TheTelecomBlog.com is looking for feedback

I started this blog about 3 months ago, initially with the intention of keeping Digitcom’s customers up to date with product notices, updates, features, and releases. I wrote a few posts on the Avaya IP Office and Cisco’s UCME (Unified Communications Manager Express) products, and quickly graduated to more Telecom related news, initially centered around Nortel, and then gradually Telecom and VoIP in general. Although I still cover, and have an active interest in the Nortel saga, my general interest in that particular subject matter has waned a bit as the company winds down operations.

I have a passion for Telecom 2.0, and have written extensively about the next generation of where the market is headed. I enjoy reading and writing about the Canadian cellular market, and generally give Bell, Telus, and Rogers a hard time. I’m a champion of the underdog, and want to see the new carriers take a bite out of the incumbents market share (I am writing this post while waiting on hold for a Rogers technical support rep – our home internet connection is down and I have been on hold for almost 20 minutes).

I have never lacked content – the Telecom market is filled with amazing news. Google Android, RIM, Apple’s iPhone, Cisco, NEC, Mitel, ShoreTel, Avaya, and yes, of course, Nortel ! Many people ask how I find the time to write Telecom blog posts on a daily basis. It’s a hobby, not a job. Jason Finnerty also writes two blog posts per week. I should add that if I were keeping this blog as a profit venture I would be out of a job, and certainly wouldn’t feed the family. The only means of profit comes from those small little Google ads that you see at the right hand corner of the screen, and the last I checked I think there’s enough in the account to purchase a birthday cake for my daughter’s upcoming birthday party (she wants a white, rectangular, with purple swirls around the side b-day cake).

I have met and had conversations with some very dynamic and interesting people as a result of them finding me through this blog. I have been apprised on numerous occasions of some very confidential non disclosure “say nothing to nobody” kind of news, and have heard from some “industry insiders” with regards to stuff I definitely shouldn’t be told. That has certainly been a positive unexpected end result. I have bumped into, and have been approached by quite a few people that have introduced themselves and expressed how much they like reading these posts. That’s certainly encouraging as I sometimes wonder whether I’m writing into a vacuum !

Why am I writing this ?

Well, I know I’m not writing into a vacuum based on the positive trajectory of the Google Analytics for this blog – the stats are growing. BUT, I’m looking for some feedback. Probably not posted as comments (although you can if you wish), but, instead feedback through a personal email (which you can send to jw@digitcom.ca). I’m now in the process of doing a minor re-design of the web site itself, and am working on the scope of content moving forward.

Am I headed in the right direction ?

What would you like to read more of ?

What would you like me to cover – more news ? more technical, cellular ?? I’m looking for some feedback people – so, please drop me a personal email with your thoughts.

More: As an aside, I am still on hold waiting for a Rogers technical support rep. Their service stinks – it’s been 40 minutes and holding.

Looking forward to your feedback.

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

The sad life of an old Nortel phone system

They are brought into our office and thrown onto the floor like garbage. Our technicians certainly don’t have the time to sort through, label, and re-package the old Nortel phones, so, they pile them up, stuff all of them into big boxes, and bring them back to the office. Many times they leave the common equipment (phone system cabinet, and voice mail system) at the customer’s office for them to dispose. Unfortunately, the old Nortel Meridian phone isn’t given the respect it deserves.

What respect is it due ?

20 years of solid, hard work, thousands of hours of phone calls, a slightly cracked display, a reliable voice mail light that still works, and – it now finds itself stacked like garbage waiting to find a new home (don’t worry, we don’t throw them in the garbage). More on that in a moment.

But, I am having fun reminiscing in the mean time.

I started in the Telecom business in 1990. 19 years ago. Way before I got married, and way way before I had my first kid (Jordan, who is now 11, Jessica who is now 9). At the time the Norstar was THE phone system in the market. Nortel had the number one market share in the phone system business with their Meridian Norstar and Option 11 (and previously SL-1) phone system. They maintained that number ONE market position for many years.

And quite the fall from glory.

One of the folks in my office pointed out the irony of the picture. The old garbage Nortel phone is sitting in an Avaya box (take a close look at the picture) – looks like the Nortel phone has been taken over by the box.

And where do we send those old Nortel phones ?

Avaya gives us some amazing credits for the old Nortel hardware. We pack it up, call Fedex, and say good-bye to our old faithful friend who finds it’s way to an e-waste processing plant.

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

Avaya is giving away FREE Avaya IP Office phone systems

Well sort of ! Don’t get too excited just yet. But, read on …

This fall, Avaya will be visiting 20 small businesses—organizations with 10 to 50 employees—and giving them FREE communications makeovers. They will help design and install solutions specially tailored to each company’s specific needs. Actually, the installation, if the winner happens to be in a city serviced by Digitcom.ca, might be done by one of our own technicians.

How it works:
It’s simple: You will need to explain the “disconnects” (no pun intended of course) that are hurting your business, and if you win, Avaya will help you fix them (by donating a FREE Avaya IP Office phone system).

The disconnect could be technical—like an outdated phone system, or a patched-together “system” that’s unreliable. Or it could be a human problem—like frustrated customers or a key employee who no one can get a hold of. Or it could be a combination of both.

Whatever the problem is, you will need to explain this in a short video or written essay. You can be funny. You can be serious. You can be desperate. But however you do it, be sure to submit it by October 15, 2009.

Interested in finding out more – check this out …

Interested in speaking with Digitcom.ca about a new phone system (that’s not FREE) – then visit our web site or give us a call – 866-667-8357

P.S. I have been in the Telecom business for 20 years. I’ve seen some real horror stories out there, so if you are looking for some good ideas then give me a shout !!

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

Shhh … Watch what you say. Your call might be recorded by Avaya IP Office Contact Store e7dz5sa2v6

Call Recording: If your business is in the customer service, order taking, delivery of product, financial services, or a myriad of other industries, the ability to record phone calls and play them back may come in handy some day.

Most phone systems support this basic functionality. There are two different types of silent call recordings:

Ad Hoc
A system that supports ad hoc silent call recording will allow users to press a button on their handset and record the call in progress. It should record for the entire duration of the call. Depending on the jurisdiction you are in, on occasion, you must announce that the call will be recorded. Therefore, when you press the RECORD button, the system will provide a beep, or tone, to inform the caller that the call is being recorded. However, almost all phone systems will allow the system administrator to remove the recording tones from the system, so if you wish to record the call, it will just silently record without playing any tones.

Once the call has been recorded, it will usually dump the recording into the user’s voicemail box. Again, most systems will send the recorded call not only to the user’s voicemail box, but will also send the recorded call out to the user’s e-mail address as an attached *.wav file. I use this feature on the Avaya IP Office from time to time.

Full Recording
Full recording will allow for all the company’s incoming and outgoing calls to get silently recorded. This can usually be activated on a set-by-set basis – in or out, by extension, or by ACD queue. Again, the Avaya IP Office system will send these recorded calls out to the user’s voicemail box, out to an e-mail address as a *.wav file, or to a program that will store all recorded calls for easy access later. For example, you wish to hear all recorded calls for X 221 for May 1 from 10 AM to 2 PM. The program will present all recorded calls recorded during those times.

Contact Store is an Avaya IP Office product that will archive, and catalog recordings and allow you to retrieve the calls in an easy to sort fashion for later retrieval. You can sort by phone number, extension dialed, date, time … So, imagine a scenario where something happens within your customer service department for example, let’s say an extra “0” is added to an order – well sometimes it helps to know just where that mistake was made.

Jeff