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6 Steps to Selecting a Hosted PBX or Hosted VoIP Provider

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Hosted PBX or Hosted VoIP services are quickly replacing traditional telephone systems in the business community. In addition to lower telephone bills and getting away from 1960s phone line technology, the benefits are wide and far ranging. They include virtual local numbers, telecommuting, connecting multiple locations together through voice, Personal Telephone Numbers, Mobile PBX, Private Faxes, Unified Communications and many more.

With literally a thousand or more providers in the industry, selecting a Hosted VoIP provider can be a confusing and frustrating process. This article is a detailed plan and structured process to selecting the right provider for your business. You should follow the 6 steps and familiarize yourself with all of the linked articles that apply for your business. Doing so increases the chances of selecting the ideal vendor so that you can enjoy the powerful benefits that Hosted PBX services have to offer.

1. Determine Your Needs and Pick Providers That Solve These Needs

The first and most important step is to understand your company’s needs. Your needs are the focal point of all questions and decisions throughout the process. If you have some specific requirements that have brought you to this stage, now is the time to write them down. In addition, here are some additional areas that should be considered:

a. Does the company have multiple locations including employees working at home? Combining multiple office locations and telecommuters into a seamless communications system can improve efficiency and customer service while saving the company thousands of dollars in overhead. Read my article “How to Stop the Waste When Operating a Business in Multiple Locations” for more information.

b. Where are the most costly places to call? What areas get called most often? Take this information into account when selecting a service and calling plan.

c. Do any departments such as inside sales or customer service frequently have callers waiting on hold while other callers are assisted? If the answer is “Yes,” then you may need Automatic Call Distribution. Read “Pissed Off Callers Cost You Revenue: Fix It with Automatic Call Distribution” for more information.

d. Do any staff members roam the building who need to take calls? One or more cordless phones can help these workers.

e. Do any employees travel out of the office including sales people, managers and service personnel? Mobile PBX may be the answer to handling their calls.

f. Are there paging requirements either through the desk phone or external speakers?

g. Do any staff members share a phone with a need for individual Direct Inward Dial (DID) numbers?

All of these needs that are applicable should be written down along with any others that you listed. Not all Hosted VoIP providers can deliver solutions to solve these issues. Make sure you use them to find the most qualified services for your situation.

2. Know the Quantities of Phones, Other Hardware and Services That Your Business Requires

In order to get an accurate quote and make sure there are no surprises on future invoices, survey your business and determine accurate quantities of:

a. Desk Phones

b. Fax machines that will connect through provider’s network and Virtual Private Inbound Fax Numbers

c. Analog ports for cordless phones or other analog devices

d. Virtual Published Numbers and Unpublished Numbers

e. Automated Attendant Greetings (day-time & night-time)

f. Voicemail boxes in addition to those associated with phones

As a side note, VoIP telephones plug into your LAN outlets. Check for an available LAN connection at each phone location. If LAN outlets will be shared with other devices such as computers, choose a VoIP phone that has an integrated Ethernet switch. If no LAN outlet exists in one or more phone location, new cabling will need to be run.

3. Understand Available Calling Plans

Calling plans for Hosted VoIP services can be confusing. Unfortunately, sometimes that is intentional. In order to avoid some nasty surprises on your bill and to make the most informed decision, it is necessary to understand the available calling plan and how the charges will affect you.

You should avoid services that charge by the minute for local and domestic long distance calls that are not on their network. Although the cheap prices that these services offer may be very attractive, their bills can be impossible to predict and shocking. The simplest calling plans are always the best. Select a service that offers unlimited local and domestic long distance calling to any telephone number.

In determining the right calling plan, know what the calling areas include and compare to the information you gathered in step one. If you are evaluating a variable pay per minute plan, 750 minutes can be used as the average business desk phones use per month for local and domestic long distance calls.

4. Compare Potential Vendors’ Pricing Plan Using the Same Quantities of Hardware, Services and Minutes for Each

Although this may seem like an obvious step, it is rarely done correctly. Comparing potential vendors using quantities that are the same for each proposal can be challenging. Do not consider a proposal that does not match up with the others. Modify each vendor’s proposal until they all are equivalent. Get the proposal with correct quantities in written form. Do not accept verbal information. Once the proposals match, they can be accurately compared.

5. Avoid the Top Mistakes Made When Selecting a Hosted VoIP Provider

At this point, probably one or two potential Hosted VoIP providers are standing out among all the rest. Now it is time to read my article, “The Top Mistakes Made When Selecting a Hosted VoIP Provider.” Read the article and avoid these mistakes.

6. Select a Hosted PBX or Hosted VoIP Provider

The homework has been done and the chances of success are very high. Confidently select the service that meets your needs the best. Soon you will be enjoying the many powerful benefits that Hosted PBX services have to offer.

Posted in ACD, Hosted PBX, Hosted VoIP | 3 Comments »

The Top Mistakes Made When Selecting a Hosted VoIP Provider

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

More and more companies are throwing out their tired old telephone system and replacing them with state-of-the-art Hosted VoIP or Hosted PBX services. In addition to lower telephone bills and getting away from 1960s phone line technology, the benefits are wide and far ranging. They include virtual local numbers, telecommuting, connecting multiple locations together through voice, Personal Telephone Numbers, Mobile PBX, Private Faxes, Unified Communications and many more.

Regardless of their reasons for choosing a Hosted PBX or Hosted VoIP provider and the goals that accompanied the decision, not all deployments of Hosted PBX services are successful. Here is a list of the top mistakes made when choosing a Hosted VoIP service and how to avoid them:

1. Selecting a provider that is new to the industry. Providers that are new to the industry may not know how to successfully deploy their service. In addition, they will be learning and solving new problems while using their customers as Guinea Pigs. Worse, they could go out of business with little or no notice which could have devastating effects on their customers.

Choose a provider that has been delivering Hosted PBX services for a minimum of 5 years. The length of time that a provider has been in business is an indicator of quality service, satisfied customers and financial health.

2. Deploying a Hosted VoIP service with an Internet connection that is not ready for VoIP. Approximately 60% of all headaches related to VoIP are usually the customer’s Internet connection. An unstable or insufficient Internet connection can cause choppy and garbled voice, dropped calls and a frustrated staff.

Make sure that your Internet connection is large enough, stable and clean of problems before Hosted VoIP service is installed. The Hosted VoIP provider should have tools in place to help determine stability and diagnose issues. Ask them to explain how they are going to do it. If their explanation is not understandable, then they probably do not understand it either. Remember, the Internet pipe has to be stable and large enough to handle the number of anticipated simultaneous calls.

3. Not understanding the calling plans and hidden charges before selecting a service provider. The cheap pricing advertised on websites can be very appealing. In some cases, all is not what it seems. Unlimited calling plans frequently only include the provider’s network which are usually very small. Off network usage can be as high as $.065/minute! The average desk phone is used approximately 750 minutes/month adding anywhere from $20-$50/month per user. Not cheap!

Find a hosted VoIP provider who offers an unlimited plan for placing local and domestic long distance calls. The variable plans are too unpredictable in price and rarely a good deal for their customers. If you do select a variable plan, make sure you know the per minute charges. Estimate your monthly usage and do the math. If you are not sure, use 750 minutes per month per phone.

4. Selecting a provider that does not deliver crucial features. Hosted PBX providers offer many exciting new features and capabilities. However, some of your most common phone system functions such as paging or Busy Lamp Field (who is on the phone) may not be offered at all.

Do not take the basic features of your telephone system for granted. Spend some time watching how the system is used and which features are instrumental to the smooth operation of the company. Verifying that the Hosted VoIP provider furnishes these features will save some nasty surprises later.

5. Electing a provider that does not assist in prioritizing voice traffic as it goes out on your Internet connection. Internet connections from cable companies and DSL circuits have lower upload speeds to the Internet. Unprioritized voice and data traffic compete for this limited resource. Sending a large e-mail while conducting a phone call can create choppy voice and even dropped calls.

Find a VoIP provider who will assist in prioritizing traffic. Ask the potential provider how your data vendor can prioritize their voice traffic. If they cannot give you an answer or they claim it does not need to be done, find someone else.

6. Making a change of providers without learning service termination and other charges that may apply.

Vendors offer attractive pricing and reduced installation charges in exchange for long term commitments. Review your contract and know any remaining term, cancellation procedures and termination charges. Do not get surprised by these charges after you have already committed to another provider.

Hosted VoIP services deliver the ability to reduce phone bills, lower overhead and transform the manner in which a business operates. Avoiding common mistakes in selecting a provider increases the likelihood of a successful installation allowing the business to take full advantage of the powerful capabilities that these services supply.

Posted in Hosted PBX, Hosted VoIP, Internet | No Comments »

How to Stop the Waste When Operating a Business in Multiple Locations

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Some businesses have employees that work out of their homes. Others have satellite locations across town or in another city or state. When a business does not have the luxury of having all employees report to the same office, several communication challenges can cause problems in customer service, sales and operations. Hosted VoIP providers have a service called Virtual PBX that can solve these obstacles and help companies improve the performance of each department and their bottom line.

Following is a partial list of issues from having a work force under more than one roof:

1. Calls can not be transferred between locations. Asking an outside caller to hang up and dial another number within an organization includes the risk that they will not call.

2. Many companies have redundant positions at each of their locations because they cannot easily transfer calls. Redundant positions may include call answering points, sales, customer service and accounting.

3. Communication among employees is strenuous as it is harder to get someone on the phone than it is to see them in the hallway or catch them at their desk.

4. Departments that are geographically spread apart cannot be grouped together for answering calls and incoming calls cannot be fairly distributed between locations.

5. Call answering positions do not know whether or not someone is already on the phone.

6. Key personnel who travel between offices frequently miss their important phone calls when they are away from their main desk.

7. Employees cannot page people in other locations.

Hosted PBX or Hosted VoIP services are the solution to all of these issues and more. Here are the ways they can help:

1. Calls can be transferred between locations as easily as they are transferred within the same building. Now callers can always get to the right person by calling the company only once.

2. Some premium Hosted VoIP providers offer Busy Lamp Field (BLF) which show who is busy on other phone calls.

3. Call answering points can be centralized into one location since calls can be transferred anywhere and BLF features show who is on the phone. Other redundant positions such as sales or customer service can be centralized, eliminated or reduced.

4. Mobile PBX option integrates the desk phone with the mobile phone. Employees can receive and process calls whether they are sitting at their desk or away from the office.

5. Camp On feature provides an alert when an extension becomes idle or is used again. Hosted PBX users do not need to hunt for each other as the phones will do it for them with Mobile PBX or Camp On.

6. Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) is furnished by some Hosted VoIP providers. ACD evenly distributes calls among several people within a department. It also stacks calls that are waiting to be answered similar to the teller line at a bank. People in comparable departments such as customer service that are spread apart in multiple locations can be included in the same ACD group and answer any of the department’s calls.

7. Hoteling allows a user to go to any desk phone, enter a code and that desk phone is now their main extension. Hoteling is beneficial for employees that travel between office locations and need to receive their calls no matter where they are. Since their extension is the same, call receptionists never need to hunt for them.

8. Overhead paging systems can be accessed in other locations. In some instances, multiple paging systems in multiple buildings can be used simultaneously.

Whether a business has single user multiple locations or stand alone satellite offices, Hosted VoIP services and Virtual PBXs solve many communication challenges. Separate phone systems will cause disjointed communication and the sales and customer service experience of the outside caller will suffer. Hosted VoIP providers deliver one cohesive telephone system for all locations. Businesses can save money by centralizing, streamlining or eliminating redundant positions while simultaneously improving the caller’s experience. In addition, advanced features such as ACD, Mobile PBX, Hoteling and Camp On will significantly improve the service a company delivers to its callers.

Posted in ACD, Busy Lamp Field, Hosted VoIP, Hoteling, Mobile PBX, Overhead Paging | 1 Comment »

Remove Your Startup Business Image by Using Hosted PBX Services

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Startup businesses need services that are inexpensive, scalable in design and will promote their growth. Further, they need a communication system that is easy to manage, provides seamless communication even when all workers are not in the same office, gives outside callers the feel of a company with depth, moves easily and enables its users to wear many hats. Enter Hosted PBX or Hosted VoIP services.

Hosted PBX services appear to be designed with the startup in mind because they can do all that and more. Typically the business owner only needs to purchase VoIP phones to work with their selected Hosted PBX service significantly lowering capital required for a phone system. Most services bundle free outbound long distance with a subscription to their service. Combining long distance with eliminating the concept of phone lines, monthly phone costs become quite predictable while insuring all calls get through.

Hosted PBX services can include users in a seamless communication system regardless of their location because they are based on VoIP technology. The top Hosted PBX services provide all telephone users with the ability to transfer calls, know who is on the phone (Busy Lamp Field) and camp-on to extensions while eliminating the costs for calls between remote staff.

Hosted PBX services promotes a startup’s growth by allowing effortless addition and deletion of phones, simple service and phone moves and new employees to work from their home when office space is not available. Further, the startup can test new market areas by merely publishing a local number in that area while receiving those calls in their home area. Whether the new market area produces the desired results or not, a Hosted PBX service significantly reduces the risk by minimizing the investment.

The startup business owner must wear many hats. They include answering calls, meeting clients and potential clients in the office and out in the field and traveling to promote their business. Published phone numbers can ring multiple phones in multiple locations. The Mobile PBX option of premium Hosted PBX or VoIP providers will pass business calls on to mobile phones when the called party does not answer their desk phone. Calls will get answered without anyone being chained to a desk. In addition, faxes and voicemails can be delivered via email permitting the traveler to stay in touch with all of their messages.

Startup businesses must be very sensitive to appearing as a startup or small business with limited resources. The caller’s perception is greatly influenced by how calls are answered. Live body answers, auto attendants and individual voicemail greetings give the feel of a company with resources. In contrast, calls answered by general company voicemail boxes convey a small company appearance. The many features of a Hosted PBX service will facilitate a professional image of a company with resources.

Hosted PBX services from VoIP providers are perfect for the startup business. They provide communication services that are inexpensive, scalable in design and foster the growth of the business. They are easy to manage, provide seamless communication even when all workers are not in the same office, give outside callers the feel of a company with depth, move easily and enable its users to wear many hats. Lastly they allow the owners to stay in constant communication with their customers and employees without ever giving out their personal mobile phone number allowing the entrepreneur to remain a private individual, too.

Posted in Hosted PBX, Hosted VoIP, Mobile PBX | No Comments »

6 Ways Hosted PBX Services Can Save Your Business and it’s not What You Think

Friday, March 12th, 2010

In today’s difficult economy it may be time to reorganize your business. Hosted PBX or Hosted VoIP providers can play an important role as you find ways to reduce or eliminate high cost expenses in your business. Hosted VoIP services can save you a large percentage on the obvious telephone system related bills. But the fact is these costs are small when compared to the big ones. I am talking about overhead including office space and headcount.

Here are 6 ways Hosted PBX services can get your company lean and mean:

1. Hosted VoIP systems can provide you virtual office support just about anywhere, making it possible to downsize or eliminate commercial office space and the high rent, utility bills, insurance and much more. Your employees’ home office space can be networked together with other work locations. The seamless operation produces a united work environment without the cost of brick and mortar.

2. Now that your employees can work from their home in a seamless environment thru your Hosted PBX service, you can eliminate or combine remote facilities while maintaining existing phone numbers that keep you connected to your customers and staff.

3. With Hosted VoIP, geographical distances have no impact on effective communication and call handling. Once dedicated to the support of a local office, redundant functions in your multiple facilities can be consolidated into a single entity supporting all offices. Redundant functions may include phone reception, customer service, inside sales personnel and office/facility management.

4. Hosted VoIP providers can supply you with published local phone numbers that ring anywhere. This allows you to expand or test market areas without adding commercial office rent and staff. The new market area becomes a seamless addition to your core business.

5. Top Hosted PBX services offer Automatic Call Distribution (ACD). ACD stacks up calls similar to the line for bank tellers. If you have callers that wait on hold while other callers are being assisted, you are abusing them by long hold times, multiple operator ring backs and handling by less knowledgeable staff. ACD will stop the abuse, keep your callers from alternative solutions and increase sales, customer service and customer satisfaction.

6. Hosted VoIP providers allow virtually unlimited simultaneous calls to flow to your business. Some Hosted PBX services will do the same for faxes as well. Busy lines and fax machines will no longer turn valuable business away from your company.

Hosted VoIP services give your business the flexibility to reorganize and cut big costs in addition to savings on traditional telephone bills. At the same time, they can help your business retain and grow new sources of revenue. After you have weathered the economic storm, Hosted PBX services will help your business be more accessible, responsive, adaptable and competitively positioned.

I hope this article has been helpful to you. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Tags: ACD
Posted in ACD, Hosted PBX, Hosted VoIP | 1 Comment »

Wireless Enabled ISP Routers Will Cause Problems with Hosted VoIP Services

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Many major Internet Service Providers (ISP) such as Charter, Comcast, AT&T and CenturyLink Telephone will install wireless enabled Internet routers as an added benefit to their customers. In some cases, these wireless enabled routers can cause voice quality issues with your VoIP, Hosted VoIP, Hosted PBX Services and/or network interruptions.

Most WiFi enabled access points operate in the 2.4 Ghz frequency range. This unlicensed frequency range is also shared by many common household and business devices such as cordless telephones and microwave ovens. Use of these devices within range of your wireless enabled ISP router can cause interference and other negative effects ranging from seemingly insignificant brief Internet outages up to the need for router resets. Internet outages lasting only several milliseconds will be disruptive to VoIP calls using a Hosted PBX or Hosted VoIP provider.

If your ISP router is equipped for wireless networking service and is not being used on your network, I recommend the wireless feature be turned off. Turning the wireless feature off eliminates the negative effects of any interference and a potential security risk to your network.

If your ISP router is equipped for wireless networking service and is in use on your network, it could be a source of negative voice quality issues as it bypasses the necessary quality of service (QOS) management for voice traffic. Migrating wireless network devices to a separate wireless access controller is recommended. Further, when you use a separate wireless access controller from your ISP router, interference from other devices in the same frequency range will have no effect on the operation of your Internet router.

For more information on how you can insure the best possible VoIP call quality from your Hosted PBX or Hosted VoIP providers, please read my other blog articles. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Tags: ISP, WiFi, Wireless
Posted in Hosted PBX, Hosted VoIP, Internet, QoS, WiFi | 1 Comment »

Will Your Internet Connection Destroy Your VoIP Service

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Updated 10/4/10: The HostMyCalls ISP Packet Loss and Delay Test Tool is now available to test your Internet connection.

If you are thinking about deploying VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) communication in a Hosted VoIP or Hosted PBX system and its many benefits for your business, you need to examine your Internet connection as it can be the source of many problems. Although you may be satisfied with the performance of your Internet connection for data purposes, it may not be adequate for Hosted VoIP service.

VoIP communication is very sensitive to network problems. In VoIP, the voice signal is converted into a stream of 1s and 0s. The stream of 1s and 0s are then grouped into individual packets similar to data packets. The packets are sent to the receiving end accompanied with the appropriate header (IP Address of the receiving end, prioritization flags and sequence information).

Packets travel the Internet frequently in different routes and will not be received in the correct order, if at all. Problems can occur at the receiving end where the packets must be reassembled in the appropriate sequence and in time to have the 1s and 0s converted back to voice to be heard without disrupting the natural flow of the conversation. Data packets are not time sensitive. Small glitches in your Internet connection may be perceived as slow Internet on your computer, if noticed at all. With VoIP, small glitches can cause choppy voice or more severe problems including dropped calls.

The majority of issues that cause voice packets to be lost or received too far out of sequence for quality voice playback happen on your side. These issues include insufficient Internet speed, poor Internet Service Provider (ISP) service, an unreliable Internet circuit into your building, wiring inside your building and outbound voice packet prioritization. It is not enough to simply have a broadband connection. You need a high grade broadband connection to deliver the call quality you require to run your business.

Most ISPs run on a business model of oversubscription. High demand on these ISPs results in jitter and latency. In addition, quality Internet providers do not always install the best circuit possible. In many cases, the circuit that connects you to the Internet is deficient. For example, you or one of your neighbors may be using a commonly deployed T1 circuit. If your carrier has placed a T1 and your Internet DSL in their same cable bundle, the T1 will interfere with the frequency of the DSL and will make good voice quality impossible.

Bottom line, for successful Hosted VoIP or Hosted PBX deployment in your business, you should make sure that you are using the right ISP for your area, you have sufficient Internet speed and you have a reliable circuit. Further, voice packet prioritization need to be properly set.

The following link will be helpful in determining the above:
Four Steps to Determine Whether Your Internet Connection is Ready for VoIP

I hope this article has been helpful to you. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Posted in Hosted PBX, Hosted VoIP, Internet, QoS | 2 Comments »