20 posts tagged “skype”
Skype is now a viable VoIP solution for a small office. Here's why:
- Very low cost flat rate plans for unlimited national calling (~$3/month). Also great international rates and calling plans.
- Voice messaging. Also email notification that a new voice message has arrived.
- Remote retrieval of voice messages
- Call forwarding to up to 4 other phones simultaneously (in other words you can use Skype as a "universal number" follow me type service when you are away from the office)
- Supports call transfer between office numbers
- Management portal for office accounts
- Get phone numbers assigned easily (local, or from other cities)
- Good range of supported devices -- like my wireless headset!
If you have a good broadband connection, then you should find Skype to be sufficiently reliable. It's been a long time since Skype has had a major service issue. And in the last year, we haven't had any issues. That said, I would recommend keeping at least one "plain old telephone service" (POTS) line up and running in the event that something wierd happens.
To set up Skype at your office, follow these steps:
- Download Skype on each PC. (It's a safe program... they're owned by Ebay.)
- Set up a free Skype seperate account on each PC.
- Using the business owner's account, sign into the Skype website at https://secure.skype.com/account/main-page and set up a "Business Control Panel"
- Sign into the "Business Control Panel" at http://www.skype.com/business/ and follow the steps;
a) add members,
b) purchased credits (I recommend; needed for forwarding...),
c) allocated subscriptions, and
d) assign phone numbers.
We've been using Skype for the last year with no issues. Key benefits for our office have been:
- Easy to set up and use
- Low cost solution
- Easy for virtual / remote office
- IM feature is useful in the office
Oh, by the way, some of my other favorite communications apps for the office are:
- MyFax: instead of a dedicated phone line for the fax machine, we subscribe to "MyFax" for $10 per month for inbound faxes, and put the fax machine on one of our standard phone lines - for out-going faxes. That's cheaper and more useful that having a dedicated line. Plus, I can get my faxes when I am working from a virtual office, or traveling...
- PBworks: dead simple Wiki that I use as an "intranet" in our office (basic version is free)
- TokBox: for video conferencing with candidates (free app)
- Mozy: free easy online backup (up to 2GB is free)
Side note: Worth mentioning is that there are a couple of "Skype Extras" that can be added on to offer more capabilities. For example On-State Call Center - for those with call center needs.
TokBox launched about two years ago and got good coverage on TechCrunch. It has turned out to be a great free (and hassle-free) video conferencing tool. I'm on the phone with clients and candidates all day... hey, it's a people business! It helps a lot when you can see who you are speaking with. So, I'm using it from time to time.
It used to be that you had to have the special video conferencing gear (or now the "Telepresence" gear from folks like Cisco, Polycom, Tandberg and others). The quality of the new HD systems is phenomenal. But for a small business such as ours, I don't need HD.
With TokBox, all you really need is two webcam equipped PC's. I'm also a big fan of Skype... but not everyone is a Skype user. That's what makes TokBox so handy. I can just give people my personalized ToxBox url when I want to get into a video conference with them and that's it. No installs, no hassles (TokBox is all Flash based), no cost.
And for the social networkers out there... TokBox integrates nicely with all of the key sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc.
It's good to see that the Yugma desktop sharing tool has made it to Skype's very own short list of valuable "extras" for Skype users. Skype lists their list of "handy tools and plugin's" at http://skype.com/business/tools/extras/ . Yugma is listed first as one of the two desktop sharing tools mentioned.
It's interesting to note that Unyte, a screen sharing app that was heavily promoted by Skype in 2005/2006, and was subsequently purchased in 2007 by IBM, is lo longer listed or mentioned.
(Disclosure: Being as I helped to launch the company's web based service back in 2006, I own some shares in Yugma.)
Ever since Google purchased Marratech's web collaboration software back in April 2007, it was just a matter of time before they would launch their very own video chat service as an extenstion to the growing set of Google apps. Well, the wait is over. Google has integrated the new feature into the existing Google Chat service. The new service makes use of the Logitech webcams that Skype helped specify, using the Carl Zeiss lens. I have one and I have found the quality to be very good. Speaking of Logitech.... they just purchased Sightspeed for about $35M.
One more interesting note here.... if you travel to Marratech's website, you'll find them now promoting Elluminate's web collaboration service.
Robin Good recently reviewed the new version of GoToMeeting -- version 4. The new version comes with some a couple of significant new features like Mac compatibility and VoIP support. Looks like GoToMeeting has been carefully watching Skype and Yugma in their rear view mirror. Skype provides free and low cost VoIP for Windows, Mac, and Linux) and Yugma provides free and low cost desktop sharing tool for Mac, Windows, and Linux.
I came across MagicJack a few weeks ago. Looked really interesting. You buy a small gadget for $40 bucks, and pay $20 bucks in year 2 and after, and you can make all the domestic phone calls you want. It is supposed to be dead-simple to setup; plug-n-play. It's an interesting marketing trick to say that all of your calls are "free." Fact is that you are subscribing to a service. So the calls are not free. But, wow, they are cheap.
First thing I thought about was what the impact would be to Skype. Now MagicJack seems to be making some real news. Not sure if they can make money at $20 a year... and not sure of the service quality. Will be interesting to see how they do, and who will acquire them. Using MagicJack? Let me know how it is working for you.
As reported late last week at Skype Journal, Skype now supports CallerID in North America. I signed into my Skype account and change my profile to activate sending of my CallerID. Works! This is a lot better than displaying a non-identifying number like "0000123456." This feature will be very important to users evaluating Skype for their business use.
I just spoke with Dick Schiferli at Pamela Systems, makers of PamFax. PamFax is a Skype Extra Premium plugin application that allows you to fax easily, directly from your computer, using your Skype Credit. They've done a great job over the last couple of years to continuously enhance the service to respond to end-user feedback, and to make the service easier to use and more reliable. They are now officially "Skype Certified" and are promoted as a "Skype for Business" application. Jim Courtney at Skype Journal provided a thorough review and reported on their latest developments. Highly recommended reading. The thing to keep in mind about Pamela Systems is that they are great at building apps... but not just for Skype... they also have expertise on building apps for Salesforce (AppExchange), Facebook, MSN, Ebay, and others. They are a great resource to those looking to quickly expand their application to these other platforms.
Robyn Greenspan, ExecuNet's Editor-in-Chief, recently wrote about telecommuting:
If you're already checking email from a mobile device, developing presentations on the weekends, and taking international calls during the night, why not take your remote accessibility one step further and regularly work from home? With technology advancing at the same pace that gas prices are increasing and environmental concerns are mounting, a couple of days per week at the home office can save time, money and the planet.
Back in 2006, when $10 bought roughly four gallons of regular gasoline, companies were already adjusting their benefits to accommodate for rising fuel prices. According to research conducted by WorldatWork through The Dieringer Research Group, 12.4 million Americans were allowed by employers to work from home at least one day per month — up from 9.9 million in 2005 — and a 2007 study from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) revealed that more than half of surveyed employers offered some form of telecommuting option. If employees worked from home just one-and-a half days per week, research from the University of Maryland found a cost savings of $4.5 billion annually (based on gas at $3.33 per gallon).
Web 2.0 services like Skype and Ring Central for voice communications, Yugma for web conferencing, and SiteSpeed, Eyejot, and Ekko.TV for video make it easy to work virtually.
Vapps has done a nice job with its Skype compatible toll free conferencing service. Rebranding makes sense to avoid confusion. Read more at Skype Journal.
