VoIP is Here to Stay | NJ Cloud Based Phone Systems

VoIP has now been since the turn of the century. Vendors rushed to market to stick a label of VoIP on their product. Many company have leveraged the technology other waited as it became perfected. Now the analyst all predict a bright future for VoIP. Some companies have been happy and content just to offer something new while others have continued to innovate and refine.

So in comes the concept of a Hosted IP IPX. It is really a dream come true for the end user, and for IT types. It has converged software to control your phone and leverage it capabilities. Think about it what has stop most end users from changing their settings. It has been very complicated. Remembering number sequencing whether the feature is on of off. The need to find and check the reference card to make sure that the right feature set on.

IT people or whoever has reasonability to keep the phones up can retell countless stories of when the phones went down. The calls to the PBX vendor the need to escalate to the carrier, the carrier multi level support issues, 1st, 2nd and final 3rd on those really tough days. Untold cost and harm to the business.

In a Hosted IP PBX model, everything is streamed lined. The PBX is longer on the wall. No need to upgrade or repair. No extra boards to buy. No costly maintenance contracts. You get control directly at the carrier level switch at the Network Operations Center (NOC). That control is through a browser based portal or software. It gives clear and easy to follow instructions.

Because the PBX is no longer at your location a part of a disaster recovery plan takes shape. Decentralized employees are now connected via VoIP and the internet then to one central PBX. The person responsible for the phone finds changing the auto attendant easy. Automatic rollover to night mode seamless. Creating hunt groups, or ring patterns are a breeze. It fact the idea is that you are not forced to use the phone system they way it works. You are empowered to adapt the system to the way you would want your phones to work. There are over 200 features and functions on most systems.

So the next thing even thought it has been around for years is adding a Hosted IP PBX to your wish list.

R19 VOIP Business Phones

At R19 we often surprise our customers throughout Monmouth County and all of NJ who call in with a down system as to how affordable a new VOIP system really is. VOIP is the best choice for companies who are looking to upgrade in Manasquan, Tinton Falls, Red Bank and all of NJ! Let R19 show you many possibilities available to have your company function productively with work from home employees and learn more about our NJ cloud based phone systems, VoIP and hosted PBX services.

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VoIP is Here to Stay
R-19 | New Jersey Small Business Phone Systems

What You Need To Keep In Mind About Buying A Cloud Hosted Phone System

Believe it or not, price is not the number one issue you should consider when buying a cloud-hosted phone system. In fact, be wary of those offering steep discounts. The question in the back of your mind should be what corners are they cutting in order to deliver a cheap service? Every company means to turn a profit in order to stay in business, but there is no excuse if it’s at the expense of a working system.

The first question you should be asking is about their infrastructure. Do they have the right pieces in place to protect your business when issues occur? It does not take a degree in Computer Science. Make sure they have two data centers that are at least 150 miles apart. Make sure those centers are balanced for failover. Lastly, make sure they have redundant upstream providers on both the PSTN and their internet connections. Every provider should be able to discuss this openly with you.

Next, make sure your network is groomed properly for VoIP. Chose a provider that will work with your IT department or that can groom the network for you. Best practices may include physical or logical separation of the network. If the decision is made that your network can bypass that practice make sure you understand why. Not just that the provider can’t or won’t do the work to groom your network. The LAN is one of the top reasons most VoIP implementations fail.

You should also make sure you work with your chosen hosted provider to ensure you have the right internet configuration. That may mean you need to upgrade your connection or have some redundant connection in case of outages. You may also want to discuss how SDWAN can enhance your internet experience

Consider Your Cloud Hosted Phone System Options

Now you can discuss the features you need with an expert. The reality is that unless you have a system that works, the features will not matter. If the system won’t stand the test of durability, price does not matter. Consider your options carefully and ask good questions. A cheap service often cuts corners that will make a difference in your business.

Contact R-19 about your NJ Cloud Hosted Phone System at (732) 528 0555

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BUYING A CLOUD OR HOSTED PHONE SYSTEM?
R-19 | New Jersey Small Business Phone Systems

Working From a Virtual Office

My old office had a window through which I could see the sun and clouds and tops of trees. Today I work for the same company in the same role. My view is now my back yard, my dog running around, and my wife weeding the garden. What else has changed for me, well, how I interact with my company’s peers, management, and of course meetings.  All this is due to working from a virtual office.

I do miss the stroll to the coffee machine. The occasional chit-chat as I walk past someone’s desk and the ability to press them on an email they have not responded to. In other ways, I feel a bit more productive. Those distractions are gone.

Using New Technology

I have learned to embrace new technology. The UC Client my company gave me a while back allows me to see my peers virtually. I can type out a quick IM. I think today the word is “chat”. I do get lost on the hip “word of the day”. At the office, I saw no need for some of this new technology. Being forced to work from home, I have embraced it. Others in the company have also embraced it. It has forced us to use it in ways I never would have prior to working from home.

Meetings are now done using the same tool. We can turn on the video and see each other. Funny no one does that unless they are forced to. We do a screen share and probably collaborate better than when we met in the office. The meetings seem a bit more focused and to the point and shorter.

Using the chat function I get quicker answers, even if the other person is on the phone or in a meeting. That answer is not lost in an ever-growing email inbox. This “texting” feature or SMS is also nice and complements that chat feature. It is nice to know you can reach someone on the cell phone.

My productivity is further complimented as I don’t need to hunt for voicemails. I never even listen to them because now I can read them. A little wizardry of a transcription tool turns my .wav file into words I read. This makes me feel a little more efficient. I can even record my calls on demand for those times when I need to and find them up to 9o days later.

I guess some lessons learned here are not so bad and might even help stay productive when I can go back to see the tops of trees.

Talk to the experts

Productivity is always the main focus of business.  With R19 Cloud-Based Phone Systems, new technology is here to help you navigate the web and find ways to be most productive.  For a look at what business phone systems can do to raise your productivity, talk to R19 for support from setup to everyday usage.  We can be reached at (732) 528-0555 – call today for a consultation.

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HOW IS THE VIEW FROM YOUR OFFICE?
R-19 | New Jersey Small Business Phone Systems

Every business is different and you know your needs better than we do. That is why we have compiled 10 reasons reasons why switching to a hosted VoIP phone service made sense to us.

If you’re considering making the transition from a POTS (plain old telephone system) to a hosted VoIP phone system but are still unsure if it’s worth the hassle or not, consider the following reasons we think VoIP systems are superior:

1. Elimination of Equipment & Infrastructure

For an emerging or small business, this should be a top priority. All of the phone equipment and infrastructure required for a POTS is eliminated when you switch over to a VoIP phone system. Not only is this a good way avoid a costly upfront investment, but it removes the headache involved repairing and upgrading equipment over time.

2. Scalability

Once the physical equipment has been eliminated, you will no longer need to consider your communication system when moving to a new workspace, upsizing or downsizing your business, or opening new branches. With a VoIP phone system, you’re free to add and remove lines with ease through a web portal.

3. Integration with Existing Software

Since a VoIP phone system is internet-based, you have the option of connecting it to your CRM or other computer database system to provide detailed communication records and notes associated with specific numbers, which both personalizes and improves customer service.

4. Mobility

This is a huge benefit for modern businesses, as it no longer requires workers to be chained to their desks in order to be “at work.” For example, you could use a phone number with a local New Jersey area code while on an international business trip to make and receive calls thus avoided hefty international fees but also improving accessibility and ensuring you never miss a call or need to record a voice message for your voicemail that can only be checked when you return.

5. Run a Leaner Global Business

If your business provides a service that can be executed remotely, why not use a more advanced phone system to take advantage of cost savings by hiring remotely? Have a team in Brazil work seamlessly with your team in New Jersey.

6. Cost

As stated above, with the elimination of physical equipment and the maintenance it requires, costs go down considerably and businesses of any size can choose a PBX that suits their needs, paying only for the number of lines they need at any given point.

7. Improved Features

Advanced features that have to be set up and customized by a professional are now accessible through a simple web portal that anyone can use without any technical know-how. This includes transcription of voicemails, call rerouting, customizable menus, “find me, follow me,” change or record new greetings, record calls, and plenty of other options as well. Just ask if you have a specific concern your business has.

8. Streamlined Internal Communication

For internal communication and collaboration on projects, features such as video conferencing and instant messaging improve employee-to-employee communication on a single, uniform system.

9. Disaster Protection

Moving your phone system off-site eliminates the possibility of it going down due to a natural disaster, power outage, or hardware malfunction allowing you to continue business as usual.

10. Never Miss an Important Call Again

With caller ID, you can set specific instructions for incoming calls from “high-priority” numbers. If your business deals with high volumes of calls, you can reroute certain numbers to go exactly where they will be dealt with most effectively.

10. 5 Eliminate Distractions and Improve Efficiency

Given the ability to automatically direct calls based on certain criteria, you free up your employees time to focus on high-value activities rather than using it to direct calls to the appropriate person.

At R-19, we have found the advantages of switching over to a hosted VoIP phone service far outweigh the minor inconvenience of training employees on a new system. Additionally, when you switch to a hosted VoIP system, your will still be able to keep all your local New Jersey phone numbers and thus you will not need to inconvenience your clients in any way. If you have any additional inquiries about making the switch, contact us today!

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10.5 Reasons to Switch to a Hosted VoIP Phone Service In NJ
R-19 | New Jersey Small Business Phone Systems

Is VOIP the Future of Business Phones?

Companies or business people working remotely who have yet to upgrade their business phone system to VOIP are often using an obsolete digital system that has been discontinued. These systems typically have limited to no parts or support available. This presents serious issues for business operations if there is any type of hardware failure.

Many companies are unfortunately left inoperable for multiple days while they try to find a vendor who has old refurbished parts that they can use to service their already failing system.  Often times, companies resort to ordering overpriced used parts off of Ebay to service their old system. They often think that it is cheaper than purchasing a new system. However, if you factor in the money spent on parts and labor to maintain a system that will eventually fail all together, transitioning to VOIP is a no brainer!

R19 VOIP Business Phones

At R19 we often surprise our customers throughout Monmouth County and all of NJ who call in with a down system as to how affordable a new VOIP system really is.  Separate from the cost, there is no worry of purchasing a system that will become obsolete within a few years.  With our R19 VOIP phone system there is no hardware onsite aside from the phones themselves. So, you don’t need to worry about system hardware going bad and needing to be replaced. Everything is managed offsite in a fully redundant facility managed by Network engineers. These engineers are constantly monitoring and upgrading the system to meet current standards.

In addition to not having to worry about a system failure, our R19 VOIP business phone system is also dynamic. This means that as technology evolves and new features release, they become available to you at no additional costs.  This is a great way to plan for the future! In 10 years you will still have all of the newest features available to you without having to purchase a new system.   These are just a few of the many reasons VOIP is the best choice for companies who are looking to upgrade in Manasquan, Tinton Falls, Red Bank and all of NJ!

Let R19 show you many possibilities available to have your company function productively with work from home employees and learn more about our VoIP and hosted PBX services.

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PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE WITH VOIP
R-19 | New Jersey Small Business Phone Systems

Prepare Your Local Network | R-19 NJ Business Phone System

Many offices switching to a VoIP phone system do not have the infrastructure in place to support IP phones. VoIP phones require a Cat 5 Data jack to plug into to access the cloud system as opposed to a traditional phone jack that digital phones use. Most office stations have a computer that is hardwired to the network allowing you to share the one data jack for both the phone and computer.

The VoIP phones R-19 provides have 2 ports on the back to act as a switch to provide internet to both the phone and computer. Office locations that typically do not have data jacks available are conference rooms and kitchens.

If you are looking to get all of the features of an advanced VoIP phone system without the big investment, R-19 Hosted PBX Solutions is right for you.  We have packages designed to fit companies of any size, from a small business with only a few users to large corporations with hundreds of employees.

Make Sure You Have a Reliable Internet Connection

• With a VoIP phone system, the phone provider is only as good as your internet connection.  If you are in an area where your internet goes down all of the time, a VoIP phone system is not a good solution for you.
• VOIP system solutions require a business grade internet connection.  DSL and other dial up services will not work.
• Make sure that you are getting all of the bandwidth that you are paying for.

Keep the following in mind when choosing a router:

• Choosing a router that has Quality of Service (QOS) capability to prioritize VoIP Traffic is important.
• Have your IT guy make sure that there are no firewall settings that could be blocking VoIP traffic.

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How to Prepare Your Office for a VoIP System
R-19 | New Jersey Small Business Phone Systems

Work From Home Made Easy With VoIP

Do you or your employees work from home? Almost one in five Americans are now working from home. A number that is guaranteed to keep rising. With the increase of new technology comes the rise of VoIP phone systems to help keep companies functioning seamlessly.

Taking your work phone home in the past was utterly impossible with an abundance of wires and dated technology. Now, phones are plug and play making your work at home life much easier.

The simplest way to work from home but keep all of your office capabilities is to take your desk phone home with you. This easy process of plugging your work phone into your home router will allow you to function as if you never left the office.  Make and receive calls, belong to the same ring groups, transfer and park calls at the convenience of your house with all the same office capabilities. Customers will never know you aren’t sitting at your desk.

About VoIP Phone Systems

If taking your desk phone home is not a possibility, VoIP phone systems allow another convenient feature, the Softphone. The Softphone is a phone application you download onto your computer or smart device. This acts as phone interface which allows you to make calls, receive calls and transfer using your mouse or smartphone. The most important feature a Softphone offers is the ability to display your companies’ caller ID even when using your personal cellphone. This technology gives flexibility for employees on the move while maintaining professionalism.

Both VoIP desk phones and softphones allow companies to offer their employees a flexible work environment. This technology saves time and money while gaining productivity. These options give employees the possibility of having full office capabilities from home or keeping professionalism on the go.

Let R19 show you many possibilities available to have your company function productively with work from home employees and learn more about our VoIP and hosted PBX services.

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Work From Home With VoIP
R-19 | New Jersey Small Business Phone Systems

Warranties are great – we all want to make risk-free purchases, and why shouldn’t we?

After all, companies should stand behind their products and fix problems that arise with them. But take just a moment to think of a time you had to return a product under warranty where the experience was less than ideal.

Dealing with “customer service” can often be such a painful, time-consuming process that many guarantees are not worth it in the first place. If you value your time and sanity at all, you will agree that spending more on a product (especially electronics) from company with a good reputation is always a worthwhile investment.

There is always an end to price

The same principle applies to VoIP telephone services – but on a larger scale. There are a myriad of IP phone vendors and it is easiest to only consider vendors with the lowest prices when shopping around. National companies such as Ring Central and Nextiva will offer the same hardware as your local vendor, but these large national companies lack the support of local companies.

There is never an end to value

Is getting a marginally better price really worth the hassle of setting up your new phone system and training your employees to use it by giving everyone an instruction manual?

Save time with a New Jersey VOIP Provider

Another thing to consider is maintenance. Do you really want to spend time on the phone with customer service representatives in India that have no understanding of what problems you’re facing at your office in New Jersey?

Excellent service and usability translates into more time spent on core business activities and less time dealing with the installation and maintenance of your system. This is why choosing a local, New Jersey-based VoIP phone system provider is a smart move to eliminate time lost installing and maintaining a VoIP phone system in your office.

R-19 will not only send out a technician to install a state-of-the-art VoIP phone system for your company, but we will conduct a brief training seminar for your staff to ensure that minimal time is lost in upgrading your phone system. We also provide ongoing support for any problems that may arise in the future and will send a technician out to fix any problems that may arise.

If customer service has ever been an issue for you with past business services, we invite you to contact R-19 today for a free consultation on VoIP phone systems to find out if our product and service offerings are right for your business!

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Choosing a Local VoIP Company over a National One
R-19 | New Jersey Small Business Phone Systems

Switching to an IP phone system need not to be difficult, but before you make the leap, it’s important you understand what your options are and how they work.

What is Session Initiation Protocol?

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a term developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETP) used in the IP telephone world to determine how connections are established, how data is transferred, and how they are terminated. SIP connections are responsible for handling multimedia communication including voice and video calls, faxing, and so on. SIP connections enable Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems, which connect a company’s private branch exchange (PBX) telephone system to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) through the Internet. In order to set up a SIP/VoIP phone system, you will need to invest in IP-enabled phones for your office. Popular manufacturers include; Polycom, Snom, Gigaset, Tiptel, Yealink and Alcatel. Additionally, VoIP service can be used on computers, tablets, or smartphones using software such as Blink and Bria. There are many advantages to switching to an IP-based telecommunications system for your business including; scalability, cost benefits, elimination of traditional infrastructure, greater mobility, and improved functionality only available with internet-based phone systems.

Why Make the Switch to an IP Telephone System?

• Cost – There is no phone bill associated with the physical technology. All you need is an Internet connection and IP enabled phones. Switching to a VoIP phone system lowers your support and administrative costs because maintenance is handled off-site.
• Scalability – Easily expand or shrink your network and system as your needs change. For example, by having a SIP/VoIP PBX installed at your main office, you will not incur additional charges that would be associated with installing a new PBX at a new location.
• Mobility – Have calls forwarded to your smartphone when you’re away from the office and use the same number when overseas on business trips.
• Additional Benefits – There is added functionality that doesn’t exist with a standard PBX system such as video conferencing, direct inward dialing, “find me, follow me” functionality, simultaneous ringing on multiple devices, having audio messages send to your email address, and recording calls.

SIP is quickly becoming recognized as the industry standard for voice and video. Hosted VoIP telephone systems can be a great solution for companies in New Jersey looking to cut costs, improve scalability, empower employee mobility and productivity, and add functionality to their communication systems. Transitioning to a SIP & VoIP system is definitely an affordable and worthwhile investment worth considering as you weigh your options for upgrading your business telephone system in New Jersey.

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Why Make the Switch to an IP Telephone System?
R-19 | New Jersey Small Business Phone Systems

Know When To Go Multi-Line

Communication is the key to success, whether you have a Fortune 500 business or a small office in a small town. If you have two or three employees, you probably don’t need a multi-line phone system or small business VoIP, but if you are bigger, such as 10 employees or more, you may want to consider contacting R-19 to upgrade to a new communication system.

Is Your Internet Connection Capable?

One of the things you should have in mind before signing up with our small business VoIP system is to check the capacity of your current Internet connection. Your connection needs to handle both VoIP service and the use of the Internet by your employees. If there’s not enough bandwidth, your connection will not be sufficient with this type of service.

How Many Users Do You Have?

Another detail to consider before purchasing a multi-line phone system is the number of users you have in your network. If your business has fewer than 10 employees, our multi-line phone system would actually be useful and worth the money.

Do You Have the Proper LAN Setup?

One more aspect to look into before getting a new VoIP service is to ensure you have the appropriate local area network setup. You have to make sure your network can still operate with the increased data; otherwise, it would be a waste of effort and money. These are all important details to consider before moving forward with our multi-line phones system or small business VoIP options.

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Multi-Line Phones Systems for Complete Communication
R-19 | New Jersey Small Business Phone Systems