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Big Features for Your Small Business – Mitel adds SMB Controller for On-Prem, Big Business Capabilities

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We recognize that one size does NOT fit all!

That’s why TCI is excited to announce that Mitel has rolled out their new SMB Controller – it provides a full communications solution for small businesses with customized messaging, collaboration and contact center capabilities.

The MiVoice SMB controller is flexible to fit your organization, providing a full range of deployment and financing options. It’s ideal for the smaller customer or branch office that wants Enterprise-level features in a small business package for up to 150 users.

Advanced Enterprise-Level Communication Features

With MiVoice Business, you and your employees get embedded mobility to deliver greater freedom to communicate from wherever business takes you. It offers Unified Communications and collaboration with voice mail, unified messaging, and automated attendants. And it delivers excellent customer service with a fully integrated contact center solution.

Integrated Collaboration, Conferencing, and Customer Experience Solution

It’s easier to do business when your messaging, collaboration, and contact center capabilities are all part of an integrated communications solution like MiVoice Business.

With MiCollab and MiTeam Meetings, you get enterprise collaboration software and real-time video conferencing for locations across time zones and geographies that securely and swiftly power communications. And you can also integrate MiContact Center Business, to support a few call center agents or a thousand omnichannel agents.

Deployment Flexibility

You can deploy MiVoice Business on-premises, in a public cloud, or in a private cloud environment. You can also license the platform with either a traditional upfront CapEx purchase or with an OpEx subscription.

Large, small, or in between, MiVoice Business is designed to fit the unique needs of any size organization at each stage of growth.

Full Range of IP Desktop Devices and Accessories

When you’re on MiVoice Business, you can take advantage of a full range of IP desktop devices, accessories, and meeting room solutions that deliver advanced applications when and where you need them.

Why MiVoice Business?

  • Deep call control, collaboration, meetings with MiVoice Business and MiCollab
  • Advanced enterprise-level features comparable to those you have enjoyed with your current Mitel communications platform
  • Deployment flexibility: On-site, private cloud, public cloud (AWS /Azure)
  • In-office, hybrid or work-from-home options
  • Broad portfolio of IP phones, market-leading wireless SIP-DECT devices, and accessories for growth
  • OpEx option via monthly subscription
  • Smooth transition from your current Mitel communications platform to MiVoice Business

Let’s talk about an affordable way to provide enterprise-level tools for your small or mid-sized organization. Contact us today: (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.
 

4 Ways Artificial Intelligence Will Improve Your Communications & How to Mitigate AI Security Issues

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Unified Communications enable your employees to communicate and collaborate more effectively through screen sharing, video conferencing, mobile apps, and more. Adding artificial intelligence (AI) to the mix promises to send productivity through the roof, so it’s not surprising to see enterprises jump at the chance to experiment.

Still, even as AI transforms communications and collaboration, it raises new security concerns. Let’s dive deeper to understand how AI enhances Unified Communications and what enterprises need to do to maintain a secure environment.

4 Ways AI Is Improving Communications and Productivity

1. Improved Collaboration – Integrating AI chatbots into UC applications opens new doors for collaboration by gathering status updates from team members and alerting members via an app, email, SMS, or push notification if an error occurs on a product or process. When chatbots keep everyone and everything connected employees can more easily troubleshoot together, keep track of each other’s progress on projects and share ideas and information.

2. Easier Access and Use Of Data – AI virtual assistants improve access to documents and other information, automatically gathering and distributing data to employees’ devices — whether a presentation, a video, or a PDF. If questions on a prior discussion or topic arise during a meeting, the assistant retrieves pertinent emails, messages, or documents. As AI voice assistants such as Cortana and Alexa become more ingrained in the workplace, these requests may be made through voice recognition. Attendees stay focused and engaged in the conversation, with all information at their fingertips.

3. Increased Productivity – Chatbots field straightforward calls and online chats with customers, allowing your customer service team to focus on more complex calls and issues. In meetings, attendees concentrate on the content and discussion rather than on the communications tools. The AI assistant even initiates the conference automatically.

4. Better Efficiencies – Wouldn’t it be great to have someone else send meeting notes, assign action items, and schedule follow-up calls? The AI assistant handles all of it, allowing human attendees to spend their time on more complex and higher-value activities. AI also simplifies scheduling by identifying times that work for everyone. In the not-too-distant future, facial and voice recognition technologies will take attendance at meetings, eliminating yet another mundane and time-consuming task.

How To Mitigate AI Security Issues

While the benefits of AI and UC are many, the security of your communications system will also require more attention. AI technology accesses vast amounts of enterprise data on products, processes, and customers. If an attack occurs, all that data becomes vulnerable.

  • New standards and protocols will emerge as AI plays a more significant role in enterprise communications systems, so organizations must remain vigilant to stay compliant with the latest requirements.
  • There are likely security challenges with BYOD as employees’ AI-enhanced personal devices enter the workplace. Some organizations opt to disable voice assistants such as Google Assistant or Siri in the workplace. But as employees bring newer devices to the office, organizations must assess emerging AI technologies for security threats and establish clear guidelines in a formal security policy.
  • A positive note here is that AI enhances data and communications security. It will scan for potential threats and alert IT and security teams when vulnerabilities or possible attacks occur. Security professionals can respond far more quickly with the help of these technologies.

As AI and UC blend, productivity skyrockets, efficiency improves, and data is more accessible. But the architecture must have a stable base, with security as a main priority.

Thinking about adding new technology and capabilities to get more from your UC platform? Contact us today: ((703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

Why So Many Contact Center Leaders Stick with On-Prem Deployments

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A lot of tech trade media claims that: “Companies are lining up to move their contact centers to the cloud!” But we often hear decision-makers say: “Moving to the cloud makes no sense for us!”

So, what’s really happening out there?

Research shows that almost 29% of companies globally have moved to Contact Center as a Service (defined as public-cloud, multi-tenant platform). Another 20% have moved to a hosted/managed platform (defined as dedicated-instance, single-server platform owned and managed by a third party).

22% own and operate their contact centers from their physical locations and another 21% own and operate their on-premises contact center platforms with the dedicated-instance servers physically located at a third-party data center.

Architectural Drivers

We’ve all heard plenty about the value of cloud in various applications. So, what’s causing companies to keep their contact center deployments on-premises — or return to on-premises after riding the cloud wave?

Let’s start with why Customer Experience leaders who are on-premises are Staying There…

  • Reliability (45.9%)
  • Security (41.4%)
  • Customization (34.2%)
  • Cost (28.8%)

Why are some Returning to On-Premises from the Cloud

  • Security (54.5%)
  • Customization (40.9%)
  • Cost (13.6%)

Though much of the public square narrative around contact centers suggests cloud is the way to go, research shows that companies are staying with full on-premises platforms, adopting hybrid cloud/on-premises approaches, or, to a lesser extent, returning from cloud to on-premises environments.

Before choosing the best arrangement for their organizations, business leaders must evaluate the following:

  • Opportunities – What problems or opportunities are you trying to address from your contact center? How can you deliver most efficiently and competitively?
  • Cost – How does your cost structure look on-premises, with a hybrid architecture, or in the cloud? Factor staffing, technology, managed services, and all other related costs.
  • Disruption – How much would switching architectures disrupt customer service and satisfaction, and over what timeframe? For large, complex contact centers, rip-and-replace may not be an option.
  • Provider Innovation – Will staying in the cloud put you at a competitive disadvantage? Is your provider investing in on-premises platforms?
  • Competitiveness – Are you able to stay competitive in terms of customer interaction capabilities and agent efficiency on-premises? Does it make sense to innovate by adding cloud-based applications?

Need help choosing a contact center solution that fits your business requirements? Contact us today: ((703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

TCI Host Cloud Voice & Contact Center Service… Customized Capabilities & Local White Glove Support

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Our TCI Host Cloud Voice Service is all about flexibility

Add new cloud-based tools to your existing business phone system, and when you’re ready, migrate your entire platform to the cloud to reduce your overall telecom costs.

Cloud communications isn’t an all-or-nothing endeavor

There are several deployment models to choose from depending on your business’s unique situation, and you can shift from one approach to another over time. Managing a multi-site business? TCI Host can bring your offices closer together.

Unified Messaging and Integrated Apps

With access to these Mitel-powered tools, your team’s work can be tackled on more devices from any location:

  • Integration with business applications from tech leaders like Microsoft and Google
  • Presence Tools
  • Softphone App on Mobile Devices
  • Unified Messaging
  • Remote control of desktops
  • Outlook client plug-in
  • MS TEAMS integration (Mitel Assistant App.)
  • Message retrieval from one synchronized message store

Powerful Collaboration Capabilities

Explore some of the Mitel-powered team building and conferencing tools your users can tap into with their mobile or desktop phones…

  • Virtual workspaces for team meetings, conversations, content review, and project management
  • Team Video Conferencing and Recording
  • Participant management
  • Desktop application sharing
  • Team and private chat
  • Web-based file sharing
  • Document management

In and Outbound Contact Center / Call Center

Whether you’re a small or big business, you can support omnichannel queues that let customers contact you the way they prefer. Track your customer contacts and get real-time metrics for informed decision-making and better team coaching.

  • Integrate with your CRM, like Salesforce, Microsoft, and others
  • Offer Live Agents, Web Chat, Email, Text Messaging / SMS
  • Monitor and respond to Social Media feeds (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
  • Automate and access Full Reporting on Your Customer Interactions
  • Improve Customer Experience
  • Become more efficient

Empower your people to serve your customers better

For a single, low monthly price, you can upgrade their old phones to advanced mobile-enabled, desktop phones and use Mitel’s award-winning capabilities to dramatically improve your Customer Experience.

Schedule your TCI Host demo. Call us today at (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

Managing Remote Workers? How Cloud Voice Helps Your Team Get the Job Done

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With hybrid teams on the rise, cloud voice services help your remote workers make decisions faster and juggle their obligations with ease.

4 Practical Ways Cloud Voice Improves Collaboration

1. Keep the conversation going with desktop and mobile applications. If your employees can’t communicate with you, they aren’t being productive. Cloud services give your team more options. Flexible softphones on laptops, mobile apps on smartphones, and traditional IP desk phones provide a seamless experience across all devices.

2. Mirror in-person meetings with video. In-person meetings are the most effective means of communication. When this isn’t an option, a cloud system with video meeting capabilities enables your distributed teams to be just as productive as if they were sitting in the same room.

3. Turn screen sharing and shared workspaces into virtual productivity powerhouses. Say goodbye to never-ending email threads and stop the search for answers in your inbox. An online collaborative workspace allows teams to exchange ideas about a project or topic using messaging, voice, and video – all integrated into a single interface. Team members can create and assign tasks and share files.

Dashboard
A personal dashboard gives a real-time view of items needing attention, ensuring that projects and discussions are always moving forward.

  • Managers and team members always have their pulse on what’s happening since conversations are mirrored across all devices in real-time.
  • The ability to store and archive data by project, subject, or person keeps you organized and makes it easy to find answers when you need to refresh your memory.
  • Have an urgent question? Ad-hoc audio and video conferencing connect you to the right person instantly.
  • Individual and group chat allows you to keep conversations private or take them to the larger group as needed.

Let’s talk about better collaboration tools for your remote teams. Contact us today: (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

 

7 Office Trends Redefining Online Team Collaboration

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The way people use technology continues to shift quickly, and consumer behaviors and expectations are bleeding into business environments, creating new requirements and methods of doing business.

Here are several important office trends redefining how businesses and people collaborate online.

1. Using More Outsourced Resources – Freelancers and consultants fill various roles depending on a company’s size, priorities, and policies. Whether enterprise or SMB, some companies use the expertise of outside resources to provide a necessary perspective, service, or advice to help businesses. Other companies use outsourced workers to quickly scale up and down, improving their agility and flexibility. Businesses using freelancers, consultants, or other types of remote support need robust online collaboration tools to connect these outsourced workers and the company’s staff to work effectively and efficiently.

2. The Rise of Solopreneurs – The trend of companies using more outsourced workers and the rise of solopreneurs go together. Solopreneurs run their single-person businesses, often relying on contracting or consulting work for employment. They’re usually experts in niche areas. As more workers become solopreneurs, companies will increasingly have to look outside of their walls to fill needs in those specialties. Your online collaboration tools should be user-friendly, so solopreneurs don’t need to become experts in obscure software to get on board and pitch in.

3. Cloud Enablement and the Rise of Mobility – With increased connectivity, the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, and a global economy, mobility changed the game for many companies. With today’s cloud-based technology, work is an activity, not a location. Files and other resources once chained to the office are now available from anywhere with a decent Internet connection. Online collaboration tools are more important than ever to connect those in the office, those traveling, those working remote or hybrid, or outsourced resources to keep work moving productively.

4. Real Estate Consolidation and Savings – Real estate can be pricey for businesses, with some urban areas commanding $100 or more per square foot of office space — a 10×10 office costs a staggering $10,000 per year in some places. Enabling remote workers can help keep real estate costs under control by reducing your need for space, avoiding relocation, and more. Without a good online collaboration tool designed for remote workers, it’s tough for workers to connect with their in-office counterparts to get work done.

5. Hyper Specialization – When you need an expert in a particular field, there’s a good chance they won’t live near your office. Some are willing to relocate. But many are not. If your much-needed expert feels like staying put, you may need to make concessions to bring them on board. Or you might have to offer them work-hour flexibility as a perk to seal the deal. Either way, it makes hyper-specialization another factor putting pressure on companies to use reliable online collaboration tools to stay competitive.

6. Wanderlust and the Rise of Ex-Pats – Have you seen House Hunters International? It’s not just showcasing ex-pat retirees settling into another country to spend their golden years with an exotic sea breeze tickling their noses. More people on the show are working professionals who want to travel or live abroad while continuing to work. This trend is growing, and innovative companies are leaning on online collaboration to help enable staff to work where they want to keep key talent on board.

7. Bring-Your-Own-Device – BYOD shouldn’t be a big surprise when it comes to identifying trends that are redefining online collaboration. Bottom line: companies that enable BYOD must find an online collaboration tool that works across various platforms, including smartphones, tablets, and computers. This trend points to the need for a user-friendly interface that’s intuitive and easy to use. If it’s not easy to use, workers will be quick to abandon it, hurting productivity or spawning pockets of shadow IT.

Adapt to Stay Competitive

The workplace is changing fast and leading to a revolution in how we collaborate online. Innovative companies and savvy tech providers adapt to stay competitive and ensure work gets done. Whether you’re affected by one of these trends or all of them, it pays to know the forces reshaping the landscape. Because the more you know, the better you can respond.

Let’s talk about your business and how you can exploit better Online Collaboration tools. Contact TCI today at: (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

 

Act Fast… RingCentral Promotion for Mitel On-Premises Customers

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This offer expires December 31, 2022

Upgrade to the #1-rated cloud communications and collaboration solution – RingCentral MVP (Message. Video. Phone.) service – ranked as a market leader on the Gartner Magic Quadrant.

For existing Mitel on-premises customers moving to the cloud, you’ll receive:

  • 20% discount off RingCentral MVP service
  • 2 months free for a 2-year term or 3 months free for a 3-year term
  • May be eligible for free phones (up to 50)

Why is RingCentral MVP So Popular?

  • Unmatched SLA-backed reliability – 12 quarters at 99.999% uptime
  • Class-leading security / Advanced analytics and insights
  • Advanced team messaging, video meetings, and telephony features
  • 275+ integrations with mainstream business applications
  • Global footprint with local and toll-free in more than 110 countries

For more details and to take advantage of this limited-time offer, contact us today: (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

 

Too Busy? How Cloud Phone Systems Provide Time Saving Solutions for IT Managers

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Often working with limited resources and a small team, IT managers shoulder an immense set of responsibilities. In addition to implementing new growth initiatives, there are multiple systems to maintain and often multiple locations to support. With more users on the move, their jobs have only become more complicated.

Moving to a cloud phone system can go a long way toward alleviating this heavy workload and give your IT team more time to focus on higher level business initiatives. Here’s how…

  • Reduce Multi-Vendor Management – Managing multiple vendors not only impacts daily productivity, but outdated systems that are patch-worked together typically cannot deliver a consistent user experience, especially when you add different devices to the mix. Troubleshooting problems is more time-consuming, and because the systems may not be integrated, you’re not getting a consolidated view of your operations.
  • Lower Total Cost of Operations – Managing to budget is a core responsibility for every IT leader, and a cloud phone system can help you predictably meet departmental targets. By working with just one vendor instead of many, you’ll lower the total cost of operations by reducing the complexity of day-to-day management and time spent troubleshooting. You can also mix and match the customized features you need without paying for ones you don’t.
  • Future-Proof Your Business – One challenge with traditional phone systems is that the technology ages quickly. With a cloud system, you can always take advantage of the latest features and applications. Plus, there are increased opportunities for integration with other business applications. Employees can leverage new capabilities as they need them, without ever involving the IT team.
  • Headache Relief – By reducing complexity, a cloud phone system will save you time and allow you to focus on mission-critical IT tasks that drive productivity across the business. With easier implementations and uniform deployments, your IT team can spend less time training users and more time working on high-value projects. You might still have headaches, but they won’t be caused by your phone system.

If you’re an overworked and understaffed IT manager, wouldn’t it be nice to stop worrying about at least one of your systems?

If you’re thinking “yes,” then consider transitioning your business phone system to the cloud… Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

 

Get to Know TCI’s Latest Cloud Communications Service… RingCentral MVP

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Our solutions line-up expanded earlier this year with Mitel’s rollout of RingCentral MVP cloud service. It’s become a popular option for organizations that are ready to transition to the cloud from their Mitel on-premises systems.

And, if your current cloud provider is falling short, MVP is ideal for anyone looking to streamline internal collaboration and better connect with their customers.

With integrated Messaging, Video Meetings, and Cloud PBX, RingCentral MVP offers:

  • A unified, collaborative hub for team messaging, video meetings, and telephony
  • Enterprise-grade security and unmatched reliability with a 99.999% uptime SLA
  • A global footprint in 100+ countries and localized in 15+ languages
  • 250+ out-of-the-box integrations with business apps and open APIs for custom needs
  • Simple and centralized web-based user and system administration
  • Advanced analytics and insights
  • Access from anywhere on your device of choice — desktop, tablet, or mobile.

Here’s more on each element of MVP — Message. Video. Phone — and how the service integrates with the Business Apps your team uses every day:

Message

  • Message colleagues and clients from your PC or mobile device. Invite guest users to collaborate for free.
  • Set a custom status to indicate your availability.
  • Create teams around projects, specific topics, and departments.
  • Assign tasks to individuals or project teams.
  • Share links and files with no size or storage limits.

Video

  • Join meetings easily — no downloads or plugins needed.
  • Enjoy HD audio and video, and screen share with up to 200 interactive video participants.
  • Easily schedule meetings with calendar integrations with Office 365 and Google Calendar.
  • Switch a live meeting between devices with one click.
  • Get in-meeting chat, virtual backgrounds, closed captioning, cloud recordings, and powerful background noise reduction technology for a great participant experience.

Phone

  • Use one business phone number for calling, business SMS, MMS, and fax, so your personal number stays private.
  • Customize settings such as business hours and greetings, and route incoming calls efficiently to specific departments with a multi-level auto attendant.
  • Manage active calls efficiently with advanced call controls to transfer, record, flip, or park the call.
  • Flip live calls between your desktop and cell or switch a call to video in just one click.

Integrations

  • Bring advanced communications functions into the productivity apps you use every day like Microsoft and Google.
  • Automate your sales cycle and enhance delivery and customer support through integrations with Salesforce, Zendesk, and ServiceNow.
  • Back up your communications data with RingCentral Archiver to your preferred cloud storage provider like Smarsh, Google Drive, Dropbox, and more.
  • Build custom integrations with open APIs to meet your business’s specific needs.

Bring your teams and customers together on the industry’s #1 business communications platform. Let’s talk about your business and how we can connect you to achieve more success. Contact TCI today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

The Power & Business Benefits of a Single Platform UCaaS Solution

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Create new opportunities to boost efficiency, improve employee experience, and better serve customers.

For all the power we now carry in our pockets with our phones, many businesses still struggle with enabling seamless communications and collaboration in the world of remote and hybrid work.

Apart from the fact that talking — real-time audio conversation — has become one of the least popular communication methods, and collaboration platforms are incredibly diverse, there’s a wide variety of solutions for messaging, video conferencing, file sharing, whiteboarding… the list goes on.

Many businesses have invested in a Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) platform to replace their old fragmented systems. The next step is to integrate communication and collaboration into one platform.

The Benefits of Bringing it all Together

Bringing communications and collaboration into a single, purpose-built platform delivers four key benefits.

1. Remote work. Recent research from the SMG Group shows that hybrid work environments are a crucial differentiator when people are looking for jobs. This helps businesses attract and retain top talent and makes it easier for employees to collaborate.

2. Business-app integration. Having communication and collaboration tools all on one app makes it much easier to integrate with your other business apps and processes. Why? It gives you a single integration point rather than having to integrate with multiple apps in a patchwork solution.

3. Cross-channel communication. A universally compatible platform works, regardless of device or operating system. This lowers the burden on your IT staff to troubleshoot compatibility issues and is another enabler of productivity and collaboration for your employees.

4. Asynchronous and live communication. Real-time communication is sometimes essential. But not every discussion or workstream must, or can, happen in real-time. Asynchronous chat helps everyone stay current between live calls no matter the time zone or hour of the day.

How to Choose the Right UCaaS Solution

Once you’ve decided to move to UCaaS that combines communication and collaboration tools on a single platform, remember that not all of these solutions are created equal.

Here are the must-haves to consider as you evaluate moving to a new UCaaS solution…

  • Ease of onboarding. Is the platform easy to use, with a friendly user interface? Will the vendor help with change management as you migrate?
  • Security. How does the vendor address issues like encryption and authentication? How do they keep your data safe from cyberattacks?
  • Reliability. Does the service have guaranteed uptime? How robust is their customer service in the case of an adverse event?
  • Versatility. Is the solution compatible with the other business programs you use every day? Do they offer a comprehensive suite of integrations and/or API availability to draft your own?
  • Global integration. Will the platform be as reliable and responsive in Europe and Asia as it is in the United States?

Together is Better

If your business is experiencing barriers to working together across the office, remote and hybrid work environments, your local TCI team can help bring your communication and collaboration together. Contact us today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.