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BroadSoft®, our technology partner for our 500 Hosted VoIP product was recently named the winner in the Telecommunications Category for TechAmerica Foundation American Technology Awards.

BroadSoft, the leading global provider of IP-based communications services to the telecommunications industry, announced that it has been named the winner in the Telecommunications category for the American Technology Awards, which bestows the only “Best Of” awards that recognize all technology products and services for the technology industry. The award was attributed to BroadSoft’s Consumer Experience, a service that provides telecommunications subscribers with new capabilities and functionality, allowing them to communicate anytime, anywhere and from any device. Nominations for The American Technology Awards, “The Termans,” were vetted by industry experts and technology companies. These awards have been named after Frederick Terman, who is widely credited as being the father of Silicon Valley.

“BroadSoft is proud to be named winner of the Terman Award in the Telecommunications category,” said Michael Tessler, BroadSoft president and CEO. “We have been providing innovative business and consumer communications solutions for more than 12 years, transforming the ways people connect, communicate, and collaborate, and it’s an honor for everyone at BroadSoft to have our achievements recognized by TechAmerica Foundation.”

“We had many nominations for these prestigious awards, and we congratulate BroadSoft for their winning achievement,” said Phil Bond, chairman, TechAmerica Foundation. “TechAmerica Foundation is excited to highlight BroadSoft as it continues to influence technology development in telecommunications throughout the rest of the world.”

The winners were announced on June 16 at TechAmerica Foundation’s Eighth Annual Technology and Government Dinner which has been a premier Washington, D.C. networking event bringing hundreds of industry, congressional and government leaders together at one venue to celebrate the partnership between industry and government.

The full press release is available from the BroadSoft website.

If you have any questions or would like to find out more about 500 Hosted, then call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form.

Zultys, Inc., our technical partner for 500 Premises, announced this week that Technology Marketing Corporation has named the Zultys end-to-end Unified Communications solution for the SMB and Enterprise markets as a recipient of the 2010 Next Generation Network Leadership Award presented by its publication, NGN Magazine.

“We are continually innovating and adding new capabilities and benefits to our Unified Communications solutions for the SMB and Enterprise markets. Our iConnected mobile UC application for the iPhone, MXmobile for the BlackBerry and other real-time mobility solutions are just some examples of our continuing development in this area. We are very pleased to have been recognized by NGN Magazine with the Next Generation Network Leadership Award,” said Neil Lichtman, CEO of Zultys. “Zultys’ family of IP PBXs and Unified Communications solutions elegantly weave multiple capabilities into a single system to help companies reduce costs, increase productivity and improve customer service.”

“Zultys has been recognized for their exceptional work in advancing NGN services and technologies. The Zultys family of Unified Communications solutions has proven its exceptional quality and its innovation has contributed to the transformation of the industry,” stated Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC. “Congratulations to the entire team at Zultys and I look forward to more innovations in the coming year.”

For further information, visit the 500 Premises section of our website. Alternatively, if you have any questions then call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form.

Zultys Inc., our Premises-based IP Telephony provider for SMB and enterprises, and Quarta Mobile, Inc., an innovator of applications and services based on the Apple platform and devices, announced recently the new Zultys iConnected™ Unified Communications client for the iPhone.

The iConnected application provides real-time connectivity and integration with Zultys Unified Communications systems for iPhone users. iConnected delivers a complete Unified Communications experience to mobile workers allowing them to stay fully connected to their entire company and provides critical productivity-enhancing tools like presence, displayed visual voice mail, internal extension dialing, corporate directory access, and conducting IM sessions and emails right from the corporate directory.

“The convergence trend is clear and demand for UC mobility is on the rise, especially as mobile devices like the iPhone become more ubiquitous. That’s why Zultys is committed to delivering anywhere, anytime Unified Communications,” said Neil Lichtman, CEO, Zultys. “iConnected provides real-time, deep connectivity for iPhone users into their corporate system and is a cost effective way for companies of all sizes to go mobile and ensure that their workers remain in touch and connected, no matter where they are.”

iConnected enables: Real-time mobile presence which allows you to see the status and availability of others in the company Single number contact and extension Corporate directory and PBX access from the iPhone Integration with the internal iPhone address book Real time call alerts and IM alerts The ability to launch email and IM sessions from the corporate address book Displayed visual voice mail Access to Call Handling Rules

iConnected seamlessly connects people across their entire organization – whether on the road, remote, or in a corporate office — into a single seamless communications network. The new mobile application allows people to see which of their co-workers are online and available, and the best way to reach them. This “anytime, anywhere connectivity” will make it faster and easier for them to stay in contact with colleagues and customers, boosting productivity, revenues, and cutting costs.

Zultys provides robust support for mobile and remote workers. It’s unique mobility support features include iConnected for the iPhone, MXmobile for BlackBerry devices, MXconnect which enables ANY phone (including a standard home phone) to be integrated into a Zultys Unified Communications system, Find Me/Follow Me for remote and mobile workers, as well as Twinning and more. With Zultys you can always remain connected to your corporate system, regardless of location.

Further Information

iConnected License Required: Please note you will need to purchase Zultys iConnected Licensing prior to activation for production systems. Part Number: 90-82002 iConnected-Mobile UC license-Apple

MX requirements: MX must be running v.5.2.17 or greater. Currently, 5.2.17 requires patch 5025 prior to running. Download the Patch and the iConnected Release Notes on the Zultys Knowledge Base System (KBS) at http://kbs.zultys.com. NOTE: For Zultys Demo MX’s, MXmobile licenses will work for iConnected.

How to Download: iConnected is available at AppStore and anybody can download and install it. It may only be activated with a valid iConnected User License. Installation takes three steps. You must have ITunes installed on your PC or Mac, or access the AppStore from your iPhone:

1. Open iConnected page in iTunes App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iconnected/id362204839?mt=8
2. Click to “Free App” for download.
3. Connect iPhone and start synchronization (please make sure that synchronization for applications is enabled).

If you have any questions or would like to find out more about Zultys iConnected™, then call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form.

Zultys Inc., our technical partner for 500 Premises, announced today that the award-winning MXIE™ Unified Communications client has been certified as “Compatible with Windows 7” by Microsoft and has earned the Windows 7 logo. The MXIE desktop client inte­grates and manages all of your communications functions. It lets you see the presence status of oth­ers in your company, send emails, control all your phone calls via desktop phones or a softphone, send and receive faxes, send secure Instant Messages and voice messages, use Visual Voicemail, launch a collaborative MXmeeting™ web conference session, and much more – all with a single mouse click.

“We know there’s incredible interest in the Enterprise sector for deploying Windows 7. By working with Microsoft as a Certified Microsoft Partner, Zultys’ Unified Communications solutions are ready to support the ramp-up in Windows 7 deployments we expect to see this year,” said Vladimir Movshovich, CTO of Zultys. “We are confident that Zultys’ family of IP PBX and Unified Communications products and solutions will provide companies the advanced Unified Communications features they need across Windows 7 to increase productivity, improve customer service and grow profitability.”

MXIE now supports users on 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP, as well as all other major operating systems for desktops and laptops.

If you have any questions or would like to find out more, then call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form.

Zultys Inc. announced recently that Technology Marketing Corporation’s (TMC®) INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine has named the Zultys end-to-end Unified Communications solution for SMBs and Enterprises as a recipient of its 2009 Product of the Year Award.

“We’re honored to be recognized by Internet Telephony magazine with the 2009 Product of the Year Award for the Zultys Unified Communications solution that’s providing companies worldwide with a competitive edge,” said Neil Lichtman, CEO of Zultys. “We understand the communications needs of businesses. That’s why we continue to develop innovative solutions for our MX250 and MX30 IP PBX Unified Communications platforms that allow businesses to be more productive, reduce costs and improve customer service. Our most recent software releases have added MXmobile™ which allows users to be connected on their BlackBerry as if they were at their desk, and MXconnect™ which let companies seamlessly integrate teleworkers into their UC system.”

“INTERNET TELEPHONY is proud to grant Zultys the 2009 Product of the Year Award for their MX250 and MX30 IP PBXs and Unified Communications software family. Zultys has proven its commitment to quality and excellence while addressing real needs in the marketplace,” said Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC. “We’re happy to recognize and honor Zultys for their development of IP communications technology. We look forward to more innovative solutions from them in the future.”

As part of Zultys’ latest 5.2 release of software, they have now introduced their MXmobile™ Unified Communications solution.

Be Connected Anytime, Anywhere

MXmobile extends the award-winning MXIE™ Unified Communications desktop client to the mobile device, and gives employees on the go deep access to their corporate Unified Communication systems to connect them as firmly into their team as if they were in the office rather than at a customer site.

MXmobile seamlessly integrates mobile workers into the corporate Voice and Unified Communications system, providing critical tools such as presence, internal extension dialing and corporate directory access. MXmobile also provides Least Cost Routing for mobile devices, which can slash cost from a company’s phone bill.

Key Features

• Single number contact
• Corporate directory and extension dialing
• Caller privacy
• Presence status & presence notes
• Instant messaging
• Call back
• Least cost routing
• Call alerts & full caller ID
• Call logs and history
• Voice traffic is carried over the cellular network
• Supports RIM/BlackBerry® devices

If you have any questions or would like to find out more about MXmobile™, then call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form.

No Catch-up Fees!

From today, until 31st December 2009, 500 is waiving ALL catch-up fees for out of date warranties.

Eliminating the warranty catch-up fees makes it easier for you to gain access to Release 5.2 with all of its new features and benefits, such as MXmobile* for BlackBerry (and iPhone in 2010) and the MXconference* feature that gives your IP PBXs a built-in audio conferencing service.

*note these features require additional licensing.

If you have any questions or would like to find out more about our Zultys product range, then call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form.

Zultys, our technology partner for 500 Premises has announced the launch of their Zultys ONE SIP bundles. These bundles provide everything a customer needs to have a full Unified Communications suite of applications running over SIP trunks. Customers can also leverage this deployment as a means of failover or to obtain numbers from different markets.

SIP, being the leading standard for VoIP Communications, is now the choice of all customers who want high availability, increased productivity and reduced costs. To accelerate and launch this deployment, Zultys is working with multiple premier ITSPs. To that end, Zultys has developed solution packages that include the ability to deploy 60 SIP trunks with each of its MX250 SIP Packages called: SIP/20, SIP/50, SIP/100, SIP/200, and pre-licensed with all the software and hardware needed to rapidly deploy a pure SIP solution – just add phones!

“Our objective was to enable the activation of SIP connectivity and trunking in a simple, elegant and cost efficient manner,” said Neil Lichtman, Zultys CEO. “Zultys delivers a standard interface to activate the service with multiple ITSP providers in a matter of minutes not hours”. Making communications cost effective, Zultys offers compelling bundled SIP trunk pricing that leverages the 60 free SIP licenses included with every bundle.

All the power of SIP in the elegant simplicity of a single purpose built server with no additional licenses or hardware to purchase: The Zultys difference!

Should you require any further information then please call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form.

Zultys Inc., our Premises-based technology partner for 500 Premises, have just announced that Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) has named their family of advanced IP PBX products (MX 250 and MX30) and Unified Communications solutions as the recipient of the 2009 INTERNET TELEPHONY Excellence Award, presented by Internet Telephony magazine.

‘We’re honored to be recognized by TMC for our innovative family of IP PBXs, SIP phones and Unified Communications products and the high quality service they provide every day to thousands of companies worldwide.’ said Steve Rothenberg, CEO of Zultys.

“Not only are our solutions cost effective, but our all-in-one design approach provides a highly energy efficient system that lets companies do more with one IP PBX than any other system on the market. Zultys’ distributed architecture also helps companies maintain 99.999% reliability, while being simple to install, manage and scale. We continue to innovate, adding new features such as MXmobile, a Unified Communications client for BlackBerry devices, video, and new conferencing options to provide the maximum value and ROI for any company’s telecom investment.”

Rich Tehrani, CEO of TMC stated ‘We are very pleased to present Zultys with a 2009 INTERNET TELEPHONY Excellence Award. Zultys has made an incredible contribution to IP Communications and has also delivered great solutions for its clients.’

If you have any questions or would like to find out more about 500 Premises and the Zultys product range, then call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form.

This article continues our introduction to basic and advanced features of IP PBX systems and shows how our products and services build upon them to provide ever greater client benefit.

Thank you for calling 500…
While one might assume that confronted with a computerised auto-attendant greeting would result in quick desertion of a potential client, businesses report that being able to quickly screen and route calls has led to an increase in customer satisfaction. The caller can be intelligently routed to the key individual or department they require, quickly.

Usually, your communications system is your potential client’s first impression of your business. The caller is likely to equate their experience of using your phone system as a measure of your business’ professionalism and well-handled calls can lead to greater business opportunities. The auto-attendant, acting like a ‘virtual switchboard operator’, identifies and greets callers, manages messages and faxes and routes calls to your present location, without the need of a human operator. For a smaller company, this could free up an individual for other important tasks.

Most VoIP PBX systems offer auto-attendant(s) as standard as do our systems.

Key features of an auto attendant include:

• Automated call answering with a personalised business greeting
• A customisable music on hold feature, will the caller waits
• Calls can be routed based on incoming caller-ids or requested extensions
• Calls can be forwarded to personal extensions, mobiles and home numbers

The 500 Premises offering…
Through our technology partner, Zultys, our IP PBX system can have up to 64 free auto attendants, servicing different applications or languages. Each can be set up individually.

A business may choose to publish 3 DDI numbers, for example, for Sales, for Marketing and for Support with each number having its own auto attendant routing calls to groups or individuals.

An alternate business may choose to offer a single DDI number, asking a caller to ‘Press 1 for Sales, 2 for Marketing and 3 for Support’. On pressing ‘1’ the caller could enter a second auto attendant, ‘Press 1 for Handsets, 2 for PBX equipment, 3 for Networking’ and so on. It does not matter if these departments are satellite offices, at different ends of the country or are making use of homeworkers. The impression is of a large corporate enterprise. This is great for the more modestly sized company using the same group of individuals to service several departments.

The schedules for each auto attendant can be set up individually. For example, Sales and Marketing calls might only be taken during normal office hours, routing to voicemail out of hours. However, it may be that Support calls would be routed to a mobile phone after hours. In combination with other functionality, a set of mobile numbers could be set in order of priority.

An auto-attendant can also be used to automatically retrieve information from other business applications or databases, such as call minutes remaining for a mobile phone provider.

Finally, the good news…
500 can differentiate itself from others by pricing, functionality and expertise. The cost of auto attendant is, by default, inclusive of the PBX license.

Auto attendant is not just good news for you, it’s good news for your clients too as they are much more likely to be routed to the right individual or department.

If you have any questions or would like to find out more about 500 Premises, then call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form.