Motivational and self-help guru Brian Tracy has said that to succeed, it is necessary to “be clear about your goal, but flexible about the process of achieving it”. Indeed, these wise words are as applicable to organizations as they are to individuals. This is more true than ever in today’s business landscape where a flexible workplace is not just a profitable competitive advantage, but a basic requirement for long-term survival.   Below, we highlight three essential tools for a flexible workplace that every organization needs to thrive instead of struggle:  Cloud Phone Systems for a Flexible Workplace A cloud phone system — also known...

Deciding to make the switch from a conventional phone system to a cloud (a.k.a. VoIP) phone system is a smart move when you consider all of the advantages, which include: Significant initial and year-over-year cost savings. A wide range of enterprise-grade Unified Calling (UC) features such as voicemail-to-email, auto attendant, live call transfer, and more.Seamless scalability.No maintenance, update and upgrade costs.No technical support costs.Reliability and uptime (if the power goes out locally, the system will automatically shift to another area of the state/country where power is operational). The freedom to provide employees with a softphone or a deskphone (or both). Below, we...

It is widely understood — frankly, it is axiomatic by this point — that good customer service is important. However, the enormous impact and influence of customer service on today’s business landscape is truly eye-opening. Consider the following: 52% of customers have made an additional purchase from a company after a positive customer service experience. (Source: Dimensional Research) 86% of consumers are willing to spend up to 25% extra for better customer service. (Source: Squaretalk) 61% of customers have switched brands due to poor customer service. And nearly 50% have done so within the last year. (Source: Microsoft)   The moral to this statistical story...

No, nothing is ever really free, even if it might seem that way at first glance. Many businesses today are making the move to cloud-based telephone services, and you might be tempted to do the same. Most cloud-based services run on either SIP trunking or VoIP protocol, basically using virtual connections, instead of wires and cables and using existing internet connection cables to convert audio into data to be transported. This can have many advantages. Landlines are quickly becoming a thing of the past. You might not have one at home at all. But, at work, having a phone is still...

While 2020 was a very challenging year for obvious reasons, there were some bright spots as well. And one of the most encouraging and uplifting stories was North Carolina being named “2020 State of the Year” by Business Facilities Magazine. This is the first time — but certainly will not be the last time — that North Carolina has earned Business Facilities’ top honor. A title that has been bestowed annually since 2007. North Carolina earned top 10 rankings in several key categories for the "2020 State of the Year": Best Business ClimateWorkforce DevelopmentManufacturing EmploymentForeign Direct InvestmentBiotechnologyInstalled Solar PowerUnmanned Aerial SystemsFastest-Growing States...

Building Back A Better America America is a very different place than it was just a couple of weeks ago. When the COVID-19 virus first emerged, we were all told to wash our hands properly and follow typical guidance for stopping the spread of viruses. Now we’re told to stay at home. While there have been many crises over the years, this has changed life as we know it significantly, and all in a short space of time. It’s truly an unbelievable turn of events.But as with any crisis, we will make it through the other side. The lessons learned at...

Why Bigger is Not Always Better Bill Gates once said that “success is a lousy teacher because it seduces people into thinking that they can’t lose.” Well, to this we would add that success is sometimes not just a lousy teacher for people — it can also be a lousy teacher for companies, too. Take for example the consolidation that is happening in the VoIP industry. A growing number of relatively small companies are being acquired by larger organizations. On the surface, this seems like a good thing. After all, bigger is supposed to be better, right? But if we take...

Dear IT Professionals: Let’s start with this: there has been a lot of talk about “essential workers” during the pandemic — and for good reason. But you, Mr. or Ms. IT Professional, are essential ALWAYS. In fact, if you weren't on the job, end-users would experience chaos and customers would get irate. Basically, the entire organization would grind to a halt. Things would get ugly in a hurry.And speaking of ugly…Let’s talk about your other job. You know, the one that you never applied for: serving as the organization’s “Phone System Guru.".You are the go-to person for phone system moves, adds,...

At Carolina Digital Phone, we are constantly working on ways to improve our advanced and affordable cloud phone system. Today, we are thrilled to give you a sneak preview of an innovation that will be available to ALL of our customers at NO ADDITIONAL COST in the coming months: rich call data for smartphones. With this new feature, our customers who contact customers, suppliers, or any other party that has a smartphone will be able to: Display their logo or any other image (e.g. headshot) on the receiving party’s Caller ID screen. This can significantly increase the chances of a call being...

Time Frames determine specific hours of certain days or a span of days when features such as answering rules, call queues or auto attendants will be active. For example, Monday-Thursday 5 pm-8 am, or July 7–July 25. It is a good idea to have one or more time frames ready before creating your answering rules. This feature may not be available to ALL users of our cloud-based hosted platform. You must have the role of Office Manager to create and change a timeframe.  Give your time frame a name that matches the time frame and usage; e.g., weekends forward to a cell...