Tag: office

Indy Business: Customers’ Favorite Features

icon-phone-square Indy Business: Our Customers’ Favorite Features

We’ve learned a few things from talking with our Indianapolis phone service customers. Unfortunately, we don’t have any hard data to back up everything we’re about to say; but we can confidently state that our customers seem to use all the features we offer, and there are certainly some features that people tend to mention more or seem to find more useful.

We wanted to take a moment to look at those features.

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SPAM BLOCK

This is an obvious favorite for obvious reasons. Everyone (us included) hates receiving unwanted calls. It’s even worse when you’re receiving spam calls to your work phone where you can’t download an app to block them, which is why we offer to block unwanted calls before they even reach your phone.

But not only do we block the call from bothering you, we make the spammer think your number has been disconnected. This leads to fewer spam calls over time and is good for everyone. Except the spammers of course. Again, it’s obvious why this is a customer favorite.

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CUSTOM NUMBERS, SECRET NUMBERS

So many places don’t offer you a choice when you’re picking a new phone number. They may offer you a sequence of numbers if you need two or more phone lines, but there’s no guarantee that those numbers will be easy to remember or fit your business.

We always thought it made sense to give people a choice on what number would fit them best, and our customers seem to appreciate it. Not only that, but we’ve found that our customers also appreciate being offered numbers not intended for the public. Many of our customers have secret numbers they use for their own internal purposes. Sometimes it’s as simple as calling a person directly, and sometimes the custom number is more complex. It just depends on what works best for the client.

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HOW’S THE WEATHER?

As much as we hate to admit it, this feature isn’t exactly ours. In fact, we didn’t even realize we offered it until a customer asked us why theirs wasn’t working at the moment. As it turns out, the business office phones we prefer have built-in weather updates. The phones show updated local weather data as long as they have a working internet connection. Anyway, it’s a smart feature, people like it, and we’re glad we can “offer” it!

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Of course, every customer is unique and will prefer the feature(s) they utilize most, but we still wanted to share some insights we’ve noticed over the past couple years. If you have any questions about our features or what we offer, feel free to contact us anytime.

Have a great day!

  • by IDN

Indy Business: Cloud Phone System?

icon-cloud Indy Business: What is a Cloud Phone System?

What makes a cloud-based phone system or service different than the old analog phone systems? There’s a tendency in today’s tech to just add the word “cloud” onto everything, but in the case of our phone systems, they really are powered by the cloud. Because of that, the service offers some exciting differences from your typical business phone service.

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YOUR PHONE, EVERYWHERE

The biggest difference with a hosted or cloud-based phone service is that your phone line and features don’t just live in one location. Sure, you can still have a dedicated office desk phone, but the calls going to that phone can be routed to a cell phone, a software phone, or any number or device you can think of.

The easiest way to think about it is to imagine phone service that behaves more like your email. You might access your email from your office, then your smartphone, and also have your emails handy on a tablet when you’re relaxing later that night. Similarly, cloud phone service is there when you need it and gone when you don’t.

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ALL THE FEATURES, TOO

One of the big benefits of a cloud phone system is you don’t need your fancy desk phone to handle all those features. Everything comes along with you, no matter which device you use. You can do 3-way calling and conference calling, your voicemails can be sent to your email, and you can even speed dial your co-workers when you’re sitting on your back porch.

Or, for those of us who like to unwind after work, you can send all your calls to voicemail at 4:59 PM!

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Hopefully this has helped clarify what a cloud-based business phone system is and how it behaves. If you have any more questions or want to try it out for yourself, feel free to contact us anytime.

Thanks, and have a great day!

  • by IDN

Indy Business: Is My Phone System Secure?

icon-lock Indy Business: Is My Phone System Secure?

Most businesses probably don’t think about the security of their phone system, but if you have phone service Indianapolis from one of the big cable or telephone companies, the security of your conversations is stuck in the past.  Many cable and phone companies still rely on analog phone signals once the connection is inside the building, meaning that almost anyone could listen in with relative ease.

If a regular phone cord is coming out of your office phone, then your office or business still relies on analog phone service, at least until it gets to your PBX, modem, or demarcation box.  And while there are many good reasons to go with VoIP business phone service (call quality, cost savings, better features, etc.), security is perhaps the best reason to switch.

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GOING DIGITAL

Analog signals can be intercepted by another analog receiver (like a corded phone plugged into a jack).  But digital signals are different.  You can’t plug an ethernet cord in and suddenly eavesdrop on computer traffic (unless you really know what you’re doing).  That’s because the traffic coming from a VoIP phone or other digital device is split into packets.  If analog is a river where anyone can step in, then digital is like a bunch of water balloons.  The packets are only supposed to “burst” for the intended receiver.

The trade-off for this privacy is that it is harder to share a line on digital VoIP phone service.  You can do three-way or conference calling, but picking up the phone and joining a call is different.  Not that it can’t be done, but it often depends on the type of phones you have and how you want them to operate.  So that’s something to keep in mind.

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SWITCHING IS EASY

Luckily, changing phone providers is trivial.  When we port a number, for example, we often forward calls from the existing number to a temporary one we set up.  Then we set outgoing calls to show the main number.  What this means is that new customers get to try before they buy without any risk.  No one outside knows that your phone service has changed; and if VoIP service does not work out for any reason, the calls can be unforwarded so everything goes back to how it was.

If that still sounds complicated, please just trust us that it is all actually very simple.

To sum up, if you know or think you are still using analog phone service, please consider switching to a VoIP service provider.  Ultimately, it doesn’t have to be us, but we would still be happy to talk about the switching process if you contact us.  Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

 

  • by IDN

Indy Business: Best Phone System 2018

icon-building Indy Business: Best Business Phone System 2018

Choosing between business phone systems can be more than confusing if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for.  Do you want a traditional system or a voice-over IP (VoIP) system?  How many lines do the systems support?  How do they hook up to your phone service provider?

Today, we’ll try to answer these questions as best we can.

 

Go digital.

We will be recommending a system in a minute; but no matter what system you buy, it should be digital.  Digital systems are everywhere and their call quality is crystal clear compared to old analog systems.  While we’re at it, you might as well go with a voice-over IP system too.  Most systems (including our recommendation) work regardless of your phone service provider, so there’s nothing to fear when it comes to compatibility.

Digital VoIP phone systems also usually offer more lines for the money.  When a call is going over your network as opposed to using traditional phone wiring, the number of calls doesn’t matter nearly as much.  So voice-over IP is more efficient.

 

Our recommendation.

The system we like best is from Grandstream.  Specifically, a system made up of Grandstream GXP2130’s.  That system would offer up to 3 lines per phone, the phones themselves would be reliable and professional, setup wouldn’t be too complicated, and the quality you get for the price can’t be beat.  We’ve looked at the alternatives from Mitel, Polycom, Cisco, etc.  We still prefer the high-end line of Grandstream phones.

We’re also going to recommend using the system with a hosted VoIP provider like ourselves.  You could use it with an on-site Grandstream PBX, but that’s a piece of hardware you don’t really need and if your office goes offline, all your inbound call functions are offline too.

 

Still need help?

If you still have questions or aren’t sure if our recommendation would work in your location, feel free to contact us anytime.  After all, sometimes you just need to ask an expert!

  • by IDN

Indy Business: Do I Need a Fax Line?

icon-print Indy Business: Do I Need a Fax Line?

Maybe you’re starting a new business in Indy, or upgrading to a dedicated office building.  You’re checking out phone service providers and internet providers.  Suddenly you wonder if you need a fax line in Indianapolis in 2018.  The answer to that question depends on your business and a few other considerations, so let’s dig in.

Do you need a landline?

Unfortunately, sometimes you just need a landline in a business.  Perhaps you have a fire alarm or security system that needs a dedicated line.  Or maybe your credit card reader is too old to use the internet.  If for some reason you are going to need a landline anyway, then having it double as a fax line could save you money in the long run.

Also, you probably won’t ever need two dedicated lines, since most of the time your fax line is sitting unused.  Just try not to fax anything if your office catches on fire!

Will you fax from a single location?

You may only need to fax from the office and only need to receive faxes during business hours, but most businesses have moved beyond that.  If you think you’ll ever need to fax from another location or another device, or if you’d like to know when a fax arrives and no one is there to see it, then you should consider vFax as an alternative.

vFax is short for virtual faxing, and with it you can send and receive faxes from any location and any device.  It is cheaper than a dedicated fax line and can be used by multiple people at once, so there’s no waiting.  For most businesses, it’s a far better option.

Still not sure?

No worries.  If you can’t decide if you need a dedicated fax line, feel free to contact us to learn more and have your questions answered.  We look forward to hearing from you!

  • by IDN
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