Scopia Video Conferencing Solutions from Radvision, an Avaya Company

Video conferencing was often considered a technology of the future, but it's real, and it's here today. IT often worried about the costs associated with deploying and managing video networks. The good news is that Radvision, an Avaya Company, has overcome the cost barriers of video by implementing state-of-the-art technologies like H.264 SVC, H.264 High Profile, and NetSense -- all of which combine to deliver the highest quality video experience (1080p/60fps) at the lowest cost. Scopia is changing the way people connect.

http://youtu.be/_iaxdAfAGiA

Broadcom intros a new VoLTE chip

You may think smartphone data speeds are pretty fast now, but Broadcom is planting the seeds for even faster networks—along with clearer voice calls—in a year or so.

Broadcom claims that it has come up with the industry's smallest 4G LTE-Advanced modem for smartphones and tablets, dubbed the BCM21892. The modem supports download speeds of up to 150 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 50 Mbps, according to GigaOM.

The moden on a chip provides some other benefits too: It supports Voice over LTE, a technology that allows for clearer voice calls, and touts up to 25 percent power savings compared to what a phone typically consumes for data transmissions.

It's also compatible with existing 4G, 3G, and 2G networks, and can hand off transmissions to these older wireless standards without interruption. “Carrier aggregation” is supported as well, allowing wireless providers to combine frequency bands to achieve higher speeds.

Broadcom isn't planning to produce the chips until 2014, but wireless carriers still have their own work to do in the meantime. U.S. carriers are still rolling out their standard LTE networks, though AT&T has said that it will launch its LTE Advanced network later this year. Verizon is hoping to launch voice over LTE later this year.

Of course, Broadcom will have competition. Qualcomm, for instance, has been touting chipsets that support LTE Advanced for roughly a year now. Broadcom's new chip is just another sign that we're getting closer to having even faster data transmissions and crisper voice calls.

Source  Broadcom, Tech Hive, Engadget

How Hosted PBX Simplified Company Stress during the Holiday Season

Many businesses quickly realized exactly how hosted PBX phone systems simplified the stress of doing business, during the holiday season. The hosted PBX system provided the company the opportunity to use a single phone number that could be easily answered at a variety of locations, unbeknownst to their customers and clients.

During the holiday season, companies often experience a lack of employee resources, as many take additional time off to be with their loved ones. Using a hosted PBX system, their communication lines were simply rerouted to available employees on their landline phones, cell phones, smartphones or nearly any remote location.

Having the ability to offer a single point of contact, with one single phone number to represent the entire organization, was the easiest way for the businesses to operate their communication systems. It allowed each business to function completely without the need of a traditional main office. This could happen because the hosted PBX telephone system instantly linked employee personnel to the business, with complete functionality of all of the communication system’s features.

Relieving Holiday Business Stress

Offering an extensive multi-modal contact, each employee quickly gained access to the entire company network through a whole host of telecommunication devices including landlines, ISDN, cell phone and VoIP. The hosted PBX telephony system instantly provided phone extension ringing to a single location in succession, or to multiple locations at the same time. This allowed instant 24-hour phone support seven days a week, and relieved stress on the company by always providing an employee or employees to handle any situation, even during hectic seasonal times.

Lowering Costs

Because there is no need to purchase PBX equipment when using a hosted PBX service, these companies were provided an effective call routing service at no additional cost. All unanswered incoming calls for the business were managed automatically by the PBX system by providing numerous features including voicemail, call records, faxing, automated messages, and conference calls, along with call routing touchtone menus.

Without the need of any excess additional cost for expensive software or hardware, and no cost for upgrades to change existing phone hardware, hosted PBX telephone systems offer viable solutions for many small, medium, large businesses.

These companies saw the advantage of using a hosted PBX system through the holiday season as their business increased. It gave them the ability to expand lines, without additional phone numbers. With the added flexibility and reduced cost of 24-hour client phone support along with never missing a call throughout the holidays, the hosted PBX systems offer each a viable telephony alternative.

How Small Businesses Can Harness Social Media

Small businesses make up an enormous portion of the American economy, and in many ways, they represent the portion of the economy that is best situated to take advantage of social media. After all, many small businesses rely on close, personal relationships with their clients to sustain and grow their business. These relationships can be extended if the small businesses make proper use of social media. However, a recent survey found that fully 88 percent of businesses don’t believe they are making the best use of social media.


The problem often times is that these companies wade into the social media waters without a clear idea of how they should approach social channels, or which social channels are best for their needs. As a result, they end up using Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Tumblr, and doing none of them particularly well. The goal with social media should not be simply having a presence in all of the different channels that are available. Instead, it should be having an effect presence in one or two channels, and then perhaps expanding to others once the first channels have been mastered.


An important part of mastering social media is re-framing the way companies view it. Rather than looking at social media simply as another tool for broadcasting to consumers, companies should view it also as a means of gleaning information from their established customers and potential clients. Companies, especially small ones that stand to benefit from close relationships with a few clients, should use social media to learn about what’s happening with their clients, and then keep in touch based on those happenings. For instance, a small note from a business when a client’s birthday comes up on Facebook can make a big impression. Too many businesses miss out on such opportunities to talk to their customers.


The best part about a limited approach to social media is that it saves time. When a business spends time spreading itself thin across a range of social media, typically that’s just time wasted that could be better spent on other projects. By limiting their focus to just one or two social media channels, businesses will cut time lost to other channels, and encourage themselves to take full advantage of whichever channels they do choose to engage in. And whatever approach they choose, small businesses should always remember that the goal of social media is to strengthen their relationships and ties to customers.


When those customers start calling, you’d better make sure your phone system is ready to take on the new influx of calls! Have you looked into a Hosted PBX or SIP Trunking lately?