Businesses which want to take advantage of the latest technology while still saving money should consider migrating their call center to the cloud.

Unless your head’s been stuck in the metaphorical clouds, chances are you’ve heard a thing or two about The Cloud.

These days, anything with a digital footprint — music, photos, video, e-mail and whole software systems — are now hanging out in this much-buzzed-about binary brume.

Among the latest functions business owners should consider migrating to the cloud is call center software.

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You have probably heard of Session Initiation Protocol, or SIP, but you may not be sure what it means. SIP is basically a signaling protocol that’s used for controlling communications, like voice or video calls over the internet. SIP can be used for initiating, modifying, and terminating two-party or multi-party communications sessions, and it’s closely entwined with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony.

Business.com spoke with Nik Korchewsky of VoIP-SIP.org about VoIP and SIP services for small businesses.
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Our cell phone attachment has reached an all time high. We feel as though we must always be within an arm’s reach of our phones. Whether we’re texting between bites of a sandwich at lunch, or falling asleep with our phones in our hands, many of us spend more time with our mobiles then we spend with our friends or family members.

But in the world of business, sometimes we have to maintain this obsessive relationship with our cell phones. But what does that mean for the cost of our phone services? Read the full entry

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Call Center Software is changing in leaps and bounds - improving everything from analytics to efficiency.

Have you heard about the app that allows smartphone users to put call centers on hold? With a single tap, the app navigates users to the department they need, then rings their phone once there’s an agent on the line.

Luckily, app developers aren’t the only ones out there trying to improve customer service. With the rise of everything from social media to smartphones to the Cloud, Call Center Software has evolved to meet the needs of customers, calling agents and managers.

Take a look at some of the coolest new call center software add-ons of the past year:
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Traditional business phone systems operate conventional phone hardware over landlines. Newer systems utilize Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), in which calls are made over the internet. Today’s VoIP systems offer many advantages over traditional lines. For example, you can use a phone, PC, or mobile device to make calls inexpensively using the World Wide Web.

If your PBX business phone system is nearing the end of its lifecycle, if your business is moving locations, or if you need to save money, then it may be time for a change. Here are 10 reasons that it may be time to cut the cord on your landline system.
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The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets the standard for the healthcare industry to protect confidential and sensitive patient data, like medical and billing records. HIPAA rules regulate the daily activities and tools of many healthcare and related companies, including common business phone systems.

HIPAA compliance is obviously required for healthcare providers like hospitals, clinics, and individual practitioners, but your small business may also fall under required HIPAA compliance. If your company is a private sector vendor or third-party administrator that accesses, collects or transmits protected health information over the phone, you’re required to adhere to HIPAA’s guidelines.

Phone System Requirements
Physical and network security measures, as described in HIPAA guidelines, require that business phone systems can process patient health information safely over telephone lines. Consider a common medical office scenario: the administrator on the phone taking patient’s medical or billing information writes it down on a piece of paper and, after a busy day of multitasking, misplaces the note or, even worse, shuffles it in with other patient information. The patient’s personal information is at risk.

A secure business phone system ensures HIPAA compliance and protects your office from penalties and criminal prosecution. So how do you know the phone system you use in-house is HIPAA compliant?

Among other rules, HIPAA standards require:

• Access control
• Audit controls
• Person or office authentication
• Transmission security
• Workstation security
• Device and media controls
• Security management process

If you use VoIP, understand that anything transmitted across the web-based platforms is not guaranteed to be secure, and carries a higher risk of violating the recommended guidelines. As such, tools like Skype are generally not recommended. Instead, opt for other secure landline telephone systems that offer audit trails and backup capabilities, breach notifications, and encrypted transmission of voice communications.

Using Your Phone System Properly
When it comes to adhering to guidelines, it’s less about the actual business phone system, and more about the behavior around transmitting data through voice communications. It’s been said that “technology itself can’t be HIPAA compliant; hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare-related businesses must be HIPAA compliant.”

First, it’s important to note that your phone must be in a secure location that prevents unauthorized access. You must also assure that any voicemail where sensitive information could be stored has access restrictions, ensuring a secure password and a policy around retention of the voice message.

You should also have a plan or policy around recording voice conversations. Installing such a recording system ensures sufficient accountability in terms of tracking and accessing information. These systems can store audio files electronically to be accessed in the future by the proper personnel.

The Consequences
So what happens if you find your phone system — or how you use it — is not compliant? An act supplemental to HIPAA was passed in 2009 to address this – the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). The HITECH Act was formed in response to health technology development and the increase in use, storage, and transmittal of health information electronically.

There are four categories of violations that coincide with increasing levels of liability. Each level has a corresponding penalty that culminates in a maximum penalty of $1.5 million for all violations. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reviews all reported violations, and determines the amount of the penalty based on the nature and extent of the violation and the potential harm caused to patients by the violation. There is no “one size fits all” penalty for each violation. In most cases, you have opportunity to right the wrong when notified of your non-compliance; your business won’t incur a penalty immediately, but rather you’d have 30 days to fix the circumstances.

Photo source: healthcarelawmatters.com

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Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, has changed telecommunications forever, revolutionizing business phone systems and allowing people to make inexpensive or free phone calls all over the world.

But you may have wondered what kinds of regulations VoIP providers are subject to. The truth is that, so far, they are the subject of far less regulation than traditional phone companies, and some states want to ratify this lack of regulation into law so as not to stifle innovation and competition.

Here’s how the current regulatory environment for VoIP shapes up.

States and VoIP Regulation

Back in 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that companies providing VoIP service should not be subject to the regulations that apply to telephone companies.

More recently, several states have weighed whether to prohibit state regulatory agencies from regulating VoIP providers. Most recently, the California state senate passed a bill on a 30-6 vote that prevents the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) from regulating VoIP providers in California. The bill states that neither CPUC nor other state agencies can regulate VoIP providers without a federal mandate.

The New Hampshire state senate passed a similar bill earlier this year. It  prevents the Public Utility Commission (PUC) from regulating VoIP providers. And in New York, the state senate is considering bill S. 5769, which eliminates state regulation of VoIP service, a bill supported by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Pros of VoIP Regulation

Those who are for regulation of VoIP providers say that without regulation, consumers could no longer bring complaints about service to state Public Service Commissions, and that states could not set standards for VoIP service in under-served regions.

They also argue that deregulation of landline phone providers has result in higher rates for most consumers. Furthermore, they argue, VoIP providers are not required to pay into funds supporting “lifeline” access to elderly and disabled people as regular phone companies do.

In New York, Communications Workers of America Research Economist Pete Sikora says, “The three main things that current telephone regulation covers are affordability, access and consumer quality. Under this legislation, if your VoIP phone breaks, good luck with that. If there is a long storm and lots of outages, there won’t be any consequences if they don’t fix the network.”

Cons of VoIP Regulation

The main points those against VoIP regulation on a state level point to have to do with the stifling effect that regulation could have on technological innovations. They argue further that with less regulation, it’s easier for VoIP start-up companies to launch their businesses, thus increasing competition and keeping prices for consumers low.

In California, State Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), sponsor of the recently-passed bill, says that the bill simply locks in the state’s current “hands-off” policy as law. The result, Padilla says, will be a telecommunications industry that can continue creating innovative products and services. Marc Burgat, vice president of Government Affairs for CalChamber, says that keeping CPUC from regulating VoIP “would ensure that California maintains its competitive edge and continues to provide a regulatory environment that promotes advancements in internet technology.”

The Transition from Copper Wire to VoIP

There is no question that VoIP technology has permeated all aspects of phone communications. It is inexpensive enough that it is expected to replace copper wire lines eventually. In fact, many copper wire networks already depend on VoIP for completion of most calls. VoIP technology is also at the core of cable, phone, and fiber optic calling services. In short, there appears to be no going back to the days of wired telephone dominance.

VoIP Regulation at the Federal Level

The FCC currently classifies VoIP systems as “information services,” meaning that they are not subject to the regulations that apply to regular phone services. However, the FCC has managed to apply some regulations to VoIP, including:

• Requiring VoIP providers to get an FCC certificate before discontinuing service, particularly if they are the only carrier in a certain area
• Requiring providers to make services available to people with disabilities
• Requiring number portability, allowing customers to take their phone number with them from one carrier to another
• Requiring VoIP providers to provide enhanced 911 capabilities
• Requiring VoIP providers to contribute to the Universal Service Fund, which is a federal program that helps pay for phone service in low-income and rural areas

The Bottom Line

The trend on both the federal and state levels is toward less regulation of VoIP service rather than more. Several states are enacting legislation that codifies in law the hands-off approach that most states have taken anyway. The effect of deregulation that is spelled out in law will play out over the next several years.

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What VoIP Offers

VoIP telephony in business phone systems provides several advantages over PBX systems:

• Cost savings – VoIP calls range from very inexpensive to free
• Portability – connectivity and cost don’t depend on location or distance. VoIP doesn’t “care” whether you’re calling halfway around the world or calling an employee at the cross-town branch office. Furthermore, VoIP phone numbers are completely portable, so if you go to work in another branch office, your phone number goes with you.
• Lots of features – audio conferencing, video conferencing, voice mail transcription, call forwarding, call waiting, fax over email, and easy sending of multimedia files

What PBX Brings to the Table

The main advantage that the classic PBX system offers over VoIP business phone systems is dependability. With VoIP systems, businesses risk the following problems if they choose a VoIP provider with poor quality control:

• Latency – delay in delivery of words from speaker to listener. When latency is greater than 150 milliseconds each way, the flow of conversation can be affected.
• Packet loss – data that is lost between the parties talking on the phone
• Network jitter – data that arrives out of order
• Distorted audio
• Disconnects

VoIP actually has the potential to provide higher quality of service than the PSTN (public switched telephone network) as long as there is sufficient bandwidth. However, keeping costs down with VoIP systems right now means that VoIP quality of service can (but doesn’t necessarily) fall short of that of traditional PBX systems that use the PSTN. Finally, VoIP systems are power-supply dependent. If your power goes out, so does your VoIP system, and that was not the case with PBX systems that used the PSTN.

How PBX and VoIP Are Combined

VoIP business phone providers today offer adapters and services necessary to change PBX equipment to VoIP equipment. VoIP phones can be software-based “soft phones” or hardware instruments that look just like normal phones. Adapters allow PBX phones that use the PSTN network to be used as VoIP phones. The blending of analog and IP business phones eliminates businesses’ needs to add analog landline phones when they want to expand or upgrade their system.

Benefits to Users and Businesses

Users of combined PBX-VoIP systems enjoy normal phone operation along with enhanced features like smart call routing and auto-attendant features that ensure calls are routed to the correct recipient. Administrators benefit by being able to expand or reconfigure their phone system quickly and easily, without the necessity of adding expensive copper wiring to the existing system. And businesses are able to save significantly over the costs of expanding or reconfiguring a traditional wire-based PBX system.

Is Combined PBX-VoIP the Future of Business Phone Systems?

The combination of PBX and VoIP telephony is already reality. As VoIP continues to improve its quality of service, the shift away from PBX and toward VoIP will accelerate. In fact, many “traditional” PBX systems make use of IP packet switching in their own networks.

As businesses demand more versatility, features, and savings, PBX systems will have to incorporate VoIP into their systems in order to compete with VoIP business phone systems. Eventually, copper-wired PBX systems could become obsolete, with VoIP taking over. The phone systems that combine PBX and VoIP make it unnecessary for businesses with existing PBX systems to completely uninstall their PBX equipment in order to enjoy the cost and flexibility benefits of VoIP systems. Now that’s the best of both worlds.

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Cloud-based services can save businesses time and money. VoIP phone systems can save businesses time and money. So what happens when your business puts cloud-based and VoIP services together in your business phone system? In most cases the answer is even greater savings. Here are seven ways cloud-based business phone systems can save your company time and money.

1. Time Savings in Setting up Your Phone System

Setting up a traditional PBX business phone system used to involve workers bringing in equipment, drilling holes in walls, running lines, and generally disrupting things in order to get a phone system in place. A cloud-based VoIP system can be set up almost instantly, with no wires or drilling, and no equipment beyond handsets or headsets except for a call router, which is relatively simple to set up.

2. Time Savings for Reconfiguring or Scaling Your Phone System

At one time, adding a new employee meant finding a phone line that wasn’t in use or adding a new line. Today, it’s a matter of reconfiguring the phone system by clicking settings on a web page or even on a mobile app. Some businesses that choose a “bring your own device” setup can add an office phone number to an employee’s smartphone and avoid even the time needed to track down a new handset or headset.

3. Quicker Phone System Repairs

With cloud-based services, your phone system administrator communicates with the service provider on a web-based dashboard. Since cloud services are manned around-the-clock, fixing a problem is far quicker than the old days when you had to schedule a technician to come to your business, diagnose, and fix the problem.

4. Time Savings in Finding Employees for Calls or Other Reasons

Today’s cloud-based VoIP systems make it much easier to find employees. “Find me Anywhere” features allow employees to forward numbers to their smart phone, so that they’re reachable in the office, in the field, or while traveling. Gone are the days of finding out whether an employee is in the office and when they are expected back, followed by tracking down a number where they can be reached or taking a message not knowing whether or when they would receive it. With cloud-based systems, “finding” an employee is much easier.

5. Major Cost Savings on Phone Infrastructure

“Infrastructure” for cloud-based VoIP systems can be very close to nonexistent. Depending on the setup, businesses may need to set up a router, and they may provide handsets or headsets to employees, but with VoIP features that allow calls to be easily routed to employees’ own handsets on a virtual business phone line, infrastructure costs can plummet even more.

6. Automated Transcription Saves on Time and Money Spent on Recordkeeping

Some cloud-based phone systems have features like automated transcription. Suppose a customer calls and the person he or she is seeking is in a meeting and can’t answer. The call may be routed elsewhere, or it may be sent to a voice mail system where the voice message is automatically transcribed and can be sent by email to the intended recipient. No more jotting down messages and hoping they don’t get lost in a stack of papers. Automated transcription is also an excellent record-keeping application, making it easy to review messages and the call content that may have been automatically transcribed weeks ago.

7. Auto-Attendant Feature Saves Money and Time Spent on Reception Tasks

Having an office receptionist is a luxury for many small businesses, and cloud-based VoIP systems with an “auto-attendant” feature do away with this expense. Many systems have this popular feature, and here’s the great thing: auto-attendants never get sick, never go on vacation, and can take calls around the clock.

Today’s businesses have to be more connected than ever to stay competitive, and cloud-based business phone systems allow maximum connectivity with a minimum of expense on infrastructure, configuration, and repair services.

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