Fax over IP or SIP trunks!

Across the Internet even a G.711 codec fax transmission is unpredictable. An excellent discussion of why faxing and modems don’t work well over VoIP can be found here. However, people often get perfectly good results on lightly loaded LANs. It still isn’t perfect, as a burst of data on the LAN can still upset things, but some people get results they can live with. Fax-over-Internet T.38 pass-thru functionality within ShoreTel has arrived in 11! In detail: There are two conceptual methods of carrying virtually real-time fax-machine-to-fax-machine communication across packet networks: Fax relay, in which the T.30 fax from the PSTN is demodulated at the sending gateway. The demodulated fax content is enveloped into packets, sent over the network, and remodulated into T.30 fax at the receiving end. Fax pass-through, in which modulated fax information from the PSTN is passed in-band end-to-end over a voice speech path in an IP network. The following two pass-through techniques are possible: The configured voice codec is used for the fax transmission. This technique works only when the configured codec is G.711 with no voice activity detection (VAD) and no echo cancellation (EC), or when the configured codec is a clear-channel codec or G.726/32. Low bit-rate codecs cannot be used for fax transmissions. The gateway dynamically changes the codec from the codec configured for voice to G.711 with no VAD and no EC for the duration of the fax session. This method is specifically referred to as codec upspeed or fax pass-through with upspeed. In addition to the methods for real-time fax transmission, a method called store-and-forward fax breaks the fax process into distinct sending and receiving processes and allows fax messages to be stored between those processes. store-and-forward fax is based on the ITU-T T.37 standard, and it also enables fax transmissions to be received from or delivered to computers rather than fax machines. T.38 relay: In fax relay mode, gateways terminate T.30 fax signaling by spoofing a virtual fax machine to the locally attached fax machine. Unlike in-band faxing or fax pass-through, fax relay breaks down the T.30 fax tones into their specific HDLC frames (demodulation), sends the information across the voice network using the fax relay protocol (T.38), and then converts the bits back into tones at the far side (modulation). The fax machines on either end are sending and receiving tones and are not aware that a demodulation/modulation fax relay process is occurring. Summary: Fax pass-through is the simplest technique for sending fax over IP networks, but it is not the default, nor is it the most desirable method of supporting fax over IP. T.38 fax relay provides a more reliable and error-free method of sending faxes over an IP network

What is new in ShoreTel Contact Center Version 7?

ShoreTel Recently announced the availability of Version 7 of the Enterprise Contact Center. It is not secret that I am a big fan of this product, so I was anxious to see what the new version had to offer. The product has a number of new features and capabilities that are both feature specific and impact the infrastructure of the product. Anyone who has worked with the ShoreTel iPBX for any period of time will become instantly comfortable with the new ECC system administration interface. It is now a browser based portal, very similar to the interface used for the iPBX administration. In fact I would be willing to bet that the new ECC portal will become the standard for the ShoreTel product line and the iPBX Shoreware Director will take on some of the characteristics of the new ECC 7 administration portal. Another area in which the ECC has adopted the exiting iPBX paradigm is in the area of licensing. Early versions of the ECC required the installation of a hardware dongle on the server and each desktop that ran the Supervisor software. Dongles are a pain for everyone and beginning with Version 6, ShoreTel began to migrate away from this requirement by eliminating the dongle requirement for Supervisors. Previous versions of ECC required the installation of the USB Hasp on the server before installing the ECC application. No dongle, not ECC! With ECC 7, not only are the dongles not needed, you get the familiar 45 day grace period to run the ECC application and try all the features before you have to provide the license keys. The server key locks to the MAC of the server, in a fashion similar to the iPBX key. The ECC application also reads the BIOS serial number of the server for added software protection. Other infrastructure changes include the support for Windows 2008 R2 64 Bit Servers. The ECC will support Citrix and WTS clusters and most importantly, roaming profiles are now supported. The system will now allow for 100 concurrent Supervisors and 1000 concurrent Agents, though you may define 2000 agents in the database configuration. The application support 400 DNIS reports and historical data can now be kept for 24 months allowing for year over year trend analysis. An exciting new feature is the addition of Personal Queues. I am sure we have all had the experience of working with an “agent” on a particular customer service issue, maybe given a “home work “ assignment only to call back and have to start over with a new agent. The concept of a “Personal Queue” makes it possible for inbound callers to reach specific agents, if you desire that option. In this way, after completing the “home work” assignment, you can call back in and queue for the agent that originally handled your call in the first place. Agents can move high priority calls to their personal queue with a simple mouse click. Historically, if you wanted this option you had to configure a group and service for each agent that required a personal queue. With Version 7, this process has been streamlined with the creation go a new entity that defines how the caller should be handled while in the personal queue. A very powerful option and very useful in direct selling environments. The familiar graphical scripting tools has not changed and scripts are generated using the established procedure. The Diagnostic console has been upgraded and is more usable for trouble shooting at the System Administrator level. I am particularly excited about the creation of a Lab SKU, something I would like to see ShoreTel do with the entire product line. The Lab SKU makes it possible for you to purchase and run a small scale Contact Center along side your production environment. In this way you can create new scripts, strategies, call flows and of course, test new upgrades before putting them into your production environment!

FastVoip now offers Free Calls to 13 Countries including India

Yeah, India is now independent again. FastVoip announced their best ever deal to make India calls totally free along with other 12 countries where you can make free calls. Lets find out about the deal. FastVoip, a leading VOIP company from Europe has just announced their biggest ever promotion to date. If you thought betamax was the only VOIP Provider to offer free calls per month to various destinations for a flat fee per month, then fastvoip has proved you wrong. Betamax as you all know is a unreliable VOIP Provider which can go block your accounts without notice and freeze your balance. FastVoip has now emerged as a strong competitor after this latest announcement to offer free calls to over 13 countries including India Landine. You can make calls to following countries using FastVoip. Belgium Netherlands Canada (+mobile) Poland China Sweden France Thailand Germany United Kingdom India United States (+mobile) Italy Please note the only calls to landline phones are free except for USA and Canada where calls to mobile phones are free too. In order to use the Free Calls promotion, you need to make a minimum deposit of 5 Euro by Credit card or $7.50 by Ukash. You will need to recharge your account every month for this amount in order to keep the free call service active. There is one more solid opportunity for all of you to make some money from fastvoip. I will discuss it later this week. For now, Download FastVoip and start making those free calls.

Call India for 0 cents per minute

Surprised or shocked? Yes, its true. You can now make calls to India for 0 cents per minute and if you miss this offer, you will surely regret later. IndiaLD, one of the largest India focused VOIP Provider has launched a smashing offer that will make you drool. With IndiaLD Quarter Call Offer, you can call any Indian Mobile for only 25 cents per call. Don't get confused, its per call and not per minute. Each call will last for an hour i.e 60 minutes which makes the effective calling rate per minute as $0.004 (less than 1 cent). This is a perfect offer for anyone looking to call India and talk at length. Don't we all love talking back home for literally hours? Even for people who actually hang up within 1 minute, there will be no charge for that short call, yes it will be free. IndiaLD currently offering $5, $10, $20 & $30 call credits to be bought for this offer. The quarter call offer is only available till end of April 2011. However, IndiaLD is seriously considering to extend the offer further into the summer holidays. You can call from the USA, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Bahrain, India, HK, Ireland, Japan, NZ, Spain Norway, Netherlands and Singapore using IndiaLD Access numbers. To be honest, I find this offer "the best ever" till date. The calling rates are unmatched and unheard of. Don't think and procrastinate, Join the party till it lasts and Sign up now at IndiaLD

ShoreTel Collaboration Server a new Version 12 Appliance!

Version 12 of ShoreTel is all about Web Collaboration and enhanced Unified Communications functionality! For Example, ShoreTel has had an IM capability since Version 8, but historically you required a Microsoft OCS server to enjoy this feature. Not that Microsoft OCS is a bad solution, but it is really over kill for a functionality as simple as Internet Messaging! The ShoreTel Professional Communicator enabled the IM function as an integrated, single desktop client and many users wanted that functionality without having to grow the expense of a Microsoft OCS server. Enter the concept of a new ShoreTel Collaboration Server with all the bells and whistles disguised as an “appliance”! The New ShoreTel Collaboration Server, available with Version 12, provides a rich set of features that include Audio Conferencing, Internet Messaging, Desktop Sharing, Web Collaboration and Microsoft Outlook integration. Not only is the functionality of this product astonishing and easy for users to manage, but the ease with which it installs is near magical. As an “appliance” the ShoreTel conference server installs as simply as installing any ShoreGear Switch! Open Version 12 of Shoreware Director, it looks very familiar and is just as you would expect it to be from your earlier version experiences. You have to look very carefully to see the subtle but very powerful change that has been made. Prior to Version 12, you would find an administration navigation link to Switches and you would use this link to configure and deploy ShoreGear switches. This familiar link is gone and you will now find a new link entitled “Platform Hardware”. Selecting this link enables you to “add a new switch” and the usual list of ShoreGear switches appears in the drop down menu! Look a bit closer at the drop down list and you will see a new device or appliance: the ShoreTel Collaboration Server! The server installs, is managed, configured and upgraded like any Shoregear Switch. Ever wonder how business was conducted before email and cell phones? Desktop sharing, IM and web collaboration are rapidly becoming the minimum daily adult requirement for Unified Communications and is now a “must have” for business development in the Internet age. There is a steady stream of dollars migrating out of the Transportation segment and into Communication segment of your P&L as businesses look to cut cost, increase productivity and shorten sales cycles. Having these tools is no longer an option! I suspect that the best and the brightest young talent coming into the work force will not only expect these tools, but will evaluate the potential for a company’s success based on the availability of these capabilities. The ShoreTel Collaboration server It is a fully featured solution for anyone that is looking for a cost effective alternative to GoToMeeting and other WebEx like products. Check it out the DrVoIP “tech tip” video clip for a sneak peak at all of this!

What is new in ShoreTel Version 11/12?

Software development is a process, not an event. Having said that, from time to time, we have an event. The release of a new version of software is such an event. The software development process, however, continues. The decision as to where to draw the line to separate one release from another is a complex interaction of competing goals. The Marketing folks are trying to keep up with the competitive feature package from another vendor. The support team desperately needs a patch for a nasty unforeseen system configuration that introduces an undesirable result and the software team has an aggressive agenda of its own making. The list of new feature demands is unending. Driven in part by user requests, marketing objectives and the pressures of other vendor releases. If your product is built on Microsoft, clearly you are under pressure to stay compatible with any new releases they might make available to the market. In fact, as it relates to ShoreTel, many people were seeking Windows 7 support when what they really want is Microsoft Office 2010 support! Was it 64 bit desktop computers or 64 bit server software that the market demanded? Do we do the Apple IPhone? Is that web based Communicator really needed in this release or can it wait? Fixing the release of new features is one of the most challenging business decisions that companies have to make. Generally companies try for two DOT releases per year and one major new release every year. For ShoreTel, we generally expect a DOT one and a DOT two release. For example we might have a Version 10.1 in general availability (GA) while we are beta testing a major release like 11.0. We move to a GA release with the DOT and 11.0 becomes 11.1 available to all. Currently, as of this post, ShoreTel is in GA on Version 11.1 while beta testing Version 12.0. The GA Version of ShoreTel 11.1 has a host of exciting new features, but architecturally we are most interest in 64 bit server support; virtualization, Windows 7 Support, browser based Communicator and distributed Databases. Version 12 completes the Microsoft compatibility by supporting Outlook 2010. Distributed Workgroups was made available in Version 10, which enables the continued operation of Workgroups on a distributed voice mail server (DVM) even if the HQ server failed. This has some attractive options, but having an operating workgroup might be limited by an inability to have users log in or out of the workgroup. Version 11 enables distributed database capability. This means that in the absence of a HQ (e.g. read/write database) server, a user on a DVM could change their call handling mode; or a change in schedule from Off-Hours to On-Hours could be effected. You have to chose one over the other and I would encourage you to choose the distributed database. Best practice dictates that a Workgroup should be backed up by a Hunt Group that contains all the agents who make up the Workgroup. In this way a failure of the Workgroup, still provides a call flow that reaches all Agents. A distributed database, in my humble opinion, has higher impact. IN a multi-site deployment, you will want to change call handling modes even if the HQ server is down. This combined with a backup hunt group, gets the job done more effectively. The browser based Call Manger is yet another power new feature capability. Now all those MAC users have an option! I suspect that more and more call control will be built into browsers limiting our dependency on the various O/S issues. Who cares if we support Windows 9 as long as we have a browser option!

ShoreTel System Administration Version 12

We have not had an update to our System Administration video series since Version 8. System Administration had not significantly changed over the various new releases, so we did not feel the need to do an update. Our Version 8 stuff is still relevant and useful no matter what Version of ShoreTel you are on. We actually installed our first ShoreTel system on Version 3 Build 3.1.11100 back in the day when Shoreline only had Analog phones! You might be interested to know that first system is still installed and we have continue to upgrade it over the last nine years! We had to make a hardware change for the first time recently, but come on! 9 years on the same system! That is amazing. Talk about ROI! We have watched with old blue Shoreline become the new Orange ShoreTel while steadily improving the functionality, scale and architecture over the years! Somewhere around Version 4 we grew IP phones, but System Administration was relatively the same. When we moved from the old Microsoft Access Database in Version 7 to the MySQL database in Version 8, System administration was still basically the same, but we finally cranked out a tutorial revision. Now, as the solution matures development that was taking shape in Version 10 and 11, we figure it is about time to do a new System Administration Series, so we are starting to crank out Version 12! A note to DrVoIP fans and critics: occasionally I log in here and see comments that you have left. Unfortunately, I turned auto comments off because it just became another place for Viagra advertisements and other Spam. I do enjoy the interaction with those of you who find the blog useful, however, so please keep the comments coming. Just Don’t try to post them here as the spam filter now kills all blog comments. Pleasejust send them on to Peter@DrVoIP.com! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!

Fixed Wireless Convergence and Mobility Options for VoIP

We have been steadily moving through a range of mobility options on our way to achieving true fixed mobile convergence. We want to take our Office Extension away on our Cell phones and have the same functionality away from the office as we do in the office! Originally, people forwarded their office extensions to their Cell phones. Not the best solution, but clearly the easiest to set up. The problem however, is that the caller to your office extension might end up anywhere including your cell phone voice mail. So much for a maintaining a business presence! ShoreTel addressed that issue, but adding a couple of useful features. For example, you can use External Assignment. Someone calls your desk phone and you can have it re-assigned to your home phone or cell phone. The benefit over call forwarding alone, is that the call profiles you set up for each of your call handling modes are followed as if the caller were going to your desk phone. Find Me Follow Me with the auto option was also very useful for that reason. When your desk phone was called, it could be routed to your cell phone. You had to explicitly accept the call or the system would take the call back and put it in your personal Voice Mail box. This is clearly superior to just forwarding the call off to your cell phone, risking the possibility of having the caller end up in a personal cell phone voice mailbox. Twining (see other blog video) is also a favorite strategy for extending your office phone to your cell. Why not ring both devices when your desk phone is called? In this way you could answer on either device and you could also seamlessly move the call between the devices. For example if I am on my desk phone and need to jump into my car and race off to the next appointment, but do not want to terminate my current call, I can simply hit the move button and the call now appears on my cell. Likewise, if I took the call on my cell phone, I can now *23 and send it to my desk phone enabling me to move seamlessly from my car to my desk. The Mobile Call Manager is another exciting option for extending your desk phone to your cell. Using the ShoreTel Mobile Call Manager, we get a GUI on our phone that allows us to setup our call handling, review voice messages and otherwise experience most of what we see in the desktop Communicator. I can externally assign my desk phone to my Mobile Call Manager and setup phone calls that originate at the office. All of these are useful tools, but none come close to true fixed mobile convergence. I want my cell phone to be smart enough to enable me to take and make office phone calls regardless of where I am on the planet. I also want the phone to work on any available WiFi connection and to seamlessly move between G3 and WiFi without dumping the call in progress. You walk into Starbucks and your cell phone is smart enough to jump on the WiFi and establish a secure connection back to the office and register with the office mobility server. Any call coming into your office desk phone will now ring your cell phone as a SIP extension! With a true mobility router, a call to my desk phone will ring both my office extension and my mobile extension. I can answer the call on either extension and have full feature access. While out on the WiFi I can still access my office directory, history, voice mail and manipulate active calls to allow conference and transfer functionality. If my WiFi drops my G3 connection can pick up and continue as my office SIP extension. Calls to my Cell phone are personal business and calls to my office desk are for business. I want each of these callers to receive appropriate call handling. If I make a call to a personal contact, I want my CID to be different then my CID to a business contact. The phone should be smart enough to route business calls to the company VM and personal calls to my personal VM. All of this is possible with a true Mobility router. All that is required is a PBX that supports both SIP trunks and SIP extensions. Most if not all of the IP based PBX solutions in the market support this capability and the ShoreTel Mobility Router and ShoreTel Roam Anywhere Client make true fixed mobile convergence a reality!

FreedomIQ Review of the Cisco WIP310 Wireless-G

Businesses are ready. They want VoIP. They see the cost savings and exciting features. They understand the technology lets them “Go Green” and encourages telecommuting. But in order to get the most out of the technology, they need information. They need to be able to access resources that let them pick the correct VoIP solution and tools for their business. That’s where the FreedomIQ Review comes in – and About VoIP of course. The first FreedomIQ Review by FreedomVOICE focuses on the Cisco WIP310 Wireless-G IP Phone. As a dynamic and powerful device, the introduction of the Cisco WIP310 marks a new level of maturity in wireless VoIP. The WIP310 works within 300 feet of an Internet connection, provides impressive browsing capabilities, and allows for 3 hours talk time and 40 hours standby between charging. Due to an overwhelming amount of requests for a Wi-Fi phone, FreedomVOICE kept a close relationship with Linksys Cisco for over 9 months in anticipation of the WIP310 release. During that time, FreedomVOICE tested almost every option on the market, however, the Cisco WIP310 proved to be the superior device. The FreedomIQ Hosted VoIP PBX by FreedomVOICE is the first VoIP service provider to offer the WIP310. The Cisco WIP310 Wireless-G has been an exciting addition to the FreedomIQ hosted VoIP service. The product has created a tremendous buzz in the business community, and has even become a driving force behind some business owner’s decision to adopt the FreedomIQ service. Watch Episode 1 of the FreedomIQ Review where FreedomVOICE Tier 2 Engineer, Cory Dzbinski, highlights the most important features to consider when determining whether a product is correct for your business.

Stupid phone trick #7 – How to make iPhone calls from my ShoreTel handset!

Yeah, I am sure you were just dying to know how to call your iPhone and have your ShoreTel phone ring? Better yet, pick up your ShoreTel handset and make a call out your iPhone? Actually, it is a useful integration and one that I recently had the opportunity to implement. Many carriers have plans in which you can call any of your “family members” without racking up minutes. This is useful when calling from cell phone to cell phone, but how useful is it for the office? If you have a field sales force running around the market with cell phones, and you as manager need to call them frequently, you might not always be on your cell phone! This means that each time you call them, using your office phone system, you are paying full fare for the call whatever that might be. It is very possible to Integrate your cell phone with your ShoreTel phone system in a way that enables you to enjoy the benefits of both systems. You can link your iPhone to ShoreTel such that when someone calls your cell phone, your ShoreTel desktop phone will ring. Answering the ShoreTel handset, cuts you through to your cellular caller. (Yes, your ShoreTel Communicator does a screen pop with the Caller ID of the Cellular caller). Likewise you can you can initiate a call on your ShoreTel handset and direct it out your cellular network. There have been a number of solutions in the market for putting cellular gateways on your PBX. Generally they have the advantage of making the cellular access available to everyone on the phone system. They also have the disadvantage of being fairly pricy! The solution we implemented can be described as a black box that uses blue tooth technology to couple your office handset to your favorite cell phone. Drop me line and I will send you the solution and you to can do stupid phone tricks!

ShorTel Tech Tip – Bulk Sound File Converter for WAV to ShoreTel format

We have previously posted a blog on the creation of ShoreTel WAV files using the Call Manager the desired result. This is clearly a readily available tool and can reliably be used for small Automated Attendant greetings and to meet other WAV file requirements. Generally in our standard deployments, we use an outside professional voice production studio to give our clients that extra level of attention that defines a quality Automated Attendant Greeting. It seems however, that no matter how many times we specify the WAV file format we expect returned, there is an issue. This requires us to reformat each WAV file and that all takes time. Given that the clients usually wait until the absolute last minute to provide the script for their Automated Attendants, this extra step takes time the project really cant spare! We have also noted that, even when we are assured that we have a WAV file formatted with the correct parameters, we have audio playback issues. Our outside studio uses Mac based applications and they swear they output to the correct format, but we still have playback issues! In an ECC deployment you might have 100 different recordings that define your call flow, agent busy messages and Interactive Voice Response applications. What is the best practice in converting these files to the proper ShoreTel WAV format? Regardless of how the WAV was produced or how certain we are that it is in the correct format, we reformat the files anyway. Loading a WAV file, only to find that it is defective when you are testing your Call Flow is a waste of time. Using some SOX a Linux utility ported for Windows, we were able to create utility to convert WAV files in bulk. You can download SOX from the following site, or send us an email and I will forward you a link to download a ZIP file containing a complete batch utility. The zip file will create a new folder with three files inside including the SOX application and the Batch instructions. Running this application is very easy. Just drag your WAV files to the file named batch-convert-shoretel. This will cause the Batch utility to initialize and run. The output of the newly formatted files will be located in a new folder aptly named ShoreTel-Ready. Send me an email and I will send you a link to the Utility. For immediate download head over to our Free Membership page where you can download this file for Free immediately.

First Look at ShoreTel Mobility Router

The ShoreTel Mobility Routers (aka SMR) is an exciting product that can make fixed/mobile convergence a reality! It builds heavily on inherent SIP functionality in call setup, call flow and Session Description Protocol. It acts as both a SIP client and as a SIP proxy server (e.g. B2BUA). If you are comfortable with SIP protocol, the SMR is a relatively simple device to understand. The products primary contribution to the state of the art is the ShoreTel Roam Anywhere Client (aka SRAC) and the fact that it is available now; it works and there are plenty of reference accounts. The product demands a pervasive, voice enabled wireless network with a best practice recommendation of controller based access points. In my opiniion the product is optimized for Campus environments in which the same QOS requirements that you would expect for WAN connectivity are strictly adhered to. The Wireless environment requirements are for advanced network and power management strategies. The product is oriented toward a CISCO like Wireless networks “best practice” deployment. Clearly, you can make VoIP calls from StarBucks but you will not have the QOS that you would have on an enterprise Wireless Network. The product can be integrated with most any PBX that supports SIP integraton including Microsoft Linx. When implemented as part of a ShoreTel deployment there are license requirements for both the SMR and the ShoreTel iPBX. For example, the SMR interconnects to the ShoreTel with both SIP extensions (Wifi connections) and Sip Trunks (Cellular connections). The number of paths, as you would assume, is calculated based on simultaneous conversation estimates. You are required to have two different ShoreTel PBX extensions if you are Mobility user. (My guess is the ShoreTel “twinning feature “was developed in part, primarily to support the SMR). It is not clear if the required SIP trunk, SIP extension and ShoreTel User licenses are bundled in the SMR acquisition cost but they are required. There are also extra SMR licenses required for presence and secure voice. The best working model you might use for discussion purposes, is to envision a “tie-line” configuration between two pbx systems. In this case the SMR acts as a tie line between the iPBX and the Cellular network. You do a 10 – 4 Digit translation on the Cellular side of the tie line to reach ShoreTel extensions; and you do a 4 – 10 Digit translation on the PBX side of the tie line to reach Mobile phones. The SMR acts as a registration point and based on the SRAC calculations of WAP signal strength and active call can be handed off to the cellular network. An incoming call to a ShoreTel users deskphone, also rings the associated SIP extension via the SMR. The Wireless SIP extension is the ShoreTel Roam Anywhere Client running on your faviorite smart phone. The SRAC is smart enought to register with the SMR either wirelessly or over the Cellular network depending on signal strenght. A call from the SIP extension displays the CID of the ShoreTel deskphone. The product is fully formed and is an exciting addition to the ShoreTel product family. Another Brilliantly Simple Solution!

VoIP-Pal Terminates Big Apple Agreement, Hints About New Product

VoIP-PAL.com, a telecommunications products, announced the termination of an agreement between it and Big Apple Consulting USA. “We have had many inquiries asking us if we have an investor relations firm working with us,” said Richard Kipping, chief executive officer of VoIP-PAL.com. “So to clarify, we thought we should announce that VoIP-PAL.com, Inc. suspended its agreement with BigApple Consulting USA on October 17, 2007 for a three-month period pending clarification on certain matters relating to the agreement. After an internal review we decided to terminate the agreement.” VoIP-PAL and WorldTel Xchange Inc. announced an alliance in April. The two companies will be jointly marketing an “exciting new product” through VoIP-PAL’s Niche Sales Channel, according to a news release. Steve Lipman, pesident of WorldTel Xchange, Inc., said, “The combination of VoIP-PAL’s relationship with the Airline Points Program and WorldTel’s new ‘1ButtontoWiFi’ patented cellular/VoIP 1-touch technology will have a tremendous impact with consumers that have accumulated thousands of unused miles.” The new product aims to capture the “untapped market of 3.2 billion cell phones worldwide,” and is purported to turn any cell phone, PDA or Smartphone—including the iPhone—into a WiFi phone. VoIP-PAL.com offers local and long distance voice over IP phone services for both retail and business customers, as well as turnkey solutions through its Partners for the Loyalty Transactional platform, according to officials.

Cypress Claims Hosted VoIP Enhances Business

Entrust your communications to someone offsite eliminates the need for expensive solutions to combat disaster situations. Hosted VoIP solutions can provide an added dimension of flexibility in times of disaster. It’s scalable; resilient; and can handle a “wide range of applications.” Cypress Communications has aimed its new product at the hosted VoIP solutions market. The complete end-to-end hosted VoIP and unified communications solution, called C4 IP, earns its name from its design to “help organizations connect, communicate, collaborate and continue even during a disaster or catastrophe.” Cypress Communications is the operator of a national private network designed for VoIP. It claims that its network has been “engineered for 99.999 percent availability and local site survivability with no single point of failure” due to its design to automatically track down any problems before they can cause service interruptions and repair them, with redundancy built in for “ensure maximum availability of voice communications.” Cypress distributes its hosted VoIP over carrier-grade Nortel CS2000 switching and Nortel MCS5200 multimedia. The CS2000, a central-office-grade switching platform with mirrored hardware components, is located in Dallas. Both halves operate with separate power supplies to reduce interruptions in the event of power failure or any failure of hardware or software.  The MCS5200 handles C4 IP’s multimedia components. Collaboration, soft phone functionality, presence, chat, video calling and Web conferencing all fall under its domain, headquartered in Atlanta, and it also provides a backup to the backup for the CS2000. Resiliency is created by located the C4 IP platforms in hardened carrier-grade collection centers with dual power feeds, overlapping generators and uninterrupted power supplies. These measures ensure that C4 IP customers won’t be without communications during a disaster. Scalability comes from an architecture able to handle up to 180,000 lines, 200,000 trunk channels and 2 million busy hour call attempts. Additional disaster recovery components include redundant voicemail servers with failover capacity, and a feature that allows users to copy voicemail over to email. C4 IP is fully compatible with Microsoft Outlook and offers features including “click-to-call,” instant messaging, unified inbox and other unified communications applications, video/audio/Web conferencing, find me/follow me, virtual number and related remote/mobile features.

Implementing Active Directory Integration with ShoreTel 11

Historically I have recommended that the ShoreTel server not be a computer in your domain. To many times, an Active Directory administrator will create a new Group Policy and forget about the ShoreTel user account. The end result is a down ShoreTel server and a call to TAC support! I still feel strongly about this, but you can still integrate Active Directory authentication for your ShoreTel users. Generally, ShoreTel users do not actually log in and log out of their Call Managers, or their Communicators as ShoreTel has renamed them in Version 11. Most implementations have the ShoreTel desktop application launched automatically when the user starts up their desktop computers. Most users do not even know that they are in fact logging into ShoreTel. Active Directory administrators however, most certainly know that a login has occurred. With ShoreTel 11 Active Directory integration has matured and the reasons for implementing active directory user authentication are increasingly more obvious. For example, now that ShoreTel has a complete Call Manager application running within your favorite internet browser, users will become aware that they are logging in as they will need to provide credentials each time they access the web application (see previous video this subject). ShoreTel Active Directory integration is relatively straight forward, stress-free integration. Once implemented, ShoreTel system administrators have the opportunity to determine which users will require AD authentication as it is possible, using this integration that they can remain authenticated by the ShoreTel directory system. The Version 11 web based Call Manager, for example, provides two links: one for the ShoreTel authentication and one for AD authentication. It is important that you first create a user in ShoreTel that has both ShoreTel administration privileges and an AD user account in your domain. You will also need to have the LDAP directory URL for your domain. For those of us that are not Microsoft wizards, you might need some help locating the LDAP directory URL. We were able to locate a tool from Softerra that can be of great help in searching your AD for user information. You can locate this very useful tool at http://www.softerra.com/portfolio_ldap-browser.htm and you can download a free versions. Once in ShoreTel Director you will navigate to System Parameters and to the Option page. Check the enable box and enter your AD LDAP URL and your are done. The next time you login to ShoreTel you will use your Active Directory credentials. You will notice that the Shoreware Directory login screen has changed, and each of your user accounts has a new field for Active Directory login credentials that can be synchronized with your domain based LDAP directory. The video clip shows you how this process is executed. As always we welcome your feedback!

Virtualize your ShoreTel Contact Center or ECC on ESXi?

Running the ECC on a virtual server is “not a supported configuration”, but will it work? Often we encounter installed base solutions that are pushing the support envelop with market driven customer requirements. Windows 7 may not be a supported desktop OS for a ShoreTel Communicator, but try telling an end user client that is it “not a supported configuration” after they just did an enterprise wide PC refresh. We quickly learn the difference between “not supported” and “does not work”, and find a way to get Communicator running under Windows 7. Similarly, we are beginning to see more Virtualization requirements surface in the installed base as well as written as requirements in new deployments. Prior to Version 11, virtualization was “not a supported configuration” for a ShoreTel HQ or DVM server. Now, not only are we being asked to virtualize ShoreTel, we are being asked to consider running a ShoreTel ECC in a virtual environment. We already know it is “not a supported configuration”, but will it work? We determined to find out for ourselves if this solution could be configured and we created a an environment in which we could configure, test and experience a Virtualized ShoreTel Contact Center. There are any number of issues you need to resolve when considering a Virtual Server environment. Is this going to be a customer premise based implementation or are we moving all of these servers to the “cloud”. How many servers will we need to host on our Virtual Machine? RAM? Network Interfaces? Storage requirements? These are all on the list of questions that should be answered before attempting a Virtual server implementation. In the case of the ShoreTel ECC, we also had one other (excuse the pun) key issue to worry about. Each ShoreTel ECC has a “dongle” or USB lock that must be installed on the server prior to deploying the ECC application. We had already learned how to bring up a ShoreTel HQ server and a ShoreTel DVM server in a virtual environment, but to bring up a ShoreTel ECC we had to solve the “dongle” issue. Fortunately after considerable research, trial and error, we were able to configure a USB driver for our Virtual server that enabled the installation of the ShoreTel ECC application! In our test configuration we built out a host platform using vSphere ESXi running on an HP DL360 with 2 Intel; Quad Processors and 32G of RAM with a Network Attached Storage. The ShoreTel HQ and DVM servers came up with little or no problem. They need to be configured before ShoreTel software load of Version 12.0 with a hardware configuration that meets ShoreTel minimum server specifications. In fact, it is hard to show it to you as you would not be able to see any difference between a Virtual ShoreTel and a ShoreTel server running directly on a hardware platform. T he ECC had some real challenges and we are still uncovering characteristics of the deployment that need special handling like the USB driver as previously mentioned. The results are very promising and we can only find one issue that we can not resolve. The application runs flawlessly however, and we are encouraged by what we have experienced with the deployment.

Have you set your Holiday Phone Message Schedule yet?

It was the night before Christmas and all through the house not a create was stirring, except the technical support team! It does not matter what holiday it is, the result is always the same. At 4:45PM the day before the Holiday our Call Center breaks new records for inbound calls from the client base. The question is always the same: “we are closing for a ½ day and how do we set the Holiday Greeting”. Ugh! Not like we did not have any warning about this holiday! Christmas seems to fall on the same date every year! Still it happens, a last minute rush to get the schedules modified and the recordings made! ShoreTel does a great job of allowing you to plan your entire Holiday greeting schedule well in advance! You can create a “2011 Holidays” list and in one short session set up your schedule for the entire year. The only task level event that needs to be undertaken at the appointed time, is to record the actual greeting callers will hear on that scheduled day. For this reason, I recommend a “Generic” holiday greeting. I don’t want to sound like a Grinch here, but I have all but given up on Custom Holiday Greetings! The old generic “ You have reached our Office during a time in which we are closed for the Holiday” is very workable. If you cant use the generic greeting, even though your schedules are already programmed for a year in advance, you will need change out the recoding for each Holiday! Remember, if you are closing early on any day, you need to create a “CUSTOM” schedule list like “2011 Half-days”! In the Shoreware Director under the Automated Attendant, Workgroup, Hunt group or Route Point assign the Schedule with the CUSTOM button down. Likewise, assign the Holiday Schedule with the Holiday button down. Remember, the company might be closed and the AA might play the Holiday message, but how about those Workgroups? Are they on the same schedule or does that group work different hours during the holiday? Whatever you do, do it now!

How to Pick the Right Hosted VoIP Provider

Well, we’ve been busy over here at FreedomVOICE. This week we launched a new blog, which we hope will give customers a better connection with the business. We are putting the final touches on a new website for our FreedomVOICE Virtual Office product, and we’re in the final stages of completing two programs for our agents – both of which will give them better means to market our products. While all this is going on, the VoIP industry is continuing to make strides forward, especially in the form of hosted VoIP technology. The technology is being further refined every day, and this is really getting people excited. With a barrage of fly-by-night VoIP service providers popping up daily, business owners are having an increasingly difficult time sifting through the mess to find a legit service. With this in mind, I’ve decided to create a quick and easy checklist so when it comes time for you to choose the right hosted VoIP provider you know what to look for. 1. Make Sure Voice Quality, Is “Business Voice Quality.” Many companies out there, ourselves included, have put serious time and money into developing and refining call-handling architecture in-house to cut out jitter, echoes, and the other disruptions. Today, a hosted VoIP provider can easily deliver the same type of call quality as a premise based system or the public telephone network. Before committing to a hosted service, make sure you confirm that the call quality is up to your standard. The best ways to do this are to take a test call using their service or to ask a current customer about their experience with the product. 2. Double Check the Feature Offering One of hosted VoIP’s big draws is the range of features offered. Here are some features that should come standard with your system: 3-Way Calling Call Transfer Hold Music Do Not Disturb Speed Dial Speakerphone Off-Hook Call Placement Call Mute Distinctive Rings 3. What Additional Perks are Offered By the Service? Many hosted VoIP services have additional perks. These usually come in the form of added features and services, which, depending on the service, can come at no extra cost to you. Here are some perks to keep an eye out for. Unified Voice & Fax Messaging: Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a single phone number for both voice and fax. How about if you could send all voicemails and fax messages as email attachments to the addresses of your choice and access everything through email or an online control panel? There are services out there that provide these unified communications capabilities at no extra charge. Outlook Integration: Make sure your hosted VoIP service integrates with Outlook. This will save you time and you’ll love the easy to use click to dial feature. Recorded Calls: Can your hosted service record some or all of the calls you receive? With this feature you can cut down on taking notes, improve quality control, and review disputes.. Advanced ACD & Call Queue: Advanced automatic call distribution allows you to choose how your calls are forwarded, including round-robin, simultaneous, least-time, and skills-based distributions, while advanced call queue lets you better control calls during peak hours. Some services offer these capabilities, allowing you to better manage call volume and get calls in the appropriate peoples’ hands. Internet Control Panel: Hosted VoIP phone service runs over the internet, so why wouldn’t you have the benefit of an Internet control panel to manage things like call routing features, voice and fax messages, call reports, account information, and more. Make sure your hosted provider gives you this level of access, you and your employees will enjoy being able to easily manage voicemail and change personal settings online. Visual Call Reports: These reports allow you to clearly see everything taking place on your business phone system at anytime. With this feature you’ll be able to generate, filter, and export detailed call reports online with easy-to-read spreadsheets and graphs. You’ll also be able to view a display of which employees are logged into their phones and be able to listen in on live calls. A select group of providers offer these features, make sure it’s part of your service. Voicemail Transcription: This technology is coming onto the scene fast! Imagine being able to convert your voicemail messages to text and deliver them to your email or mobile phone. This is a great feature, but not every provider offers it, make sure to ask! 4. Is the Service Compatible with the Right Phone? There are a variety of phones that work with hosted VoIP service, some are obviously better than others. We’ve always found Polycom to be a top notch VoIP phone. Make sure that the phone you want to use works with the service you are interested in purchasing. 5. How is their Customer Service? When you’re using a hosted provider customer service is key. Remember, you’re not going to have someone onsite to help you troubleshoot issues, so you’re going to want to have access to a qualified representative over the phone. Make sure your hosted VoIP provider prides themselves on customer service, because if something does go wrong, you want to make sure there is someone available to get you back on track. 6. Finally, How Much Does it Cost? You can’t shop a hosted VoIP provider on just price alone, the saying that, “you get what you pay for” definitely applies here. At the same time, you need something that fits within your budget. Make sure you pick a product that is not too cheap, and at the same time does not seem overly expensive after you have evaluated the complete product offering. The good news is that you will undoubtedly be saving money once you switch to VoIP. Remember, a professional phone system tells customers they are dealing with a professional business. You’re going to want a hosted VoIP service that makes your company shine. When picking a hosted provider, make sure the provider fits your company. about the author: as a marketing communications manager at freedomvoice, john e lincoln is responsible for educating consumers about the tremendous benefits that the freedomiq® hosted voip pbx has to offer. this includes cost savings, productivity increasing features, unique support for remote workers, quality customer service, and more. find out more about freedomvoice and the freedomiq hosted voip pbx at http://www.freedomiq.com. john e lincoln can be reached via email at john.lincoln@freedomvoice.com or by phone at 800-477-1477 ex 831.

VoIP Supply Named to Fast Track 50

For the third consecutive year, VoIP Supply earned a place in the Fast Track 50, a list of the 50 fastest growing companies in Western New York. Buffalo’s Business First newspaper bestowed the honor based on VoIP Supply’s growth in two areas: Total sales and number of U.S. employees. “The success of VoIP Supply has paralleled on the dedication, talent, and hard work of our tremendous staff. I cannot thank them enough, and this award belongs to each of them as well,” said Benjamin P. Sayers, president and CEO of VoIP Supply. Sayers was recently elected to the infoTech Niagara board, a trade association for western New York’s information technology industry. Sayers received the award June 17 in Buffalo. Sayers joins the board’s 20-member panel, which features influential names in New York’s technology industry, including those from the recruitment, academic, health, and other various industries. “It is a great honor to be named to such a forward-thinking group as InfoTech Niagara. They have great plans not only for professional and economic development, but for community outreach to students and the less fortunate as well,” Sayers said.

Monema Introduces TamTam PBX

Monema Communications, a Spanish startup, hit the VoIP market with its new TamTam PBX. TamTam is a “very visual” PBX that’s fully managed online, according to Antonio Cerrolaza from Monema. Cerrolaza compares TamTam to Yahoo! Pipes, and describes TamTam as being “user-oriented,” with its main features being usability and flexibility. “TamTam counts with a small number of easy to understand components that permit a small company to take total control of its phone system,” he says. Monema has also launched two programs available to companies who can resell the service. Currently, the service can provide incoming numbers in 30 companies worldwide after its recent global launch. TamTam claims to offer dramatically reduced maintenance and calling costs to its users, as well as features associated with “high-end PBX systems.” TamTam requires no hardware, and has an easy installation process. With the help of an online tutorial, the system’s features can be configured quickly and easily. The customization allows users to match their phone system to the structure of their company, according to Monema’s web site. Options include “flexibility in managing incoming and outgoing calls: voice menus based on your own locutions, route calls according to time schedules, country, region or caller number.” TamTam can be incorporated into a company’s entire business system, allowing links to a customer resource management system for call statistics, or add orders to an ERP.