CloudPhone Blog

As a business owner or professional, chances are you’re being pulled into 10 different directions throughout the day, meaning you’re running around and outside the office, away from your desk. So what happens when an important client unexpectedly calls your office number or a colleague sends you an urgent email?

Well we hate to break it to you; if you have a legacy phone system, you’re just plain out of luck. However, with cloud communications you don’t ever have to experience FOMO (fear of missing out) again.

With a cloud communications application like Cloud Phone, business leaders can break away from the shackles of their desks. You can easily conduct business per usual while on the go and Cloud Phone gives you a fully featured phone platform that’s 100 percent “in the cloud.” That means there is no expensive hardware to buy, nothing complex to maintain, and no reason to worry about downtime or other complications.

Cloud Phone connects your incoming business calls to you wherever you choose, on any device whether it’s a smartphone, tablet or laptop. The best part? You can also have calls routed to multiple employees simultaneously to ensure no call ever goes unanswered.

The voicemail to email notification feature delivers voicemails instantly to your email, so you never have to dial in to access your voicemail again. What’s more, its voicemail transcription feature automatically transcribes voicemails, so you can read important messages when you can’t listen

Stop living in the past with legacy communication technology and step into the “now” with cloud communications. You’ll never experience FOMO again. 

Picture this: You’re sitting in a meeting when your phone buzzes indicating that an important voicemail just arrived. Unfortunately, you can’t pick up your device and listen to it. So you’ll spend the next 40 minutes tapping your fingers until you can get the information you need.

It goes without saying that multitasking in the business world can be extremely difficult. There are often a variety of tasks that need to be accomplished and no time to get them done. But with the right technology, you can be pulled in 40 different directions at once and not have to worry about maintaining stellar communications. The key to accomplishing this is a cloud-based phone service.

Using a cloud-based phone service, incoming voicemails and faxes can be transcribed to email so you can read your message right over your mobile device or laptop. And for calls that require immediate action, you can route them to anyone on your staff, in any location you choose.

Another great feature of small business phone systems is the ability to customize outbound messages on the fly so you can stay in touch with important contacts as you move from the board room to the taxi to the airport.

The best part is that you can get access to all of these features without having to maintain any on-premises equipment. A cloud-based phone system will provide you with essential communications tools that will be updated and maintained by a third-party host.

So if you are looking for a way to focus more critical business processes and less on making sure you’re getting all of your phone messages, perhaps it’s time to give the cloud a try. You’ll be multi-tasking like a champ in just a matter of minutes.

Voicemail transcription is a modern day convenience. Not only does it allow users to easily read, manage and delete voicemail messages, it also saves time and reduces stress about missing out on important info. While the days of scrambling to jot down dates and numbers are long gone, there was a time when even traditional voicemail seemed liked a luxury. 

Here's a brief history of voicemail and the development of voicemail transcription: 

1877– The first public records describing voice recording were reported in a New York newspaper and the Scientific American in November of 1877, with the announcement of the phonograph by Thomas A. Edison, saying "the object was to record telephone messages and transmit them again by telephone." (Source: Wiki)

1877– In December of 1877, Edison applied for a patent and demonstrated the machine recording and playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb” and other popular tunes at the time. (Source: Wiki)

1914– Edison's phonograph business included a dictating machine (the Ediphone) and the Telescribe, a machine combining the phonograph and the telephone, which recorded both sides of telephone conversations. (Source: recording-history.org)

1970's– Judah Klausner pioneered several patents central to voicemail transcription while doing work on early PDA technologies for his company Klausner Technologies. (Source: digitaltrends.com)

1974– The mid 1970's saw the introduction of a simple, pager/beeper that was generally offered in conjunction with answering services that handled busy, no-answer overloads and after hours calls for businesses and professionals. Rather than recording a voice call, operators manually transcribed the caller's message, sent a page alert or "beep" and when the party called back, an operator dictated the message. (Source: Wiki)

1976– Robin Elkins, a blues-rock saxophonist, invented what became an important backbone to voicemail—a digital/analog storage technology—while trying to figure out a better way to record his music. His invention found a duel use, allowing paging and telecom companies to handle client messages electronically. Operators recorded a 5-6 second message which was delivered automatically when the client called the answering service. (Source: Gawker)

1979– The first modern day voicemail application was invented by Gordon Matthews. When he was on a business trip, he became frustrated that he was playing telephone tag while trying to contact the office. After the incident, he mentioned to his wife that he needed to invent a telephony system where people can send each other recorded messages and voicemail was born! (Source: Wiki)

1980– The term voicemail was coined and trademarked, but eventually became a generic name for all automated voice services. (Source: Wiki)

2000– Voicemail had become a ubiquitous feature on phone systems serving companies, cellular and residential subscribers. (Source: Wiki)


2007– Voicemail transcription was introduced to mobile users by Apple's iPhone. (Source: Wiki)

2007– Access to voicemail transcription from email or web browser through a third-party application was introduced by YouMail, a multi-platform visual voicemail service for mobile phones. By storing voicemail in the cloud rather than the mobile carrier's network, users were also able to access it through any web browser or by e-mail. (Source: Wiki)

2011– In January of 2011, Voxox consumer app launched voicemail transcription – the first ever to be integrated into a desktop messenger style application. (Source: voxox.com)

2014– Voxox Cloud Phone, a virtual PBX Service for one-10 person businesses, added voicemail transcription to its services on July 24, 2014 (Source: voxox.com) 

Do you use voicemail transcription? Tell us why you love voicemail transcription and how it helps you keep your messages (and life!) organized – Twitter and Facebook.

As the owner of a single-person business, catching your breath is a luxury you seldom have. Whether you are attending a trade show, making a pitch to a client, meeting with an investor or tweaking your product, downtime is a rarity.

But as a single-person business owner, you can’t afford to hire assistants, build a call center or install a complex, wire-based enterprise phone system to greet customers when they call. Or can you?

A cloud-based phone system can provide many of the features you need to enhance customer experience. Let’s say a customer who is interested in your product calls for more information while you are away on a hectic weekend business trip packed with client meetings. If the customer reaches your mobile phone, leaves a message and doesn’t receive a call back until days later it may sour that prospect 

With a virtual phone system, however, you can setup a professional greeting simply by accessing your settings online. This way, the customer knows you are away on business and understands it may take an extra day or two for you to respond.

This is just one of many examples of how a cloud-based phone service can enhance customer service for businesses of all sizes. So even if your company is just you, you can cultivate lasting customer relationships that help sustain your business as it grows.   

Ever been caught daydreaming and someone jokingly tells you to “get your head out of the clouds?” Well, when it comes to your small business phone system, the cloud isn’t a distraction—it actually provides major benefits like: 

Big Savings: With a cloud based phone system, you don’t have to worry about complicated, expensive equipment. You avoid unnecessary spending on hardware installation and maintenance, and also receive just one low monthly bill, meaning it is convenient as well as inexpensive.

Improved customer service: A small business phone system allows you to collaborate with customers and colleagues through your mobile device, significantly improving your ability to promptly answer important calls. With Reach Me Anywhere you can have calls routed to you or any of your staff anywhere, on any device, so customers get the service they need when they are in a pinch.

Professionalism:  Oftentimes small businesses struggle to project an established image, but with a small business phone system these organizations are indistinguishable from large corporations. From the business-specific phone number, to the professional auto attendant greeting, you get everything the “big boys” in your industry have. 

So if you’re in the process of re-examining your phone service, consider the fact that these small business systems were designed for companies just like you. So chances are they are going to be a better fit for your needs. So again, feel free to keep your head in the cloud—your bottom line will thank you later.

Did it finally happen for you? After months upon months of wishful thinking and fruitless efforts, have you solidified your business idea, secured VC funding and honed your value proposition? Are you ready to transform your startup idea into a fully-baked reality? Congratulations!

So now what?

The truth is that for the 543,000 new businesses that get started each month, a vast majority fail due to poor planning, a lack of forecasting and a failure to embrace innovation. But you don’t want to go down that path. After all, you have worked too hard and you have a killer idea. So what do you do after you get the big idea? To begin, you need to immediately consider the gold-standard technology that will take you from fledgling to full-forced in a matter of weeks. Let’s take a look at where you need to begin when it comes to 21st century technology:

• Assess Your Limitations: You can’t identify what services and offerings you need until you understand your limitations. For example, are you currently one-man shop, unable to support the payroll of multiple employees? Or perhaps you are operating your business out of your basement, even though you want to establish an international presence? Restrictions like these, for example, suggest the need for a robust business phone system, one that boasts a wealth of features from auto attendants that can greet your calls professionally to voicemail-to-email notifications that can allow you to handle calls on the go. Once you understand your setbacks you can identify the technology that will allow you to level the playing field.
• Evaluate Your Expertise: Are you all thumbs when it comes to technological installations, upgrades and compliance requirements? Then perhaps you need to go the cloud route and entrust these daily tasks with a third-party provider, especially when it comes to your phone. A cloud-based phone service for example, allows you to focus on critical business processes—such as growing your customer base and conceptualizing best-in-class marketing tactics—as opposed to mundane administrative tasks such as upgrades, maintenance and troubleshooting. You can leave all that to your third-party cloud provider.
• Consider Your Budget: As any budding entrepreneur can confirm, planning and sticking to a budget is of the utmost importance. While the big-ticket items like startup financing and office leases can steal your attention, don’t lose sight of the fact that other considerations—like technology—can eat up your budget. Therefore, after you get the big idea it’s important to take a look at your finances and determine where you want to place your spend when it come to technology. If you go the cloud-based phone service route, for instance, you can enjoy a reduction in CAPEX/OPEX spending—since you need less physical equipment and personnel to support your phone system. As a result, additional dollars can be allocated to other innovations such as WebRTC, UC and M2M technologies.

So now that you have technology considerations of your checklist, what’s next on your list?

In today’s mobile world, where it seems like everyone has a cell phone and can call long distance without paying extra, you may be wondering why 800 numbers still exist – after all, they are only useful for landlines and no one has those! Well, this perceived reality where landlines are totally gone, is just not the case. According to a Center of Disease Control (CDC) survey, nearly half of all Americans still have a landline, 41% of Americans maintain landlines (Source: CDC). What's more, the CDC also reports that 29% of 24-34 year-olds use a landline to keep in touch (in combination with a cell), and 15% of people living with non-family members still have landlines as well.

So, why are landlines still around?  Back-up, yes, but there are various other reasons too -- for example, some people may be in areas that don't have proper cell reception or broadband access. Another example is that of senior citizens for whom it may be simpler to use the technology with which they are familiar. Businesses, particularly those that cater to people who are reliant on landlines, may want to consider 800 numbers or other toll free numbers to ensure that customers are comfortable calling.

Not only do 800 numbers (and other toll free numbers) offer a guaranteed-to-be-free form of communication for your customers, but they provide other perks as well, such as:

• Give customers a widely available, easy to use means of contacting the company
• Remove insecurities about a business by evoking a sense of trust and the feeling of a large company regardless of business size
• Expand business reach with one toll free number that's a fraction of the cost of adding local phone numbers in many geographic regions
• Provide memorable contact number for promotional campaigns, making it easier for your customers to get in touch and respond to offers
• Seamlessly support your customers by routing your toll free number directly to your support staff
• With virtual phone systems, 800 numbers are inexpensive to maintain, easy to set up and connect directly with the phone(s) you already have

People still like to make calls to get certain issues resolved. Research from Invoca shows that voice conversations are the most influential yet overlooked interactions in a buyer’s journey -- for instance, 75 percent of consumers say a phone call is the quickest way to get a response from a company. By emphasizing the call channel, your business is likely to come out ahead. 

Exciting News! Voxox Cloud Phone recently received media coverage from major news outlets for playing a huge role by the US Navy to fight drunk driving.

Naval Officer Michael Daigle was able to set up Saferide, which allows volunteers to pick up servicemen who are too inebriated to drive. With DUI cases being a major problem for the military, Daigle’s ride service helped drastically lower drunk driving instances. The news covered some of Cloud Phone's key features such as affordable pricing and extension routing.

This is exciting coverage and we’re thrilled that Cloud Phone is being used to save lives and keep people safe on the road. Read the whole article here: "US Navy Turns to Cloud Technology to Reduce Drunken Driving" by Yuri Kageyama and and check out more details on this unique use case on the Voxox Blog

Petty Officer Michael Daigle

Voxox CEO, Bryan Hertz, with the Channel 10 ABC news crew

Being the tech savvy and business smart entrepreneur that you are, you know that a nimble, easy-to-use business phone system is a must-have to stay connected in 2017 -- so why is it that although communications technology continues to make strides every year (both in terms of convenience and cost-effectiveness), we continue to see antiquated phone systems in small businesses around the country? Let's do more this year to leave the old behind and rally around change for the better!

One key to making business communications effortless is to incorporate what you already have and use with what's new and simple. For many small ventures, "business phone system" doesn't have to revolve around special phone equipment and/or expensive contracts with local carriers.  There are services that quickly, easily, and affordably allow you to set up a business phone number and advanced business calling features. For example, with a virtual PBX service (like Cloud Phone!) you can instantly set up a business phone number that routes to your existing phone(s), among many other handy business features. This means you can easily use one device for all calls, but still keep your personal and business phone presence separate.  

So what are some of the awesome features of such a virtual business phone system? Here are 6 of our faves:

1. Extensions

Something that's a basic but important feature within a traditional business phone system is the ability to set up extensions, in case your callers need to reach a specific person or department within your small business.  The nice thing about the business phone number (called a virtual number) that you set up through a virtual PBX service is that you can also set up extensions that route calls to the cell phones of your business colleagues and/or employees, thereby bypassing the traditional type of business phone system setup entirely without losing the necessary connectedness.  It's so easy and doesn't require any special equipment -- just makes efficient use of everyone's existing phones, cutting out the expenses and keeping up with customer expectations.

1. Business SMS

Texting is the new calling – and has been for a while – so why are some businesses so anti-text? Maybe because their current business phone systems don’t support it. But there are virtual PBX services that do. For example, two-way texting is complimentary with Cloud Phone subscriptions, allowing you to quickly and easily send and receive text messages from your business number. 

1. Voicemail Transcription

Voicemail transcription puts all your voice messages into text so you can easily read them, then delete or save for later. One of our all-time favorite features, voicemail transcription is a great tool for busy people because it allows you to read a message if you’re in a meeting, check in on past messages without sorting through annoying voice files, or even forward the message to someone who can take care of the matter – all with just a click of a button.

1. Management Portal

User experience is important because it can make managing and customizing your business phone system simple and easy (as opposed to a waste of  precious time!).  With the right virtual PBX service, the management portal allows users to quickly access call logs, update settings, change billing info, upgrade plans, add numbers / extensions, contact support - and best of all, you can access it from any location or device.

1. Conference Calling

With a solid virtual PBX service, you can connect several callers at the same time on one call – which means even with dispersed team or clients across the country, you can still get work done. Conference calls save time and confusion from relayed messages, plus in 2017 we all know collaboration is the key to success. 

1. Call Recording

Have you ever been on a call only to hang up and then instantly forget an important detail? Or have a client call in with a support issue you wanted to forward to your tech crew? With call recording you can listen in on your past calls to review details like new phone numbers or confirmation numbers, monitor support issues, and to forward a recording to a colleague.  Bye-bye paper and pencil!

Among your New Year's resolutions for your small business: re-evaluate your current phone communications approach and try simplifying!  From the joy you feel when not spending a fortune on your business phone system to the points you'll score with your team and clients for staying on top of business communications, we know adopting new phone communications tools like a virtual PBX service will make 2017 better and brighter. 

When choosing a phone service for your business, there are many factors to consider. You want reliable service with sophisticated calling features your customers and team members expect, all at a great price. While some phone services might have a few of the qualities you’re looking for, most traditional business phone services / landlines don’t measure up to new technologies with respect to flexibility and cost-effectiveness.

In today’s world, where physical businesses, team members and even customers are located all over the globe, a cloud-based phone can be a life saver when it comes to keeping the lines of communications between team members open and affordable – no matter where they are.

Here are three ways a cloud-based phone service can help bring your dispersed team members together…

1. Connect with Team Members All Over the World

A cloud-based phone service can offer you an effortless way to keep team members connected whether they are in a different hemisphere or just down the road. Many cloud-based phone services work with the mobile phones your employees already have, which empowers them to keep in touch effortlessly. There’s no need for multiple mobile devices or complicated (and expensive!) traditional hardware, just one single cellphone that will connect wherever your team members roam. Also, some cloud-based phone services (like our very own Cloud Phone!) offer a way to connect employees globally via a 3 or 4 digit extension, which can make those international numbers much easier to dial.

2. Save on Those International Bills

These days, many small businesses rely on virtual employees who work across the country or even around the globe. With a cloud-based phone service you can say goodbye to the days of high international rates, spending hours (or even days!) tracking down employees, missed messages and unreturned phone calls, because a cloud-based phone service is so flexible and affordable that a modern entrepreneur just can’t go wrong here when it comes to cost savings!

3. Sophisticated Calling Features

Whether you’re a Fortune 500 company or a mom-and-pop, a professional phone service is a must. Not only does it give customers the impression that you’re a bigger business, but it also makes staying connected much easier for employees and business partners. There are many compelling calling features that a cloud-based phone service might have that will help your workforce do their jobs effectively. Here are examples from our cloud-based phone service, Cloud Phone:

• Dedicated business phone number (toll free or local) that forwards to any existing mobile phone or landline
• Simple 3-digit extensions that forward incoming calls to employees / departments anywhere in the world
• Voicemail transcription with email delivery
• Auto-attendant
• Call screening
• Web Callback
• And more!

If you’re still relying on outdated technology to keep your business communications afloat, it’s time for your company to move on to a more convenient, cost-effective and feature-rich business phone option like a cloud-based phone service. It will change the way your team members communicate, for the better!

Have questions about how to make the switch or want to share your cloud-based phone service success stories? Comment below or connect with us on social media – Facebook, Twitter, Google+.