In previous articles, we've discussed the high reliability of VoIP technology. That said, achieving high reliability is only possible when built into the design of the VoIP network and the underlying network infrastructure supporting the service. One of the fundamental requirements to ensure such reliability is the implementation of VoIP failover. Here's what you need to know.
Topics: VoIP, SIP, Business Continuity, Mobile, Network Design, Cloud, SD-WAN, Unified Communications, WAN Technology
Telephony denial of service (TDoS) is a type of cyberattack that can be used to disable telephony systems. Similar in concept to a typical data network DoS (denial of service), its purpose is to deny users access to a particular telephony service. In this article, we discuss how TDoS attacks are conducted and what measures you and your telco can take to protect your systems.
Topics: Business Telephone System, Network Security, Business Continuity
The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting businesses around the world. Organizations are being forced to maneuver in a new world of security and privacy issues related to a remote workforce involving hardware and software needs, as well as employee access policies. While working from home may be a new and foreign concept to some companies, the cloud-based tools they use everyday have made it infinitely easier to continue operations and serving their customers with the same level of quality of service, support and communications that their brick and mortar operations have sought to provide.
So, as resellers and service providers of VoIP and uCast services, one of the most critical components in enabling a successful work-from-home experience for your customers (and their customers) is to keep the phone services operating as normally as possible. In this article, we suggest six steps to enabling an effective work-from-home (WFH) environment.
Topics: Firmware Upgrades, Mobility (including remote work), Videoconferencing, Business Continuity, Conferencing, Productivity, Cloud, Business Strategy, Unified Communications, Konftel
For most organizations these days, WAN connectivity is so mission-critical that investing in a redundant WAN infrastructure is well worth the extra cost and effort. In this article, we explore the available options for WAN redundancy so you can help your customers decide which is the best for them.
Topics: Business Continuity, Network Design, WAN Technology
Product Review
In today’s business environment, coordinating teams of people working on a multitude of projects and tasks can become complicated. This is why collaboration tools are so important to streamlining cooperation and increasing efficiency. Yealink has developed a series of products that maintain a deep integration with Microsoft Teams, the software giant’s communication and collaboration platform. Yealink has the widest range of Teams-certified voice and video devices on the market. In this article, we review Yealink's T-series IP phones, certified by Microsoft for use with both Teams and Skype for Business.
Topics: SIP Phones, Yealink, Software Integration, Business Continuity, Productivity, Product Review, Unified Communications
Last week, we discussed centralized call processing and its benefits and potential pitfalls. In this article, we’ll examine another type of telephony infrastructure design for multisite enterprises: distributed call processing.
Topics: Business Telephone System, VoIP, Total Voice Solution, Business Continuity, Network Design, Business Strategy
Product review
Topics: IP PBX, Business Telephone System, VoIP, SIP, Grandstream, Business Continuity, Product Review, Business Strategy
If you have customers that have not yet migrated to VoIP and are thinking about making the switch, this would be a great time to do it. According to the FCC, VoIP telephone subscriptions in the U.S. have been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 10% since 2013, and retail switch access has been declining by 11% annually during the same period. At that rate, VoIP subscribers now outnumber switched access customers, and ISDN connections are quickly sliding into obsolescence. SIP trunking is becoming the standard for PSTN connectivity.
To ensure a smooth transition, start by helping your customers answer these four basic questions to set them up for success.
Topics: IP PBX, Business Telephone System, VoIP, Trends, Business Continuity, Business Strategy
Part 2 of 2: Cloud communications offer many advantages, but some businesses benefit less than others
In Part 1 of this series, we reviewed some advantages of cloud-based unified communications (UC). Among other things, we emphasized the ease of use, streamlined functionality, and cost savings of this platform as compared with a similar on-site deployment. However, there are situations where cloud-based UC is less advantageous. In this article, we look at the prerequisites for using UC over the cloud as well as some specific examples.
Topics: Business Telephone System, VoIP, Total Voice Solution, Trends, Business Continuity, Productivity, Cloud
Product review
There are several ISPs (internet service providers) that can provide your business with high- and super-high speed internet access. These technologies include Metro Ethernet and Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) and offer speeds from several Mbps to 1 Gbps and beyond – but with a hefty price tag.
An alternative is the bonding of multiple ADSL/VDSL or cable lines to take advantage of the aggregate bandwidth of these connections while paying a comparably miniscule monthly cost. All that’s needed is a load balancing WAN router like Peplink’s Pepwave Balance 20 Dual-WAN Router.
Designed for small office and branch office use, not only does the Balance 20 router perform link bonding and load balancing, but it also offers an impressive array of additional features.
Topics: Business Continuity, Routers
