There's the outbound side which is the ability for you to connect to the outside world and dialler technologies like predictive dialling.

Q: What kinds of companies are going for Hosted services?

Paul: Most companies have room for hosted services in their setups:

You have the new company with the opportunity to install completely new technology. For them there is a serious decision as to whether they go for the capital expenditure route of buying physical systems to install in the new office, or whether they go for a hosted model where they avoid those.

You have the company with some old systems, some historical investment but a perception that they need to move upward and gain access to new applications and services, or that they need to enhance their existing platforms but don't again want to go through the capital expenditure of upgrading or replacing their legacy systems and again, they are able to go to a hosted supplier that has already made that investment, that is moving with the latest technologies and can make these services available on a Pay As You Go basis that the business can now run as an operating expenditure.

I could go on, but you can see that it can be a sound technological and financial decision to go hosted.

Q: So people can put off making technological choices that might not have an answer right now?

Paul: Yes. With IVR systems, telephone systems, computer systems, CRM environments etc, a lot of work can go into understanding the technology. There are normally a number of different costs attached to that; there are the upfront costs of investment in consultancy, some upfront costs in buying systems. Then there's the actual cost of ownership - training, maintenance etc. One of the most difficult things is actually what hardware technology to buy because it has to grow with you and allow you to fulfil the requirements of that technology. Hosting provides you with an existing environment that has already been designed very effectively, so you avoid having to make a decision today that you can put off till tomorrow because with hosting you can go with existing platforms in technology - but importantly you can choose the things that you want in the form of a shopping list, and go through a learning curve without having the initial investment of buying the hardware.

Q: Give me a scenario?

Paul: Let's take as an example a virtual call centre.

A hosted service allows calls to be routed to different agents, for customers to feel as if they are in one environment whereas there is no need for the company to operate this way at all.

Billing and statistics also come from one central source, so it ties up all of the loose ends. Our call centre solutions involve all that hosted telephony can offer in one place.

Q: What are peoples fears about going for hosted services?

Paul: It seems complicated at the outset because there are so many possibilities on offer. That's where we are here to help.

Q: Where do people start?

Paul: They would normally trial something like call recording because it's not an intrusive application. It's something that happens in the background and doesn't normally affect any of the existing processes. People can see benefits like access via the web to the recordings, stats as well as the reduced charges for their outbound telephony.

Q: So people can save money?

Paul: As a hosting company we generate lots of traffic and as such we're able to negotiate very considerable discounting. We pass this on to our clients.

Q: Are many people using hosted services right now? A Successful Virtual Assistant Does More Than Just Set Up Shop
Being a virtual assistant is something that is becoming an increasingly popular home-business opportunity. If you are a virtual assistant or know one, then you already know that a VA handles outsourced administrative support tasks as an independent contractor. Virtual assistants work from their own homes or offices using their own equipment and not that of their clients.It's an ideal situation for the small business owner or home-based business owner who needs a top-notch administrative assistant---but not on site. And being a virtual assistant is an ideal profession for a top-notch administrative professional who wants to go solo and leave the corporate office behind. Clearly it's also an ideal mobile job for a spouse on the move due to corporate or military relocation of his or her own spouse. In fact, it's a good profession in general because it provides flexible work hours, no commute, more face time with ones family and freedom from corporate bosses (of course, as an entrepreneur striving to succeed in business you may find that you're the toughest boss you ever had).It's no wonder that more inquiring minds are asking just what is a virtual assistant and how do I become one. However, with that popularity comes competition. And with this increased competition entering the trade, it is more important than ever that virtual assistants in the business for long-haul success advertise and market their services in smart ways. It's not enough for even the most experienced or talsted services?

Paul: Hosting actually sits and straddles both technologies, so a true hosting company should be able to provide VoIP and TDM options, which gives the customer the choice of which type of service to go for.

Another benefit of being with a hosted company is that they would have installed systems within co-location facilities that are built specifically for housing data centres, so they are conditioned units to control the ambient temperature. They have high speed, high capacity data network switches that can carry VoIP traffic, and the whole environment is geared to high performance and high availability. So, from a client's point of view a hosted service has already dealt with all of the technical issues with regards to what to buy, how to set it up and where to install it.

Q: Typically what sort of telephony services can you get on a hosted basis?

Paul: Telephony applications are all based on four fundamental building blocks.

1. Switching and routing which some people think of as ACD. The ability to route calls intelligently - switching and routing is a primary function and it's what telecoms is all about.
2. Messaging, the ability to play people messages, deliver messages or take messages. Messaging includes things like voicemail, fax, email, SNS.
3. IVR (Interactive Voice Response). Everyone knows it as "press 1 for sales, press 2 for accounts" it's the ability for someone to go through a menu driven system, to choose options and allow them to orientate themselves without the assistance of a live person. Historically that's been done using D2F (press 1 press 2) but this is changing to speech recognition..
4. Conferencing, which gives you the ability for more than one person to talk to each other at the same time.

There's the outbound side which is the ability for you to connect to the outside world and dialler technologies like predictive dialling.

Q: What kinds of companies are going for Hosted services?

Paul: Most companies have room for hosted services in their setups:

You have the new company with the opportunity to install completely new technology. For them there is a serious decision as to whether they go for the capital expenditure route of buying physical systems to install in the new office, or whether they go for a hosted model where they avoid those.

You have the company with some old systems, some historical investment but a perception that they need to move upward and gain access to new applications and services, or that they need to enhance their existing platforms but don't again want to go through the capital expenditure of upgrading or replacing their legacy systems and again, they are able to go to a hosted supplier that has already made that investment, that is moving with the latest technologies and can make these services available on a Pay As You Go basis that the business can now run as an operating expenditure.

I could go on, but you can see that it can be a sound technological and financial decision to go hosted.

Q: So people can put off making technological choices that might not have an answer right now?

Paul: Yes. With IVR systems, telephone systems, computer systems, CRM environments etc, a lot of work can go into understanding the technology. There are normally a number of different costs attached to that; there are the upfront costs of investment in consultancy, some upfront costs in buying systems. Then there's the actual cost of ownership - training, maintenance etc. One of the most difficult things is actually what hardware technology to buy because it has to grow with you and allow you to fulfil the requirements of that technology. Hosting provides you with an existing environment that has already been designed very effectively, so you avoid having to make a decision today that you can put off till tomorrow because with hosting you can go with existing platforms in technology - but importantly you can choose the things that you want in the form of a shopping list, and go through a learning curve without having the initial investment of buying the hardware.

Q: Give me a scenario?

Paul: Let's take as an example a virtual call centre.

A hosted service allows calls to be routed to different agents, for customers to feel as if they are in one environment whereas there is no need for the company to operate this way at all.

Billing and statistics also come from one central source, so it ties up all of the loose ends. Our call centre solutions involve all that hosted telephony can offer in one place.

Q: What are peoples fears about going for hosted services?

Paul: It seems complicated at the outset because there are so many possibilities on offer. That's where we are here to help.

Q: Where do people start?

Paul: They would normally trial something like call recording because it's not an intrusive application. It's something that happens in the background and doesn't normally affect any of the existing processes. People can see benefits like access via the web to the recordings, stats as well as the reduced charges for their outbound telephony.

Q: So people can save money?

Paul: As a hosting company we generate lots of traffic and as such we're able to negotiate very considerable discounting. We pass this on to our clients.

Q: Are many people using hosted services right now? America's Uninsured Children: Finding Health Insurance for Kids
According to recent studies by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, between 7 and 8 million children under the age of 18 are living without health insurance.While this staggering figure is down from the reported 10 million uninsured children in 1997, the CDC maintains that this still-present epidemic stifles the health and growth of America’s children. In fact, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reports that one in three children go for an entire year without seeing a doctor.It’s not surprising that the health of children depend, in part, on their access to the health care system. And with the rising cost of health insurance, many families are simply not able to afford health coverage—leading to missed physician appointments, skipped prescription refills and lack of immunizations for our youngsters.The Good NewsFortunately for families and youngsters, state and federal governments are working toward insuring more of our kids. Programs like the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid are expanding their eligibility requisites to include more children in effort to eradicate the “poor but not poor enough” trend in public health care.Medicaid is also joining forces with state programs to provide incentives for parents to schedule checkups for their children. Health Partners of Minnesota, for example, partnered with Medicaid to send families with children ages 10, 12, 16 and 18 a postcard dule and we can build it. Typically at the moment the major areas of interest are inbound ACD - the ability to handle inbound caller traffic and distribute it to the right individuals/departments and to report on that and to understand the effect on the business of your inbound traffic.

There's the outbound side which is the ability for you to connect to the outside world and dialler technologies like predictive dialling.

Q: What kinds of companies are going for Hosted services?

Paul: Most companies have room for hosted services in their setups:

You have the new company with the opportunity to install completely new technology. For them there is a serious decision as to whether they go for the capital expenditure route of buying physical systems to install in the new office, or whether they go for a hosted model where they avoid those.

You have the company with some old systems, some historical investment but a perception that they need to move upward and gain access to new applications and services, or that they need to enhance their existing platforms but don't again want to go through the capital expenditure of upgrading or replacing their legacy systems and again, they are able to go to a hosted supplier that has already made that investment, that is moving with the latest technologies and can make these services available on a Pay As You Go basis that the business can now run as an operating expenditure.

I could go on, but you can see that it can be a sound technological and financial decision to go hosted.

Q: So people can put off making technological choices that might not have an answer right now?

Paul: Yes. With IVR systems, telephone systems, computer systems, CRM environments etc, a lot of work can go into understanding the technology. There are normally a number of different costs attached to that; there are the upfront costs of investment in consultancy, some upfront costs in buying systems. Then there's the actual cost of ownership - training, maintenance etc. One of the most difficult things is actually what hardware technology to buy because it has to grow with you and allow you to fulfil the requirements of that technology. Hosting provides you with an existing environment that has already been designed very effectively, so you avoid having to make a decision today that you can put off till tomorrow because with hosting you can go with existing platforms in technology - but importantly you can choose the things that you want in the form of a shopping list, and go through a learning curve without having the initial investment of buying the hardware.

Q: Give me a scenario?

Paul: Let's take as an example a virtual call centre.

A hosted service allows calls to be routed to different agents, for customers to feel as if they are in one environment whereas there is no need for the company to operate this way at all.

Billing and statistics also come from one central source, so it ties up all of the loose ends. Our call centre solutions involve all that hosted telephony can offer in one place.

Q: What are peoples fears about going for hosted services?

Paul: It seems complicated at the outset because there are so many possibilities on offer. That's where we are here to help.

Q: Where do people start?

Paul: They would normally trial something like call recording because it's not an intrusive application. It's something that happens in the background and doesn't normally affect any of the existing processes. People can see benefits like access via the web to the recordings, stats as well as the reduced charges for their outbound telephony.

Q: So people can save money?

Paul: As a hosting company we generate lots of traffic and as such we're able to negotiate very considerable discounting. We pass this on to our clients.

Q: Are many people using hosted services right now? Work At Home Business Opportunity That Will Enable You Give Up Your Day Job
Every online entrepreneur dreams of that work at home business opportunity that will enable them to fire their boss and give up their day job.They constantly dream of a work at home business opportunity that will be interesting, keep them fully occupied and still be able to put bacon on the table. There are many other people online who believe that this is an impossible dream but for a few very lucky and very talented individuals of the likes of the Google boys.Actually this is an increasingly easy dream to attain with improved work at home business opportunity affiliate programs that give amazing support to the affiliate. These emerging programs make it very easy for anybody who joins them to generate enough leads to make significant sales at their affiliate web site.What's more, there is no limit to how many good work at home business affiliate opportunities you can join at the same time. You can join several and start promoting them at your site with the relevant affiliate links pasted in prominent spots on your site. If done well they can all compliment each other and give you a very good regular income. Good enough for you to easily give up your day job to concentrate full time on your work at home business opportunity.actual cost of ownership - training, maintenance etc. One of the most difficult things is actually what hardware technology to buy because it has to grow with you and allow you to fulfil the requirements of that technology. Hosting provides you with an existing environment that has already been designed very effectively, so you avoid having to make a decision today that you can put off till tomorrow because with hosting you can go with existing platforms in technology - but importantly you can choose the things that you want in the form of a shopping list, and go through a learning curve without having the initial investment of buying the hardware.

Q: Give me a scenario?

Paul: Let's take as an example a virtual call centre.

A hosted service allows calls to be routed to different agents, for customers to feel as if they are in one environment whereas there is no need for the company to operate this way at all.

Billing and statistics also come from one central source, so it ties up all of the loose ends. Our call centre solutions involve all that hosted telephony can offer in one place.

Q: What are peoples fears about going for hosted services?

Paul: It seems complicated at the outset because there are so many possibilities on offer. That's where we are here to help.

Q: Where do people start?

Paul: They would normally trial something like call recording because it's not an intrusive application. It's something that happens in the background and doesn't normally affect any of the existing processes. People can see benefits like access via the web to the recordings, stats as well as the reduced charges for their outbound telephony.

Q: So people can save money?

Paul: As a hosting company we generate lots of traffic and as such we're able to negotiate very considerable discounting. We pass this on to our clients.

Q: Are many people using hosted services right now?

Paul: Virtually everyone is using some form of hosted service already. If you use a mobile phone you're actually using a hosted service, because a lot of intelligence that runs on that phone is actually held at a central office location, so if you're with O2 or Vodafone they have systems that host your voicemail, they have IVR and you're mobile is just an access device. Typically the cost of the technology is supplemented by the contract you are on. So, you may have bought your phone for a few pounds when in fact the retail price of that phone may be hundreds of pounds and you are now paying for that technology over a period of time, based on a contract with the spend value per month which goes to that provider. So everyone is actually using hosting in some fashion or another.

Regarding market share, I estimate that 1% of the UK market would recognise themselves as hosting some sort of the telecoms service today. In North America it is much more. An example is that mail order companies can ship products with a service number attached to it, so if it arrives damaged there is a phone number on there that people can ring which will take you through to someone that can help you - in America 96% have this, in the UK it is more like 20%.

Q: What would you ask your hosting company?

Paul: The first thing to know is where have they co-located their equipment. You need a high capacity/high available environment with a lot of resilient architecture. What that means is that you want a co-location that has got environmental controls, is a manned facility with an engineer on site to deal with problems 24/7.

Thanks Paul.

*TDM Time Division Multiplexing is a method where lots of signals are combined for transmission on a single communications channel or line. Each signal is broken up into lots of segments, each having short duration.

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