Does your current business email end in one of the following addresses:

-hotmail.com

-gmail.com

-Yahoo.com/Yahoo.ca

-Rogers.com

-Sympatico.ca

-Cogeco.ca

These accounts are great for personal use, but don’t belong in the business environment (Unless you work for one of those companies directly, of course!)  I have seen many professional advertisements, primarily from Real Estate agents, who have a beautiful flyer professionally produced in my mailbox, but end up with their hotmail.com address on it.  To me, their professional credibility drops a little bit when I see that.

2 of the biggest companies for providing managed business email online are Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365.  Both offer your own email address with your own domain name (yourname@yourcompany.com) and provide a number of enhanced services over traditional email solutions.

For example, if you currently have a pop3 mail account from your internet provider, chances are all of your important business emails are on your computer.  What happens if your computer was stolen, damaged, or simply crashed to the point of no return?  How would your access all those emails?

Managed email online (also called Cloud based) provides you with the benefit of having your emails stored away from your computer.  If something happens to your computer, your emails are safe.

Contact us to find out how we can help you transition your business email to a professional email address managed online.

Years ago, when I was selling phones at a retail store, I found that I would go through all of cell phone models available to a client, and then have them ask me: “So, what phone do you use?”  I sold more models of phones based on the fact I was using it than any other model.  The concept is simple:  If you use the phone, then it must be good!

Some of the products and services I will be writing about in this series are ones that we sell/resell, and others are technologies that we find really useful and want to share our experiences with them.  In all cases, we use them for a reason and hope it may help you find a solution to a particular problem or need you have.

Today, we will be talking about: Evernote

Evernote is a note taking application for your computer, Smartphone, and tablet computer.  It is designed to help you record everything you need electronically instead of on little scraps of paper.  The beauty of Evernote is that when you record something, (it handles text, audio, documents, etc.) it is then uploaded to a central server that makes it accessible from your other devices.  This allows you to start a note on your computer, and complete it on your phone, or from a web browser on a different computer.

Evernote also offers a great text recognition feature, which will scan text in images and pdf files and make them searchable.

All-Aboard Telecom uses Evernote to help us keep our notes all in one place and searchable.  It is one of the ways we have been transitioning to a paperless office system over the past year.

As we get business cards from new contacts, we can either scan them in (more on that in a future post) or take a picture with a camera phone and upload it.  Once it’s online, Evernote works their magic and makes the text from the business card searchable.  If someday, I need to find a name of someone I once met, or are looking for something in particular, like a mortgage broker, all I have to do is a keyword search, Mortgage for example, and it will find all the text entries, not only in our text notes, but for the occurrence on business cards that we have submitted images for.

All-Aboard Telecom believes in a multi-platform environment for business tools.  PC’s and Mac’s can co-exist along with Android phones, Apple iOS devices and BlackBerry’s. We like how Evernote is available on such a wide variety of tools.  When it comes to notes, memos and general information we need to keep a record of, Evernote works best for us.  It is a great combination of Hybrid cloud computing which makes your records available both online and locally.

Evernote offers both free and paid premium accounts depending on your needs.  If you are looking to go paperless, this is one of the great services that helped us.

Many businesses today run using phone systems that are getting up there in years.  While they still might work, are they really working for your business?

Traditional phone systems, sometimes called a Private Branch Exchange or PBX, handle standard analog lines and route them to digital handsets in the office.  Most of these systems in small businesses are designed to handle a certain number of lines.  If the line is free you can make a call, if it’s not, you have to wait.

When someone calls, phone lines will start blinking and ringing indicating a call, but who answers the phone?  If you have a receptionist, it’s usually them, but what if they step away from the desk. Who answers it then?  What if you don’t have a receptionist?  Do your employees scramble to answer the phone, or worse, do they all hope someone ELSE answers the phone?

While traditional phone systems may work at making and receiving calls, that’s about all they can do.  What if your phones could do more for you?

Newer Internet telephony based phone systems or Unified Communications Systems provide many more benefits to small and medium size businesses than simply allowing you to make phone calls.  Auto attendants built into the system can provide your business with a first point of contact for your callers and provide not only an introduction to your business, but a marketing opportunity.  Have you ever thought of an auto attendant message as being a branch of your marketing?  A recorded greeting stating your company name and a brief mission statement goes a long way to providing a level of credibility and branding that simply answering the phone can’t do.

Do your employees have their own voicemail accounts, or do they use their cell phone voicemail accounts instead?  What if each employee could have a single voice message inbox that would forward messages to your phone when out of the office?  Being able to call in and check your messages is one thing, but just think how much time you could save if your voicemail was automatically emailed to you when a message was left?  That is how a Unified Communications solution saves you time in your day and prevents you from missing that all important message.

What do your long distance bills look like?  Are you paying a lot for long distance charges, or are you paying long distance for phone calls that you think SHOULD be local calls?  Traditional phone systems only handle analog phone lines and you are stuck with the traditional billing packages that go along with them.  Internet based phone systems and Unified Communication systems provide you options on how you handle your calls.  While analog lines can still be incorporated into your phone system, Digital Voice over Internet technology helps bring your monthly costs down.  Voice over Internet calls are significantly cheaper than over traditional analog lines.  We can create systems that are entirely digital voice; we can make it solely analog lines, or a combination of the two, creating a hybrid telephony solution for your business.

If any of these scenarios look familiar to you, consider contacting us to discuss how a new Internet based or Unified Communications solution can benefit your business.  We will be happy to review your current system, discuss your current and future needs, and recommend a solution tailored to your business.

For more information and to set up a meeting contact us today.

These moves are to be inline with the new focus of the company on business technology solutions to keep you connected.

Over the coming weeks, we will start talking about different solutions and services that can help small and medium size businesses to communicate more effectively. We will also relaunch some of the products and services that we offer to help explain why these are so beneficial to businesses.

We also plan to launch new products and new services, along with strategic partnerships to better serve the SMB market.

Stay tuned to learn more on how we will keep you connected!

Please see the following press release for details.

All-Aboard Telecom Inc. Achieves Select Certification from Cisco Canada

[Burlington, Ontario] – May 12th 2011 – All-Aboard Telecom Inc. announced today it has achieved Select Certification from Cisco. The Select Certification recognizes Cisco® resale channel partners that focus on meeting the technology and services needs of small businesses.

“By reaching the Select Certification level from Cisco, we are now able to bring forward a number of new tools, products and services to our Small and Medium size business clients to help them stay connected.”
-Christopher Allsop, President

“The Cisco Select Certification was created in response to customer demand for channel partners capable of designing and implementing Cisco solutions purpose-built for small businesses,” said Andrew Sage, vice president of Worldwide Small Business Sales at Cisco. “With the Select Certification, All-Aboard Telecom Inc. has made an investment in obtaining the training, skills and knowledge necessary to play a pivotal role in meeting this growing demand.”

To earn Select Certification, All-Aboard Telecom Inc. fulfilled the training and exam requirements for the Cisco Small Business Specialization. All-Aboard Telecom Inc. also met the personnel, training and postsales support requirements set forth by Cisco.
The Cisco Resale Channel Program provides a framework for channel partners to build the sales, technical and Cisco Lifecycle Services skills required to deliver Cisco solutions to end customers. Through the program’s specializations and certifications, Cisco recognizes a channel partner’s expertise in deploying solutions based on Cisco advanced technologies and services. Using a third-party audit process, the program validates channel partner qualifications such as technology skills, business best practices, customer satisfaction, and presales and postsales support capabilities — critical factors for customers choosing a trusted channel partner.

About All-Aboard Telecom Inc.
All-Aboard Telecom Inc. is a telecommunications solutions provider, specializing in the small and medium business market. Our emphasis is on providing solid telecommunications solutions and customer service to businesses looking to start up or expand their operations. Founded in 2007, our emphasis has always been on finding the right solution for the client to keep them connected.

Press Contact:
Christopher Allsop
All-Aboard Telecom Inc.
416 477-2566 ext 200
callsop@allaboardtelecom.ca

# # #

Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems Inc. in the United States and certain other countries.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Even though Bluetooth headsets are the best choice to go hands free, here is an option for those that Don’t want to go hands free.  The video demonstrates how a toy Star Trek communicator can be turned into a Bluetooth speaker phone, and provides a web site to learn how to build it yourself.

Geeky, Yes.  Cool, Absolutely!

"Black's premium locations provide an established network across Canada for the distribution of TELUS' wireless products, which nicely complements our extensive network of dealers and stores. In anticipation of our clients' evolving needs and as more wireless devices have imbedded high quality photo and video capability, there is a natural link between TELUS and Black's."
-Joe Natale, executive-vice president and
president, TELUS Consumer Solutions
While there is an obvious need for wireless data devices if you plan to send digital photos while on the go, the list of synergies between the two companies seems rather short.  Until more cameras start being released with wireless data cards built right into them, this will still be two separate product lines being carried in 1 location.

With the announcement of Telus migrating to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) data network in the new year, they may be strategically planning ahead with products designed to take advantage of the network, however the number of cameras that have been released that offer any kind of wireless data transfer are quite slim.  More likely this is an attempt by Telus to keep up with Bell, who recently purchased "The Source" chain of consumer electronic stores.

While the idea of increasing the number of locations in which you can purchase a product seems like a good idea, it will also serve to water down the existing locations.  Many retail malls and locations that currently have a Blacks Photography probably have a Telus dealer or corporate store nearby.  Time will tell whether this is a great opportunity to merge consumer electronics and wireless data products, or just a case of "keeping up with the Jones". for Telus.

The focus of Wind, according to their press release and their new website, is they want to encourage dialogue with their customers and promote a stronger focus on customer service.  In an industry that has come under fire for poor customer service skills, this strategy could prove to be extremely effective.  There is already quite a bit of excitement in the consumer market for more choice in wireless providers.  A marketing plan geared towards open discussions with the customer and listening to their needs may be exactly what the market needs.

Wind Mobile highlights 4 areas that it will focus on in its launch:

• A dialogue with its customers to help determine everything from what phones to carry to who they should hire
• Simplicity in customer service in everything from the bills you read to the people you interact with at the company
• Control of your wireless experience.  Wind Mobile wants you to feel like you have a say in the company and its products
• Value for the customer.  Wind Mobile has stated they will not charge their customers for services that they are not charged (Highlighting the System Access Fee as an example)

Currently, there is no news about any of the actual price plans, products or services that Wind Mobile will offer, except that we know they will be offering their phone services on a next generation HSPA network that is the next evolution of GSM technology.  They are currently in a major push for hiring so expect to see their services offered by the end of this year or early into 2010.

As more people purchase smart phones instead of traditional cell phones, the strain on the network will increase. This move to higher speeds will allow system resources to handle more phones and deliver better service to them. Multimedia intensive applications should speed up significantly.

The greatest benefit for consumers will be the for those that use mobile internet cards for their laptops and netbooks. Browsing on your computer from a wireless USB dongle through this expanded network should closely mirror the expected level of service from your home internet package.

In related news, Rogers Wireless and MTS AllStream have entered into an agreement where the two companies will share the costs of deploying the HSPA+ network in Manitoba. This will benefit MTS AllStream customers as they will now be given roaming access to the Rogers Wireless HSPA+ footprint across Canada and also be part of the Rogers Wireless roaming agreement overseas.

This is perhaps the first round of the coming Wireless Wars in Canada as new companies prepare to open up their doors and networks while existing companies rally to keep their customer base. MTS AllStream currently operates with a CDMA voice and data network, which offers phones not compatible with the GSM/HSPA+ network. Many companies, including Bell and Telus have signalled they will begin rolling out HSPA networks in the coming months which will be compatible with GSM.

Stay tuned as the Wireless Wars starts to heat up this fall!

For a limited time, All-Aboard Telecom will be running a promotion on our Hosted PBX phone service.  Sign up a new account on our Hosted PBX for Small Business solution and you can purchase a Linksys SPA942 VoIP enabled phone for only $99.

Small businesses now have a solution to stay connected with their clients with a Hosted PBX phone service from All-Aboard Telecom.  Phone systems help manage your incoming and outgoing calls and presents a professional image to your clients.  A PBX phone system can also help reduce your overall costs while maintaining an effective communications strategy for your business.

Some of the features included in the package are:

• Caller ID
• Find Me/Follow Me
• Voice Mail with e-mail and SMS notification
• Unlimited North American Calling
• Professional Auto-Attendant
• Call Forwarding
• Single number point of contact

Plus many other Features!!!

Here is how the promotion works: Sign up for our Hosted PBX phone service for at least a 6 month period and receive a Linksys SPA942 VoIP enabled phone for only $99 (plus applicable taxes).  We only have a limited number of phones we can do this deal with so sign up quickly to take advantage of this offer.  If you sign up before July 31st 2009, we will waive the setup fees! ($50 value) For more information, download the flyer here.

Satisfaction Guarantee: If you are not satisfied with your phone service within 30 days of activating, you may cancel your service and return the phone in working order for a full refund on your purchase price of the phone.

Helping small business stay connected!

If you are just starting out in business or if you use your cell phone exclusively as your primary business line, contact All-Aboard Telecom to find out full details about this offer  and see hour our Hosted PBX service can help your business stay connected.