Best Practices for a Successful VoIP Implementation

Voice over IP (VoIP) can integrate voice with other forms of communication and save clients money on long-distance charges as well as increase efficiencies in communications between staff no matter what location they work at, but there’s more to deploying VoIP than just putting new phones on desks.

VoIP implementation should follow industry standard best practices.

With the typical on-premise VoIP implementation, voice data travels over the client’s existing LAN. As with any other data, network congestion can delay packets or even cause some to be dropped. While this is just a minor inconvenience for most forms of data — an Intranet page taking slightly longer to load, for instance — even a few dropped VoIP packets can introduce unacceptable echoes or breaks in a voice stream.

Customers are used to the nearly flawless voice quality they get with standard phone lines and will usually not settle for lower quality with VoIP services. To support VoIP, networks have to be assessed and often upgraded as a first step — in fact, many vendors require it.

Larger companies tend to have robust networks that are mostly ready to handle VoIP implementation, but networks at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) often need upgrading, especially when it comes to the connection between sites.

VoIP services need to be available 24/7 even during peak traffic hours, so just setting up enough bandwidth to handle average loads is not enough. You should prioritize your network to make sure that VoIP data travels freely all the time, and you may want to set up a virtual LAN (VLAN) for the VoIP devices to guarantee they get all the bandwidth they need.

You should also set up prioritization to ensure that VoIP packets are prioritized across not only your network, but also as they enter and leave your network to connect to a remote node or device over a WAN connection.   This provides quality of service (QoS) as data packets enter or leave the LAN.

Aside from bandwidth considerations, setting up a VLAN can also make security easier to manage. Because VoIP implementations combine phone service and data networks, you need to address security for both areas.

Your approach to security with VoIP should be similar to any other data. If you’re using VoIP services between different sites, make sure that all data is encrypted through a VPN.

Deploying VoIP at a single site first lets you avoid the additional challenges in getting good voice quality across your WAN on day one. Because VoIP (SIP) is completely separate from traditional phone lines, you can set up the system without interrupting normal phone service and then switch over at your own pace after testing.

For more information please visit www.GoECS.com

Avaya Warranty Information:
IP Office Hardware Warranty;    
1-Year for hardware components that are found to be defective

IP Office Software Warranty;
90-Days

IP Office Warranty Notes;
Avaya hardware warranty is on a return-and-replace basis

IP Office Support Services (IPOSS) Information

IP Office Support Services (IPOSS) is an “Optional” add-on support agreement.

IP Office Support Services (IPOSS) is ONLY available for IP Office R8.1 & above:
IP Office Support Services is globally available to customers that have an IP Office R8.1+ system. It provides your business with the support you need, when you need it, with flexible options and investment protection. It is simple and easy to use. IP Office Support Services address software and hardware components, access to service packs and all major software releases during the contract term, and provide options for advanced parts delivery and hours of service coverage. You even have access to all of Avaya’s web services such as documentation, tools and our newly revised Knowledge Base. The introductory support price includes software upgrades, and the price isn’t much higher than the cost of a single software upgrade. Introductory pricing is a single fee per server no matter the number of users or applications. IP Office Support Services is available through your Avaya Authorized Partner. (ECS)

The base offer includes:
• Avaya remote technical support for both software and hardware during standard 8×5 Monday-Friday hours
• Access to major software upgrades to keep your systems current and to increase functionality
• Access to minor software releases, service packs and software and firmware updates
• Access to the Avaya support site tools and intellectual property
• Enhanced remote connectivity through SSL-VPN for increased security and faster resolution
• Availability of coverage in 1, 3 or 5 year prepaid terms
• Low total cost of ownership
• Competitively priced support

Additional Value options:
• Anytime/any day remote support (24x7x365)
• Advanced Parts Replacement (APR) – Next Business Day (NBD) or 4 hour delivery by courier for critical components*
• Advanced Parts Replacement (APR) with Onsite support – Next Business Day or 4 hour (U.S. only)

Voice Terminal (telephone set) Replacement coverage is NOT included in any IP Office Support Services (IPOSS) offer.

To learn more about IP Office visit:
www.avaya.com/sme
www.youtube.com/user/Avaya
www.GoECS.com

About Avaya
Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, data solutions and related services to companies of all sizes around the world.

For more information please visit www.avaya.com or www.GoECS.com

Telephony:
ECS delivers scalable, adaptable Telephony solutions ranging from traditional telephone systems to fully converged VoIP systems that provide productivity enhancing business applications. AT ECS, we understand the value of innovation and partner with our clients to develop communication strategies that add value to their organizations. We provide technology that enables customers to perform at their highest production and service levels by driving revenue and serving customers more efficiently.

Voice/Data Cabling:
ECS installs properly designed Cabling Infrastructure Systems that provide reduced costs during each life cycle phase including: installation, moves, adds, changes & ongoing administration. Standards-based installation & compliance is key to ensuring maximum return on your investment. We install and support a variety of transmission media from twisted pair, coax & fiber optic to broadband & associated components.

IT/Networking:
ECS provides IT & Networking solutions that assist customers in managing costs, personnel, and processes associated with the technology requirements of their business. We understand that each engagement is unique and collaborate with customers to develop a solution and project approach that fits their needs. ECS is committed to ensuring that your network is operating efficiently & securely!

Carrier Services:
ECS is a reliable resource for best-in-class Carrier Services including: local/long distance, high-speed internet & broadband services. We help companies meet the growing needs to reduce costs, increase productivity, & migrate to next-gen apps. ECS is dedicated to providing economical, flexible Carrier Service options that best match our customers’ needs from basic access, to fully managed networks.

For more information please visit www.GoECS.com

Avaya IP Office Leadership in Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) Communications

Avaya IP Office Leadership

Proven Record of Success

7.5 Million IP Office Users Worldwide

265,000+ IP Office Systems Sold

#1 Worldwide in Revenue for Small Mid-Market Systems (Dell Oro 2011)

Awards & Recognition

Leader in Magic Quadrants for Unified Communications (UC), Contact Center, and Corporate Telephony (Gartner 2010)

IP Office, UC Product of the Year, 2011 (Frost & Sullivan & TMC)

25% Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) versus Shoretel (Tolly Report 2010)

Superior Customer Service

Recognized four years in a row for providing an outstanding customer experience
(J.D. Power and Associates)

To learn more about IP Office visit:
www.avaya.com/sme
www.youtube.com/user/Avaya
www.GoECS.com

About Avaya
Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, data solutions and related services to companies of all sizes around the world.

For more information please visit www.avaya.com or www.GoECS.com

Our Goal:
At Efficient Communication Solutions, Inc. (ECS) our primary goal and what we believe to be the most important measure of our success is the satisfaction of our customers. There are many companies to select from in the voice/data communications industry and we fully understand our obligation to provide dependable products, services, and support to not only meet, but exceed our customer’s expectations. Only in this way can we truly earn the trust necessary for long-term relationships.

Single-Source Solutions:
ECS provides “Single-Source” Solutions for a wide-variety of voice/data products and services to meet our customer’s communication requirements. Our strategic alliances with best-in-class resources provides a diverse product package to meet the requirements of our customers, small, medium and large.

We facilitate the deployment of flexible, cost-effective solutions that prepare our customers for change, growth, and maximum performance.

Our design and implementation teams are proactively managed by some of the region’s leading technical resources and we are extremely proud of the level of customer satisfaction we are able to constantly achieve. We provide 7×24 technical support, which allows our customers to save time and money through prompt response and efficient solutions.

We work with our customers in a consultative, partnering atmosphere, providing both hardware and carrier service solutions designed specifically to meet our customer’s needs. We deliver dependability through proper research, analysis, design, careful planning, and managed implementations.

Our Market Focus:
● Traditional Telephony
● Voice Over IP (VoIP)
● Voice/Data Cabling
● IT/Networking
● WiFi
● Video Surveillance

Services:

Consultation/Design
Research, Analysis, & Cost-Effective Recommendations

Sales
Integrity & Experience

Implementation
Inception through Completion

Training
End-User & Administration

System Administration
Remote & On-Site Support

Customer Service
Partnering with Clients for Mutual Success

Maintenance Agreements
Remote or On-Site

Support Agreements
Remote or On-Site

Product Focus
Avaya
SonicWall
APC
Polycom
Plantronics
Dell
Microsoft
Xima
AccessLine
Speech Privacy Systems
HP

For more information please visit www.GoECS.com

If you are using VoIP, there is a chance that at some point you have experienced or will experience poor call quality. Below we discuss the most common causes of VoIP call quality problems and what you can do to correct them.

The causes of poor quality VoIP calls are usually easy to diagnose and correct.

The five (5) Most Likely Causes of Poor VoIP Calls and How You Can Fix Them:

Problem – 1: Jitter
Jitter is a common problem of connectionless networks or packet switched networks. Because the information (voice packets) are divided into packets, each packet can travel by a different path from the sender to the receiver. When packets arrive at their intended destination in a different order then they were originally sent, the result is a call with poor or scrambled audio.

Jitter is technically the measure of the variability over time of the latency across a network. Jitter is one of the most common VoIP call quality problems.

The Solution: Use Jitter Buffers
A jitter buffer temporarily stores arriving packets in order to minimize delay variations. If packets arrive too late then they are discarded.

Problem – 2: Latency
VoIP delay or latency is characterized as the amount of time it takes for speech to exit the speaker’s mouth and reach the listener’s ear. Latency sounds like an echo.

There are 3 types of delay commonly found in today’s VoIP networks:
Propagation Delay; Light travels through a vacuum at a speed of 186,000 miles per second, and electrons travel through copper or fiber at approximately 125, 000 miles per second. A fiber network stretching halfway around the world (13, 000 miles) induces a one-way delay of about 70 milliseconds (70ms). Although this delay is almost imperceptible to the human ear, propagation delays in conjunction with handling delays can cause noticeable speech degradation.

Handling Delay; Devices that forward the frame through the network cause handling delay. Handling delays can impact traditional phone networks, but these delays are a larger issue in packetized environments.

Queuing Delay; When packets are held in a queue because of congestion on an outbound interface, the result is queuing delay. Queuing delay occurs when more packets are sent out than the interface can handle at a given interval.

The Solution: Prioritize
Prioritizing VoIP traffic over the network provides latency and jitter improvements. Policy based network management, bandwidth reservation, Type of Service, Class of Service, and Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) are all widely used techniques for prioritizing VoIP traffic. A commercial grade Firewall/Router can solve many of these issues and will result in business quality VoIP.

Problem – 3: Poor Internet Connection
Most ISP’s are designed for web surfing and not VoIP advantages. Transporting voice packets is different and requires an additional set of internet protocols that your ISP may not be providing.

The Solution: Business Class High Speed
Fortunately, most of the ISP’s, including cable and DSL high speed internet providers offer business class high speed internet service that is acceptable.

Problem – 4: Inadequate Router
Bad equipment is bad equipment.

The Solution: Install a “Commercial Grade” Firewall/Router (like SonicWall)

This is one of the most common causes of call quality issues. Many small businesses use their internet connection for both voice and data. This is perfectly fine as long as your router has the ability to prioritize VoIP traffic. Without a firewall/router that is configured for packet prioritization, call quality can be impacted by the other users on your network. For example, if during a call, another user on your network downloads a large file, without packet prioritization, your call quality could be degraded. A “commercial grade” firewall/router prevents this from happening by giving priority to voice traffic on your network.

Commercial Grade firewalls/routers (like SonicWall) are not expensive pieces of hardware.

Problem – 5: Internal Network Improperly Configured
VoIP is less than 10-years old. Many companies do not consider the higher quality demands of VoIP communications. If your company decides to route both voice and data over the same network without properly configuring your network for VoIP traffic, you can expect to have call quality issues.

The Solution: Network Configuration
This is one of the easiest and least expensive problems to correct. A “commercial grade” firewall/router that is properly configured will generally solve the problem.

For more information please visit: www.sonicwall.com or www.GoECS.com

Maximize Productivity Throughout the Office with an intuitive PC interface.

Overview
Associates who work in the office, whether the main office, remote office, or home office, require a unique set of communications tools to ensure they can be as productive as possible, regardless of location. Available with IP Office Preferred Edition, Advanced Edition, and Server Edition, the Office Worker solution for Avaya IP Office puts powerful communications tools at your fingertips in an intuitive PC interface.

Get things done quickly and efficiently – make decisions, answer questions, convey critical and timely information – without leaving your desk. Send and receive instant messages. Manage audio conferences with the click of a button. Check status of co-workers right on your PC screen (see who’s “on the phone”, “away”, or “do not disturb”, etc.). Click to speed dial. Access voicemail and email in one mailbox and see all your messages together.

Office Worker helps employees work faster and smarter. That can translate into greater productivity and efficiency and better customer interactions.

Capabilities

Make and Control Calls from your PC or Mac
With just a click or tap you can access speed dial entries, transfer calls, and create conferences with colleagues. It’s a simple, fast, and an extremely efficient way to manage high call volumes.

Efficiently Manage All Messages
With its built-in unified messaging, Office Worker allows you to handle all your messages from one place on your PC. See voice mail messages alongside emails and respond to the high priority ones first.

Manage Audio Conferences
Simplify how you create, access, and manage audio conferences so employees make better use of this productivity enhancing tool. The integrated conference bridge can provide significant cost savings, too.

Presence and Instant Messaging
Always know the status of co-workers or your most important external contacts by viewing their state of presence on your PC screen. Send instant messages to your associates or contacts to improve response times and speed decision-making.

Point-And-Click Call Handling
The intuitive and easy-to-use browser-based interface makes call handling a snap. Click to dial, transfer and conference. Integrate desktop calling and communications capabilities with applications such as Microsoft Outlook and Salesforce.com.

Benefits

Improved Productivity
Stay connected, responsive and productive; quickly and easily share ideas, provide direction and deliver on commitments.

Increased Responsiveness
Being accessible and responsive to customers and colleagues is always critical; with Office Worker, employees have the tools to quickly reach and be reached.

Easy Deployment
With its web browser based application interface, Office Worker is quickly and efficiently deployed to users throughout the office; its intuitive interface can be quickly mastered.

Specifications

Format
IP Office License Key and optional PC and/or iPad download

System Requirements
IP Office with Preferred Edition or Advanced Edition, or Server Edition

User Requirements
Current versions of the following browsers are supported:
• Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Mozilla Firefox (Mac or Windows)
• Apple Safari (Mac or Windows)
• Google Chrome (Mac or Windows)

PC Client Specifications:
• Windows XP, Windows Vista (Business/Enterprise/Ultimate), or Windows 7 (Professional/Enterprise/ Ultimate)

PC Server Specifications:
• Ethernet-attached PC running one of the following Server Operating systems: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (32-bit), Small Business Server 2003 (32-bit and 64-bit), Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008
• Voicemail synchronization in Email and Browser based access to voicemail works with any IMAP mail client (Outlook); Web access supported on Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2
• For complete and latest PC and Server specifications, refer to latest Avaya IP Office Technical Bulletin and Technical Tip documents.

Feature Detail 

With browser interface:
• Inbound & Outbound Call handling (Answer, Hold, Transfer, Drop)
• Receive Caller ID & Name Display (per service provider)
• Conference Call control (Add, Drop, Record Conference, Mute, Un-mute)
• Inbound & Outbound Call handling directly through Salesforce.com® (Windows only)
• Time on call displayed
• Queue Monitoring
• Phone Preference Setting Do Not Disturb, Voicemail ring back, and Voicemail out calling
• Personal, System, and External Directory
• Speed dial and Presence management of Microsoft® Exchange, GoogleTalk, and users within and across the enterprise
• Send Instant Messages (IM) to GoogleTalk and internal users
• Separate Call History logs – All, Incoming, Outgoing, Missed Messages
• Voicemail message management
• Microsoft Exchange Calendar Mining
• Integrate 3rd party gadgets from iGoogle and Zoho into workspace

With PC Client interface:
• Inbound & outbound call handling directly through Microsoft Outlook or the Microsoft Lync client

To learn more about IP Office visit:
www.avaya.com/sme
www.youtube.com/user/Avaya
www.GoECS.com

About Avaya
Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, data solutions and related services to companies of all sizes around the world.

For more information please visit www.avaya.com or www.GoECS.com

Our Corporate Identity:
ECS is a regional, Pacific Northwest based communications company providing single source solutions to customers for a wide variety of voice/data communication products and services.

ECS is an exclusive Avaya small/medium enterprise (SME) expert solution provider that sells & services; Avaya traditional telephone systems & Avaya Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone systems. ECS also installs & services voice/data cabling, IT/networking appliances, & carrier services (dial-tone & Internet access).

ECS provides consultation, design, sales, implementation, training, project management, system administration, customer service, maintenance agreements, and support agreements, directly and indirectly through strategic business alliances.

We deliver many diverse solutions including: multi-site networks, contact centers, unified communications, and several other productivity enhancing applications.

Our Mission:
At ECS, our mission is to earn customer loyalty by partnering with our customers to design and implement dependable, innovative ways for them to communicate more efficiently.

From our Management:
We collaborate with our customers in a consultative atmosphere, providing hardware and carrier service solutions designed specifically to meet our customer’s needs. We deliver dependability through proper research, analysis, design, careful planning, and professionally managed implementations.

At ECS, we’re beside our customers all the way, from conception to completion. There is an exciting future at ECS and it is the foundation for a long term, mutually beneficial relationship with our clients.

At ECS our customers are our 1st priority, we:
● take responsibility and ownership for our work.
● practice and maintain ethical standards in all that we do.
● have an admiration for diversity.
● provide a complete vehicle for personal and corporate growth.
● compliment each other’s strengths, and weaknesses.
● share our ideas, successes, and failures.

ECS is located at:
Washington
3702 West Valley Highway North, Suite 302
Auburn, WA 98001

Oregon
20310 SE Highway 212
Damascus, OR 97089

For more information please visit www.GoECS.com

Efficient and Professional Desktop Call Handling Application

Overview
Receptionists can handle dozens, even hundreds of calls daily, so it’s easy to see how important it is to deploy a phone application that allows for efficient call handling. IP Office Receptionist offers a visual display of incoming calls and call status throughout the business on an easy-to-use PC interface. With visual access to everyone’s phone status – who’s busy, on the phone, away from their desk – receptionists can route calls quickly and accurately with a mouse click.

Receptionist is a powerful application that allows a single operator to manage calls for single site offices and even multiple locations to ensure prompt and professional handling of all calls.

Capabilities:

Fast, Accurate Call Handling
With its intuitive PC interface Receptionist allows for convenient click-and-drag call handling that helps improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the operator, even with large call volumes.

Visual Call Status
Receptionists can see the status and availability of all associates on the network – who’s on the phone, away from their desk, not to be disturbed, etc. – helping with speed and accuracy of call routing.

Centralized Call Management
With Receptionist, a single operator can handle calls for multiple offices – transferring calls between locations, adding people to conferences, managing voicemail messages for associates. The result: streamlined operations, consistency of service and cost savings.

Call Handling For Multiple Businesses
When an operator manages calls for multiple businesses (for example, in a shared office environment), Receptionist enables the operator to quickly and accurately identify callers, greet them appropriately, and route calls to the right business. Sharing the receptionist resource reduces costs.

Benefits:

Streamline Operations
Handle large call volumes with just a single receptionist, in standalone or multi-site environments; use a single operator to manage calls for multiple businesses

Provide Professional Service To Callers
Easy-to-use interface means receptionists can see the status of users on the network to quickly and accurately route calls to the right people

Specifications:

Format
IP Office License Key and Software Download

System Requirements
IP Office with Essential, Preferred, Advanced, or Server Edition

User Requirements
• Any IP Office telephone
• Ethernet-attached PC using Windows XP or Windows Vista Business/Enterprise/Ultimate or Windows 7 Professional/Enterprise/Ultimate

For complete and latest PC and Server specifications, refer to latest Avaya IP Office Technical Bulletin and Technical Tip documents.

Feature Detail
IP Office Receptionist solution provides:
• Inbound & Outbound Call handling
• Phone Call Control including Conference Call Control & Conference Rooms; Transfer, Hold, and Park via drag & drop
• Up to 16 Park Slots with customized labels
• Configuration of Phone Preferences
• Receive Caller ID & Name Display (provided by local service provider)
• Speed Dial and Busy Lamp Field management of users within and across the enterprise
• Local Phone Directory
• Separate Call history logs – All, Incoming, Outgoing, Missed Calls, Messages
• Ability to create script for incoming call handling
• Time on Call display
• Monitoring of up to 8 Queues & ability to answer calls in queue
• Simple Outlook contact record creation
• Distinctive Ringing using WAV file
• Centralized receptionist across connected locations

NOTE:
Maximum of four (4) Receptionist Licenses per IP Office

To learn more about IP Office visit:
www.avaya.com/sme
www.youtube.com/user/Avaya
www.GoECS.com

About Avaya
Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, data solutions and related services to companies of all sizes around the world.

For more information please visit www.avaya.com or www.GoECS.com

Xima – Chronicall – Realtime Call Center Monitoring

Chronicall offers “Optional” detailed Realtime information at the click of a button. Chronicall Realtime presents a unique view into agent and group activity with three different applications. Each application allows for a specialized look at the values that are most important to your clients.

Agent Timeline is a linear view of the different call activities of each agent. You can see inbound, outbound, and internal calls, along with the agent’s status, such as when they are logged in, logged out, or set to DND. The contextual interface of the Agent Timeline allows for a seamless Realtime view of what is occurring with your agents.

Group Timeline monitoring of group queues is essential for customer satisfaction. Group Timeline allows you to see quantity and duration of the calls in any hunt group’s queue. The powerful Group Timeline gives you a graphical and numerical view of the calls that are in queue at any given moment.

Realtime Statistics provide each call center different and unique information, according to what they need. Realtime Stats gives you unlimited capability to create as many customized wallboards as you see fit. With multiple widgets and background options, you can truly have customized wallboards to represent not only the look and feel of the call center, but also the statistics that are most important with you.

Chronicall Realtime is a powerful solution for any call center. Through powerful Realtime information, you can monitor every agent and group with no refresh rate. Realtime allows for a superior look into the IP Office, which is invaluable for any call center.

Xima Software is a Premier DevConnect Partner with Avaya. There are hundreds of Avaya DevConnect Partners, but only a handful of Premier partners. The reason Xima Software reached the Premier partner level with Avaya is because Chronicall works so well with the IP Office and provides value to the phone system’s customer experience. Additionally, Chronicall’s simple integration with the IP Office, the low number of user issues, and the continuous upgrades and enhancements it receives are also key elements.

To see how Chronicall can make the most of your time and energy while improving the accuracy and efficiency of your call data, contact ECS to sign up for a free 14-day trial today.

For more information please visit www.ximasoftware.com/chronicall or www.GoECS.com