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VoIP and Voice: What You Need to Know

IT Service, IT Solutions, Outsourced IT Support, Small Business IT Services

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. Essentially what it does is convert audio phone signals that are normally broadcast in analog format to digital data, which can then be sent over the Internet. What this means is that businesses can use their Internet connection to make free phone calls. Since long-distance and international calls can be cripplingly expensive with standard phone service, a VoIP and Voice solution can save a business a lot of money and help them reach out to a larger global market without cutting too deeply into their budget.

Some companies may be skeptical about using VoIP, however, afraid that calls may be unclear or frequently dropped. The truth is, though, you are probably already using VoIP whenever you make long distance phone calls; more and more phone companies are using this protocol to reduce bandwidth and streamline their network. In fact, according to a study done by Juniper Research, one billion people will be using VoIP by 2017 and all the leading VoIP carriers are “becoming increasingly sophisticated in their service offerings.”

Here is how the system works. A business phone provider will install an Internet connection via Ethernet cable, which guarantees fast Internet speeds and better performance. This prevents calls from being dropped or losing sound quality. Next, a voice service is enabled by the business phone provider using routing technology so that calls can be placed cheaply (or free, in some cases)—both across the country and around the world. Most providers can actually use a company’s existing phone connection in order to set up the VoIP system. Any headsets and microphones needed are usually included in the provider’s installation services if the company does not already have them or want to purchase them separately.

Once the system is installed, businesses are able to access a wide range of call solutions including:

two- and three-way call waiting
direct inward dial
call transfers
hold music
attaching messages to emails
listening to voicemails over the Internet.

Despite all of these benefits, VoIP services are viable and reasonably priced, making them an asset to any company, large or small.

VoIP and Voice solutions might sound complicated on the surface, but they are actually incredibly user-friendly resources and provide a wide range of useful services. In today’s competitive market, the ability to communicate effectively with clients—without paying a fortune—can give a business the edge it needs to get ahead. Don’t get left behind. Let Simpleworks help you to set up your VoIP system today.

February 18, 2014

Proactive IT Support from the Wizards at Simpleworks

IT Service, IT Solutions

If you are a typical customer, you have no doubt had some less than pleasant experiences with tech support at some point—or at all points. If you can find a number to call, you will probably have to traverse your way through a maze of automated options (none of which ever seem to address the specific problem). If you can find your way to a human being, there are generally five types of techs you will encounter:

1. The Robot: The robot reads to you from a script that may or may not apply to what you’re asking. It will probably make you answer a series of unrelated questions before finding a script that seems appropriate. Whatever you do, don’t ask the robot how its day is going (there isn’t a script for that question, so the robot will become disoriented).

2. The Kindergarten Teacher: The Kindergarten Teacher will talk to you in a soft, slow voice and insist that your modem is not plugged in correctly or needs to be restarted. After assuring the Kindergarten Teacher that you’ve already checked that, he or she will ask you if your monitor is plugged in. This can go on for hours and will leave you feeling like a child, but the problem still won’t be fixed.

3. The Drive-Thru Voice: The Drive-Thru Voice is saying something to you, but you have no idea what it is. Every time you try to clarify, the voice on the other end asks you to repeat it or spell it out, but you can’t be sure. After 10 minutes, you may have finally been able to explain the problem, but right about then you’ll get disconnected.

4. The Slacker: The Slacker will not know how to fix your issue and will seem quite uninterested in finding out. The Slacker will sound irritated that you interrupted his or her game of minesweeper and is perfectly content leaving you with a “You’ll need to bring it in” instead of searching for a solution. One positive, though, is that the Slacker may transfer you to the Wizard.

5. The Wizard: The Wizard gets on the phone and immediately instills confidence. The Wizard knows everything about your computer, how to explain every step, and exactly what the problem is. He is the IT professional you’ve been searching for your whole life. Make sure to keep him or her on the line as long as possible, though, because once you hang up, you may never get the Wizard again.

Now, if you’re just trying to get your tablet to unfreeze, this isn’t much more than a hassle. If you are a business, though, proactive tech support can mean the difference between profits and deficits. Nearly every business serves its customers with some kind of technology, and technical difficulties are guaranteed to arise from time to time. Without proactive, engaged, and skilled IT specialists backing you up, your company will lose money and productivity—even customers.

But you don’t just want to make sure that you get the Wizard every time you call tech support; you want the Wizard to call you before a problem even happens! A proactive IT support company will go beyond troubleshooting by:

Performing routine maintenance
Looking at statistics and trends to predict and prevent future technical problems
Scheduling service outages in advance for times when user requirements will be low instead of inconveniencing customers and employees with lengthy, unscheduled outages that occur due to neglect or lack of foresight.

While many IT support companies may have more wizards than slackers, they often only help their customers once a problem arises. A company like Simpleworks, on the other hand, provides proactive customer service—not just when everyone in the office suddenly can’t get online—but by helping businesses avoid service outages and other inconvenient IT problems in the first place.

When it comes time for your business to select an IT solutions company, choosing a proactive IT support company will help you to conserve precious resources while at the same time providing top-notch customer service. By properly maintaining a company’s infrastructure, proactive support will help your company save money and provide better customer service. After all, happy customers lead to profitable businesses.

So if you’re tired of going through all those other slacking IT companies in town, don’t get frustrated anymore: give the awesome guys at Simpleworks a call today! They are there to help you at any time of day and are on their toes, ready to inform you of an issue before you may even know about it. Contact them now!

February 11, 2014

15 Best Windows Shortcuts Brought To You From Our Friends At CNET

IT Service, IT Solutions

“You wouldn’t light money on fire right? You’re not crazy. So why do you burn time by using your mouse and menus? I’m going to teach you the 15 best keyboard shortcuts ever, and change your life. Let’s take control!

The CTRL key in Windows. Mac users, you ceded all control to Apple but you can still take command. Just use the command key instead of the CTRL key for all of these. Here we go.

The biggest waste of time I see is cutting and pasting. Look at this poor fellow toiling away in the menu. He’s shortening his life! Buddy check this out:

CTRL-C copies highlighted text
CTRL-X cuts highlighted text
CTRL-V pastes highlighted text

You can thank me later.

Here’s some more.

Need to just select everything in sight for one of those cut-and-paste maneuvers?

CTRL-A selects all.

Need help finding what you need to highlight?

CTRL-F works in most programs to search for text.

Also handy are:

CTRL-Z to undo any action.
CTRL-Y to redo it when you realize you meant it after all.

As an alternative to all this control, use ALT-TAB to switch quickly between programs. Mac users can keep control by using COMMAND-TAB for the same thing.

Need to show the desktop fast? My favorite shortcut of all time to the rescue, Windows-D! Mac users, press F11, oddly, to do the same thing.

Now lets speed up your browsing. The following shortcuts work in Firefox in both Mac and Windows AND in Internet Explorer.

F6 highlights the address bar. No more futzing around with the mouse when you need to type in a Web address.

CTRL-ENTER completes an address in the address bar by automatically adding the .com to the end.

When in a Web page, the arrow buttons scroll the text up and down one line at a time.

Page up and Page down will scroll whole “pages” (really big chunks of text in a Web page).

Need to reload the page? Just press F5.

CTRL-T opens a new tab. Of course you have to do it COMMAND-T in OS X.

And finally here’s one that just doesn’t work on a Mac but is good for both IE and Firefox on Windows. Press F11 to make the browser full screen. Great for presentations!

You will now have more time to spend writing that novel, learning how to paint, or just to stare dreamily at that picture of Brian Tong. Or whatever it is that you do.

You wouldn’t light money on fire right? You’re not crazy. So why do you burn time by using your mouse and menus? I’m going to teach you the 15 best keyboard shortcuts ever, and change your life. Let’s take control!