This article is the second of a three-part series on Hosted VoIP, by Insider Greg Davis.

When comparing Hosted VoIP services, you need to look beyond price and really understand how the service features can increase your employees' productivity.  Most VoIP services now include desktop and smartphone apps that enable users to make and receive calls using either their broadband, WiFi or cell phone service. 

However, some of these apps also enable users to see if their co-workers are on a call or away from their desk, send them private Instant Messages, and engage in audio, web and/or video conference calls. These Unified Communications-as-a-Service(UCaaS) features can greatly enhance employees' productivity by enabling them to communicate effectively, juggle more activities, and be more accessible while traveling. For those companies that already have audio/web conferencing services, UCaaS can offset the cost of these point-solutions and extend them to all employees. 

Advocate can help quantify these productivity gains to perform a complete TCO analysis, determine which service is best suited to your specific business needs, and help you implement it.   

Recent studies show that over 40% of American households are now wireless-only when it comes to phone service, and the percentage is steadily increasing.  Heavily correlated to age-demographics, the residential use of landline phone service decreases as you move from the Silent Generation (most of whom still have landlines and no cell phones) to the Baby Boomers to Generation X to the Millenials (most of whom roll their eyes and shake their head when they see a landline phone).

Like residential consumers, American businesses are also reducing line counts, partially due to increased use of mobile devices, but more in response to a migration to Voice over IP (VoIP) services.  While there are lots of benefits of VoIP (cost, control, and consolidation), the elimination of traditional landline phone service (POTS lines) has been much slower with business, and very few enterprises have removed POTS lines entirely.  Even businesses who have embraced VoIP cling steadfastly to one or more POTS lines per location, with the primary reasons for holding out being:

• Availability of Emergency 9-1-1 service,
• Fax lines, and
• Alarm lines

Advocate is pleased to announce that Steve Williams has joined us as Executive Vice President of Business Development.  Steve co-founded and served as President of MacBeth Williams TeleConsulting, a 22 year old boutique consultancy focused on providing enterprises telecommunications consulting services. 

Upon joining Advocate, Steve commented "I had partnered with Tim Wise, Scott Fogle and the Advocate team on multiple projects over the last five years and was always impressed with the expertise of the staff and their professional approach with clients. During my discussions with Tim and Scott about joining Advocate, it was clear that we share a common philosophy and passion for earning client trust by building long term relationships and helping clients solve complex IT/Telecom problems.  I am convinced that Advocate is well positioned to become the premier IT/Telecom and managed service consulting firm in the U.S.  I am very appreciative to Tim and Scott for offering this opportunity and look forward to helping Advocate become the "go to" firm in this space." 

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