Voice over IP – A Simple Explanation

We’ll use the example of a VoIP business phone system. With a VoIP phone system, the phones are essentially computing devices that are plugged into your local network. Some companies plug these “IP Phones” into a separate network specifically used for VoIP; others connect the IP phones directly to the network that the rest of their computers are connected to.
When a user talks into the microphone of an IP phone, their voice gets convert to electrical signals called sine waves. These sine waves then get sampled. The sampling process essentially converts the sine wave to a binary form (1’s and 0’s) that represents the characteristics of the original voice (the highs, lows, frequency, etc). Then these 1’s and 0’s get “encapsulated” or put into Internet Protocol (IP) packets. IP is the industry standard for sending ALL forms of data across networks (web, email, video, voice, etc). These IP packets then traverse the network to the end destination. The end destination could be an IP phone sitting right next to the original phone, an IP phones on the other side of the world, or perhaps a phone line that connects the phone system to the outside world. Once the IP packets carrying this voice information reaches its destination, the 1’s and 0’s get converted back to the analog sine wave, the analog sine wave get’s amplified and then ran through a speaker in the receiving phone that recreates the audio speech of the original speaker.

Inflow implements a ShoreTel Unified Communications system for the Portland Winterhawks

In the month of December, Inflow recently completed installing a ShoreTel business VOIP phone system for the Portland Winterhawks.  The Winterhawks had an antiquated Lucent system.  On big ticket sales days, they experienced a large amount of inbound calls with fans trying to secure tickets.  The old phone system had no way to queue calls or intelligently route calls to the right employees.  Callers would hear ringing for extended periods of time or simply get dropped. The outcome was unhappy fans and lost tickets sales!

Along with the new ShoreTel business phone system, Inflow implemented Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) functionality that allowed callers to be placed in queue and hear team announcements while waiting to be answered.  While in queue, they have the option to be routed to another department, leave a message, or continue to wait.  Their estimated hold times are announced so they know approximately how much time they will have to wait.  Winterhawks employees can see how many callers are in queue and their hold times.  This allows them to staff additional personnel in real time to handle large call volumes.  The Winterhawks now enjoy happier fans and increased ticket sales!

Some possibilities to think about:

Keep most of the existing handsets but replace your (most likely dying) voicemail system with a Unified Communications server that provides voicemail features like Message Waiting Indication. On top of that, enjoy voicemail-to-email, presence management, find-me / follow-me, smart phone integration, etc.

Integrate a new VOIP phone system to your legacy system to get station-to-station dialing, IP handset migration possibilities, call queuing and call center functionality, etc.

Use “Business Enhancement” features like database integration, self-help options (enter your account code, get your balance), out-dialing campaigns, text-to-speech, and intelligent call routing (skills-based routing, routing based on caller ID, etc) – ALL while keeping your existing business phone system.

Migrate from your legacy phone system to today’s advanced Unified Communication technologies at your own pace.

Leverage “next generation” dial tone technology like SIP trunks to save money, create budget, and pay for the technology enhancements.

Contact Inflow Communications to learn more:

www.inflowcomm.com

ShoreTel presents the “World Class Customer Satisfaction Award” to Inflow Communications, Inc.

Inflow Communications, the Northwest’s leading provider of Unified Communications, was awarded ShoreTel’s highest honor has it pertains to customer satisfaction. Based on independent 3^rd party customer satisfaction surveys, Inflow maintained “World-Class” customer satisfaction by scoring over 97% on all surveys.

Inflow Communications, headquartered in Portland, Oregon primary focus is on providing best-in-breed VOIP phone systems, High Definition Video Conferencing, and other enterprise-class Unified Communications technologies to businesses throughout the West Coast.

ShoreTel, Inflow’s leading VOIP phone system / Unified Communication manufacture, provides a Unified Communications platform based on superior architecture, reliability, and east of use and administration.

To learn more, go to:

http://www.inflowcomm.com/voip-business-phone-systems/phone-systems/

Synergy Research Report Reaffirms ShoreTel’s Increasing Market Position The leading independent research firm declares ShoreTel the Fastest Growing IP Telephony Vendor Worldwide, the #1 Worldwide Unified Communications Desktop Solution Provider and the third leading supplier in the United States. Read the press release with compelling analyst quotes.

CIOs Select ShoreTel as Best Execution of a Mid-Market Solution (Midsize Enterprise Summit) We know when awards are based on customers ratings, ShoreTel wins hands-down every time. CIOs voted ShoreTel for more categories than any other vendor, reflecting their positive response to our presentations outlining our ability to eliminate complexity without sacrificing sophistication.

Nemertes Research: 2010 Customer Surveys Rate ShoreTel the Highest in all Categories in IP Telephony This includes customer satisfaction, technology, value and overall for IP Telephony for the 7th consecutive year! Catch up on all the Nemertes highlights.