Archive for the ‘Conference Calling’ Category

Discounted Conference Calling Services can be Reliable

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

If you are looking at getting a conference call service provider for your business and you have looked at some of the long distance carriers and other providers that still charge 10 cents or more a minute you may be a little skeptical of discounted conference calling services.  But just because the service is less expensive does not necessarily mean that the service is of a lower quality or less reliable.  You do still need to be careful as some of the conference call providers have not taken the same steps to ensure quality and reliability like Zip Conferencing has done.  Here are some of the areas that any discounted conference calling services company needs to pay attention to in order to maintain high quality and reliability.

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    • Back Up Power - All of the equipment for conference calling services should be connected to to battery and generator back up power. This makes sure that no matter what power outages are experienced at their place of business your conference calls will not be impacted.  Zip Conferencing uses back up power systems on all of its equipment and can maintain power to these systems for an indefinite amount of time. 
    • Back Up Systems – A key component for conference calling services is the conference call bridge. This is the equipment that creates the conference calls from independent callers into the system.  It is an expensive proposition to maintain back up equipment so many discounted conference calling services companies do not take this step.  But if something happens to this equipment your conference call will be affected.  Zip Conferencing has designed their conference calling services with back up conference call bridges so that if there is ever an issue the traffic can be redirected to the back up system.
    • Telecommunications Redundancy – What happens if the long distance carrier used by the discounted conference calling services company has an outage?  If they do not have another carrier as back up you will not be able to get to your conference call.  Zip Conferencing uses multiple telecommunications carriers that insures that if one of the carriers experiences a disastrous outage they can still perform your conference call. 
    • Support – One of the areas that discounted conference calling services will differ is with support.  You may not need support very often but when you do you need it to be there for you.  Zip Conferencing offers conference calling services with an award winning support team. Our operators are monitoring our conference calling services 24/7 and can even join on your conference call if you need assistance.  No mater what time of day you can access support and get the help you need.

So, discounted conference calling services can be reliable but you need to investigate and make sure that discounted doesn’t mean your conference call quality or reliability will suffer.

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Hasn’t Congress heard of Conference Calling Services?

Friday, August 12th, 2011

I would not describe myself as a political activist, but like many people the latest display of ineptitude of our elected officials in Washington, DC I find myself wondering how these people can afford to take a 5 week vacation when their business (our country) is struggling like it is today.  Maybe they need some time back in their home states but haven’t they heard of conference calling services?  At least make it look like you are attempting to do something about the mess we are in by working a little while you are on vacation like the rest of us.  Seems like conference calling services would enable these people to keep things moving and maybe get something done.  After all I have never been able to take a 5 week vacation and I don’t know anyone who has in my lifetime.  I have been working since I was 14 years old and I have not had 5 weeks off ever.  In fact I took a two week vacation once and it felt like I was retired.  It was tough to get back into things when I returned and I have not taken a vacation that long since then.  Now when I am even out for a few days I use conference calling services to stay in touch with things at work.  It helps me to relax to know that things are running smoothly and I won’t be blindsided when I return.  If things at work need to be addressed I won’t even go on vacation let alone for 5 weeks!

Conference calling services are one thing but these people work for the government after all and have every means of communication imaginable available to them.  They could absolutely work from home and continue to accomplish things.  Many businesses now rely on a good portion of their employees working from their homes and it doesn’t slow them down.  Conference calling services and web conferencing services allow people to work from anywhere and still hold meetings and collaborate on projects.  So how about it Mr Congressman?  What do you say?  Can you possibly cut your vacation down to 2 – 3 weeks and get back to getting this country put back together?  We working stiffs who pay your salaries would surely appreciate it.

Zip Conferencing would be happy to provide conference calling services and web conferencing services to any elected officials who would like to keep working.  Drop us an email and we will set you up.

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A Conference Calling Company is your Partner

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

A conference calling company takes on a role in your company’s business that you may not realize.  When you think about what is discussed on conference calls in your company and who is on the calls you start to understand why the decision on which conference calling company to use is so important.  Many times a company’s most important and sensitive discussions are on conference calls.  And many times the top executives in a company use conference calling services extensively.  So, in today’s environment where there are a lot of conference calling companies and they all seem like they offer the same services how do you choose the right conference calling company?  Actually the most important attribute to look for in a conference calling company are hard if not impossible to see.  But here are some of things you should look for if you are looking for a high quality, reliable conference calling company.

  • Reliable Network – Since you and your participants need to call into any conference calling company to connect to your conference call you should make sure they are connected to a high quality network.  Zip Conferencing, for instance, using only top tier long distance providers and has direct connections into their networks.  Also, the reason we have multiple carriers is to make sure that if one of the carriers has an outage we have a back up network in place to carry our traffic.  The direct connections make sure that we have the highest quality connection possible.
  • Back Up Systems – For a conference calling company, back up systems are expensive.  But I have been in the teleconferencing industry for over 15 years and I can tell you first hand that occasionally the technology will rear its head and you will have issues.  It is inevitable.  The only way to avoid an outage is to put back up systems in place that can take over when the primary systems fail.  At Zip Conferencing we have back up conference call equipment that is live and ready to handle traffic in the case of an outage.  We also have power back up systems to keep all of our equipment powered up in the case of a power outage.  If an issue arises our customers will not be affected. 
  • Full Featured – Some conference calling companies will cut corners on the services that they offer.  This makes it easier to manage and the equipment they use does not need to be as sophisticated.  But the customer experience is not as good.  At Zip Conferencing we use the latest conference calling equipment with all of the features you should expect from a conference calling company.  In fact, our equipment and online account management allow you to customize your conference calls unlike most other conference calling companies.
  • Support – And when you have an issue you need your partner to be able to support your needs.  A conference calling company that takes their partnership in your company seriously will back it up with the kind of support you would expect from such an important service provider for your company.  Zip Conferencing offer support 24/7 365 days a year and can even join you on your conference call to assist if you need assistance.

If you are looking for a true partner to provide conference calls to your company you need to look closer than the rates they offer.  Once you look “under the hood” you will see that Zip Conferencing is the best value in conference calls today.

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Audio Conference Calling is the Simplest Way to Meet

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

I have been in the teleconferencing industry for over 15 years and audio conference calling just keeps getting easier and easier.  You can’t argue with the fact that audio conference calling is the simplest way to have a meeting whether you are across the hall or around the wall.  And no one makes it simpler than Zip Conferencing.

When I first started in this industry it was mostly dial out conference calls.  That means that to do audio conference calling an operator would contact you at a pre-designated phone number and connect you to the conference call.  Needless to say this was not a very convenient method of getting on a conference call.  Especially since most people did not have cell phones back then.  The biggest development in audio conference calling came with the invention of the dial in reservationless conference call.  This is the type of conference call most people are familiar with at this point.  You are given an access number and a pass code.  At the time you choose to do audio conference calling you dial the access number and input the pass code.  Everyone that does that will end up on the same conference call together.  After this audio conference calling boomed.  That is because the industry made it super simple to get on a conference call.

 As time has gone on there have been many developments in audio conference calling.  None of which have had the kind of impact that development has had but things have continued to get easier.  And the proliferation of cell phones has helped as well.  Now to get on a conference call you can dial in from anywhere there is a signal to your mobile phone.  I am sure people have attended a conference call from some pretty bizarre places.  And you can too!  Because audio conference calling can be done from virtually anywhere. 

When you compare audio conference calling to other ways to meet it is easy to understand why conference calling continues to grow faster than any other way to meet.  At this point everyone pretty much has been on a conference call.  So there is no need to train your participants on how to get on a conference call.  And no one needs any special equipment.  All you need is a phone and everyone has or has access to a telephone.  Dial a number and input a code and you are on your conference call.  No need to drive to a meeting.  No need to fly to a meeting.  Just pick up your telephone.

Zip Conferencing makes audio conference calling as easy as it can be.  From the process before the conference call to looking at reports after the call you can not find a simpler way to meet.

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What is the difference in Conference Calling Providers?

Friday, June 24th, 2011

If you are shopping for a conference calling provider it can be pretty maddening on trying to tell the difference in the services.  Some of that is created by the conference calling providers themselves.  When I look at some of the ads that are used to attract new customers and then look into the actual offers it is easy to understand how people can get confused.  Here are some of the things you should look for when shopping for a conference calling provider.

  • Quality and Reliability – It is funny, but when I talk to customers I rarely get asked about the quality of the conference call service.  Maybe conference calling has really become a commodity in customer’s eyes and they simply assume that the service will work no matter which conference calling service provider they choose.  Having been in the teleconferencing industry for over 16 years I have intimate knowledge of what goes into making sure that there is quality and reliability in a conference call service.  And I can tell you that not every service is the same in respect to quality and reliability.  It takes a real commitment on the part of ownership to make sure you do everything to insure the service is available and ready when people need it to be.  At Zip Conferencing we have done everything possible to make sure we are delivering the highest quality and reliability available.  After all, isn’t this the most important aspect of the conference calling service?
  • Toll Free Service- When you look at many of the advertisements of the conference calling service providers out there you will see some pretty low rates and even “free” conference calling services.  The last thing you want is to have your participants paying hidden charges to attend your conference call.  Imagine inviting prospects to your presentation only to have them paying to get there.  It certainly takes something away from your presentation.  Nothing beats the convenience and peace of mind that toll free conference call services can provide.  And at the low rates they are available today why would you want to do anything else?
  • Features- You may not use every conference calling feature that is out there because there are many.  But there is also no reason to try to save money by signing up with a service that has only limited features available.  Zip Conferencing is a conference calling provider that offers low rates with a full featured service.  Many of the features simply make your life easier before and during your conference call and some are essential conference call tools.  Why not have them and a great rate too?
  • Support – Hopefully a conference calling provider service will not require a whole lot of support because it works and is easily understandable.  But if you should need support, especially when you are in the middle of an important conference call, wouldn’t you want it to be there?  Zip Conferencing is a conference calling provider that has support available 24/7 and can even join your conference call for assistance if necessary.  You may never need it but isn’t it nice to know it is there if you do?

Conference calling services are an important communications piece of your business.  Make sure you look closely under the hood before you buy and get a service you will be happy with for years to come.

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Toll Free Conference Calling is Still Better for Everyone

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

Toll free conference calling has been around for a long time and hands down the most popular method of conference calling. The reason has always been pretty simple. No one hosting a conference call wants to subject their participants to having to pay to get on to their conference call. Toll free conference calling means there are no charges to dial into the conference call from your long distance provider. The only person that incurs any cost is the host of the conference call. So, the participants can dial into the conference call from anywhere and not worry about how much it costs. Who wants to think about where people are dialing in from? Here are the alternatives to toll free conference calling and their disadvantages explained.

  • Free Conference Calls – Free conference calls are not really free like toll free conference calling to the participants.  If you do a free conference call you will be given an access number somewhere in the country where you have to dial a long distance number to get to it.  That is you and your participants.  Depending on your calling plan the free conference call could easily end up costing you more than toll free conference calling.  The reason that companies can offer you a free conference call is because they get paid by the local phone company to terminate your long distance call in their facility.  And that is because you and your participants are paying someone for the ability to make that long distance phone call to connect to the conference call.  With toll free conference calling you are paying the conference call service provider to transport you and your participants to the conference call.  There is no mystery to who is paying for the call and the charges are not hidden somewhere.
  • Toll Conference Calls - Toll conference calls are similar to free conference calls only on top of paying to get to the conference call you are also paying the conference call service company.  If you are going to pay for the conference call why not pay for toll free conference calling?  A toll conference call means you are going to get a phone number somewhere in the country to dial into to access the conference call and you will have to pay long distance charges to get to the call and for the duration of the call.  Toll free conference calling means no one pays any long distance charges to participate in your conference call.  And you might think that since some people use a cell phone to dial into the conference call that they are not paying for long distance anyway.  But they are paying for long distance.  It is figured in their monthly plan which also has a certain number of minutes included.  Do you want your participants to have to use up their airtime minutes on your conference call?  With toll free conference calling the participants can dial in from a land line and not worry about long distance charges.

Toll free conference calling is still better for everyone because there are no hidden charges for people.  I am sure you would not want your participants to have to pay to get on your conference call and since toll free conference calling is so inexpensive why not give them an easy, toll free way to access the call?

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Business Conference Calling in any Economy

Monday, November 15th, 2010

I get asked all the time “How’s Business?” and since I became involved int he conference calling business in 1995 the answer has remained the same, “Business is Great!”.  That is because business conference calling makes good sense in any economy.  Certainly since 1995 I have been through growth economies and recessions and the growth of business conference calling has not really changed.  Why is that?  Well, let’s examine what is going on for businesses in a growth economy and a down economy ans see why business conference calling continues to grow in either economic condition.

Downturn in the Economy - Over the past couple of years during the recession business conference calling has continued to grow.  That is because businesses are trying to save time and money.  Saving money is easy to understand when the economy is bad.  Businesses are generally selling less and trying to conserve cash until sales pick up.  But most businesses still have to continue to sell what they can and spend less doing it.  Because business conference calling saves a lot of money compared to conducting in person meetings businesses are happy to spend money on conference calls.  When you think about the cost of getting people together, especially when they are located a great distance apart you can see why spending money on conference calls makes sense.  And in addition to saving money on travel, business conference calling save a great amount of time as well.  In a down economy businesses are trying to do with less resources because sales are off and they can’t afford to carry the same staff.  But they still have work to do and meetings to attend with customers and prospects.  Business conference calling really helps businesses to put what resources they have on the job and spread those resources over more responsibilities.  Someone can sit at their desk and through business conference calling attend meetings across the country all day.

Growing Economy – In a growing economy companies are trying everything they can think of to get the most out of the situation.  And many times the growth in the economy follows a period of downturn in the economy.  During the downturn businesses have laid people off and now they are trying to keep up with the growth with the resources they have so business conference calling can really help.  Someone can get more work done than if they attempted to attend all of the business meetings in person.  Sales can get to more prospects in a day using business conference calling than if they tried to attend all meetings in person.  And even in a growing economy saving money is always welcome.  So if your business is trying to get more done with less resources and save money doing it business conference calling makes all the sense in the world.

So it really doesn’t matter what the economy is doing.  Business conference calling continues to grow because it makes a lot of sense to businesses of all sizes.

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Conference Calling goes Mainstream

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

I have had the fortune to be involved in a few industries as they have gone from the early adoption phase to the accepted norm stage.  I was in the telecommunications industry shortly after the divestiture of AT&T.  I was in the paging industry as it grew wildly and then died just as quickly with the adoption of the cell phone.  And then I joined the conference call industry and over the past 14+ years I have seen the conference call service industry go from a niche application mostly used by the legal industry to a widely used business tool.  Conference calling has truly reached the level of mainstream acceptance.

I am not sure how an expert would judge whether conference calling has reached mainstream acceptance, but I am sure the growth of the industry is certainly one of the factors.  And no one can deny that the conference calling industry has been fortunate to realize exponential growth over the past 14 years.  One of the biggest factors for the growth in the conference calling industry is the change to a reservationless system where you don’t need an operator or schedule a conference call with anyone.  The ease of use of conference call technology has also contributed to the growth.

When I started in the conference calling industry we received many calls from people at businesses who were trying to understand how to get multiple parties on the conference call and they really were not familiar with the technology.  Now we receive calls from people who have inevitably been on a conference call but maybe they have never hosted a conference call before, but now plan to use the service.  The method of conference calling has become somewhat standardized and everyone seems to know what the experience will be like on a conference call.  So, now we spend a lot more time telling customers about the benefits of our service over others and educating them on the small differences between conference call service companies instead of educating them on how a conference call works. 

But probably one of the biggest indicators I have seen in the past few years that conference calling has hit the mainstream is the use of conference calls for personal use.  Because so many people have been exposed at work to conference calls, they are now finding applications in their personal lives to use conference calling.  The wide availability and lower costs of conference calling have really helped this new area of applications.  We have had people use conference calling for wedding and event planning like family reunions where the participants are not able to meet physically.  Recently we even had a family use a conference call so that the missing family members could attend a grave side service because they all could not attend the service in person.  I think that the conference call industry will continue to grow with the advent of new applications as more and more people think up new ways that they can use conference calling to their benefit.

www.zipconferencing.com

 that is widely used

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