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

digital communication system
Nicky Smith

Why Hosted Cloud’s Voicemail-to-Email Feature is a Business Game Changer

When voicemail first arrived on the mainstream business landscape, it was greeted with massive excitement and enthusiasm. In fact, people used to call their own voicemail to leave reminders and notes. It was glorious. But that was then. Today, voicemail is viewed by some employees as a liability instead of an asset. And the biggest reason for this isn’t the few seconds it takes to pick up a voicemail.  Rather, it’s because most of the time, there is no message to pick up at all. Indeed, CRM.com has found that businesses experience up to 75 percent voicemail abandonment — i.e.

Read More »
franchise diagram
Nicky Smith

Starting or Running a Franchise? 10 Reasons why Cloud Based Telephone Systems are a Smart Investment

A growing number of people are choosing to start a franchise — and for several good reasons: instead of launching a startup from scratch they can plug into an established brand, take advantage of training and support, benefit from their chain’s buying power, get financing help, and more. However, ask any hands-on franchise owner — and there are hundreds of thousands of them across the U.S. — whether being at the helm of a franchise is “easy money,” and they’ll burst out laughing. And then they’ll start crying. Possibly after that they’ll do both at the same time. Running a

Read More »
contract signing
Nicky Smith

5 Questions to Ask Prospective Cloud Solutions Providers Before You Sign on the Dotted Line

As we have looked at previously, there are three categorically different types of cloud business phone system companies in the marketplace: do-it-yourself mass market vendors, carrier service providers, and established cloud solutions providers. Clearly, you want to partner with a cloud solutions provider, and steer as clear as possible from the other types of companies — because your happiness, success, ROI and shortest path to value all depend on it. To help you make this critical choice — and filter out companies that are unworthy of your time from those that deserve your consideration — here are 5 questions to

Read More »
failure success sign
Nicky Smith

5 Signs that Your “Old School” On-Premise Phone System is Holding Your Business Back

On today’s relentlessly fast-paced and hyper-competitive business landscape, there are only two directions: forward towards growth, or backwards towards…well, we all know how that horror story unfolds. To say the least, it ain’t pretty. It goes without saying that every business — whether it sells jet engines or coffee cup lids — needs to head towards success, and away from failure. This is so blatantly obvious, that they don’t even teach it in business school. (At least, we hope they don’t need to teach this.) Yet despite this truth, many businesses are held back from achieving their full success and

Read More »
yealink phone with camera
Nicky Smith

4 Ways to Make Calls on a Cloud Telephone System

One of the most beneficial aspects of a cloud telephone system, is that employees and all other authorized system users (e.g. consultants, contractors, remote workers, etc.) can easily make calls in not just one, but four different ways: IP Phone  An IP phone (sometimes called a VoIP phone) is designed for placing and transmitting calls over an IP network, instead of a conventional landline public switched telephone network (PSTN). Among the most popular, trusted and recommended IP phones are those in the Yealink T5 Media Phone series. Installing an IP phone is extremely simple. Simply turn them on, plug them

Read More »
entering startup sign
Nicky Smith

Startups: Hit the Ground Running with a Cloud Telephone System

What do Apple, Amazon, Disney and Google have in common? Yes, they’re massive multinational enterprises that employ hundreds of thousands of people, including an army of accountants to keep track of their billions in annual revenues and profits. But there’s something else that these companies have in common that is the stuff of entrepreneurial legend: they were all born in a garage. If you’re at the helm of a dynamic new startup, it’s important to dream big. After all, if Apple, Amazon, Disney and Google can go from concept to unicorn, why not your company? Yet at the same time,

Read More »
close deal
Nicky Smith

Why Hosted Cloud’s Live Call Transfer is a Game Changer for Sales Professionals

While a hosted cloud phone system is significantly — and in many cases dramatically — less costly to operate than a conventional landline phone system, the benefits of switching are not just about the bottom line. Employees also get access to a wide range of enterprise-grade features, such as mobile calling, voicemail-to-email, auto attendant, and the list goes on. However, there is a key feature that some employees aren’t familiar with, but once it becomes part of their life they can’t imagine how they survived without it — especially if they work in a sales capacity: live call transfer. The

Read More »
fall through drywall
Nicky Smith

A New Twist on Some Old Wisdom: You DON’T Get What You DON’T Pay For

We’re all familiar with the wisdom that “you get what you pay for.” Frankly, there probably isn’t anyone out there who hasn’t learned this lesson the hard way, whether the situation involved a car repair, home improvement project, and the list goes on. Sometimes, we even KNOW that we’re headed towards disaster, but we just can’t help ourselves. We silence that little voice in our heads that says: “Are you seriously going to do this again?” Alas, we end up spending more money, wasting more time, and suffering more stress. So basically, we hit the trifecta of purchase-related misery.  However,

Read More »
usa jobs
Nicky Smith

Message from the CEO: Why Our Customer Support Has Always Been — and Will Always Be — Based in the U.S.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog to celebrate what is probably my favorite day of the year: the Fourth of July. Since then, I’ve received some nice feedback from our customers and partners, and I wanted to say thank you. Patriotism is about principles and pride, and it runs very deep in our company. And that brings me to another topic that has come up over the years that is along the same theme: why our customer support has always been —and always will be —based in the U.S. instead of outsourced to an offshore call center, even though it

Read More »
non profit heart
Nicky Smith

5 Reasons Why Nonprofit Organizations are Switching to a Cloud Telephone System

Ask anyone who works in (or volunteers for) a non-profit organization (NPO) what they need more than anything else to fulfill their life-changing — and in some cases, life-saving — mandate, and they’ll basically give you the same answer in a variety of ways: THEY NEED MORE TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES. NPOs: Not Just Important — but Essential The notion that nonprofit organizations don’t need the same advanced tools as private businesses is simply not true. In fact, it’s arguable that nonprofit organizations need technology resources even more urgently, because so many people in the community are counting on them each day.

Read More »
free coffee
Nicky Smith

How a Hosted Cloud Phone System Makes an Unlimited Vacation Policy Work

Sometimes on the business landscape, there are ideas that at first thought — and often second and third thought as well — seem like impractical fantasies instead of viable strategies. No, we’re not talking about providing free coffee or ultra-fast wifi — which according to some employees should be enshrined in the Constitution. We’re talking about unlimited vacation policies. In theory, an unlimited vacation policy isn’t truly unlimited; kind of like an all-you-can-eat buffet really isn’t all-you-can-eat (at some point, diminishing marginal returns kick in and one more scoop of mac and cheese could lead to a 911 call). Basically, an

Read More »
Nicky Smith

Google Voice for Business? Sometimes, Google Isn’t Your Friend

We’re all familiar with the phrase “Google is your friend.” It’s what we say when someone has a question that could easily be answered by a quick Google search — everything from up-to-the-second baseball scores, to Tom Keen’s real job on “The Blacklist” (BTW he’s a covert operative). However, sometimes Google isn’t much of a friend. And for proof, all you need to do is ask businesses that have tried — and failed — to use Google Voice as their VoIP business phone system solution. What is Google Voice? Google Voice is Google’s cloud-based telephony platform that provides call forwarding,

Read More »
american usa flag
Nicky Smith

Message from the CEO: Happy Birthday, America!

Birthdays are associated with parties, cakes, and gifts. But at the heart of every birthday celebration — small or big — is an expression of something very powerful and special: gratitude. That’s because we aren’t just saying “happy birthday” to a family member, neighbor, friend or colleague. More importantly, we’re also saying THANK YOU for being a part of our lives. Well, today on behalf of the Carolina Digital Phone team — including our family members who support us each day — I’d like to take this opportunity to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY and THANK YOU to the United States of

Read More »
fake news
Nicky Smith

Fake News: What Conventional Phone Companies & Carriers Don’t Want You to Know About Hosted Cloud

Regardless of what side of the political spectrum you fall — or maybe you think the best political party is no party at all — we can all agree that if there’s one thing we should learn from what’s happening in Washington, D.C., it’s that you can’t trust everything you hear or read. Of course, “fake news” isn’t a new idea. It’s been around for decades (or make that centuries). And it’s certainly not limited to politicians, commentators, and talking heads. Some businesses have made plenty of money generating fake news. Take for example the myths, half-truths and outright lies

Read More »
the grass isn't always greener
Nicky Smith

4 Questions You MUST Ask Before Switching Your Current Hosted Telecommunication Provider

Many times in our professional and personal lives, we believe that the “grass is greener on the other side” — only to discover after making a change, that the grass isn’t greener at all. In fact, sometimes it’s not even grass, but the painted carpet stuff that they use in some sports stadiums. The reason we bring this up, is because some schools, businesses, and government agencies that are quite happy with their reliable and affordable hosted telecommunications provider, get seduced by a competitor that promises all kinds of benefits and extras — and for an “amazing low, low price.”

Read More »

Internet Speed Test

There are hundreds of different speed tests you can find on the internet if you search. I have set up one that looks to be very accurate and offers a number of geographic sites to test from. It is managed by ookla.com. Ookla is the global leader in internet testing, data, and analysis. Speedtest, the company’s flagship product, is the most accurate way to measure internet performance and network diagnostics. Use this one first https://carolinadigital.speedtestcustom.com/ when testing. You can then copy the results and send the unique URL with the test to others that might be trying to help you diagnose

Read More »
hold button
Nicky Smith

Cloud Phone System Best Practices for Music On Hold

Cloud phone system features, most of the spotlight shines on things that end users fall in love with, and can’t imagine working without (or how they managed before). We’re talking about features like voicemail-to-email, live call forwarding, automatic call distribution, and so on. However, there’s another member of the cloud phone system feature All Star team that sometimes gets overlooked, even though it’s a game-changer compared to what existed before: music on hold. Below are 3 best practices to help businesses exploit this opportunity, and transform placing callers on hold from a risk into an advantage: 1. Choose Soothing Music

Read More »
laundry detergent
Nicky Smith

3 Reasons Why a Business VoIP Phone System is FAR Superior to Video Conferencing Apps

New video conferencing apps (and often with perky laundry detergent-like names) seem to be popping up all the time. And while these apps offer some nice features, they are categorically not on the same level as an enterprise-grade business VoIP phone system. Here are the key reasons why in the showdown between a business VoIP phone system and video conferencing apps, it’s VoIP for the win every time: 1. Better Quality Video conferencing apps are notorious for choppy audio and lag. To be fair, this isn’t (usually) due to defects in the apps themselves. Rather, it’s that businesses don’t have

Read More »
ultatel
Nicky Smith

The Market Value of VoIP Predicted to Skyrocket; ULTATEL Advises Businesses, Analyzes Trends

(24th May 2018) The researchers have claimed that the VoIP market will shoot up with a forecasted value of $206.9 billion and 350.6 million users by the year 2022. According to a report, the market of VoIP is expected to touch the sky with a value of $140.87 billion by the year 2022, but according to a second market report, the potential for reaching the sky will become greater as the predicted value according to this report is $205.9 billion. This forecasted growth shows that the subscriber-based service is about to grow a long way since 2013. The CEO of

Read More »
1987
Nicky Smith

VoIP Phone System Advanced Features: This Ain’t Your Parents (or your Grandparent’s) Caller ID

The year was 1987. An odd cartoon called The Simpsons made its debut. The average cost of a new house was $92,000. The Ford Escort was the #1 selling car. Millions of moviegoers flocked to see Lethal Weapon, Robocop and Dirty Dancing (“nobody puts baby in a corner”). Baggy dresses were all the rage for women, while a disturbing number of men donned suspender pants. And one more thing happened in 1987 that is more monumental than all of the above: a new telephone feature dubbed Caller ID arrived on the mainstream, and has been with us ever since.  However,

Read More »
qy research group
Nicky Smith

QY Research Group is adding Business VoIP Market Research Report their Database

(SATPRNEWS, May 16th, 2018) To improve source-to-contract cycle performance in the Worldwide business VoIP market, the report provides actionable insight. It helps sourcing professionals develop better category strategies, understand supplier, enhance savings, market challenges, and best practices implementation. This report provides an in-depth research about the condition of global business VoIP projects and market and an overview of its overall growth in the market. It also provides the important elements of the market and across extremely important global regions in detail. A number of primary and secondary data has been carried out, just to collect data for concluding this specific

Read More »
cloud telephone system quality assurance
Nicky Smith

How We Ensure Cloud Telephone System Quality

At Carolina Digital Phone, we’re proud and proven cloud phone system solution specialists. And that means “one-and-done” customer relationships don’t fit with our business plan. For us to succeed and grow — which we’ve been doing for nearly 20 years — we need our customers to succeed. It’s not an option for them, and it’s not an option for us. And one of the ways that we ensure that our customers get full value from their cloud telephone system is by implementing a comprehensive quality assurance (QA) framework. Here are some of the best practices that drive our QA approach

Read More »
Don't DIY a Business VoIP Phone System
Nicky Smith

Thinking of a “DIY” VoIP Phone System for Your Business? Think Again!

The strongest and most successful businesses aren’t those that out-spend their competitors. Rather, they out-smart them by knowing when taking a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach makes strategic and financial sense — and when it’s a really bad idea. What does this have to do with cloud phone systems? It’s this: there are some mass market cloud phone system vendors in the marketplace that want businesses to think that a DIY cloud business phone system is easy, smart and cost-effective. However, if you ask an overwhelming number of businesses that have been misled by this hype, you’ll discover that the experience is

Read More »
acme
Nicky Smith

The Key Benefits of a VoIP Phone System Auto Attendant

Cloud phone systems offer many enterprise-grade calling features such as voicemail-to-email, video conferencing, live call forwarding, direct-inward-dial, and the list goes on. However, the one that most businesses instantly fall in love with — and wonder how they managed without — is auto attendant. Here are the key benefits: 1. Full Customization An auto attendant is more than just an answering machine. It’s a functional and customizable 24/7 digital receptionist that lets callers quickly connect with the right individual or team, instead of having to go through a live operator or run the risk of getting “bounced around” because someone

Read More »
cloud telephone systems drive sales results
Nicky Smith

5 Reasons Why Sales Professionals LOVE Cloud Telephone Systems

It doesn’t matter whether a business sells professional services, cool gadgets, delicious meals or anything else: while all employees have an important role to play, the fact is — and always will be — that the gateway to organizational success is sales. Indeed, without sufficient revenues, businesses cannot achieve their objectives or targets. And while sales numbers typically rise and fall due to cycles and other marketplace variables, a sustained drop in revenue inevitably — and terrifyingly — leads to layoffs, scale-backs, and in extreme cases, bankruptcies and shut downs. Given the importance of sales, it makes sense that successful

Read More »

GL Communications announces the new Voice Recorder Emulator for VoIP Air Traffic Control

(GL Communications Inc. 3rd May 2018) The GL Communications Inc. announced today its new ED-137 Voice Recorder Emulator software also known as MAPS ED-137 Recorder Emulator. The CEO of the company Mr. Vijay Kulkarni said, “Air traffic control centers need to provide continuous ground/air and ground/ground voice communication recordings along with replay, flight release data, air traffic incident, audits, chronology, training, and statistics. The new ED-137/4B shows inter-operability standards for the advance generation VoIP Air Traffic Recorder. The advance generation recorders are designed for all local and international control towers to simplify the recording, playback of voice communications, archiving. He also

Read More »
voip phone systems for financial advisory firms
Nicky Smith

Why Financial Advisory Firms are Switching to a Business Cloud Phone System

In an article for the New York Times, Craig Pfeiffer, CEO of the association representing the investment advisory solutions industry noted that: “the financial advice profession is under pressure to continue to move aggressively from a sales- and product-driven focus to a more comprehensive, advice-driven model delivering a personalized, streamlined experience to investors similar to what is happening in other industries.” As with disruptive shifts in any field — such as legal or healthcare — some financial advisory firms are successfully navigating this new client-centric landscape, while others are struggling. And it’s not surprising that many firms that see the

Read More »

Business Continuity

Is Your Business Expecting the Unexpected? While email and chat are increasingly becoming preferred communication channels, many of today’s customers insist on being able to pick up the phone and get in touch with a business — whether it’s to ask questions about a potential product or service, get support for a prior purchase, or for any other reason. But what happens in the event of a power outage caused by a disaster, or even a shorter — but certainly noticeable — brownout resulting from the country’s aging and over-burdened utility infrastructure? Well, if you have a conventional phone system

Read More »
cloud telephone systems make your small business look big cat shadow lion
Nicky Smith

4 Ways that a Cloud Telephone System Makes Your Small Business Look BIG

Being at the helm of a large multinational enterprise has its perks, like incentive stock options, zipping around in a corporate jet, and team building getaways to an executive dude ranch (we’re not kidding). Yet with this being said, it’s also a great time to run a small business; especially since they account for a whopping 99.7% of all businesses in the U.S., and have provided two-thirds of all new jobs since the 1970s. So yes, big businesses get featured on magazine covers, but small business are — and always will be — the economic engine of the nation. However,

Read More »
tom cruise mission impossible
Nicky Smith

How to Get Your Boss to Switch to a Cloud Telephone System

It’s not quite Mission: Impossible and you’re not expected to use your computer while dangling in mid air or wear scanner contact lenses. However, you know from experience that convincing The Powers That Be in your business to invest in a new solution can be a challenge — or a struggle. To be fair, it’s (probably) not that your boss delights in saying no, or enjoys borrowing a phrase from the universal parents playbook: “we’ll look into it at a later date.” It’s a lot more pragmatic and down to earth than that. Simply put, smart bosses — which are

Read More »
net neutrality and voip
Nicky Smith

VoIP and Net Neutrality: Recent report on Net Neutrality rule and Americans’ Stance

The new repeal order published on January 5, 2018, to cancel December 14, 2017’s Net Neutrality Protection rules has clauses that can affect various businesses including VoIP industry. Federal Communications Commission of America (FCC) is responsible for monitoring communications on an international and national level by imposing laws for wire radio, television, cable, and satellite. The 50 states of America, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia comes under this monitoring. Whereas, VoIP technology is advancing to surpass regular phone calls and make quality communications. On February 26, 2015, FCC published a new code of practice for the equal and

Read More »
milennials cloud telephone system
Nicky Smith

How a Cloud Telephone System Helps Your Organization Recruit & Retain Millennials

Millennials — the people born from around the early 1980s to the late 1990s — now comprise the largest segment of the U.S. workforce. And by 2019, they’ll be the biggest adult population overall, surpassing Boomers and Generation Xers. Given this seismic demographic shift, it’s not surprising that businesses across all industries — from small startups to large enterprises — are aggressively trying to recruit and retain the millennials they need to drive today’s success, and lead tomorrow’s growth. If your organization is vying to onboard talented and high-potential millennials, then you’re well aware that competition is ferocious. But what

Read More »
advanyages and disadvantages of voip
Nicky Smith

Possible Effects of Using VoIP in your Business

Though VoIP technology is the talk of the town in the business world and it is been a decade since this technology took its baby steps still many entrepreneurs think twice before incorporating in it their business. To clear away the confusion, here is a sorted list of possible negative and positive effects VoIP can do to your business, collected through various testimonials and experiences of companies. The one positive effect of VoIP that can’t be ignored is the considerable reduction in cables and wires. Hence cloud-based connections cause fewer maintenance expenditures and stress for installing wires appropriately. Services from

Read More »

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and VoIP Service

FCC and its years of stance for VoIP services and VoIP service providers in the United States of America. FCC has been involved in controlling and monitoring various VoIP services and as well as VoIP service providers from years in order to assure secure and authentic communication for the people of America. Federal Communications Commission of America (FCC) is responsible for controlling international and national communications by imposing laws for wire radio, television, cable, and satellite. This implies not just in all 50 states of America but also in U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. It is an independent

Read More »
extreme nonprofit makeover
Nicky Smith

14th Annual Extreme Nonprofit Makeover Announces Recipient in Greensboro, NC

GREENSBORO, NC, US, April 3, 2018 — TechTriad, celebrating 20 years as a leading web design firm for small businesses and nonprofits in the Piedmont Triad, has announced that the 15th Annual Extreme Nonprofit Makeover team selected Interactive Resource Center (IRC) as the 2018 Makeover recipient. The project is supported by a grant from The Cemala Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro and the foundations that support the Guilford Nonprofit Consortium. Now in the program’s 14th year, the Makeover provides a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves people in Greensboro and the Triad a complete technology makeover – all for free to the nonprofit. The

Read More »
caution high fees ahead sign
Nicky Smith

5 Reasons Why a Conventional Premises-Based Phone System is So Expensive

When we analyze a customer’s telecommunications needs and present a customized solution, the first thing we usually hear is: “wow, I had no idea that we could be saving so much!” Of course, there are several reasons why a hosted cloud phone system dramatically reduces telecommunications costs. However, the other side of the coin that we want our customers to understand, is that conventional premises-based phone systems are (and always have been) excessively expensive. Here are the key reasons why: 1. Maintenance Fees Maintenance fees for a conventional premises-based phone system can reach into the thousands of dollars a year.

Read More »
voip connectivity on digital devices
Nicky Smith

After The Hype of Years, VoIP Business Is In Demand and There Are Good Reasons to It

Although it initially surfaced in the middle of 90s, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) witnessed its phase of major adoption during 2015. Last year it has been anticipated that the VoIP market across the globe will experience an exponential growth in next 5 years. Certainly, the worldwide financial slump had a lot to do with the slow adoption rate but many people might be thinking about the reasons for the resurgence of VoIP now. Among many other a reason, a major one is the presence of high-speed low-cost broadband internet. The presence of fiber optic, high speed broadband now available

Read More »
voip security
Nicky Smith

Cork’s Velona Systems Could Make VoIP A Lot More Secure

Barcelona, 26th March 2018. An Irish startup based in Cork, Velona Systems has made waves at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (MWC) by announcing their most advanced security solution for online communication. Velona Systems has claimed it to be as effective against security threats as a vaccine. This security system is based on session initiated protocols or SIP. Its inventors have claimed that they are the first to introduce a product based on SIP and focused on threat for any Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system. In case you have been thinking why does it matter so much? Then

Read More »
hosted VoIP phone system FAQ
Nicky Smith

Hosted Cloud Phone System Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If your organization is thinking of switching to a hosted cloud phone system, then you certainly have a list of questions that our team will be delighted to answer. However, to give you the information you need even faster, we’ve put together a list of Frequently Asked Questions that we’ve received over the years. Ideally, the following will answer some of your questions, and our team will do the rest! Question: What is the number one reason that organizations switch to a hosted cloud phone system? Answer: Every organization is unique, and has specific need priorities, objectives, risks and opportunities.

Read More »
Hosted Business VoIP Phone System for Law Firms
Nicky Smith

3 Reasons Why Law Firms are Switching to a Hosted Business Cloud Phone System

Across the country, an increasing number of law firms — from solo practitioners and smaller partnerships, to large multi-practice areas and multi-site enterprises — are making the switch from a conventional landline phone system, to an advanced and innovative hosted business cloud phone system. And since lawyers as a breed are trained to be highly skeptical — which is a good thing! — it’s not surprising that the reasons that they’re making the switch has nothing to do with marketing hype, and everything to do with pragmatic advantages and benefits. Below are the 3 most important: 1. Dramatically Lower Costs

Read More »
voice intelligence ivie
Nicky Smith

Voice Intelligence: VoIP Service Providers’ Next Step

Allen Place, Texas, March 2018, Cytracom Cytracom launched Integrated Voice Intelligence Engine to provide its customers better VoIP solutions. With the increasing demands of the customers to provide them with more thorough analytics and technical reports VoIP providers field from other industries, the VoIP service providers are looking for better ways to satisfy their customers and meet their expectations. VoIP providers are also facing demands to resolve the customer related issues in a quicker and more efficient way. Hence to overcome this pressure many VoIP service providers are in an effort to introduce new tools to handle their system more

Read More »
ai technology
Nicky Smith

The Near Future of VoIP industries with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The VoIP industry took its baby steps in the early 2000s. And since then it is expanding and growing to become a bigger and more competitive market. The predicted growth of this ever developing industry is 9.8 in the subsequent four years. The communication industry witnessed the rapid advances in the VoIP technology within the span of few years and therefore has become the most prominent industry in giving seamless services. In past few months and years, we have seen many collaborations of VoIP companies as the consequence of the increasing demands of the VoIP services by individuals and businesses

Read More »
hosted voip mobile productivity
Nicky Smith

5 Ways that a Hosted Cloud Phone System Boosts Mobile Productivity

In the past across most industries and sectors, remote workers were the exception (and we’d all hear them brag at parties about their glorious office-less job). However, these days remote working isn’t just trending, but it’s the norm! 3 Out of 4 Workers Will Be Mobile by 2020  According to research from IDC, the number of mobile workers in the U.S. will grow to a staggering 105.4 million by 2020, at which time approximately 3 out of every 4 employees will work at least part — if not all — of the time away from the office. Given the surge

Read More »
enterprise voip phone
Nicky Smith

Enterprise VoIP: The Future of Global Telecommunications

North Carolina, 15th March 2018. Upward trends of innovation in high-tech for the progress of network infrastructure and wireless mobile communication mainly drives the market for VoIP services. Increase in the use of portable devices by the consumers has been a major reason behind the demand for VoIP services. Features such as bundles services and the escalating demand for portable devices is growing throughout the corporate sector, which has resulted in a swift rise in the demand for VoIP services. According to assessments by Siemens, during the year 2018, mobile phones are estimated to be beaten in numbers by IoT

Read More »
multisite map
Nicky Smith

10 Reasons Why Hosted Cloud Service is a MUST for Multi-Site Organizations

If your organization has two or more locations — regardless of whether you’re in the B2B, B2C, B2B2C or B2G space — then the smartest thing you can do to your conventional landline phone system is get rid of it ASAP, and switch to a feature-rich cloud-based hosted solution. Here are the 10 key reasons why hosted cloud is a MUST for multi-site organizations, and should be at the top of your strategic to-do list if you want (or need) to dramatically reduce costs, improve communication, enhance customer experience, and ultimately boost the bottom line in both the short and

Read More »
boxing
Nicky Smith

Apple Claims Foul In Patent Trial with VoIP-Pal

(AppleInsider), 12th March 2018. The famous Apple vs VoIP-Pal patent trial has further stiffened with the recent claim by Apple that VoIP-Pal unlawfully attempted to influence administrative judges of the trial in an ex parte discussion. While Apple has stressed that it is not accusing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of wrongdoing, however, this claim goes against the chief judge and cabinet secretary in charge of the US Patent and Trademark Office. This claim by Apple has led the dispute between Apple and VoIP-Pal over patent infringement towards a whole new direction as Apple is pursuing hard to

Read More »
voip word concept art
Nicky Smith

The Market for VoIP Services Expected To Witness Exponential Growth by 2025

North Carolina, 12th March 2018. The global market for VoIP services is driven by the contributors of the VoIP industry who have focused intensely on introducing VoIP solutions among both individual and corporate sectors of the consumers. This has resulted in progress in different aspects particularly in cloud-based models and network infrastructures. Open-source and copyrighted platforms are continuously endorsing the inclusion of innovative technologies, which has led consumers to demand for a customized solution in order to minimize the expenditure associated with their communication needs. According to a study by Future Market Insight (FMI), this tremendous progress in the international

Read More »
sbc digital network
Nicky Smith

Insight into Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity for Session Border Controller in VoIP Services Market

North Carolina, 7th March 2018. Session border controller is equipment, which has made possible high-level security and also supported to maintain the quality standards of interactive communication services with the use of a number of different IP networks. A sudden increase in the demand for Voice over Internet Protocol also identified as VoIP services have remained to be a significant element that has driven the exponential growth in the demand of the session border controller in the market of VoIP services across the globe. According to the reports of Coherent Market Insights (CMI), during the last year, approximately 259 million

Read More »
office move telecommunications
Nicky Smith

Why Switching to a Virtual PBX System Before Your Office Move is a Smart Idea

Across the country, hundreds of thousands of businesses — from small firms to large enterprises — have upgraded from a costly and limited on-premises PBX phone system (a.k.a. landline system), to an advanced, feature rich and future-proof virtual PBX system (a.k.a. hosted cloud system). If your organization is eager to join the ranks of your counterparts — and your competitors — who are reaping the rewards of a virtual PBX system, then you may be holding off until after a scheduled office move is complete. Here are three reasons why the delay is unnecessary, and even counter-productive: 1. Moving the

Read More »
hosted voip phone systems video conference support
Nicky Smith

How Hosted Cloud Phone Systems Optimize Call Management During Vacation Season

As the temperatures outside (finally) start to climb and the days get increasingly longer, organizations are gearing up to face an annual challenge: managing calls during the holidays. While customers usually tolerate hearing a “Thank you for your call, our office is closed today…” message during Federal holidays such as Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Columbus Day, they are much less impressed when they are forced to leave voicemail after voicemail — or stay on hold for excessive amounts of time — because employees are on vacation. Fortunately, this is where a hosted cloud phone system bridges

Read More »

Four Signs that Your Business Should Upgrade to a Cloud Phone System

FOUR SIGNS THAT YOUR BUSINESS SHOULD UPGRADE TO A CLOUD PHONE SYSTEM Watch this short 2 minute video to learn more. http://player.vimeo.com/video/36313098 In life, there are signs that alert us to potential trouble — and if we’re attentive and wise, we heed these warnings and avoid bigger problems in the future. For example, our car may be sluggish and sputtering, and pleading with us for a tune up or some preventative maintenance. And our bodies often tell us through various aches and pains that we need to dial things down and take a break — or else a break may

Read More »
user getting angry
Nicky Smith

Here’s Why IT Teams Hate In-House PBX+SIP Trunking

Some businesses are led to believe — typically by smooth-talking vendors — that they can reap the rewards of a hosted cloud phone system for a fraction of the cost, merely by purchasing a cheap in-house PBX phone system and adding (relatively) inexpensive SIP lines. However, as we’ve discussed previously this configuration doesn’t add up to a legitimate, feature-rich and enterprise-grade hosted cloud phone system. Instead, it leads to endless configuration obstacles, greater business continuity risks, severely limited feature options and integrations, and one other problem that never goes away: an excessive burden on in-house IT teams. Here’s why: vendors who

Read More »
thumbs down
Nicky Smith

Why Your Premise-Based PBX Phone System Could Cost You Customers

The importance of business continuity cannot be underestimated; especially for small and mid-sized businesses. Going “off the grid” for even a few minutes — let alone a few hours or even days — can convince unimpressed customers to head for the exit, and straight to a competitor.  However, often without their consent or awareness, many businesses are at risk of losing both current and future customers — not because of anything that they’re doing wrong, but because they’re saddled with a premise-based PBX phone system.  Here is why: a premise-based PBX phone system essentially connects businesses to the phone company

Read More »
break chains
Nicky Smith

Is Your Organization Being Held Back by a Premise-Based PBX Phone System?

A growing number of organizations are saying goodbye to their conventional analog premise-based PBX phone system, and hello to a cost-effective, feature-rich, and future-proofed hosted cloud phone system. Here are the key reasons why they’re saying farewell to their premise-based system — and not looking back: Excessive up-front costs: premise-based PBX systems are expensive to purchase, install and maintain. For many small and mid-sized businesses, the CapEx burden is prohibitive, and for larger organizations it’s unjustifiable. No cost certainty: the cost of operating a premise-based PBX system is based on usage (regular calling along with long-distance costs). As such, it’s

Read More »
where to invest
Nicky Smith

In-House PBX+SIP Trunking vs. Hosted Cloud Phone Service: What’s the Smarter Phone System Investment?

When it comes to making wise investments, organizations need to borrow a page from the consumer playbook and “get the most for the least.” This doesn’t necessarily mean getting the cheapest price. It means that organizations need to assess their needs, conduct marketplace research, evaluate potential solutions, and select the one that delivers the most long-term value. However, just like consumers, sometimes organizations can mistakenly head in the other direction: getting the least for the most. And since this unfortunate fact doesn’t come to light until after a purchase decision is made, organizations in this situation are forced to absorb

Read More »
cloud fax voip faxing
Nicky Smith

5 Reasons Why Organizations are Using Cloud Faxing

A few decades ago, fax machines roamed freely on the business landscape: and it was good. Actually, it was groundbreaking. The idea of transmitting an exact facsimile of a document to anyone in the world — and within a matter of seconds — was incredible. Indeed, if you build a time machine and head back to circa 1988, you’ll be greeted by an orchestra of screeching fax machines (don’t worry, it’s a screech of joy, not of pain).  Well, here we are about to enter the third decade of the 21st century, and traditional fax machines are few and far

Read More »

Telinta and thinQ Collaboration: Enabling VoIP Service Providers with Many Benefits

Springfield, New Jersey, 15th February 2018, Telinta Inc. On 15th February 2018, Telinta Inc. announced its collaboration with thinQ Inc. in Springfield, New Jersey, to provide saving to VoIP Service Providers. VoIP markets over the past few year have increased demands from both the end-users and VoIP service providers plus the hardware and software developers of the VoIP. This has led many small and big companies and enterprises to intertwine together. The joint venture of the many companies has proved to be fruitful for users as well as companies. Going after this productive strategy recently the Telinta Inc. joined hands

Read More »
northstate logo
Nicky Smith

NorthState Announces Quarterly Dividend

HIGH POINT, N.C., Feb. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NorthState, a leading fiber optic network, cloud and IT services provider, announced today that the board of directors of NorthState declared a cash dividend of $1.30 per share on the company’s common stock.  The dividend is payable on March 5, 2018 to stockholders of record on February 20, 2018. About NorthState NorthState (OTC:NORSA) (OTC:NORSB) is a technology company focused on inspiring the Internet-driven lifestyle through high-touch experiences.  Its fiber-delivered, ultrafast Internet and Internet-driven applications enable residential customers and businesses to efficiently and securely take advantage of the Internet.  Through its Technology Solutions business

Read More »
arrows pointing at customer
Nicky Smith

4 Ways that a Cloud Phone System Optimizes Customer Experience

In today’s hyper-competitive business landscape, satisfying and impressing customers — both prospective and current — isn’t just important: it’s essential. In fact, a study by Walker Information concluded that by the year 2020, customer experience will be the number one brand differentiator in the minds of customers — surpassing traditional factors such as product and price. In other words, within a couple of years the vast majority of customers in both B2C and B2B spaces will knowingly, willingly, and happily pay more for something from a business than they could from its competitors, provided they feel as though they’re getting

Read More »
check engine light
Nicky Smith

4 Signs that Your Business Should Upgrade to a Cloud Phone System

In life, there are signs that alert us to potential trouble — and if we’re attentive and wise, we heed these warnings and avoid bigger problems in the future. For example, our car may be sluggish and sputtering, and pleading with us for a tune up or some preventative maintenance. And our bodies often tell us through various aches and pains that we need to dial things down and take a break — or else a break may be thrust upon us. Now, what does this have to do with telecommunications? It’s this: businesses also receive warning signs that their

Read More »


Archive

Over 20 Years Of Service
Our Customers Love Us!