VoIP has been taking a lot of flak in the media lately. It?s been getting attention as one of the areas of technology that is likely to see a significant rise in security threats in the upcoming year. It?s been suggested that the frequent use of VoIP tech support means that the service is difficult for people to understand. These major issues and other minor VoIP problems have made it so that many businesses continue to watch VoIP with a wary eye. But you don?t have to stand by the sidelines. VoIP is here and it can make your business better; you just need to know what to do about the problems that are part of using VoIP.
VoIP Security Threats
One of the biggest areas of concern that surrounds VoIP, especially for businesses, is that it has been targeted as a technological area expected to see significant growth in security attacks. This IS a problem. But it doesn?t have to mean that you should scrap your VoIP system. Making your VoIP system secure is getting easier thanks to advances in both VoIP and security technology. You wouldn?t get rid of your computers because they might get hacked; you?d make them more secure. Do the same thing with your VoIP system.
The specific tools that you will use to boost your VoIP security will depend on the VoIP system that you are using. You should invest the time and money to work with a professional who can assist you in finding and implementing the right tools. However, the basics of VoIP protection are the same. You should find tools that will prevent attacks as well as tools that will minimize damage if attacks occur. You should also make sure that your internal business policies reflect your awareness that VoIP information should be protected. You probably don?t give every single person in your business access to confidential business information that they don?t need; make sure that you set up VoIP access in the same way. Make use of VPN's and other technology to give hierarchical access to needed areas of your system.
Tech Support Required
Another VoIP news item that the media latched on to recently is that there are a significant number of people who require tech support to use their VoIP systems. Some of this is hype that just doesn?t apply to businesses. Residential users who aren?t familiar with setting up basic computer systems frequently have to get help from tech support. That?s what tech support is there for. However, businesses with computer knowledge or an on-site IT guy don?t usually have to rely on tech support to keep their systems going. The statistics might be true but they don?t indicate that VoIP is a difficult system to use.
There?s nothing wrong with using your VoIP provider?s tech support as needed anyway. However, you can minimize your need for it by learning some basic VoIP troubleshooting techniques on your own. With the money that you save on calling costs by using VoIP, you can probably even afford to add this service to the list of things your IT guy does for you. Learn more about VoIP troubleshooting from this recent post.
VoIP is New
One of the complaints that businesses continue to have is that VoIP is new and they want to wait until it?s more well-established before signing on. This fear was exacerbated at the beginning of the year when SunRocket went out of business and many VoIP users were left hanging. However, the fact of the matter is that VoIP isn?t really a new technology. In fact, there is a growing system of productivity tools which is being added to daily and VoIP is one of the older players in that system.
To limit the problems that your business sees as a result of VoIP being a ?new? technology, you should do your research. Find a VoIP company that has established itself not only as a VoIP provider but as a provider of VoIP services for businesses the same size as yours. There are enough players in the VoIP game these days that you should be able to select the right provider for meeting your needs. Additionally, you should continue to watch VoIP news so that you know what changes and improvements are being made to the service as it continues to get older.
There are inevitably going to be some problems that arise when using VoIP services, just like there are problems with implementing any type of technology in the office. You wouldn?t get rid of the technology that benefits you (such as computer databases and Internet connections) just because they have some problems. Instead, you?d learn some basic troubleshooting and hire IT professionals to resolve problems as they arise. VoIP is here to stay and it can benefit your business so it should be treated in this same manner.
Question of the Day: What VoIP problem concerns you most?
You?re having a problem with your in-office VoIP and you?re losing out on business because of it. Who do you call? As businesses transition to making their calls through VoIP systems, they may find that they aren?t quite sure who is supposed to handle the behind-the-scenes VoIP repair that inevitably comes up. Should the VoIP provider be responsible for taking care of the problems or should someone be hired in-house to handle problems as they arise. The answer is both.
A recent survey suggested that nearly thirty percent of VoIP users require some form of technical assistance for using their VoIP. This can be attributed to a variety of different problems including standard computer bugs, user issues and bigger system problems. If you?re using a VoIP service provider which is known for impressing its customers by providing immediate technical assistance to resolve your problems, then you probably don?t need to worry too much.
However, the fact of the matter is that most technical assistance isn?t available as immediately as your business would like it to be. Even those companies which do provide superior 24/7 on-call assistance can?t always get your business back up and running as rapidly as you?d like to see it happen. You can grumble about it and threaten to switch services and rant to your co-workers about the ineptitude of technical assistance these days. Or you can do something about it.
If you really want your business to thrive, you should take some responsibility for learning how to do some basic VoIP troubleshooting and make some simple fixes. Whether you make this part of your own job or assign those duties to your company?s IT guy is entirely up to you but someone who is active on site should be able to resolve the most basic VoIP problems that you might come across. To get started with learning to troubleshoot your VoIP, you should read through the materials that came with your system. You should also search out forums and blogs that cover your particular system. There are some basic VoIP troubleshooting links below to help you begin.
Sometimes you will need to contact the technical assistance of your VoIP provider to remedy the problems that crop up. For that reason, you should make sure that you?re working with a VoIP provider which has tech support available and a customer service department that meets its stated goals. However, you shouldn?t leave the resolution of all VoIP problems to the provider. If there are things that you can do in-house to get your shaky system up and running better, take the responsibility for doing so. Your business will benefit.
Links for VoIP troubleshooting:
- VoIPTroubleshooter.com
- Troubleshooting Enterprise VoIP
- How to Debug and Troubleshoot VoIP
- Cisco: Troubleshooting and Debugging VoIP calls
- VoIP Troubleshooting with PingPlotter
- Managing and Troubleshooting VoIP
Question of the Day: What has your experience with VoIP tech support been like so far?
It?s CyberMonday and nobody in your business, including yourself, really wants to spend the day getting work done. You all know that you should probably be productive since you already lost two full work days last week to Thanksgiving celebrations and the annual tryptophan haze. But you?re the first to admit that you just don?t feel like it. Perhaps you can make use of your Monday by getting everyone in the office involved in a little bit of VoIP shopping.
Despite the fact that the popularity of CyberMonday has gone down since faster broadband speeds have made online shopping from home easier, people still like to come back to the office on the Monday after Thanksgiving and spend their time doing shopping. The reason for this isn?t so much that they feel like they didn?t get all of their holiday deals completed. It?s that they just really don?t want to work. By encouraging everyone to do some shopping for the company today, you satisfy their need to spend the day doing something that seems a little bit lazy and you still benefit the business. By shopping for VoIP, a product which increases efficiency and productivity immediately as well as over time, you further increase the benefits of using today to do some shopping.
Your best bet for maximizing CyberMonday in this way is to get everyone in the business involved in some aspect of VoIP shopping. Make it a group effort or formulate a friendly competition out of it. If you don?t already have VoIP services, you can set teams up to research and analyze the different VoIP companies and products that you have been considering for purchase. If you already make use of VoIP in the office, have people look into products that could be added to your system to improve the efficiency of VoIP in your office. Make sure that you have at least one team of employees specifically focused on security additions for VoIP since it?s been pointed out recently that VoIP may pose significant security risks for businesses.
Have everyone get together in the conference room (or on video conference if you all work from remote locations) at the end of the business day to assess and discuss what has been discovered. This won?t feel like work to anyone in the business; it will feel almost like a party. However, it will provide the business with numerous benefits. You?ll get an improved VoIP system which maximizes future productivity. At the same time, you?ll have minimized the loss of productivity that many businesses will be seeing today as their employees do personal CyberMonday shopping. It?s a win-win situation.
Question of the Day: In what other ways will you make CyberMonday productive but fun?
Nobody expects you to place voice communication at the top of the list of things that you?re thankful for as you sit down to celebrate with friends and family tomorrow. Obviously you?re going to be feeling more gratitude for the people that you have in your life, the food that you?ve got on your table and the health of yourself and those around you. But Thanksgiving weekend is a long weekend in which you?re going to have a lot of time to think about all of the different things that you appreciate. When the big things are out of the way and your mind turns to the smaller stuff, you might want to remember that voice communications tools have brought a lot of great things to your life lately.
Here are five voice communications benefits that you can be thankful for:
1. More time for other things. VoIP systems streamline your productivity, making you more efficient in all of your business life. For many people, this means that work is getting done during normal business hours and you don?t have to take it home with you at the end of the day. This allows you to actually have time to enjoy off-the-phone hobbies and to spend time with the people that you love. If you?ve spent pleasant time with your friends and family sometime between this year and last Thanksgiving, consider whether or not VoIP?s efficiency was to thank.
2. Working from the beach. When you can?t get away from your computer, advanced voice communications technologies let you take your work somewhere more pleasant than the office. Push e-mail functions even let you leave the laptop behind and use your mobile phone for important business. With data and voice in one place, no client needs to know that you?re consulting while sitting on a poolside balcony in your PJs.
3. Higher profits. Everyone talks about how VoIP lowers your calling costs. That?s true. What that means is that when you consider all of your money going out and income coming in, you are earning more. Higher profits ? whether those are in your pocket or your business bank account ? mean that you have more money to spend on the other things that you want.
4. Global communications. VoIP facilitates global calling. This means that you can do business with people all over the world. It also means that you can afford to call Grandma even if you didn?t actually get to go see her this Thanksgiving. That?s just one example of how VoIP benefits both your business and your personal life in the same way.
5. Mobile shopping. You might like getting a deal but not enough to go out into the mess that is Black Friday. A terrific feature of mobile phones today is that they allow you to easily get your shopping done without ever leaving the comfort of your home or office (learn more). And many websites offer Thanksgiving weekend deals just like they would in-store. Get online and order office supplies, gifts for your co-workers and some fun things for yourself as well. After all, it is a holiday.
Voice communications systems are improving every day. By Thanksgiving of next year, you?re going to have a whole list of other ways that these tools have improved your life. Now go prepare that turkey and get ready to reap the rewards.
Question of the Day: What is the business technology that you are most thankful for this year?
You can?t turn around in a room of important press releases without bumping into Jajah. The not-quite-three-year-old company made headlines last month with its innovative addition of Jajah web buttons to a number of online sites. They made the news again last week when they announced their new targeted advertising approach for phone calls. The company recently released additional information about their advertising which includes an important partnership with Jangl. And now they?ve also let the world know that they?re bringing VoIP to people who aren?t even at a computer through their launch of Jajah Direct.
From the number of press releases that the company puts out, it seems that they are poised to take the world of voice communications by storm. But are all of these different announcements really so different? Let?s take a closer look at each of them and see how they are all connected:
Web ButtonsJajah released a series of web buttons that facilitate making phone calls through various sites. One of the major sites that this is found to be useful for is LinkedIn. Business professionals can go to their LinkedIn profile, generate online conversations with potential clients and then easily complete transactions through voice calls by utilizing the Jajah buttons.
Call Advertising
Jajah made an important move recently when the company announced that it would be adding opt-in voice advertising to its calling systems. Using a targeted advertising model inspired by Google?s AdWords, this sets the stage for Jajah to lead an innovative approach to accessing a new ad market.
Partnership with Jangl
The company has made some big news lately with an announcement that they are partnering with Jangl, a company which has focused on developing Internet calls for social networking. The partnership serves to increase the customer base for both companies while bringing new technologies to existing customers of each business. It is through this partnership that the above-mentioned call advertising is taking place.
Jajah Direct
Jajah?s most recent press release announces that they will be bringing VoIP services to people who aren?t using computers through their new Jajah Direct system. From your landline or cell phone, you can make calls at local costs from any destination using a phone number obtained through your registration with Jajah. Rather than VoIP, you are basically using Jajah like you would use a calling card.
So are these four announcements different? Yes and no. The first three announcements are all interrelated. The partnership with Jangl and the introduction of web buttons are both tools to facilitate Jajah?s move into online social networking. The advertising approach is made possible by the partnership with Jangl. But the release of Jajah Direct is something a little bit different. So although it is true that Jajah is over-hyping some of its news with excessive press releases, the company IS bringing new things to the voice communications table.
So what? What does all of this mean for your business? It means that Jajah is a company to watch, both for the calling services that they can offer to you and as a business with an inspiring approach to marketing itself. Even when the dust from the hype settles, Jajah is bringing some really unique tools to its customers. It is moving into areas of advertising that can significantly grow your business. And Jajah is also offering additional methods of lowering your company?s calling costs (such as Jajah Direct for those times when you aren?t in the office).
Of equal importance, Jajah is actively demonstrating how you can spread the word about your company through multiple approaches to get the attention of new clients. This is something that your own company can probably take advantage of. You can spin your existing products by making new announcements about some aspect of them that your clients don?t already know. The lesson to be learned from Jajah is that you also have to regularly introduce new products and services to keep people interested in your work.
Question of the Day: Which aspect of Jajah?s voice communications interests you most as a business person?
Phone Connection Technorati Profile
Industry analysts are paid big chunks of money to predict the future. Of course, no one can really say for sure what trends are going to take off and which are going to fizzle. But with the amount of effort (and money) that is put into assessing the growth of various kinds of technology, it?s usually safe to put at least a little bit of stock in those predictions. The industry seems to be in agreement right now that VoIP is not only growing but will continue to grow, rapidly and across the board, for at least the next five years.
One area where a significant amount of VoIP growth is predicted is in the development of mobile VoIP. This little-used service has only just begun to gain the attention of business persons who want to integrate VoIP into their business travel and commute communications. A report by Disruptive Analysis took a close look at the industry and determined that it is likely the world will have a quarter million mobile VoIP users by 2012. This use will come from a combination of users accessing VoIP through their own cell phone carriers and those who use independent computer-based VoIP on their mobile phones.
Mobile VoIP isn?t the only area of VoIP where growth is predicted. MyVoIPConsultant, a company which consults for Asterisk based VoIP systems cites statistics that VoIP will grow from ten million users today to twenty four million by the end of next year. This is important for the business sector because much of this two-and-a-half fold growth is going to take place in the small and medium business sector. The major reason for this is the cost savings that VoIP allows. According to the consultant agency, ninety-nine percent of businesses that switch from a four-phones-or-more landline system to an Asterisk-based VoIP system save over 60% on their calling costs.
So VoIP is seeing growth in different areas of the technology as well as in specific companies doing this kind of business. But you should also know that the bad guys are keeping up with the changes. Another area of VoIP that is growing is in security threats. McAfee recently released their predictions for major security threats in 2008 and VoIP software appears to be a major target. They predict as much as a fifty percent increase in VoIP software attacks by cybercriminals. This doesn?t mean that you have to be afraid to join the VoIP parade but you should make sure to carry your virtual pepper spray in the form of increased security for your VoIP system.
VoIP is not just the future of business. It?s really how things are being done right now. As more and more businesses realize this, the number of VoIP users is going to grow rapidly. All predictions seem to point to the fact that all different types of VoIP can be expected to see more users than ever before. This could drive costs down further and make adopting VoIP even easier for businesses. However, that money shouldn?t just go in the bank; you should put it into strengthening your VoIP software security. You don't want to add your business to the bandwagon only to fall off when the ride gets bumpy.
Question of the Day: Do you think VoIP alone will continue to grow or are Unified Communications systems going to be the wave of the future?
The term ?Google AdWords? probably means something to you. For many businesses, it means a stream of revenue that was unheard of ten years ago but which is critical to business success today. But Web 2.0 is changing quickly and AdWords is only one option for online advertising today. Jajah is on the cusp of creating something quite similar to AdWords for VoIP, bringing advertising technology to the computer communications systems being used in the modern market.
Jajah has launched an opt-in advertising voice service, dubbed ?The World?s First Voice 2.0 Advertising Network, which will go live at the end of this month. Jajah users can elect to add advertising and get to share in the earnings that occur as a result of the audio ad. This reduces the already-low cost of the VoIP call. The business saves money by electing to use advertising and may even find that profits are being made. Doesn?t sound possible? Neither did making money from AdWords.
Advertising is obviously an important aspect of any business. Since the development of AdWords, we have seen advertising change so that everyone involved can benefit. The user receives marketing that targets his/her shopping preferences rather than being bombarded with ads that hold no interest. The advertiser sees a boost in sales of products or services. And the platforms assisting with the ads, be it websites or the new VoIP technology, earn money off of helping to facilitate the transaction.
People have expressed concerns in the past about phone advertising. This is because no one wants their calls interrupted to be brought an ?important message?. However, the public is becoming more accepting of phone advertising with the changing mobile technology which has begun to incorporate targeted ads on Wi-Fi connected phones. Jajah is making the next leap by bringing this technology to VoIP. When you make a VoIP call, you normally hear a ring before the recipient picks up (as with any phone). Instead of the ring, you will hear the ad. The ad will be targeted to the details of your call. So if you?re calling a client in Los Angeles from your office in San Francisco, you may hear an ad for a restaurant near you in San Francisco or for a great hotel offer in Los Angeles. The advertisements are short and sweet, you can take them or leave them and then your call is connected.
As a businessperson, this offers many benefits. The most obvious one is that you?ll reduce your call costs and earn money if you?re already using Jajah for your VoIP system. But even if you?re not using Jajah, benefits could follow. You could be among the first to get in on advertising on the Jajah system. People all around the world could be hearing new audio ads with your message. It?s a novel approach to advertising and forward-thinking companies are always seeing if novel can work in their favor.
Question of the Day: As a Jajah user, would you opt-in to allow advertising to further reduce your VoIP call costs?
Links: Jajah launch announcement, Jajah's Web Buttons information
VoIP services are all about connecting people?s voices to one another easily through your Internet connection. There are numerous benefits to this, of course, but an important one is that it allows for the development and interaction of personalities to take place on a more natural level. Miscommunication in email and instant messaging is common because people can?t always easily read each other?s written intentions correctly. Adding voice inflection makes it easier to understand the other party; clarification of any confusing messages is also facilitated.
But sometimes a voice isn?t enough to make the online interaction complete. Sometimes you really need a face to go with the name.
There are times when you are communicating with someone and their words don?t match their expressions. Everything that they are saying makes sense. You?re swayed by the smooth tone of their voice and the persistent message that their slogans so succinctly encapsulate. But then you look them in the eye ? and you just know. We have years of experience reading the messages behind people?s words. VoIP alone doesn?t always allow us to make use of those gut instincts which are sometimes crucial to making the right decisions for our business.
As Unified Communications systems become more developed, we are going to see a much more common blend of VoIP services with video conferencing. This will allow us to make use of more than just the voices that are on the other end of the transaction. We will also be able to turn on our cameras and look our business associates in the eye. When used correctly, this kind of additional service can make or break a business.
But of course, this works both ways. When you turn on your webcam and start to speak, the individual on the other side of the computer screen is going to be reading you as well. Your facial expressions will come through. That tic in your eye that starts up every time you?re a little dishonest will reveal the facts behind your glorified numbers. To use video services, you?ll need to be as honest online as you are in person. By virtue of this, people will have a tendency to automatically place additional credibility in your services if you choose to add video to your calls. They?ll see that you aren?t afraid to essentially look them in the eye.
Before adding video to your important VoIP calls, you should test it out in the office. You want to know what people are seeing when they look at you during the call. Have a co-worker sit at your desk and use your webcam while you work from another computer. Screen the image carefully to make sure that the headshot of you speaking doesn?t contain anything in the background that you don?t want clients and investors to see. Make sure that you know how to properly use your webcam with your VoIP services so that the interaction is smooth. (You may alternatively use a video-enabled VoIP phone or other combination of video services.) The point is that you want people to see the full package when they start to see you online.
Question of the Day: How has video enhanced your online communications?
There are a few major reasons that businesses use Facebook instead of many of the other online social networking sites that are out there. One is that there are such a vast number of people on Facebook that it is an excellent platform for social networking. Another is that Facebook has gained some credibility over the years for professional use as opposed to many of the other social networking sites which remain more for kids than adults. But one of the biggest reasons that business professionals use Facebook as their primary social networking tool is that it offers users so many different applications to improve their business practices.
Unfortunately, VoIP is not yet one of those applications.
Well, that?s not entirely true. There are applications available for Facebook which include some aspects of VoIP technology. However, as was recently pointed out in an overview of those applications by VoIP News, there is no official VoIP application for Facebook professionals to utilize.
Why would you want to integrate social networking and VoIP? One of the main purposes of VoIP is to streamline your business in order to increase efficiency and productivity. Social networking should be a major part of your business life (see this recent article if you aren?t sure why). And since you should be doing a lot of online networking, you should do what you can to streamline your efforts.
Let?s use an example of why VoIP would be great for use on a social networking site like Facebook. Imagine that you have developed a strong network of Facebook connections but they aren?t people with whom you regularly do business. You write an article for your site that points to a new product you have just begun to offer. Using Facebook, you make an announcement about the article to every one of those connections. If a VoIP application were available, people in your network with an interest in the product could easily place a call to you to get their questions about it answered. This would clearly facilitate sales of the product.
As multiple services are integrated, this will become even more important. An article at Disruptive Technology last month discussed applications which allow for increased use of social networking sites on Blackberry phones. Additional phone advancements are making it more possible than ever before to do your social networking on your cell phone while you?re waiting in lines or traffic. As phones add VoIP capabilities, your social networking and other aspects of business will begin to get even more streamlined.
Of course, Facebook isn?t the only social networking site out there which is being used by business professionals. It?s just the one that is most likely to see VoIP developments because of the fact that it allows use of so many different applications. As the trend grows, it would be nice to see streamlining of VoIP technology for use with other business networking sites as well.
Would you be more likely to contact a Facebook friend if VoIP services made it cheap and easy?
When we think about VoIP for businesses, we think primarily about the corporate world. Even when speaking about small businesses, we consider VoIP to be something that is of primary interest to those people who are interested in moving their business forward into the global enterprise. This leaves an important business sector out of the conversation; the NGO. Non-governmental organizations and non-profit businesses play an important role in the global economy. As they move through worlds ?without borders?, VoIP can significantly improve their ability to keep in contact with people important to the growth of their work.
A recent blog post over at RingCentral highlights the possibilities of VoIP for NGO?s and the international volunteers who often work with them. The blog post is one-sided and points specifically to the benefits of that company?s VoIP services but if you look past the sales pitch, you can explore the important issue underlying the post. Individuals who volunteer their time and services in international countries need phone access to people around the world. They need to be able to get questions answered from their co-workers back in the United States and to make journalistic contacts around the world to spread the word about the importance of their work.
We all know that the NGO and non-profit business must keep a tight budget. VoIP allows for calls to be made to and from international countries at a low cost. This means that more volunteers and NGO workers are able to stay connected to one another without taking funds away from other parts of the organization. Additionally, it expands opportunities for organizations working in different parts of the world to come together for solutions to global problems.
Add to the conversation: In what other ways does VoIP help change the world?
You?re considering VoIP for your small business. You?ve read the VoIP Buyers? Guide, you?re staying on top of announcements in the VoIP community and you?re weighing your options. But do you know the Lingo? Yes, that?s Lingo with a capital L. If you?re speaking VoIP, you should know about this company which recently got voted Number 1 for VoIP service by WIRED Magazine.
WIRED tested eight VoIP systems including old favorites such as Skype, new favorites such as Comcast and lesser-known folks like Lingo. They assessed factors including hardware, call quality, number of global connections, customer service assistance and price, ultimately naming Lingo their ?editor?s pick? for 2007. WIRED said that Lingo has superior tech support, great domestic call quality, satisfactory international call quality and an easy-to-use online account manager. It also allows for inexpensive mobile VoIP options and offers a good monthly price.
WIRED?s review appears to be for residential calling plans but Lingo does offer business VoIP services. They offer three small business calling plans (500 minutes, 2000 minutes and unlimited monthly minutes) to various international destinations. You can keep your current business phone number and you can access twenty calling features (such as conferencing) straight through the Internet. Moreover, the hardware is free, there is a 30-day money back guarantee and the first 1000 customers to sign up get the first month of service free.
Lingo may not be the right choice for all businesses looking at VoIP. It?s going to depend on the size of your business since Lingo is geared towards smaller businesses. Additionally, it?s going to depend on your exact calling needs and the VoIP features that you require. But to make it in any foreign country, you must know the language and VoIP is no exception to that rule.
When you travel for business, what are the amenities and services that you seek out for your hotel room? Most business travelers consider having in-room business features a necessity, rather than some sort of luxury. They take it for granted that they will need a hotel room which has a fax machine, voice mail or messaging service and phone conferencing capabilities. That the hotel must have a wireless Internet connection is a given. And now business travelers are adding VoIP to the list of services that their hotel room must have in order to help keep business running smoothly when associates are away from the office.
Businesses are interested in this option primarily because it limits travel expenses. Phone calls made from hotel rooms or international calls made on cell phones during business travel rack up large bills for many businesses. VoIP offers these companies the opportunity to reduce those costs immediately using the technology that is starting to be offered by hotels. Some VoIP providers do offer various options for connecting to VoIP from remote locations through the hotel's broadband Internet connection. However, this is not yet streamlined in the industry. Furthermore, the type of Internet connection in the hotel may make this option difficult and/or costly. In-room VoIP offered by hotels limits the cost and increases the efficiency of calling.
And hotels, particularly those in business travel centers such as Las Vegas, are stepping up to the plate as they recognize the traveler?s desire for in-room VoIP services. Here?s a brief look at a few of the hotels which are beginning to offer VoIP services and the different types of assistance that they provide the business traveler:
o Wynn Las Vegas ? This is a five-star, five-diamond hotel which is known primarily as a resort getaway but its business services are as advanced as its luxurious service. The Wynn?s VoIP service uses a touch-screen phone that provides information about the hotel to make staying there easy. Companies which already use VoIP can access the hotel?s Internet to make use of their own VoIP systems while they?re traveling with the only cost being the hotel's standard Internet connection fee.
o The Residence Inn in New Haven, CT ? Employees who need to get away to the countryside without losing VoIP capabilities can head to this New England hotel. It offers free in-room VoIP, allowing business travelers to relax with their feet up while conducting professional calls.
o Seaport Hotel in Boston, MA ? This hotel is a business meeting center which frequently rents out rooms and conference rooms en masse to small business employees traveling together for conferences or other business matters. The VoIP in these rooms allows those individuals to stay connected to each other and their clients while on the road.
In addition to saving on travel expenses, in-room VoIP services create a more streamlined and efficient travel experience for businesses. Calls can be made easily between locations, using either the hotel?s VoIP system or the company?s existing VoIP system accessed via the VoIP-enabled phone and broadband Internet connection. As businesses grow and begin to take a look at regional, national and international options, they want to be able to move easily around the world without hindering business. Seeking out hotels with VoIP service is one step towards that end.
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