Phone System Services -Chicago, IL 

Whether you need a legacy phone system maintained, or an entirely new communications system for multiple offices, Andromeda Technology Solutions is the answer you have been looking for. As our expertise also includes complete data network solutions, you can rest assured that we can fully integrate a communications system that will best leverage your existing or future IT infrastructure.

In many cases, your telephone system is the first thing people will experience when dealing with your business.

• Does it show your company in a good light?
• Is it set up so your clients have a good experience?
• Does it help maximize employee productivity?

Let us show you how a phone system should be set up!

Experience the simplicity of having an experienced company to handle all aspects of your communication systems, letting you focus on running your business.

Contact us or fill out the Request form on this page now to ask us to contact you!

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Hybrid PBX and IP-based Phone Systems

We support a host of major phone systems—from Avaya, NEC, Panasonic to Toshiba— and are a certified Panasonic dealer for both a traditional PBX system, as well as a true IP-based VoIP system. The beauty of these systems lies in their very extensive feature set (over 800 features) and their mix-and-match capabilities. Each system can mix analog, digital and IP phone sets to match almost any application. Also, each system has extensive functionality built-in for incorporating branch offices, work-at-home employees and other remote workers.

We spend a great deal of time understanding all your requirements, so we can select the system and functions that are exactly what you need.

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The Phones Become the Network

If you are considering an IP-based telephone system, it is important to understand these systems are more data systems than phone systems. Unlike a traditional PBX system, a VoIP system puts a significant burden on your data network, and requires specific equipment and configuration to ensure everything is running properly.

Many traditional telephone service companies lack the skills to properly install and maintain a VoIP system. Andromeda Technology Solutions excels in all aspects of voice and data, and will ensure you get the system that is right for you.

Whether Cloud-based, Hosted/virtual PBX, or completely on-premises, we have the knowledge AND experience to guide you and implement your voice communication system to perfection.

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Replacement of Legacy Phone Systems

We have many years of experience upgrading/replacing legacy phones systems from: ComDial, Nortel, Toshiba/Mitel, and Samsung just to name a few. If you would like to experience service from a truly customer-focused organization, call us when you are ready to replace and upgrade your existing legacy telephone system.

			KX-TA KX-NCP KX-TDA KS-TDE
			IP Office Definity Magix Legend Partner
			Aspire Elite IPK I-Series DS/DSX

AndroPedia Tech Library

As part of our service, it is important to keep our client-partners well informed on Telephone system developments, news, and best practices. Here is just a sampling of typical items from our AndroPedia^SM library archive:

By now you’ve heard about the increasing threat of cyber criminals. It seems there is some new breach every day with large scale breaches on a weekly basis. Trojan horses, malicious links in emails, phishing scams and ransomware are just a few examples.

We just read an article last week about new apps that allow these criminals to launch attacks on businesses from their smart phones.

Don’t let the news stories fool you either. Just because you don’t have a billion dollar company doesn’t mean you aren’t at the same risk if not a larger risk of being attacked. In fact, most cyber criminals consider the small to midsize market a goldmine. This is due to lower security protocols and focuses by the small/midsize business owner. That “It won’t happen to me”, mentality is your worst enemy.

But, as business owners get savvier and regulations crack down on protocols, cyber criminals turn to other technologies and access points to attack your business.

We wanted to share a few examples of different phone based scams and some tips & tricks on how to avoid them.

The “Can You Hear Me” Phone Scams

These phone scams spread between business owners and consumers where a criminal will call you simply to get you to say “yes”. They record your voice and use this one simple word to sign you up services and approve purchases.
Earlier this year the Better Business Bureau released an alert and warning to the public regarding this scam. They warned of a few different tactics scammers use to get the audio they want. Questions asked might include:

• Are you the homeowner?
• Are you over 18?
• Do you pay the household bills?
• Do you have a home computer?

Calls may come from many different sources but reports have mentioned scammers claiming to be from security companies, cruise lines or sometimes from the government.

You are probably wondering how you can possibly spot these scammers and protect yourself.

A few helpful tips to follow:

• Don’t answer calls from numbers you do not recognize. Far better to send a strange number to voicemail and call back than pick up and engage the scammer.
• Never give out personally identifiable information over the phone if you aren’t sure who is on the other line.
• If you believe you have fallen for a phone scam like this, reach out to your bank and credit card companies to flag your accounts. Check your account daily for any activity and be alert.

The “Vishing” Phone Scams

Vishing is a play on the email technique “phishing” you are probably already aware of. This technique is very similar to the email version where a scammer calls you and attempts to grab personal information by claiming they are from a reputable source or business you already engage with.

For example, have you ever gotten an email from your bank claiming your account has been compromised? The email then prompts you to click a link and login to confirm your account details or restore credibility?

Criminals apply this same technique to the phone.

One of the most popular applications of this scam is connected to the IRS. Your phone rings and even the caller ID may read IRS or some government related contact. When you pick up the phone you may hear a recording informing you that you are under investigation or that the IRS has located discrepancies in your taxes. They may ask for specific information to confirm your identity before connecting you to an agent such as

• Social security info
• Birth date
• Address information
• And more . . .

Again, there are a few ways you can spot these calls and protect yourself from these types of phone scams.

First, never call a phone number presented to you in an email or over the phone. If your bank calls you, call them back on their official number. The same goes for credit card companies or the IRS.

Second, credit card companies and government agencies typically refer to you by your full name. If you receive a call and the recording or person on the other line uses anything but your full name, be on guard.

Third, there is no reason any credit company or even the IRS would call you direct and request information like credit card numbers, routing numbers or social security information. If someone calls you and asks for this, hang up and call their official number (for credit/bank – call the number on the back of your card). If this was a legitimate call the official reps will have knowledge of it, otherwise report the call.

There are a few other types of phone scams or “attacks” criminals will use to interrupt your day or try and steal your info such as Telephony Denial of Services (TDoS) or Toll Scams. We will cover these two and how to respond if you find yourself on the receiving end in a future article.

Until then, stay safe and feel free to reach our team if you have any questions.

Also – check out this database provided by the BBB where you can track local and national scam trends to stay alert and prepared. After all, the best defense is continued education when it comes to cybercrime and phone scams.

The post Popular Phone Scams & How To Avoid Them appeared first on Andromeda Technology Solutions.

We’ve all been there. . .you’re on the line with tech support, trying to figure out why a piece of equipment isn’t working properly. You’ve been connected with a friendly (hopefully) employee at a help desk somewhere and they ask a few famous questions:

“Did you check to make sure it’s plugged in?”
“Is your internet working?”
“Did you try turning it on and off?”

These questions can seem a bit ridiculous when you are on the phone, but you wouldn’t believe how often something as seemingly simple as checking a cable, power source, or on/off switch can be the solution to some of your technical issues.

These strategies don’t just work for your office PC or your entertainment system at home either. The questions might be a little different, but you can do some basic troubleshooting on your business phone system when things are acting up.

Read on to learn three basic steps you can take to troubleshoot common telephone system issues before calling in your telecom vendor for advanced assistance.

Top 3 Common Professional Phone System Issues

1. Check to See if Your Power Source is Functional

There is almost nothing worse than walking into the office in the morning to find your professional phone system is down. This is a big deal and you’ll want to get the system back up as soon as possible: but before you panic, you’ll want to head to your IT closet (or wherever the PBX box is stored). Once there, our technical team recommends locating the power cord and your backup power source or UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). Unplug the PBX power cord from the UPS and plug it directly into your electrical outlet. If the system receives power and turns on – you know that the issue isn’t your phone system. You just need a new UPS.

An average life cycle for a backup power supply is approximately 3-5 years. So having a spare is a good way to avoid issues related to UPS failure.

If plugging your system directly into your electrical outlet doesn’t get you up and running, it’s time to call your telecom service provider and get advanced technical assistance.

2. Check Phone Cords and Handsets

Sometimes your professional phone system is working, but call quality is on and off. For example, you are on the phone and you can hear the caller, but they can’t hear you speak or vice versa. You may also feel that the sound quality is distorted from time to time.

Often, these issues can be resolved by replacing the cord that connects your phone to the physical handset. If that doesn’t work, you may want to consider replacing the entire handset. It can be helpful to keep a few spare parts like these at the office to quickly change things out and fix these small issues. If you end up needing to replace an entire handset, you may need to call your professional phone system support team so that they can program your handset. In some cases if you have your system configured properly, this can be accomplished remotely and you don’t even have to have a technician come on site.

3. Determine if All of Your Lines are Down or if Only Certain Lines are Down

Sometimes for a number of reasons you may have one, multiple or all lines ‘down’ (no ring tone and no ability to make outbound or take inbound calls). Before you reach out to your service provider or your telephone system vendor, it is a good idea to determine which lines are impacted.

To do this, all you have to do is grab a list of your various phone lines and try to make an outbound call from each. If you can make a call, that line is working fine. If you don’t get a dial tone and can’t make a phone call – you’ve got a dead line.

Your next step is to call your telephone service provider and have them troubleshoot the issue to get your service reconnected.

It should be said that you can always call your professional phone system support company to help you troubleshoot any issue you have with the telephones at your office. That’s what we are here for! But, you can save yourself some time and potentially even some money by going through some of the tests above before scheduling a technician to come out on site or work on your system remotely.

The post 3 Professional Phone System Troubleshooting Techniques for Common Issues appeared first on Andromeda Technology Solutions.

A new study recently published by Sitchfast Technologies paints a grim picture of the threat landscape for small and medium-sized business. Their key finding? A staggering 60 percent of small businesses that suffer a data breach of any magnitude go out of business within six months. Worse, one business owner in three does not have a plan or safeguards in place to prevent a breach.

The single biggest weak link in the small business landscape is the fact that most employees who work for smaller companies are woefully uneducated about the dangers, how to identify them and how to avoid them. The study noted that among small business employees, more than a third (35 percent) haven't changed their passwords in over a year. In addition, 19 percent of small business employees share their passwords with colleagues, with a similar percentage using weak passwords based on personally identifiable information. Put those elements together, and it's a recipe for disaster.

The authors of the report had this to say on the matter:

"Today's cyber criminals employ a variety of complex attack methods to exploit business weaknesses and target employees with bad cyber hygiene, whether it's the CEO or an intern, bypassing the basic security measures most companies have in place.

Until they recognize they are prime targets for hackers and adjust their security strategies, small businesses will continue to fall victim to rampant cyber attacks."

Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions, but the report clearly points to two areas where you can make immediate improvements:

1. Currently, 65 percent of small to medium sized businesses have never run a phishing email test.
2. Only 21 percent of small to medium sized businesses provide cybersecurity training to their employees.

Both of these are incredibly easy to remedy, and if you perform these two simple steps, you'll be miles ahead of your peers.

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