Right now, tens of millions of people who would otherwise be working in a corporate office are working from home. This is a good thing. If the COVID-19 pandemic happened 20 years ago, remote working would be far less viable of an option. Yes, people had internet at home back then, too. But connectivity speeds were much slower, and many were still using dial-up modem technology. Imagine taking 15 minutes to download a presentation (and even longer to upload one). And as for real-time video conferences: forget about it! However, the fact that millions of people are working remotely right now...

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...

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...

Let’s face it, COVID-19 has changed our daily routine a lot, this includes our communications strategy. We have adapted rapidly and generally with good results. Cloud-based communications have become an integral part of how we do business. While switching to a work from home setup brings many challenges, like finding a suitable workspace and juggling home-schooled kids and pets, one area we tend to ignore is security.The proliferation of phishing schemes and Zoombombing has increased seemingly overnight. For companies both large and small, learning how to implement security needs to be a primary concern for companies needing to change remote...

We live in a complex and unpredictable world. Lately, our world has been even more stressful and out of control than ever - or so it seems. In tumultuous times, I center myself with some simple guidelines that I apply to my personal as well as business life. I am sharing these rules for a happier life in the hope that you may apply them to your everyday life and benefit from them. Rule for a happier life 1: Laugh and the World Laughs With You Try this - make an effort every day to make someone smile. It doesn’t need to...

It is no surprise that small and medium-sized businesses across the globe have suffered due to the global coronavirus pandemic. What is becoming evident, based on research, is that the companies that are surviving and prospering are making a concerted push toward upgrading their digital technologies to survive. This means survival of small business depends on digital. What the Experts say 2020 Small Business Digital Maturity study According to a new 2020 Small Business Digital Maturity study from IDC, 70 percent of small businesses are speeding up their push to switch to digital in the face of hurdles coming from the COVID-19 crisis....

As noted by GovTech.com, county governments across the country are increasingly leading the way when it comes to deploying advanced technologies that matter and make a difference to everyday citizens. And one of the most important ways they are demonstrating technological, governance, and civic leadership is by switching to a hosted VoIP phone system (a.k.a. cloud phone system).At Carolina Digital Phone, we have extensive experience working closely with both large and small county governments to help them reap the advantages of a hosted VoIP phone system. Here are some of the most compelling benefits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYCnyN6RxCQ1. Significant Year-Over-Year Cost SavingsAccording to a...

Here’s a fantastic service for anyone looking for professionally recorded business telephone system prompts, greetings, and more. Carolina Digital Phone has partnered with Snap Recordings, the leading online provider of professional voice recordings for business telephone systems. You can now order custom voicemail greetings, promotional on-hold messages, announcements, prompts, or any other type of telephone recordings directly from our website. Professional Voices Using the online wizard, create professional-quality telephone recordings, and establish instant credibility with your callers. Simply register for a free account, choose your voice talent and music, type or paste your script into our message editor, and pay securely online....

Recently, we highlighted that during the coronavirus pandemic many businesses with legacy (on-premise) contact centers are struggling to pivot to a remote working setup. As a result, they are being inundated with unhappy customers who, instead of speaking to a human being, are being put on hold and told that “their call is very important” over, and over, and over again. Fortunately, the solution to this anti-customer bottleneck is simple and proven: switch to a cloud contact center. Here are the five key advantages: Instant ScalabilityBusiness ContinuityBoost Employee PerformanceIncrease Customer SatisfactionStrengthen Security 1. Instant Scalability Adding new customer service agents to the roster...