Voice & Data Systems Explains the Value of Call Recording and Why Businesses Should Care

OMAHA, NE AND COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA
September 28, 2010 - When a business owner is looking to set up the phones within his company, he can't help but be overwhelmed with complex terms like VoIP, SIP, Hosted VoIP, PBX Systems, Managed Services, and Unified

Communications. In today's world, a business owner is expected to understand the relevance and significance of every single feature that their Unified Communications provider offers. However, many business owners don't receive the proper explanation as to how that feature can be applied to benefit their organization. Some of the usages of the Call Recording feature make it one of the top features a business owner should take into consideration when examining their communications needs.

The most obvious application of Call Recording is in situations that deal with liability. Professionals who deal with the dissemination of sensitive information should be using Call Recording at all times, as it is the easiest way to ensure compliance to procedures and reduce the risk of litigation. Call Recording is indispensible to both the Medical and Legal fields and it would be reckless for an organization to continue to run itself without implementing this technology.

One of the other usages of Call Recording, which is often overlooked, is as a training tool for a sales team. When a salesperson is given the opportunity to record his or her calls, they can review their recordings to improve their skills and understand how they really sound when they're communicating with prospects. This easy to use tool helps managers coach salespeople in a constructive manner and improve the overall health of the company.

Customer service representatives are also well suited to take advantage of this type of function when working with customers. When a conversation takes a turn and needs to be recorded, contemporary Call Recording technology provides users with a way to record a conversation even after a call has been initiated. Users can then add their own comments and send that recording as an attachment in an email. This simple, but necessary technology, is allowing professionals to collaborate, create accountability and improve their businesses like never before.

From my experiences, most companies would be shocked by what their employees are saying, how they're saying it, and what message they're communicating to the outside world. I couldn't imagine running a sales force without giving our salespeople the ability to listen to their own recordings. This tool is as valuable as it is practical, and it has provided our organization with a much-needed competitive advantage even in today's markets.

As the world continues to flatten, more companies are entering existing markets, while even more competitors are extending their reach into new markets. The added pressure of the financial crisis is pushing businesses harder than ever to find new ways to differentiate themselves. In order to stay competitive, businesses need to leverage technologies in order to create competitive advantages for themselves. Call Recording is one the simplest and most cost-effective ways to accomplish this, so it's only a matter of time before this becomes an industry standard. In sum, if you haven't started using Call Recording yet… you will.

ABOUT VOICE & DATA SYSTEMS

Voice & Data Systems provides state-of-the-art communications technology to businesses in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro and surrounding communities. The company creates customized, turnkey solutions specific to their customer's business for telephone systems, data networks and converged networking applications. Voice & Data Systems friendly, manufacturer-certified technicians are available 24/7 to serve business needs for communication systems as well as voice, data, fiber optic and video cabling, testing and troubleshooting. Their mission is to provide technology solutions that increase their customers' profitability, improve employee productivity, and give them a competitive advantage in their marketplace. For more information, please call (402) 571- 9049 or visit www.voicendata.net.

Companies Team Up to Deliver Best-In-Class Zultys IP PBX Solution


OMAHA, NE AND COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – August 31, 2010 – Zultys Inc., the premier developer and manufacturer of pure SIP-based Unified Communication solution for business and enterprises, today announced the formation of a strategic partnership with Voice & Data Systems. The companies have aligned in order to distribute and promote the popular Zultys VoIP PBX.

“Voice & Data Systems is an excellent match,” said Steve Rothenberg, CEO of Zultys. “Voice & Data Systems always wants to provide their customers a competitive advantage while increasing their profitability. They found the solution with Zultys. They’ve demonstrated that they are a high performing organization that offers world class service to their customers.”

As a leading provider of Unified Communications solutions, Voice & Data Systems offers an array of technology that helps their customers achieve their strategic business objectives. Now an authorized dealer for Zultys Inc. products, Voice & Data Systems will drive SIP IP PBX sales in the region.

Zultys Inc. offers industry leading communication flexibility through powerful features [voice, IM, Email, presence, find me–follow me, call recording, contact center, voicemail and multi location networking] designed to boost productivity, reduce complexity, ease administration, reduce costs and provide high availability. The solution has become priceless to telecommuters and remote workers.

Zultys Inc. received the 2009 Innovation Award from TMC’s Next Generation Networks as well as being named by Unified Communications magazine as a recipient of the 2008 Product of the Year Award.

ABOUT VOICE & DATA SYSTEMS
Voice & Data Systems provides state-of-the-art communications technology to businesses in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro and surrounding communities. The company creates customized, turnkey solutions specific to their customer's business for telephone systems, data networks and converged networking applications. Voice & Data Systems friendly, manufacturer-certified technicians are available 24/7 to serve business needs for communication systems as well as voice, data, fiber optic and video cabling, testing and troubleshooting. Their mission is to provide technology solutions that increase their customers' profitability, improve employee productivity, and give them a competitive advantage in their marketplace. For more information, please call (402) 571-9049 or visit www.voicendata.net.


ABOUT ZULTYS
Based on open standards, Zultys Inc., a Silicon Valley company founded in 2001, manufactures feature-rich Business Phone Systems that easily scale to thousands of users. Zultys makes your business needs our priority. Our solution supports MAC, Windows 32 or 64 Bit or Linux users and integrates features such as soft-phone, Find me Follow me, Presence, Secure Chat, Tele-worker support, IVR, ACD, Call Record, Fax Origination/Termination, Cell Phone Twinning and much more. Not only is our solution cost effective, but it also provides the highest energy efficiency with its compact single server all-in-one design. Zultys’ distributed architecture also helps companies maintain high availability, while being simple to install, manage and scale. For more information, visit us at www.zultys.com.

LINCOLN, Neb., July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Voice and Data Distributing (VDD), a subsidiary of Voice & Data Systems, and Cost Effective Technologies (CET), a subsidiary of Nelnet, today announced that VDD has become an Authorized Distributor for CET's comprehensive cloud services marketplace. The distributorship will focus on cloud services deployment in the telecommunications channel.  

"While the telecommunications industry is clearly excited about cloud technology, it has struggled with how to effectively deliver cloud services through a Master Agent platform," said Brian Barnes, Channel Manager for VDD. "For the first time, VDD will be able to accomplish that because of the innovative and powerful platform CET provides telecom Master Agents.  CET's unique approach comprehensively delivers software as a service, infrastructure as a service, and managed IT services into the agent channel."

The CET cloud services marketplace places all the necessary tools in the agent's hands so that they can be successful as the world shifts into the cloud. The solution has been specifically designed for Master Agents who work with small and mid-sized organizations.

"Everyone knows that the move to the cloud is inevitable, but to date, telecom agents have not had an intelligently designed, easy way to help their customers make the transition," said Hannah Smitterberg, co-founder of CET. "We are confident that our platform will enable agents all over the country to be the providers of better technology at a lower cost, and we believe that VDD will play a pioneering role in helping the telecom industry make the shift."

The alliance will immediately focus on introducing the platform into the national telecommunications channel.

About VDD

Voice and Data Distributing (VDD), a wholly owned subsidiary of Voice & Data Systems, Inc., specializes in developing Master Agent Channels for emerging technology service providers, telecommunications carriers and manufacturers.  The VDD staff have decades of experience in the telecommunications industry and have developed multi-tiered channel agent models with cloud based technology since industry inception. VDD works with multiple Master Agents and their customers across the globe, and possesses a unique ability to educate, service and translate emerging technology benefits to end user customers. They specialize in delivering optimum cost savings and superior technology to the small and medium-sized markets. For more information, visit www.voicendatadistributing.com.  

About CET

Cost Effective Technologies sets the new standard in IT services. A subsidiary of Nebraska-based Nelnet, which has been providing technology-driven business process outsourcing solutions for more than 30 years, CET is a leading provider of private, secure, and affordable web-based computing platforms for small and mid-sized organizations. CET not only provides enterprise-level support for existing computer networks, but—unlike any other organization—it also provides a flexible, efficient, and secure cloud computing platform that is stocked with a comprehensive suite of business applications that are securely accessed over the Internet. CET's cloud computing solution is easy to use and reduces the need for expensive hardware, software, installation, and support. For more information, visit www.gocetech.com.

SOURCE CET
Original Article Posted on PR Newswire

RELATED LINKS
http://www.gocetech.com/
http://www.voicendatadistributing.com

Steve Sawtell of Voice & Data Systems Describes Why This Solution Is in High Demand from Small to Mid-Sized Businesses

OMAHA, NE AND COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA - DATE - Hosted VoIP is quickly expanding its footprint in the small to mid-sized business (SMB) marketplace because it dramatically improves an organization's profitability, reduces its risk and adds an unmatched level of flexibility to its current operations.  In layman's terms, hosted VoIP is a solution which enables businesses to utilize their Internet bandwidth to handle their communications needs, rather than forcing businesses to rely on traditional solutions, such as PBX hardware TDM switch that reside on site.  According to a report by AMI Partners, "Hosted VoIP in the North American SMB market is projected to expand from 2% market penetration to over 30% by 2014."  Adoption rates are keeping pace with these aggressive growth projections and these can be explained by five key reasons:


Cost Structure

In today's unforgiving economic environment, business owners are being forced to reexamine their expenses to see what can be eliminated, minimized, or streamlined.  The fundamental reason that businesses are adopting hosted VoIP technology is because of the profound effects it has on the bottom line.  Since, hosted VoIP is able to "piggyback" phone usage on top of Internet bandwidth, SMBs are able to enjoy substantial upfront cost savings, as well as recurring savings when they implement hosted VoIP.  The reason for this is because businesses don't need to buy expensive systems or hardware anymore, instead they're just purchasing individual VoIP handsets. Instead of purchasing hardware products, (PBX systems, desk phones, new cables, etc.) businesses are receiving software-centric value (Connectivity, Call Tracking and Reporting, Voice-to-text transcription, softphones, etc.). This means that a new phone system is no longer a capital expenditure, but it's simply a lower level operating expense.  Plus, the ongoing costs associated with hosted VoIP fluctuates as a function of demand.


It Puts Your Communications on Auto-Pilot...

For an SMB, resources are scarce.  Businesses don't have the time, nor the resources to spend dozens of hours training or supporting employees with new technology.  Instead of learning how to program button commands or memorizing extensions, hosted VoIP requires the most minimal levels of supervision possible and can be remotely handled by the unified communications partner.  Since it's run off a simple web interface, businesses don't need extra IT staff to manage their communications.   With most providers it takes about five minutes for someone to explain how you use the interface, and you'll probably end up figuring it out for yourself before they even finish talking.  One person can manage all the features, add users and subtract users, so the IT department can focus on fulfilling its other duties.  Not only does hosted VoIP free-up labor hours, but since it's web-based, it can update itself and keep pace with the ever-changing demands of today's business environment.


Business Continuity

Power outages and natural disasters are threats facing all businesses but hosted VoIP provides a way for organizations to minimize the negative impacts associated with these occurrences.  Businesses are attracted to hosted VoIP's ability to handle these situations smoothly.  The box that runs an SMB's communications system is off-premise in a secure location, and is backed up several times over.  What this ultimately means for organizations is that in the event of a disaster, the business can continue to operate just as if nothing had happened.


Scalability

In today's world, business owners are expected to know what's around every corner and they can't afford to be locked into inflexible technology.  Hosted VoIP enables businesses to neutralize the risk of the volatile economy.  Where traditional phone systems are affixed to a certain number of employees, hosted VoIP can provide organizations with the flexibility they need to survive.  Whether scaling up, or scaling down, the costs of adjusting your communications infrastructure to meet your needs are miniscule.

Freedom

Emergent businesses in the SMB marketplace are using remote applications to enhance their productivity, whether they're in the office or not.  Technology such as softphones enable organizations to work from any location, at any time and still preserve the same levels of professionalism exhibited by the largest companies in the market.

Hosted VoIP is an absolutely powerful technology that is driving profitability and improving employee productivity, while providing companies with a unique competitive advantage.  In today's rapidly changing business environment, organizations need to be agile and they cannot afford to be held hostage by static, on premise technology.  Hosted VoIP gives business owners the freedom to adopt the latest in communications technology and the peace of mind that it automatically happens.

ABOUT VOICE & DATA SYSTEMS

Voice & Data Systems provides state-of-the-art communications technology to businesses in the  Omaha-Council Bluffs metro and surrounding communities. The company creates customized, turnkey solutions specific to their customer's business for telephone systems, data networks and converged networking applications. Voice & Data Systems  friendly, manufacturer-certified technicians are available 24/7 to serve business needs for communication systems as well as voice, data, fiber optic and video cabling, testing and troubleshooting. Their mission is to provide technology solutions that increase their customers' profitability, improve employee productivity, and give them a competitive advantage in their marketplace.  For more information, please call (402) 571-9049 or visit www.voicendata.net.

Advancements in Technology & Cost Reduction Is Driving Demand for Popular Business Communications System

OMAHA, NE AND COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA - DATE - Voice & Data Systems, an industry leader in unified communications, announced today that hosted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is experiencing tremendous adoption by small to mid-sized businesses.  A number of distinct benefits such as superior quality of service, reduction of cost, flexibility, built in business continuity and advanced applications are driving the demand for hosted VoIP technology.

Unlike a traditional phone system, hosted VoIP requires no on-site PBX hardware.  Instead the technology uses VoIP service to place and receive calls using the Internet. This service is frequently hosted remotely by a 3rd party VoIP provider.  As a result, an end user's communication via VoIP service is handled by redundant enterprise servers offsite.  In addition to the profound upfront cost savings this presents, hosted VoIP technology enables one's phone system to be completely scalable and flexible.  An organization can add or remove phones on a hosted system any time. 

Hosted VoIP serves the needs of entrepreneurs and enterprises alike, by delivering powerful features such as improved call quality, valuable disaster recovery tools, and applications designed specifically for telecommuters and remote workers.  Included in the system are advanced features such as unified messaging, automatic call distribution, auto attendant, call recording, call flow reporting as well as traditional PBX features.

The U.S. business hosted IP voice services market is expected to grow from 828,350 seats in 2008 to 4,910,499 seats in 2013, a CAGR of 42.8%, according to Interactive Data Corporation (IDC), a market research firm specifically focused on the IT segment.  "The SMB marketplace has started to really embrace hosted VoIP because it dramatically increases their profitability and gives them a competitive advantage," said Steve Sawtell, President of Voice & Data Systems.  "For many customers off premise communications technology is preferable.  In a hosted environment, companies can take advantage of flexible technology knowing that if a disaster occurs, whether a power outage or natural, the system will remain up without interruption."

"After we understand our customers' strategic business objectives we recommend the right technology to support all of their needs and in many cases that means a hosted solution," added Mr. Sawtell.  "Hosted VoIP is quickly becoming more than an acronym, it's raising the bar for Unified Communications providers, while giving businesses the edge they need to compete in today's marketplace."

ABOUT VOICE & DATA SYSTEMS

Voice & Data Systems provides state-of-the-art communications technology to businesses in the  Omaha-Council Bluffs metro and surrounding communities. The company creates customized, turnkey solutions specific to their customer's business for telephone systems, data networks and converged networking applications. Voice & Data Systems  friendly, manufacturer-certified technicians are available 24/7 to serve business needs for communication systems as well as voice, data, fiber optic and video cabling, testing and troubleshooting. Their mission is to provide technology solutions that increase their customers' profitability, improve employee productivity, and give them a competitive advantage in their marketplace.  For more information, please call (402) 571-9049 or visit www.voicendata.net.