CloudPhone Blog

Big news! We just announced a new award win for Cloud Phone - this one's a big deal as it's associated with Tab Times, a well-respected media outlet, and some big name judges participated in scoring the entries. Also, some big names among our fellow winners. 

Check out the official press release below...

Voxox Cloud Phone Named Winner in Best Android IT or Business Tool Category of 2014 Tabby Awards /Business Competition
Cloud Phone is one of 26 business tools selected among well-known companies including Adobe, Autodesk and PepsiCo
SAN DIEGO – November 3, 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 Android – IT or Business Tool category of the 2014 Tabby Awards /Business competition, the only awards program to recognize the best tablet apps worldwide on the Android, iOS and Windows OS platforms. As an HTML5-based web application, Cloud Phone was also eligible to enter due to its robust usability on tablets. Other winners include notable brands such as Adobe, Autodesk and PepsiCo. 
”We are honored to see Cloud Phone take home a Tabby Award in this prestigious annual competition highlighting business and productivity applications,” said Bryan Hertz, co-founder and CEO of Voxox. “The Cloud Phone web app was designed to help small businesses with growing communications needs. This award is a great honor and testament to Cloud Phone’s usability and rich functionality.” 
Comprised of 20 international professionals, The Tabby Awards /Business panel of judges have expertise in app development, design and/or publishing, with the additional contribution of analysts, journalists, expert users, tablet industry professionals and business people.
“The winners demonstrate the focus that has been placed on developing functional, feature rich business and enterprise apps with user centric design,” said Jeff Klaumann, former Head of Samsung Apps US, Samsung Electronics. 
“I was inspired by the innovative apps submitted, especially the winners,” added Alex Bratton, author of Billion Dollar Apps and CEO & Chief Geek of Lextech Global Services. “They are indicative of the type of game-changing apps that will take over the enterprise by solving real business problems in a way that engages the user. Reviewing them was a great reminder of why we, mobile entrepreneurs, do what we do — to deliver solutions that have the potential to change lives.”
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.
The list of winners is published on the Tabby Awards /Business website at http://tabbyawards.com/business/2014-winners, where most apps can be downloaded.

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.

We’ve written in the past about how virtual numbers can help you avoid a dangerous winter commute, but there are many other ways to leverage the benefits of a cloud based phone system in order to "weather the storm". Lately, we've been witnessing the power of Mother Nature at work, from the wet El Nino rain in the western states to the heavy snowfall in the east which has left many workers stranded. This has no doubt affected SMBs, forcing some businesses to close the doors early. In many cases though a cloud based phone system could have prevented any lost revenue by allowing them to keep the “doors” open virtually. Here’s how a cloud based phone system can help winter proof your business:

1. Call routing with a professional auto attendant. The Auto Attendant is the hub of automation for your cloud based phone system. It answers, routes, and manages your calls for you so your company always sounds professional. Easily add more numbers or extensions and control when and how your calls are routed and answered. This is particularly useful when your workforce is dispersed or when changes to the system need to be made remotely.
2. Call forwarding with features. You can connect your incoming business calls to you or your staff wherever you choose, on any device. You can also have calls routed to multiple employees simultaneously. No more worrying who made it into the office, you can make sure no call gets missed. Although even if it does, the cloud based phone system also comes with Professional Greetings to give an optimal experience for callers.
3. Outbound calling to make office calls from home. With some cloud based phone systems, you can place outbound calls directly from within the management console. For example, with Cloud Phone, you can simply enter the number you want to call and the number where you want to connect from. The system will dial the number, and once connected, it will also dial you. Why is this important? Well if you are snowed in at home you can still make calls to customers as if you are sitting at your desk miles away. (Hmmm, come to think of it maybe we shouldn’t wait for a snow storm to use this feature. Making office calls from the beach sounds even better!)
4. Virtual numbers can offer temporary or permanent coverage. As we covered in our recent post, virtual numbers are phone numbers that are routed to an existing calling device, such as your office phone and/or mobile phone. If a call is missed, callers will be forwarded to voicemail, which can be personalized with a professional business greeting. These can be particularly helpful for seasonal promotions, special events or perhaps an after-hours support number that you publish to your customers.
5. Disaster recovery: if a storm takes down your office, you won’t lose everything. Another perk of the cloud based phone system is when an outage occurs or natural disaster strikes, calls can be automatically rerouted to another office. Creating even more peace of mind and preventing financial loss, since the managed solution involves storage of activity, all of the call data can be backed up.

Taking advantage of a cloud based phone system can offer big upside for small businesses, especially during these winter months. These are just a few of the ways offerings such as Cloud Phone can help keep business communications flowing. We’d love to hear how a cloud based phone system has helped your business this winter. Share your stories in the comments here or on our social media pages - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

The entrepreneurial spirit is catching fire amongst U.S. business owners. According to the most recent Census, in 2012 the number of businesses without paid employees reached 22.7 million—an increase of 1.1 percent. 

All signs indicate this number will keep on growing over the next few years due to the high cost of worker benefits and the unstable economy. Many companies simply do not have the resources to provide for staff.  

One market that will certainly benefit from the growth of domestic non-employers is small business phone systems. That’s because the demand for strong customer service exists regardless of the number of employees within an organization. Calls need to be handled professionally and efficiently to convince customers that a business is at the top of its industry. And of course, missed calls mean missed business opportunities.

A cloud-based small business phone system provides all the features a small business needs to establish credibility and operate like a much larger one. This includes an auto attendant that greets callers with a list of options. The auto attendant can then route customers to virtual extensions.

Additionally, messages can be forwarded as a voicemail to email. These features are easy to access and update right over a Web browser. A business owner simply has to log in and they can have complete control over the system.

If you are one of the newly minted non-employer businesses out there or are looking to become one in the near future, check out options for small business phone systems that project a big business image and increase productivity at the same time. After all, just because you are in business for yourself doesn’t mean you can’t get a little technological help from time to time.

For a small business on the go, the mobility that a cloud-based phone system affords can be a life-saver. Say you own a mobile car wash and detailing business. You have two employees who travel around the county washing and detailing cars by appointment. You don't have a physical office since your team is always at different locations. Instead you use a cloud-based phone service that works with your smartphone to keep you connected with calls to your virtual office and your employees through a single business line withextensions.

Someone on the team may prefer to receive voicemail notifications by SMS because they don't check email often enough, while others may prefer email communications, so as not to have any disruptions during an ongoing job. Also, some employees may find listening to full voicemails to be inefficient, and may instead opt for enabling voicemail transcriptions, such that the fully transcribed voicemails are emailed or texted to their mobile phones in order to quickly assess the urgency of the phone message.

As a cloud-based phone service, Cloud Phone provides the ability for you and your team to customize phone settings and access your voicemail remotely in whichever way is most convenient. Once the user is added, his or her settings can be personalized or updated at any time. Here's how it works…

Step 1: Sign into Cloud Phone and choose People from the menu in the upper right hand corner.

Step 2: Once you’ve chosen a user, tap Update Personal Info.

Step 3: Choose how calls are routed. Add new lines or change the configuration of existing lines.

Step 4: Update your voicemail settings, including notifications and transcription, by choosing Yes or No when prompted.

In today’s business world, where an office is anywhere you can get phone service or an internet connection, having a reliable and feature-rich cloud-based phone service like Cloud Phone is key to establishing a professional presence – no matter where life takes you or how you prefer to  stay in touch.

Plus, Cloud Phone comes with a 30 day free trial, is fully managed via web, with no upfront costs and no equipment to buy, so sign up today and see how it can change your business communications for good.

According to a study by Siemens Enterprise Communications, a business could lose more than $5,000 per worker, per year due to decreased productivity related to time spent attempting to, but not reaching colleagues to collaborate. The numbers climb even higher when accounting for other communication barriers. These financial burdens can be alleviated by using an intuitive, easy-to-use cloud-based phone service like Cloud Phone by Voxox.

Photo Courtesy of flickr User Jyri Engestrom
Before we go into how a cloud-based phone service can improve your communications and increase your business’ bottom-line, let’s see exactly why businesses have been struggling to communicate (according to the study above) :

• Nearly 60% of SMBs do not have a unified communications solution.
• Employees use communications technology in six different areas: PBX, instant messaging, conference calling, videoconferencing, contact center and faxing.
• Increasing mobility of the workforce is putting a strain on traditional business communications; nearly half of today's global employees are considered mobile workers, including 35% in the U.S.

With communications flying in all different directions, it’s no wonder businesses and their employees are struggling to stay in touch! But there's more. In addition to the above mentioned communication qualms, these five communications pain points are hitting SMBs the hardest:

1. Waiting for information (the time it takes to reach someone to pass along information or get an answer)
2. Unwanted communications
3. Inefficient coordination
4. Barriers to collaboration
5. Barriers to customer grievances

If your business is experiencing any of these pain points, you know just how adversely communication blunders can affect your productivity and how hard effective communication can be when you don’t have the right systems in place. To get your business on the right track, here are a few ways Cloud Phone services can provide an effective and efficient communication system within your organization so your business can stop wasting money on communication mishaps!
Connect From Any Device
Say adios to waiting around for information, because Cloud Phone can enable employees to connect seamlessly on almost any device (even the smartphone they already have!) and collaborate effectively no matter where they are. Ideal for businesses with team members around the globe or just down the street, companies with mobile services, on-call employees and freelancers can reap the benefits as well!  
Break Communication Barriers
Some cloud-based phone services offer a single number for all your business voice, fax, and text messages, which makes receiving and responding to messages is easier and more efficient than ever. Major communication errors like unwanted communications, inefficient coordination and barriers to collaboration and customer grievances caused by disconnected networks (text, call, IM, etc.) are no longer a problem once your team is connected with a unified cloud-based phone service.
Professional Calling Features
Enjoy professional calling features such as conference calls, Virtual Assistant, multiple extensions, call-forwarding, voicemail and voicemail transcription, custom on-hold music, video calls, language translation online meetings and a few more that will make you stand out among the competition.
Easy Set-Up and Management
Unlike traditional business phone systems, some cloud-based phones can be set up in as little as 30 seconds. Plus, there's no complicated, expensive hardware to buy. All you need to get started is download a cloud-based phone service, like Cloud Phone, to your phone and the rest is a breeze! Plus, with the ability to monitor and manage your call settings right from your smartphone, you’re always in control of your business’ communications.
Look for No Set-Up Cost and Low Monthly Fee
Not only will you be recouping lost revenue thanks to your improved communications, Cloud Phone service comes with no hefty set-up fee and will also save you big bucks on your monthly phone bill.   
These are just a few ways switching to cloud service can alleviate communication pain points and dramatically transform communication at your business. If you are interested in learning more ways to improve your company communication, check out our other cloud-based phone resources and be sure to send any questions our way!
Connect with us on social media -- Facebook, Twitter, Google+ -- or post in the comments below.  

As traditional gender roles continue to dissolve, mothers and fathers find themselves sharing both earning and childcare responsibilities. Looking to dispel old stereotypes of fathers solely as breadwinners, in early June, the White House held a conference to examine the changing role of working fathers in America today.

One of the goals of the conference was to promote “extensive workplace flexibility options” that make it easier for fathers to work and help take care of young children. But while large enterprises can address this issue with organizational policies like paid parental leave, small business owners may find it a little tricky. When you own a small company or work as a sole proprietor, there might not be anyone to pick up the slack if you take off even a few days.

 A cloud communications solution, however, can help make parenthood a little easier for both mothers and fathers by helping them do business more effectively from a home office. On top of being affordable and easy to set up, a cloud-based phone system maintained over the Web provides all the business features you’d get with a traditional wire-based office system, including:

• Reach Me Anywhere functionality that routes incoming calls to any device you choose, even if they arrive while you are cooking dinner.
• Voicemail transcription that lets you read voicemail messages when you can’t listen because your baby is crying.
• Web-based settings that is easy-to-adjust and accessible from anywhere you have an Internet connection, including your kid’s after-school karate class.

So if you’re a small business owner looking for a better work-life balance and a little more time with your kids, cloud communications solutions can get the job done—just like you do at work and at home every day.

Having only one cell phone is great. You only have one bill and you don’t look like MacGyver trying to tackle the world of mobile technology. But as a small business owner, using the same phone for personal and business calls can get a little hazy –especially when you’re receiving both types of calls to the same number.

Imagine a new client calls your cell and gets sent to a personal voicemail that mentions nothing about your business. Chances are, they’ll start to doubt your professionalism and reliability.

However, there are services (such as Cloud Phone!) that enable you to establish a dedicated business phone line that routes to your cellphone. This has great advantages for customizing your "voice presence" for your business. Here are some key customization benefits to consider as part of having a dedicated business phone line:

 1. Corporate phone number: the first impression

The first thing your customers see when they want to make contact with you through the voice channel is your business phone number. When getting a dedicated business line, you can opt to have a toll free number or a local number or even multiple numbers for different customer segments. Each type of number has different uses, for example: toll free numbers could be great if you have a national customer-base or an e-commerce website, local numbers can help small shops or those new to the area establish a local presence.  

2. Business greeting: the right message for your customers

Make sure you take full advantage of customizing your voicemail greeting when you have a dedicated business line. When you record a customized voicemail greeting for your business contacts, you can reinforce the image of your brand. Your greeting sets the tone for your business and it's a great way to also convey your key messages. 

3. Voicemail settings: extra attention for your VIP clients

Since customer calls are very important and can be time-sensitive, you may want to customize your settings for your business voicemails. When you have a dedicated business line, this should be easy to do. For example, Cloud Phone allows users to set up voicemail transcription, send notifications via SMS and email, and more.

4. Extensions: smooth transitions for your business contacts

If you have multiple employees, departments, or just want to make your business appear more professional, some services offer business extensions, which will help you guide your business callers to the appropriate channel without the hassle of tracking them down or taking messages that can eventually get lost in the shuffle. As your business grows, you can assign employees their very own extension to route calls from your main business number. Each employee can customize their own settings and manage them with their own login.

You’ve worked hard to establish your business so it’s important to make the right impression when your customers, prospects, business partners, and employees call. Having the right voice presence is an easy step in building trust for your company and an effective way to communicate your business style. Plus, once your voice communications are in order, you can stop worrying about missing a call or answering the wrong cell phone and can focus on more important things like running your business! 

For more tips on how to advance your small business voice presence, check out our CMO's recent contributed article that published on MarketingProfs.com.

How does voice fit into your small business communications? Share your stories, challenges and ideas with us – Facebook, Twitter, Google+.

On Father's Day, sons and daughters everywhere will pay tribute to their dads on Father's Day with candy, breakfast in bed, fancy dinners and a host of other traditional celebrations. Unfortunately, it is a simple fact of life that not everybody will be able to celebrate this annual holiday in person. As a small business owner, sometimes important meetings or conference take you far and wide, even if the only place you really want to be is close to dad.

If you are going to be traveling for business this Father's Day—or at any other time—you might want to consider adopting a cloud-based phone service designed for small businesses like yours. Leveraging cloud technology, these systems are configured and maintained by the provider but allow you to adjust settings online. You also get some top-shelf features like:

• A digital text box for customized greetings that can be adjusted quickly on the fly
• Extensions for other employees or departments, even if the department is just you
• Voicemail to email service that ensures critical messages are returned in a timely manner

Additionally, the service can provide you with a company-specific phone number that rings to your mobile phone. With this feature, you can project big business presence even if you work alone out of a home office.

As long as you are going to be away from your dad this Father’s Day, you might as well call to wish him well from a phone system that will help your business thrive and grow. After all, you’re going to need all the money you can get so you can make up for missing dad’s day by showering him with gifts. 

Recently, Fitocracy was featured in Entrepreneur magazine about adopting a cloud technology to improve customer service. The objective of the New-York based online fitness platform is to make exercise and improving health, more fun. Users who log their workout activity are awarded points and by completing quests, they could also earn badges. The problem was, with over 1.5 million users and estimated 100 personal trainers, the business was struggling with engaging customers over the phone. How could a small 8-person firm provide better customer service, while appearing as a giant in the fitness industry?

Finding a solution for better customer support.
Brian Wang, CEO of Fitocracy, was faced with the challenge of finding a way to drive growth and participation through user engagement. He wanted to encourage users to meet their fitness goals, but with his limited staff, it was difficult to support the large number of customers calling the office. Brian wanted an affordable, simple communication solution to help create a big business image, and provide reliable service that would improve customer relations. 

Reliable and steadfast support for clients
With Cloud Phone, a cloud-based phone system, calls are routed directly to the employees’ cell phones making it easier for clients to reach a Fitocracy rep. Brian was able to set the system up in a matter of minutes. There was no need for additional hardware or equipment and now he could manage his business communication easily online. By improving customer relations with a cloud-based phone system, Fitocracy was not only able to save money but also drive sales and revenue. 

What are your thoughts? Could a cloud-based phone service help your business? Share in the comments below!

With over 627,000 businesses opening in the United States each year, entrepreneurs and self-starters are faced with the pressure to stand out to potential customers. It’s crucial to the survival of young startups to take advantage of any tools or services that could give them the leg up over their competitors. A virtual phone system like Cloud Phone can streamline communications and improve efficiency, all while saving time, space, and money.

Business impression plays a fundamental role when running a startup, and a missed call could exhibit unprofessionalism and send a message of unreliability to potential customers. With a virtual phone system, you can avoid unnecessary downtime and be up and running in a flash. There’s no complicated set-up that requires a technician and no need to purchase and maintain any hardware. You could focus your attention growing your business and driving revenue, without having to worry about calls not being forwarded or answered.

Another hurdle several startup businesses face is working with costly and limited office space. Having a workforce large enough to serve your customer base has traditionally meant renting or buying an office that can accommodate your employees and office equipment. With the cost of renting out a workplace location and paying for traditional phone services, a small business budget could take a substantial blow. However, with a virtual phone system, you don’t need to worry about office space or being locked onto a desk phone. You could run your business from anywhere and communicate with your team and customers while out on the field. By taking advantage of the growing telecommuting trend and eliminating the need to be tied down to a desk, your startup stays connected, sounds professional, and saves money.

Contact us to learn more about our small business virtual phone system and discover how to get the most out of your communication. Leave a comment below or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Google+.