Call Center News

May 2009

Connections Magazine Launches New ePublication, TAS Trader

Connections Magazine announced the debut of their new electronic publication, TAStrader, designed specifically for the telephone answering service (TAS) industry.  TAStrader is written "by the TAS industry - for the TAS industry" in order to help readers "buy, sell, learn, and succeed."  The publication is distributed over the Internet and designed so that it can be easily read on a computer monitor or conveniently printed on 8½ x 11 paper using your computer printer.

"If you are part of the telephone answering service industry," said publisher Peter DeHaan, "then we encourage you to check out our premier issue at www.TAStrader.com.  This publication is designed with you in mind."  Interested readers may subscribe on the TAStrader website and will be notified when future issues are available. 

Each issue contains a lead article specifically for the answering service industry, classified ads, and an events calendar.  Future issues will include news headlines and other industry content.  The publication is scheduled to be bimonthly for the remainder for 2009, going to monthly in 2010.  That may change, however, as there is already interest in it becoming monthly in 2009.

For advertising information in TAStrader, contact Valerie at 866-668-6694 or valerie@tastrader.com.

TAS Marketing Introduces TAS Tips

Steve Michaels with TAS Marketing has initiated an online forum of information called TAS Tips.  "A lot of information comes across my desk," said Steve, who is a member of most of the industry vendor groups.  "What one group talks about and furnishes to its members gets lost to the industry as a whole, and this is where I come in."

TAS Tips is a free online newsletter that provides TAS tidbits, businesses for sale, jokes, future trends, and an insight section, making it an all-around quick read of what's happening in our industry.

To receive this free newsletter, email tas@tasmarketing.com or call 800-369-6126.

Startel Unveils Its Next Generation Switch

Startel unveiled the capabilities of its next generation switch at the annual TeamSNUG convention in March.  Attendees viewed a demonstration of the Linux-based switch running Asterisk software and using SIP technology.  The switch is the result of the Project Orion development team's efforts to provide Startel users with a switch that gives them leading edge technology.  "The development of the switch has progressed to the point where all of Startel's telephony needs are being transacted on the switch," stated Bill Lane, president.

"Asterisk has many advantages over traditional switch solutions," stated Dan Feis, director of sales and marketing.  "Because most of the telephony processing is taking place on the transaction processor, the hardware required to run the system is greatly reduced.  Because there is less hardware, there are less failure points.  This improves reliability and makes redundancy less expensive and easier to manage in the event of a failure.  From a development standpoint, since there is less firmware, we are able to accelerate our development and deployment times."  Startel will be demonstrating their new switch at the ATSI Convention in Pittsburgh.

For more information, contact the Startel sales team at 800-782-7835 x2.

Amtelco Introduces Intelligent SMS Text Messaging

SMS text messaging is a critical dispatching method to send text messages to client's cell phones.  Sending SMS text messages is now an integral component of both Amtelco's Infinity message dispatching and Intelligent message contact dispatching.  Both support sending and receiving SMS text messages with all cellular carriers.

Choose Your SMS Text Messaging Method: Send and receive SMS text messages directly from the Infinity server via wireless cellular modems.  Call centers can choose the cellular modem to match their cell phone carrier, connecting it to the Infinity DigiBoard serial I/O board. 

Send and receive SMS text messages directly from the Intelligent Series server via wireless cellular modems (unlimited usage) or Internet-based SMS aggregators (faster but with a per-message charge).

Send and Receive SMS Text Messages: Clients who receive SMS text messages can reply to the messages, and these replies can be configured to automatically mark the original message as delivered, return the reply to an agent for follow up, or ignore the reply.  All replies are documented.

Inbound SMS Text Messaging: Receive unsolicited inbound SMS text messages and present the messages to an agent as a dispatch job or call.

Contact Amtelco at 800-356-9148 or info@amtelco.com.

TASterix Announces Deployment, Development, and Tech Support Initiative

TASterix, a provider of contact center solutions for the answering service and virtual labor industry, announced a strategic alliance with Infradapt to provide TASterix system installation and extended support.  "We're pleased to have Infradapt provide turnkey deployments of our TASterix platform," stated Vince McGlone, CEO of TASterix.  "Not only does Infradapt have strong Asterisk experience and currently supports call centers, but they also provide twenty-four-hour support and business continuity measures, which are imperative for mission-critical operations.  This alliance allows TASterix and Infradapt to offer Unified Telecom Solutions within the teleservices industry and other symbiotic industries, such as alarm monitoring, virtual reception, and executive suites."

The TASterix-Infradapt Alliance has been the catalyst for the current release of TASterix 3.0, which includes an API (Application Programming Interface) specific to Asterisk-based telephony.  By utilizing the API, TASterix has the ability to provide feature integration while utilizing various agent voice paths, such as SIP soft phones, VoIP desktop phones, analog phones and headsets, and dial-in capabilities.

Asterisk is an open-source PBX for voice communications.  It is a full-featured business phone system with an array of enterprise-grade technologies.

Startel Announces B2B SMS Solution

Startel recently announced its B2B SMS solution at the recent TeamSNUG convention.  Startel's SMS solution will provide true business-to-business functionality.  Users will be able to send and receive SMS messages with 99.999 percent reliability for over 98 percent of the cellular carriers in the United States. 

The application provides automated receipt verification and the ability to transmit messages without cell phone modems and other less reliable methods.  "Our users wanted a reliable method to transmit SMS messages that was in compliance with cellular carrier license agreements," stated Dan Xu, director of research and development.

Startel will be demonstrating this at the ATSI Convention in Pittsburgh.

For more information, contact the Startel sales team at 800-782-7835 x2.

Oikos Call Center Offers Outsourcing Services to the United States

Oikos Call Center is launching a promotion for new clients that consists of offering them bilingual operators from $6.50 per hour.  Oikos Call Center, located in Bolivia, South America, has been providing outsourced agents to U.S. telemessaging services for over two years.

Oikos can supplement existing telemessaging services by providing high quality, supervised, neutral sounding English and Spanish speaking agents at a competitive price.  Oikos can offer this rate because of the number of high quality English and Spanish speaking citizens that are available for work.  Simply put, labor costs are lower in Bolivia without sacrificing quality.  Oikos can work with most vendors' remote operator setups and has vast experience with Infinity.

Oikos can be reached at 281-973-5928.

Michigan Message Center Announces Name Change

Larry Gignac, president and owner of Michigan Message Center, recently made the announcement at their corporate offices in Kalamazoo that their new name will be Answer United.  The ownership, management, and quality of service provided by Michigan Message Center will remain unchanged.

Mr. Gignac said that the name change was needed because the company had evolved into more than just a message center.  "We provide a plethora of services, including help desk, absentee reporting, lead generation, ad response, and appointment scheduling.  In addition, we provide these services on a national scale."  The new name will be phased in over the course of 2009.

Port City Fulfillment Service Expands Warehouse Facilities

Port City Fulfillment Services, a division of Port City Communications, has expanded its warehouse facilities by adding an additional 9000-foot warehouse to its campus located at the St. Clair County International Airport.  This increases their total warehouse space to 18,000 square feet.

"Construction started in July of 2008 and was completed in January 2009.  With two loading docks and two additional packaging stations, our just-in-time shipping has been enhanced where we can now guarantee that all orders received by 3 p.m. are shipped the same day," said Jeff Beckett, vice president of Port City Communications.  

Port City Fulfillment Services was started in 2002 by Jim and Jeff Beckett.  With the combination of its call center operation through Port City Communications, they are able to provide order taking, credit card capture and payment, order processing, and fulfillment of the product to the end user.  

Port City Fulfillment provides its services worldwide with customers in the U.S., Europe, Middle East, Australia, and Canada.  Companies wanting to market their product in the U.S. or around the world can utilize this service to accomplish that goal.  

ATA Midwest Chapter Meeting to Feature Joe Gilliam

The Midwest Chapter of the American Teleservices Association (ATA) will host a daylong event titled "Cash: Positive Leadership in a Negative Environment."  The May 14, 2009, event will be held in Omaha, Nebraska and targets call center managers, supervisors, trainers, quality assurance personnel, and executive leadership.  The event is open to both members and nonmembers.

"Coach Joe was the number one-rated speaker at the Fall 2008 ATA Convention in San Antonio.  He brings a supercharged energy to his audience.  It is exciting to have Joe speak at a Midwest chapter event," noted Christine Haerich, Midwest Chapter president. 

The ATA is the only nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of companies that utilize call centers as an integral channel of operations.  The Midwest Chapter is one of eleven ATA regional chapters in the United States with members from Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas, and Missouri.

To register call Lisa Nye Ford at 317-816-9336.