Many companies occasionally have a need to do a multi-party conference call. Most modern telephone systems will easily accommodate a three party conference, and some systems will even handle five parties. But what happens when you need to talk with ten or twenty people at a time? You can buy some fancy (i.e., expensive) conferencing equipment, or you can utilize a third-party conference system.

North Florida Communications is now providing a conference solution for small to medium businesses. For less than $10 a month, we will provide you with your own conference telephone number. This number can be local or toll-free. You’ll then be able to set up a conference at any time and simply pay a few cents per minute, per caller.

Want to go a little further? We can provide you with a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) conference phone that will allow you to connect your entire conference room to a phone call, while allowing everyone to hear and be heard.

Please contact me if you would like more information.

Larry Nazworth

Last week I was able to attend ITExpo (Internet Telephony Exposition) in Miami Beach. It truly is amazing to see the products being developed in our industry. Here are a few things that I think are very exciting:

SIP Trunking- In a nutshell, SIP is a connection to an ITSP (Internet Telephony Service Provider) that connects a phone system, or a simple gateway, to the PSTN (Public Switch Telephone Network), which is the traditional telephone network that we all think about when we discuss "The Phone Company".

SIP Trunks have become a very reliable way to make telephone calls that also can save you 50% (more or less) on your phone bills. SIP Trunks also provide more advanced features, such as Direct Inward Dial (DID) numbers, call pairing (have your cell phone ring with your desk phone) and faster setup/tear-down times.

Hosted PBX- Imagine a small company getting a powerful telephone system without having to buy any equipment, except the telephones. This can be done with a Hosted PBX. A company, such as North Florida Communications, rents a customer a server, or a portion of a server that is located at a remote location. Customer phones then connect via the internet to the hosted system.

The hosted solution gives all the standard features such as auto-attendant, voice-mail, etc., while allowing the customer to pay a monthly reoccurring fee, instead a big chunk of money up front. Since SIP Trunking is often used, those monthly fees can be equal to the cost you may pay to the local Telco just for the phone lines you would use with a traditional telephone system.

A hosted solution is also great for companies that have many remote users.

Unified Messaging- Imagine getting all of your voice-mails and faxes sent directly to your cell phone via email. That is what Unified Messaging can do. Personally, I love it because I’m on the road a lot. I no longer have to dial in to check messages, or ask to borrow someone’s fax machine so I can see an important document. Very nice!

Guess what, these are really not new technologies. They have all been around for a few years and are now mature technologies. Are you ready to start a new decade with some time AND money saving purchases? If so, please contact me!

Larry Nazworth

Happy New Year! In 2010 North Florida Communications celebrates 20 years in business. I started the company in August of 1990, and I’ve seen a lot of changes!

When I first started NFC, 1a2 systems were a dying breed, but still in use in many businesses. 1a2 systems were the big bulky phones with a red hold button and five or more clear lines keys that mechanically clicked each time you pressed one. Each phone required a 25-pair cable (50 wires). Loads of fun!

Analog telephone systems were the big things in the early 90's and they only required 2-4 pairs of wire. Digital systems started taking over in the mid 90's and continued to have dominance well into the early 2000's, or should that be 00's? Voice Over IP (VoIP) systems are now taking over the business telephone system market.

In 1990 computer network cable was serial based. Each wire had to be soldered onto a DB-25 connector. The pinout of the cables was different for each system. Today we have much clearer standards to follow.

It really is great to be in a business where things change! Change helps to keep us on our toes and helps us to grow emotionally and mentally!

NFC had about three customers in August of 1990. I started the business by subcontracting to other companies. Today we have more than 1,100 contacts in our database. It has been great to meet so many people over the years. I still find it humbling that people allow us to take care of there most critical communications needs. We really do appreciate our wonderful customer base.

On a personal note, in August 1990 I had just turned 21 and was single. Today I’m 40 (for a little while longer) and have been married to my wonderful wife, Leslie, for 15 years. We have three boys: 9, 11, and 13. We’ve been blessed as a family.

Last year was a hard year for most companies. We were fortunate to be within 4% of our 2008 sales, thanks in large to a big job that took us several months in the first quarter of ‘09. Spring and summer were bad, but things started picking up in the fall. I’m thankful that we have not had to lay anyone off.

2010 looks very promising for us. I really think the economy is starting to turn around. Small businesses that have persevered through these hard times will need to implement some much needed system upgrades that they have been putting off. The poor economy will produce more entrepreneurs that will be needing telephone systems and networking. Our new SIP Trunking product will help our clients reduce their phone bill. Business Owners will start to see the light at the end of a recession and will start to spend money again. New employees will be hired that will need telephones.

I hope you are as optimistic about 2010 as I am! As always, if there is anything I can help you with, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Happy New Year,

Larry Nazworth

Many thanks to our wonderful customers and my faithful employees for a good year. While times have been tough economically this year, we've been blessed to keep everyone working. Enjoy your time off as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour!

Larry Nazworth

What happens to your computer when the power goes out? Hopefully, you have a battery backup device known as an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) that keeps your PC in operation for at least a few minutes. There are three basic types of UPSs and not all are adequate for mission critical communications devices.

Standby UPSs are also referred to as an off-line UPS. This type of unit powers the load directly from the AC source and will only go on-line when the incoming power goes below a preset threshold. After the power sags, or fails all together, a battery-powered inverter kicks in to provide clean power to the load. This causes a momentary interruption of power to the load referred to as "transfer time," which can cause problems with sensitive equipment.

Standby units do not provide conditioning to the incoming power and should only be used on non-mission critical equipment. We do not recommend standby units for our advanced telephone systems.

Line-Interactive UPSs are essentially standby UPSs with line conditioning added. The line conditioning allows the UPS to provide a voltage boost to the load without accessing the batteries. This allows continuous line conditioning, lengthens battery life, and helps to eliminate electronic "noise" that can cause minor application errors and loss of data.

This type of UPS is an improvement over the standby models and works well in most environments, but there are a few drawbacks. There is no frequency regulation. Battery reserve time and recharge time may not be adequate for critical loads. Some units may not be suitable for use with generators.

Online UPSs are double-conversion uninterruptible power supplies. These high-end units completely rectify the AC line to DC, and use this DC to charge the batteries and power a DC to AC convertor to power the load. Since power is constantly going through the inverter, there is no transfer time needed to switch to the battery in the event of a voltage sag or outage.

Under normal circumstances the Online UPS is always "online" providing isolation, filtering, regulation and frequency control. This is the top of the line UPS, which also means they cost more. However, they provide much better power and should be considered for mission critical communication equipment such as telephone systems and servers.

Remember that all UPS units require batteries for reserve power. These batteries should be tested annually and replaced when necessary. The best UPS is only as good as the batteries it runs off of.

North Florida Communications is an authorized Minuteman UPS reseller. If you need help sizing an UPS for your equipment, please go to this web page. If I can assist you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Larry Nazworth

Telephone etiquette doesn't just lead to more pleasant telephone conversations, it can also lead to more business for companies that realize courtesy sells.

Many people form an opinion of a company during the first four to six seconds on the phone with a company representative. In fact, more than 82 percent of business people say the way a phone is answered influences their opinion of a company significantly. That impression could be based on something as simple as a receptionist answering the phone with, "Good morning, North Florida Communications. This is Leslie. How may I help you?

Some specific guidelines can be followed to sharpen telephone skills:

1) Answer the phone promptly. Seems pretty basic, but when you are juggling several pressing tasks it can be tempting to let the phone ring too many times before picking it up.

2) Put your best manner forward. How the phone is answered is even more important than how quickly it's answered. Generally, start with a pleasant opener, such as "Good morning" or Thank you for calling." These few words of greeting "warm" the call. Always use the company's name; this sets a professional tone and wastes less time for everyone if it's a wrong number. State your name, to give the call a personal touch. When appropriate, add a "How can I help you?" offer. There's no need to ask "May I help you?" That's a given. Asking how you can help reinforces the "ready-and-waiting-to-assist" image you want to convey.

3) Be prepared to get and give information. Always have easy access to information callers may want from you. Think about the questions your callers might ask. If the answers aren't in your head, make sure they are written down near the phone. Also keep a staff directory handy so the call can be transferred to another employee at a moment's notice.

4) Make the most of messages. Always keep message forms and pens next to every phone. Everyone should treat message-taking as an opportunity to provide customer service. If you say "May I take a message?" and get "No" for an answer, you have lost the call. Instead, try saying, "Let me have your name and number and I'll see that Ms. Jones gets your message." After taking the caller's number, go the extra mile and ask: 1) the best time to return the call; 2) how the person who'll be getting the message can help the caller; and, 3) whether there is anything you can do to help in the meanwhile.

5) Use "Hold" sparingly. No one likes being put on hold. It is an option that should be used sparingly and with courtesy. Always ask callers for permission to put them on hold and wait for a response. If you must ask someone to wait while you get information, be honest about the amount of time it will take and ask if they would rather get a call back. Consider a Message-On-Hold player for your telephone system to inform callers about your products and services.

6) Say "goodbye" gracefully. It's always best to let the caller bring the conversation to a close. But sometimes you get hooked up with a chatterbox. When this happens, try bringing the caller back to the original point of the conversation to make sure you haven't missed something important before you gently wrap up.

Larry Nazworth

Generally speaking, a Hosted PBX refers to a voice solution where the call control equipment resides in a service providers location, which business customers connect to via voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP).

More plainly, a business customer can choose to pay a service provider to provide all of the necessary equipment to run a telephone system. End users connect to the service via the internet (usually). VoIP phones can be used from the office, at home, or any where there is a reliable internet connection. The end-user does not have to pay a large one-time price for all of the processing equipment, but must pay a never ending monthly charge and generally must purchase all of the phones.

Here are some pros and cons of a Hosted PBX:

One big thing to consider when going with a hosted solution is the company behind the product. You need to be sure that they will be around for the long haul and have the finances to succeed. There have been several cases where service providers have gone out of business, seemingly overnight, leaving there customers stranded. In 2007 SunRocket suddenly closed shop leaving 200,000 customers scrambling to find service.

VoIP has many forms and is here to stay. It can be made to work right and to save your company a lot of money. If you think a hosted solution may be right for your business, contact me and let me help!

Larry Nazworth

As with any business, a medical office can make more profit AND keep patients happy by running more efficiently. At North Florida Communications we have a simple product that can help your clinic run more smoothly. The Clinic-Call system by Tech Works is an easy to use color-coded light system for staff-to-staff communication.

Each Exam Room has a 4-button keypad installed on the outside of the door. Each physician and staff member is assigned a color on the keypad. When a patient is placed in a room, the staff member presses the corresponding button, which lights a corridor light located above the Exam Room door. This light then indicates who needs to see this patient next.

For example, lets say a patient is placed in Exam Room 1 for Dr. Jones, who has been assigned the yellow light. The light begins to flash on the keypad, corridor light, and on a master room status indicator located in his office. Now, lets also assume that patients have been placed in Exam 2 and Exam 3. These lights have a “steady” yellow light on their indicators.

Dr. Jones sees the slowly flashing yellow light and knows that he needs to visit that patient first. Right before he enters the room, Dr. Jones pushes the yellow button again. This changes the slowly flashing yellow light to a fast flash, which allows staff members to know exactly which room the doctor is in.

After an examination, Dr. Jones determines that the patient needs an x-ray, so he presses the blue button, which has been assigned to the X-Ray Tech. The blue light starts to flash, alerting X-Ray. Then Dr. Jones presses the yellow button because he is done with the patient, until the x-ray is completed. This extinguishes the yellow light on Exam 1.

Now Dr. Jones can look down the hallway, or at a master status indicator to see with room he needs to go to next. The Clinic-Call system automatically starts to slowly flash the room indicator for the patient who has been waiting the longest. The cycle continues throughout the day making sure patients are cared for in a timely and orderly manner.

Should a practitioner need staff assistance, he/she can simply press the “red” button, or a help button installed inside the Exam Room. An alert will sound and the room will be indicated by a flashing red light. Help buttons and/or pull cords can be installed in other locations, such as lavatories, for emergency needs.

The simplicity of the Clinic-Call system is one of it’s greatest strengths. The easy to learn system of color coded lights provides the staff with complete information at a glance. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. We have a demo kit that can be brought to your office to show you how easy the system is to operate and how valuable it could be to your clinic.

Larry Nazworth