* Ifbyphone API allows you to integrate telephony into your own applications and services
Running the phone system for even small companies can be a complicated business if you do it all in-house. Not only are there capex costs to consider (which in these days of tight budgets is probably a topic that you’d rather not think about), there are also potentially serious issues with configuration and scalability.
Well, like so many services corporate telephony has moved to the cloud and the focus of this newsletter is an update on one of the most polished cloud telephony solutions I’ve seen so far Ifbyphone. I covered this service in this newsletter two years ago and I’m impressed that Ifbyphone has raised the bar even higher.
Among the improvements is a new Web-based dashboard that provides access to account details and usage reporting and virtual call center support with the ability to route calls by schedule, distribute calls by percentage, forward calls to multiple locations, a hosted interactive voice response service, and record all calls for quality assurance.
There’s also “Find Me” call forwarding, SIP integration, geolocation for call routing to nearest store or facility, broadcast and conferencing features, Verify-Me-Now (a fraud reduction feature that verifies that a customer’s telephone number is, in fact, that customer’s real phone number), appointment confirmation, job and caller screening using IVR Voice Forms, and wake up and reminder calls support.
Other features include call tracking, click-to-call, dynamic numbers (which allows you to display unique phone numbers on your Web site based on referring keyword, search engine, or online ad campaign), Google integration (a mashup that allows you to track the number of incoming phone calls directly in Google Analytics alongside Web site data), local phone numbers, voice mail, toll-free numbers and a virtual receptionist.
What’s really cool is the Ifbyphone API, which allows you to integrate telephony into your own applications and services. The API supports initiating calls, call flow control based on caller interaction, and the ability to post call data back to application, databases and Google Analytics.
Pricing starts at $24.95 per month plus usage charges (100 minutes is included free) which includes Find Me, conference calling, voice mail boxes, virtual receptionist, the Click-to-Call service and a local phone number. All of the additional features (IVR integration, developer API toolkit, store locator, call distributor, voice Broadcasting, IVR, dynamic number insertion, Google integration, and call tracking) are available for $49.95 per month plus usage.
For any company looking for a flexible, scalable, more or less turnkey telephony solution Ifbyphone is a compelling and cost-effective option.
