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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.
 

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.

Using Microsoft Teams? Mitel Offers No-Cost Integration with MiVoice Business + MiCollab

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As hybrid work continues to expand, and Unified Communications capabilities continue to evolve, more customers are looking to integrate their Mitel telephony solutions with their Microsoft infrastructure.

In an environment where Microsoft Teams has already been selected or installed, many customers are looking for a user experience that retains full access to Mitel’s powerful communications capabilities.

Mitel has announced an important update to its MiVoice Presence Sync service and Mitel Assistant:

  • Mitel telephony presence information is now visible in Teams, Outlook or anywhere Microsoft presence is visible.
  • Brings call history directly into the Mitel Assistant client, which is free to download.
  • Mitel Assistant in “Telephony Only Client” mode provides a simple easy-to-use user interface.
  • No extra investments in Microsoft licenses are required.

Mitel Assistant in tandem with the Mitel softphone provides a blended Mitel + Microsoft Teams environment:

  • Removes the need for customers to go to Microsoft E5 / Phone System License
  • No need to pay additional fees for your DID (Direct Inward Dial) number to be hosted by MS Teams
  • Integrated user experience
  • Will let your Microsoft Teams users know when another user is on a phone call

Mitel Call Server presence integration for MiVoice Business

For businesses using Microsoft Teams together with Mitel call control platforms, your users can be busy in the Microsoft Teams system (for instance when attending a meeting) as well as in the Mitel system (busy on a phone call).

Mitel now provides existing Microsoft users with Mitel Call Server presence information as part of Microsoft user presence information. This feature requires the Mitel customer to have a UCC License and Software Assurance (SWA) active on their Mitel call server system.

Once installed, users get access to the following:

  • Dialpad & Directory Search – Supports manual phone calls from the dialpad or you can search using the corporate directory or Outlook contacts to initiate phone calls. Mitel Assistant will show presence information for searched contacts so that the user can know whether a user is busy or free to take a phone call.
  • Call History – Gives users MiVoice access to Mitel Call History in a dedicated tab. The user can stay within the Microsoft Teams Client when initiating calls from the call history. The user will also see presence when originating from call history.
  • Speed Dial – Users can search the corporate directory or personal Outlook contacts and add the speed dials that will show up as contact cards including avatar pictures and phone number information. Mitel Assistant will also show presence information for Speed Dials.
  • Escalate chat to phone call – Mitel Assistant also offers the user the possibility to escalate a direct chat to a phone call by clicking on the Mitel Assistant icon at the bottom of the chat view.
  • Optimized Mitel Softphone – When initiating a phone call from Microsoft Teams using Mitel Assistant, the new optimized experience using the MiCollab Telephony Only Client mode has been developed to provide the user with a discrete call floater window, that can be used to control the call without leaving the application in focus (for instance Microsoft Teams). The user can choose to use the floater in a collapsed layout or expand it to access all mid-call features, including Mute, Dialpad, Audio device management, Hold, Conference & Transfer.
  • Desktop phone or softphone – Users can either control the Mitel desk phone or use the built-in softphone to use the computer audio for calling. If needed the user also has access to more MiCollab functionality by expanding the MiCollab tray bar icon with access to Dynamic Status, Call History, Visual Voice Mail, and Settings.

Let Mitel be your Voice in Teams. Easy Upgrade. Free to download.

Mitel Assistant can be found in the Mitel Software Download Center as well as in the Microsoft Teams Store and users can easily install it into their Microsoft Teams client. To get full customer value out of the solution, Mitel Assistant should be used together with MiCollab in Telephony Only client mode.

If you’re interested or have questions, just let us know. Contact your local TCI experts at (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.


Serving the Public Sector… Get Responsible, Reliable Communications Without the Hassle of Procurement

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Governments require a unique mix of features, flexibility, and economy in their telecommunications solutions. TCI enables organizations in the public sector to increase productivity with seamless communications solutions tailored to their unique needs.

Challenges You Might Be Facing

  • Every crisis needs a tailored response – No matter what their size, emergencies cause both uncertainty and confusion. A one-size-fits-all communications system hampers your efforts to tailor and enhance public safety alerts and limits your ability to take advantage of proactive solutions.
  • Taxpayers expect cost-effective solutions – Being able to demonstrate to taxpayers that communications, services, and access will be heightened while being judicious with the budget goes a long way to building credibility.
  • Resources – Outdated telecommunications technology is expensive to maintain, making it hard to invest in new initiatives.
  • The demand for smart services is growing – With sensor technology and the Internet of Things (IoT), agencies can manage assets and resources more efficiently as they meet consumer demand for smart infrastructure.

How the Right Communications Can Drive Results

  • Enhance public safety – Your communications system should extend the possibilities of mass notification, enabling you to message the entire community or target only affected neighborhoods.
  • Easily integrate – The system should streamline interoperability with other applications, like G Suite. Its APIs should need minimal coding to solve unique communications needs.
  • Be forward-looking – Your system should be ready for technical advances such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.
  • Meet government mandates – Flexibility is critical to meeting new mandates and legal requirements.
  • Reduce expenses – By lowering capital and operating expenses. UCaaS enables government teams to fund new projects.

Significant Discounts

Working with TCI as your local technology partner, Sourcewell members in the public sector – i.e., schools, non-profits and agencies – can purchase Mitel telecom solutions without issuing an RFP, including:

  • Public Cloud
  • Private Cloud and On-site Systems
  • Contact Center
  • Team Collaboration
  • Mass Notification
  • Business Phones
  • Devices and Accessories

Mitel is the exclusive Sourcewell telecommunications equipment vendor based on its record of innovation, product quality, customer service, pricing, and overall market leadership.

For simplified procurement and savings, get started with TCI today at (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.


Hospitality Loyalty Program for SX-200 ICP Customers

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You’ve trusted your property’s communications with Mitel for years…

We know how vital it is for you to provide the best guest experience while making it as efficient and smooth as possible for your staff to run their daily activities.

Whether you have a big hotel in a bustling city square or a series of cottages by a peaceful lake, having the latest communications and collaboration tools is essential to provide a positive guest experience.

Mitel’s new Hospitality Loyalty Program protects your current investment and enables you to benefit from incredible discounts when switching to Mitel’s flagship software platform for hospitality – MiVoice Business Hospitality Suite.

Contact TCI today for the details at (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.


Existing MiVoice Office 250 Customers… Act before June 30th to Arrange a Discounted Path to MiVoice Business

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Following Mitel’s end-of-lifecycle announcements about MiVoice Office 250, this migration program has been rolled out to provide existing Office 250 customers with a smooth transition to MiVoice Business.

Mitel is offering no-charge or discounted MiVoice Business licensing arrangements for MiVoice 250 customers. This program also supports the transfer of the remaining months of MiVoice Office 250 software assurance (SWA) to MiVoice Business SWA.

Mitel has evolved MiVoice Business to cater to the needs of any size organization and provides a full range of deployment and commercial options.

  • Mitel recently introduced a new SMB Controller to address the smaller customer or branch office segment for MiVoice Business, which offers Enterprise-level features in a small business package for up to 150 users. This is the perfect solution for customers previously on MiVoice Office 250.
  • MiVoice Business can be implemented as a one-time CapEx investment or you can choose a monthly subscription offering.
  • MiVoice Business can be deployed on-premises, in your private cloud, or in a public cloud (either AWS or Azure).

Contact us today for help with your buying and migration decisions: (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.


RingCentral MVP & Mitel Features You Need Now

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Successful businesses always look for new ways to grow, including how to enable intelligent and connected experiences for their mobile and hybrid workforces. An up-to-date cloud communication system like RingCentral MVP can help you implement these priorities. Check out these recent innovations…

Top 10 Latest RingCentral Software Updates

1. End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) available for video, is being extended to RingCentral MVP phone and messaging. For 1:1 conversations or groups of up to 50 participants, E2EE ensures that no 3rd party can access your confidential conversations or recordings.

2. Enhancements to the RingCentral Desktop Phone app experience make access to the dial pad and calling even easier. Use the phone app in standalone mode to enable multitasking with other apps on your screen.

3. Zero Touch Provisioning with Mitel phones enables Mitel phones to register with RingCentral MVP service for faster and easier re-deployments.

4. Device as a Service delivers reduced upfront cost and quicker hardware upgrades for RingCentral Rooms hardware and headsets.

5. SMS enhancements provide immediate error alerts for undelivered SMS messages and export and print SMS options to ensure regulatory compliance.

6. New eFax capabilities include new print-to-fax so you can send a fax the same way you send a document to the printer. New scan-to-fax options allow you to scan a document and send it as an eFax.

7. Advance Meeting Insights provide essential information covered in a meeting, including a written summary, keywords, a video highlight reel, and the entire transcript and recording.

8. RingCentral Webinar enhancements include the ability to run polls to engage participants better and get feedback, and now support the ability to start private host/panel debriefs to recap post-meeting.

9. App Gallery ratings and reviews empower users to share information on useful RingCentral integrations and provide third-party developers with valuable feedback on integration enhancement ideas.

10. European Union (EU) data privacy enhancements such that RingCentral MVP customers that sign up in the EU will have all their data remain in the EU infrastructure, securely stored in EU data centers.

RingCentral Migration Enhancements for Mitel Customers

It’s easy to migrate from Mitel to RingCentral MVP with seamless transfers of customer profiles, call flows, and the use of existing Mitel phones. More enhancements to the migration process continue to roll out…

Mitel IP400 Series Phones Certification: IP400 devices completed certification with RingCentral MVP in December 2022, in addition to the Mitel 6800 and 6900 series devices that were already certified.

  • API-enabled Advanced Features for Mitel-certified Devices: The following features will be supported initially on the Mitel 6920, 6930, and 6940 phones, with expansion to other phones in future releases.
  • Unlike local call logs on the phone, server-based call logs utilize a RingCentral server-based logging feature that shares log data from all users’ clients and devices for a combined view of call activity.
  • Server-based Personal Contacts, as opposed to local contacts, utilize a RingCentral server-based feature enabling users to add, edit, delete, and synchronize contacts across multiple devices and clients.
  • Server-based Do Not Disturb (DND) communicates the DND status to other clients and updates the presence status for use with the Monitored Extension feature. As a result, the server-based user setting for DND will reflect busy presence status.
  • Visual voicemail gives users a graphical way to view and manage voicemails. Utilizing a server-based architecture, voicemails are captured, stored, and able to be played on all the users’ devices and clients.

Video: See how RingCentral MVP can empower your people

TCI is always here to support you in the planning and execution of any of your communications technology decisions. Before you make the leap, let’s talk about your migration plans: (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

 

Mitel’s MiVoice Connect (formerly ShoreTel Connect Onsite) is Sunsetting. You Have Options

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MiVoice Connect and MiVoice Connect CallCenter – formerly ShoreTel Connect products – are slated to end production by Mitel at the end of 2024 and support will be discontinued at the end of 2030.

While this news means future change, you have time to make decisions on the best alternative for your organization.

  • Migrate to MiVoice Business: This is Mitel’s traditional voice solution, which can be deployed as an on-premises solution or a private cloud solution. MiVoice Business solutions can be supported as a CAPEX or OPEX arrangement and there are several cost-effective licensing options to support your migration.
  • Migrate to UCaaS: A cloud-based service option like TCI Host service or RingCentral MVP provides all-in-one communications. Get more details on the available promotions and capabilities to see if these monthly subscription plans make sense for you. 
  • Status Quo: You may decide not to make any changes at all. TCI will continue to support you. At some point, MiVoice Connect may not be compatible with new Microsoft operating systems, and we’ll be able to assist you at that time.

Please contact us if you have any questions, or are ready to explore your options. We’re at (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

 

Get Free Headsets with Mitel’s New On-Premises Phone System Monthly Subscription

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Mitel’s popular MiVoice platform brings organizations customized communications and an improved customer experience. 

Acquiring an enterprise-level, on-site phone system typically requires a hefty CAPEX investment or lease. But now TCI and Mitel offer a budget-friendly way to simplify your Communication and Collaboration needs as a predictable OPEX subscription.

Why Subscribe to MiVoice?

  • Only pay for the number of users you have now – scale up and down as needed
  • Have on-demand access to the latest software/security updates. You choose when updates are installed 
  • Choose your calling, collaboration, video, and contact center user levels
  • Make budgeting predictable and reduce your upfront costs
  • Deployment flexibility – You can choose the best arrangement for your needs: On-Prem, Private Cloud, or Public Cloud

MiVoice OPEX Headset Promotion:  Free H-series headset with select MiVoice Business Subscription & Contact Center Licenses. Offer available until March 31, 2023

MiVoice Subscription uses the exact same communication, collaboration, and contact center applications as MiVoice Business – without the big upfront price tag. 

  • No need to combine tools from multiple vendors – MiVoice delivers an end-to-end on-site phone and unified communications solution from a single provider.
  • Mobile-first IP Desktop Phones – The MiVoice 6900 series boasts exceptional HD audio quality, one-touch Bluetooth pairing, and seamless integration with your mobile phone.
  • Flexible, Easy-to-Manage Platform – Web-Based Management ensures administrators can deploy a multi-platform MiVoice solution from their web browser.

For more details on Mitel’s flexible MiVoice subscription plans, contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.

 

Expert Insights: 2023 Unified Communications Predictions

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Today, unified communications (UC) technology is more than just IP phones and simple features like live chat. You’ll want to partner with a local provider who can help guide you toward the right mix of today’s solutions and evolve with you in the future.

TCI has been supporting the DC Metro Region for 40 years and we’re here to help. As we look toward the new year, we know many organizations will be modernizing their communications systems to streamline operations and keep employees and customers connected.

Our strategic technology partner, Mitel has weighed in on what UC will look like in 2023. Here are their predictions.

Generative AI will take off.

Generative AI can create content automatically. It has the potential to revolutionize certain aspects of business, specifically when it comes to content marketing and contact center communications.

The technology can improve the chatbot experience on websites and provide personalized content to customers based on their history. In the contact center, Generative AI can produce content for agent coaching. It can also document and summarize interactions between agents and customers, creating content that can be used for training and development.

Organizations and UC providers need to stay on top of the role Generative AI will begin to play and be able to incorporate the content produced by it into their UC technology stacks.

CISOs will focus on recruiting employees to play a bigger role in preventing attacks and securing edge devices.  

Phishing attacks rose in 2022 and organizations are concerned about unauthorized access or leaks of their proprietary information. Business leaders need to raise employee education and vigilance in avoiding ransomware, phishing, and other threats coming in email, texts, and social media.

Another challenge is securing a rapidly expanding universe of edge devices, both professional and personal. Most employees work on multiple devices, and you can’t protect what you don’t know about, so auditing and securing a widely dispersed infrastructure will be essential.

Mitel and TCI offer a software assurance (SWA) subscription that keeps your UC up to date on the latest software, security fixes, and compliance requirements.

A one-size-fits-all approach to delivering UC will no longer work. Organizations are demanding customized solutions.  

Customers have many communication technology choices today, and many use a mix of infrastructures. In 2023, the world’s business communications will occur across a panorama of on-prem, private cloud, hybrid, and UCaaS systems.

Currently, deployed on-premises solutions lead the pack, but Mitel’s survey found that over 40% of enterprises are combining their on-premises solutions with a cloud solution, and almost half are either evaluating or currently moving their on-premises communications to the cloud.

UC providers need to fully embrace Customer Lifecycle Management as organizations look for the right communications solution to deliver long-term value for both the customer and employee experience.

With so many choices regarding technologies and deployment options, organizations need more than just a drop-ship phone provider. They need a local partner who can support them on-site and guide them toward solutions that support shared workspaces, file and screen sharing, and a mobile-first design. Businesses are looking for a quick and sustainable ROI that empowers their customers to collaborate and complete tasks from anywhere.

Our local team of experts is ready to advise you on the best path forward as you implement your 2023 plans. Contact us at (703) 321-3030 or GetHelp@tcicomm.com.