Phone System Services -Oak-Brook, IL 60523

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:

There are many options available to you when purchasing a professional telephone system.

And there are many companies out there that want you to purchase your professional phone solutions from them.

So – how do you make sure you are getting the best phone system for your business AND make sure that you are working with a company that puts your interests first?

We’ve put together a list of 5 of the top questions you should ask yourself when it comes to a professional telephone system and the telephone service providers that install them for your business.

5 Questions You Want To Ask Yourself  Before Purchasing A Professional Telephone System

1. What are your 5 year total costs for the system?

This is an important question that is often overlooked when purchasing a professional telephone system. There are many factors that impact total cost but typically there are two different types of systems that you are taking into consideration.

• Hosted VoIP Telephone Systems
• On Premises PBX Telephone Systems

Within those two options there are different options and models but the key difference is where the majority of the hardware exists.

In a hosted or cloud based phone system, you don’t have equipment in the office. Instead it is ‘hosted’ in the cloud. You simply have phones that you plug into the network.

With an on premises solution, your professional telephone system and equipment exist in your office. Most of the time this is in a ‘box’ mounted in your IT closet.

The reason the distinction between these two is important is because they have different costs associated with them.

With hosted VoIP you are essentially paying every month for service to the phones and the software that allows inbound and outbound calls to your network.

With an on premises system, you buy the hardware up front and you pay for telephone lines (POTS lines) to give you connectivity.

To look at costs for each type of system you’ll want to consider recurring monthly service charges, hardware costs and service/maintenance costs.

NOTE: when considering a hosted VoIP phone system, make sure that you find out what your taxes will be each month. Many times, these rates are not included in quotes and can add on hundreds of dollars to your monthly costs.

2. Who owns the equipment?

When it comes to any hardware you are using at the office, it is important to figure out who actually owns the equipment.

With an on premises option, you buy the hardware up front and install it. You own it. Simple as that.

If you choose to go with a hosted solution, you want to look into who actually owns the equipment. Many times, you are renting the phones you use from your service provider. Even if you are only paying $25.00 per phone per month, multiply that out over a year and look at how much you’ve paid to rent out phones you don’t own.

On top of that, if you ever want to switch providers or decide you want to purchase an on premises system, you have to give the phones back and start from scratch. All that money spent on renting equipment is out the door with nothing to show for it.

3. Who is going to help you service your telephone equipment?

Things break – unfortunate but true. So when you are having issues with your phone system, who will you call to come out and service it? How long will it take for technicians to get to your issues? Do you have a dedicated team or is it just whoever is available? Do they offer emergency service?

These are all questions you’ll want to ask anyone proposing their phone solution to you. All too often, business owners are sold on phone solutions that have no local service providers for technical issues.

Different technology vendors work with specific types of systems and you want to make sure you are buying a system that you can get serviced professionally and promptly.

4. Will the telephone solution grow with your business?

Each telephone system has its own list of features and compatibilities. But each one also has specific capabilities when it comes to scaling.

There are specific hardware components in phone systems that limit the number of telephones, calls or mailboxes you can set up at any one time.

If you are purchasing a system today but plan to add a call center next year, you want to make sure that you talk to your vendor about that before you purchase. That way, you can make sure that your solution is capable of that type of growth.

Not only that, depending on your business model and needs, you’ll also want to make sure that you choose a telephone system that best suits your day to day practices which brings us to our fifth question.

5. Does this phone system offer all of the features and functions you need?

Every business has its own needs when it comes to phones. Some are very simple and others are more complex. If you use your phones the way many small to midsized business do, all you’re looking for is a connection, some basic functionality (receptionist phone, easily transfer calls, put people on hold, maybe a conference phone for conference calls etc.).

At the same time, you may have a sales team that is constantly on the road which means you’d like the ability to transfer calls to your cell phone, voicemail-email set up, voicemail to text set up. You may want direct extensions or maybe when an inbound sales call comes in you want every sales person’s phone to ring until someone picks up.

The list of features goes on and on. And that doesn’t even include third party applications that integrate security, presence management and more.

Make sure you are working with a vendor that can help guide you and manage the different functions and features on the market.

Request a Consultation

A Professional Telephone System can be complex but it definitely doesn’t have to be.

If you’re in the right hands with a vendor who makes it a priority to get to know your business and your needs, most of these questions can be answered without an issue.

If you’re thinking about adding to your phone system, switching to a different type of system or you know you need something new but don’t know where to start, our account managers are ready and more than willing to help guide you through the process.

Take the first step and give us a call at the office (815) 836-0030 or fill out the form below and request a phone call with our team.

The post 5 Questions You Want To Ask Yourself (And Your Vendor) Before Purchasing A Professional Phone System For Your Business appeared first on Andromeda Technology Solutions.

Last month we took a look at a couple different types of phone scams . We discussed the “Can You Hear Me?” scam and took a close look at Vishing scams. There were also some helpful tips that you can use and share with coworkers/friends.

If you didn’t catch the article, give it a read . . . you won’t be disappointed.

SMShing Phone Scams

Now, this may sound ridiculous but the scam is pretty tricky and very dangerous.

Similar to other ‘phising’ style scams, this fraud is based upon sending an SMS (text) message to your mobile device that tries to get you to provide specific information.

The criminal might ask you for login info, security updates, payment information verification or any number of things.

Like many other scams, there are ways to avoid and protect yourself from these attacks.

• NEVER provide security details over the phone unless you have directly reached out to the proper contacts. A bank, or any institution for that matter, is not going to text you and ask you to update security info or payment info or ANY info!
• Phone Number – never trust anything or anyone when it comes to your bank info. If the bank calls you, tell them you will call them back, then dial the number on the back of your card or the direct line to the bank.
• Trust your gut, don’t allow anyone to rush or pressure you and respond accordingly. Everyone is aware of how hyper alert we are these days, it never hurts to double check things and protect yourself. Better safe than sorry they say!

IRS Phone Scams

While we mentioned the IRS in our last post, we didn’t dive into the specifics of how criminals try and scam you via the IRS.

For the most part, when someone is contacted by the IRS it is pretty serious. Few questions are asked and you just want to figure out what went wrong right?

This is how scammers take advantage of you.

They use Caller ID software to mask their number and make it look like a government call. Then, criminals will tell you any number of things to try and get sensitive information.

You owe the IRS . . . .
There is a discrepancy with your taxes
If you don’t pay the authorities will arrest you

All of this is an intimidation technique and you don’t have to fall for it.

The IRS will not:

• Demand any type of immediate payment
• Ask for credit or debit card information over the phone
• Threaten to arrest you
• Refuse to allow you to ask questions or appeal

As always make sure to do your research and take matters into your own hands. Cyber criminals, scammers and hackers are all clever people (for the most part) and they come up with sneaky, intimidating ways to make you give them what they want.

If you have any questions feel free to reach our team and otherwise, share this with your family, friends and colleagues. Education after all is the best defense against this type of crime.

For further information about IRS scams check out this site
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-urges-public-to-stay-alert-for-scam-phone-calls.

The post Popular Phone Scams & How To Avoid Them Part 2 appeared first on Andromeda Technology Solutions.

Microsoft just made a big, significant purchase that has raised more than a few eyebrows.� They just acquired GitHub for a hefty $7.5 billion.

What makes the purchase interesting and potentially troublesome is that Microsoft is the world's largest proprietary software company, and GitHub is the world's largest open source hosting service.

The natural question on everyone's mind then, is what does this mean for open source?� Is it doomed?� Is it soon to go the way of the dinosaur, or will Microsoft hold the reins of power loosely and let open source continue to flourish?

Those are fair questions, especially given that GitHub is used by more than 28 million developers around the world, and is home to more than 85 million code repositories.� In addition to that, the company was built on Git, which is an open source version control software written by Linus Torvalds (the creator of Linux). Its founders have worked hard to develop innovative workflows that have made the hub easy to use and work with.

The fear is that Microsoft will start strangling those developments and insist that GitHub begin using proprietary Microsoft products.� While it's too early to say for certain, the early indications are encouraging.� Microsoft has stated that GitHub will be allowed to retain its status as an "open platform" and its service will continue to be offered for free.

Having said that, there will be some changes, including the fact that Microsoft will be offering integration between its AppCenter mobile testing service and projects hosted on GitHub.� This builds on previous collaborations between Microsoft and GitHub.� Last year, GitHub announced that they would support Microsoft's "Git Virtual File System," which the company designed for enterprise-sized data repositories.

The skeptics are right to be skeptical, but so far, the early indications are positive.� Note that it's not a done deal just yet.� The merger is subject to regulatory approval in both the US and the EU.

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