Call today 757-399-3350.

If the only thing you know about a telephone is that you pick up the receiver before making a phone call, you probably don’t know much about VoIP, much less what it is. VoIP stands for Voice Over IP, and refers to a system of technologies that involve voice communications over IP (Internet protocol) networks. In short, a VoIP telephone system is simply one that utilizes the Internet rather than land-line phone connections. Through such a system, one’s phone system, fax, and voice-messaging functionality is transported over the Internet – the result is typically clearer communication and ease of use. Advantages to a voice over IP system for your business include:

1) Uninterrupted communication. When phone lines are down in your area, you may still connect with clients through your communications system.

2) Cost effectiveness. It may be cheaper for installation of a VoIP system in your office because the cabling is connected to your existing Internet setup.

3) Flexibility. You can connect with employees and clients anywhere in the world through your VoIP system.

4) Integration with Existing Computer Systems. With your VoIP system, you can set up functionality that lets you see on your computer who is calling you. This helps you prepare for calls with client and potential customers.

5) Upgraded Equipment. With a new system comes new business phones that let you set up multiple lines with ease. You can transfer calls to co-workers, to voice mailboxes, and to conference setups.

Your business doesn’t have to be on the Forbes 100 list to take advantage of the benefits of a VoIP phone system. A consultation with a local business telephone and communications provider will help you to understand what is involved in setup and use. A reputable company, too, will arrange for a training session and offer assistance when needed. This is time to ensure your communications are stable – good telephony keeps you in touch with customers, and the business world.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on Norfolk business telephone systems and Virginia Beach business telephone systems.

You’re out of the office and someone leaves you a voicemail message.  What happens?  You may not know anything about that message until you get back to the office.  That may mean missing out on an opportunity – lost business – bummer right?  So what can be done to eliminate that scenario?

Voicemail to e-mail is certainly a step in the right direction.  As soon as your customer finishes leaving you a message, your voicemail system sends you an e-mail with the voicemail message attached.  Now you can receive that voicemail to e-mail message on your smart phone, your home computer, your office computer – wherever you want to receive it, and when you open the attachment, you will be hearing the voicemail message that your customer just left you; it’s just like listening to an mp3 music file.  Once you listen to the message you can potentially call the customer (their telephone number will be part of the subject line of your e-mail) or sometimes forwarding that message to someone else via e-mail and adding your instructions might be an even better solution.

The main thing is that being away from the office does not mean you have to wait until returning to the office to handle business client needs.  Staying connected in a smart way will allow you to win more business and keep your existing customers happy.  If you are wondering how to make your voicemail system provide voicemail to m-mail, just give us a call at 757-399-3350.  We’ll help you with your connections to your customers.

Posted by Sid Cervarich, Vice President of Sales at HRCT.  Sid has over 30 years of sales and implementation experience exclusively within the greater Hampton Roads area.  His range of experience includes governmental as well as commercial solutions.  His preference is to provide a consultative teamwork approach to solving customer requirements.

For more information and to ask questions, click here to contact Sid Cervarich.

Hampton Roads Communication Technologies (HRCT) provides quality business telecommunications solutions, like Business Telephone Systems to companies and organizations throughout the Hampton Roads Virginia cities of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Newport News and Hampton, north into Williamsburg and south into the Outer Banks of North Carolina. HRCT keeps your company connected. Call today 757-399-3350.

Typical services your communications provider will offer your may include:

• VoIP Telephone Installation – VoIP, or voice over IP, is a popular solution for businesses interested in integrating their phone systems with their existing or upgraded Internet. With a VoIP telephone setup, all telephone communication is handled via the Internet rather than through phone lines. This means that your business could save money in the long because there will be less cabling involved.
• Data Security Services – Business IT solutions will provide you with sound, quality data protection, enabling you to work worry-free. This will include installation and updating of virus software across the network, services to back up your data, and anti-hacking measures.
• E-Mail Services – E-mail is important to your business, and working with an IT company allows you to obtain an efficient e-mail service that blocks unwanted junk messages from your company inboxes. Employees should also be able to access mail via mobile devices when they are off-site.
• Internet Conferencing – Thanks to video conferencing, your business can expand as you shorten the distance between you and out of town clients. Quality conferencing makes for crystal clear video and sound as you conduct business via online video.
• Network Design – If you have ideas beyond cookie-cutter business Internet setups you may find that a custom integration for your company works best. You will want to consult with an IT company to learn about your options.

The IT company you choose should also be adept at handling emergency outages, periodic inspections of your company’s firewall and virus applications, and regular data restores in the event of problems. Especially if your data resides on your own server, you want a company that can take care of any related repairs. The more work done online by your business, the more crucial an IT company is to keeping it running.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on Norfolk business Internet services and Norfolk business telephone services.