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	<title>www.simplesignal.com</title>
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	<link>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog</link>
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		<title>SimpleSignal and Vidtel Launch Multi-Point Video Conferencing for Small-Medium Business Customers</title>
		<link>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2010/03/simplesignal-and-vidtel-launch-multi-point-video-conferencing-for-small-medium-business-customers/</link>
		<comments>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2010/03/simplesignal-and-vidtel-launch-multi-point-video-conferencing-for-small-medium-business-customers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul McQuade</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Features]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IP Phone Equipment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News and Press]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unified Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conferencing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hosted Unified Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Phones]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Polycom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UCaaS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video Conferencing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/?p=279</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Breakthrough service enables high-quality multi-party video conferencing for any company
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) March 2, 2010 &#8212; SimpleSignal, a leading service provider of hosted business telephone solutions for small and medium sized businesses, and Vidtel, an innovative video conferencing service provider, announced at Channel Partners Conference in Las Vegas their distribution agreement to market Vidtel&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F03%2Fsimplesignal-and-vidtel-launch-multi-point-video-conferencing-for-small-medium-business-customers%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F03%2Fsimplesignal-and-vidtel-launch-multi-point-video-conferencing-for-small-medium-business-customers%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p><em>Breakthrough service enables high-quality multi-party video conferencing for any company</em></p>
<p>Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) March 2, 2010 &#8212; SimpleSignal, a leading service provider of hosted business telephone solutions for small and medium sized businesses, and Vidtel, an innovative video conferencing service provider, announced at Channel Partners Conference in Las Vegas their distribution agreement to market Vidtel&#8217;s Hosted Multi-Point Video Conferencing Service to SimpleSignal’s hosted unified communications customers.</p>
<div id="attachment_280" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 270px">
	<a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/vidconf.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-280" title="vidconf" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/vidconf-270x300.jpg" alt="Polycom VVX 1500 With Vidtel-SimpleSignal Multi-Point Video Conference" width="270" height="300" /></a>
	<p class="wp-caption-text">Polycom VVX 1500 With Vidtel-SimpleSignal Multi-Point Video Conference</p>
</div>
<p>Today, very few small-to-medium-sized enterprises have sufficient in-house resources for business-grade multi-point video conferencing. The video conferencing equipment required is too resource-intensive for all but the largest enterprises. SimpleSignal and Vidtel have partnered to deliver a hosted solution that even the smallest enterprises will find accessible. With this outsourced solution, SMBs have no need to acquire additional expensive infrastructure to initiate an ad hoc multi-party video conferencing call.</p>
<p>“SimpleSignal is well-recognized as a visionary service provider in the hosted voice market, often the first to roll out new applications and products to its SMB customers. We are excited to help fulfill SimpleSignal’s objective of bringing simplified unified communications to SMBs of all sizes with our multi-point video conferencing service,” said Scott Wharton, CEO of Vidtel.</p>
<p>Vidtel’s multi-point video conferencing service integrates with SimpleSignal’s BroadSoft® BroadWorks® application server with Vidtel’s video conferencing service and Polycom® VVXTM 1500 business media phones. The service enables three or more VVX 1500s to connect via a simple dial-in number for instant multi-way video conferencing.</p>
<p>“This new offer is nothing short of revolutionary. Now small to medium-sized businesses have no need for an extensive video conferencing system – a few people with a video phone can now easily dial a regular number to be connected. Previously, only point-to-point calling was realistic on these devices. This service also advances unified communications, seamlessly integrating video conferencing with our hosted VoIP service and amplifying the value of SimpleSignal’s hosted VoIP offer. We’re excited to be delivering this service with Vidtel, a cutting-edge video conferencing service provider,” said Dave Gilbert, SimpleSignal’s CEO.</p>
<p>SimpleSignal will begin offering the Multi-Point Video Conferencing service developed by Vidtel to customers beginning in Q2 2010.</p>
<p>About SimpleSignal<br />
SimpleSignal is a facilities-based hosted PBX and Unified Communications service provider that also offers SIP Trunking services, advanced Voice Apps and Polycom IP Phone equipment. The company is one of the top BroadSoft switches in the U.S., providing IP Phone applications and services to thousands of satisfied customers throughout the U.S. and Canada, with a growing list of multi-office clients in many international locations. SimpleSignal dependably provisions off-net, which means that customers can bring their own bandwidth and still use the SimpleSignal Hosted PBX system without overhauling their entire IP infrastructure. SimpleSignal, Inc. is located at 34232 Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point, CA 92629. Find us on the web at http://www.simplesignal.com. For sales, call 866-434-4404. Read our blog: http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/.</p>
<p>About Vidtel<br />
Vidtel is an innovative video conferencing service provider. Our open, inter-enterprise video conferencing network service provides compatibility between a diverse set of business-grade video endpoints at enterprises worldwide. Vidtel enables even small and medium enterprises to experience the productivity of secure, high-quality video conferencing with partners, suppliers and customers around the world. Vidtel’s Video Conferencing Directory enables any video user to find another and to easily connect. Vidtel is located in the heart of Silicon Valley in Mountain View, CA and at http://www.vidtel.com.</p>
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		<title>HD Quality Conference Bridge Solution Introduced by Hosted VoIP Provider SimpleSignal</title>
		<link>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2010/03/hd-quality-conference-bridge-solution-introduced-by-hosted-voip-provider-simplesignal/</link>
		<comments>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2010/03/hd-quality-conference-bridge-solution-introduced-by-hosted-voip-provider-simplesignal/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul McQuade</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Features]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News and Press]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unified Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conferencing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HD Voice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UCaaS]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/?p=286</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[New Conference Deck Uses HD Audio Codec G.722 to Provide Stunning HD Audio Quality Integrated With SimpleSignal’s Unified Communications Service
Dana Point, CA (PRWEB) March 1, 2010 &#8212; SimpleSignal Inc., a leader in hosted business telephone solutions for small and medium sized businesses, today announced the addition of an HD Voice Conference Bridge solution to its [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F03%2Fhd-quality-conference-bridge-solution-introduced-by-hosted-voip-provider-simplesignal%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F03%2Fhd-quality-conference-bridge-solution-introduced-by-hosted-voip-provider-simplesignal%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p><em>New Conference Deck Uses HD Audio Codec G.722 to Provide Stunning HD Audio Quality Integrated With SimpleSignal’s Unified Communications Service</em></p>
<p>Dana Point, CA (PRWEB) March 1, 2010 &#8212; SimpleSignal Inc., a leader in hosted business telephone solutions for small and medium sized businesses, today announced the addition of an HD Voice Conference Bridge solution to its growing list of hosted PBX calling features and voice apps. The company’s new conferencing service allows up to 100 callers to participate in unlimited HD audio conference calls for one flat rate of $29 per month, with volume discounts available.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Janet_LoRez.jpg"><img class="frame size-medium wp-image-287 alignright " title="Janet_LoRez" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Janet_LoRez-300x199.jpg" alt="HD Audio Conference Bridge from SimpleSignal" width="300" height="199" /></a>“SimpleSignal’s goal is to continually make business communications easier and more accessible to our clients, and this affordable, high quality conference bridge is a linchpin to providing a comprehensive unified communications service,” said Dave Gilbert, CEO of SimpleSignal. “And with true HD voice quality our clients can enjoy conference calls that sound like you’re all in the same room, even when talking across the country.”</p>
<p>SimpleSignal keeps costs low by eliminating toll-free access to the conference bridge. With most business phone users nationwide on unlimited long distance calling plans, toll free service becomes a potentially redundant, unnecessary expense.</p>
<p>Although any user with a phone connection may call into SimpleSignal’s conference bridge, HD Audio sound is what really takes conference calling to another level. SimpleSignal uses the HD Audio Codec, G.722, which doubles the sample rate and the high and low frequency rate, with no noticeable latency, delivering a more natural conversation, with better clarity to discriminate between letters “S” and “F” or “P” and “T”. To take advantage of this technology users must be on the SimpleSignal network with a Polycom HD Voice IP phone or equivalent (legacy phone systems don’t support the G.722 codec). While this might limit the broad enjoyment of HD Audio conference calling at this point, the biggest beneficiaries of the HD quality will be SimpleSignal clients with multiple office locations that use a conference bridge as a regular part of their business process.</p>
<p>SimpleSignal’s HD Conference Bridge provides a full feature set including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Reservationless conference start, meaning your bridge is active and ready 24/7 without scheduling</li>
<li>100 participant capacity</li>
<li>Entry/exit notification using chimes or recorded names</li>
<li>Self muting</li>
<li>Conference termination by the host (useful when you have back to back conference calls)</li>
<li>Participant count</li>
<li>Private roll call, meaning participants can hear a private playback of the recorded names still active on the call</li>
<li>Multiple hosts</li>
<li>Touchtone suppression</li>
<li>Security lock which prevents new callers from joining the active call</li>
<li>Keypad commands which easily and intuitively modify any of the settings during a call</li>
</ul>
<p>SimpleSignal’s unlimited flat rate of $29 per month for up to 100 participants is extremely competitive for any size business, competing strongly with per minute plans that can cost businesses thousands of dollars per year with or without toll-free access.</p>
<p>About SimpleSignal<br />
SimpleSignal is a Cloud-based (also known as Hosted PBX) Unified Communications service provider that also offers SIP Trunking services, advanced Voice Apps and Polycom IP Phone equipment. The company is one of the top BroadSoft switches in the U.S., providing IP Phone applications and services to thousands of satisfied customers throughout the U.S. and Canada, with a growing list of multi-office clients in many international locations. SimpleSignal dependably provisions off-net, which means that customers can bring their own bandwidth and still use the SimpleSignal Hosted PBX system without overhauling their entire IP infrastructure.  SimpleSignal, Inc. is located at 34232 Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point, CA 92629. Find us on the web at http://www.simplesignal.com. For sales, call 866-434-4404. Read our blog: http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/.</p>
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		<title>Using SimpleSignal’s Call Control Toolbar</title>
		<link>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2010/01/using-simplesignal%e2%80%99s-call-control-toolbar/</link>
		<comments>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2010/01/using-simplesignal%e2%80%99s-call-control-toolbar/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:15:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul McQuade</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Features]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Call Control]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Call Forwarding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Call Notification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Remote Office]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sequential Ring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Simultaneous Ring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Speed Dial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toolbar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Voice Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Voicemail]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/?p=162</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the developments we’ve been really excited about is our new Call Control Toolbar.  This is an Adobe Air application that resides on your desktop, which means you don’t have to have a web browser open to use it.  This may not sound like a major difference but believe me, once you get used [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F01%2Fusing-simplesignal%25e2%2580%2599s-call-control-toolbar%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F01%2Fusing-simplesignal%25e2%2580%2599s-call-control-toolbar%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">One of the developments we’ve been really excited about is our new Call Control Toolbar.  This is an Adobe Air application that resides on your desktop, which means you don’t have to have a web browser open to use it.  This may not sound like a major difference but believe me, once you get used to our Toolbar, you’d never think of going back to opening your browser, logging in with your user name and password, just to change a simple call setting like which numbers you want your calls to forward to, etc.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/introtoolbar.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-191" title="introtoolbar" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/introtoolbar.jpg" alt="Call Control Toolbar" width="540" height="200" /></a><br />
The beauty of the Toolbar is in its simplicity.  In no time you will master its Services Control Panel and be making changes on the fly, as easily as you download your email.</p>
<p>This article walks you through the process of setting up and using your toolbar.  By the way, you may want to go ahead and contact customer support at 303-242-8616 and ask them for your user name and password for the toolbar.  You will need it during this installation.</p>
<p>First you will need to download the application.  If you haven’t done so already, go to the toolbar page and click download now.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Toolbar-Download-Screen-Final.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-277" title="Toolbar Download Screen Final" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Toolbar-Download-Screen-Final.png" alt="Toolbar Download Screen Final" width="269" height="257" /></a><br />
Click “I Accept” to the Software License Agreement and click Continue Download.</p>
<p>Click Install Now on the “Install the App” page<br />
<a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Toolbar-Install-Screen.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-202" title="Toolbar-Install-Screen" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Toolbar-Install-Screen.jpg" alt="Toolbar Install Screen" width="210" height="193" /></a></p>
<p>You may be required to download and install Adobe Air if you don’t already have it on your system. Just follow the Adobe prompts to do so.</p>
<p>Choose Open or Save when you see this screen:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Air-App-Installation.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-190" title="Air App Installation" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Air-App-Installation.jpg" alt="Air App Installation" width="441" height="207" /></a></p>
<p>Once you save the file and run the application setup, your toolbar is installed and ready to set up.</p>
<p>Launch the toolbar app &#8211; Mac users: you may want to place the app in your dock for easy access.</p>
<p>Click Settings. Select xs1.simplesignal.com in the server drop down.  Enter your username which is your full phone number@simplesignal.com e.g. 9495551234@simplesignal.com.  Then enter your password as given to you by support or your network administrator.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/accountsettings1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-227" title="accountsettings" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/accountsettings1.jpg" alt="Account Settings" width="575" height="273" /></a>Now hit Save Settings and your toolbar should be fully operational.</p>
<p>Here are a few tips for setting up your Services screens:</p>
<p><strong>Call Forwarding</strong><br />
This screen allows you to forward all your calls all the time to a specified number, or just when your primary number is busy, or when there is no answer at your primary number after a specified number of rings.<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/callforward.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-228" title="callforward" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/callforward.jpg" alt="Cal Forwarding" width="575" height="331" /></a>Simultaneous Ring</strong><br />
Enter up to six phone numbers you would like to ring when your primary number is called.  This can be an alternate office number, your cell phone, home phone, etc.<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/simring.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-234" title="simring" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/simring.jpg" alt="Simultaneous Ring" width="575" height="244" /></a>Remote Office</strong><br />
This is a great feature for when you are working from an alternate location like your home or a hotel room.  The number you enter here will ring when you click to call a number from your computer.  Your call recipient will see your primary phone number in their caller ID even if you are calling from a hotel in Paris.<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/remoteoffice.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-236" title="remoteoffice" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/remoteoffice.jpg" alt="Remote Office" width="575" height="265" /></a>Do Not Disturb</strong><br />
Turning this option on sends calls directly to voicemail.<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/donotdisturb.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-235" title="donotdisturb" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/donotdisturb.jpg" alt="Do Not Disturb" width="575" height="245" /></a>Sequential Ring</strong><br />
Simultaneous Ring rings all your entered numbers at the same time.  Sequential Ring rings your numbers one at a time in the order you enter them.  Even though there are six options here, remember that callers won’t be patient enough to wait through that many opportunities to track you down.<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/seqring1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-238" title="seqring" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/seqring1.jpg" alt="Sequential Ring" width="575" height="237" /></a>Speed Dial</strong><br />
You can program your IP Phone to speed dial six different numbers (Programs keys #2-7).<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/speeddial.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-239" title="speeddial" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/speeddial.jpg" alt="Speed Dial" width="575" height="239" /></a>Voice Messaging</strong><br />
This is a great tool!  Here you can set up your email address for notification of voicemail messages.  You can also cc an associate or assistant.  Here is where you would set up call transfer as well.  You can tell people in your voicemail message to press 0 to be transferred to an operator, assistant, or associate.<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/voicemess.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-240" title="voicemess" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/voicemess.jpg" alt="Voice Messaging" width="575" height="308" /></a>Using Your Toolbar for Outbound Calls</strong><br />
It’s amazingly simple to type the number or extension you are calling into the Dial # field.  You can also copy and paste phone numbers from any application open on your screen.  Then just hit CALL and your Polycom IP phone rings with the outgoing call connecting. (This feature only works with Polycom IP phones)</p>
<p><strong>Using Your Toolbar for Inbound Calls</strong><br />
Your Toolbar comes with a clean little call notification “screen pop” that comes up in the bottom of your screen announcing the caller ID of the incoming call and an option to answer your call (call goes to your Polycom IP phone’s speaker) or Transfer to VM which sends the call directly to voicemail without letting the phone ring the prescribed number of rings. (very convenient it you are deep in thought and don’t want to be distracted but haven’t turned on the Do Not Disturb option).<br />
<a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/incoming-call-screen-shot.004.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-182" title="incoming call screen shot.004" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/incoming-call-screen-shot.004.png" alt="Screen Pop" width="336" height="154" /></a>By the way, pressing the Help button brings you back to this post for reference any time.  If you get stuck, feel free to call Support at 303-242-8616 between 6AM and 6PM PST.</p>
<p>That’s it for now.  Watch for additional upgrades to the toolbar.  We have a lot of great plans for this simple little interface for your SimpleSignal PBX.  Enjoy!</p>
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		<title>Our Corporate Philanthropy</title>
		<link>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/12/our-corporate-philanthropy/</link>
		<comments>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/12/our-corporate-philanthropy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:00:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave Gilbert</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CEO - Dave Gilbert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Corporate Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giving Back]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/?p=100</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At SimpleSignal, we believe that our business can make the world we live in a better place.  Building partnerships between SimpleSignal and ministries and other non-profit charities produces a more meaningful work-life balance. 
We’ve adopted a model of giving that is designed to grow with our company. The 1+1+1 model shares a portion of our [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F12%2Four-corporate-philanthropy%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F12%2Four-corporate-philanthropy%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p><span><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Giving-Back.png"><img class="frame size-medium wp-image-138 alignleft" title="Giving Back" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Giving-Back-300x225.png" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>At SimpleSignal, we believe that our business can make the world we live in a better place.  Building partnerships between SimpleSignal and ministries and other non-profit charities produces a more meaningful work-life balance. </span></p>
<p><span>We’ve adopted a model of giving that is designed to grow with our company. The 1+1+1 model shares a portion of our financial and intellectual wealth with the world.</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span>1 percent equity: using 1 percent of our profit to offer monetary assistance to those in need.</span></li>
<li><span>1 percent time: finding meaningful activities for SimpleSignal employees during their six paid days off a year devoted to volunteerism and promoting a culture of caring.</span></li>
<li><span> 1 percent product: facilitating the donation of communication services to non-profits, helping them increase their operational effectiveness and focus more of their resources on their core mission.</span></li>
</ul>
<div><span>Our staff drives our philanthropy. As CEO, I&#8217;m proud of our people and I&#8217;m excited to share them with organizations that are bettering our world. People that donate their time have to be willing to go beyond their own comfort zone-and those are the people that have built SimpleSignal into the company it is today.</span></div>
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		<title>SimpleSignal&#8217;s Call Control Toolbar Simplifies Use of Advanced VoIP Features</title>
		<link>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/10/simplesignals-call-control-toolbar-simplifies-use-of-advanced-voip-features/</link>
		<comments>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/10/simplesignals-call-control-toolbar-simplifies-use-of-advanced-voip-features/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:37:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul McQuade</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Features]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hosted PBX]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News and Press]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Call Control]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cloud Hosted PBX]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Remote Office]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Speed Dial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toolbar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Voice Apps]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/?p=291</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Users can control Hosted PBX phone features from the desktop without accessing a web portal. The SimpleSignal Call Control Toolbar enables SMBs to take advantage of productivity enhancing VoIP features.
Dana Point, CA (PRWEB) October 26, 2009 &#8212; Voice over IP (VoIP) technology innovations have endowed today&#8217;s business phone systems with advanced features and tools that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F10%2Fsimplesignals-call-control-toolbar-simplifies-use-of-advanced-voip-features%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F10%2Fsimplesignals-call-control-toolbar-simplifies-use-of-advanced-voip-features%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p><em>Users can control Hosted PBX phone features from the desktop without accessing a web portal. The SimpleSignal Call Control Toolbar enables SMBs to take advantage of productivity enhancing VoIP features.</em></p>
<p>Dana Point, CA (PRWEB) October 26, 2009 &#8212; Voice over IP (VoIP) technology innovations have endowed today&#8217;s business phone systems with advanced features and tools that can radically enhance and simplify communications&#8211;but many users don&#8217;t take advantage of them. Today SimpleSignal introduced its Call Control Toolbar, a breakthrough application that makes advanced VoIP calling features easier and more convenient to use.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/hosted_pbx.php"><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/toolbar_screenshot.png"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-95" title="toolbar_screenshot" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/toolbar_screenshot-300x47.png" alt="Call Control Toolbar from SimpleSignal" width="300" height="47" /></a>Hosted PBX</a> carriers provide access to their IP phone features through a web browser or web portal, which requires that users log in, enter a password and risk losing track of their portal page URL. In contrast, SimpleSignal&#8217;s <a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/simple_toolbar.php">Call Control Toolbar</a> is an elegant, Adobe Air-based application that floats anywhere on a user&#8217;s desktop for instant access to a range of calling feature controls. The Call Control Toolbar does not require users to launch a web browser.</p>
<p>&#8220;One of the biggest challenges we discovered in our customer research was that our Hosted PBX customers were not using incredibly efficient calling features like simultaneous ring, remote office and voice messaging, or even more basic functions such as speed dial,&#8221; said Dave Gilbert, founder and president of SimpleSignal, &#8220;either because they didn&#8217;t know how or didn&#8217;t want to be bothered with logging into a web portal to set up or change their IP phone settings.</p>
<p>&#8220;The SimpleSignal Call Control Toolbar eliminates these hassles for users,&#8221; Gilbert continued. &#8220;The controls are user-friendly and always available in the background on a user&#8217;s desktop, so it&#8217;s easy to make quick, on-the-fly changes to IP phone settings. &#8221;</p>
<p>The SimpleSignal Call Control Toolbar also features call notification screen pops. When a user receives an incoming call, a small window pops up at the bottom of the user&#8217;s computer screen with complete caller ID information. Users can also answer the call directly from the screen pop.</p>
<p>The Call Control Toolbar is provided free of charge for SimpleSignal&#8217;s Hosted PBX customers.</p>
<p>SimpleSignal will unveil the Call Control Toolbar to the industry during a workshop at BroadSoft Connections 2009: Voice &amp; Vision, October 25 &#8211; 28, at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona.</p>
<p>Features that can be managed by the toolbar include:</p>
<p>•    Simultaneous Ring (http://www.simplesignal.com/feat_Simultaneous-Ring.php) for up to six numbers<br />
•    Remote Office, which displays your office number on caller ID regardless of which phone is being used<br />
•    Outbound Dialing by entering the phone number or copying and pasting into Toolbar window<br />
•    Speed Dial for six numbers<br />
•    Sequential Ring for up to six numbers<br />
•    Voice Messaging Control (http://www.simplesignal.com/feat_Visual-Voicemail.php), including email notifications and transfer upon dialing &#8220;0&#8243;<br />
•    Call Forwarding Always<br />
•    Call Forwarding Busy<br />
•    Call Forwarding No Answer<br />
•    Do Not Disturb</p>
<p>For more information about the Call Control Toolbar, go to SimpleSignal.com/toolbar.</p>
<p>About SimpleSignal<br />
SimpleSignal is a Cloud-based (also known as Hosted PBX) Unified Communications service provider that also offers SIP Trunking services, advanced Voice Apps and Polycom IP Phone equipment. The company is one of the top BroadSoft switches in the U.S., providing IP Phone applications and services to thousands of satisfied customers throughout the U.S. and Canada, with a growing list of multi-office clients in many international locations. SimpleSignal dependably provisions off-net, which means that customers can bring their own bandwidth and still use the SimpleSignal Hosted PBX system without overhauling their entire IP infrastructure.  SimpleSignal, Inc. is located at 34232 Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point, CA 92629. Find us on the web at www.simplesignal.com. For sales, call 866-434-4404. Read Dave Gilbert&#8217;s Blog: http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/.</p>
<p>###</p>
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		<title>SimpleSignal and Alteva Forge All-IP Peering Fabric</title>
		<link>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/10/simplesignal-and-alteva-forge-all-ip-peering-fabric/</link>
		<comments>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/10/simplesignal-and-alteva-forge-all-ip-peering-fabric/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:22:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave Gilbert</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Hosted PBX]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News and Press]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Partners]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unified Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HD Voice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Press Releases]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PSTN]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/?p=97</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This article was front page news at VON.com.  This is a major breakthrough for the entire VoIP industry!
Philadelphia, PA and Dana Point, CA – October 22, 2009 – Alteva, North America’s largest enterprise hosted VoIP provider, and SimpleSignal, a facilities-based complete network provider of business VoIP, today announced the successful completion of an IP peering [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F10%2Fsimplesignal-and-alteva-forge-all-ip-peering-fabric%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F10%2Fsimplesignal-and-alteva-forge-all-ip-peering-fabric%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Von.png"><img class="frame size-medium wp-image-138 alignleft" style="margin-top: 3px; margin-bottom: 3px;" title="Von" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Von.png" alt="" width="261" height="98" /></a>This article was front page news at VON.com.  This is a major breakthrough for the entire VoIP industry!</p>
<p>Philadelphia, PA and Dana Point, CA – October 22, 2009 – Alteva, North America’s largest enterprise hosted VoIP provider, and SimpleSignal, a facilities-based complete network provider of business VoIP, today announced the successful completion of an IP peering relationship that will integrate disparate VoIP Service Providers to improve voice and video communications and allow advanced feature integration.</p>
<p>Currently, most calls are placed through the traditional PSTN controlled by legacy carriers, which defeats many of the current quality improvements available with High Definition (HD) IP communications. When VoIP service providers peer with each other, users on either network can connect directly over IP and bypass the PSTN. This allows the user to experience all the quality and features available through HD IP voice and video communications in a cross-platform call. The technology being used is an innovative and new approach of “fabric-based peering,” in which carriers can easily and reliably route communications based traffic between customers or end users regardless of who they use for their services.</p>
<p>Following this year’s CTO Summit, held at the VON Conference &amp; Expo in Miami Beach, Florida, Alteva and SimpleSignal became the first VoIP Service Providers to take the dramatic step towards improving video communications and HD voice communications.</p>
<p>“The roadblock to enhanced communications services continues to be the limitations of the PSTN networks that interconnect all carriers,” said Mark Marquez, VP of Technology at Alteva. “Alteva believes that ‘a high tide raises all ships’. By working with SimpleSignal, we are able to provide end-to-end IP-based communications that allow for enhanced video conversations, as well as high-definition voice. We hope this will encourage other carriers to follow suit.”</p>
<p>“The SimpleSignal and Alteva alliance proves that <a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/06/hd-voice-the-sound-of-a-familiar-voice/">HD voice</a> and exceptional video quality can happen completely outside of the traditional PSTN,” said Ujjval Karihaloo, VP of Engineering at SimpleSignal. “By removing the barrier of the PSTN and peering with other service providers, IP communications can be all that it was created to be. Alteva and SimpleSignal users can now talk to each other using HD voice technology without any per minute charges.”</p>
<p>Some of the benefits of a nationwide IP peering fabric could include: nationwide HD-to-HD calling between different service providers, the ability to pass video from one carrier to another, and more overall cost-effective peering relationships for service providers and their customers.</p>
<p>“The recent growth in SIP trunking will quickly advance new IP-based communication applications like video conferencing,” said Seamus Hourihan, executive vice president of marketing and product management for Acme Packet. “Acme Packet’s Net-Net Session Border Controllers provide the foundation for service providers like Alteva and SimpleSignal to deliver trusted, first-class communications and offer new business tools to more effectively meet the needs of their enterprise customers.”</p>
<p>Alteva and SimpleSignal will demonstrate their peering relationship at Acme Packet’s Interconnect 2009 conference (November 8-11th) in Miami, Florida. The demonstration will include HD voice and video communication between Alteva and SimpleSignal, two of the leading hosted VoIP carriers in North America.</p>
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		<title>Our New Hosted PBX Air App Lets You Control Advanced IP Phone Features From Anywhere on Your Desktop</title>
		<link>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/10/our-new-hosted-pbx-air-app-lets-you-control-advanced-ip-phone-features-from-anywhere-on-your-desktop/</link>
		<comments>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/10/our-new-hosted-pbx-air-app-lets-you-control-advanced-ip-phone-features-from-anywhere-on-your-desktop/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:55:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave Gilbert</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Features]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hosted PBX]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Call Control]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Call Notification]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/?p=94</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With the evolution of powerful VoIP Phone technology, business phone systems have become sophisticated and feature-rich&#8230;so much so that many users don’t take advantage of a fraction of the game-changing communications tools they now have at their fingertips.  Here at SimpleSignal we’re out to solve that problem by developing new communications software apps that simplify [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F10%2Four-new-hosted-pbx-air-app-lets-you-control-advanced-ip-phone-features-from-anywhere-on-your-desktop%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F10%2Four-new-hosted-pbx-air-app-lets-you-control-advanced-ip-phone-features-from-anywhere-on-your-desktop%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>With the evolution of powerful VoIP Phone technology, business phone systems have become sophisticated and feature-rich&#8230;so much so that many users don’t take advantage of a fraction of the game-changing communications tools they now have at their fingertips.  Here at SimpleSignal we’re out to solve that problem by developing new communications software apps that simplify the interaction between users and their IP Phone technology.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/toolbar_screenshot.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-95" title="toolbar_screenshot" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/toolbar_screenshot.png" alt="" width="426" height="67" /></a></p>
<p>One such breakthrough is our new <strong>SimpleSignal Call Control Toolbar</strong>.  The majority of <a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/hosted_pbx.php">Hosted PBX</a> providers provide access to their IP Phone calling features through a web browser, after logging in with user name and password, and often users lose track of their portal page URL. This elegant little call control toolbar, built as an Adobe Air application, floats anywhere on a user’s desktop for instant access to a host of Internet Phone calling feature controls without ever launching their web browser.</p>
<p>One of the biggest challenges we discovered in our customer research was the fact that our Hosted PBX customers were not using incredibly efficient calling features like <a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/feat_Simultaneous-Ring.php">simultaneous</a> or <a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/feat_Simultaneous-Ring.php">sequential ring</a>, remote office, call forwarding, <a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/feat_Visual-Voicemail.php">visual voicemail</a> messaging, and even more basic functions such as speed dial, either because they didn’t know how or didn’t want to be bothered with logging in and out of a web portal to set up or change their IP phone settings.</p>
<p>The <strong>Toolbar</strong> changes all of that immediately.  The controls are easy to understand and always available in the background of a user’s desktop, making quick, on-the-fly changes to their IP phone settings a non-issue.</p>
<p>Another practical feature of the Toolbar is the “call notification screen pops”.  When a call comes in, a little window pops up in the bottom of the user’s computer screen with complete caller ID information, letting the user decide what to do with the call, without ever taking their eyes off their screen.  By the way, the call can also be answered directly from the screen.</p>
<p>The Call Control Toolbar is provided free of charge for our Hosted PBX customers.</p>
<p>Features include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Call Forwarding Always</li>
<li>Call Forwarding Busy</li>
<li>Call Forwarding No Answer</li>
<li>Simultaneous Ring (Six Numbers)</li>
<li>Remote Office (Shows your office number from any phone you select)</li>
<li>Do Not Disturb</li>
<li>Sequential Ring (Six Numbers)</li>
<li>Speed Dial (Six Numbers)</li>
<li>Voice Messaging Control including email notifications and transfer upon dialing “0”</li>
<li>Call Notification Screen Pops</li>
<li>Outbound Dialing (Enter phone number or copy and paste into Toolbar window)</li>
</ul>
<p>More voice services and voice applications are under development for the Toolbar, and updates will be available as new versions are released.</p>
<p>For more information on our new Call Control Toolbar go to <a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/simple_toolbar.php">SimpleSignal.com/simple_toolbar</a>.</p>
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		<title>Unified Communications and Business 2.0 – Cut the Crap&#8230;Buy the App!</title>
		<link>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/07/cut-the-crapbuy-the-app-uc-and-business-20/</link>
		<comments>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/07/cut-the-crapbuy-the-app-uc-and-business-20/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:08:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave Gilbert</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Hosted PBX]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unified Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hosted Unified Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IP PBX]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mobility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UCaaS]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/?p=84</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Unified Communications (UC) has come of age. We&#8217;ve been talking about the power of Unified Communications now for years but now business is experiencing first hand the value of having the new voice applications at work in their office. I was inspired by an article I read written by Khali Henderson in Phone+ Magazine this [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F07%2Fcut-the-crapbuy-the-app-uc-and-business-20%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F07%2Fcut-the-crapbuy-the-app-uc-and-business-20%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Unified-Communications.png"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-147" title="Unified Communications" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Unified-Communications-296x300.png" alt="" width="296" height="300" /></a>Unified Communications (UC) has come of age. We&#8217;ve been talking about the power of Unified Communications now for years but now business is experiencing first hand the value of having the new voice applications at work in their office. I was inspired by an article I read written by <a href="http://www.phoneplusmag.com/articles/hosted-uc-catches-up-to-hype.html">Khali Henderson in Phone+ Magazine</a> this week that mentioned <a href="http://www.simplesignal.com">SimpleSignal</a>. I&#8217;ve pulled out sections of her article and written this blog entry around them.</p>
<p>Businesses have begun to adopt a business strategy that includes voice applications at a stunning pace. Market projections show significant adoption over the next five years. Here&#8217;s some stats:</p>
<p>In its worldwide forecast published in June, Wainhouse Research found hosted Unified Communications will grow from $200 million today to $1 billion in 2011 and more than $5 billion in 2014. A competitive report, released by Radicati Group Inc. in May, similarly projected the market would reach nearly $5 billion by 2013 while its 2009 estimates are at $2.9 billion. North America Hosted Unified Communications revenue is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 400 percent between 2009 and 2013. That is actually a very small number since most true hosted Unified Communications deployments started only last fall; thus the incredible revenue growth rate projection. Hosted Unified Communications seat growth for North America has a similar trajectory, climbing 273 percent over the forecast period.</p>
<p>Based on interviews with analysts and service providers, Unified Communications at a base level must include three elements — telephony, messaging and presence — integrated into a single interface. Beyond those core capabilities, consensus breaks down. The most common add-ons mentioned are mobility (i.e., fixed mobile convergence or FMC), collaboration and conferencing, and integration with business software applications, such as CRM.</p>
<p>The pitch for Unified Communications must necessarily go beyond the cost-savings discussion that has been fairly successful at convincing companies to migrate premises-based point solutions like IP PBXs and e-mail to hosted versions. Communicating the business benefits of Unified Communications is key.</p>
<p>While cost may not be the only reason for outsourcing hosted Unified Communications, there’s a great story to tell here, providers say, and it’s resonating well with companies of all sizes during the recession. Simply put, it just costs less money to install a hosted Unified Communications solution than buy a piece of equipment and put it in a closet in your office.</p>
<p>For instance, Microsoft&#8217;s OCS requires 12 servers by itself without tying it to a PBX. Adding other applications, such as Web conferencing and secure chat, only serves to drive the cost higher. The capital requirements are massive if you want to take this on, this doesn’t even address the soft costs of personnel to manage and maintain it. And the demands for knowledgeable IT staff don’t end once the system is deployed. Depending on the vendor of your Unified Communications platform, you do need a level of expertise to appropriately manage it, and that level of expertise increases as your enterprise size increases as well. Using SimpleSignal takes the worry away. Our highly trained technical staff manage all the complexities of running the Unified Communications platform. So outsourcing hosted Unified Communications can not only offer a company the benefits of the technology faster, it can offer the scalability required to meet growing —or shrinking—needs.</p>
<p>Another consideration is the cost of having a backup location in support of business continuity. SimpleSignal&#8217;s Unified Communications applications include all the accoutrements of a data center, including backup power, site redundancy and high-capacity bandwidth connectivity.</p>
<p>An additional “hidden” cost is keeping up with technology migration. New revs are coming faster and faster — not all of them are software, some are hardware — and those costs are unpredictable about when they are going to come and how much they are.</p>
<p>Wise companies are considering the reality that because technology is changing so fast, companies are increasingly worried about taking on the “capital risk” of a hardware solution and looking for ways to &#8220;future proof&#8221; their voice infrastructure.</p>
<p>The opex picture for hosted Unified Communications also looks pretty good when considering that just subscribing to point solutions like Web conferencing alone can be $60-plus per month per employee. Compare that to SimpleSignal&#8217;s fully loaded $59 per month per employee price tag for a hosted Unified Communications configuration including unlimited voice calls, conferencing, PBX, unified messaging and hosted Exchange server (email).</p>
<p>Money isn’t the only thing businesses need a lot of to implement Unified Communications on their own. Deploying a best-of-breed solution takes expertise in spades, and since it’s newer technology, that means research and time. A hosted Unified Communications provider has brought together myriad solutions, such as Microsoft OCS, Cisco Unified Communications Manager, integration with CRM like ACT! and Salesforce.com, <a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/hosted_exchange.php">Microsoft Exchange</a>, Google Apps and more.</p>
<p>What SimpleSignal really does is solve the complexity issue. We&#8217;ve made it &#8220;simple&#8221; for a business to deploy Unified Communications. When you go with a hosted solution, it really is an on-demand type of relationship. We can have a full Unified Communications application in a four-week period instead of an 18-month period (for an on-premises solution).</p>
<p>This mind shift along with increased resource (people and cash) restraints due to the recession may be the reason that increasingly larger companies are moving to hosted Unified Communications.</p>
<p>This past weekend I met with the CEO of <a href="http://www.broadsoft.com">Broadsoft</a> Mike Tessler. He shared with me that he knows of very large multi-location customers have started to dramatically change to the hosted model. This trend for hosted to go &#8220;upstream&#8221; is new in 2009. We&#8217;ve not seen that before. We were mainly focused on small and medium businesses (under 50 employees).  Now, the very large customer who, because of these economic times, are forced to focus on a smarter, more efficient, less capital-intensive way to get their voice and Internet services are considering SimpleSignal.</p>
<p>It seems that our biggest problem is awareness. Most businesses aren&#8217;t really aware, especially if they are smaller companies, that hosted Unified Communications is an option. Now is the time for our great company to come to the aid of our country. <img src='http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
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		<title>Making the Switch to a Cloud Based Telephone System</title>
		<link>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/07/making-the-switch-to-a-cloud-based-telephone-system/</link>
		<comments>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/07/making-the-switch-to-a-cloud-based-telephone-system/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:52:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave Gilbert</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cloud Telephony]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hosted PBX]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cloud Hosted PBX]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HD Voice]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/?p=54</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This past year or so will go down in history as some of the most economically challenging times in the history of America. And&#8230; we are not yet out of it. To survive, businesses of all types are trying to reduce expenses and strive for profitability. The ones that survive will be lean and strong. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F07%2Fmaking-the-switch-to-a-cloud-based-telephone-system%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F07%2Fmaking-the-switch-to-a-cloud-based-telephone-system%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Cloud-Telephony.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-149 aligncenter" title="Cloud Telephony" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Cloud-Telephony.png" alt="" width="444" height="194" /></a>This past year or so will go down in history as some of the most economically challenging times in the history of America. And&#8230; we are not yet out of it. To survive, businesses of all types are trying to reduce expenses and strive for profitability. The ones that survive will be lean and strong. They will have learned to do more with less. They will have sought out every available tool to increase sales and decrease costs. However, many of these tools are capital-intensive and capital is expensive and hard to come by.</span></p>
<p>A &#8220;cloud&#8221; or &#8220;hosted&#8221; telephone system offers affordable, trusted, reliable and flexible cloud based telephone systems that deliver dramatic leaps in productivity and profitability. What is the &#8220;cloud&#8221;? In computer network diagrams, a cloud graphic is used to depict the &#8220;web&#8221; or the &#8220;internet&#8221;. Our telephone system has it&#8217;s core in our secure data centers, not in your office and is connected over the web not telephone wires. This relieves your enterprise from the capital investment and the burdens and risk of running your own communications equipment. Businesses that have partnered with the SimpleSignal cloud now have a game-changing, VoIP communication features that create an opportunity to grow sales, cut their telephone bill, and improve their voice quality. Businesses of all sizes are finding our value proposition to be compelling as evidenced by our rapid success and growing subscriber base.</p>
<p>In the past, to have features like ours at work in your business it meant you&#8217;d need to make a big upfront investment. Not today. Not in times like these. A cloud based telephone system provides an easy, scalable, and reliable way to provide business enhancing features without needing to make big and risky upfront investments.</p>
<p><strong>Explore our features to maximize your benefits</strong></p>
<p><span>Our platform of products &amp; services helps thousands of businesses achieve greater productivity every day—without requiring costly new phone equipment or changes to business processes. Our full range of features is available to your business anytime, anywhere and from any phone. Our software integration means that you can click to call right out of the programs you work out of all day. </span></p>
<p><strong>Grow your business from anywhere on one platform</strong></p>
<p><span>Our cloud telephone system works with all your devices. You can be connected to your business network no matter if you or your co-workers are talking on an analog line, a cellular phone  or an IP softphone or land line. Even if they are separated by oceans and time zones they are all on the same telephone system and have access to the same feature set.</span></p>
<p><strong>Cut your costs</strong></p>
<p><span>Many business have experienced cost savings greater than 50% when changing over to our service. In addition, there is far less capital outlay when there is no system to buy, no PBX equipment to install or maintain, no dedicated electrical circuits, no risk of obsolescence and no risk of out growing the system as your business recovers and grows. </span></p>
<p><strong>Flexible pricing</strong></p>
<p><span>Our service is affordable with pay-as-you-go small monthly fees that can fit any budget. No long-term contracts required, and we give you a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee</span></p>
<p><strong>Improve your voice quality</strong></p>
<p><span>SimpleSignal&#8217;s Hosted telephone system is a HD voice, high capacity carrier-class computer platform. </span></p>
<p><strong>So easy to use</strong></p>
<p><span>Our phones are shipped to you pre-configured. Plug them into the ethernet and in just minutes you&#8217;re talking on net. Our unique business communication solution allows you to update settings on the fly. Need help? We are always just a phone call away, ready to support you.</span></p>
<p><span>Bottom line? A telephone system that is controlled in the cloud can make your phone system do more.</span></p>
<p><span>Contact us and tell us about your business—chances are that our sales consultants have worked with someone in your industry in the past and we can help you use our technology to design a better business process using today&#8217;s communications technology. </span></p>
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		<title>Value vs Price for a Small Business Phone System</title>
		<link>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/07/value-versus-price/</link>
		<comments>http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/2009/07/value-versus-price/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:24:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bradford Kern</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Hosted PBX]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cloud Hosted PBX]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/?p=52</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Where do you draw the line between quality and cost savings?
At SimpleSignal, we try to draw that line as close to the cost savings, without compromising quality, which is our number one priority. I find that when a small business or large business is selecting a new phone system, there are several criterion they consider, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F07%2Fvalue-versus-price%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplesignal.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F07%2Fvalue-versus-price%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p><a href="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/SoundpointIP_501_Left.jpg"><img class="frame size-medium wp-image-138 alignleft" style="margin-top: 3px; margin-bottom: 4px;" title="SoundpointIP_501_Left" src="http://www.simplesignal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/SoundpointIP_501_Left.jpg" alt="Polycom Soundpoint IP501" width="288" height="191" /></a></p>
<p>Where do you draw the line between quality and cost savings?</p>
<p>At SimpleSignal, we try to draw that line as close to the cost savings, without compromising quality, which is our number one priority. I find that when a small business or large business is selecting a new phone system, there are several criterion they consider, features, functionality, potential for productivity, quality of service, and everyone&#8217;s biggest consideration, cost savings. Through my years of purchasing different products, no matter what they be, I have found that there is a big difference between cost and value.  Personally, I am always willing to invest a little bit more on the front end for a quality product, if it will hold up and outperform on the back end.  Do you buy quality gardening tools at a cheap discounter store? No, they break the second you do any heavy work, not unlike many phone systems.</p>
<p>I believe it is worth more to have SimpleSignal&#8217;s outstanding quality hosted PBX that makes my employees more productive, which in turn pays off for my company in many ways.  My employees are happy with their advanced features, our response time to clients has decreased, we have better inter-office communication, and most importantly, it’s an extremely reliable service with great support if needed.  Another benefit is that, as a SimpleSignal client, you get a customized solution for your business, as opposed to the “bundle version” you receive from a large, impersonal company.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, it’s all about what makes sense for your business, and how you can maximize your potential for growth.  With a Hosted PBX system from SimpleSignal, you can quit worrying about your phone system, and continue to focus on your bottom line.</p>
<p><em>Ch</em><em>eck out Bradford&#8217;s incredible video on the <a href="http://vimeo.com/5396190">SimpleSignal video wall </a>at <a href="http://www.vimeo.com">vimeo.com</a></em></p>
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