Posts made by MikeSmithsBrain

Disclosure: Business VoIP Broker

We sell Jive (as well as 100+ of their major competitors), and with 100 stations and only 30 call paths, I probably wouldn't recommend Jive.

Jive (like RC and many others), charges $20+/user and includes a call path with every user. This is obviously overkill for your company.

Instead, I'd suggest looking at providers who cater to larger companies, and therefore, price call paths separately than users. For instance, several of these providers are approx. $5-$10/user and $20/call path. That pricing would probably reduce your company's cost by more than 25%.

These providers also have feature/functionality that better-caters to larger companies, such as the ability to create user templates, hybrid capabilities (allowing you to install 1 site at a time, yet still have all phone systems integrated, etc.).

I'm happy to give you some recommendations but just need more information on your company's requirements, since each provider has their own niche.

@wrx7m Yes, those are good SIP providers but can you describe a little about your call/usage patterns? It will help with which providers I'd recommend.

Did you want the call center to be connected to your regular phone system? What workgroup functionality (ideally) is you CS manager looking for?

@scottalanmiller
A quick ping on a cable-co's shared fiber Internet ckt. will quickly show how cowboy it is to run hosted VoIP with 300 users on that line. But like I said, it was working without issue.

I hate to disagree but this isn't just theory. I continually see clients contact us because they are experiencing problems with their real-time apps running on their Internet connectivity... which is always plenty of bandwidth for what they're doing. Then, MPLS fixes it.

I do, however, also run into companies doing things I typically would be cautious about, but they've never had a single problem with... like having 300 on-site employees on a hosted VoIP platform, running on a single fiber line, from a cable-co. That's going pretty cowboy but hey, if it works, great.

@jaredbusch
I get what you're saying, and that's true for a lot of small companies (i.e. less than around 500 users), but I think a lot of mid-size+ companies would disagree their apps are not critical. It depends on the company and who's on the phone, on the video bridge, etc.

Ever called your bank and received poor call quality? Happens once, okay but the second time? Not exactly going to give customers the warm fuzzy they're banking with the right company, which just isn't worth the risk.

How about having thousands of employees having issues with their remote desktop app, running from a server at your HQ?

I've had a lot of people ask me if they should dump their company's MPLS network in place of high-bandwidth fiber and an IPsec VPN... I wrote a blog about it.

Like to hear it? Here it goes:
MPLS or IPsec VPN: Which is the Best? [Network World]

Did the AeroCom Fiber Hunters find a business fiber ISP installed within 500 ft. of Ford's Theatre?

The AeroCom Fiber Hunters: E004 - Ford's Theatre

Fiber Hunters: Equinox

What famous US building should we investigate next?

@Dashrender Take a peek at our instant quote tool. It's really accurate with business class cable, which has a lot of A-Synchronous options. http://www.aerocominc.com/get-quotes/

@Dashrender Wow, that's a lot. Are you in a remote area? When your agreement is coming up, you should definitely have us check for others or other technology that can give you a 20/20 circuit.

There's no faster way to find a good fiber ISP than just checking what your company's neighbors are using.

See them on a map, right now.

https://s19.postimg.org/b64k213qr/Fiber_Map_Video_Thumbnail.jpg

US Only.

Gathering telecom or cloud quotes for your company is a pain. So make it easier on yourself this time. For free. Get quotes today.

Youtube Video

The VoIP Haunting: Episode 3

The VoIP Haunting: Episode 2

Like many of you, I love Halloween. Always have.

During October, I'd happily accompany my Mom to any store... just so I could go gawk at their selection of rubber masks in their seasonal Halloween costume aisle.

When my wife's busy, I love indulging in those Ghost Hunter reality shows...

So, when I had to create an October promotional item to advertise an upcoming webinar, you can guess what I was thinking...

Yep, I made a low-budg, creepy/goofy, 3 part video, called "The VoIP Haunting."

For all of you Halloween lovers out there, how'd I do? Did it make seeing a normally business-speak, VoIP webinar ad at least a little entertaining?sle

How would you rate it vs. Fiber? Do you ever experience issues caused by weather?

In our latest podcast, the CTO of California Internet made an interesting comment... "When a fiber Internet connection has an issue, we blame the ISP but when a fixed wireless connection has an issue, we blame the technology."

I think there is some truth in that but thought I'd ask the opinion of IT professionals who've had hands-on, non-biased experience with both.

Are you about to purchase a back-up Internet connection for your company?

If so, you'd better listen to my conversation with Time Warner Cable Business Class' resident MacGuyver, John Stephens.

Cloud Therapy - E021: Diversity Your Business Internet Paths

Seriously... Jose DeHoyos from XO is another one of my favorite engineers to work with. He's a fun, gregarious guy (which is unusual for an ISP engineer), yet is as technical as they come.

In this podcast episode, he gives me a few simple but often overlooked things IT departments should do to secure their new, bright, shiny, ultra-fast Internet connection. He also has some crazy stories!

AND don't miss the appearance by Josh Chamois. I make him tell me what's available at a famous location in Canton, Ohio. Any guesses what famous place I'm talking about?

Cloud Therapy: E019 - Business Internet Security & Continuity

Listen to 4G expert, Maureen Donovan tell me all about 4G for business, it's maximum user count, it's cost, it's bonding capabilities, it's future business features and more.

Josh Chamois also pops in to tell us about a killer promo price that an ISP is offering for a 100M Internet connection.... then I challenge him to find something at a famous Boston landmark.

Cloud Therapy: E018 - Exploring 4G Business Internet

I recently interviewed an O365 expert on our podcast, who reviewed the questionnaire his company has customers complete, before helping them migrate to O365... to help avoid a big "oops" moment.

I thought it might be helpful (and a little entertaining), to gather some first-hand O365 migration "lessons learned" stories...

Do you have an "oooops" moment that you can share about your migration to Office 365, that the other IT brethren should hear?