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><channel><title>ChicagoMicro Techn-o-licious &#187; Conferencing</title> <atom:link href="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/category/conferencing/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /><link>http://blog.chicagomicro.com</link> <description>Delivering your yummie technology news and IT solutions</description> <lastBuildDate>Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:26:58 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en</language> <sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency> <generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1</generator> <item><title>How Will Telephony and VoIP Solutions Benefit My Business?</title><link>http://blog.chicagomicro.com/2011/07/how-will-telephony-and-voip-solutions-benefit-my-business/</link> <comments>http://blog.chicagomicro.com/2011/07/how-will-telephony-and-voip-solutions-benefit-my-business/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:08:26 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Michael Becker</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Call Center Management]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Collaboration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Conferencing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Messaging]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Telephony & VoIP]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Single-Number Reach]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Soft Phone]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Telephony]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Voice and Data Services]]></category> <category><![CDATA[VoIP]]></category><guid
isPermaLink="false">http://blog.chicagomicro.com/?p=402</guid> <description><![CDATA[<a
href="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/voip-e1311883307854.jpg"></a>What Are Telephony and VoIP? Voice over IP (VoIP) provides telephony services over your network backbone to all employees, whether they&#8217;re within your corporate walls, at remote locations or mobile. By integrating voice traffic over the network, companies realize cost savings on their telecommunications service charges and reduce costs typically associated with deploying or relocating employee phone [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2><a
href="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/voip-e1311883307854.jpg"><img
class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-403" title="voip" src="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/voip-e1311883307854.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="356" /></a>What Are Telephony and VoIP?</h2><h2><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Voice over IP (VoIP) provides telephony services over your network backbone to all employees, whether they&#8217;re within your corporate walls, at remote locations or mobile. </span><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">By integrating voice traffic over the network, companies realize cost savings on their telecommunications service charges and reduce costs typically associated with deploying or relocating employee phone systems. In addition, VoIP implementation ultimately results in a more effective way to communicate by integrating with existing communication systems such as e-mail or instant messaging (IM). The integration of other communications applications can provide a seamless communications experience.</span></h2><h2><strong><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">How Will Telephony and VoIP Solutions Benefit My Business?</span></strong></h2><h2><strong></strong><em><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Telephony and VoIP solutions can help you to:</span></em></h2><ul><li><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Save over traditional PBX-based telephony systems</span></li><li><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Connect users quickly and easily, no matter their location</span></li><li><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Add phone lines more quickly and cost-efficiently</span></li></ul><h2><strong><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">How Can I Help My Business Embrace Telephony and VoIP Solutions?</span></strong></h2><h2><strong></strong><em><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">When considering telephony and VoIP solutions, it&#8217;s important to:</span></em></h2><ul><li>Evaluate existing applications and bandwidth usage</li><li>Understand how users communicate with each other</li><li>Consider what features you&#8217;ll want to include &#8211; voicemail, single number reach, etc.</li><li>Identify service level improvements and cost savings that can be achieved</li><li>Pinpoint existing messaging applications to integrate with your telephony systems such as e-mail and IM</li></ul><p><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 28px; line-height: 33px;">What Comprises a Telephony and VoIP Solution?</span></p><p><em>An effective telephony and VoIP solution can consist of one or more of the following features:</em></p><p><em></em><strong>Single-Number Reach</strong></p><p>Single-number reach integrates multiple devices regardless of platform (cellular, analog, digital or IP) into a single number allowing the simultaneous search and ring of desk phone, cell phone, smartphone, etc. Consequently, customers and coworkers only require one number rather than multiple numbers, eliminating guesswork.</p><p><strong>Soft Phone</strong></p><p><strong></strong>A soft phone is a VoIP application that places handset functionality onto your laptop. As long as you have access to your corporate network, you can send and receive calls, check voicemail, view call logs, initiate and participate in conference calling functions and access any other feature of your desk phone.</p><p><strong>Voice and Data Services</strong></p><p><strong></strong>Voice and data services encompass both wired and wireless lines that provide access to voice and data communications. Planning a telephony and VoIP solution is an ideal time to revisit your existing coverage, plan options and rates to achieve greater efficiency and cost savings.</p><p><strong>Conferencing</strong></p><p><strong></strong>Conferencing, a key component of a VoIP solution, incorporates audio, video and web-based technologies. It can be designed for peer-to-peer communication, room-to-room or high-definition, lifelike conferencing.</p><p><strong>Reporting Analytics and Management</strong></p><p><strong></strong>These VoIP tools allow organizations to run detailed call reports and monitor telephony systems.</p><p><strong>Getting Started with Telephony and VoIP</strong></p><p><strong></strong>Your ChicagoMicro Account Manager and certified specialists are ready to assist you with every phase of choosing and leveraging the right solution for your IT environment.</p><p><em>Our approach includes:</em></p><ol><li>An initial discovery session to understand your goals, requirements and budget</li><li>An assessment review of your existing environment and definition of project requirements</li><li>Detailed vendor evaluations, recommendations, future design and proof of concept</li><li>Procurement, configuration and deployment of the final solution</li><li>Ongoing product lifecycle support</li></ol> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://blog.chicagomicro.com/2011/07/how-will-telephony-and-voip-solutions-benefit-my-business/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>VideoConferencing: Insight Into Some More Subtle Drivers</title><link>http://blog.chicagomicro.com/2011/06/videoconferencing-insight-into-some-more-subtle-drivers/</link> <comments>http://blog.chicagomicro.com/2011/06/videoconferencing-insight-into-some-more-subtle-drivers/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:39:52 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Michael Becker</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Conferencing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Telephony & VoIP]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Blue Jeans Network]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Captech]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Interoperability]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Telepresence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Video Collaboration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Videoconferencing]]></category><guid
isPermaLink="false">http://blog.chicagomicro.com/?p=211</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p><a
href="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/LifeSize_VideoConferencing.jpeg"><br
/> </a><a
href="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/VIRTUAL-ROOMS-FOR-VIDEO-CONFERENCE.jpg"></a>Videoconferencing clearly is taking off. In fact, <a
href="http://thehill.com/homenews/house/168727-house-enables-use-of-skype-video-teleconferencing-for-members">even Congress is using it</a>. The highest profile rationale is that it cuts travel costs. <a
href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/smb/network/231000624">This InformationWeek article</a> provides some insight into some of the more subtle drivers of videoconferencing.</p><p><a
href="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_CapTech.jpg"></a>The piece looks at CapTech,  IT consulting firm headquartered in Richmond, Va. The story [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a
href="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/LifeSize_VideoConferencing.jpeg"><br
/> </a><a
href="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/VIRTUAL-ROOMS-FOR-VIDEO-CONFERENCE.jpg"><img
class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-215" title="VIRTUAL-ROOMS-FOR-VIDEO-CONFERENCE" src="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/VIRTUAL-ROOMS-FOR-VIDEO-CONFERENCE.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="388" /></a>Videoconferencing clearly is taking off. In fact, <a
href="http://thehill.com/homenews/house/168727-house-enables-use-of-skype-video-teleconferencing-for-members"><strong>even Congress is using it</strong></a>. The highest profile rationale is that it cuts travel costs. <a
href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/smb/network/231000624"><strong>This InformationWeek article</strong></a> provides some insight into some of the more subtle drivers of videoconferencing.</p><p><a
href="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_CapTech.jpg"><img
class="alignright size-full wp-image-212" title="logo_CapTech" src="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_CapTech.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="145" /></a>The piece looks at CapTech,  IT consulting firm headquartered in Richmond, Va. The story says that the company found value in the ability of videoconferencing to keep people engaged and, as the firm spread to remote locations and telework, helped address the isolation and disconnection that can grow.</p><p>The firm also found that videoconferencing allowed job interviews to be conducted without the expense and trouble to the applicant of a trip to Richmond. Training sessions also are easier and less disruptive, the story said.</p><p>The interesting fact is that each of these benefits has two elements: cost savings and an increase in job quality. The bottom line is that a project that starts out with the goal of saving a few dollars can accomplish that goal — and a whole lot more.</p><p>Proving that a technology offers benefits is only half the battle, albeit a very important half. The technology must be stable, extensible and widely available. In other words, telepresence long has offered these benefits. It only now is realizing its potential.</p><p>Interoperability between systems remains a problem. Indeed, the world of text messaging didn’t take off until a way was found to let users of one service communicate with users of another. The same must happen in videoconferencing.</p><p><a
href="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/blue-jeans-network-web-portal-thumb.jpg"><img
class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-216" title="blue-jeans-network-web-portal-thumb" src="http://blog.chicagomicro.com/wp-content/uploads/blue-jeans-network-web-portal-thumb-300x210.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="210" /></a>A step in that direction was taken this week. Blue Jeans Network exited stealth mode and said that it has raised $23.5 million from Accel Partners, New Enterprise Associates and Norwest Ventures, according to <a
href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/29/blue-jeans-nabs-23-5m-for-the-video-conferencing-platform-to-rule-them-all/" target="_blank"><strong>TechCrunch</strong></a>. The idea is to provide a “meeting room” where users of a variety of platforms — Cisco (Tandberg), Polycom, Lifesize, Skype and Google Talk — can “meet” each other without worrying about quarrelsome equipment.</p><p>Though the story said it has been in stealth, it has been in beta with as many as 500 companies in 1,000 cities since mid-April. The service has logged more than 500,000 minutes with 15,000 participants.</p><p>The Blue Jeans Network approach is one of several that are trying to overcome the interoperability issue. These efforts must succeed for the benefits — both the obvious and more subtle — to reach the most people.</p><p>&nbsp;</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://blog.chicagomicro.com/2011/06/videoconferencing-insight-into-some-more-subtle-drivers/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> </channel> </rss>
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