BlackCSI Teaches Customers What to Watch Out For When Taking Their Voice Technology to the Cloud

The first decision that a business owner needs to be aware of is that there are two distinct ways of purchasing the technology. In the world of cloud-technology, especially that of cloud voice, this is particularly important to sort out. The first way is to purchase the technology from off the Internet. This method is very attractive to first-time buyers because the only things that a purchaser needs to know is how many phones their office will need and how many lines they will need to route calls. They plug these numbers in, get a price, purchase them, the phones are then boxed up, shipped out and the only instructions for installation are to plug them into the wall. However, while this method is faster at the outset, it usually causes big problems shortly thereafter. For example, cloud phones only work well when there is enough bandwidth available for them to utilize. When a company just plugs their cloud phones into the wall, without assessing the network to make sure that it can support this technology, a company predestines itself for failure. This can be avoided, by taking the time to do a network analysis.

When an organization purchases cloud phones from the Internet, there are plenty of challenges like the above example, that crop up. With hundreds of these types of companies sprouting up, they usually have a very-short term, transactional approach to business. This philosophy leads to them not taking the time to properly understand their customer’s business, find out what their customer would like to accomplish and to assess what would be the most ideal way to utilize technology to accomplish that objective. Furthermore, online cloud voice providers have a mindset of “dialing for dollars” and once the equipment is sold and shipped they essentially walk away from any form of customer service. In response to high cancellation rates, many of these companies have required customers to enter long-term contracts, trapping them into a forced relationship.

A much more intelligent way to purchase this technology is through a reputable, local provider who is part of your business community. By taking this route, the company inherently has a higher capacity to understand your business objectives and strategic outcomes, which ultimately leads to perfectly fitting technology. Local providers understand the need to perform an initial analysis to gain a global perspective on your technology infrastructure, and can often make improvements that not only ensure the quality of your cloud phones, but of all technology that runs on the network. Other signs that you are dealing with a reputable provider is that they take the time to educate you on firewalls, they ensure proper bandwidth allocation and explain QoS (Quality of Service) as well. These all have giant implications on the performance of the technology on your LAN (Local Area Network). Another great sign is when the company has highly experienced, certified technicians who can install the technology themselves, instead of leaving it in the hands of their customers, who are not trained in these facets. However, the most important factor to watch for, which ensures aligned incentives from the beginning, is month-tomonth contracts. When a provider puts their “money where their mouth is” and essentially says that “If the technology doesn’t perform as expected, you can cancel anytime,” you are predestined for a mutually beneficial relationship. BlackCSI is one such provider and they recommend that whoever you do business with, even if it’s not BlackCSI, you make sure that you’re dealing with a reputable provider who meets these conditions.

While it’s completely clear that dealing with a reputable company is the most intelligent way to purchase technology and migrate to the cloud, this begs the question of affordability. The punch line for business owners is that whether they purchase from an online company or from a reputable company, the price they ending up paying is the same! This was the catalyst for BlackCSI’s desire to launch this awareness campaign.

“Our goal is to let the performance of our technology speak for itself,” stated Ruthann Black, President of BlackCSI. “We earn our relationships with customers by building a strong relationship, earning their trust month-by-month and taking responsibility for the performance of their technology as if it were our own business. We are playing the long-term game and the results have been excellent so far. We aspire to be an example of what’s possible in a true partnership, where our customers’ success is our success.”

ABOUT BLACKCSI

BlackCSI is a provider of scalable technology solutions focused on delivering ROI for our clients. We have deep experience in delivering project-based services to organizations in the commercial, government, and non-profit sectors. BlackCSI follows simple guidelines with its clients: listen, learn, clarify, and reiterate. This methodology is crucial to its success and is the foundation that drives a successful partnership between consultants and clients.

Founded in 2002 by Ruthann Black, BlackCSI excels in assisting customers with our range of products and services including unified communications, managed services, communication and security integration, IT infrastructure design and support, IT hardware sales, help desk services, training development and delivery, project management, business and requirements analysis, system testing, and mobile solutions. As a Pennsylvaniacertified Small Diverse Business (SDB), BlackCSI is dedicated to providing unsurpassed quality, uncommon honesty, and amazing customer satisfaction throughout every aspect of our product and services delivery.

For more information on BlackCSI, call (717) 620-3042 or visit www.BlackCSI.com.