Two recent news items to highlight in today’s edition: Fonality has launched a mobile unified communications and contact center solution for SMBs while Vonage has expanded its Extensions service.
Fonality has unveiled a mobile application called Heads Up Display (HUD) Mobile, built for small- and midsize businesses (SMBs). Designed for use with Apple or Android platforms, Fonality HUD Mobile delivers access to cloud-based VoIP, unified communications (UC) and contact center solutions using a single interface.
MORE: Mobile contact center moves to the cloud
The new app targets the demands of an expanding mobile workforce. According to an upcoming study on SMB mobility trends by Webtorials, 49.2% of SMB employees are mobile at some point during their day, spending about four hours working while away from the office. Another Webtorials study published earlier this year found that employees also waste nearly two days a month trying to contact customers, partners and colleagues or trying to find related information. This gap in efficiency can be aided with an effective mobile UC solution.
Fonality HUD Mobile features include:
• Voice over Wi-Fi calling to preserve minutes and reduce mobile costs.
• Real-time presence and collaboration capabilities.
• Instant access to company directory, visual voicemail and virtual conference rooms.
• “Find me/follow me” functionality for connectivity between desktop and mobile devices.
• Unified messaging and Microsoft Outlook integration.
Fonality HUD Mobile offers a contact center management features that can provide managers with view of communications activities like agent status, call types and duration. Agents can also use the app to log in and out of queues.
Commenting on the new capabilities in a statement, Fonality CTO Rick Bushell said, “Fonality HUD Mobile empowers businesses to work smarter and faster by sharing the right information with the right person at the right time. Users can not only be more responsive, but more effective in their response, which can dramatically improve customer satisfaction and profitability.”
In other news, Vonage recently expanded its Extensions plan, giving customers the ability to add a second extension to their existing home plan for $9.99 per month (plus tax). Both the free extension and the new second extension allow Vonage customers to make international calls using the company’s international calling plans from up to two additional phones, including mobiles, creating a virtual family plan. Existing customers can register for their free and paid Extensions by logging into their online accounts.
