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How On-Site, Wireless DECT Phones Offer SMBs Cost-Effective VoIP & Flexible Communications

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Smaller companies need mobility and flexibility. Employees have to be reachable by customers or colleagues from any location in the office or in the building. But your resources are stretched thin and you’re juggling a lot of balls. What should you do?

Going with VoIP DECT phones from TCI and Mitel provides an on-site wireless communications solution. Using a DECT mobile handset or headset, your people can transfer calls, set up conference calls, access the company directory, and more.

With one-touch speed dial everyone can communicate easily and quickly no matter where they are in the building. And because VoIP DECT phones use encrypted technology, you can be confident that all conversations are secure.

Quality, Security and Reach

Cell phones are great, but you can’t depend on them for a clear connection in every setting. With DECT mobile phones you get high-quality sound with no crackling or drop-offs. Both handsets and headsets include an ambient noise filter – essential when you’re calling from a busy environment. DECT’s use of encrypted wideband voice technology provides an extra layer of security to ensure conversations are confidential.

Ease of Use and Installation

VoIP DECT phones are intuitive with user-friendly features, applications and softkey prompts that will enable your people to manage calls with little or no training.

Systems are configurable via a web-based interface. A base station can support up to 20 cordless phones. The unit fits in a small enclosure that can be mounted on a wall or placed on or under a desk. You can expand the system by deploying additional base stations and add more lines without running more cable.

Although the phone’s range from the base station is 150 feet (50 meters), if you need a little more room you can simply add a repeater in another part of the building to boost the signal.

Everything You Need

Just because you’re a small business doesn’t mean you can’t have all the bells and whistles the big guys enjoy. For example, using VoIP DECT phones with a cloud communications solution, your people can access a company directory, transfer and forward calls, use call waiting and hold functions, and conduct conference calls.

When choosing a VoIP DECT phone, ease of use should be a priority. Look for features such as a color backlit handset, intuitive menus and navigation, and a speakerphone option. A long-lasting battery should be a requirement, so you don’t have to worry about recharging mid-day.

If your small business is ready to sound like a big player, contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

TCI’s Customized Cloud Voice… Deployed Anywhere, Any Time, on Any Device

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TCI specializes in industry-leading unified communication solutions for businesses of all sizes. And because we give you the option to run these powerful solutions on our hardware or on your servers through software, you can expand on your terms and your timing.

Select the best deployment model

Delivered from our VMware-enabled data center in Ashburn, VA, our TCI Advantage services offer the flexibility to deploy UC your way – Hosted, Premises, Hybrid, Virtualized, or as Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS). When your needs change, we can change your deployment platform.

Enjoy unequaled scalability and selection

Work from the office, home or road. Handle calls from the desk or mobile device of your choice. TCI can provide your phones, or you can source your own.

Choose the level of support you need

TCI can manage everything end-to-end or you can manage your own changes and only call us when you need help. Either way, easy online management and reporting is included. Choose your service plan – from traditional break-fix to fully managed.

Customize to fit your business needs

  • Full integration with Salesforce, Outlook and other CRM applications
  • Deploy a world class Contact Center with agents working from anywhere
  • Seamless office unified communication on a desktop, laptop or mobile phone – or all at once!
  • And much more…

Mitel-powered… TCI-delivered

TCI’s business-class communication solutions can be deployed in any configuration, with tailored financing options to meet your budget requirements. TCI makes Voice easy – all for a budget-friendly monthly subscription.

Talk to our experts or schedule your demo. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

How Real-World AI is Transforming the Fast-Paced World of Contact Centers

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Thanks to Hollywood, it’s easy for many people to think of artificial intelligence as a sentient, self-learning technology that inevitably runs amok with the intent of wiping out humanity. This makes for fun movies, but what about the practical applications of AI in the real business world?

AI enables a computer or application to perform tasks commonly done by human beings – such as carry on conversations, discover meaning, and generalize or learn from past experiences. So, it should come as no surprise that AI is becoming a valuable tool in Contact Centers where such tasks have traditionally been carried out by human Agents to assist customers.

With more businesses looking to leverage AI’s capabilities, Mitel has partnered with tech leaders like Google to deliver AI-driven improvements across their core contact center solutions…

AI-enabled Chatbots accelerate Implementation

With a traditional chatbot, a contact center team is responsible for predicting what their customers are going to ask, and painstakingly scripting each interaction. With AI in the mix, the customer is connected directly to your company’s knowledge base, simplifying and shifting chatbot implementation time from months to days.

Natural Language Processing enables Virtual Agents

Using natural language processing, an intelligent customer experience solution understands what your customers are saying, chatting or texting – without requiring specific phrasing – and a virtual agent responds in real-time – whether a human agent is available or not.

Whenever the virtual agent reaches a question or situation it cannot handle, it can involve a human Agent in the conversation and feed its conversation details directly to that Agent.

Machine Learning improves the Customer Experience

Leveraging machine learning, the AI solution will continue to observe the customer-agent interaction, suggesting relevant options or content to the Agent and monitoring which responses come to a successful conclusion. This real-time coaching from AI Agent Assist results in more accurate, more responsive follow ups and an improved customer experience.

Webinar recap: The Intelligent Contact Center [57:30]

This in-depth webinar will show you how AI provides valuable insight into customer behavior so your contact center can deliver the best customer experience every time.

Among the topics covered:

  • Utilize IVR and CRM data to intelligently route incoming calls, offer predictive recommendations and drive up first call resolution
  • Save time and money by automating responses to common queries, improving resolution time and customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores
  • Identify trends, monitor performance and unlock deep insights into agents and customers

Video Demo: AI in the Contact Center [4:56 min]  

This video overview shows how Google AI & Mitel technology…

  • Uses the virtual agent chatbot and AI analytics to respond to common customer issues
  • Stays with each call, SMS or chat to find the best information for each customer
  • Learns what works and what doesn’t to improve future customer interactions
  • Simplifies agent workflows with smart virtual agent assist

New use cases will continue to emerge as the technology becomes more advanced. That means the definition of AI will continue to evolve, and you’ll want to keep pace to reap future business benefits.

Ready to improve your customer experience with real-world AI now? Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

 

Webinar Recap… Supporting Your On-the-Go Workforce with Mobile-Ready Cloud Voice Services

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Workers today are no longer tied to their desk. They’re working in the field, traveling, and balancing time between office and home – proving that how work is done is more important than where it is done.

In this Mitel webinar, you’ll learn how you can better support your free-range workforce with cloud communications and collaboration tools. Among the topics covered:

  • How the workplace is shifting and creating new demands for a mobile workforce
  • Ways collaboration tools increase business efficiencies and user productivity
  • Why providing employees with the right tools will make your business more successful

Watch the webinar now [28:22]

TCI mobility experts enable work anywhere, anytime, on any device. Support your on-the-go team… Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

How VoIP Phone Technology Closes the Communication Gaps for Small Teams & Business

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Integrated VoIP phone solutions facilitate collaboration with intuitive, easy-to-use technology. They can improve business outcomes and help you compete with the “big guys.” Here’s how VoIP phones can be a game changer for your business…

Enhance Collaboration without Sacrificing Mobility

With VoIP phones, everyone in your company stays connected, no matter where they work. Using a smartphone mobile app, your employees can take their in-office phone capabilities wherever they go. Employees can seamlessly transfer calls across devices and tap into features such as audio, web and video conferencing, group messaging and SMS to instantly connect to office colleagues.

Focus on Business, Not Your Phone Service

Because VoIP phones are easy to deploy, your employees will transition to your new system with minimal disruption and minimal training. This means your staff will spend more time on the big picture and less time on non-productive tasks. With new technology that’s updated regularly, frustrating service problems and dropped calls become things of the past.

Plus, native integrations with the leading CRMs mean your contact center can run at full throttle. Call and customer histories are integrated so you can analyze the data and uncover insights that will help your team make more meaningful connections with customers and prospects.

As your business expands, your VoIP phone solution adapts to your changing needs. You can add functionality, employees or locations as needed. Because there are no physical landlines required for VoIP phones, the systems are very cost-effective to scale.

Improve Your Bottom Line

VoIP phones also deliver the benefits of unified communications without a steep investment. When you move your phone system to the cloud, you can manage your IT budget as an operating expenditure (OPEX). Instead of incurring hard costs for equipment that may become obsolete within a couple of years, you pay only for the capacity you need at the moment. As requirements change, it’s easy to scale.

Another benefit of the OPEX model… Your VoIP phone provider is responsible for technical support, reducing the need for your IT team to be continually involved with upgrades and maintenance.

When it comes to deploying VoIP, you can count on your local TCI team. We handle all the details, set up everything and get your people up to speed on Day One. Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

 

Performance Analytics Keeps Your Communications Network Running at Peak Efficiency

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Through our partner Mitel, TCI offers you the ability to monitor the performance of your entire communications network – identifying real-time issues and rapidly alerting IT administrators about adverse conditions.

Mitel Performance Analytics (MPA) provides quick resolution tools like secure remote access and active testing capabilities that make it simple to manage locations seamlessly. Whether you have 8 or 800 users, voice quality stays crystal-clear and downtime is minimized.

MPA also addresses the need to know not only when a problem occurs, but where it occurs. Voice quality problems – delay, echo and jitter, for example – can be caused by a variety of events, from congestion to improper configuration. For faster problem resolution, MPA now monitors third-party devices like routers and servers in the network infrastructure, in addition to your Mitel systems.

Your admins can access devices from anywhere, and devices can be moved easily between containers. Plus, data can be consolidated in one central place. Information can also be shared more easily among your locations. And with configurable SNMP device monitoring, MPA can now monitor just about any device, anywhere in the world.

MPA is available as part of the Mitel Premium Software Assurance subscription, enabling you to proactively monitor and manage your entire network and identify voice and network quality concerns before business-impacting outages arise.

Many businesses today are undergoing rapid growth and searching for ways to digitally transform. MPA provides these organizations with ways to grow and still maintain a healthy network to meet and exceed growing customer expectations.

Monitoring and Performance Analytics… More reasons to go with TCI and Mitel. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

 

Get Ready… Laws Requiring Direct 911 Access from Your Office Phones Go into Effect February 2020

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Last year, the President signed into law two statutes intended to improve emergency calling – Kari’s Law and Ray Baum’s Act. Both take effect February 16, 2020 and are intended to protect employees and others with improved access to 911 emergency services.

  • Kari’s Law applies to newly-installed multi-line telephone systems. The law requires that users be able to directly call emergency services by dialing 911 without having to dial a prefix to reach an outside line.
  • Ray Baum’s Act requires that the FCC adopt regulations that would give 911 emergency operators a specific location for the calling party so that appropriate assistance can be dispatched to that location.

FCC Regulations

FCC rules require implementation of the Kari’s Law requirements for telephone systems manufactured, purchased, or installed after February 16, 2020. The FCC‘s dispatch location rules required by Ray Baum’s Act have not yet been finalized. But businesses planning new telephone systems should be aware of these requirements and ensure that their technology providers’ offerings are in compliance.

Compliance Challenges

Businesses seeking to comply with the new 911 rules must consider several factors, including the technology used in their IT environments, network topology and the geographic scope of their phone system deployment. Also, many states have already adopted their own 911 regulations, which could be a source of compliance confusion.

If compliance with these new 911 mandates presents a challenge for your business, TCI experts can help. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

On Schedule & Within Budget… TCI Deploys Certified Infrastructure for Your Broadband, IT, Voice & AV Connections

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When you need to manage a new building, a renovation or a campus addition, our experts will design, manage, install, support and maintain the entire infrastructure.

We work with you every step of the way…

TCI has decades of experience building networks you can count on. Our team ensures a successful infrastructure deployment, upgrade or expansion that will support all your Voice, Data, Audio-Video and Surveillance needs.

  • Design-build Solutions
  • Structured cabling: fiber, copper, riser, backbone
  • Network Access: MPLS, Internet, Trunking, Broadband
  • Network Backbone: Switches, Routers, PoE
  • Network Security: Firewalls – Purchased or Managed
  • Wireless Networks: Secure Corporate & Guest Managed Wi-Fi – Purchased, Managed or as a Service
  • Sound Masking / Paging
  • Emergency / Mass Notification: Premises or Cloud Based solutions
  • CCTV – Entry Access Solutions
  • Conference Rooms: AV & Video Conference Solutions

Engage us before your building plans have been finalized. We’ll ensure that all network requirements are included in the plans, saving you money by avoiding change orders later.

Learn more

Ready to speed up your business? Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

Complement Your Mobile Work Style with Mitel’s Powerful 6900 IP Series Desk Phones

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Mitel’s MiVoice 6900 series desk phones enable you to become more mobile with one-touch Bluetooth pairing and seamless integration with your mobile phone. Not only can you stay productive by easily switching calls between your desk phone and your mobile phone, you can have mobile and desktop contacts automatically sync between your devices.

6900 Series Video Introduction [44 sec.]

Elegant Phones – Choose from expansive models to meet the needs of business users at every level.

Advanced Features – Bridge the gap between the desk phone and mobile devices with Bluetooth and MobileLink.

Rich Accessories – A broad array of add-on accessories enable the phones to be tailored to specific user needs.

Outstanding Audio – Mitel’s Hi-Q audio technology delivers exceptional quality with high definition sound for an unmatched communication experience.

Easy Reading & Interaction – LCD displays are easy to read and large enough to easily find out more about a caller.

Enhanced Call Management – Programmable keys may be used for call appearances or speed dial numbers.

Walk & Talk – The enhanced, full duplex speakerphone allows you to multi-task without a break in the conversation, even with multiple callers.

More MiVoice 6900 Series Phone features…

  • Support for Mitel Teleworker, ACD agent and supervisor, hot desking, MiCollab Client and more
  • Secure encrypted voice communication, IEEE 802.1x authentication support
  • Quality of Service support – IEEE 802.1 p/Q VLAN and priority tagging
  • Dual 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet ports (LAN/PC), powered USB 2.0 Host port, sidecar expansion port, dedicated 4-pin modular headset port convertible to DHSG/EHS capable

Ready for the convenience, productivity and security that come from adding mobility to your desk phones? Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

Great Pricing & One-Stop Public Sector Procurement via Mitel’s Sourcewell Contract

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Sourcewell (formerly known as The National Joint Powers Alliance) is a contracting agency serving the public sector.

How does Sourcewell work?

First, Sourcewell issues competitive bid RFPs nationally on a wide range of products and services that benefit their members. Following a rigorous competitive evaluation process, they then award the contract to the selected vendor. Sourcewell sets up the legal authority between vendor and member. The member organizations then have access to the vendor’s services at Sourcewell-negotiated rates.

“Sourcewell contracts have streamlined our purchasing process, saving our district thousands of dollars.”  — School District Member

What Mitel products does Sourcewell cover? 

Working with TCI as your local technology partner, Sourcewell members can purchase Mitel telecom solutions without issuing an RFP.  Mitel is a preferred provider of telecommunications equipment based on its record of innovation, product quality, customer service, pricing, and overall market leadership. The Sourcewell contract extends the decade-long relationship with Mitel for 4 years and spans the full range of Mitel’s product portfolio, including:

  • Unified Communications On Premises
  • UCaaS (Cloud Services)
  • Contact centers
  • Collaboration tools
  • Phones and accessories
  • Mass notification
  • Professional services

Who qualifies for Sourcewell membership?

  • All Educational institutions, both public and private – including K thru 12, special education districts, charter schools, and higher education/universities
  • Non-profits – including hospitals and nursing homes, rural power cooperatives, housing authorities, member associations and groups
  • State and local government agencies – including cities, counties, water districts, and tribal nations

The organization’s 50,000 members currently purchase more than $3.5 billion annually through awarded contracts – an indication of Sourcewell’s success in simplifying the procurement process to save members time and money.

Simplified procurement and savings… More reasons to go with TCI and Mitel. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.