Synclio Goes International: New Website Launched in China

Exciting news out of the pipeline here at the Synclio HQ.

We have taken our first virtual step across international waters with the launch of a brand new Chinese website. This is part of a continuous effort to extend our awesome virtual PBX services to international communities just as we do to North American markets. We realize it takes different kinds of people to make the world go round (and not only because we happened to hear that song playing on the radio!)

So if you’re a proficient reader of ancient logograms, a curious cosmopolitan, or perhaps simply a Google robot (*wink wink*), we invite you to sail over to www.synclio.cn or http://www.synclio.com.cn/ and enjoy our little slice of the orient.

Feel free to start spreading the word around in any language you can master—sing it, swing it, ring it, ding it, clap it, snap it, yap it... whatever it takes to let your overseas friends know that Synclio's virtual PBX is coming soon into the language near them.

First step China—then, THE WORLD! (*evil laugh*)

One satisfied customer at a time!

Related Posts:

1. Synclio’s Virtual PBX Free Trial: First 14 Days or First 60 Minutes on us!
2. Synclio’s Youtube Channel Goes Live with a Brand New Video!
3. New Code_Swarm Video Depicts Synclio's Software Project Evolution To-Date
4. What’s ‘Your Business, Anywhere’ Anyway?
5. Anatomy of a Virtual Phone System: What’s in it, and why you need it?

Labels: business, china pbx, hosted pbx, international phone system, ip pbx china, synclio, telecommunications, telephony, virtual PBX, voip

Tips to Help You Record IVR Voice Prompts Like a Pro

So you’ve just treated yourself to a brand new virtual PBX phone system. Dandy! Grab a piece of newspaper and rustle it in your ear to get that sweet sensation of unwrapping a present. Now, with all that shopping adrenaline out of your system, you may find an old friend has dropped in for a visit—that same old stage fright that got you all mumbling as Romeo back in junior high and everyone else asking ‘is he doing Macbeth?’

But not to worry, before you start questioning ‘to be or not to be’, here are a few tips that will quickly help you get the performance of a pro.

First...

To Record or not To Record...Yourself

The first decision to make is whether you'll record your own voice or that of a colleague, or delegate the task to a professional altogether.

Recording Yourself (I'll be my own talent!)

This is a good choice if you feel you've got the voice for it, or perhaps a co-worker who sings like a canary.

The Benefits

• Low cost

• Flexibility to change prompts in the future

• Control over quality

You’ll Need

• A computer

• A microphone, or your Phone

• A quiet room

• A script

• A voice

Tips

• While Synclio’s virtual PBX gives you the freedom to record right from your phone, it’s best to use a computer with a microphone whenever possible to avoid distortions that may occur during the call.

• Use a quiet room with no background noise (turn off the AC, get away from the fridge or any humming lights—you’ll be surprised at the amount of white noise we filter out on a regular basis.)

• Speak louder than you normally would, this will force you to articulate. But DON’T speak slower—people will grow tired, especially if it’s the type of menu they’ve heard a hundred times before.

• If your IVR menu features unique choices in an otherwise standard menu, or if you have made recent changes to the call options, make sure you state this at the beginning of your recording so that callers will know not to skim through the message.

• Likewise, try to position such choices as early on as possible so as not to force callers to sit through the entire menu they already know by heart to arrive at the relevant part.

• Spend time on your script. Make sure it’s as clear and concise as possible while covering all options and extensions. At the same time, maintain a friendly tone, and don’t be afraid to inject something personal to stand out. A touch of personality can identify you and your business.

• Train your voice. You might feel a bit tense or strained at the beginning. Take your time and give it a few trials until you feel it starts flowing more naturally. Listen to the recordings and keep trying until you are happy—that’s the advantage of being your own talent. You can take all the takes it takes (now try saying that three times fast!)

• Find out what file-types are supported by your provider, and whether there is a size limit. Use the highest quality audio possible (.wav or equivalent if supported)

Hiring Voice Talent (ok...I may need some help after all)

Hiring professional help is a good choice if no one you know is much of an orator (don’t worry, that’s right here with the rest of us 90% of the population—they don’t call it talent for no reason).

The Benefits

• Professional quality

• Guaranteed results (offered by certain companies)

• Fast turnaround

• No need for equipment

• Available in multiple languages

You’ll Need

• A script

• A Wallet

Tips

• Look around until you find a company that offers the right balance between features and cost. Get a few different quotes. A company charging significantly less or more than the average for no apparent reason may better be avoided.

• Check freelancing sites like elance or oDesk for freelance voice-actors that may fit the job and the bill. These can often be more affordable, as you’re dealing directly with the individual instead of an agency, but always be sure you ask for samples (and don't be too cheap. As with everything, you'll get what you pay for)

• Make sure the agency or contractor understands your needs, and that you understand what they are willing to commit to.

• Find out in advance if their service is guaranteed, and if so, under what terms.

• If you require multi-lingual recordings, make sure that’s been discussed and accounted for in the quote.

• Be specific about any special intonations or pronunciations in your script (for technical words, proper names, etc)

• Discuss the desired tone and effect with your talent. Especially if using independent voice-actors, as they may be predisposed to conveying emotional characteristics (such as overt enthusiasm, if they come from radio) that may not be right for what you're doing. Try to aim for a friendly but neutral tone, unless you have specific reason to do otherwise (be careful though. It's only a phone menu. Make it functional.)

• Inquire about their policy for recording future changes. Try to secure the rate in advance. Some companies will try to take advantage of the fact you’re now ‘tied’ to their voice talent and charge a higher rate when you come back.

Use Text to Speech Software (What about A.I.?)

TTS (Text-to-speech) computer products are a great idea, but have limited realism. This makes them suitable for situation where quality is not paramount, such as IVR menus for internal use by employees, or for tasks that call for short phrases like naming numbers or letters—but likely not for delivery of full-length passages to the public (unless you don't mind sounding like robocop).

The Benefits

• Highly adjustable. Can easily be changed or updated.

• No need for, or reliance on, voice talent

• No recording equipment required

You’ll Need

• A computer

• A Script

• A Wallet (ok, this joke’s getting old)

Tips

• Carefully assess whether or not a TTS product will suite your needs.

• Compare products to arrive at a balance between cost and features that you feel comfortable with.

• In some cases you can consider supplementing voice talent with TTS. For instance, if certain parts of your menu will be fixed while others may be frequently updated, or to avoid recording short individual phrases like numbers or letters. In such cases, try to make sure ahead of time that the voice of your voice-talent closely resembles that of your TTS product.

So you see, recording IVR prompts is really not all that complicated. You likely have all the equipment you'll need right before you this very minute. All that remains is finding your voice, jotting down some notes, and perhaps adding a smidgen of creativity.

Good luck!

Labels: business, call center, record voice prompts, telecommunications, text to speach, tts, virtual IVR, virtual PBX, voice talent, voice talent agency

Google Wallet and Smartphone Banking: Forget about Forgetting your Wallet

Have you ever reached the checkout point in a store only to realize you had left your wallet at home? Or noted with a frown the bulging square messing up the fit of that trimmed new blazer? How about just shuffling plastic cards and thinking “there must be a better way...”?

Well, there is. The days of plain old wallets have now been officially numbered as Google unveils its brand new Google Wallet service!

Um... did he just say ‘Google Wallet?’

Yep, that’s right folks. Some of you may have been enjoying smart banking (that is, banking with your smartphones) for things like checking your accounts or paying your bills, but now comes the next step—swiping at the cash register. Wallet, keys, cellphone—these items are at the top of anyone’s checklist. But not far down the road you’ll be able to scrape that first off your list!

So like, where do I put the change?

Wondering how it works? Here’s the skinny:

Not too long ago, many credit cards got a facelift that included a security chip and a small ‘Paypass’ logo. Paypass implements micro-chip technology to wirelessly communicate with the terminal at the point of purchase and to process the transaction.

Those who’ve put it to the test found it amazingly addictive—amazing, because you’d think things couldn’t have gotten much simpler than swiping your card and signing a receipt, but here we are—with Paypass, you simply tap the card on the panel and let the terminal do its magic.

Google Wallet uses the same two technologies: an NFC chip, (short for ‘Near Field Communication’) which transmits information over very short distances (under 4 centimeters), and MasterCard’s Paypass, to essentially replace your credit card.

This method is very secure because the close proximity and short duration of each transmission make it one tough nut to crack by would be attackers.

While only a limited set of cards and devices will be supported when the program rolls out this summer, Google intends to progressively expand across other platforms and eventually replace all plastic cards.

Ah, Technology...just when you think things couldn’t get any better—they do!

What about pick-pockets?

According to the Google Wallet section on Security, “a locked wallet is a safer wallet”, and “Google Wallet’s security features go beyond what’s possible with traditional wallets and cards”.

“So what’s a locked wallet” you ask?

No, you won’t have to get one of those heart-shaped mini-locks from the dollar-store.

Google protects your virtual wallet with a pin number. What’s more, the encrypted credit card credentials are stored on a special chip called the Secure Element, described by Google as “a separate computer, capable of running programs and storing data.”

They add that “The Secure Element is separate from your Android phone's memory” (which makes it tougher to compromise), and that “The chip is designed to only allow trusted programs on the Secure Element itself to access the payment credentials stored therein.”

So, while nothing in life is completely safe, this sounds much safer than using a plastic card or even plain old cash.

What about the iPhone—if Google is doing it today, Jobs must’ve done it yesterday, right?

Well, actually—no.

But he will do it tomorrow?

To be honest, it’s not completely clear. At first there were reports the iPhone 5 will have an NFC chip. Then came out contradictory reports saying that it won’t. Then more reports claiming that it will—and then a series of won’t, will, won’t, will, won’t, will... that goes on until today.

Now, consider that most of these reports are along the lines of ‘my brother’s friend—who works for a company that installed an HVAC unit for this other company that employs a guy who used to work for Apple—said...’

So it’s not exactly what you’d call ‘credible sources’.

It’s hard to believe though that a seasoned player like Apple would completely miss the boat on this one, so a safe assumption would be that Jobs has something in the works (pan intended), but simply lags behind a little bit.

There’s always a chance he might turn up at the finish line with a surprise though, it’s happened before.

So what’s in stock for us iPhone, RIM, and WIN 7 users?

Apparently, Google has expressed its willingness to partner with competitors, but there are doubts as to whether or not competitors might not prefer to develop—or are already developing—alternatives of their own.

In the meantime, perhaps not to be labelled ‘Isolationists’, Google will reportedly make a special sticker available that can be attached to the back of any compatible smartphone and let other users take advantage of the app, albeit in a limited version.

Give me the bottom line!

Smart banking keeps getting smarter, and waving your phone at the terminal is definitely the wave of the future. Striding or limping, other smartphone manufacturers are going to catch up eventually, and we’ll likely see some new and interesting variations on the concept coming up.

A virtual phone-wallet will let you:

o Leave your wallet at home.

o Store all your plastic cards and credentials in a single secure environment

o Experience increased security.

o Take advantage of rewards, coupons, and loyalty programs—right within your phone.

o Enjoy the convenience of waving to pay.

Now all we need is some kind of ‘Google Keys’ app that will start our cars and lock our condos to completely forget our short-term memory issues!

Labels: android, apple, business, google, iPhone, NFC Chip, smartphone banking, technology, telecommunications, telephone banking, use google wallet, what is google wallet

Synclio’s Youtube Channel Goes Live with a Brand New Video!

Great news everyone!

Synclio’s Youtube channel just went live, and we’ve got a brand new video to show for it.

Take Mamet’s storytelling, stir in some Hitchcockian suspense, Cameron clichés, and a squirt of artificial tears curtsey of everyone's favorite governor Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and you’ve got one incredible story about a virtual PBX system traveling back in time to stop the assassination of Larry Page and Sergey Brin (before they could even spell the word ‘Google’) by a giant fibre-optic cable fished down a wormhole when the evil telecoms realized without Google there could be no cloud, VOiP, or any such shenanigans...

Ok, I may have laid it a bit heavy there—but we do have some great stuff coming up!

Tune in to learn about cool new features, watch how-to videos, or just kick back and enjoy some quality entertainment. It may not be Terminator 5—but it sure beats the last two sequels!

Without further ado, here's the first video from Synclio:

Labels: business, cloud pbx, phone system, telecommunications, virtual pbx video, voip, youtube, youtube channel

The Benefits of Visual Voicemail: Seeing is the New Hearing

Voicemail as we know it has been around for a while, and it’s probably about time the whole thing got a facelift.

Sure, it’s been great for gauging different people’s take on ‘a short message’ or for providing those we’ve been trying to avoid with a less obtrusive way of pestering us—even for receiving an important communication here and there—but let’s admit it, retrieving those messages could become a hassle.

First you had to dial-in and enter a silly pin number that, for some dang reason, never seemed to stick in your head. Next, assuming you’ve managed past the four-digit gateway, you had to plough through five minutes of your mother-in-law’s daily quibbling before getting to your client’s urgent message—asking you to call back no later than 4pm and it’s now 4:05, thanks to your extended family...

If you hung up and spent a few moments counting your blessings (or simply counting to ten), and later wanted to revisit that last message, you had to go through the entire process all over again.

While this might be better than the mini-cassettes of old—it’s like telling yourself now that you should be content with a good breadknife when they’ve already invented sliced-bread.

So what’s sliced-bread for voicemail? Visual Voicemail.

Visual voicemail lets you view your VM messages in a visual sequence listed by the caller’s name, just like viewing contacts in your call-log or songs in a playlist. This gives you the freedom to selectively prioritize which messages you’re going to listen to, when, and in what order (yep, dance around Wilma all you want or simply press delete—she’ll never even know!). What’s more, there’s no need to dial in—you simply tap the voicemail icon on your smartphone (or web browser if you're using a PC) and find all your messages magically listed right there.

If that’s not enough, additional features let you forward messages, reply via SMS/MMS, and even have them transcribed to text using voice recognition technology. While this last is presently estimated at about 40% accuracy, it’s still a great auxiliary for capturing quick notes or running a search using key-words (never before possible), and will continue to improve as the technology keeps advancing.

Visual voicemail is available on most platforms, such as Android, iOS, and Win 7, and can be purchased as a value added service from your cellular provider. But if you’re already shopping around for a hosted PBX solution, it’s also included for free with Synclio’s virtual PBX, so you might as well hit two birds with one stone and keep those few extra bucks in your pocket, right where they belong.

(Note: no animals were harmed during writing of this article)

Labels: android visual voicemail, benefits of visual voicemail, business, iOS visual voicemail, phone system, telecommunications, virtual PBX, voip, what is visual voicemail, windows mobile visual voicemail

Why Did Microsoft Buy Skype, and How Might it Affect Current Users?

Ever since the news broke out last Tuesday the internet has been abuzz. Everybody seems to think they know Microsoft’s business better than Microsoft—but seeing as the software giant didn’t rise to where it did without merit, shouldn’t we at least give them the benefit of doubt?

Why did Microsoft buy Skype?

The major criticism is that Microsoft has grossly overpaid for the acquisition.

It’s no secret that, while amassing users by the millions and growing popular enough to have become a verb, the telephony provider has been having a hard time converting this popularity into profit. However, the company has come a long way, with 20% increase in revenue and 40% increase in earnings through 2010. This still didn’t quite bring them over to see a profitable bottom-line, but all in all, they only dipped $6.91 million as opposed to a whopping $368.8 million in 2009—which is a huge improvement. They are further projected to earn 1 billion in 2012, which is expected to be their first profitable year, and Microsoft evidently has faith in this forecast.

Then, though popularity can’t guarantee profit it can certainly be a powerful auxiliary, especially in the hands of a company with products and services that can realize the conversion. Just to put this popularity into context, Skype has had over 100 million connected users every month with 30 million concurrently connected at any given time, and 600,000 new registrations every day. In 2010, the company facilitated a total of 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations.

This is one huge chunk of the market when directed at the right product.

Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer additionally suggested monetization opportunities that have only been scratched so far, such as premium services and video advertising.

Then, of course there are synergies. Microsoft has many products and services that can readily benefit from the incorporation of voice and video—including Windows Phone 7 products, Xbox, Kinect, and Lync—but perhaps most imminent is integration with their Email service, where they’ve been pushed to the sidelines by the big G.

Google’s Gmail offers a robust one-stop-shop for managing email accounts and document through Google Docs, with integrated chat, voice and even video capabilities. This is one powerhouse of a system.

Microsoft, on the other hand, has its services scattered between Windows Live Mail on the web and Outlooks on the PC, with nothing that can hold a candle to Google’s communications offerings.

Now, Microsoft could start investing time and resources to develop its own VOiP/video service and then attempt to capture a market-share—but that’s an expensive and time consuming process with no guarantees of success. On the other hand, they could do just what they did and buy Skype outright, part-and-parcel with its entire dedicated user-base. Has this been any less expensive? Probably not. But it’s certainly a hell of a lot faster—and the folks at MS must’ve felt that they can afford the cash more than they can afford to lag behind Google any longer.

Buying Skype also landed them with a development team that has pretty much made video-calling what it is today. So if the goal is to keep pushing the boundaries, this definitely gives them a competitive edge.

All this shows that at the very least there’s some method to their madness (if Microsoft has indeed gone mad as suggested)—and perhaps even a good chance the deal will turn out very well for both companies.

How might this affect current users?

Both Steve and Tony Bates (formerly Skype CEO, now head of Skype division at MS) have made it clear that they will continue support and development of Skype on multiple platforms. In fact, Microsoft is one of the only big players that can show a track record of doing this. So if you’re a Mac user and the news got you worried, you can now breathe a sigh of relief.

Next, users might be concerned that the free service offerings will come to an end. But you don’t buy something that works only to mess it up—you buy to build up on it. Microsoft knows that the bulk of Skype users won’t stick around without free calling options, and they’ve just paid an arm and a leg (or at least a finger and a toe) to win these users over. It then stands to reason that rather than billing users for services they’ve gotten used to getting for free, Microsoft will come up with additional premium services and products that incorporate the technology and sell them separately.

Moreover, if a main driving force behind the deal was to stay competitive with Google, there’s simply no way they can start charging for voice or video calling while Google is offering both for free. That would be an economic suicide.

Lastly, consider that with pockets as deep as Microsoft’s, new features and services are likely to come out quickly—and many of them will be geared towards business users.

So rather than getting apprehensive, we should really be excited about what the future holds in store. After all, the biggest gamble here was made by Microsoft. As a user, should you find yourself unhappy with the way things turn out, you’ll always be able to opt out and switch over to the next big thing as it comes along. Microsoft, on the other hand, will left footing an $8.5 Billion dollar bill.

For those interested, here's the conference video:

Labels: business, how will it affect users, microsoft, skype, telecommunications, video calling, voip, why did Microsoft buy Skype