Location and Amenities. Typically, these are two the primary factors when choosing office space. Maybe I'm not objective, but in addition to those two factors, access to high quality telecommunications should also be one of the top priorities for companies searching for a new office space in Washington, D.C.

While having space for your extra-large conference room table is nice, without reliable Internet and phone service in the building, your company is at risk of losing customers and facing hindered growth.

Commercial buildings provide varying degrees of telecommunications capabilities, but if you know your requirements and how to prioritize them in your search, finding the right office space will become much easier.

Remember when there was only one phone company... Ma Bell? Many of you readers are probably too young to remember those times. Having MANY choices for phone service is the norm in 2019. As usual, more choices doesn't always result in the right kind of service that fits your needs. Some phone companies are new to the business and don't understand it completely. Others are experimenting with new technology... and you're their guinea pig. The right business telephone service can make or break your company so when selecting the right vendor, do your research. 

Imagine if you were constantly plagued with poor audio quality and/or dropped calls. What if you weren't able to actually connect with another party that you were calling? How would customers view your brand? How would your productivity fare?

We know these answers, and that's why we took time to sort out the best business telephone service providers in Washington, D.C. Now, you can find high-quality services that offer the tools you need to keep your company running strong.

Microsoft raised eyebrows when it unveiled it would be shutting down Skype for Business in favor of a new Office 365 integrated system called Microsoft Teams.

If you were like many, the potential of having the power of Microsoft acting as your PBX got you excited. It teased you with the promise of increased productivity and a more effective team.

Unfortunately, when Microsoft Teams Calling hit the market, it has thus far failed to deliver, keeping your Hosted PBX as the phone system of choice.

Many in business who are looking for the best price for a fully featured business handset are finding Yealink phones. Yealink is a Chinese company and they manufacture their phones in China. Despite recent increases in tariffs, we are finding that their pricing is tough to match. But, since Yealink is a relatively new company and most of their business thus far has been in Asia, customers and prospects often ask us lots of questions about Yealink. As a result, we thought... wouldn't it be great if someone put together a single resource which answers the big questions so that a potential business buyer can make an assessment quickly?

We'll provide answers to the big questions in this post so that you can know if Yealink phones deserve to be on your shortlist of office phone system options.

If you are in charge of your organizations contact center, you're probably constantly on the prowl for the best technology available to insure maximum productivity at the best price. You probably also want solutions that are both reliable and cutting edge, but without a steep learning curve for you or your agents. You also know the value of a trusted advisor--an expert you can lean on to get an objective opinion with your best interests in mind.

Hundreds of customers lean on us as a trusted advisor because we've helped a lot of small businesses implement phone services, including contact center solutions, over the years. Leveraging that expertise, we'll give you the top six options you should look into.

For over 40 years, Primary Rate Interface (PRI) ruled the business phone system market. But with tech advancements, PRI is dated, and most companies have moved to Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). If you haven't moved from PRI to SIP... you will be doing so, soon. 

So what happens when you've decided to update your business phone service to keep up with your competitors? How will you know when the time is right to migrate service when you're trying to operate your business as normal?

At Atlantech Online, we're constantly helping our customers with to answer their questions. You see, most companies aren't sure if the change will interrupt their business operations or if their users will adapt to the change. That's why we'll lay out the eight factors you need to consider before migrating from PRI to SIP. These will set you on the right track and clear up any doubt as to whether SIP is right for you.

10 years ago, our customers almost always purchased a premise-based PBX from Atlantech Online when engaged with us for a new PBX. Now, customers rarely elect for a premise-based PBX, choosing instead to go with a cloud-based private branch exchange (PBX). In our experience, customer satisfaction with either a premise-based or cloud-based PBX has centered on how the user feels about their handset. Though with a Cloud PBX you can work without a handset on your desk, most users, especially older members of our customer workforce, insist on having a business handset phone model that works well and feels good in their hand... or against their face... throughout the workday.

The number of handset choices is plentiful and there is a handset designed for almost any situation. So how do you find the best fit for your needs?

We've provided top-notch telecommunications services to businesses in the Washington, D.C. area for 20+ years, so we know what works best for cloud-based PBX. We'll share our lessons learned with you below.

Few people think of the administrative side of the education system when discussing schools and budgeting for education. They care, rightfully so, about the students, their education curriculum, and the employment opportunities students will have upon graduation.

But for those working behind the scenes in the budgeting process and in day-to-day school operations, it's critical to have systems that keep the schools and administrations running. Just like any business, Internet service or business phone service that facilitate how the school communicates with the world outside the schools grounds is pivotal to its success as an organization. This is the case whether it's a large public school system or a single site private school.

This article will explore the necessary features of VoIP phone systems for schools, share some recommended models, and explain how they'll make your administrative side shine.

Most businesses upgrade office phone systems every 7-10 years. Selecting an office phone system and features is a big decision and one you'll most likely have to live with for the next decade. You don't want to settle for "good enough" now because upgrading in a few years may not be an option after all. It's best to anticipate what your users want and need over the next decade. Nobody has a crystal ball, but you can future-proof yourself. 

Phone system hardware, features, and the type of service you select can all have an impact on the implementation and maintenance costs of a voice-over-IP (VoIP) office phone system. Name brand phone systems with extensive features are costlier than low-end, generic phone handsets, but you ultimately need an office phone system which will meet the requirements of your workforce for several years to come.

An office phone system is an expense, but you need a phone system that your employees will be happy with which will give you a communications advantage in the market. Atlantech Online serves business and government only. Every day we hear about their wants and needs, so we can show you which office phone system features will make the difference between “good enough” and “best-in-class,” so you can keep realizing value from your phone system over a 7-to-10 year timespan.

Are you having trouble with your current commercial phone service provider?

Perhaps you're considering making a switch due to confusion over your monthly bill or an interest in making the switch to cloud-based phone service.

Or maybe you're evaluating business phone options since you're starting a new business or opening a new location, and need to make sure you make the right choice.

Business phone service should be a simple proposition--you want your phones to work reliably, and you don't want to pay excessive, variable, or confusing amounts each month for quality voice communications. Unfortunately, not every phone service carrier provides quality guarantees to their phone service customers or long-term pricing guarantees. We'll show you how to find a service partner you can trust who will give great value for your money.