There was a time when cash was king. Today, however, not so much.

Paying over the phone for everything from fast food to a holiday abroad has become the norm for millions of consumers who prioritise modern convenience over traditional transacting.

Protection from fraud is, of course, paramount, which is why strict rules exist. Phones used by businesses to take payments must be Payment Card Industry-compliant. They must feature ‘pause-and-resume’ functionality for use at the critical point that customers provide their payment card details. Also, all transactional calls and call recordings must be encrypted.

Breaching these rules can lead to seriously big fines capable of dealing a catastrophic blow to profit and reputation. Ultimately, in the most extreme cases, non-compliance can even lead to jail!

Next year, the rules change: an update to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DDS) which beefs-up protection, but which also places new obligations on in-scope organisations. In a world in which technology plays a vital part in the way over-the-phone transactions occur, it is the perfect time for businesses and their Managed Service Providers to also change things up – upgrading desk and softphones that support that all-important compliance.

Choose Sangoma’s award-nominated P-Series Desk and Softphone, and that-all important compliance also comes with a feature set that ensures the wider desk calling experience is rich and rewarding for both callers and agents. High-definition audio, unprecedented plug-and-play deployment, and advanced IP applications as standard that include voicemail, call log, contacts, phone status, user presence, call parking, and more. Big and bold, yet at the same time stylish and sleek, its ergonomic design leverages the beauty of angles, curves and corners to provide users with brilliant visibility of and access to its bright touchscreen display and lightweight receiver, regardless of where they sit or stand. The audio is crisp and clear, the management and compliance of calls is fast and effective, and overall satisfaction levels are high. For callers, that overall high-quality reflects favourably on the brands or organisations with which they interact.

Importantly, the P-Series’ versatile compatibility with both PBX and cloud-based voice systems also means it can be deployed on different platforms in different spaces whilst maintaining an organisation’s look-and-feel. In addition, the P-Series is the only Desk Phone designed to be fully-compatible with Sangoma’s wider communications portfolio – further enhancing its value to Sangoma customers and enabling its commercial reseller partners to benefit from the efficiency and simplicity of stocking and supporting just one Sangoma phone product line. The P-Series brings yet more added value too. The rarest of combinations: it appeals to all types of user groups, at a price point that suits all types of budgets.

For user organisations and their MSPs, we think that makes for a compelling offer all-round.

The post PCI Compliance: How the Sangoma P-Series Business Phone System Can Keep You Out of Jail appeared first on Sangoma Technologies.

In today’s healthcare landscape, the patient experience hinges on seamless communication. This is where Sangoma Technologies makes an indelible mark. With their unified communications as a service (UCaaS) portfolio, end-to-end solutions are crafted that enhance patient care, streamline processes, and reduce costs.

Sangoma CX stands as a testament to this commitment, magnifying call-handling capabilities and more than doubling call volumes for healthcare providers, as evidenced by the transformation of the Healthcare Physicians Group. The robust reporting suite of Sangoma CX, coupled with its callback features, optimizes patient touchpoints, ensuring no call – and no patient – is left unanswered.

Furthermore, Sangoma’s integrated suite of value-based Communications as a Service solutions allows care organizations of all sizes to maximize productivity. This means healthcare institutions can focus on what they do best – providing top-notch patient care – while Sangoma takes care of the rest.

With the help of Sangoma Apps, outreach initiatives are taken to new heights. From online scheduling to automated reminders, every interaction is personalized, enhancing the patient experience at every turn. Video conferencing is a must for telemedicine, and Sangoma delivers a consistent and feature-rich experience for virtual consultations, becoming a partner to deliver exceptional patient care.

The results speak for themselves. Hospitals, pharmacies, and labs report improved patient care and significant time savings in emergency handling – up to 50% in some cases. The future of healthcare communication is here, and it’s powered by Sangoma.

Learn more about our solutions in the Sangoma Healthcare eBook.

The post Powering Patient Touchpoints: Sangoma’s Cure for Communication Roadblocks appeared first on Sangoma Technologies.

Building on the new, powerful AI features introduced to Sangoma CX already in 2024, our cloud contact center solution now expands its automation capabilities and adds other significant enhancements with our 7.5 release. The new version is even more capable, empowering agents, supervisors, and administrators in their day-to-day operations.

• AI Assist: Agents can now leverage the amazing powers of OpenAI for generating content effortlessly in Digital Channels. Boost response times and improve overall customer service by getting reply suggestions, spelling and grammar fixes, changing message length or tone, and simplifying what you want to tell your customer.

• Speech Analytics: Available as a queue configuration setting for CX Premium Users, the novel Speech Analytics feature processes audio recordings to automatically generate call transcriptions, summaries, and sentiment analysis. Call sentiment, which can be positive, negative, or neutral, is provided for both individual call parties and for the overall conversation. The analytics capabilities will help supervisors easily gather valuable insights from audio data to audit agent-customer interactions.

• Queue Status Viewer: Agents can now view the status of all queues they are assigned to at a glance, regardless of whether they are logged in to that queue or not. Accessible directly from the Agent Panel, this feature allows agents to easily identify which queues require their attention based on caller volume, and to provide help where their presence is most needed at any given time.

• Phone Book Import: Seamlessly add Contacts in bulk to the embedded Phone Book in CX by importing a CSV file in a predefined template format.

• Stop call recording on transfers: By default, if call recording is enabled, audio conversations continue to be recorded even after being transferred. However, in certain cases you may need to stop recording, such as when sensitive information is involved, for instance, in the case of a transfer to a doctor’s office. Now, you have the option to halt call recording during transfers for compliance purposes.

Release 7.5 also brings several other minor improvements, like the capability to export the Queue Annual report to a spreadsheet format, and a new simplified implementation for logging agent call flow for phone-only Agents, in simple call center setups. These improvements enhance the overall functionality and user experience for contact center administrators.

If you have any questions, need a quote, or require assistance with these new features, please reach out to us.

Stay tuned for updates on upcoming enhancements and exciting new features in Sangoma CX!

Sincerely,

The Sangoma Product Team

Sangoma CX Release Notes

Sangoma CX Knowledge Base

Partner Release Kit

The post More AI Features for Your Contact Center With Sangoma CX 7.5 appeared first on Sangoma Technologies.

It’s hard to believe that Asterisk has been around for 25 years. It started in humble beginnings as a phone system for a fledgling company, only to grow and expand to become the purpose of that company itself eventually. While I was not there from the beginning, I was there from the fairly early days.

Back then, it was the wild west. VoIP was still new. SIP was still new, and its problems had yet to be discovered. STIR/SHAKEN was in the minds of no one. The cost of calling people was still high (in comparison to what we pay today). Asterisk swiftly emerged onto the scene and became THE open source phone system. It disrupted the traditional phone system market and gave the power back to the users and deployers to do things the way they wanted at a price they could handle.

As the industry evolved and expanded, Asterisk continued to do so as well. Thanks to the numerous contributions and the community around the project, it expanded in functionality and scope beyond what anyone could have envisioned. Its usage grew and grew in more clever and interesting ways. Every week, by helping individuals and talking to them, I find new ways that Asterisk is used. The flexibility of Asterisk means you are always surprised by what people are doing.

This evolution and expansion continue to happen to this day. While Asterisk started as a phone system, it has also become a telephony toolkit. This has given users even more power and control, especially developers, allowing them to manifest ideas more rapidly in the communications space by providing easy-to-use and understandable interfaces. This is where a lot of the power in Asterisk is these days. This aspect is filled with endless possibilities and untapped potential.

I want to thank everyone who has helped Asterisk get to this point. Those who have contributed code or ideas, filed issues, helped others on forums and other places, and spread the word of Asterisk itself. It’s been a wild 25 years, and we still have more to go. It’s not too late to join me and others on the journey through participating in the Asterisk project and community. You can find us on GitHub or the Community Forums. All help is welcome!

As always, I enjoy sharing extra resources. If you’re intrigued by the history of Asterisk and other related topics, I invite you to check out the webinar I gave on the fascinating “Evolution of Asterisk”.

The post 25 Years of Asterisk appeared first on Sangoma Technologies.

The healthcare industry is characterized by a relentless pursuit for excellence. The quality of care service directly translates into a substantial impact in people’s lives. In the quest to deliver superior patient experiences, Sangoma solutions are at the forefront of this goal.

Connectivity, the lifeblood of seamless operations, is the top priority for the IT team. No more dropped calls or network reach loss. Instead, budget-friendly 5G broadband and satellite options can handle your internet connections, no matter when or where. Sangoma offers SD-WAN too, which boosts your network’s performance by tying together all your connections, making sure they’re always up and running, and offering top-notch security against threats. Make your backbone embody reliability and efficiency thanks to a fully-monitored network infrastructure that meets PCI compliance standards.

Sangoma’s UCaaS features elevate this connectivity to embrace diversity and dynamism. Video conferencing, instant messaging, mobile applications, and team collaboration tools ensure that communication is not just continuous, but also multifaceted and hybrid-work friendly.

The integrated contact center features of Sangoma serve as a catalyst for change. With true omnichannel features, you can deliver an exceptional customer experience and hear out your patients from their preferred method of speaking to you. Every interaction will help your patients feel valued and cared for.

HIPAA compliance is vital to preserve the sanctity of patient data. Trust in the safety of information is no longer a hope, but a guarantee.

Sangoma’s Managed Internet Services and Mobility Solutions offer superior communications at lower costs while expanding the talent pool. Secure internal collaboration, compliant documentation, cost-effective operations, and flexible solutions are no longer exceptions, but the norm.

Keep the pulse of your healthcare institution steady and healthy with Sangoma, your one-stop-shop for modern technology solutions. Learn more in our Healthcare eBook.

The post The Pulse Behind Modern Healthcare Communication appeared first on Sangoma Technologies.

We are thrilled to share the latest improvements to our Sangoma CX platform in its newly released version 7.4. Focusing on customer service and reporting capabilities enhancements, these updates will make your contact center experience more efficient, intelligent, and data-driven. Let’s dive in!

Omnichannel

• Social Channel Support – We have widened our omnichannel support to incorporate additional social messaging channels – WhatsApp and Telegram – so your customers can connect to you directly, using the world’s most popular messaging applications.

AI

• Virtual Agent Assistant – Integrate a Google DialogFlow FAQ chatbot directly into your Agent Panel, allowing agents to quickly find the best answers to questions, without leaving their interface.
• WebChat Chatbot – Easily connect with the Google DialogFlow Chatbot to automate WebChat conversations, helping you to provide a smoother and more efficient customer experience.

Reports

• In-Service Rework Detail – Keep track of customer interactions more effectively and conduct root cause analysis per caller ID with a comprehensive list of reworked phone numbers.
• Call History – Improved access to specific call data is now available with a new Call History DID filter.

• Normalize Report Filters – We have standardized filter options across reports and added an Active Queues Filter for consistency.
• Smart Alerts – Be informed about critical pauses with Smart Alerts for Pause Codes.

Automated Data Export

The Automated Data Export now includes detailed information on Agent Hold times, Blind Transfer times and destinations, and an extended Queue Details container with a “Max Wait Time” setting for each queue.

Agent

• Enhanced Extension Selection Tool – The extension selection tool now matches the TeamHub look and feel, providing a consistent and user-friendly experience.
• Queue Status Banner – Agents can now see call waiting times per queue, with the Queue Status banner displaying the waiting time of the longest-waiting call.

We are committed to continually improving your experience with Sangoma CX, and we know you will find these latest enhancements invaluable to your business operations.

For quotes, questions, or assistance with these new features, please reach out to us.

Thank you again for choosing Sangoma CX for your Contact Center needs!

Sincerely,

The Sangoma Product Team

Sangoma CX Release Notes

Sangoma CX and Google Dialogflow Configuration Guide

Sangoma CX and WhatsApp Channel Configuration Guide

Sangoma CX and Telegram Channel Configuration Guide

Sangoma CX Agent User Guide

Partners Only: CX 7.4 Release Kit

The post Exciting Updates for Your Contact Center with Sangoma CX 7.4 appeared first on Sangoma Technologies.

MARKHAM, ONTARIO – January 8, 2024 – Sangoma Technologies Corporation (TSX: STC; Nasdaq: SANG), a trusted leader in delivering cloud-based Communications as a Service solutions for companies of all sizes, announced today that the company was named in the 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide report for the ninth straight year.

The Gartner Magic Quadrant assesses Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) providers worldwide. Sangoma is one of the 11 vendors placed in the 2023 report. Sangoma was recognized in the report based on its completeness of vision and ability to execute.

“We are proud to be recognized again in this year’s Gartner UCaaS Magic Quadrant,” said Sangoma Chief Operating and Marketing Officer Jeremy Wubs.

“We believe nine years of continuous recognition is a testament to Sangoma’s innovation and trust in the cloud communications market. UCaaS is the core of our single-source, cloud-native communications portfolio, which also includes CCaaS, CPaaS and SD-WAN solutions designed to meet evolving business network and collaboration needs. We’re committed to continuous innovation and delivering best-in-class UCaaS solutions for our partners and customers.”

Gartner Disclaimer:
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service, Worldwide, Rafael Benitez, Megan Fernandez, November 28, 2023.

Sangoma is recognized in Gartner Magic Quadrant UCaaS as:

• Years 2021-2023: Recognized under the name Sangoma
• Years 2016-2020: Recognized under the name Star2Star (including StarBlue in 2019)
• Years 2014-2015: Recognized under the name Star2Star Communications

About Sangoma

Sangoma is a trusted leader in delivering value-based Communications as a Service (CaaS) solutions for businesses of all sizes. Sangoma simplifies communications by providing businesses with the industry’s most comprehensive cloud-native communications solutions, seamlessly streamlining business processes. Sangoma provides businesses with a complete solution, including cloud software, endpoints, and connectivity – all delivered and supported by Sangoma’s expert team. One provider and one contact ease vendor management and save time. For more information, visit www.sangoma.com.

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