Voicemail | What To Look For When Selecting
A Voice Mail Service Provider
Selecting Voicemail Service
What to look for as
a customer
This service has global users, it is not just
for US or Canada customers
Ability to pick up messages via the Internet (in
your customer portal or email) so message retrieval is easy and at no cost no matter where you are located geographically
Listen to your messages online from any country.
Receive an email notification when a new voice mail message is received. Click a link in the email to hear the
message
Month-to-Month Plan Examples
Many service providers offer inflexible voicemail
packages that have extensive call restrictions and excess fees associated with message retrieval and storage
This service offers voicemail and fax retrieval
online so that you get the most out of your account from anywhere globally
The service can save messages to your hard drive
You can create an informational or emergency hotline
on one of the available entensions
Advanced technology can transcribe your voicemail to text so you can read or listen to your voicemail from anywhere saving you time and money
Your voice mails and faxes are sent to your designated
email address. Use the
service from any country, not only the US or Canada. Any email address worldwide can receive your voice messages
and faxes from your U.S./Canada voice mail toll-free or local number
Broadcast Lists automatically maintained
An effective voicemail system increases your productivity,
simplifies your communications, and saves time. Find a provider that automatically maintains broadcast lists for
you so that messages can instantly be sent to various levels in your downline without having to worry about updating
or managing lists. The system you use should provide you with the assurance that your messages are being delivered
to everyone in the group.
Typically, your direct sponsors work closely with
you and soon become seasoned contributors to your sales goals. The types of communication you may want to send
to this special group can differ greatly from broadcasts that you send to other groups in the organization. Therefore,
the ability to select broadcasts to be delivered to specific levels within your downline can help customize your
communication efforts to their information needs.
Broadcast by distributor rank
The ability to opt out of voice broadcasts gives
distributors the flexibility to decide who they want to receive messages from. This avoids distributors from getting
voice broadcast messages that they dont want.
In addition to automatic broadcast lists, personal
broadcast lists allows you to establish multiple broadcast groups which in turn enable you to send messages to
certain parts of your organization such as distributors in a certain state, or distributors who achieved a certain
amount of PV, etc.
While creating small broadcast lists can easily
be done via the telephone, extensive lists can be quite difficult to organize and maintain if you are unable to
see the numbers and contacts programmed into the group. Adding, modifying, removing or updating broadcast lists
is immeasurably easier when you have a visual interface to work with.
Ability to send and receive unlimited broadcast
messages for free online.
Accessibility and affordability are two major
benefits to consider when choosing a voicemail service provider. A web interface that allows you to create, manage,
send and receive broadcasts not only puts your communications at your fingertips from any internet enabled computer,
but it also keeps your costs down.
Reliability
Redundancy is built into our entire network architecture starting with redundant OC-3 fiber connections for voice
and data provided by Verizon and TelCove. We use two (2) long distance carriers to load balance inbound and outbound
voice traffic. A telephony server farm is used to handle inbound calls. Service interruption when a telephony server
fails is limited to the calls that the server was processing while it failed. A fully redundant NAS is used for
storage of voicemail/fax messages and greetings. A SQL Server Active/Passive cluster is set up for database redundancy.
If the Active SQL Server fails, traffic is automatically redirected to the Passive SQL Server. Redundant systems
are in place at all levels of our network in order to assure the highest level of availability. Based on the second
half of 2005, our availability rate is 99.94%.
Scalability
The platform was designed to scale easily. This means that in order to support additional subscribers, we can add
telephony servers, storage capacity, voice circuits, and bandwidth to meet the demand with little or no down time.
Currently, we are at less then 25% capacity. Whenever we exceed 40% capacity levels, we add more lines, servers,
etc. to handle the increased call volume. There is virtually no limit as to our scalability options.
Security
We take a very active stance towards keeping the network as secure as possible. This starts with a very strong
firewall policy utilizing Check Point NG technology with extensive logging at all gateways.
Our telephony servers are located on the internal network and can only be accessed by users with administrative
privileges. Network logins can only be created by network super-administrators and are subject to a strict password
policy. An IP-based KVM system allows for strict control over access to servers by designated users. Facility access,
including data center entry, is managed through an active key fob system controlled by network super-administrators.
All points of entry, as well as the data center, are under 24/7 video surveillance and all key fob access is logged.
Quality of Service
An IP-based network monitoring system monitors the network 24/7 and alerts our administrators of network and telephony
connectivity, hardware, and software issues through an escalated system of alerts (including e-mail and cellular
notifications).
Our DELL servers are under 24/7 same-day parts and labor warranty; in addition our network administrators are trained
to perform all hardware-related maintenance. Many redundant systems are in place in order to minimize down time
from maintenance and repair. Since the software is created by in-house developers, any software issues can quickly
be resolved.
System Backups
The databases supporting the system are backed up on a daily basis. Using a combination of full, differential and
transaction log backups, data can be restored to any point in time within the last 2 months using MS SQL Server
toolset. Up-to-the-second selective transaction monitoring and rollback is also available through a Log Explorer
utility.
All data is backed up to a NetAppliance NAS device vertically scalable up to twenty terabytes, and a redundant
backup to tape media is made on a regular basis. Off-site backups of mission-critical data are also performed.