What Is Sangoma PBXact? Quick and Easy-to-Use Business Phone Systems

May 8, 2017 by Brian Hyrek

Recently, I’ve had a couple conversations with some customers about the Sangoma PBXact phone system. They were interested in learning what this system is and how they can benefit from it. If you are a small to medium-sized business like a lot of my customers are, you will want to learn this quick, easy-to-use business phone system too! Let’s check it out.

What Is Sangoma PBXact?

The PBXact is a cloud-based, Unified Communications business phone system that’s completely managed in Sangoma’s data centers. The software it uses is no different from your typical on-premise appliances, except it’s in the cloud.

Powered by the leading open source PBX system, FreePBX, the PBXact comes with numerous user-friendly features and is one of the easiest systems to get users up and running within minutes with little or no training (now you know why it’s so popular for small to medium business!)

I found this video below useful to learn about what exactly PBXact is. Take a look:

3 Reasons to Choose Sangoma PBXact

I can go on and on talking the entire day about the benefits you can enjoy from the PBXact phone system (don’t worry, I am not going to), but, let me just share with you the top 3 reasons why my customers chose the PBXact phone system.

Reason #1: Easy-to-Use and Simple to Set Up

Like I mentioned before, the PBXact phone system is very simple to set up and quick to use. It saves my clients a lot of hassle and time with its Quick-start installation Wizard and simplified dashboard GUI. Its Zero-touch provisioning even allows you to deploy phones within seconds!

Reason #2: Feature-Rich

Sangoma PBXact is definitely one of the top feature-loaded phone system solutions on the market. If you are familiar with FreePBX, you will know what I am talking about. Conference Pro, Extension Routing, Installation Wizard, are just some of the features you can benefit from. It also offers you options of up to 1000 users and 300 simultaneous calls; a truly scalable and feature-rich solution!

Reason #3: Compatibility and Integration

The PBXact is highly compatible with more than 300 different models of IP phones and 20 manufacturers, so you don’t need to worry about switching from your old phone system to the PBXact.

Visit our site to learn more about Sangoma PBXact! In the next blog, we will discuss about the PBXact UC applications and how you choose the right solution for your business. Meanwhile, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me, Brian Hyrek, at 716-531–4318.

Four Free Apps Extend the Power of Switchvox

by Ying-Hui Chen

With Switchvox, it’s more than just the call, it’s about solving all your business challenges with a comprehensive UC solution. Now, Digium’s Switchvox applications are extending the power of Switchvox even further!

You don’t need to be a developer to enjoy the benefits of application integration. Plus, all the applications are FREE. Switchvox applications create a seamless, efficient communications solution for every business. Try them all today!

#1 Switchvox Softphone app for Android and iOS

Your employees can now use their mobile devices for advanced communications, enjoying the flexibility they need to work anywhere. Check out some of the enterprise-class UC features:

Send and receive calls, just like you’re at your desk
Keep your private number private; callers see only your desk phone number
Make extension-to-extension calls
Advanced Call Control – Such as 3-way calling, transfer, hold, and more
Real-time Status/ User Presence
Connect over WiFi, 4G or LTE

Learn More

#2 Switchvox for Salesforce

Take advantage of the Salesforce and Switchvox integration that allows you to be more efficient right from within the Salesforce interface. Users can click-to-dial within records, display matching records during incoming calls, log calls directly, and easily update their Switchvox status – all without leaving Salesforce. Check out the video below!

Learn More

#3 Switchvox for Outlook

If you are an outlook user, you can now connect with your Outlook contacts easily. Dial a phone number from within Outlook and receive a desktop notification for incoming calls that includes the caller’s contact information, allowing you to personalize your greeting to match your contact and build relationships that last.

Learn More

#4 Switchvox Dial for Chrome and Firefox

Want to call a number on a website without manually enter the number into your phone? Not a problem. With this application you can dial any phone number directly from their browser with the click of a button, creating more efficient workflows. Switchvox Dial works on any web page and with all popular web applications (ex: Gmail, LinkIn, Outlook/Office365). Also enjoy the following features:

Automatically Find and Highlight all phone numbers in the current web page

Dial any phone number with three simple steps, select the phone number, right-click and choose dial
Simple redial, even if you’ve already left the web page
Dial your Switchvox contacts without opening the Switchboard

Learn More

Are you using any of the Digium’s Switchvox applications? Which one do you find most useful?

How to Read Battery Life on the Plantronics Calisto P620

May 5, 2017 by Steve Lopian

Everyone knows by now that the way we work has changed from the past. The days of having to be in the office all the time or waiting a full day for a response to an email are long gone. Now, more than ever, people are bringing their office with them on the go, and now responding to important messages can be almost instantaneous.

We are able to achieve this style of work largely because of the popular BYOD trend that has been taking over businesses. Tons of new gadgets are coming out faster than we can buy them, which has made working from home or on the road simple. It seems that even with all of these new toys there will always be some reason to show up to the office every now and again. Wait. Is there?

One thing that comes to mind when I think of having to be in the office is for a conference. Not being present for a big meeting or a big company decision seems somewhat unprofessional. But then I think about it more, and well, nope.

It is a new age of business, and with video conferencing becoming more popular, it seems like just hearing your voice or seeing you on a screen is 100% acceptable these days. You really don’t have to be present for a conference. Especially if you are one of the many road warriors that are out there.

If you have been living under a rock, then allow me to have the opportunity to blow your mind and tell you that there are personal and portable conference phones! Most of these are Bluetooth, can plug into up to your laptop, and fit in the palm of your hand!

If you find yourself on the road a lot, but still need to be involved in conference room meetings, then this is something you will want to look into. Or if you haven’t been living under a rock, this might be something you already have.

For this blog, we are going to take a look at the Plantronics Calisto P620. This is a popular portable conference phone that delivers. This was designed with mobility in mind and is a must-have for when you need to be on a conference call in say, your hotel room.

How to Read Battery Life on the Plantronics Calisto P620

When fully charged, the Calisto P620 offers up to 6 hours of talk time bust just like anything else, the more you use it, the more the battery will drain. So how can you tell how much battery life is left in your Calisto P620? The flashing red LED on the unit will let you know how low your battery is by how many times it flashes in a cycle! Here’s what I mean:

If you have 2 to 6 hours of talk time, the Calisto P620 will flash red once.
If you have less than 2 hours of talk time remaining, the Calisto P620 will flash twice.
If you have less than 30 minutes of talk time remaining, then you will see three flashes.

If you do in fact see the red LED flashing in threes then it is time to charge! If you are in a pinch, you can plug the Calisto P620 into your laptop via USB to charge as well! Because we all know that keeping anything portable charged is extremely important!

Are you a road warrior? Do you use the Plantronics Calisto P620? If not, what do you use for your portable conference phone? We want to know!

VoIP Supply Awarded the Gold Level Distribution Partner by Grandstream at Channel Partners 2017

May 4, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

grandstream-award-2017 VoIP Supply received the Gold Level Distribution Partner Award by Grandstream at Channel Partners event this year. This award is to recognize VoIP Supply as a valuable partner with Grandstream and thank them for their dedication in marketing and sales efforts.

VoIP Supply is committed to building strong relationships with our partners, employees, customers and the community to bring the greatest value at all time. We are honored to be Grandstream’s long-time partner and share the same value and dedication.

Thank you to Grandstream for this special award! We look forward to serving more customers together in the future!

Patton’s New Online Academy Makes Training Easy

by Ying-Hui Chen

Are you a Patton Channel Partner who wants to learn about Patton at your own pace? If yes, then you are in luck! Patton now offers their partners a new online academy training system. It is accessible 24/7 on the world wide web and it’s easier and most cost-efficient to get certified.

You will build the skills you need to install, configure and support Trinity-based SmartNode VoIP products all online.

How Do I Take The Courses?

Patton Partners can order courses for their technicians by purchasing licenses for each student who wants to enroll, all you need is their name and email address to get started!

Each individual’s Patton ID and password will be their Login ID to Patton Academy. Once the order is processed, an enrollment notification will be sent and they can browse the full course catalog here to start taking courses.

Learn more details on Patton’s website!

Grandstream DP750 Ringing Stopped Working. What Can I Do?

May 3, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

Our tech support team at VoIP Supply offers great pre- and post-sales support plus provisioning, consultations, configuration, and installation help. We get a lot of VoIP hardware and software questions and would like to share the solutions with everyone.

In the previous Mom’s calling Q&A series, we have discussed: Can Skype Work on the Grandstream GXV3275 and GXV3240? Today, we have more new real questions and answers from VoIP users just like you. Let’s take a look!

Grandstream DP750 Ringing Stopped Working. What Can I Do?

Q: I have a handful of Grandstream DP750 with headsets at different customer sites and they all experience similar inbound call issues. The most common is that the phones will work fine inbound and outbound after a reboot but within a few minutes inbound ringing stops working but outbound calls work fine. Please advise.

A: Try factory reset the phone after the firmware upgrade and re-register the handset to the base station. It should solve your issues. Here is the DP750/DP720 Firmware Release Note for your reference: http://firmware.grandstream.com/Release_Note_DP750_DP720_1.0.2.16.pdf

Stay Tuned

Come back for more VoIP questions and answers next time! If you have VoIP questions to ask us please submit a technical support ticket or contact our VoIP experts today at 866-582-8591.

More from: Q & A Ying-Hui Chen Grandstream Q&A

Channel Partners 2017 Recap: Looking at VoIP Fulfillment Trends

April 28, 2017 by Don Stefanie

channel-partners-1
“Channel Partners Conference in Las Vegas early this month was a success for us!” Said Don Stefanie, Channel Manager at VoIP Supply.

My team and I had a great time meeting a lot of potential VoIP Service Providers and getting to know what area(s) they are looking to improve or issues they are trying to find a solution for.

One overriding message I heard from multiple Service Providers was that while apps and softphones are part of their offering, they still have an ongoing need for hardware but want to avoid handling it themselves.

Why? The top reasons that were brought up were that it’s time-consuming, they have to manage and maintain high inventory levels and costs, and the lack of staff to handle their orders. Therefore, more and more Service Providers are searching for a dedicated fulfillment professional team that allows them to live in a just-in-time world featuring:

No product touch
No equipment receivables
Inventory visibility
Custom branding, inserts, and packaging
Responsive service and technical teams solving issues that arise along the way
A technical team that frees up the Service Providers’s technical staff to focus on their end client’s experience

And that’s exactly what Fulfillment by VoIP Supply provides you. In most cases, we can take that product touch off your shoulders and have you up and running on our portal in 3 to 5 days! Run a more effective and efficient program with improved margins.

If you are interested in learning about our Fulfillment service, please don’t hesitate to contact me, Don Stefanie, Channel Manager at VoIP Supply, at 716-213-6906.

How to Define the Backlight on the AudioCodes 430HD

by Steve Lopian

Different jobs come with different environments and with those environments comes many different people. No one is the same, so it is important that the tools we use every day have preference settings so that we can adjust them the way we want.

This is something that can help us make our day easier at work, and help assist us in performing our tasks better. If you work at a desk, then chances are the thing that you are going to be able to customize the most besides your computer, is your desk phone.

For this week’s basic “How-To”, we are going to go over how to define the backlight on your deskphone. Doing this is very simple and the way you do it is almost universal to every IP phone with a backlit display.

For the sake of this blog, we are going to use the AudioCodes 430HD as an example. If you find that the backlight on your phone is either turns off too quickly or stays on too long, then just follow these simple steps!

How to Define the Backlight on the AudioCodes 430HD

Access the Backlight Timeout screen by pressing Menu> Setting> Backlight Timeout
From here you can navigate to select Always on, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60 seconds
Once you have chosen your time, simply press the Select softkey to apply your settings
The final step is to press the Save softkey, and your backlight settings will be changed

It really is that simple! Now your backlight will function exactly the way you want it to, and there is nothing better than having things go your way! Am I right?

Do you use the AudioCodes 430HD for your deskphone? If not, what phone do you use? How is the backlight display? We want to know!

What is an Open Source PBX?

April 27, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

If you are a VoIP user (or thinking about being one), you must have heard the buzz word: Open Source PBX. But what is it? What does it do? Let’s find out.

First, let’s talk about PBX.

What is PBX?

PBX or “Private Branch Exchanges”, is a private telephone switchboard within an enterprise that allows multiple enterprise users to switch calls among them and share a certain number of external lines.

Unlike a traditional PBX that has a limited number of outside telephone lines and to a certain number of internal extensions, PBX phone system shares the lines for making calls. This kind of phone system avoids the cost of having a line for each user to the central telephone office.

Back to the topic– So what is an Open Source PBX?

What is an Open Source PBX?

An open source PBX system is a PBX with an underlying operating system and PBX software that is made generally available to the public for free. Because the operating system and software are free, an open source PBX system is very low in cost comparing to proprietary PBX systems. It also offers unlimited flexibility to any type of business.

Types of Open Source PBX Systems

There are basically two types of Open Source PBX systems:

“Pure” open source PBX: A PBX system that has an underlying operating system and PBX software that’s made available to the public for free under GNU General Public License. Asterisk is a popular choice of open source PBX system.
Open source based: A PBX system with an underlying operating system and PBX software that’s open source at the core, but proprietary codes were built on top of it. Switchvox is an example of this type of PBX system.

Download our Open Source PBX guide or read our blog to learn more: Anatomy of an Open Source PBX

Paula Griffo, President and CFO of VoIP Supply, Celebrates 10 Years Anniversary!

April 26, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

April 25th, 2017 – Paula Griffo, VoIP Supply’s President and CFO, completes her 10-year milestone with VoIP Supply since April 2007.

She started working at VoIP Supply during its most difficult fiscal year and successfully transformed this startup into the promising, strong business it is today.

“We wouldn’t be the same without Paula’s effort and determination. I am extremely grateful for what she has done for VoIP Supply.” – Ben Sayers, CEO, and Founder of VoIP Supply.

About Paula Griffo, CPA, CGMA

Matching an unwavering work ethic and passion for finance with an accomplished and diverse background in the field of corporate accounting, Paula brings over a decade of experience to VoIP Supply. Since 2007, Paula has provided strong leadership in transitioning VoIP Supply’s finance department through the implementation of a number of initiatives designed to establish various internal controls, development of strong financial statements and the utilization of financial analytics to make sound business decisions.

As Chief Financial Officer, Paula is responsible for the strategic direction, operation, and management of VoIP Supply’s financial resources. And with her promotion to President and CFO in August 2013, she now also oversees the company’s entire day-to-day business operations including a focus on improving processes and procedures, employee development programs, departmental strategies, and business development.

“I was presented with an exciting opportunity, a start-up growing at triple digits, that was really a dream for someone like me. It was chaotic and a challenge that was very satisfying with every win we had. I really can not believe it has been 10 years. I would like to thank the entire team for making the last 10 years incredible! It is a joy to work with such great people and I am proud of what we have accomplished during this time.” – Paula Griffo, President and CFO of VoIP Supply.

Congratulations Paula! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to VoIP Supply and all of us!

What Is Sangoma PBXact? Quick and Easy-to-Use Business Phone Systems