Is business expansion the time to look at SIP for your business?

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Running a small business is always full of challenges, but one of those challenges is recognizing when it’s time to upgrade certain aspects of the organization.

For example, as a business grows and begins to expand they may need to consider purchasing or leasing an additional warehouse to accommodate growing demand for items that are kept in inventory.

For service oriented businesses such as consulting firms or law offices, they may find themselves in need of adding on an additional partner and have to expand their office space, or add a new remote office location.

When expansion comes calling, so does the opportunity to reassess a company’s infrastructure from smaller items such as office furniture, rent agreements to doing an overhaul on their phone systems.

Ten years ago, revamping a phone system meant purchasing new handsets for everyone, but today it means a whole new world of options.

In today’s world of telephony, companies can look beyond the traditional phone services that rely on analog land lines, and instead, they can turn to providers which offer phone service, not through traditional means but through the internet.

Even five years ago, using the internet for phone service was synonymous with Skype, or Vonage – which were mainly used for residential services. However, as technology progressed, more businesses began investing in SIP technologies which is a set of IP protocols making it possible to have a more secure connection devoted to voice over IP giving off better voice quality for calls made through the internet.

One of the reasons more and more businesses have started to revamp their infrastructure by doing a phone system overhaul is the flexibility SIP offers – which makes businesses more capable of dealing with expansion needs.

For example, should a business need to open a new warehouse in Arizona when their main offices and main warehouse is on the East coast in Maryland, the company can request phone numbers which match the same area code as the Maryland locations. This is possible because phones numbers through SIP are assigned to IP addresses – not a physical geographical location.

Regular analog phone companies cannot do these virtual numbers (making a phone number appear as if it is somewhere else), because they operate through physical landlines.

Businesses which are growing also tend to migrate to SIP due to their ability to accommodate additional employees or locations. SIP trunks operate on the basis of a per call path scenario, meaning you can have an office of 35 people with 35 phones, but don’t need 35 call paths. Instead you would purchase a SIP trunking plan that accommodates the appropriate bandwidth required for the maximum number of expected users using the phones at the same time.

If you’re not sure exactly what number that would be – a general rule of thumb is 25 to 30% – so in this case anywhere between 9 and 13 would probably suffice.

To expand these call paths, a good SIP provider can get it configured and up and running in less than a day, while getting new phone service through a traditional provider could take much longer – perhaps weeks or months to set up.

Very small businesses, may choose to use SIP but do not have the means or capabilities to handle all the maintenance and headaches that come with operating their onsite PBX. Therefore, for those who fall in this category, they can still use SIP, but would choose an online hosted option such as EtherSpeak’s hosted PBX service. With this service the PBX is hosted by the service provider and they take care of the maintenance.

If a business is expanding operations, and looking to consolidate costs and generate more efficiency within their operational structure, it might be a good time to start considering SIP as an option for business phone service. Providers should offer more than one type of plan, from selling single trunks for businesses with small call volume needs, to bundled minute packages for larger needs, or burstable plans for those with seasonal spikes in business.

The advantages to SIP are much more than mentioned here, and apply not only to small businesses but just about any business size including global enterprises. To learn more about SIP, contact a SIP Provider, and see how they can help your small business deal with expansion growths.

If you’d like a free quote, contact EtherSpeak online or by calling (866) 384-3747.

By Liz Krause
EtherSpeak, Inc.
SIP Trunk Service Provider

What is Unified Communications and Who Needs it Anyway?

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Donald Trump in his book, The Midas Touch, talks about the time when he was making plans to build Trump Towers.   When he was planning the design, he told his father he was going to use glass for the building.  His father’s response was to ask what was wrong with using brick.  After all that is what he had always used and it worked fine.   Obviously, Trump didn’t take his father’s advice and instead decided to move forward with his new ambitious plan.

The attitude of, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is one that is found in everything from refusing to mix up a traditional family recipe (such as using butter rather than lard for Great-Grandma’s famous apple pie), all the way to businesses upgrading from analog lines to using the internet for their phone systems.

Granted, although eating lard based food products raises cholesterol and is all around unhealthy, it’s not a daily occurrence that slows down your daily schedule and to-do’s.  Refusing to make upgrades to a growing company’s telecommunication infrastructure however does.

Here are some features that often come with Unified Communication systems that help enhance a company’s productivity and efficiency.

Video Conferencing

Many Unified Communication systems such as ShoreTel, Microsoft Lync, and Cisco all use video as part of their platform offerings.   Video conferencing allows users from any location to hold meetings and discussions through the use of live video broadcasting.   Each platform vendor might have different methods of using video, but the concept is the same – video conferencing allows you to deal directly with fellow employees face to face when in different locations.

Presence

This feature, as would be the case with any other feature, is only good if used properly.   In case you’re unclear as to what Presence is, it is the ability to see the working status of each employee.

Everyone has a “control panel”, for a lack of better word, that displays each employee’s/users’ name in a list.  The user can then pick a status setting to represent their working status.   If they are at lunch they can click Lunch (or similar wording).   In the Zultys platform, it would look like this when selecting a status:

You can also type a note in the message field to indicate that you are in the office – although you can put anything in such as, “On Conference Call with XYZ Company”.   This gives everyone an idea of if and when you are available – especially useful for receptionists who need to know if you are available to take calls or not.    Here is how it looks in Lync:

Instant Messaging

Instant Messaging has been around for a long time now, but to incorporate with your phone system is a truly useful tool for business.  For example, suppose you work in a large office and you need to ask a simple question to a colleague, such as, “Did you submit the paperwork to Accounting yet?”   Sure you can call them, but it’s quicker to just type it up and move on with your task until they reply.   Complete multi-tasking at your fingertips!

BYOD & Mobility

There’s been a lot of talk about BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) – which is referring to the growth of employees using other non-proprietary devices for the phone system in place – whether mobile phones or desk phones.  For example, if you use Zultys, you can purchase their sip phone, but you can also use other phones such as Polycom or Aastra.

One of the benefits of Unified Communication systems is the ability to forward an employee’s office phone to their mobile phone.   It can also be called “binding”, which is technically different than forwarding/roll over because when the phone rings for the first time it also rings to their cell phone (or whatever number they choose).  Instead of ringing X amount of times on the office phone then rolling over to the mobile phone, the cell rings instantaneously along with the office phone.

Connectivity – IP or No?

Although not a “new” concept per se, Unified Communications based on an IP phone connection such as SIP trunking is still a relatively new technology which is gaining traction.  By having a phone system based on SIP, a company is able to take advantage of more features such as virtual numbering which means a business can employ more remote workers but keep the same area code for each phone number maintaining continuity to the company as a whole.

Using Unified Communications makes discovering resolutions to problems occur quicker, it causes decisions to be made faster when requiring input from others, and makes working mobile less cumbersome and inefficient.

It’s important to consider that although a system may not be broke, why not look to improve it – before it does break?

For questions about your sip trunking needs or would like to ask us what Unified Communication systems EtherSpeak connects with, give us a call and speak with one of our representatives at (866) 384-3747 or contact us online.

The Beauty of Native Connectivity for SIP

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If you’re looking at SIP as an alternative to your existing telecom solution (analog, PRIs, etc.), then you are probably already aware (or soon will become aware)of the costs involved for getting it up and running.

This article will not address all the components of what goes into a transition to SIP, but rather will talk about the native aspect of SIP trunking.  Is it the right solution for your business or not?  Hopefully, this brief article will address that issue.

What Does Native Really Mean?

Native connectivity means the connection between the incoming trunk and the onsite PBX is direct.  I’ve attached a diagram our VP of Sales, Bill Alessi artistically drew for us to illustrate.

In the diagram we have an office building with employees talking on their phone.  The area highlighted in Red is the office building and in the middle is the PBX switch.

You can see we have the EtherSpeak SIP trunk going from the EtherSpeak SBC directly to the office, then the firewall and then the switch.

Not all phone systems are able to connect direct (natively) with the incoming trunks and often require a gateway such as an Edgemark or Adtran.   However, for those that don’t require the extra gateway equipment such as ShoreTel or Microsoft Lync systems, the trunks just connect right to the PBX.

Reduced Hardware Costs

One of the big pluses behind native connectivity is that the end user/customer is alleviated of the cost burden of the hardware required.  Costs for hardware can run easily $4,000.00 per location and that’s no small change for companies dealing with multiple sites.  By going native, you can avoid this expense.  The main expense a user will be faced with is the cost of the user license fee.  This can vary from system to system, and a user may already have purchased the license fees, making this a moot point.

Ease of Setup

Another advantage regarding native SIP trunking is the ease of setup required.    Since EtherSpeak works with various phone systems, we are familiar with both native and non-native connections.  When you remove the gateway component the setup process is simplified quite a bit -simplified so much that a standard setup can take as little as 30 minutes. That’s a huge difference from other configurations, especially non-SIP solutions such as PRIs which can take months to get up and running with major carriers.  Not so with EtherSpeak.

SIP trunking has many advantages in and of itself, from virtual numbering to least call routing to flexibility (mobile, roll over, etc.).  Adding in the ability to natively connect trunks to the installed phone system is just one of many (but no less important!) reasons why more and more businesses keep moving over SIP.

To request a free quote regarding our SIP Trunks for your environment please contact us online or give us a call at (866) 384-3747 and we’ll be glad to provide a free quote and 7 day trial.

3 Problems Solved by EtherSpeak for ShoreTel PRI Users Migrating to SIP

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If you heard of a way your customers could save money and gain more features, would you tell them?   Of course you would!  That’s why we’ve got to talk some more about our ADTRAN solution for ShoreTel Partners and users.

Last year EtherSpeak worked with network communications equipment provider ADTRAN and Unified Communications Provider ShoreTel to provide a solution which allowed users of the ShoreTel system to start migrating over to SIP trunks without having to purchase additional ShoreTel licenses. 

In this article, we will go over the benefits of the solution through the perspective of a fictitious company called Acme.  Let’s assume Acme has been around for years and are a loyal ShoreTel customer.

Acme has been using PRIs to accommodate 40 phone lines for their 40 employees.  Keep in mind, a single PRI has 23 channels and each PRI runs X dollars per month.  To provide service for the 40 handsets, two PRIs are needed leaving 6 unused channels which Acme is paying for in their monthly bill.

Acme, either through the recommendation of their ShoreTel Technology Consultant or some other means, decides to look into going with SIP and no longer rely on those copper lines for service, but to modernize and go with IP as the means of voice transport.  Since they don’t have a lot of data usage they don’t need to keep a dedicated PRI or other connection to provide dedicated data access – their internet connection is strong enough to handle both voice and data.

The Problem:  User Licenses

The problem however is that in order to move over to SIP and go with a native solution to relieve them of the hardware and equipment, would require a per user license for each employee.   Although the long term savings will eventually pan out, the upfront cumulative license cost makes it harder to justify the change.

However, the ADTRAN solution which involves using an ADTRAN NetVanta 6310 router in conjunction with an EtherSpeak SIP connection will in essence trick the ShoreTel system into thinking the PRIs are still being used.

 

In other words, the SIP trunks will connect to the ADTRAN, and then the ADTRAN will create “virtual PRIs” if you will, and the ShoreTel system will operate as though the user is using PRIs which eliminates the need of ShoreTel requiring end user licenses in order for the system to work.

The Solution

Since the ADTRAN makes the connection look like a PRI, the user will still be limited to 23 connections unless they either A) purchase an additional ADTRAN or B) utilize an extra T1 module which in essence works as a splitter making it possible to expand the current box to accommodate more lines.

However, if using a SIP service which charges based on usage, then the user does not need to worry about the number of lines coming in, but rather the number of expected concurrent call paths.   If our ACME company were to have had well over 100 employees then odds are they would need to consider one of these expansion options.

The Problem:  No Sound with Ring Backs

When using ShoreTel with a native SIP solution, one of the limitations is that the caller will not hear a ring back tone when the call is transferred by the auto attendant, instead they will hear silence which sometimes makes the user confused as to if the call is truly being transferred or if the call has been dropped.

The Solution

The ADTRAN solution solves this problem by enabling the ring back to function properly within a SIP environment giving users the ring tone that one would expect to hear when a call is transferred through the auto attendant.

The Problem:  No Call Recording

Using ShoreTel with a native connection the ShoreTel system’s call recording functionality is not… well… functional.  Call recording allows incoming and outgoing calls to be recorded and saved through the phone system.   This is often required in the case of call centers or other businesses which rely on recording calls for training or security purposes.

The Solution

Again, the 6310 solution comes to our aid.   Call recording functionality is restored as a direct result of the system being able to restore the functions that are allowed within a PRI environment, but are not quite there yet when it comes to a native SIP connection.

So now our fictitious company ACME can now save on their telecom bills by migrating to SIP trunks, they can leave the PRI environment, avoid ShoreTel user license fees and experience the full ability of ShoreTel’s ring back and call recording functionality.

If you’re interested in learning more about this solution for your needs, give us a call (866) 384-3747 or contact us online and we’ll be glad to get you everything you need to make a qualified and informed decision.

Siemens Report: Pure IP UC Motivated by Mobility, but IT Resources Part of Slow Growth

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I just got a chance to read the Siemens sponsored survey conducted with RezRez Research.   They surveyed 1200 Enterprises on the topic of unified communications, and personally I found the results well… enlightening.  

The report is called:  State of the Enterprise Communications 2012, and if you want the full report you can check out the slides which I found hosted here.

The key findings of the report dealt with cost savings, future adoption figures, hindrances, and the role of mobility.  Each is addressed below.

Cost Savings

IP based phone systems have amazing cost savings on operational expenses.   However, those moving from a traditional PBX system to a 100% IP based system appears to be in the minority as most companies in the report were using some sort of hybrid solution in their study.   The only details it gave regarding what kind of hybrid was 91% were using unified communications along with a legacy PBX.

Despite the fact that 45% reported that they plan on some sort of cloud deployment this year (2012), 78% of those involved with unified communications reported having “staff related challenges” however they didn’t go into further detail.

The cost savings found were 43% for operational expenses giving a comparison of legacy PBX costs of $434 per year per employee – while “pure” IP had a substantial lower annual per employee cost of $248. Note the use of the word “pure” IP, meaning not a hybrid solution. 

Looking Forward

In regards to cloud based UC adoption growth, only 16% were using any private or public cloud deployments, but as the report points out 45% plan on rolling out a cloud solution this year.    Cloud solutions referred to and were ranked as such:  web collaboration, unified communications and video conferencing.   The preference by the way for that 45% as to whether they wanted private or public cloud was 2.8 to 1 in favor of private to public.

It will be interesting to look back in 2013 to see how many were able to make the adoption happen.

Lack of IT Skills Set

The report made clear that a lack of IT skills is a hindrance to adoption growth.   Although UC adoption is a priority, if the skill set isn’t there for the IT staff to properly implement the roll over and support it – I’m not sure if the adoption will take place as expected.   There are other options however to this issue if companies look for native based cloud solutions – at least when dealing with their phone systems, examples are ShoreTel or MSFT Lync which have native capabilities making deployment much easier.

In fact in February of this year ShoreTel acquired M5 Networks, a hosted UC supplier/vendor in order to expand their reach in the cloud marketplace.  A move like this should help many businesses who do not have the IT staff required to manage the UC system internally to now have access to off site hosting with the proper support they need.

The Role of Mobility

So what is causing companies to aggressively move forward with their plans?  My first assumption would be the cost savings spurred on by the weak economy; however their report found that the actual push towards UC solutions was the growth in mobility among employees. 

The statistics given to illustrate this point sited call centers where 1 in every 3 employees work from home – that’s 30% of their employees.   They also found 4 out of 5 “end points” were “not at HQ locations” making the push for mobility not a desire, but a legitimate need.    As a SIP provider ourselves, we see this quite frequently because this is a huge advantage of IP based phone systems vs. analog ones – from virtual number capabilities to voice features and even with international calling rates.  

I would like to ask why companies would keep their legacy PBX when they have already been using unified communications –surely they would understand the benefits of moving away from legacy to IP.   But maybe it’s not that they don’t know – but rather the lack of resources (IT staff) to make it happen.  

Despite the anticipated transition from legacy to IP over the remaining 9 months of the year, I don’t see it happening if IT is not given the proper training and skills and even additional resources such as additional staff to manage these operational changes.  

The report did mention however other options to help sidestep the technical issues IT departments face, such as looking for managed solutions which are cloud based as this is a practical solution to those who don’t feel they have the resources or time to manage it themselves.   The benefits of hosting a pbx online has many advantages, but there are pros and cons to each scenario.

Needless to say, the report was very interesting and it was refreshing to see some new current numbers being reported and backed up statistically.

Liz Krause
Marketing & Communications Manager

To Host or Not to Host Your own PBX

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I’ve been following some interesting conversations online through Linked In lately regarding this issue of online hosting and have also observed for some time an increase in published articles talking about the growth of the cloud.

I’ve seen this not only as it relates to EtherSpeak’s clients who have to decide if they want to host their own PBX boxes or not, but also in other industries such as software programming.   Even Microsoft with their Dynamics portfolio are pushing more of their applications to be cloud based as illustrated by Redmond magazine which states, “The company’s entire Dynamics portfolio will eventually become available as cloud-based services running on Windows Azure”.

In this post, we will look at the advantages and disadvantages of onsite hosting for your PBX as it relates to your telecommunication needs.  When a company uses onsite hosting they are housing all the equipment needed to make the installed phone system run properly.

ADVANTAGES FOR ONSITE HOSTING

Control

This is assuming you have the right people to manage and run your phone system.    By hosting it yourself you have better control over the settings which are applied and the speed in which they are applied.  Some companies have the means to keep a tight rein on their technical operations department, some do not.

No on-going service contracts

When hosting off site, you will be enrolled in a service contract.  These are not free and pricing will vary from one service to another.  Most likely, hosting companies will charge on a per user basis.  Supposing your company has 100 employees at $15 per user per month, that’s $1500 a month or $18,000 per year.

If you already have a technical staff capable of learning the system and maintaining it, you can easily see the savings.

Options

Sometimes depending on product, the on premise version will contain more functionality than the online hosted version.  Make sure if you are considering having it hosted elsewhere that you ask about any features that you will not have access to vs. the on-premise version.

DISADVANTAGES FOR ONSITE HOSTING

Upfront Costs

When using offsite hosting you will be paying for a monthly fee which can get expensive depending on your needs.  When hosting a PBX yourself, you will incur upfront costs for hardware such as gateways, etc., and for some this is a negative.  However, there may be circumstances which would be more feasible and practical to invest in the upfront costs rather than paying an outside company on a long term basis.

There will be additional costs associated with staffing technical employees to manage the system.  If you already have a technical department which has the ability to take on additional responsibility then this is not so much a negative.

However, you need to consider the time cost factor as well.  Maintaining your own system takes more than money – it takes time.   If your staff is already strapped and not able to keep up with current technical issues, then adding an ongoing project like managing a phone system can have ramifications across the entire company if not properly maintained.

Ongoing Operational Expenses

When it comes time to upgrade hardware it will be up to your company to have the budget to fulfill these obligations.  Not only are you dealing with the initial hardware expense, but you must also consider expansions, since some PBXs are limited to a number of connections you may need to purchase additional equipment to accommodate adding more connections.  Make sure your budget allows for this as you grow.

Deployment Factor

One of the advantages that offsite hosting has over onsite hosting is the deployment factor.  When looking to get up and running quickly do you have an experienced staff to do this?  If not, you may need to consider using a provider that offers offsite hosting since they will already have everything in place and are trained to know the system settings and configurations inside and out.

Support

Unless a company has a dedicated support staff to handle any issues that arise at any hour, off site hosting providers will (or at least should) have around the clock support to handle any issues which may occur such as the need for upgrading the software, hardware or installing additional hardware, fixing bugs or configuring the system to add new phone lines for new employees and offices.

If you don’t have this ability, it may prove frustrating should an incident occur that will affect your service.

Choosing offsite or onsite hosting is not and should not be something to take lightly.   There are pros and cons to both situations and no one can say in absolute terms which are best because what is right for one company may not be right for yours.

Do your research, look at your budget and get all the costs associated with either solution.   Do a thorough comparison in order to make the right choice.   And as always, you should seek the advice of those around you in the industry whether it is your IT guru or your SIP provider’s sales rep.

For more information regarding PBX hosting or SIP Trunking, give us a call at (866) 384-3747 or email us at sales (@) ietherspeak.com.

Wishing you the best of luck –

Liz

The Importance of Calculating Bandwidth for SIP Trunking

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It happens to every business.  A customer tries out your product only to inform you it doesn’t work right and they are no longer interested in your product.  Fortunately, you don’t like taking no for an answer easily so you press them to find out why they think it doesn’t work.   After a little digging you discover it has nothing to do with your product or service but rather something on their end which you have no control over.

When I worked for a small software company it was inevitable that we got blamed if anything went wrong with the computer where our software was installed. We would spend hours of our time troubleshooting only to discover that either they didn’t install the software properly, had an incorrect router setting preventing links from working, or as in many cases, they had a computer virus.

It’s no different in the telecommunications world.  While in software, it was often a virus which was the culprit, in our case it can often be the bandwidth of the client’s internet connection which affects the quality of voice over the internet.

Therefore, we thought it would be a good idea to put out there in this article some details on the basic principles of bandwidth allocation as it relates to SIP trunking and its implications.

One of the preliminary steps which you should consider before pursing SIP trunking is to take analysis of your existing bandwidth availability.   To do this, you will need to do the following:

Test your internet speed

Go to www.speakeasy.net  and use their speed test tool to determine your internet speed. It will test both download and upload speeds and display them on the screen.  You can choose a city near you to test through or one farther away.  The farther away the slower the speed.

Consider your bandwidth allocation

If your business already uses the existing internet connection for heavy data use and plans on using the same connection for heavy call volume, you might run into a problem if the connection you have is not broad enough to handle the load.

This doesn’t mean that you will not be able to handle SIP trunking however.   There are other options such as getting a dedicated T1 for your voice (or data), and in some circumstances securing an MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) which might be the best option depending on the needs and requirements of your organization.

Determine how many call paths you would need

This is important because by recognizing the number of call paths needed, you can determine the amount of bandwidth needed.   The question becomes will you have enough bandwidth when all call paths are being used in addition to your regular internet data usage?

To help you determine what you need to look for, we have created a graph which shows how much bandwidth in MB you will need for the allotted call paths.   If you don’t meet the recommendations and still proceed with a voice over IP solution like SIP you will most likely experience a degradation in call quality as a result of dropped call packets.

The two charts below show the required bandwidth in MG (Megabytes) as well as the number of T1s which would be required to provide the necessary bandwidth.

The first graph is if you are using a G.711 Codec which uses 80-85k of bandwidth per call path.   So for one call path you would only need about 80+k to make your calls without any quality issues.   The greater the bandwidth allowed such as in the G.711 vs. the G.729, the better your voice quality will sound.

In our graph we broke it down with our bundles for the sake of simplicity and practical application.   Starting with our 50 call path bundle, you would need approximately 4MG (50 paths x 80k = 4000k).  This would require three T1s (one T1 = 1.5MG).   Since you need 4 MG, you would need three T1s to provide adequate bandwidth.

The second graph shares the same scenario, but using the G.729 codec which uses less bandwidth.  Remember, the less bandwidth allocated for each path the lesser the quality of voice the user will experience.  However, for EtherSpeak, the G.711 is the default used, but if a user has bandwidth constraints, then we will go ahead and change it to the G.729 codec.

If you are able to provide the appropriate internet bandwidth which will cover “both” voice and data, you then should move forward with testing out some SIP trunks.    If not, then you have just spared yourself from having to use up your time trying to troubleshoot quality control issues with your carrier when all along it was a result of your own lack of bandwidth.

Bandwidth of course is not the only factor when factoring SIP trunking quality.   Issues such as latency, jitter and packet loss can also cause quality issues.   These types of issues result in echos or when you find yourself and the other caller consistently interrupting each other.

Without going into further detail (save that for another post), it’s always good to be aware that there are many issues which can affect voice quality over the internet.  If you have a strong connection to start with you are at least off to a great start.   Make sure when looking for a SIP provider, that they provide you with a trial and are able to discuss these types of issues with you.

If you are ready to look into SIP trunking as an option for your telecommunication needs for your business, feel free to give us a call at (866) 384-3747 or contact us online and we’ll be glad to answer any questions.

Request a free quote and trial here.

Liz
EtherSpeak, Inc.
www.ietherspeak.com

A Look at How Virtual Numbers Work

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To the average person a virtual number looks and behaves no differently than a regular number. It dials just like any other number and appears on caller ID just like any other number.

Virtual Numbers – Different based on Service Carrier

Not all providers work the same way anymore. Twenty years ago everything was analog or POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service), but now with the growth of internet based phone service such as VOIP or SIP, things have gotten a lot easier. Let’s compare the two.

Regular POTS
In this case, the carrier or provider will need to actually get two numbers for you. One is where you are located because this is your land-line, the second is the number with the out of town area code. For example, if you live in MD and want a CA number, no POTS carrier can assign a CA area code to a MD physical location.

To remedy this, the carrier must get another number with a CA area code and forward it to your MD number which is tied to your physical line. Bottom line – you’ll need two phone numbers but both numbers must have physical locations, one where the CA area code and prefix is, and one where the MD area code and prefix is.

Voice over IP
If you have internet phone service, your provider will not require you to have two numbers. They have the ability to assign you any number with any area code and tie it to your location. Instead of ringing through the land line, the number will be tied to your phone’s IP address.

Hybrid Solution
If you do not have internet service for phone connectivity, but are still in love with your old analog land line phone (there are various reasons this may occur) and don’t want to migrate over to a full-fledged IP based phone system, then you can contact a provider that specializes in IP phone service and they can acquire an outside phone number and forward it to your POTS.

In this case, you still need two numbers, but do not require two physical locations and this solution will save you money.  You can keep your POTS carrier for the physical location, but the IP based provider will take care of your CA phone number by acquiring the number and forwarding it to your MD POTS number.

Who uses Virtual Numbers and Why?

Virtual numbers are typically used by businesses rather than residential entities as a way to establish a presence in targeted markets.

Marketing
Companies might want to do this for a few reasons. First it might be because they are reaching out to clients or potential clients in a geographical location where they are not physically located. Perhaps they are doing some print advertising and want to feature local contact numbers rather than out of town or long distance numbers.

Local Presence
Another reason might be that some people/businesses will feel more comfortable dealing with a company or representative that has a local number.

For example, perhaps there is a sales rep whose territory covers more than one state or any area that spans multiple area codes. Let’s use DC as an example because there are a few area codes used in and around DC – such as 204, 301, 703 and 202. If you were a sales rep, you might want to offer a 703 code for all your Northern Virginia contacts, or a 202 for DC contacts.

Even though your office might only be a 35 minute drive from a client, a different area code may give the impression that you are outside of their market area.

Remote Workers
Another reason for using a virtual is if a company employs an employee or representative which is out of state or area and yet already has their own business line. Instead of installing a new line, the employing company might choose to just give a virtual number and tie it to the representative’s existing line with area codes and prefixes matching the company headquarters. If that employee leaves, the company can easily forward the virtual number to another phone.

Can a Virtual Number be a Vanity Number?

Vanity numbers are phone numbers which are specifically requested by the user. For example, (703) 321-4663 can also be advertised as (703) 321-HOME. Or perhaps the client wants a new number that is easier to remember and decides to use (703) 321-1212 but needs to keep their old number as well.

Instead of requiring a new line, they can start using their new vanity number.

Is a Toll Free Number a Virtual Number?

Since a virtual number is simply a number which is forwarded to a standard phone number, and a toll free number operates the same way, then technically yes a toll free number can be a virtual number. You would not want to tie a toll free number however to a virtual number – it would need to be forwarded to a non-virtual number.

Will the Virtual Number appear on Caller ID?

One question which is asked frequently is if the virtual number will appear on caller ID or will the non-virtual number appear? The answer is, it depends. It depends if you enable the Caller ID feature, without this feature enabled the regular phone number will appear. Some companies may or may not charge for this caller ID feature.

Are Virtual Numbers Difficult to Order?

Virtual numbers do not need to be ordered by the carrier or provider with whom you have your non-virtual number registered with. For example, if you have a need to get 5 virtual numbers forwarded to your regular number, EtherSpeak can secure those numbers for you and forward them to the numbers with your other carrier.

Time frames can vary when ordering virtual numbers anywhere from less than a week to sometimes over a month. It also depends if the number is toll free which can take longer, but most importantly is if the carrier has those numbers in stock for the area requested. If not, the length of time will be extended.

What is MPLS and its Benefits?

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MPLS stands for Multi-Protocol Label Switching. Now that we know what the acronym stands for, but what does it mean?

Protocols are an important part of sending and receiving information across the internet and different protocols exist for different telephony technologies.

The term multi-protocol means this type of service uses any kind of protocol – it’s not restricted to any particular type of protocol – hence, multi-protocol.

The uniqueness of MPLS vs. a regular VPN or other IP connection is its use of labeling. Voice and data get sent in packets so when those packets are received at the MPLS network, each packet is assigned a label. That packet actually gets assigned multiple labels – but one at a time as it progresses through the MPLS network from one end to the other.

As each packet travels from one “hop” to another (think of hops as stations), it checks in and drops off any needed information for processing and gets tagged with another label to replace the previously affixed one. Then it goes to the next station and repeats the process until the end.

Although extremely simplified above, that’s the basic gist. There are benefits to using an MPLS network, but not necessarily everyone needs it, and a regular SIP trunk with a VPN would suffice.

Here are some benefits that come with MPLS, many have to do with the way it is designed as explained above.

MPLS Benefits

Faster Speed: Due to the labeling technology, the speed of performing lookups for destinations and routing is much faster than the standard IP table lookups non-MPLS routers have to perform.

QoS: This is a big one. MPLS networks achieve greater Quality of Service for their customers. Quality of Service (QoS) means exactly that – you can expect a higher standard of service such as reliability, speed, and voice quality. This is for a few reasons, one already mentioned above.

In addition, MPLS networks are able to assign priorities to the different packets based on what the labels say about that packet. Packets with greater priority, voice over data for example, are given more bandwidth allocation. A packet that which is not deemed as high priority is given less. Obviously sending documents online don’t need to be assured of the same bandwidth required for someone who is wanting to have a conversation.

Faster Restoration: MPLS networks are also able to restore interrupted connections at a faster speed than typical networks. Obviously, this is a benefit.

Security: MPLS offers greater security and are often required for companies which need enhanced privacy and security for their network needs. Some industries like the Health Care and Financial industries are examples of industries mandated by Federal law to comply to specific requirements for network security.

If you are in one of these industries and need SIP, MPLS is a good option unless the provider can offer the proper forms of encryption.

24/7 Monitoring: Another benefit of MPLS is that the network is pro-actively monitored and managed at all times ensuring the extreme reliability and security.

Where to Find MPLS Providers

You can find MPLS providers by looking directly at carriers like Level 3, however the problem with these is that they usually only deal with very large accounts, and their rates are generally higher than Service Providers like EtherSpeak.  EtherSpeak for example, can connect to an MPLS network allowing smaller business entities that larger carriers may not take on as a customer to tap into the network via EtherSpeak – and at a lesser price.

MPLS is described many ways by many people. It’s fairly easy to understand the concept but depending on what level of understanding you want to attain can make it more difficult to explain. MPLS is fairly new, starting in the late 90’s as a solution to the growing problem of internet unreliability and with the increasing number of companies demanding better connectivity and quality.

While one of our tech support guys describe MPLS as follows, “a Frame Relay but with much faster speeds and QoS control” someone else explains it as a way as a private network not passing over the internet – but through its own connectivity in the cloud. Other people just say the acronym and think that this explains it all.

In the end consider the advantages of what an MPLS network provides, and if it’s what you need or simply looking for more details like pricing, set up, etc., feel free to contact us and you’ll get a free quote and can talk with our knowledgeable staff about what kind of environment would work for your type of business.

EtherSpeak, Inc.
www.ietherspeak.com
(866) 384-3747

Are you considering SIP for your voice needs?

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Is SIP for Voice For You?

SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol and it is the method of transporting (sending and receiving) video and/or voice through the internet. There are different protocols that can be used for sending and receiving video or voice, and SIP has its own set of protocols.
SIP can be used for either voice or video, or both. But this post is mainly about using SIP for voice.

Here are some things to consider when looking at switching from a non-SIP communications to SIP based.

Phone systems

The first component to consider is that SIP will not work unless you have a phone system that works along with it. Not every phone system does this, but many do. Most IP PBX systems will work natively, and a legacy PBX will accept SIP via a Gateway.
Phone systems can range in price and as with most technology, price depends on the features included. The more features included the greater the price.

In addition, not only will you need the actual handsets (phones) you will need the “system” itself either hosted on your own network or hosted by a provider. The system is the heart of everything, it is what takes the incoming calls and passes them onto the right person. It takes the outgoing calls and sends them to the right place. The system is stored in a gateway/firewall and sometimes requires licenses based on various factors.When using a native configuration, you will not need this additional hardware – more on this later.

If you are already using a system and are looking to move over to SIP, make sure your new provider actually works with your existing system. Here at EtherSpeak, we work with a variety of systems: Microsoft Lync, ShoreTel, Zultys, Asterisk, Cisco, AllWorx and lwatsu systems.

Are there equipment requirements?

This goes along with the point above because some phone systems require additional equipment while others do not. Some systems are native, which means no extra equipment like gateways are required. Instead the connection comes into the office and goes right to the switch or server – no special routing boxes which can run a few grand are needed. This is a big plus for those looking to save money and cut some overhead expenses.

However, if you already have equipment that you are using then it’s up to you, however, why bear the added expense of upgrades and maintenance if you don’t have to?

Keep in mind some systems may have their own pros and cons regarding native or non-native connectivity. For example, with ShoreTel, one of the voip systems we integrate with forfeits the ability to hear the ringtone when a user transfers a caller to another extension when the system is configured for native connectivity. Keep in mind, this “con” to native was as of the date of this post. Visit the site http://www.shoretelforums.com which is a great community resource or contact ShoreTel directly.

How many lines are you looking at?

Consider how many call paths you are looking for. A call path is similar to a phone line, but unlike regular phone lines where one line is tied to one number, a call path can have multiple numbers, but only one number can use that call path at a time. Check out various pricing structures for your SIP requirements.

For example, if you only have needs for two lines, you won’t need a large bundled package of minutes. Instead, you might settle on a plan that charges per call path. By the way, EtherSpeak offers both these options in order to accommodate both small and large organizations.

What’s your current available bandwidth/network usage?

Another consideration which can be easily overlooked is bandwidth/network usage. SIP may be great, but if your current bandwidth is low or you have a constantly high load on your network, there may not be enough available bandwidth left to deliver a high quality voice connection.

We once had a potential client who contacted us for our SIP service. They dealt heavily with online data files, so our sales staff took analysis of their bandwidth and determined they did not have the proper bandwidth available to be allocated to voice. In order to use voice for SIP, they would have to purchase a separate T1 dedicated to voice only.

Is your industry governed by Federal privacy and security regulations?

A final consideration is if your company is involved in a regulated industry. Some industries such as Health Care, Financial, and Banking are required by Federal law to keep their voice and data lines separated for privacy and security reasons. Just do a search on HIPAA or Sarbanes-Oxley to learn more. Make sure to find a provider which is compliant with these laws since there are requirements such as encrypted connectivity as set forth by the government.

If you have questions about moving over SIP, feel free to give us a call at (866) 384-3747 or fill out our contact form and we’ll be happy to provide a free quote and trial. Our sales team can answer any questions or concerns you might have with your set up, time frames and even budgets.