VoIP in the News

Here are a couple of helpful new articles about VoIP for SMB’s. The first is about Cisco’s new efforts to break into the SMB market, and the particular challenges they face. The phone provider is making new high quality desk phones that are more affordable, and specifically geared towards the small business market.

http://voxilla.com/2009/04/14/cisco-gets-serious-about-smb-communications-1661
The second is slightly more cautionary about an SMB’s switch to VoIP, citing the main problems of the necessity of power and bandwidth. However they conclude that the benefits outweigh the costs and that Hosted VoIP is a good solution for small businesses looking to get the best value out of their phone solution.

http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2009/04/07/voip-for-small-business.aspx

Skype on the Iphone:VoIP but not quite Vo3G

There’s been a lot of excitement amongst iphone and skype fans alike about the just-released Skype Iphone App. By all accounts it is a very user friendly application that keeps a good balance between the Apple Iphone’s app format and Skype’s familiar branding. By and large the user interface is widely heralded as the most user friendly of any mobile VoIP client for the Iphone.
The only drawback is the limitation of the Skype app as a wifi only VoIP service. The reasons behind this are obvious, since carrier fees would be drastically reduced if IPhone users could make VoIP calls over the 3G network. How long can carriers maintain this kind of control though? With 3G data capabilities, it seems like enabling these kinds of devices is the logical next step and clinging to minute usage fees for voice calls is an antiquated and out dated system that is unfairly leveraging the consumer.
Here’s what others are saying on the matter:

From Gadget Loop in Australia:

Not sure if it’s a limitation with my carrier (Telstra) or a general iPhone Skype restriction but I could not make or receive calls via my 3G connection. Either way, this puts a damper on the whole app release and I especially feel for those customers who have all-you-can-eat data plans who can’t take advantage of potentially cheaper calls via Skype.

From VoIPSupply:

I’m sure that Skype would love for users to have the ability to place calls over 3G and send and recieve text messages. Unfortunately that would come at the expense of the wireless carriers existing revenues.

Either way, it seems that Skype has nailed the app for the most part, and the next step is for carriers to get with the times.

David Pogue: Cool Things You can do with Your Mobile Phone

David Pogue of the New York Times recently did a great presentation of all the latest mobile and VoIP innovations that are available to consumers from the telecommunications industry. In the 30 minute presentation he covers a wide array of features and services from Google’s Grand Central “One number for life” service, to voicemail to text services, and demonstrates T-mobiles seamless Wi-Fi to cellular call hand off. The quirky tech contributor ends the presentation with his youtube hit song “I Want an iPhone.”

Watch the video here: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/david_pogue_on_cool_phone_tricks.html

Vanishing VoIP Companies

Since the VoIP industry started to take off it has seen its share of companies that have risen and fallen. There are many reasons for the failures; each case comes with a unique set of circumstances. Some enjoyed quick success only to be overwhelmed by too large of a customer base, while others simply could not raise enough capital to keep going. Here is a brief look at some VoIP companies that have faded away.

VoIP Inc: Everything seemed to be going great for VoIP Inc. They had plans to start working with internet giants Google and Ebay, but then suddenly went out of business early in 2008. Under pressure from angry shareholders, the company eventually revealed that it hadn’t been making profit the past four years and was on a crash course for failure.

Sun Rocket: Sun Rocket’s competitive prices granted them success and a large customer base very quickly, but, due to customer service problems and outages, it just couldn’t produce enough revenue to maintain its speedy growth.

Talk Plus: Without any unique features to differentiate themselves from the competition, this is a simple case of a company just not being able to interest investors enough to raise any more capital to stay afloat.

Pulvermedia: After its founder, Jeff Pulver, lost interest in VoIP the company was put under new management. They were able raise $11 million in capital from the TICC Capital Group, but were unable to pay off the interest. Eventually, in the spring of 2008, TICC took control of Pulvermedia and shut its doors.

Pingtel: Pingtel bet on making its money in IP-PBX, but the market didn’t prove to be frugal enough. The company was bought by Bluesocket in the summer of 2007, but it didn’t work out. Then, in the summer of 2008, Nortel cut a deal with Bluesocket for specific Pingtel assets and employees.

It’s too easy to simply say that all of these companies failed as result of one common factor. No matter the size or success, challenges can arise from anywhere in an organization at any point in time. If anything can be learned from ultimate demise of these companies, it’s that gaining an edge in the market by interesting investors and executing responsible management make all the difference when trying to survive in the VoIP industry.

Dealing with VoIP Service Problems

 Telecommunication service in general doesn’t necessarily have the best reputation for customer service. The VoIP industry is also known for this shortcoming, and although some companies have better customer support than others, there a few general rules of thumb to for improving your VoIP support experience. Here’s a quick explanation of why some VoIP providers have service challenges, as well as tips on dealing with it.

First of all why is VoIP support sometimes lacking?

• Reason #1: It’s a new industry. When a VoIP provider posts a customer service job, applicants tend to have experience at traditional phone or cable companies but not with VoIP. In other words, there’s not an existing trained work force that knows how to fix every VoIP issue.

• Reason #2: VoIP is a good deal. By keeping prices low, companies forfeit the ability to build huge customer service centers. On the one hand you get inexpensive phone service.

• Reason #3: Even though customer service is still shaky in the U.S., some companies outsource this function to other countries. This can make an existing communication problem worse due to shortcomings in English fluency.

Next, how can you deal with it?

Tip #1: When you pick a provider, ask if the company has its own customer support or if it is outsourced. If possible, go with a provider with an in-house team so that your customer service reps will understand the product and speak fluent English.

Tip # 2: Make sure your provider offers help online —then get comfortable using it. You can solve a lot of problems yourself, which is especially helpful if hold times at the customer service center are long.

Tip #3: Remember you are saving money. If you have headaches, they are likely to be on the front-end. Once you are up and running, you probably won’t have many issues—yet you will continue to save money compared to a traditional phone service.

Google Is the New VoIP Challenger

As much as we dislike jumping on industry buzzwords like “Unified Communications” here at VoipSchool, Google’s acquisition of Grandcentral has made this trendy notion closer to a reality than it’s ever been. GrandCentral, the service that provided the popular “one number for life” service, will soon become Google’s “Google Voice” service. The interface that Google has created to manage voice functions has the same look and feel as their popular Gmail service, and does more to integrate the power of inbox search and management functions than just about any service.

For the moment, Google Voice is only available to a select few current Grand Central subscribers, but will soon be available to everyone. While a full breakdown of features is available on the about section of the site, here are some notes on what we thought were the coolest/scariest features.

Cool:

Voicemail Transcription: This service exists in some forms already for other services, but no other service incorporates the power of Google’s search engine. Google admits that the transcriptions aren’t perfectly accurate yet, but it has plans to make improvements in the future. What’s incredible is that all voicemails are saved in the same way that emails and conversation threads are saved in Gmail, with the ability to search for words that appear in the transcriptions, so you can find a voicemail just as you might search for a particular email in your inbox.

Cool/Scary:

Listen In: Many times we just don’t feel like taking a call, and send it to voicemail, only to check the voicemail immediately thereafter. Google Voice makes it possible to listen in as the voicemail is recorded, and even take the call at any point as the message is being recorded.  In the days of answering machines it was common to get messages that began “Hey, if you’re there pick up . . .” but in today’s cellular world having someone pickup while leaving them a voicemail would be a bit of a surprise.

Scary:

On the flip side of the convenience of searching for any voicemail in your inbox is the ability to instantly embed it on a webpage, just as you might embed a youtube video on your blog. Perhaps Google is catering to the music community, after many hip hop recordings popularized the inclusion of phone message samples into songs, but for every day people like you and me this feature just seems like it’s inviting privacy violations, but I suppose that’s just the world we now live in.

Listen in and transcription features have been available for some time via independent companies that offer these features as add-on’s to your existing service.  For the first time, Google has brought all these features under one roof and compiled what used to be peripheral features into one streamlined service.

Google’s acquisition of Grand Stream is nothing new, the deal took place in July 2007, but since that time there’s been little to no news; these new developments are a welcome surprise.

Some questions to consider:  How does this change the VoIP landscape? Are there any interesting acquisition targets for google now that they are in this space? Who will this disrupt?  How will they monetize this service? Is this going to affect their business apps?

Our Top Frugal Friday VoIP discounts!

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Pulver Hopes FCC Makes it Hip to be Square

Jeff Pulver’s past with the FCC is a storied one. As the author of the “pulver order” he successfully petitioned the FCC to define VoIP as different and distinct from traditional telecommunication in 2004. With the appointment of Chairman Kevin Martin in 2005 Pulver complained that while the wireless industry was free from adhering to the regulations of previous telecoms, the VoIP industry was expected to adhere to “legacy regulations” that hindered the industry’s growth. He is hoping that under the new administration the FCC will revise its technology regulations, especially those concerning VoIP to allow for growth in the industry so that it is “cool to be a geek again.” Although it may seem idealistic of him to believe that VoIP will make us “more likely to have less war” (due to increased communication), his point that the new FCC chairman will have the opportunity to encourage and facilitate industry growth is a good one.

Watch the video interview at Informilo.

VoIP Lives!

 At the beginning of the year it was difficult to find any news about VoIP without some reference to the speculation that “VoIP is dead.” IN-stat has just released a new market research report indicating that the VoIP market is not only alive and kicking but continuing to grow at a healthy pace. With the advent of the desktop media phone, which more fully integrates voice and information services, the report indicates that 31 million business VoIP phones will ship in 2012, which is pretty strong evidence that  VoIP isn’t on its last legs yet.

The Different Flavors of VoIP

Lots of companies talk about VoIP but exactly what does it mean? Well, the truth is, VoIP means a lot of different things, in the same way that ice cream means a lot of things. There needs to be a descriptor in front of “VoIP” to accurately explain a service—Peer-to-Peer VoIP, Virtual PBX, Hosted PBX, Managed VoIP, because all are different and distinct. Here’s a quick look at each niche:

Peer-to-Peer

What it is: Two people who have downloaded the same software can talk directly for free. The service uses the existing internet connections between two computers to allow people to communicate via headsets.

Example: Skype, Gizmo Project

What you should know: It is free but works best for individuals (when you want to chat with your kids or spouse from a business trip, for instance) especially for international communication. However it’s not a comprehensive enough as a tool for business needs.

Residential

What it is: You use your analog phone to call people. The only thing different from traditional analog service is that call is going over the Internet instead of a phone line. The advantage is that you get unlimited usage for a flat fee, as opposed to per minute rates.

Example: Vonage, Packet8

What you should know: You get what you pay for. The price is better than a regular phone but service can be spotty.

Virtual PBX

What it is: An inbound office presence for individuals who want a toll free number with extensions. If you have a one-person firm, you can set up a virtual PBX and have callers press one for sales, two for marketing and three for technology. Then you can have all extensions routed to the same phone.

Example: GotVMail, RingCentral

What you should know: This service is geared towards entrepreneurs who are on the road or work from home and need an office appearance for inbound calls. There is no outbound functionality with a Virtual PBX, so you must use another service to make outgoing calls, such as another VoIP service, cell phone, or analog phone. It is inexpensive but functionality is limited.

Hosted PBX

What it is: A private branch exchange for your office, hosted in the internet cloud. There are phones with extensions, voicemail, auto attendants and more, but no central piece of equipment at your office. The central technology is hosted by the provider. All functionality is managed via a web page. Individual extensions settings can be managed online, as well as auto-attendant settings and call routing.

Example: Aptela, Vocalocity

What you should know: You get more functionality than with a virtual PBX, yet you don’t have to spend as much as you would on a managed business VoIP. However the service comes over the public internet, so quality isn’t guaranteed.

Managed Business Voip/ Managed Hosted PBX

What it is: Nearly identical to a hosted PBX, except everything runs on private lines, instead of the public Internet. This is ideal for a very large company that will be in trouble if its phone system goes down, even on a very rare occasion and even if only for a few minutes as these services generally guarantee quality and connectivity.

Example: M5, Smoothstone

What you should know: Superior quality control but by far the most expensive of all VoIP options. Additionally managed solutions require onsite install and maintenance.