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WHITE PAPER25 Business Phone Service Features YourBusiness Can’t Afford To Do WithoutFREE Checklist:25 Must-have FeaturesPage 8
WHITE PAPER25 Business Phone Service FeaturesYour Business Can’t Afford To Do Without25 Business Phone Service Features YourBusiness Can’t Afford To Do WithoutWhat you Need to Cut Costs, Satisfy Your Customers andExpand Your BusinessWhen it comes to deciding which business phone service features youabsolutely, positively, must have these days, there’s good news andbad news.Bad news: Your customers probablywon’t tolerate outdated technologyfor longEmployees need and expect morefrom your business phone service,tooThe bad news is that the old-fashionedAnd of course, your employees also needPBX sitting in your utility closet—and themodern phone features to competeexpensive Grandma Bell services you getin today’s marketplace. Features likefrom a central switching facility that’s oldervoicemail-to-email, Outlook and Salesforcethan you are— just don’t cut it anymore. Notintegration, call recording and management,for you, and not for your customers.and mobile apps that let them take theIn fact, a 2013 survey commissioned byMicrosoft found that 91% of consumerssurveyed said they would consider goingelsewhere if a small business used old orinadequate technology. They expect theirphone calls to be answered day or nightby a pleasant-sounding person or autoreceptionist, and they expect to be routedefficiently to the right person. Consumersalso want hear music on hold, have theirvoicemails answered, and be transferredinternally without their calls being dropped.office anywhere. The bar has been raisedby the consumer technology that manyworkers already have at home. Thebest workers want to use these sameproductivity-enhancing tools on the job.Good news: The right technologyis cheaper, more reliable and morepowerful than everThe good news? Cloud technology andvoice over Internet protocol (VoIP) makeit easy and inexpensive to get the phonetechnology your business needs to thrive.In particular, cloud communications makehigh-end “big business” features—suchas an auto-attendant, call transferringand forwarding capabilities, web chat, callconferencing, mobile apps, call recordingand voicemail-to-email —affordable for smallbusinesses.2
WHITE PAPER25 Business Phone Service FeaturesYour Business Can’t Afford To Do Without“The 8x8 service gave usIn fact, you’ll probably pay a lot less thanan improved experience andyou do now for your outdated phoneimage for our clients, withmusic on hold and customizedauto attendant. The autoattendant routes calls for us,which replaced the old processof answering the phone andtracking down the right person.And the ability to have phoneservice access from our desksto iPhones and Android phoneswith the app, then connectwith our laptops, is the perfectmatch for our on-the-goschedule and fast pace of ourbusiness.”Scott OchoaOwner, Trust Computer Gurusservice. Here are some standard phonefeatures that many VoIP solutions provide: Caller ID with name—for screeningout junk calls and making sure yourcustomers and associates getforwarded to the best person to handlethe call. Voicemail—so callers can leavemessages and have their calls returnedquickly. Call waiting—so that important callscan get through even when the line isbusy. Call forwarding—so you can send callsdown the hall or even to other countries. Call transfer—so you can transferGet all the features people expect—plus advanced ones that make doingbusiness fast and easyVoIP-based phone systems give you accessto new features, media and devices that cantransform the way you do business.Take auto attendant, for example. Autoattendant answers your business calls andlets your customers decide where theywant their calls to go. You can route calls toa department, a particular employee, andeven to an employee’s smartphone. Hereis how those capabilities helped one smallbusiness owner.“The 8x8 service gave us an improvedexperience and image for our clients,with music on hold and customized autoattendant,” says Scott Ochoa, owner ofcallers to the right person no matterTrust Computer Gurus. “The auto attendantwhere that person is.routes calls for us, which replaced the Three-way calling— so employees andold process of answering the phone andcustomers can quickly do conferencetracking down the right person. And thecalls, without scheduling them inability to have phone service access fromadvance.our desks to iPhones and Android phones Do Not Disturb—for when employeesare not available to take calls.with the app, then connect with our laptops,is the perfect match for our on-the-goschedule and fast pace of our business.” Music on hold—for a more professionaland pleasant user experience. Extension dialing—so you can reachany of your offices across the country.3Auto attendant is just one of the featuresyou get when you go from a traditionalphone system to a cloud-based one.
WHITE PAPER25 Business Phone Service FeaturesYour Business Can’t Afford To Do WithoutHere is a list of advanced features thatmobile phones—so you can answerlike 8x8’s:calls from your desk phone, cell phone Auto attendant—a flexible, easilycustomizable and changeable callanswering and routing feature that canor laptop “soft” phone, something thattraditional phone systems can’t do. Integration with other businessbe quickly re-configured on a moment’ssoftware—such as Outlook, Salesforce,notice for emergencies, changes andNetSuite, ACT and SugarCRM, whichholidays.makes calling and tracking your contacts Customizable find-me, follow-me callforwarding—so that important calls geta snap. Ring groups—so you can efficientlyto you quickly on whatever phone ormanage the flow of incoming calls todevice you’re using.departments, work groups and even far Call transfers and ring-through toother offices—even if those offices areaway offices. Unlimited calling in the US andout of town, out of state, or in anotherCanada—for predicable monthly costs,country.so you don’t get unpleasant “surprises” Call recording—lets you record trainingand coaching examples, and save callat the end of the month. Unlimited calling in eight morerecordings for later follow-up or to checkinternational locations, and low ratesfor compliance.elsewhere—for easy-on-the-budget Presence management—indicateswhich employees are on the phone oravailable to take calls. Works even withremote offices. Meetings (with video)— a robustvirtual meeting platform that helps youcollaboration with international clients,suppliers and workers traveling abroad. Chat and instant messaging—forquick, instant communication andcollaboration. Virtual numbers—to give you a localschedule and conduct meetings frompresence even when your offices areyour desktop, laptop, tablet or cell.elsewhere. Calls to virtual numbers are Internet fax capabilities—read andsend faxes right from your desktopinstantly transferred to any number youchoose, such as your main office.or laptop. Even view them on your Easy account management—from yoursmartphone or tablet. Never againcomputer, using a simple web interface.worry about missing incoming faxes, orwhether an outgoing one went through.4 Integration with your desk andcome standard with a modern phone service Cloud-based—for flexibility, growth andsimple administration and management.
WHITE PAPER25 Business Phone Service FeaturesYour Business Can’t Afford To Do WithoutWhy the cloud is a great place to putyour business communicationsBecause cloud-based services are deliveredYou need unified communications—even if your business is still youngand growingover the Internet, your business can“Unified communications” is a phrasehave the same phone features that bigoften used in large enterprises and by ITbusinesses have enjoyed for years—withoutconsultants. It really just means that all ofthe hassle and expense of maintainingyour communications are tied together—a PBX system. Here are just a few of theand more importantly—are designed tobenefits that a cloud-based system canwork seamlessly together.deliver:With unified communications, your phone, Provides multiple communicationfax, web conferencing and mobile featuresservices: phone, fax, web conferencing,all work together as one system. Themobile apps, call recording, andadvantage for your business is that youvoicemail. You can access these servicescan do things that you could never do withalmost anywhere using office phones,your old PBX, because it wasn’t designedsmartphones, desktops, laptops andto work with modern computer and mobiletablets.communications technology. Services are hosted, maintained andprovider. You don’t need to pay anThe cloud is a great leveler for smallbusinessIT consultant to have the latestCloud-based unified communications givescommunications technology.you high-quality business phone features—regularly upgraded by your service Other than phones, your equipment ishosted somewhere else. You free upPBX closet space and reduce your powerusage.and the flexibility to use them with officephones, desktops, laptops, and mobiledevices. As many smart business ownershave learned, this kind of flexibility is crucialfor success. Important data is secured off site. Yourbusiness has greater protection from“As the head of four small businesses, Ioutages, natural disasters and securityunderstand more than most the criticalbreaches.need for this type of communications Change or add new services wheneveryou need to. You don’t have to waitweeks for a service tech to show up. .flexibility and the empowerment it providesme and my employees,” says Robert Heller,CEO of Avyzo. “With our cloud-based phonesystem, we can respond to opportunitieswith speed and agility, giving us thenecessary advantage in this competitiveenvironment.”5
WHITE PAPER25 Business Phone Service FeaturesYour Business Can’t Afford To Do Without“Listening to voicemails,And as one unified communicationsLet’s just take one of these new unifiedtransferring a line to our cellcustomer put it, “The kicker is that it’s a lotcommunications features, Outlookcheaper than what we were paying just forintegration. What does that really mean?phones.”For Edward Ustanic of Integrated Electricalphone, and calling a numberback has never been easier.Our system grabs all of ourOutlook contacts and bringsthem into the communicationsdirectory. Then all you have todo is click, and you’re callingEven more important, small businessesjust starting out do not have the hugeServices, it means simplicity and a big gainin productivity.investment in old-style phones that many“Listening to voicemails, transferring a lineestablished companies have, so it’s easyto our cell phone, and calling a number backfor them to quickly embrace cloud-basedhas never been easier,” says Edward. “Ourtechnology.system grabs all of our Outlook contactsand brings them into the communicationsthat contact! And to scheduleWhat does unified communicationsmean to “troops on the ground?”a meeting and invite contactsBecause unified communication solutionsschedule a meeting and invite contacts isis easier than in GoToMeeting,have become so affordable, even theeasier than in GoToMeeting, where we hadsmallest businesses can now haveto set up a meeting and drag contacts overadvanced features like call recording, webfrom Outlook, which used to be so time-conferencing, and auto attendant. In fact,consuming.”where we had to set up ameeting and drag contacts overfrom Outlook, which used to beso time consuming.”Edward UstanicIntegrated Electrical Servicesthe cost is often a LOT less than for theircurrent phone service. In addition to savingmoney, you get:and you’re calling that contact! And toPerhaps the greatest benefit is lookingbigger than you are, early in your growthcycle. Jahaziel Romero, owner of Red Eye Freedom from being tethered to themedia, says that “Being a small business,office phone, fax and conferencingwe were looking for a phone system thatsystems—and the mobility that comeswas able meet all our needs. Right away, wewith call forwarding, mobile apps, andstarted receiving calls from our customers,go-anywhere features that let you takeand they were very impressed by the levelyour office with you.”of professionalism a cloud-based phone A communications system thatworks with other popular businesssoftware—such as Outlook, Salesforce,NetSuite, SugarCRM, eAgent and SageACT. Security and compliance features—system had on our business.”Romero credits cloud communications ashelping him grow his business. “I honestlydo not know how we were able to stay inbusiness without the cloud. As our businesscontinues to grow and as we begin tosuch as secure login, and configuragleexpand to different locations, we know thatHIPAA and FISMA compliance, andwe don’t have to worry about the phonemore, so you don’t have to worry aboutsystem situation.”jeopardizing customer data or notcomplying with government regulations.6directory. Then all you have to do is click,
WHITE PAPER25 Business Phone Service FeaturesYour Business Can’t Afford To Be WithoutThe cloud makes for easy expansionAnd, as Harrison’s company grows,The cloud also gives small businesses thecommunications are one less thing to worryability to enter markets and expand easily—about because of the flexibility that VoIPwithout buying another expensive PBXoffers.or waiting for it to be installed. HoustonHarrison, owner of Senior Benefit Groupsays cloud-based unified communicationshave transformed his business. “VoIP phoneservice has not only been reliable for myfinancial services company, but has alsogiven my company a presence in our spacethat allowed us to immediately competewith the larger players,” he says.“We are able to make changes with zerodowntime as we add lines to meet ourbusiness growth,” he says. “With the easeof activation we have, we feel we have atelecommunications strategy that will stayahead of the technology curve, and meetour telecommunications needs for years tocome.”IP PhonesChat with CoworkersAuto AttendantMusic on HoldMobile AppsSoftphoneVoicemail to EmailRing GroupsTo learn more, call 1.866.862.2811 or visit www.8x8.comP: 888.898.8733 (Toll-Free)P: 408.687.4120 (Outside US)F: 408.980.0432NASDAQ: EGHTwww.8x8.com 2014. The 8x8, Inc. logo is a registered trademark of 8x8, Inc. 8x8, Inc. is a publicly traded company. SALES584/0114The ChampionFor BusinessCommunications
FREE Checklist: 25 Features to Look For When You NeedBusiness Phone ServiceMoney-saving features1. An integrated communications system that ties together phones, web chat, conferencing, fax, etc.—all in one2. Predictable billing and expenses—no surprises, and bills for all offices managed under one system3. An easy-to-use administration interface—so you don’t need expensive consultants4. Cheap and/or free international calling—lets you save money for other things5. Online meetings with video—for easy collaboration, without paying for a separate serviceMobile and telecommuting capabilities6. Find-me, follow-me features—to get calls to employees anywhere, on any device7. Call forwarding to other offices and cell phones—no matter where they are8. Accessible from any device—for maximum productivity and flexibility9. Mobile apps—to support a staff on the go10. Presence management—allows you to manage your availability, and see the availability of other users on the system11. Voicemail-to-email,—for fast, easy voicemail notification and pickup12. Extension dialing—reach colleagues by dialing just their extension, even if they’re in an office across the countryFeatures that make your business look bigger13. Auto Attendant—to route calls efficiently and quickly14. Music on hold—for a more professional image and better user experience15. Virtual numbers—so you “look local” in other area codes, even though you might only have one office16. Ring/hunt groups—that help you distribute calls to different employees, teams or offices17. Call recording—to capture important details and help with complianceDisaster recovery18. No PBX closet to be damaged or repaired—saving money and time to recovery19. Service not dependent on local conditions—so you could be up and running even during severe weather or power outages20. Mobile apps, easy forwarding, and plug-in phones—for easy relocation and telecommutingSafety, security and easy upgradability21. Secured and upgraded in the cloud—so you don’t need consultants or to download and install software22. Caller ID to instantly see who is calling—for easy call screening23. High compliance and standards management capabilities —e.g., HIPAA, FISMA, PCI and other similar needsIntegration24. Integration with other software—including Outlook, Salesforce, and other popular CRM software25. Use your preferred device anywhere, anytime: office phones, desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets
Auto attendant is just one of the features you get when you go from a traditional phone system to a cloud-based one. “The 8x8 service gave us an improved experience and image for our clients, with music on hold and customized auto attendant. The auto attendant routes calls for us,
