Archive for February, 2009
What is the mark of a great service? Read on to find out…
Mr. Allen is planning a business trip to Los Angeles this weekend and has a very busy schedule, packed with back-to-back meetings with multiple clients located in different parts of the city. Included in his agenda is a dinner meeting with a client who selected the venue. This client sent him an email with the name of the restaurant where they would meet for dinner.My task was to include the appointment in his calendar so that he had the name and address of the restaurant. I did not stop there, however. As Mr. Allen’s schedule was pretty hectic, and I thought that it would help if he was familiar with the restaurant’s menu - one less thing to think about. So I called the restaurant and asked them to send me a copy of their menu.
As I was updating Mr. Allen on his agenda, I mentioned to him that I am sending him a copy of the restaurant’s menu so that he could get an idea of what he wanted to order. He was very pleased about it and mentioned that those are the types of things that he expects from our service.
This was an email from Bert Landa, one of our personal assistants. Bert was given kudos by the member who felt compelled to speak with one of Prialto’s managers to let him know how impressed he was with Bert.
We can’t say it too often: People are at the core of what we do here at Prialto. They are our most important resource. And when every single employee feels empowered, and when they care about what they do and the quality of work they produce, you get service that is, well, pretty great.
Prialto Voice – A Voice over IP Solution
You’ve probably heard buzzwords such as VoIP, IP PBX, and IP telephony, but what is it? How can you benefit from it? Doing all the necessary research to understand it all can be daunting. And after that, performing a cost-benefit analysis of going from a “Plain Old Telephone Service,” or POTS system, to a Voice over IP telephony system can be complicated. The inputs are so many, and some of them are not readily measurable in dollars. At Prialto, we’re using VoIP exclusively, and actually, our business wouldn’t be viable without VoIP - proof positive of its cost efficiency.
Now, how can VoIP save your organization money? Read on to find out more.
Reduce Your Phone Bill
Saving on phone bills is the most obvious benefit of using a VoIP phone system. Typically, the biggest savings can be realized if your organization has many branches or if you have people working from home or on the road. For companies who have employees traveling abroad, the cost savings can be substantial. Prialto can quickly help you analyze how VoIP could benefit your organization by simply looking at your monthly phone bill.
Less Infrastructure to Maintain, Simpler to Administer, and More Scalable
Because VoIP systems run on normal servers, it is typically less expensive to deploy VoIP than POTS equipment, and that’s even true when it comes to a small office of 1-5 people. And if additional offices need to be connected to the same “corporate” phone system, that can be done quickly and easily too, allowing companies to grow without incurring large expenses for infrastructure.
Another benefit is that because there are less specialized systems to maintain, there are fewer things that can go wrong and it reduces the need for system administrators at each site. Additionally, with fewer machines to maintain, the fewer maintenance contracts are needed.
Because VoIP phones run on the same type of network as regular computers, there’s no need for additional wiring for phones. Again, this means less infrastructure components to maintain and troubleshoot. Lastly, most things related to extensions or phones can be administered by the user, which reduces the need for IT staff.
Cut Costs Using Alternative Phones
A VoIP system allows users to make calls from their computers. These so-called “softphones” are cheaper and work just as well as a regular desk phone. However, if a person or organization prefers to use a standard desk phone, a nice VoIP phone is fairly inexpensive, starting around $100. The main difference from a user’s perspective between a VoIP phone and a POTS phone is that VoIP phones offer many more options and more flexibility. › Continue reading
A business owner’s tips on surviving the recession
I came across this article that I thought I’d share with you. Until such time when the economy starts turning around, businesses, especially small businesses, need to figure out ways on how to survive the recession. Here are some tips from CNNMoney:
- Negotiate with your vendors - they might be more willing than you think to work with you. Opportunities present themselves during recessions.
- Consider new media advertising - this may present a better return than traditional advertising.
- Check your inventory - you may have to sell your products at a discount. One can survive decreased profits if there’s cash flow, but the converse is not true - if cash flow takes a dive, you’re in trouble.
Click here to read article.
Zimbra Desktop: Achieve greater flexibility with your email
Local access to your Prialto/Zimbra email and calendar is moving closer to production release.
Zimbra Desktop is a desktop email client alternative to Outlook. One of the biggest benefits of Zimbra Desktop is that it runs on more than just Windows. Versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux are available, and the application looks exactly the same on all systems. Moreover, if you have been using the Prialto Collaboration Suite (Prialto CS) webmail, you will instantly recognize the layout and design in the Zimbra Desktop as it’s nearly identical, giving you the best of both worlds!
Zimbra Desktop is now out of Beta and will soon be released as General Availability. The latest version, 1.0 RC1, is a feature-complete product and is now available for download at Zimbra.com.
Zimbra Desktop benefits at a glance:
* Offline email access
* Write emails when offline and send as soon as you have an Internet connection
* Same great search capabilities as with the webmail version
* Gather external email accounts, such as Gmail, in the same place, and access them offline too
* Access your documents and briefcase while offline
Prialto’s corporate email solution, Prialto CS, is based on the Zimbra platform, which provides our members with the ability to manage their email and calendar from any computer or mobile device with its online capability. And now with the offline version, users will have the ability to access their email, calendar, contacts, and documents on their computer even when not connected to the Internet (e.g. during a flight) - creating even greater flexibility for our members.
It’s a chicken or an egg thing: How to keep your business going in this economy
In these dire economic times, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to sustain a business without continued injection of capital. Money begets money. But how does a company keep afloat without continued cash investment? With banks continuing their strict policies on lending (see the New York Times article here), businesses are turning to outsourcing as a solution.
Outsourcing can help a company not just stay in business but also help it grow without a large infusion of money. If you’re a small business owner who is unable to afford a full-time employee, and whose only option is to increase your hours to keep your company going, outsourcing is a way to help you manage your business without sacrificing your personal life.
Here are some of the benefits of outsourcing:
- It can save you time - delegate time-consuming administrative tasks to an assistant so you can focus on the critical aspects of your business
- You don’t have to worry about employee sick time or vacation leave - with outsourcing, there is redundancy, so there is always coverage even when your primary assistant is unavailable
- Your clients never have to deal with voice mail - you can have an assistant handle all your calls, take messages, and relay them to you
- You can be more efficient with your time - your assistant can help you manage your calendar so you can stay on top of your schedule
- It can save you money - outsourcing an assistant is less than half the cost of a full-time employee
Companies like Prialto offer business process outsourcing (BPO) services that help businesses create operational efficiencies that keep costs low, boost customer service, and improve customer loyalty. Outsourcing helps companies focus on their core business by freeing up valuable resources to concentrate on expanding their business. All in all, outsourcing is a way for a company to survive these tough economic times, and maybe even grow its business, without draining its bank account.
To read more about the benefits of outsourcing, see article on AllBusiness.com.
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