Signs That You Need To Upgrade Your Phone System
March 8, 2010
To survive in today’s ever-changing business environment, it is almost imperative for your business to adopt the latest innovations in communication. Is it time for replacing or upgrading your existing phone system? Which solution will best suit your business? Assess your needs by asking the following questions:
- Is your existing phone system becoming technically obsolete? Check the compatibility and interoperability of your phone system with existing upgraded IT/networking equipment. In other words, can it network with other systems like email and could you use that?
- Does your phone system have scalability features? Are you able to add more extensions or users? Scalability is an important feature, particularly for a business with substantial growth plans.
- Is your phone system able to effectively handle the increasing number of incoming and outgoing calls? Check for network congestion. Increase in call volume is normal for a growing business, and the phone system should be well-equipped to handle the boost in traffic.
- Does your phone system support VoIP? Transporting your voice calls among branches via an IP network, which you already use for email and data transfer, can save your inter-branch (or let’s say the possible future of sending employees home to work?) telephone costs. Other cost saving can be realized using VoIP and with the right system you can track and log use on those lines to keep tabs on the productivity of your employees.
- Does your phone system have a multi-office support feature? If you plan to open new sites at multiple locations, your phone system should be able to manage and remotely administer extensions at those locations - or home-based offices - as easily as if they were on-site.
- Does your phone system allow your mobile work force stay connected and accessible? For your front-end sales executives and other staff members, who are on-the-move most of the time, enhanced connectivity is a requisite operational feature.
Obviously, you need to weigh your answers and then take a look at your pocketbook. A decent system ranges from $2000 to $7000 depending upon your needs. There is financing available to qualified applicants but want to talk to a qualified specialist that will find the right fit for your business? Call Premiere Communications, Inc at 800-201-0000.
VoIP - How DO You Say It?
January 15, 2010
VoIP. I don’t have a fixed way of saying it. So many people in the world pronounce it in so many different ways. But I personally have heard it only four ways:
1.vee-oh-eye-pee (It’s just like spelling it)
2. voyp (like in voice or void)
3. Voice over IP (that’s rather long)
4. Internet telephone (maybe that’s… evading acronyms)
There is no pronunciation that is more correct than the other as far as I can tell, since English is a language to which certain words are added or changed on popular demand. I’m not sure whether VoIP has entered the dictionary yet, but it is on Wikipedia online and you can jump right in and try it here…
‘Voyp’ (like in voice) and V.O.I.P (vee-oh-eye-pee like spelling it) are the most common pronunciations, but most of those who are not used to the technical term and who know the technology merely as one allowing to make phone calls over the Internet call it either ‘Internet Telephone’ or ‘Voice over the Internet’.
I myself am more at ease with vee-oh-eye-pee, like I say ess-kew-el (geeky people seem to pronounce it: see-quel for SQL). I like it maybe because it is more faithful to what the letters represent. But at times of quick blabbering on the phone to interested customers, I realize the importance of ‘voyp’ and ’see-quel’. So, for me, ‘voyp’ is quick and slang-like and ‘vee-oh-eye-pee’ is more ‘clean’ and formal language. But that’s only very subjective.
I feel that when an acronym gets a continuous pronunciation like a word (’voyp’), it is a sign of popularity and success. Don’t you think?
Did you know the following are pronounced thus?
EBCDIC - eb-cee-dik
WSDL - wiz-dull
WYSIWYG - wi-zee-wig
GUI - goo-ee
ASCII - ass-kee
So, get comfortable with ‘voyp’. Whichever way you say it, there still will be voice and IP in it!
The small ‘o’
Spelling VoIP is no big deal as it is an acronym of four letters. The only thing is that while the letters are in capital (like in all acronyms), the ‘o’ for ‘over’ is written in lower case. This is because it is a preposition, and you know how acronyms treat prepositions…
Back to pronunciation: I learned French in school, so now I have to sort out how to say VoIP in French… whether ‘vé-oh-ee-pé’ or ‘vwap’! I don’t think it will get popular…