Business automation is quickly becoming a necessity for most organizations. While human input is still essential, automating processes — and powering them with artificial intelligence (AI) — has allowed for more efficient and effective operations. As telecommunications continue to play a big part in running most business operations, AI developers are also introducing advances in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that will take automation to a whole new level.

Contact center operations
Highly automated VoIP technology enables businesses to manage their call centers easily and reduce the need for human intervention.

For example, AI-integrated VoIP systems can determine a caller’s personality, mood, and queries, so calls are routed to the agent best equipped to handle them. This makes call center operations more seamless and cost-efficient, because this reduces the need for a help desk operator to answer calls just to redirect them.

Interactive voice response (IVR) systems
An IVR system is designed to automatically respond to customer queries, which is extremely helpful for high call volumes.

AI enhances this feature by working in the background as AI assistants gathering all relevant customer data such as personal information and recent transactions to resolve a query. For more nuanced queries, the AI “worker” sends this information to the business representative, who will be much better able to serve the customer.

Conferencing capabilities
Web conferencing has improved over the years with internet speeds and telecom technology constantly developing. AI advances it even further with real-time language translation and speech recognition technology, which greatly benefits businesses with multiple geographic locations and whose stakeholders come from diverse backgrounds.

AI-enabled web conferencing can even provide intelligent prompts and relevant data to guide your conversations and ensure a fruitful meeting.

Chatbot functions
Chatbots are useful programs that receive instructions via textual or auditory means to perform automated tasks.

Like IVR systems, bots are used by businesses to automate customer interactions. AI-powered chatbots go beyond regular bot duties by performing more complex tasks like setting up meetings, inviting attendees, managing schedules, and much more.

With AI-powered systems promising improvements in contact center operations, customers’ IVR experiences, web conferencing, and scheduling, businesses are understandably eager to adopt them. There’s so much more that VoIP systems can do for your business, and we’ve got the expertise to handle all your VoIP-related concerns. Just call us today.

The post AI-powered VoIP: What businesses can expect appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

In a vishing scam, scammers may pretend to be a bank representative, a government official, or any type of legitimate entity requesting confidential information via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platforms. With expanding avenues of cyberattacks, remaining vigilant is more important than ever. Learn why vishing campaigns are effective.

VoIP makes it easy to create fake numbers

More cybercriminals are launching vishing scams because it’s easy for them to hide their tracks and the risk of getting detected is minimal.

Using a fake number, scammers can contact your employees, pretend to be a representative of a bank or government agency, ask for sensitive information — such as salary information, account numbers, and company intellectual property — and get away with it. Scammers can also manipulate local numbers to emulate multinational banks, which they will then use for various VoIP scams.

VoIP is easy to set up and difficult to track

It isn’t difficult to configure a VoIP system, which makes it easy to make fraudulent phone calls or messages. Scammers only need to know the basics of a VoIP setup.

VoIP hardware such as IP-PBXs, IP phones, and routers are also inexpensive and quite easy to access. Hackers can conveniently connect these equipment to PCs to record phone calls and steal information from conversations.

Additionally, fake numbers are difficult to track because they can be ditched at any time. And with advanced voice-changing software widely available nowadays, a vishing scam is much easier to pull off.

Caller ID can be tampered with

In some vishing scams, attackers don’t even have to terminate a number to cover their tracks. Instead, they can trick users into thinking that they’re talking to a legitimate Microsoft technical support staff, a PayPal representative, or a fraud investigator simply by tampering with the caller ID.

VoIP scamming is cost-efficient

Traditional phones are still used for phishing scams, but they don’t compare to the efficiency that VoIP affords, which allows attackers to target victims all over the globe at a fraction of the cost. Cybercriminals resort to VoIP scamming because the price per call is much lower. Vishing scammers are sneaky and resourceful, and they will exhaust all possible means to attack your systems for profit — and that includes your VoIP channels.

Protecting yourself is simple

To protect against VoIP-based scams, set stringent policies on information sharing and impose strict security processes for all business communications. Informed and aware employees are key to making sure that scammers are held at bay. Protect your company against all types of scams by getting in touch with our experts today.

The post How scammers launch phishing attacks via VoIP appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

In a vishing scam, scammers may pretend to be a bank representative, a government official, or any type of legitimate entity requesting confidential information via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platforms. With expanding avenues of cyberattacks, remaining vigilant is more important than ever. Learn why vishing campaigns are effective.

VoIP makes it easy to create fake numbers

More cybercriminals are launching vishing scams because it’s easy for them to hide their tracks and the risk of getting detected is minimal.

Using a fake number, scammers can contact your employees, pretend to be a representative of a bank or government agency, ask for sensitive information — such as salary information, account numbers, and company intellectual property — and get away with it. Scammers can also manipulate local numbers to emulate multinational banks, which they will then use for various VoIP scams.

VoIP is easy to set up and difficult to track

It isn’t difficult to configure a VoIP system, which makes it easy to make fraudulent phone calls or messages. Scammers only need to know the basics of a VoIP setup.

VoIP hardware such as IP-PBXs, IP phones, and routers are also inexpensive and quite easy to access. Hackers can conveniently connect these equipment to PCs to record phone calls and steal information from conversations.

Additionally, fake numbers are difficult to track because they can be ditched at any time. And with advanced voice-changing software widely available nowadays, a vishing scam is much easier to pull off.

Caller ID can be tampered with

In some vishing scams, attackers don’t even have to terminate a number to cover their tracks. Instead, they can trick users into thinking that they’re talking to a legitimate Microsoft technical support staff, a PayPal representative, or a fraud investigator simply by tampering with the caller ID.

VoIP scamming is cost-efficient

Traditional phones are still used for phishing scams, but they don’t compare to the efficiency that VoIP affords, which allows attackers to target victims all over the globe at a fraction of the cost. Cybercriminals resort to VoIP scamming because the price per call is much lower. Vishing scammers are sneaky and resourceful, and they will exhaust all possible means to attack your systems for profit — and that includes your VoIP channels.

Protecting yourself is simple

To protect against VoIP-based scams, set stringent policies on information sharing and impose strict security processes for all business communications. Informed and aware employees are key to making sure that scammers are held at bay. Protect your company against all types of scams by getting in touch with our experts today.

The post How scammers launch phishing attacks via VoIP appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions have been enabling businesses to enjoy lower call rates and plenty of exciting call features. But with faulty VoIP implementation comes call quality issues. Let’s discuss some of these problems that you might encounter and what you can do to fix them.

Choppy voice

The main factor in disjointed, start-stop sounding messages in a VoIP environment is packet loss, which occurs if individual data “packets” are lost in transmission. When this occurs, the gateway at the receiving end of the call tries to predict what’s been lost; but when it can’t, the gap in data remains empty, resulting in choppy audio.

Insufficient bandwidth is often to blame for this issue, so make sure to check your bandwidth usage. Limit the use of bandwidth-heavy applications (e.g., video streaming apps) and tweak your router settings to prioritize VoIP traffic. Also run a test for malware or spyware, which may be hogging the bandwidth.

Static

Many VoIP systems use an analog telephone adapter (ATA) to convert analog voice signals to digital signals. This sometimes produces static during calls, with the culprits usually being incompatible power supplies or feedback from the phones plugged into the ATA.

Easy fixes include unplugging/replugging the ATA and/or the devices connected to it, or switching to IP Phones, which require no analog/digital conversions.

Voice echo

It’s fun to hear your voice repeating throughout the high-walled canyon you’re hiking, but not so great when you’re talking on the phone.

There are a few things you can do to reduce it, such as adjusting volume and microphone/amplifier gain settings, upgrading your USB headsets, or implementing VoIP echo cancellation software.

Jitter

Jitter happens when data packets arrive at the receiver in the wrong order, creating a garbled voice.

You can minimize this issue by using a jitter buffer — an area where data packets are temporarily collected, stored, and sent out in a regular, orderly fashion. This way, packets are delivered perfectly every time.

Want to ensure a smooth experience with VoIP? Let us handle all of your VoIP concerns. We can help you manage everything, from planning to installation to optimization. Contact us today for more information.

The post Addressing VoIP call quality issues appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..