CloudPhone Blog

We like the sound of that! We have our customer, Enevor, to thank for the 2014 Golden Bridge Awards where we took home Silver Winner for the Best Deployments and Case Studies and Solutions for USA. The coveted annual Golden Bridge Awards program recognizes and honors the world's best in organizational performance, products and services, innovations, executives and management teams, case studies and successful deployments, and more – from every major industry in the world.

Cloud Phone was also named as a finalist for the 2014 BIG Awards for Business, organized by the Business Intelligence Group. As the premier annual awards program honoring organizations, products and executives from companies worldwide leading their industry, the BIG Awards for Business are judged by recognizable leaders within industries. We’re honored to have been acknowledged here!

As you may know, Cloud Phone provides a dedicated business telephone number (toll free or local line) that can be routed to any existing mobile or landline phone.  The caller is greeted professionally with an auto-attendant that presents various options, including the ability to reach other employees and departments via a simple extension (regardless of where the employee is located worldwide).

Other advanced business features include sophisticated call routing, voicemail transcription, web callback, and more, all within a sleek, simple design. A 100% Web-based service, Cloud Phone can be leveraged by just one user as easily as it can scale into an advanced VoIP system that supports hundreds of phones and multiple office locations. 

Check out what Cloud Phone has to offer by starting your free trial here:http://www.cloudphone.com/

If preparing and delivering delicious food is how you make your living, you probably don’t spend a lot of time just sitting around during the day. Either you are in your kitchen, on the road making a delivery or setting up, and managing food servers at an event.

Photo Courtesy of Flikr User Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

Even though you love what you do, you may still be trying to solve some problems you seem to encounter frequently while running your business. For instance, you may find you miss phone calls that could potentially lead to jobs because you have your mobile phone number on your website but can’t answer while you are cooking or working at a function. Some of these potential clients may be turned off by getting your personal voicemail when they call, but you don’t have the resources to rent office space and install a traditional phone system. Or perhaps you receive a large volume of calls and messages about scheduling, inquiries that should be directed to your assistant.

If you’ve been looking for a solution to these kinds of problems, your search is over. Cloud Phone is a cloud-based phone service designed for small businesses. Cloud Phone can give you many of the same features you’d get from a traditional enterprise phone system. And the best news? It costs considerably less.

With this kind of service you get a business-specific phone number that greets callers professionally with an automated phone attendant that helps to route your callers. Because the system is Internet-based, you can change your message easily just by accessing your settings in the cloud. A small business phone system also allows you to route callers to other members of your team so calls and messages are directed to the correct employee. 

As busy are you are, you probably don’t have time to spend an entire day installing a new phone solution, which is fortunate, with Cloud Phone you can be up and running in less than a minute.

Are you hungry for a better way to communicate? Well then, let’s eat!

The one constant in a global marketplace is change. But business owners need not be afraid of it. 

Maybe no area is more subject to innovation and fluctuation than the communications space. Exponential improvements in technology and connectivity challenge even the most motivated business owners to keep pace. If you hesitate to adopt new business tools, you start to fall behind.

Say you have successful, long-standing delivery business. You are known around town and have worked hard to establish your reputation. But the advent of the internet and the onset of competition have increased your need for on-the-go capabilities and better tracking mechanisms to keep up with customer demand. Your legacy phone system simply won’t cut it. But with a cloud-based virtual phone service, you can put the answer to your problems in the palm of your hand.

Small business virtual phone technology gives you all the perks of legacy phone systems with none of the hassle. Consider some of the benefits:

• Auto Attendant: Never miss a message and have your calls and messages routed to the appropriate department automatically. This feature offers the highest levels of personalization and cuts out human error.
• Voicemail-to-Email Notification: If you’re on the road or in a meeting, you’ll never miss that important call. Monitor your voicemails anywhere at any time.
• Instant Conference Calling: Lets you connect with multiple colleagues or customers from anywhere at any time.

For all these perks, the best feature of small business virtual phones may be their price. Instead of expensive maintenance or replacement issues associated with legacy phone systems, the service is supported entirely by a third-party host and delivered wirelessly.

So even if changing your communications system seems like a frightening proposition, chances are it won’t be long before you’re smiling ear-to-ear.

In Manhattan, the business capital of the world, the price of office space can run as high as $140 per square foot. Costs are nearly that high in San Francisco and Boston as well, with Los Angeles not too far behind. Billion-dollar corporations can shell out that kind of money without a second thought, but small businesses are far more limited in what they can spend. That's why many small businesses are looking to forego renting expensive commercial real estate but not at the cost of sacrificing their professional image. After all, in business, inspiring customer trust is as important as any product or service a company has to offer.

Photo Courtesy of Flikr User Sebastiaan ter Burg 

Traditionally, business was done in office buildings, but with the advent of new technological capabilities—particularly for communications—that trend is slowly shifting. Specifically, the proliferation of small business virtual phone systems is making it easier than ever to run a business from anywhere.

Avirtual phone systemmaintained through the Web provides all the functionality of a traditional wire-based enterprise phone system without the complex hardware. As a result, companies no longer have to shell out cash just for a space to put desktop phones. Additionally, companies can now rent office space on a per diem basis for meetings, further reducing the need for full-time office rental.

With top-shelf small business virtual phone systems, companies get the modern business phone features they need to stay competitive, including: 

• A toll free business-specific phone number to put on business cards and distribute to customers and contacts
• Reach Me Anywhere technology that connects incoming business calls to any location on any device
• An auto attendant that greets callers professionally and presents them with menu options
• Voicemail transcription that turns voice messages into text that can be read when listening is not an option
• Business-class voicemail that makes retrieving old messages simple and easy
• Settings that are easily adjustable through an Internet interface
• One low monthly bill that never includes maintenance or upkeep costs

Another major benefit of small business virtual phone systems is the inherent reliability that comes with the cloud. Because the service is maintained through the Internet by a third-party vendor and not through on-premises equipment, it is far less vulnerable to hardware failure or natural disaster. Considering research shows that the median cost of downtime for a small business impacted by an extreme weather event is $3,000 per day, reliability is not a feature to be overlooked.

Business is an ever-evolving landscape where trends and strategies can shift quickly. Successful small business owners understand that to thrive while competing against larger organizations, they need to stay abreast of any technology that might provide an advantage. As business owners increasingly adopt virtual phone systems, it becomes increasingly clear that as far as cloud communications and small business are concerned, the future is now.

The only question left to ask then is, are you living in the past?

INTRODUCTION:

The list post is one of the most popular and readable blog formats on the web. It is composed of -- you guessed it -- a list, and includes short explanatory paragraphs about each item.

Use your introduction as a way to tell the reader how this collection of ideas will help them. Keep it light by including a personal story. If you have any data that you can include relating to your list, include that in your introduction, too.

Here are some examples of how we use list blog posts here at HubSpot:

• The 7 Worst Types of Headlines (And How to Fix Them)
• 5 Major Challenges Marketers Face (And How to Solve Them)
• The Top 10 Qualities of High-Quality List Posts

BODY:

Now deliver what you promised in the first section. This is the longest part of the post, so make it easy to read. Use short paragraphs, bullet lists, and bold headings to set different sections apart.

Some common section headers include:

1. Reason #1 why writing a list-based post is helpful

2. Reason #2 why writing a list-based post is super helpful to your marketing

3. Reason #3 why everyone should be writing list-based posts

You can use bulleted lists, numbered list, or multiple headings. Include as many steps, numbers, or bullets that will allow you to discuss your topic thoroughly.

Here are some pointers to make the best possible body of your blog:

• Include visuals
• Include short explanatory phrases in your headers
• At the end, transition into your conclusion

CONCLUSION:

Now it’s time to say goodbye and wrap up your post. Remind your readers of your key takeaway, reiterate what your readers need to do to get the desired result, and ask a question about how they see the topic to encourage comments and conversation. Don't forget to include a Call-to-Action!

Congratulations! What a lovely list post you've created!

Last night we reduced the cost of additional phone numbers from $5/month to $1/month. To celebrate I thought I would share some of the reasons for this change and provide some examples of how you can use multiple numbers to help grow your business.

Also, it's notable that if you already have additional numbers on your Cloud Phone account; the cost has also been reduced from $5 to $1 per month going forward.

At Cloud Phone, we aren't just trying to provide another virtual phone service. We are trying to provide an incredibly valuable service that also disrupts the marketplace and challenges our competitors. When I explain the service, a common response is often, "Oh, it's like Google Voice". While there are similarities to Google Voice, I could write an entire post on why Cloud Phone is far different and more valuable and why Google Voice would never be a good business solution.One of the most important ways that Cloud Phone is a better solution is that you can have more than one phone number with Cloud Phone.

Until now, we charged $5/month/number on your account. You get one included number at signup, but have to pay for additional numbers. The awesome news is that now numbers are only $1/month/number!

So the big issue for a lot of customers is why they would need another number to begin with. Here are the main reasons why additional numbers can help you grow your business:

1. Appear More Established & Professional
   Toll-free numbers are immediately associated with business, even more so - established business. Having both a toll-free and local phone number provides an immediate sense of professionalism that leads to credibility with customers.
   
   
2. Secure a Local Presence & Reach New Markets
   For some businesses, having a phone number that begins with a recognizable area code is key to capturing the market. Additionally, adding numbers in neighboring area codes or other markets can be a great way to reach new markets and grow your existing business. In just a few minutes, you can add office locations in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Dallas!
   
   
3. Measure ROI for Marketing Campaigns
   One way marketers track the ROI of campaigns is to use a dedicated local or toll-free phone number for various campaigns. With Cloud Phone, it's easy to measure incoming calls to a phone number and judge the ROI for that campaign. Real Estate? Assign a number to each property you are working.
   
   
4. Improve Responsiveness with Direct Lines
   While having a main company greeting and menu with options is great for general calls, it's not the best experience for established customers or closing new clients. Setting up a main number and direct numbers for each employee is a great way to improve customer satisfaction related to reaching staff directly.
   
   
5. Run Multiple Businesses!
   Today's entrepreneur is often working more than one opportunity. Maybe you aren't just a wedding planner, but also an event planner, florist, photographer, online seller, etc... Often, a single person is running many businesses. Having a dedicated number for each within a single account makes it easy to manage them all (and know which way is up) all from a single account on a single cell phone.

In conclusion, this just touches the surface of how to leverage multiple numbers for your business - but we are thrilled to have made it one step easier (and more affordable) tonight!

To add a number to your Cloud Phone account, here are the steps;

• Login to Cloud Phone from the web portal
• Navigate to the "Account" section
• Choose "Numbers" from the menu on the right side
• Click the "Buy a Number" button

Once you add a number to your account you'll be billed on your next statement. The charge will reflect $1 for the current month, and $1 for the upcoming month. After that, you'll be billed $1 each month per additional number.

As a small business owner keeping a close eye on your company’s fiscal health is a fact of life. With a limited budget, your ability to turn a profit rests heavily upon how well you allocate your resources.

With the advent of cloud communications, small business owners are increasingly turning away from legacy PBX systems to realize major savings. A cloud-based phone system provides big business features like an auto attendant, voicemail transcription, virtual extensions and voicemail-to-email notification through a web-based service—all without breaking the bank.

Here are a few of the primary ways you can save your company some hard-earned cash:

No Installation Fees

Deploying a traditional wire-based system typically requires an on-site visit from a technician. By the time equipment and labor costs are totaled, phone service installations tend to get costly. With cloud communications, however, there is no hardware involved. Without hardware there is no technician visit and without the visit, there is no hefty bill.

Third-party maintenance

In much the same way that cloud communications help you avoid installation fees, the lack of on-premises equipment also wipes out upkeep costs. The vendor takes care of maintaining the system so you can worry about growing your critical business processes.

One small monthly bill

Legacy phone systems can be rife with hidden charges and add-ons. But with a best-in-class cloud communications application you get one bill each month for your service with no surprises or tricks. In other words, you can stop opening your phone bill with fear in your heart. 

Running a small business is never easy, but throwing away money on expensive legacy phone systems makes it harder than it has to be. So take a closer look at cloud communications begin your journey towards major savings right away!

Big news for Cloud Phone!  Our web app has just been dubbed the winner in the Best Mobile Utility category of the 2014 Silicon Valley Business App Awards, organized by market research firm Regalix. Approximately 200 nominees -- including well-known brands such as Citrix, AT&T, Accenture, HTC, Cisco, Sugar CRM, ADIDAS, and others -- were considered for several categories, and 8 emerged in the winning slots, including yours truly!  (Did we mention that we beat out some of our large, established competitors, including Ringcentral and Grasshopper? ;)

Here's the official press release....

Voxox’s Cloud Phone Named Winner in Best Mobile Utility Category of 2014 Silicon Valley Business App Awards

Cloud Phone is one of eight competition winners among roughly 200 nominees, which include well-known brands such as Citrix, Accenture, AT&T, HTC, Cisco, ADIDAS and more

SAN DIEGO – October 15, 2014 – Voxox®, the most comprehensive cloud-based rich communication service for consumers and businesses, today announced that its virtual PBX service, Cloud Phone, has been named the winner in the Best Mobile Utility category of the 2014 Silicon Valley Business App Awards (SVBA) - sponsored by Regalix, Inc. Hailed as the most prestigious app and device awards program in Silicon Valley, the SVBA recognizes and rewards the best achievements in mobile, social, and wearable technology. The SVBA Awards attract entries from across the world and are judged by a panel of independent, highly respected experts. This year’s competition had approximately 200 nominees, including well-known brands such as Citrix, AT&T, Accenture, HTC, Cisco, Sugar CRM, ADIDAS, and others. Cloud Phone, an HTML5-based web app that launched earlier this year, garnered top honors over large, established competitors, including Ringcentral and Grasshopper.

"Voxox’s Cloud Phone has set the standard for innovation and creativity in the mobile utility app world," said Vikas Sharan, CEO, SVBA Awards. "This award is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators."

Cloud Phone empowers small business owners with a dedicated toll free or local business telephone number that can be forwarded to a user’s existing phone. Cloud Phone supports multiple employee extensions worldwide, and offers convenient telephony features, such as sophisticated call routing, transcribed voicemail-email delivery, web callback and more. The all web-based service is managed through a sleek user interface and can be set up in under a minute. Since its introduction to the market in February 2014, Cloud Phone has won multiple awards for its simple yet effective phone solution for one-to-10 person businesses. A 30-day free trial is available to all new subscribers.

"We are thrilled to see Cloud Phone take home the win in the prestigious Silicon Valley Business App Awards, having competed alongside such renown brands as Cisco, HTC, ADIDAS and other household names,” said Bryan Hertz, co-founder and CEO of Voxox. “We launched Cloud Phone earlier this year to address the gap in the micro-business market for a powerful yet easy-to-use business phone solution that centers on the smartphone. This award is a milestone to our commitment to Cloud Phone’s continuous evolution.”

The SVBA panel of judges, comprised of industry experts who have made significant contributions to the advancement of technology, selected the winners from submissions received from around the globe. For more information about the SVBA competition, please visit http://www.svbaawards.com/. To learn more about Cloud Phone, please visit www.cloudphone.com. 

About Voxox

Voxox is an innovator in unified cloud communication solutions for consumers and businesses. For consumers and its operator partners, Voxox delivers cutting-edge mobile and desktop applications that integrate voice, video, messaging, fax, media sharing and more. For businesses, Voxox provides an extensive suite of carrier-grade business phone solutions, including hosted IP-PBX, SIP Trunking, a wide array of wholesale services, such as high volume SMS, and the company's new virtual PBX service, Cloud Phone. The foundation of the company’s offerings is its award-winning unified communications platform in the cloud, which enables the company and its customers to build powerful, scalable applications and services. Founded in 2006, Voxox is headquartered in San Diego. For more information, please visit www.voxox.com.

Every June, sons and daughters present their fathers with cards, ties, sweaters and various other presents to show their appreciation for their dads. But whether you are a father or not, if you own a small business, this Father’s Day is as good a time as any to give yourself the gift of cloud communications.

Cloud communications can help your company cut expenses and boost productivity by offering big business functionality at a reasonable price. A cloud-based phone service, for example, is maintained by a third-party over the web, meaning you can invest in this gift without paying for a complicated installation or any hardware upkeep. Additionally, the phone system’s settings are also accessible through the web which allows you to make changes on the fly.

The vast array of features you can leverage with a cloud-based system lets you project a big business image even if you are a sole proprietor. For instance, top-shelf products offer:

• A toll free business-specific phone number to give to customers and contacts
• Reach Me Anywhere technology that connects your incoming business calls anywhere you choose on any device
• An auto attendant that greets callers professionally and presents them with menu options
• Voicemail transcription that lets you read your voicemails when you can’t listen
• Business-class voicemail to email that ensures you never lose an important old messag 
• Instant conference calling that facilitates collaboration among your employees

So even if your schedule is full this Father’s Day, find some time—maybe between breakfast in bed and dinner on the town—to investigate cloud communications. Because although Father’s Day comes only once per year, your company needs best-in-class business tools the other 364 as well.    

If you are an entrepreneur who’s been itching to launch a new business, we have some news you’ll be happy to hear. Wells Fargo bank recently announced its intention to lend at least $100 billion in small business loans over the next five years.

Image Courtesy of Flickr User Steve Wilson

So now it’s time to ask yourself three simple questions:

1. Do you have a winning product or service idea?
   
   
2. Do you have a business plan?
   
   
3. Are you fully committed to launching a startup?

If you answered “yes,” to any of the three, it’s time to start researching how you can get your hands on some of the Wells Fargo funding and the tools you’ll need to get started.

The first thing every entrepreneur needs is a phone number where potential investors, business partners, clients and of course Wells Fargo can reach you to let you know you’re approved for a loan. But you don’t have the time or resources for an office or a traditional business phone system—so what can you do? Grab a small business phone number of course!  

With a feature-rich small business phone number through Cloud Phone you can get a company specific number that rings to an automated attendant, giving your callers the option to choose various departments or extensions even if every option rings straight to your mobile phone. Cloud Phone enables you to look and sound like a big business. Say goodbye to a physical office or a legacy phone system. There's no need to give out your personal contact information either. Simply leverage business-class phone features on a small business budget:

• Voicemail-to-email notification so important messages are returned quickly
• Auto attendants to greet callers professionally
• Virtual extensions that create a big business presence

In business, timing is everything and with Wells Fargo’s commitment to small business lending, your moment for startup success may be at hand. So strike while the iron is hot!