Look for a sophisticated but affordable phone system, such as a hosted PBX service, that will ask callers to “Press one for sales, two for support, or enter your party’s extension,” but can route them anywhere you want. This can place small business in the big leagues, and give the impression that the business is much larger than it may actually be.

You can be up and running with a fully functioning hosted and virtual phone system in minutes. As long as there is a number to be reached on, a hosted phone system can typically be set up to forward calls without complications.

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Actually, the main difference boils down to reliability. If you need dependable internet speed on a regular basis, a T1 may well be a great solution. If you don’t require reliability, then DSL may very well be acceptable for you.

A T1 is a dedicated internet connection which reliably delivers 1.5 Mbps (broadband) speed – and is also guaranteed to be that fast via the T1 carrier (through an SLA). Virtually all T-1s from Tier 1 providers are under an SLA and MTTR (mean time to respond/repair) agreement – in case the carrier doesn’t resolve your problem, they’ll be confronted with a loss of revenue – which motivates people to do their job! Standard SLAs offer 99.9% up-time, or 2 hours of downtime per month, and other carriers go to 99.99% or 99.999% up-time on their T-1 service. Consequently, your $300 /month is actually buying you peace of mind and also a guaranteed speed. This may become important if you host your own website, download/upload a lot of large files, or use your internet connection for Voice-over-IP. Typically, when Accelerated Technologies sells VoIP service to a business, we look for a minimum of T1 speed and reliability.

On the flip side, DSL can provide you with speed (some claim, up to 20 Mbps) – however you never really know exactly what speed you are going to get. The reason why? Because you essentially share your bandwidth with other customers who are on the same line as you are. As a general rule, the cheaper the price of the DSL, the more people you share the bandwidth with (DSL providers drive cost down by putting more and more subscribers on a single connection – this is called oversubscription and it is a widespread practice among low-cost ISPs boasting cheap and fast DSL). So, if you can live with your broadband speed being variable, then the low-cost of DSL might be for you. For example, if you are only doing e-mail and normal web surfing for your business, DSL might be fine.

There are a few other differences, like upload speed or where your office is located related to your carrier’s network (DSL might be really slow if you are too far away, for example, so you might have to go with T1). But, basically, your decision comes down to how reliable you need your broadband Internet connection to be. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Costs of IP phones may vary by hundreds of dollars. If you have multiple phones to purchase, sensible shopping will bring your business exponential savings.

To make the most effective investment-for now and the years ahead-answer 7 important questions:

1. Is HD voice important? High-definition voice is clearer than older VoIP technologies (and traditional landline voice) because it delivers at least twice the sound range (about 7 kHz). It’s now a standard feature in business-class IP phones, including the affordable Cisco SPA 300 Series and 500 Series IP phones. HD voice quality is especially important for international, technical, or long conversations; conference calls; and speakerphone use.

2. How many lines are needed? Where will the phone be used? You’ll likely need eight or more lines for the front desk or a group assistant. A single-line phone may be ideal for backroom and warehouse locations; the new Cisco SPA 301 is a basic one-line phone priced under $100. IP phones connect to your data network through Ethernet cabling or Wi-Fi; some also receive power over Ethernet (PoE). Wi-Fi support is a must-have for mobile users who need the phone while moving around your site.

3. What will the phone need to do? Like other phones, IP phones offer features such as speakerphone, caller ID, call forwarding, and conferencing. But unlike cellular or traditional phones, some IP phone models can also:
•Operate seamlessly between cellular and VoIP services: Answer calls (and continue conversations) that originated on a smartphone, connect through Bluetooth, and import your smartphone address book.
•Unify all your messages-voicemail, email, and faxes-into one inbox, so that you can retrieve and respond faster and more easily.
•Increase the productivity of employees by enabling them to use the web and XML documents directly on their phone.
•Give employees access to information on your data network, such as customer records, order status, and schedules. Some IP phones can monitor video from your IP surveillance cameras, play MP3s, and display digital photos.

4. Are the features easy to use? They must be intuitive. The keypad should be easy to touch, the button lights and display screen (monochrome or color) easy to see.

5. What VoIP system will you use now? In the future? These answers have the biggest financial impact. No IP phone is compatible with all VoIP systems, due primarily to differences in their VoIP protocols. The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is the most widespread. Cisco IP phones support both SIP and the Smart Phone Control Protocol (SPCP) to help ensure interoperability in both modes. The VoIP system options are:
•A hosted VoIP or Centrex service that you contract from a service provider
•An onsite VoIP system, such as a Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series solution, that you own or lease

6. What security do your phones require? Encryption of voice, password protection for signaling and configuration data, and Wi-Fi security features protect against unauthorized use. An embedded virtual private network (VPN) client on your remote users’ IP phone allows them to securely connect to your network and make calls over the Internet.

7. What technical support will you need? IP phones that are designed to interoperate with one another and your VoIP system should be the easiest to set up, move, upgrade, and manage. Review the warranty, and know what free and paid support is provided. Cisco provides a full range of technical support specifically for small businesses, including an online community and call center, as well as value-added resellers with VoIP expertise.

We have lots of communications options available to us today, but the paradox is that we are sometimes harder to reach than ever. Unified Communications (UC) is designed to solve that problem. Instead of having your office phone, mobile, e-mail, IM etc. all separate, UC gets them working together. UC can be as simple and convenient as having all your incoming calls ring simultaneously on your office phone and mobile. But UC call also be much more sophisticated, letting you see the ‘presence’ of key contacts so you know if they are available and how best to reach them.

Avaya’s Small Business Unified Communications For Dummiesis filled with tips and insights on how you can use UC in your small business. What makes this book really helpful is that it’s not just about the technology itself (in fact, it’s specifically written for a nontechnical audience) but it’s more about what the impact of UC can be on your business in terms of lower overhead, more sales, better customer service, and more productivity. Click here for the PDF

Avaya IP Office will give you over 300 phone lines at one location. It has programs that can be used for small call centers (with web based applications), reception desks (receptionist can see which employee is on the phone or available), and programs for employees who work from home or are traveling. For the manager, it has a way to run reports of phone usage, to see what numbers are calls or incoming the most often and how long each call lasts. Your messages are kept neat and organized and easily accessed. Never miss a message, be it email or voicemail, again.

Avaya IP Office gives your business an edge over the competition because it saves money by using the internet to add as many phone lines for no extra cost. It is a very organized way to run your communications. Avaya IP Office is a best selling phone system- it will streamline the way you and your employees keep in touch with clients.

Ethernet is now evolving from LAN Ethernet to Metro Ethernet. Most business end users would like to embrace the Ethernet as last mile/first mile because of its low cost and large advantages.
The definition of Carrier Ethernet from a Business User Perspective “A ubiquitous service defined by the five attributes named as Standardized Services, Scalability, Reliability, Service Management and Quality of Service. “

a) Standardized Services:- EVC (Ethernet Virtual Connection) is defined as service container which connects two to more user networks. It prevents data communication between the sites which are not part of same EVC. Further EVC is divided into three types:-
•Eline (Point to Point Services)
•Elan (Multipoint to Multipoint)
•Etree (Routed Multipoint)
b) Scalability:- Easily upgradable.
c) Reliability:- In case of failure of links, minimum time to converge.
d) Quality Of Service:- Define QOS for SLA (Service Level Aggrements)
e) Service Management:- Standard OAM

Definition of Metro Ethernet from SP point of view “A set of network elements that connects to transport Ethernet services fo all users locally or globally.”

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