Author: Leigh Schmid

5 reasons not to change your ISDN phone to an NBN Phone

Posted on by Leigh Schmid

5 Reasons NOT to change an ISDN Phone to a Business NBN Phone System

If you own a business in the Sydney area, you may already have NBN lines connected.  There are reports that some businesses are holding off transferring their phone lines to a business NBN phone system. Below we have listed the most commonly reported reasons.

  1. The NBN internet speeds are slower than they thought it would be
  2. There are drop outs on their NBN internet and they don’t want to risk the phones doing the same!
  3. They have seen some media attention around businesses having problems with NBN
  4. Telstra has told them to sign up for an expensive 24-month plan in order to get a technician to transfer to NBN for their phones
  5. They think there is plenty of time to stay on their current phone system – so are not rushing to switch over to a business NBN phone system

Are the NBN complaints valid?

Whilst some of these complaints are valid, many of the severe disruptions to NBN services are isolated cases. The media attention around these cases has caused some negative backlash toward service providers, in actual- fact, the service providers can do little to fix the severe disruptions. Disruptions of this nature are mostly attributed to NBN Australia experiencing technical issues with the lines. Which means the service providers need to contact NBN Australia to fix these sorts of problems. However but despite these minor problems, the NBN upgrade will progress.

Does moving over to NBN mean I need a new phone system?

Very few businesses have experienced transition hiccups. Most businesses have moved to a business NBN Phone System without a glitch. Whilst some businesses take the opportunity to upgrade their phone system to a brand new NBN Phone. It is not necessary to purchase a new phone system to be on NBN. For those who don’t want to purchase an entirely new phone system, they can keep their current one and be converted over to the NBN. The clever new technology that does this is called the NBN Sync.

How long do I have until ISDN and PSTN are cut off?

According to NBN Australia – when NBN is rolled out in your suburb, the old network will still work for a period of time, but there is a switch off date. Some areas have already been cut off, but if you have not been cut off, it won’t be long before you are. This means you will have no choice but to migrate your business phone lines over to NBN – regardless of what you think about the standard of NBN.

Do I have to sign up with Telstra to move over to a business NBN Phone System?

You will be pleased to know there are many alternative service providers to Telstra. While main stream providers do offer services for business, we recommend choosing a provider that specialises solely in businesses telecommunications. An experienced business telecommunications provider has skilled technicians that concentrate on the needs of businesses. A businesses needs are very different to home and personal phone needs.  For Small/Medium Business in NSW, My Business Voice provides expert business telecommunication services.  With years of experience working with business phones, they will effectively transition your phone lines to NBN. Click here for the latest NBN VoIP plans.

How can My Business Voice assist me with moving to an NBN Phone?

My Business Voice are experts in transitioning telecommunications and provide services that make the move easier;

  1. Keep all existing advertised telephone numbers when switching to the NBN
  2. Solutions for Wireless connections and patching over to the NBN
  3. Converters for your existing phone system – so you don’t need to spend money on upgrading an entirely new phone system
  4. Cheaper phone calls on the new business NBN Phone lines
  5. If you do need a new phone system – My Business Voice can supply the phone handsets and a system that can be customised to suit your needs
  6. Some businesses qualify to receive free NBN phone handsets when they transition over.
  7. Eftpos terminals

 

If you would like to know more about the steps to switching your phones to NBN, download the 7 Steps to transitioning to NBN Guide and Checklist here.

Concerns over moving your business phones over to NBN

We have discussed the common objections raised when businesses are moving their phones over to NBN. While it is understandable to feel concerned after seeing media reports about a business experiencing drop outs or a bad connection after switching over, these incidences are rare and 99.9 % of businesses don’t need to worry.

However, businesses do need to worry about choosing a service provider now and instigating the changeover process. This should be done before ISDN and PSTN cease to function in your area.

Worrying about media reports of the those who have experienced difficulty with their NBN transition, is minor compared to the detrimental effects that will occur if you don’t have a phone connection at all. So, don’t wait until it’s too late, choose a business NBN phone system provider and act now while you still have time.

My Business Voice

Our VoiP and Hosted PBX services are dedicated for business customers only. We only sell the best business-grade products We stand out from the rest because we have built a quality VoIP network for just business.

Visit our website to start a free trial or take a tour of our VoIP Telephone System

Help! my phone’s been hacked

Posted on by Leigh Schmid

Help! my phone’s been hacked

Hacking in some form has been around for a long time, even before the internet. Due to the length of time it has been around, there have also been many security measures developed to protect systems from being hacked.

The first rule is to have your VoIP services installed correctly and many times that will come down to choosing the right provider.

Nevertheless, it is worth knowing the signs that your system has been compromised.

The one sign which you would no doubt notice immediately is your VoIP account is suddenly much larger than before.  Now it may be you have actively run a campaign and more calls have been made but if you can’t account for the increased bill for any logical reason, hacking needs to be considered and action taken.  Each number in your VoIP service will have a history which you can check and if there are international calls in particular, that is your best clue.  In this case a hacker would need to know user IDs and passwords, so maybe they aren’t the “strength” they need to be and they need to be changed immediately.

The call history should be checked regularly, as any strange call patterns can also indicate a hacker has been at work.  Again a layered authentication process for making calls should be in place and if this hasn’t been done, make it a priority.

Suspicious antivirus messages occurring when using VoIP, just like any other internet activity, should not be ignored, they should be reported and most importantly don’t click on them or open them at all.  Your IT support needs to find the source immediately and shut it down.  Using layers of security, a firewall, anti-virus and anti-malware software and passwords should always be used to protect the system from this type of hack attack.

When using VoIP or the internet and searches being made are going off to strange destinations or there are unusual toolbar options or browser extensions appearing, this could also be hacking evidence.

Make sure all users log out of administrative areas when they are finished, don’t leave these open and unattended.  This is an area likely to contain the most sensitive information of a business and where it is most vulnerable.

Microphones and webcams are potential avenues for hackers to use.  If these items suddenly come to life it could be a hacker.  Shut down them down, disable them and have your system thoroughly checked for other intrusions.

One should not be paranoid however, proper layered security, a reliable provider and regular system checks should be enough to keep a system safe.
You also need to ask yourself if you are a likely target and the chances are there are much larger fish to catch out in the internet.

My Business Voice

Our VoiP and Hosted PBX services are dedicated for business customers only. We only sell the best business-grade products We stand out from the rest because we have built a quality VoIP network for just business.

Visit our website to start a free trial or take a tour of our VoIP Telephone System

VoIP security threats and solutions – My phones have been hacked

Posted on by Leigh Schmid

As a small to medium business you may not think anyone would try to hack into your system but the truth is, small to medium business is being targeted as appropriate security measures may not be in place. It may be a cost consideration or simply a lack of knowledge but you need to seriously think about the security you have in place.

Contact us if your VoIP has been hacked.

While VoIP is a more efficient way to communicate and more cost effective, it is after all using the same network as your email and other internet devices.  No doubt you have experienced spam and cyber-attacks in these areas.

Recognising the threats directed at VoIP installations means you can then look at ways of reducing the risk or, even better, eliminating them.

A very common threat is eavesdropping, not someone in the next cubicle at work, but someone who could be on the other side of the world.  When using VoIP the voice is converted to data and transmitted, with eavesdropping, the packets of data are intercepted, converted to a WAV file i.e. back to sound, and then listened to.  So all conversations could be vulnerable.

Hackers have been around a long time, always looking for new avenues to gain access to systems and VoIP is not immune to them.  If your system is hacked the perpetrators could be helping themselves to free phone calls, at your expense or they can intercept your phone calls and redirect them for some other purpose.  If redirected you have no control over what is happening and this could be detrimental to your business.  It is also possible the increased traffic would slow your whole system down.

If you have other systems such as billing and customer information integrated with VoIP, this could then be at the mercy of hackers.

Just as you have various security measure in place for your property – sensor lights, alarm system, guard dog, security firm, you need to have layers of security in place for VoIP and all other internet based systems.

First and most known form of defence is a firewall, hopefully that is already in place but it should be assessed as VoIP ready and be strategically placed to thwart internet telephony attacks.

Along with the VoIP ready firewall ensure you have up-to-date anti-virus, anti-malware software and set it up for automatic, regular updates.

Encryption is an absolute must, usually VoIP software has this built-in but you need to make sure and if it doesn’t, either change software or add software to provide encryption.

Purchase VoIP phones, these are designed to avoid threats and they have better voice quality.
To make all of this easier, choose a reliable provider with a good track record and have VoIP hosted.  My Business Voice takes the time to assess your requirements, understand your business and provide you with the best solution.

My Business Voice

Our VoiP and Hosted PBX services are dedicated for business customers only. We only sell the best business-grade products We stand out from the rest because we have built a quality VoIP network for just business.

Visit our website to start a free trial or take a tour of our VoIP Telephone System

Things you may not know about VoIP

Posted on by Leigh Schmid

You have probably used VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) but not know much about it or maybe you don’t even know you have used it, perhaps something like Skype. Put simply, voice is transmitted across the internet as data.

You can use a computer only or you, for a more professional look and feel for your business, use an IP phone.

VoIP is older than you probably think, having started in 1974 via the ARPANET network which was the foundation for the internet.  It continues to evolve and the quality has certainly improved.

There is no need to change from your existing business numbers, these can be retained to reduce the stress of moving to a new system.

If you are starting up and need telephone numbers, your provider can allocate these numbers, these can be done as blocks of numbers, so you can have a sequence, easier to remember that way.

You don’t have to get rid of your existing telephone equipment, contrary to what you may have heard, there are adapters which mimic the existing PSTN lines and still give you all the benefits of VoIP.

Should you decide to replace your old equipment, it is not expensive to do so, as VoIP requires a lot less infrastructure and will use existing data lines, if they have your required bandwidth.  If you also decide to go with a Hosted PBX solution, then the setup cost is reduced even more.

When you move office, it is a lot simpler, particularly if you use Hosted PBX, as there is no need to move equipment or change phone numbers.  You simply disconnect your IP telephones and reconnect them at the new location.  No connection fees either.

If you still have to rely on fax for your business and think you can’t switch because of that, fax is also possible with VoIP, it is called FoIP – original isn’t it?  With FoIP a “fax to email” service can convert documents to PDF files and email them to the recipient.  Saves more trees.

There are many features which came at a cost with the PSTN system, call forwarding, conference calls and others but many of these features can be standard in a monthly subscription without additional charges.  It is worth comparing plans to see how many “freebies” such as voicemail are included.  Don’t forget “long distance” doesn’t exist with VoIP, however if calls are made to standard phones internationally they will be more expensive but still cheaper than ISD.

Unified Communications (UC) is a definite possibility with VoIP, even for a small business, so conferences, screen sharing and online collaboration are now available.

With VoIP you can join the big league, with a standard number which will reach you whether you are in the office or on the road, no more mobile number only which always seems to indicate “small business – one-man band”.  One number for you and your clients to remember.

As VoIP and Hosted PBX is readily available and affordable to a small to medium business and provides so much more flexibility and features, its popularity is increasing and will continue to do so into the future.  Join the trend and enjoy the benefits.

My Business Voice

Our VoiP and Hosted PBX services are dedicated for business customers only. We only sell the best business-grade products We stand out from the rest because we have built a quality VoIP network for just business.

Visit our website to start a free trial or take a tour of our VoIP Telephone System

VoIP for your Call Centre

Posted on by Leigh Schmid

Have you ever thought it would be great to add a call centre to your business offering but thought it was financially out of reach?
With VoIP and cloud computing you can think again.

Even if you are a small business and you provide product support or your sales and marketing would benefit from a call centre approach, the fact you don’t have to install costly infrastructure and your calls are actually data streams, the cost factor is dramatically reduced.

IP telephony can also be integrated into existing phone lines without the need for replacement of or additional hardware.

With VoIP for your Call Centre   there are no long distance calls because calls go directly via the internet.  A big difference to the traditional PSTN provider who has varying rates for STD and ISDN calls.

You may think you need extra floor space to set up a call centre but with VoIP, your call centre operators could even be working from home in their favourite track pants and ugg boots, just make sure they are not on video calls.  So you will have a “virtual” call centre which again is a cost effective bonus.

Being able to have virtual operators in your virtual call centre allows you to have operators in geographical locations to create a 24/7 operation or as it is known “following the sun”.

Particularly important when you need to provide product support.

The scalability of a VoIP solution means it is easy to tailor the solution depending on your circumstances, if you need to increase operators it is a much simpler process with VoIP, than with a traditional in-house PBX.  Conversely if you need to reduce the number of operators you are not left with redundant equipment and infrastructure.  In general a hosted solution is also on a monthly subscription basis, so you are not tied to a long term, high cost contract.

The functionality available will depend on the provider you select but in general even the standard telephony features of a VoIP system are superior to that of a basic PSTN phone setup.

The additional features make a call centre operator’s role easier, as many tasks can be automated and a more streamlined service will result in increased customer satisfaction.  We have all been victims of long call queues, calls dropping out and not getting through to the right section.  Eliminate these frustrations.

Reduced costs, increased productivity, even without additional benefits these are solid reasons for implementing a call centre with VoIP and a hosted service and improving your bottom line.

My Business Voice

Our VoiP and Hosted PBX services are dedicated for business customers only. We only sell the best business grade products We stand out from the rest because we have built a quality VoIP network for just business.

Visit our website to start a free trial or take a tour of our VoIP Telephone System

New Features for an Old System – get the best from the NBN with your existing phone sytem

Posted on by Leigh Schmid

With the NBN being installed around Australia, you may not be excited at the prospect of a more reliable, higher quality broadband because you just can’t see how you can take advantage of it.

You may have a recent upgrade or new installation of your telephone system, darn it, or you think you just can’t afford to move to new technology.  Neither of these things need hold you back.

NBN Sync from My Business Voice allows you to retain your existing hardware and infrastructure and connect to the NBN, giving you whatever bells and whistles you feel will take your business to the next level.

NBN Sync
The gateway, effectively what NBN Sync is, “mimics the existing PSTN line” says Leigh Schmid, Director of My Business Voice and sits between your legacy system and the NBN.

With the NBN at your doorstep and your gateway in place, you are ready to connect and take advantage of the new features which the high speed, fibre optic broadband enables.

Yes, there are features which are available through a legacy system but generally every time you want to implement one, there is an extra charge.  With a hosted PBX PBX many of these features are included in a monthly subscription and others are available at a reduced cost because additional infrastructure and in-house installation are not required.
Some features which are generally included are—

  • Caller ID, caller blocking and call diversions
  • Do not disturb
  • Follow-me, which means if you are away from your desk a call can go to your mobile and if you can’t answer it will go to voice mail, the call won’t be lost.
  • If you use MS Outlook you can have direct connection to a contact in Outlook, just access the contact and click on the number and you are making the call.
  • Conference calls with two other parties are also one of the standard features offered, again if all callers are using the same provider, it is free and even if one of the parties is with a different provider or using a conventional phone, the charges will definitely be less.

Multi-task
VoIP handles media other than voice, you can transfer images, video and text, and so while you are speaking with someone you can also be sending files to them and be using a webcam.

Your subscription can provide features which are most relevant to your business and My Business Voice will take the time to learn about your business and advise you which are most suitable and of most benefit to you.

Get excited about the NBN and look forward to lower costs and increased productivity.

My Business Voice
Our VoiP and Hosted PBX services are dedicated for business customers only. We only sell the best business-grade products We stand out from the rest because we have built a quality VoIP network for just business.

Visit our website to start a free trial or take a tour of our VoIP Telephone System

The Communications Alliance Ltd – So you want a VoIP Service?

Posted on by Leigh Schmid

“So you want a VoIP Service?” is the title of a booklet published by the Communications Alliance Ltd. It makes good sense to read this booklet if you are considering moving from your traditional PSTN telephone setup to one which uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), whether it will be in-house or as a hosted PBX.

So you want a VoIP Service?

The Communications Alliance also has publications and advice for providers of VoIP, so they cover both sides of the fence.

As the Alliance website states the customer booklet
takes readers through “The seven steps to VoIP” under the following chapter headings—

  • Why do you want a VoIP phone service?
  • Things to consider
  • Ensuring that your broadband is up to it
  • Deciding on a VoIP service provider
  • Connecting it all up
  • Using your VoIP service
  • Customer service and your rights

So if you have little or no knowledge of VoIP, this is all very useful and logical to ensure you are fully prepared to make the move.

Each of the sections has valuable information to consider and suggests questions to ask when talking to providers.  Such things as how much data you could possible use in a month, helping you to decide which plan would be suitable for your needs.

In “Connecting it all up”, three options are outlined, including the ability to keep existing equipment.  New features available with VoIP are listed and of course new features are being added all the time.

The Alliance sets standards and establishes industry codes as well as lobbying government regarding the communications industry to protect the consumer.  They have also played a key role in the implementation of the NBN.

They are about a “fair go” and fair play.
One of the key things about the booklet is it has been written for the Australian market, outlining just what is possible and available in Australia.  An internet search will give you a lot of information but sorting out what is applicable to our communications can be tricky.

A VoIP service depends on many components to work properly – the phone, your network, your broadband connection to the internet, your VoIP service provider and the internet itself.  So it is not simple but with a little homework it can become clear and the benefits can be significant for a business in the digital age.

VoIP is a sensible business choice, particularly for small to medium businesses that want to implement more sophisticated communications options.  Combine this with a hosted PBX environment and a whole new world awaits.

My Business Voice

Our VoiP and Hosted PBX services are dedicated for business customers only. We only sell the best business grade products We stand out from the rest because we have built a quality VoIP network for just business.

Visit our website to start a free trial or take a tour of our VoIP Telephone System

Mobile workers and VoIP

Posted on by Leigh Schmid

Workers today are not like the workers of years gone by – clocking in to work in the morning, spending their day with the company and clocking off at the end of the day to head home and doing it day after day.

 Today with more flexible working arrangements, job sharing and the increased use of freelancers and contractors, those you employee can be located anywhere.  To date options for keeping in touch in real time with the main office were limited such as routing an office phone to a mobile, an “out of office” message for email and similarly inefficient choices.

In a world which is so much more competitive and a workforce increasingly using their own devices to solve communication issues, it is up to a business to cater for this mobility with a more flexible and agile solution.

Hosted PBX using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) can provide a sophisticated, efficient and functionally rich communications platform.

Perhaps you thought VoIP was mainly about saving costs but it is fast becoming utilised because of the functionality it can provide.

A big bonus with PBX in the cloud is a single number which can call both and in office and mobile phone, one number to remember for the caller and the recipient can answer from anywhere their phone has reception.

For an out of office worker calling back to the office, they can call an “extension” in the same way they would if they were at their desk.  Great for keeping costs down and all of the features available on the PBX are also still available.

Being able to transfer calls “back” to the office is another available feature

A single mailbox containing the usual email and voicemail converted to text makes work so much simpler, no having to monitor separate locations, no having to call message bank to listen to messages, it is all there in text available visually and immediately.

Conference calls are available and can connect callers far and wide and with appropriate equipment this can be video conferencing, increasing the collaboration aspect of the communications.

A business can also have reports generated which give them statistics on phone usage of their mobile workers similar to those reports which are available from an in-house PBX. Regardless of the other information the reports are sure to indicate a reduction in call costs.

Switching to a hosted PBX option with its increased functionality also addresses the issue of staff bypassing business processes and doing their own thing, with their own devices to try and make their working life easier.

The flexibility and agility offered by being in the cloud will add to the security of your data and operations, as more control can be exercised.

The benefits are substantial for small to medium business.

My Business Voice

Our VoiP and Hosted PBX services are dedicated for business customers only. We only sell the best business-grade products We stand out from the rest because we have built a quality VoIP network for just business.

Visit our website to start a free trial or take a tour of our VoIP Telephone System

NBN Synch – It’s Simple – Keep your existing phone system

Posted on by Leigh Schmid

NBN Synch – It’s Simple – No lengthy contract to sign and no phone rental. That’s simple!

No inconvenience, as you can keep your existing phone number.  You can also easily add new numbers without the hassle of technicians having to visit or do any installation.  My Business Voice can supply VoIP numbers as part of the package.  An extension can really be a phone number which can follow staff around and reach them at their desk or on their mobile.  It is easier to remember just one number for staff and clients and convenient.

Save costs on your calls.  With VoIP, there isn’t a long distance call when it is entirely over the internet.  Some charges will be incurred if it is from your computer to a fixed-line phone or a mobile but they are much cheaper than via PSTN.  Even international calls, computer to computer do not incur an additional cost.

You could save up to 80% of your communications costs with NBN Synch.

By keeping your existing equipment, yes, no need to change, you are not having to dispose of your existing equipment which would more than likely go to landfill.  And you actually increase the lifespan of your existing equipment with NBN Synch as you are adding new, current technology with added functionality to take you into the future.

In addition to the existing functionality you have probably been using such as call forward, call waiting and voice mail, there are features which benefit staff when they are on the road, features which can bring remote offices onto the same network, as though they are in-house and such things as 1800 number increasing your reach nationally.  All of this without degrading audio quality.

All the technology benefits and a local provider with a reputation for quality product and quality service.  Danny Assabgy the CEO of Hudson Homes says “I came to Leigh looking for a telephone system he took his time to find the best solution for my needs and now I have a perfect working telephone system with unexpected features like voicemail to email, I can retrieve my messages while I’m out and about so I never miss an important call.”

Whether the NBN has reached you or will get to you soon, it is a good business strategy to investigate NBN Synch for your communication needs, particularly if you want to bring your business right into the digital age.

My Business Voice

Our VoiP and Hosted PBX services are dedicated for business customers only. We only sell the best business grade products We stand out from the rest because we have built a quality VoIP network for just business.

Visit our website to start a free trial or take a tour of our VoIP Telephone System

NBN + VoIP = Unified Communications made simple

Posted on by Leigh Schmid

NBN + VoIP = Unified Communications made simple

Technology today has some new buzz words – Unified Communications (UC) and collaboration among them. These two can go very effectively hand-in-hand.

Unified communications put simply is integrated communications including voice, fax, email, instant messaging, data sharing and video all in one inbox managed with one set of controls.

Collaborative software can be one feature of UC and allows, as the name suggests, sharing of documents, project management, brainstorming, coordination of schedules, instant messaging, online conferencing, integrated email and more, it will depend on the software selected.

For a small business these tools may seem out of reach but put your computing in the cloud, use VoIP and hosted PBX and they can be part of your tool set.  A hosted solution means your business doesn’t need the infrastructure, you don’t need anyone to maintain systems and usually hosting is a monthly subscription service, so you always know your costs.

The efficiencies achieved using UC and/or collaboration tools are considerable with all communications stored together, “presence” allows staff to see immediately if a colleague is available, it can be done in real time so the results are immediate and so on.  Staff who are travelling, work from home or in a remote office can feel like they are in the main office.  Even contractors and freelancers can be part of UC with appropriate security and restrictions applied.

Mobile devices are not excluded from the equation and can be used to stay in-touch with projects, get immediate updates and allows the user to be part of any conversation and decisions being made.
The online storage of documents which can be co-edited is another bonus, no need for the parties to be in one physical location, they can all be present in the “virtual” room.

Meetings can be recorded, so there is a permanent record of who said what, when and to who.  Even better than being in the same physical location where most people wouldn’t think of recording the meeting, apart from minutes being taken.

Pundits declare that hosted PBX and UC will be a $12 billion market by 2018 and in 2013 alone growth was 20%.  Adoption is growing across the board but particularly with small to medium business.

Flexibility and agility are achieved with UC.  These are also new buzz words in the business world and if an organisation can achieve these, they are able to innovate and increase their chances of staying ahead of the competition.

My Business Voice

Our VoiP and Hosted PBX services are dedicated for business customers only. We only sell the best business-grade products We stand out from the rest because we have built a quality VoIP network for just business.

Visit our website to start a free trial or take a tour of our VoIP Telephone System