October 2018 | Indy Developers Network

Indy Business: Unwanted Spam Calls

With the growing problem of unwanted and fraudulent spam calls, more and more people are asking if anything can be done about it. There are apps and services available for cell phones, but what can you do about spam business and residential calls? In this post, we’d like to highlight some of the ways to decrease or eliminate telemarketing calls.

Talk to your provider.

Not all providers will let you block unwanted calls, but it’s worth finding out. For example, we will block calls for both our business phone service and our home phone service. Not only can we block a number or a whole area code, but the way we block it makes spammers believe your number has been disconnected even though everyone else can call you normally. It’s a great tool for removing your number from spam call lists.

Also, if your provider says they don’t block unwanted calls, consider porting your number to one that will.

Let your phone do the talking.

Because so many of the spam calls are automated, why not automate your answer to them? With modern phone systems, it’s extremely simple to create an answering service that screens your calls. Just requiring the caller to press a single button is enough to stop most telemarketers. And you can combine this method with call blocking to virtually eliminate unwanted calls.

Get extreme.

As a last resort, you can choose to only allow calls from a list of trusted numbers. Instead of blocking bad callers when they contact you, you start by assuming every call is bad until you say otherwise. This is guaranteed to eliminate unwanted calls, though you may miss some legitimate calls from people whose number hasn’t been whitelisted.

Whatever you choose to do, it’s important for all of us to make it as hard as possible for spammers to succeed. The moment their activities are no longer profitable, they will stop engaging in them.

If you want help fighting your spam calls, or want to switch to a phone company that does all it can, feel free to contact us or give us a call anytime. Thanks and have a great day!

Indy Business: Phone Cabling

Why is it so hard to find a business in Indianapolis that does traditional landline phone cabling? There are many reasons why, but a lot of them have to do with the switch to structured network cabling. Even if the signal from your phone system eventually travels across a telephone line, your office may utilize ethernet cables as opposed to the old 4-wire telephone cables when connecting phones to the server or PBX. Let’s take a look at why.

It’s all copper.

The old 4-wire telephone cables used copper wiring (traditionally wrapped in the colors red, yellow, green, and black). Today’s structured cables like Cat5E and Cat6 use 8 wires of different shades and stripes. But, any of those wires can replace one from the old 4-wire type. So if you have a new building to install cabling in, even if you know the business will use landline services, installing the future-proof network cable is still the smart thing to do.

Not many businesses advertise that they will install phone cabling in Indianapolis, but that doesn’t mean they won’t install cables that work fine with traditional phone jacks.

The phones are computers.

The best phone systems today are VoIP phone systems, which means all of the phones use the 8-wire network cabling to connect with their central PBX. The PBX may send and receive calls using landline phone wires, but those connections don’t need to run throughout a whole building. On top of that, the landline service provider will probably install those connections for the customer, leaving the rest of the cabling to someone else.

The good news is that landline telephone companies are usually more expensive, so you’re better off going with a network cable installer like us. We can provide the same materials and expertise without all the overhead a traditional phone company has.

Ask about discounts.

If the cable installer also provides phone service like we do, there’s a good chance you can get some or all of your install done for free. After all, a long-term phone customer is better to have than a onetime cable customer.

To find out what kinds of rates we offer, simply request a quote or give us a call. Thanks and have a great day!

Indy Business: Best Business Phone

Over our 10-plus years providing phone service, we have used and recommended a ton of business phones. We can safely say the current best business phone for most people is the Grandstream GXP2130. It has a professional look and feel, comes with all the features a modern business needs, works as well or better than more expensive options, and can be used with most VoIP phone service.

Look and feel.

The GXP2130 has a solid construction and feels nice in the hand, like many desk phones available today. Where the GXP2130 really stands out, though, is its color screen and intuitive interface. We wish the screen was a touch screen; but for under $70, it is hard to complain about a button-operated screen. Plus the buttons around the screen are all placed well and the screen changes to clearly show their function at all times.

All other buttons are labeled with helpful icons that show what they do. The call transfer button shows a phone pointing to another phone. The do-not-disturb button shows a microphone with a line through it. The hold call button shows a pause symbol, etc. We’ve also found these icons to be easier to learn and recognize at a glance than text labels like other brands use.

Features.

Like most SIP desk phones, the GXP2130 is completely customizable, but the majority of users will never need to customize them. From the moment they are provisioned, local time and weather displays on the screen, and the default buttons are programmed to work out of the box. The only unclear settings that users may wish to set are two SIP security options which will eliminate any phantom call issues. Those settings can be found by following these instructions.

Try before you buy.

We doubt you’ll have any issues with the Grandstream GXP2130, but please feel free to contact us or give us a call if you’d like to try them before buying. We offer free trials of our recommended phone hardware and phone service because we’ve seen how much customers appreciate it.

Thanks for reading our thoughts and have a great day!

Indy Business: Email to Fax

Indy Business: Email to Fax?

Is it possible to receive faxes as emails? Or, even better, is it possible to send an email to a person’s fax machine? What about attaching a document to an email and sending that as a fax? The good news is that all of these are possible. And the even better news is that doing all of them is extremely simple with a vFax service.

How does it work?

Unlike most things, exchanging faxes for emails really is as easy as it sounds. With our virtual faxing service, all faxes sent to your fax number will be converted automatically and delivered to one or multiple email addresses of your choosing. To send a fax, you can attach a document to an email, or upload it to our secure web portal where you are able to see all the faxes you have sent and received previously. You can even send cover letters.

Do I need a fax line?

Nope. With vFax, you don’t need a separate line just for faxing, so you save money every month. On top of that, you don’t need an expensive fax machine, you save money on paper and ink/toner, and you are not tied to a specific location. vFax works anywhere there is an internet connection.

Can I try it first?

Of course! All our services come with a free trial and vFax is no different. We can give you a trial vFax number and account to see if it fits you and your business. There is no obligation to buy anything and no credit card is required. If you have an existing fax number, you don’t have to port it until you’re 100% sure that vFax is right for you.

If all of that sounds reasonable, please feel free to call us or contact us so we can answer any remaining questions you might have. We look forward to hearing from you!

icon-ban Indy Business: Unwanted Spam Calls

icon-chain Indy Business: Phone Cabling

icon-phone-square Indy Business: Best Business Phone

icon-print Indy Business: Email to Fax?

Indy Business: Unwanted Spam Calls

Indy Business: Phone Cabling

Indy Business: Best Business Phone

Indy Business: Email to Fax?