Unified communications is a great opportunity to leverage several different communications platforms to reach suppliers efficiently, maintain a good flow of internal information, and interact with customers effectively.

What is unified communications?

Unified communications (UC) allows you to manage all your communications as one piece of architecture rather than as several different components patched together. It integrates computer-related communication technologies like instant messaging and video conferencing with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which allows you to make and receive calls using the internet.

What can be integrated?

Just about every medium of communication can be integrated. This includes voice communication in all its forms — voicemail, email, or fax — as well as multimedia services like video chat and web conferencing. Real-time communication like call screening and call conferencing can also be integrated. On top of these, even data services and transactions like eCommerce and online banking can be added to a UC system.

What are the benefits of UC to small businesses?

One of the most evident benefits is having a single and flexible communication infrastructure that allows you to streamline and enhance business communication and easily manage all the components.
Features can be scaled up or down to support your business needs without hassle. Other benefits include:

Hypermobility
UC enables you to access your files via a wide array of smart devices, like laptops, smartphones, tablets, and more. This means you can create your office environment and satisfy customers from anywhere you please. This opens up a world of opportunity for real-time collaboration and remote work.

Improved productivity
Your employees will be equipped with productivity-enhancing communication features, like call info, call routing, and more, which will enable them to work more efficiently and better tend to customers’ needs. Web and video conferencing calls, for instance, not only allow for real-time interactivity, but also for better collaboration. Delayed response times and gaps between dispersed teams are also minimized.

Real-time updates
You and your employees will be able to see important presence updates in real time, including the locations of your colleagues and ways to contact them. This way, you can get the right information from the right person when you need it.

Single point of contact
Clearly defined points of contact ensure that stakeholders can reach you by email, phone, SMS, etc., whether they are reaching out to you from a softphone, an IP phone, email, or IM.

Reduced costs
UC eliminates travel costs and lowers phone bills since it uses the internet to make calls. It also limits the need for expensive on-site hardware, as one UC server keeps everyone connected using the aforementioned communication features.
Even better, you can potentially save thousands of dollars on office overheads by allowing employees to work from home since they’ll remain connected with their softphones even when they’re not in the office.

It’s only a matter of time before unified communications becomes the norm for day-to-day office interactions. If you’re interested in learning more about how UC or VoIP can transform your business, just give us a call. We’ll answer your questions and help you devise an integration strategy for your business.

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Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a phone system that’s been around for over two decades. Though that may seem surprising, it actually makes sense because that’s about how long the internet has been mainstream, and VoIP needs an internet connection to function. Small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) should definitely consider VoIP if they want to advance in the future.

First, we’d like to give you a quick rundown of what SMBs get from a robust VoIP calling plan today:

• Convenience – It’s easy to manage.
• Scalability – It’s even easier to expand.
• Economy – Calls over the internet are cheap.
• Portability – Access from anywhere with high-speed internet.
• Efficiency – Attach emails, send e-faxes, conduct virtual meetings, etc.

These are the core qualities that make VoIP systems so beneficial to SMBs. But how will value propositions like these be affected by future telephony trends? Could advances in internet technology possibly have adverse effects on VoIP, or will the two continue moving in harmony?

Here’s how VoIP and the internet are changing the future of businesses today.

The cloud + VoIP

Many companies’ first step away from their traditional phone system is to a premise-based VoIP system. It’s a great option, but one that may not fully capture all the benefits of VoIP such as lower costs and easy expandability.

A better solution is “hosted VoIP.” Because your whole VoIP system is cloud-based, you have low upfront costs, lower maintenance costs, and the lowest hardware costs.

Social media + VoIP

Present-day online applications like Skype, Line, and WhatsApp deliver an internet-calling function as part of the package. They are the present-day syntheses of social media with VoIP functionality.

Today, you can program a chatbot to engage interested customers through Facebook, converse with them via an automated Q&A session to find out their needs, and end by inviting them to connect with your CSR via video chat. A VoIP/CRM integration could easily handle it, bringing you that much closer to potential clients and closed deals.

IoT + VoIP

The Internet of Things, or IoT, is a term given to the variety of devices, gadgets, vehicles, and household products transmitting information over the internet. Examples would be data from earthquake early-warning systems delivered to first responders, or your heart rate sent from a wearable heart monitor to your cardiologist’s office.

The IoT has the potential to coalesce with VoIP in many productivity-enhancing ways such as:

• Notifications can be sent from your calendar app to your VoIP interface
• Mobile-phone text messages can be programmed to drop into your VoIP mailbox
• GPS information can be used to automatically update employee statuses on their VoIP extensions

The future of VoIP is already here. So if you think your business would benefit from a cutting-edge VoIP solution, give us a call today, over the internet or otherwise.

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Hackers will never stop looking for new ways to hurt your business. One way is through launching denial-of-service (DoS) attacks on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems. Read on for a complete rundown of this cyberthreat.

Denial-of-service attacks

The end goal of any DoS attack is to overwhelm a system with so many requests that the system is eventually forced to shut down. Telephony DoS (TDoS) attack is a subcategory leveled at VoIP systems. Alarmingly, this attack is commonly used against hospitals and 911 phone lines. Much like ransomware, some TDoS attackers even demand a ransom to halt the attack. They take advantage of cryptocurrencies and caller-ID spoofing to make it incredibly difficult to identify attackers.

TDoS attacks generally employ fewer resources than the DoS attacks that are designed to cripple IT systems such as networks, servers, and software. At its most basic, all that a TDoS attack requires is an automated phone dialer that calls a target phone number and hangs up — over and over. That very simple strategy can stop anyone else from getting through the line.

What organizations need to do

Counterintuitive as it might sound, locking down your VoIP system with complicated and unnecessary security measures will ultimately do more harm than good. Most businesses can’t operate if they can’t communicate with their customers.

Although VoIP may be a digital resource similar to your other IT systems, the very nature of phone lines makes it impossible to hide them behind firewalls and other protections. However, there are new solutions that offer protection to VoIP systems. There are now new security protocols that can protect your communication infrastructure against those who try to use force to gain access to your directory information. These protocols can also identify, reroute, and filter calls coming from known attackers.

If you’re experiencing any abnormalities with your VoIP system, or if you want to deploy the most up-to-date solution that the market has to offer, our expert staff is ready to help you at the drop of a hat — just call today.

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VoIP phone systems use the internet just like any PC. Therefore, hackers can gain access to your servers and data network through VoIP phones. Understanding how to combat theft of service in VoIP is critical, so if you want to learn how to do it, read on.

What is theft of service?

Internet-based phone systems are far more vulnerable to fraud compared to traditional telephony services. VoIP calls face threats ranging from identity theft, eavesdropping, intentional disruption of service, and even financial loss. Theft of service, the most common type of VoIP fraud, includes stealing usernames, passwords, and account information. Hackers usually introduce malware into your system to crash it or steal user passwords.

From a legal standpoint, theft of service means obtaining service from an individual or a company without payment. It may involve deleting or changing invoicing records, unauthorized invoicing, or taking the property of a service provider.

Also, hackers may simply want to crash your system and will flood the network with packets of data so that callers lose access. They may also try to intercept the packets to eavesdrop on calls.

A third type of VoIP hack accesses your VoIP system and allows spammers to flood your office with promotional calls similar to junk email. This type of attack is called spam over internet telephony (SPIT). Once they infiltrate your communications system, they might broadcast unsolicited messages, advertisements, or other commercial messages over your VoIP.

The solution

Defending against theft of service requires nothing new or unusual, aside from a little common sense and technical preventative measures.

Common sense measures involve making your passwords as secure as possible and preventing unauthorized physical access and use of your VoIP phone instruments. The technical stuff? Keeping your antivirus software up to date and combining it with fraudulent call routing detection and encryption software.

VoIP has become an essential business communication tool, so it makes perfect sense to understand exactly what theft of service is to avoid its negative impact. We’d be more than happy to give you advice on implementing any of these protections or managing your VoIP services. Give us a call to get started.

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