Category Archives: phone system

Everyone Seems to be “Hung up on VoIP”

It is AMAZING how many of our clients are all about “Don’t we need VoIP phones?” and “Don’t we need to get cheap VoIP truncks?” and “Aren’t SIP trunks cheaper?”.
Well, to answer ALL these questions… “YES”… under the right circumstances. Not everyone NEEDS more expensive IP phones. That’s right, I said it. I would LOVE to sell you more expensive endpoints and, WOW, I would REALLY LOVE to invoice you to rewire your entire building for Ethernet phone extensions, but, to be honest, YOU DON’T NEED THEM! (darn)…

You heard me. MOST small to medium sized businesses do NOT require IP phones. More importantly, their site Internet access will not SUPPORT loads of VoIP traffic with SIP trunks or phones either!

Most small businesses, EVEN WITH MULTIPLE BRANCHES, can take advantage of less expensive digital terminals and STILL utilize SIP trunks to save money by connecting their hybrid phone systems, such as the NEC SV8100 telephone system via IP daughter boards, such as the IPLB32 – opening a VPN tunnel between the sites where phone calls can be transferred back and forth. Again, this can be done with DIGITAL phones because the SYSTEMS are tied together with VoIP technology!

Before YOU make the mistake of spending an arm load of dough to buy fancy IP phones and swithces that, OMG, don’t work with your limited Internet bandwidth (ouch! YES, there’s the site limitation!) – call someone who REALLY knows their stuff that takes ALL of the environmental and carrier service capabilities into consideration before selling you what you THINK You need. It’s that simple.

Hey, don’t get us wrong – we LOVE the BUZZ words – they sell a TON of new equipment. But don’t sell yourself short and get a huge disappointment when you find out your new phones do not even work. Listen to a professional that can save you loads of money and aggravation by not only listening to what you want, but telling you EXACTLY what you NEED based on your requirements and local site capabilities.

VoIP Provides Access to the Previously Unreachable

Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) has provided businesses a new means of communication. It has moved phone calls off traditional phones lines and onto the internet. VoIP can be more cost efficient than legacy options and can help call centers provide better customer service.

According to what IP telephony professional Itay Rosenfeld wrote in Telecom Reseller, it seems like VoIP is taking over the world. In reality, research found that 143.2 million people and businesses subscribed to public switched telephone network (PSTN)-style VoIP services in 2012, with the majority located in the United States, France and Germany.

Firmology said that with a premium VoIP system, call center employees can gather customer information before the call is even answered. They can see who’s calling, what services the customer has previously used and any issues experienced. Call activity is logged automatically in CRM and notes are updated if taken.

With these great innovations, it’s a surprise more companies are not making the switch, said Rosenfeld. One main reason is because there’s been a lack of access to emergency services like 911. Businesses love saving money but not losing access to the fire and police departments.

According to Fox affiliate WXIN, however, some areas in the U.S. have new high-speed systems that allow emergency officials to make phone calls, send text messages or distribute emails to people subscribed to the IP-based system.

But what about reaching officials? Rosenfeld reported that there’s a new option that supports phone capabilities from a single IP-based interconnection and provides access to emergency services. Whether a company uses cloud communications, VoIP or SIP trunking, this new option connects emergency calls via the PSTN. It also creates access in locations where cell coverage is poor or where a phone number is needed that’s not tied to a specific provider or place.

VoIP has emerged as the new standard for enterprise communication, and vendors (such as Telephone Magic Inc.) offer the media gateways and other solutions to ensure seamless and reliable integration of IP-based communication regardless of an organization’s size or its current telecommunications environment.

(via Sangoma)

EnGenius DuraFon 1X Long Range Cordless Phone

long range wireless phones EnGenius
EnGenius DuraFon 1X long range cordless phone system
EnGenius produced the first industrial long range cordless phone and now, this latest version, the DuraFon 1X, is the first rugged industrial long range wireless phone.
The EnGenius Durafon 1X long range wireless phone is an industrial long range cordless telephone with up to 5 miles (8 km) range in open terrain and up to 12 floors of penetration in office buildings.
In warehouse environments, you can have up to 250,000 square feet of coverage. Outdoors on farms, ranches, car lots or college campuses, coverage is up to 3,000 acres.
In addition to being a cordless telephone, the EnGenius DuraFon is also a full-duplex 2-way radio which operates independent of the base unit.
This system will grow with your business, allowing you to add up to 9 handsets per base unit. You can expand the system up to 4 lines (4 base units are needed) and 36 handsets in total.
The DuraFon works off any analog line and is also easy to add to your digital PBX with the EnGenius digital adapter (optional). 
Alternatively we also offer the EnGenius PRO 4-line long range wireless phone.

Telephone Magic Inc. is a rare “EnGenius Elite Dealer”, so you always know you are getting the best pricing and service when you buy from us.

Protect Your Nortel Investment By Migrating to Avaya IP Office Version 7.0 for IP500 V2

Avaya’s acquisition of Nortel in 2009 has resulted in the expected cancellation of BCM telephone systems in 2011, with migration into IP Office being the only stated way forward. As experienced IP Office dealers for over 5 years, Telephone Magic Inc. is in a unique position to help you transition to an Avaya IP Office IP500 phone system with the minimum of fuss.
How Your Nortel Upgrade Protects You: Security
Phone systems can and do go wrong; vendors may not like to admit this but issues do occur. As a company critically dependant on communication with the outside world through your phone system, the last situation that you want to be in is being out of support on an end of life telephone system, with no facility for spares, repairs, vendor issue support etc. This is why we recommend to users that you should be no more than 2 versions behind the latest software and absolutely not on end-of-life hardware.
How Your Nortel Upgrade Protects You: Handsets

With handsets being typically between 40 and 60% of the value of your existing handset, the ability to re-use these and gradually upgrade your BCM system at a steady pace avoids the rip and replace scenario which will inevitably ensue once it is end of life and spares/repairs become completely unavailable and critical issues start to occur.
How Your Nortel Upgrade Protects You: Training

All extensions will be converted with one click, including voicemails brought over, and your users will need no additional training. Your users will then start to become acquanted with the IP Office software at a gradual pace, giving you scope to enlarge or upgrade further to, for example, IP Office IP telephony, when the time suits you, rather than as a response to issues.
How Your Nortel Upgrade Protects You: Data Migration Manager Tool

Avaya have developed a special centralized migration tool which transfers your handsets and voicemail over to IP Office 7.0. “Data Migration Manager”. Using a three step process namely Extract, Convert and Apply, all announcements, greetings and voicemail messages can easily be transferred, resulting in a significant reduction in installation times and cost. The tool supports Norstar v7, BCM200/400/1000 R4, BCM50 R3/R5/R6 and BCM450 R1/R5/R6 as source system, and it is expected that the tool will evolve to handle the extraction, conversion and transfer of Auto-Attendant customer announcements in the future.

How Your Nortel Upgrade Protects You: Wiring

If your business has traditional phone system wiring, you can continue using it with your Avaya IP Office solution. If you have a Local Area Network (LAN) to connect your PCs/servers, you can use that instead. Avaya IP Office works with either kind of wiring—the choice is yours and the savings of using existing wiring are significant. Common wiring interfaces available with Avaya IP Office reduce the re-wiring often associated with replacement of a communication system—making the upgrade fast and easy.
How Your Nortel Upgrade Protects You: Growing

As your business grows, Avaya IP Office easily grows with you. There won’t be a need for another upgrade anytime soon. Avaya IP Office can handle hundreds of extensions.
How Your Nortel Upgrade Protects You: Gradual Replacement of Your BCM

When you upgrade to Avaya IP Office, you can keep using your Nortel phones and replace them on an as needed basis. Or, make plans to equip select employees—executives, receptionists, sales and customer service reps, etc.—who can really benefit from the added features of the new Avaya IP phones or Avaya digital phones. Either way, by being smart and managing the use of your existing phones you can protect up to 60 percent of your initial investment and still gain the benefits of a new solution.