For a while we were using the free version of Cyberarms. They recently changed their model and now offer their full product for free. It covers more than RDP which is nice. Great for OWA and other exposed Windows services.

www.cyberarms.net

We are trialing phone.com and so far it's not bad. The pricing is a little unclear. I initially contacted sales to confirm how pricing works and was told the exact opposite of how it actually works.

@JaredBusch said in Anyone ever use Phone.com or similar products:

Create a VoIP.ms account and set everything up there. it can all be done with time conditions and IVRs.

Interesting...I didn't know that voip.ms had all those features. I have only briefly looked at flowroute.

@Minion-Queen - I agree with you. I suggested doing this for them originally but the $$$ seems to be an issue.

I had mentioned Google Voice originally but there is not an option to set schedules - like afterhours. I agree it's a great product. I use it personally but it falls short for business use.

@scottalanmiller - It's for a 3 person office that is managing a 3 apartment buildings. They want to be able to make calls to and from without to give out their cell phones. The other requirement is to have different auto attendant messages based off of business hours and after hours.

Again I know I can throw together a FreePBX solution for them, I was just looking for something that looked quick and easy that they can self manage.

Hey All,

I was curious if anyone here has ever used Phone.com or a similar service for a small business phone system. I tested grasshopper.com and it was a bust. Grasshopper makes all calls to and from your cell phone (not a softphone app). It would be a great fit for a 1 man band business that wants the illusion of a larger company.

I know I could go with FreePBX but I was hoping that I can spin up quick and easy solution that doesn't need to be managed and monitored by myself.

Appreciate any feedback.

Make sure the grandstream has the latest firmware too. If you have the old yellowish background you are running really old firmware. If it is blue background then you should be recent.

A few options that I have had success with are:

www.rmail.com - Good for sending encrypted emails to people. Allows the recipient to reply back securely.

https://neocertified.com/encrypted-contact-form - Allows users to visit your website and use a secure contact form. They can attach files in the form as well.

The GitHub site has some good instructions for IIS and SAN Certs.

https://github.com/Lone-Coder/letsencrypt-win-simple/wiki/Create-a-SAN-certificate-for-Exchange-2016

When you say on demand do you mean someone else is sitting at the computer and needs to initiate the session for you or do you mean you can pull up the desktop whenever you want (unattended access)?

If you just need unattended access then look at ScreenConnect's Remote Access pricing. It should be a little further down on the pricing page.

Access Pricing
Agents Annual Rate
25 - $300
100 - $600
250 - $840
500 - $1,260
750 - $1,716
1000 - $1,920

@scottalanmiller I agree, I just don't understand why these products are not pulled sooner from Amazon. The Office Plus versions should not even exist on the site unless it is the Volume License.

Just a quick follow up on this:

The client called Microsoft and it was confirmed that the license is valid. However, I don't think all the details were discussed. I came to my own conclusion based on the following article.

https://rcpmag.com/articles/2015/10/02/office-2016-confusion.aspx

Main points:

1. Microsoft uses a slightly different Office 2016 product name for its volume licensing customers, labeling it "Office 2016 Professional Plus."

2. Koenigsbauer noted that Home Use Program users can install Office 2016 "beginning on October 7, 2015." The Home Use Program is a benefit for Microsoft's volume licensing customers with Software Assurance coverage that provides a discount for employees licensed to use Office at work. They can purchase Office copies for use at home but the software is only good for use throughout the time of their employment and the company's Software Assurance coverage period.

Basically someone is reselling the Professional Plus (HUP) copies that are intended for employees of companies with Volume Licensing.

If it does continue to disconnect, possibly update the firmware on all devices to the latest.

I told him to contact Amazon to report the vendor and get a refund.

Thanks for the replies!

@RojoLoco I had him send me the confirmation email. I can't even find the vendor on Amazon anymore. They were probably already removed.

@Dashrender Thanks for the reply. Most of my clients are either on OEM or retail copies and I don't really have much experience with Volume Licensing. This is what I believe he purchased and the image alone looks like you are buying something you shouldn't.

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Office-Professional-Plus-Download/dp/B007UXIE7Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455897065&sr=8-1&keywords=ms+office+professional+plus

I have a client who purchased a copy of MS Office Professional Plus 2016 from Amazon. He was sent a flash drive with the installation media and a product key. I am assuming this is not legit and it is most likely someone who is reselling the mak of their current or former employer. Can someone confirm that all the Plus editions are meant for Volume Licensing and I should tell him to get a refund?

Thanks

Not sure if you have picked anything yet but here are two that my clients use:

1. Spectrum - http://www.dexterchaney.com/index.php/spectrum-software
2. ComputerEase - http://www.construction-software.com/

Both are very strong products. Not sure what you budget is but both I believe are a little pricey.

That makes me feel better about going forward with purchasing from them. From what I have read here and on SW, xbyte seems to have great support. That plus the direct support from Dell is reassuring. I've always had the fear of buying a refurb server, spending all this time setting it up, and then having early hardware failures.