Welcome to our News Blog!

From How-To’s and Tips, to Inspiring Stories and Solution Guides, and more – the Carolina Digital Phone blog has it all!

Blogs, Insights, and Announcements from Carolina Digital Phone

frustrated phone issues
Nicky Smith

4 Reasons Why Landline Phone Systems Snap, Crackle and Pop — and What to Do About It

As we blogged about recently, the HD audio quality on business-grade cloud telephone systems is superior to landline phone systems, because the former uses wideband technology and the latter uses narrowband technology (learn more here). Today, we’ll look at another key reason why a growing number of businesses are upgrading to a cloud telephone system: they’re fed up with landline calls that sound like a bowl of Rice Krispies; that is, they snap, crackle and pop. Here are the key reasons why: 1. Corroded Phone Lines The plain old telephone system (POTS) uses copper wire technology that hasn’t been new

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extreme nonprofit makeover
Nicky Smith

Carolina Digital Phone Gives Back to the Community

As part of our longstanding commitment to give back to the community and help make a lasting positive impact in the lives of our neighbors, we are delighted to announce that we are once again donating our expertise, equipment and services as part of the acclaimed Extreme Nonprofit Makeover program. Now in its 16th year and pioneered by Dr. Sue Polinsky, the President of leading web development firm TechTriad, the Extreme Nonprofit Makeover provides a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Guilford County with a complete technology makeover at absolutely no cost, so that it can expand and enhance its community-focused

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audio speakers
Nicky Smith

Here’s Why Audio is Better — not Worse — After Switching to a Cloud Telephone System

Some businesses that want to reap the many advantages of switching from a conventional landline telephone to a cloud telephone system — such as saving thousands of dollars a year, connecting their remote workforce, seamless scalability, business continuity, and the list of goes on — are nevertheless hesitant to do so, because they fear that audio quality will suffer. This perception is understandable. Oversubscribed VoIP services like Skype and Google Voice are notorious for static, echo and dropped calls. There are just too many users. Think of it like a hospital designed to serve a region of 100,000 people, instead

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group celebrating
Nicky Smith

It’s Not Fake News: Trump’s Pro-Business Agenda is Working

A well-established tenet is that it’s unwise to mix business and politics. However, there are exceptions to most rules, and this is one such instance because this article is about both business and politics. To start with, when it comes to politics, we are living in a very confusing and contradictory age. Despite the proliferation of political news and commentary that takes place around us 24/7, as a nation we are drifting further and further away from anything resembling thoughtful, political discourse. Personally, I don’t think this is because we spend too much time talking (and arguing) about politics. Rather,

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cloud based telephone
Nicky Smith

5 Ways that Cloud Telephone Systems have Revolutionized Business Communication

These days, the word “revolutionized” gets thrown around rather loosely. It’s used to describe everything from kitty litter, to air fresheners, to apps that can help find a lost TV remote control (OK, that’s pretty useful, but revolutionary?).  However, there are situations when labeling something revolutionized isn’t fluff and hype: it’s an honest, objective assessment because it has re-invented a concept and established a new category of excellence and expectation. And without question, one such scenario is cloud telephone systems.  Here are five ways that cloud telephone systems have revolutionized business communications: 1. Cloud Telephone Systems Enable Small Businesses to

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happy worker marker board
Nicky Smith

5 Business Technologies that are Essential in 2020

The year was 1991. The nation’s movie lovers flocked to see Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear (and after demanding their money back, took in The Silence of the Lambs). In pop music, C&C Music Factory promised to make us sweat, Madonna pledged to justify her love, and Bonnie Raitt gave us all something to talk about. In the IT world, Linus Torvalds (no, not the guy from Peanuts waiting for the Great Pumpkin) launched the Linux operating system kernel, while Bill Gates and friends released MS-DOS 5.0. And something else happened in 1991 that changed, well, everything:

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business owners reviewing
Nicky Smith

3 Clear Benefits of Hosted Telephone for Small Businesses

Communication affects every part of your business. From reaching to new clients to interacting with customers, efficient communication ensures your business will reach its goals. Because of this, turning to Cloud-based Hosted Telephone Service can help your business grow by offering three distinct improvements over the standard phone system. Learn here about all three and how they can help your small business. How Can Small Businesses Benefit From Hosted Telephone Service? 1. Cost Saving With no need for a physical phone line a Hosted Telephone service doesn’t come with high installation costs or maintenance fees due to being online. Offering

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happy worker at desk
Nicky Smith

5 Reasons Why it’s Smarter to Choose Cloud-Based Telephone Specialist vs. Generalist

When we consult with a surgeon, while seated on the examination table we don’t expect them to try and sell us a timeshare (“you’ll love the ocean view!”). When we board an airplane, we don’t expect to hear the captain get on the intercom and invite passengers to stop by the cockpit to purchase a state-of-the-art smoothie blender. When we meet with an architect about redesigning our home, we don’t expect them to peer up from their blueprints and say: “while I’m here, perhaps we can talk about your pet insurance needs?” In other words, when we engage a specialist,

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yealink phone
Nicky Smith

5 Reasons Businesses Are Moving to Cloud based Telephone Services

For years, businesses have relied on traditional landlines to enable their customers, colleagues, and other stakeholders to communicate with one another. It’s a tried-and-tested method that works. Today, though, the world is moving towards cloud-based telephone services: ordinary voice-based calls routed through the internet instead of landlines. These systems offer a host of benefits that businesses love. Please take a look at them below. 1. Cost Savings Owning and running a traditional business telephone service is not cheap. Not only do you have to pay monthly fees to the line and interchange provider, but you also have to employ people

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carolina digital phone versus dialpad
Nicky Smith

Dialpad compared to Carolina Digital Phone

When it comes to hunting out modern-day solutions to drum up growth within your business, you can often find yourself in a minefield of options without any serious guidance as to what can serve your company best. One solution that is becoming more and more popular with each passing year is that of VoIP service also known as as hosted cloud-based telephone services. We will go on to explain what a VoIP service is briefly in the next section, but the main focus of the article is to compare two companies providing cloud-based telephone solutions to businesses and see which

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Cloud-based Telephone Services for Accounting Professionals

Every Accounting Office should be using a cloud-based Telephone Service If you operate an accounting or bookkeeping firm and want more control over your communications, Carolina Digital Phone can help. With us, you get a local partner, dedicated to providing you with mobile communications that seamlessly integrate with your existing web infrastructure. When you choose Carolina Digital Phone, there’s no need to install expensive new landlines or rip up your old communication systems. We provide full integration through the cloud – and for less than you might expect. A Local Cloud Communications Company For Accounting Companies When it comes to

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salesperson on his phone
Nicky Smith

5 Reasons Why a Cloud Phone System is a MUST for Sales Reps in 2020

Whether they’re selling swimming pools or semiconductors, what do the world’s most successful sales reps have in common? They’re self-motivated. They’re driven. They’re persistent. They’re persuasive. They’re competitive. And perhaps most importantly: they rely on potent (and beloved) tools like a cloud phone system to help usher customers forward across the buyer’s journey. If you want to elevate your organization’s sales reps in 2020 and beyond — so that they’re consistently surpassing targets instead of struggling to meet them — then here are 5 reason why adding a cloud phone system ASAP is the way to go: 1. Dramatically Improve

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Nicky Smith

Porting Your Number to A Cloud-based Service Provider

Switching providers and services is a pain. At home, we all know that we should be switching insurance, utilities, cell phone, internet, and other service providers every time our contracts run out. You should never stick to the same provider out of loyalty. Their costs are often hugely inflated in the second year, as all of the best offers and perks are offered to new customers. Your providers don’t show you any loyalty, so why do you give them any? With Carolina Digital Phone we will never change your pricing after your contract is up. If you are a loyal

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stock market trends
Nicky Smith

3 Key Factors Driving VoIP’s Booming Growth

The VoIP industry is booming — and there is no slowdown in sight: VoIP is now the fastest-growing industry in the U.S. (Source: IBIS World) Between 2017-2021, the global VoIP services market is projected to increase 10% (Source: Research & Markets) By the year 2020, there will be an estimated 204.8 billion corporate subscribers of VoIP systems around the world, and the industry overall will surpass $86 billion in annual revenue. (Source: Future Market Insights) Numbers like these are clearly paving the way for a new normal on the business landscape: one where a hosted VoIP phone system is the

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voicemail to email
Nicky Smith

5 Tips to Make Voicemail Work FOR Your Business Instead of AGAINST It

Once upon a time, a thing called voicemail arrived on the scene — and it was great. Callers and recipients loved the convenience, the efficiency, and the results. Voicemail could do no wrong. Well, things have changed since then. These days, voicemail is generally regarded as a necessary evil; or by some people (especially millennials) as an outright evil. Instead of feeling glad that they’re being asked to leave a message, they feel frustrated, offended and insulted. What went wrong? How did voicemail go from being loved to loathed? Basically, it’s because businesses stopped using voicemail as a way to

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competitor warning
Nicky Smith

Get Local Support for your Cloud-based Communications

Can you trust big companies to meet your telephony needs as a small business owner?  Probably not!  Most large companies offer generic, cookie-cutter products that do not meet the specific needs of your business. Their goal is to churn out as many services as possible and charge high rates to cover their capital costs, not provide solutions that fit their clients. Most will put you in a box, giving you what they want instead of cloud-based services that you actually need. The Popularity Of Cloud-Based Communications And The Importance Of Local Support The popularity of cloud-based telephone services is growing

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wiring
Nicky Smith

Want SIP Trunks or Hosted Seats for your Business?

Are you still using your legacy phone system? Many businesses today are. We spend our days communicating with clients, suppliers, customers and investors over email, using online chat, and on the telephone. While in 2018 less than 50% of Americans had a landline phone at home, instead preferring to be wireless, using their smartphones for communication, most small businesses are still reliant on old fashioned, outdated and often costly legacy phone systems. These outdated systems can mean that you are missing important calls, facing static on the line, and other issues that really should be behind us as we move

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business people shaking hands
Nicky Smith

In Sales? Are you IPAing Today?

What do you think of, when you think of the titular ‘salesperson’ achieving success and sweet-talking his or her clients? We might see a person with a certain kind of stride, an overconfident kind of swagger, a smooth vocabulary with many imperative phrases that incentivize a sale. This might look very impressive to those hoping to walk in those career-oriented shoes. But for others, especially those who are tired of being upsold and treated like a point of sale rather than a person, a salesperson may have that smarmy aura about them that we come to thoroughly dislike. Of course,

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planning 2020
Nicky Smith

4 New Year’s Resolutions for Your Business in 2020

As a new year approaches, it’s time to relax, unwind, spend time with family and friends — and of course, make some New Year’s Resolutions that inspire us to make some positive changes in the year ahead. However, New Year’s Resolutions aren’t just for personal aspirations. They’re also for business goals. With this in mind, here are four New Year’s Resolutions for your business in 2020:   #1: In 2020, resolve to significantly lower overhead costs.   Cutting costs in your business — but without compromising quality assurance, diminishing customer experience or reducing sales — is even better than winning the lottery

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kid looking beyond
Nicky Smith

5 VoIP Predictions for 2020

As we get ready to say goodbye to 2019, let’s gaze into our crystal ball and look at 5 VoIP predictions for the year ahead: Prediction #1: A record number of SMBs will cut the cord and switch to a hosted VoIP phone system. Over the last several years, SMBs have been switching in droves from an on-premise phone system to a hosted VoIP phone system. In 2020, we expect the velocity to increase given the undeniable advantages that include generating ongoing cost savings, scalability, flexibility, supporting remote workers, improving customer experience (CX), using advanced calling features, and accessing future-proofed

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angry woman
Nicky Smith

Don’t get mad, Get in the cloud with your telephone services

Picture the scene, a successful North Carolina based business owner wants to add some new features to her existing phone service. Her clients expect to be able to get in touch with her whenever they need to, so all she wants is out of hours call handling and calls to be forwarded to her cellphone. These services mean that she can keep her business moving and functioning to the best of its ability. Hardly a tall ask you may say. After all, she is a customer with a company that has needs. And after what seems like days on hold

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excellent customer satisfaction
Nicky Smith

The “3 R’s” of Our Customer Service Commitment

Recently, we published an article highlighting the unfortunate fact that North State is being acquired by Segra. Why “unfortunate”? Because not only do we expect to see many hard working and loyal North State employees get laid off in the coming months, but also because this is probably going to be bad news for North State’s customers in High Point, Thomasville, Archdale, Randleman, Jamestown, Trinity, Greensboro and Kernersville. We expect they will lose the “small business” relationship and dynamic they had with North State once the acquisition is complete (and probably well before that). In light of this development, we

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old school phone
Nicky Smith

Cloud-based PBX – Top 7 Marketing Advantages Compared to a Traditional Telephone System

A hosted cloud-based VoIP system or hosted PBX services provide many significant advantages over the purchase or use of a traditional telephone system because they furnish advanced telephone system features as a service over the internet. Many of those advanced features are expensive to deploy as part of a telephone system. Hosted PBX service is delivered with equipment located on the premises of the provider. This means a business does not need to invest in a telephone system to take advantage of its rich features and capabilities. In most cases, only phones will need to be purchased or leased which

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1040 income tax return scaled
Nicky Smith

Carolina Digital Phone’s Hosted Cloud Phone System for Accounting Firms

Driven by strong economic growth, rising equity markets, and an increase in auditing, regulatory and compliance burden, the U.S. accounting industry is booming. According to research by IBISWorld, over 95,000 accounting organizations employ nearly 560,000 people, and generate over $114 billion in annual revenues. Industry Disruption At the same time, the accounting industry is under relentless pressure — from within and without — to adapt to an array of factors. As noted by Forbes: “Fee pressures, rising staff labor costs, and lack of quality staff will force [accounting] firms to carefully examine their mix of services, industry concentrations, and their

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local small businesses
Nicky Smith

Local Hosted Cloud Company

In business, one of the main key factors to success is to keep costs down and to keep all expenses to a minimum without compromising on any quality down the line. Costs vary from brand to brand but when it comes to the main factors of business, it boils down to the very vital concept of communication which includes digital, telephone communication and internet. These three major methods of communication can bring costs up incredibly high especially if your company is within the realms of sales. It may just be possible though, to have less outgoings by switching a phone

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contact center handling customer calls
Nicky Smith

Why Businesses are Switching to Our Hosted Cloud Contact Center Solution

In today’s hyper-competitive business landscape, consistently delivering exceptional customer experience (CX) isn’t just important — it’s essential. Consider these eye-opening statistics: One-third of customers say that they would consider switching companies after just one instance of bad customer service. (Source: American Express) 56% of customers say they have stopped doing business with a company because of a poor customer service experience. (Source: Microsoft) 40% of customers who receive poor customer service say they actively try and prevent others from choosing the offending business. (Source: Dimensional Research) The Growth of Contact Centers To ensure they deliver customer experience that is remembered

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static on television scaled
Nicky Smith

Static on the Phone Line

Static on the phone line used to be a pretty common problem. Most of us have experienced poor quality calls at some time. You might have even experienced the bizarre phenomenon of being able to call the other side of the world without any issue. Speaking on a perfectly clear line, hearing them as well as you could if they were sat next to you on the sofa, but being completely unable to hear when you call someone that lives down the road. There’s often no rhyme or reason to why some calls are filled with static, buzzing and dropouts,

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network outage
Nicky Smith

My Internet is Out! What can I do?

4 Ways to Keep Your Hosted Phone VoIP System Running During an Internet Outage While it doesn’t happen frequently, there are occasions when your business may temporarily lose internet connectivity due to issues with your Internet Service Provider (ISP), or problems/damage to underground cables. However, this does NOT mean that you will lose access to your hosted VoIP phone system! Here are four methods that will keep your phone system “on the grid” while your ISP or the phone company works on repairs: 1. Use Automatic Failover Automatic failure uses an on-premise router (which we install and configure for you)

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antique old phone
Nicky Smith

5 Signs that it’s Time to Upgrade Your Business Phone System to the Cloud

There are many situations in life when all signs point to a change for the better. When we heed these signs, we’re always rewarded. When we ignore these signs, we always regret it — and wish we had a time machine to “know then what we know now.” With this in mind, if your business is seeing any or all of the following signs, then it’s time to elevate your business phone system to the cloud — so you can enjoy rewards, instead of lament regrets: 1. You’ve outgrown your current on-premise phone system. Your business isn’t static and unchangeable.

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robot fixing
Nicky Smith

My Telephone Equipment just Died

Traditional phone lines have had their time. They are over. Dead. Sure, they have had advantages in the past, and you might be fond of your on-premise PBX and equipment. But, if you want to take your company into the future, taking your telephone systems into the cloud can be a big step forward. Do You Like Wasting Money? The average on-premise PBX lasts for around ten years, less with hard use, or a lack of care. During this time, phone lines go down, cables and wires need maintaining, office equipment needs servicing, and IT support is needed to correct

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Side by Side Comparisons – Carolina Digital Phone vs Jive, 8×8, Twilio and Nextiva

In business, one of the main key factors to success is to keep costs down and to keep all expenses to a minimum without compromising on any quality down the line. Costs vary from brand to brand but when it comes to the main factors of business, it boils down to the very vital concept of communication which includes digital, telephone communication and internet. These three major methods of communication can bring costs up incredibly high especially if your company is within the realms of sales. It may just be possible though, to have less outgoings by switching a phone

Read More »

Side by Side Comparison – Carolina Digital Phone vs RingCentral

Are you having a hard time choosing a cloud-based telephone provider? If so, you are not alone. So many people find themselves in the same position that you are in right now, but this review should help you to make your decision. The Benefits of RingCentral Some of the major benefits that RingCentral are able to offer include voicemails, greetings, internet faxing, audio conferences, a cloud-based PBX, call recording, call forwarding and even an auto-receptionist too. This is ideal if you operate a small business because you can essentially get everything you could ever need through one service. RingCentral also

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geo-redundancy
Nicky Smith

How Our Geo-Redundancy Infrastructure Drives High Availability

At Carolina Digital Phone, we know how essential it is for our customers to communicate with anyone, from anywhere, and at any time. That is why we utilize a state-of-the-art geo-redundancy infrastructure to drive high availability. Below, we explain how this technology works, and why it is so beneficial for our customers. What is Geo-Redundancy? Geo-redundancy involves distributing key infrastructure components (e.g. servers) across several data centers, which are located in different geographic regions. As a result of this setup, if one component falls below acceptable performance standards due to heavy usage or fails due to a local power outage,

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North Carolina Based Carolina Digital Phone Voted #1 Best in Overall Customer Satisfaction
Nicky Smith

Don’t let Your Telephone System Cause Poor Customer Service

This just in; customer service is fundamental to success! Okay, so that might not be news (at least we would hope not), but did you realize that businesses currently lose around $75 billion to poor customer service? Many companies perform so badly here that around 67% of customers are becoming what’s known as ‘serial switchers.’ As if that weren’t worrying enough, 51% of consumers report that one negative experience is enough to stop them from ever doing business with a company again! In an age where more companies are concerning themselves with 24/7 web chats and speedy social media replies, phone calls are

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Three quarters of small businesses have been significantly affected by internet outages
Nicky Smith

Effects of Internet Downtime to Your Organization

You only have to glance around you at a coffee shop to notice that we’re more heavily dependent on technology than ever before. While many of us use our phones to catch up with friends and keep abreast of the news, businesses rely on the internet for a whole host of reasons. Even the briefest window of downtime can have a ripple effect, costing organizations both financially and in terms of their reputation and brand image. Did you know that around 60% of IT executives have to contend with downtime at least once a month? With downtime a real threat

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call center agent at desk
Nicky Smith

Does Your Business Need to Switch to a Hosted Cloud Call Center?

In theory (which is always an ominous way to start an article) a call center is supposed to help businesses save money, improve productivity, increase compliance and governance, and most importantly: enhance customer experience and satisfaction. However, many businesses that use a conventional premises-based PBX to support their call center aren’t reaping these rewards. Here are the three key challenges they face, and how they can permanently solve them by switching to a hosted cloud call center: Excessive Overhead Costs Premises-based call centers are very costly to operate. Reps and agents must be housed on-site, which drives up leasing, infrastructure

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robocalls
Nicky Smith

Agreement Reached on Robocall Prevention Legislation

On Friday, November 15, 2019, it was announced that an agreement had been reached on legislation to fight back against the growing number of robocalls in the US. Six legislators have been working around the clock to try and move the proposed bills through the legislative process. Friday’s announcement was a considerable step in the right direction, with many believing that this new act can be signed into law by the President in the upcoming months.  The Pallone-Thune TRACED Act The new legislation is called the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act, and it actually combines two different acts that previously passed through

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2019 Member Triad Business Journal Leadership Trust
Nicky Smith

New Member of the Triad Business Journal Leadership Trust

Nicky Smith, President of Carolina Digital Phone, Invited to Join Triad Business Journal Leadership Trust Triad Business Journal Leadership Trust is an Invitation-Only Community for Top Business Decision Makers in the Triad  PRESS RELEASE: GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA— Nicky Smith, President and Founder of Carolina Digital Phone Inc. has been invited to join Triad Business Journal Leadership Trust, an exclusive community for influential business leaders, executives and entrepreneurs in the Triad (Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point, NC). Nicky was chosen for membership by the Triad Business Journal Leadership Trust Selection Committee due to his experience, leadership and influence in the local

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google reviews
Nicky Smith

Why You Should Post Good Reviews on Businesses You Do Business With

The age of technology has given us a world of information at our fingertips, for some of us though we take for granted the importance of the information we do have available to us and how we can add to this to make it more beneficial. In today’s world, we seem to follow the same patterns when it comes to the internet; we use it to either prove a point, or we use it to make one publicly. The trouble with this is, we have become a world of complainers, and what we need is to support each other. While

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office desk
Nicky Smith

Driving the Growth of Cloud-Based Phone Services in North Carolina

Over the last few decades, growth in the cloud-based (VoIP) phone service industry has been massive. Here are some of the statistics:  By 2020, VoIP will have approximately 204.8 billion subscribers worldwide. (Source: Future Marketing Insights) VoIP is the fastest-growing industry in the world. (Source: IBISWorld) Total revenues for U.S. VoIP service providers reached $14 billion in 2019 (Source: IBISWorld)   VoIP is now the #1 telephone choice by U.S. businesses. (Source: Software Advice) 70% of businesses have already deployed Unified Communications (UC) in the cloud, or plan to do so in the near future. (Source: InformationWeek) The hosted VoIP industry

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Law books
Nicky Smith

Cloud Technology in the Legal Industry

According to research by IBISWorld, the law firm industry in the U.S. has grown over the past five years at an annual growth rate of 2.3%, and in 2019 surpassed $330 billion in total revenue. There are over 440,000 law firms that support over 1.3 million jobs, with operators ranging from sole practitioners with a local and regional focus, to large multi-service firms with a state-wide or national footprint.  Industry Disruption Despite the fact that the law firm industry is growing — largely due to the strengthening overall economy in the years since the Great Recession of 2007/2008 — it

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mechanic working on car engine
Nicky Smith

Cloud-Based Telephone System for Auto Repair Shops

According to research by IBISWorld, the size of the auto repair industry in the U.S. has surged to $69 billion dollars a year, driven by more than 271,000 businesses — from single-location shops to large nationwide franchises — who collectively provide over 577,000 jobs in communities and cities from coast to coast. No Slowdown in Sight Market research firm Future Market Insights highlights that the U.S. auto repair industry is projected to expand at a 5.8% CAGR through 2027 due to a convergence of factors, such as: An increase in the average age of vehicles due to technological advancements. An

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antique old phone
Nicky Smith

5 Signs It’s Time To Upgrade Your Business Communications

Communication is vital in any business. Whether you are talking to customers or internally to employees, ensuring your company has an efficient and reliable local service provider is essential to make sure business operations run smoothly. Fortunately, communications technology has been advancing in recent years and in turn, giving your company more options for improving systems such as office phone solutions, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and extending flexibility within your organization through virtual office solutions. If you’re one of the many businesses that have felt trapped in current communications contracts or are unsure where to turn to compare services

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spectrum ask spectrum twitter account
Nicky Smith

Spectrum Nationwide Internet Outage

October 9, 2019: Today Spectrum has experienced a nationwide outage effecting millions of businesses and residential customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Ohio and many mid-western states. When calling Spectrum their Tier 1 Support Team will deny they have a problem, but after being transferred to a higher level technician they will tell you they are having a massive outage and do not have an estimated time for recovery. A recent Tweet from @Ask_Spectrum says they “do not have an estimated time of repair”. Additional Resources can be found at https://outage.report/us/spectrum and also https://downdetector.com/status/spectrum/map/

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safety security and emergency notification alerting
Nicky Smith

What is IP Strobe Lighting and How Does it Work?

Hosted Cloud Frequently Asked Question: What is IP Strobe Lighting and How Does it Work? Recently, we looked at the basics of IP Paging, and how it is ideal for organizations such as corporations, schools, retailers, manufacturers, and more that need to broadcast announcements to multiple employees in one or more areas. However, what if your organization operates in a noisy environment such as a warehouse or call center, in a noise sensitive environment such as a courthouse or hospital, or needs to ensure compliance with ADA and OSHA regulations? That is where IP Strobe Lighting enters the picture! What

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business voip systems
Nicky Smith

Top Considerations in Choosing a Cloud Service Provider

Cloud phone systems play an increasingly influential role in communications and customer engagement. With more and more businesses looking to benefit from modern hosted cloud services, it’s crucial to know what you’re looking for when shopping around for the best provider. If you’re on a mission to upgrade or update your telecommunications systems, here are 5 important considerations to bear in mind. Top considerations when choosing a cloud service provider Every business owner wants to achieve the best outcomes, and this often depends on making the right decisions. There is an ever-growing number of cloud service providers out there, so

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business voip systems
Nicky Smith

Advantages of Using a Cloud Phone System

Business cloud systems are becoming a popular option for modern businesses on an international scale. We at Carolina Digital Phone are proud to be able to deliver the best VoIP service that North Carolina business owners can access. Our system is designed to be simple to use, easy to set up and have scalability built-in. With fantastic customer reviews, we are confident that we can provide the ultimate solution that you need. However, you might still be wondering whether this is the right choice for you. Here are just some of the advantages that you can gain from switching to

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contact technical support
Nicky Smith

Need Technical Support? Getting In Touch With Us is EASY

Recently, we highlighted that the biggest missing piece of the Google Voice for business puzzle is a severe lack of technical support. Basically, there isn’t any. Businesses that run into problems or need guidance on how to use a calling feature have two undesirable options: Wade through pages and pages of online help, and hope that they find the answers they need (and further hope that they have the in-house technical expertise to understand and apply a bug fix, workaround, configuration change, etc.). Post their problem on a crowdsourcing platform, and (yet again) hope that someone can give them a

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carolina digital phone next generation business communications
Nicky Smith

Six Tips for Small Business VoIP

In the 21st century, communication is the key to success in business. Whatever the nature, size and scope of your enterprise you need to be able to make the outbound calls that secure new business and facilitate healthy operations while ensuring that when your clients need you, you’re never more than a phone call away. And in the digital age, more and more businesses are choosing to eschew traditional telecoms networks for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services to facilitate their business communications. If you’re considering changing over to VoIP for the first time, you risk walking into a potential

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hosted voip telephone
Nicky Smith

Business Considerations for Hosted Cloud

Making the change to a cloud based service could be one of the best things you decide to do for your business. However, there are some business considerations you will need to make to ensure this is the right decision for you at this time. Do You Need More Flexibility? Compared to traditional phone lines, cloud allows for more flexibility. This is because cloud services enable just about any company to easily adapt to future changes. A traditional phone system will usually require the purchase of additional hardware, but a cloud system could safeguard you already. Do You Need Disaster

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old telephone system
Nicky Smith

Disadvantages of an In-House VoIP System

VoIP, or Voice over IP, allows users to make phone calls over Local Area Networks, in other words, the internet. This means that conversations can take place anywhere in the world where there’s an internet connection available. However, there are some disadvantages of VoIP to be aware of before deciding to use it in-house. The Disadvantages of an In-House VoIP System Are As Follows: Reliable Internet Connection Required Power Outages/Emergencies Latency The Emergency Services struggle to trace calls to a VoIP system More About The Disadvantages of an In-House VoIP System You Must Have An Internet Connection You can’t operate

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angry phone user
Nicky Smith

Coalition of 12 telephone companies agree to fight robocalls

North Carolina attorney general Josh Stein announced a coalition of 12 telephone companies and 51 attorneys general to adopt a program to fight unwanted robocalls. This program includes 8 principles to protect phone users from unwanted robocalls and make it easier to prosecute unlawful robocall perpetrators. Josh Stein, NC Attorney General: “Robocalls are the greatest frustration I hear about from North Carolinians,” said Josh Stein. “Last month, my office announced a robocall petition and within days, we’d heard from thousands of people who have been harmed or harassed by these unwanted and illegal calls. Today, I’m proud to lead this

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press 911
Nicky Smith

n11 Numbers

An N11 code or N11 number (said as n-one-one) is a special abbreviated dialing telephone number within the North American Numbering Plan, which allows access to special services. Each of these eight numbers prevents 10,000 telephone numbers (from N11-0000 to N11-9999) from being used. Only non-geographic area codes, such as toll-free 800/888/877/866/855/844 numbers and 900 numbers may use N11 as the telephone exchange prefix, since the area code must always be dialed for these numbers. Usage is generally assigned as follows: 2-1-1: community services, United Way. This service is not available via Carolina Digital Phone Service. Please visit the United Way web site http://www.211.org/ for more information. 3-1-1: in some areas used by municipal government services,

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virtual pbx
Nicky Smith

Virtual PBX Will Help Your Business Grow

If you are looking for a way to grow your business, increase efficiency and essentially ensure that your company is firing on all cylinders, then a Virtual PBX solution or Hosted VoIP from a local company like Carolina Digital Phone could be the answer. With this option, you will be able to say goodbye to your telephone system and opt for a virtual service instead. This works through VoIP technology, so there’s no need for a phone line, which means that you are immediately saving costs. You won’t miss out on the crucial solutions you need either. Everything from voicemail

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Nicky Smith

The Biggest Missing Piece of the Google Voice Puzzle

As we recently highlighted, there are 10 reasons why Google Voice is NOT a business telecommunications solution — and the recent integration of Google Voice with G Suite doesn’t change this. In case you’d like a recap, here are the 10 reasons: No Business Caller ID No Technical Support Number Porting Limitations SMS Problems Feature Limitations (e.g. no toll-free numbers, no vanity numbers, no hunt groups, etc.) Blocked Calls Quality Issues Privacy Concerns Voicemail Confusion No Implementation Help Any of these reasons — let alone all 10 of them — is enough to disqualify Google Voice as a legitimate, reliable

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teamwork with cogs
Nicky Smith

How to Budget for a Cloud Phone System Migration

Are you currently exploring cloud phone service migration in your business? If so, then it’s important to make sure that you understand how to budget for this effectively. There are lots of ways to make sure that you are keeping this under control and approaching it the right way. One of the best ways to make sure that you are budgeting the right way is to take an inventory of hardware as well as software. Remember a budget is basically an inventory of all the items as well as the associated costs. If you do not include all the items,

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law books gavel scales
Nicky Smith

How Hosted Cloud Service Can Make Your Law Office More Professional

Communication is key for forward-thinking legal firms. While many law offices focus on attracting local clients, they don’t always opt for local service providers, and this can come at a cost. Local cloud service providers offer cutting-edge, enterprise-grade telecommunications systems and features with the added bonus of a personal touch. If you’re looking to update or upgrade your cloud phone service, there are several benefits to opting for local cloud providers for law offices. The benefits of cloud phone service for law offices Law offices deal with a range of clients day in, day out, and they also liaise with

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classroom raising hands
Nicky Smith

How Carolina Digital Phone can Help your Schools Save Money On Telephone Services

As it stands, school districts across the country are dealing with a budget squeeze. Teachers across the board want to work in an environment where they feel they can remain connected, communicating within their building and outside it. For this to be effective, teachers and schools need a phone system that works efficiently, is dynamic and isn’t going to let them down in a time of crisis. It’s one of the biggest reasons that schools are starting to adapt to cloud phone systems. Educators are facing a challenge where they need to keep up with the times while continuing to

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google voice images
Nicky Smith

Google Voice for Business: The Positives and Negatives

Great communication is one of the fundamental features of any modern business, which is why all companies naturally want to incorporate the best tech features to achieve the smoothest possible operations on a 24/7 basis. Given that Google is a global tech giant that influences virtually every aspect of your digital communications, Google Voice instantly stands out as one of the leading candidates. As with any software or business investment, though, it’s imperative to weigh up the positive and negative features in order to make a calculated decision for the good of your venture. Here’s all you need to know.

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computer lab
Nicky Smith

What is IP Paging and How Does it Work?

Many organizations such as manufacturers, retailers, schools, car dealerships, medical offices — and the list goes on — need to broadcast messages to multiple employees. Naturally, phoning each individual employee is tedious, time consuming, ineffective, and can even be hazardous if the message is of an emergency or urgent nature. Fortunately, that is where IP Paging enters the picture and avoids all of these problems. What is IP Paging? IP Paging uses specially-designed speakers, which is attached to a hosted cloud phone system just like any other endpoint. Each speaker has a unique and designated extension. When supervisors, managers, or

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