Victoria Communicaton

Dialers have become essential equipments for call centers in present times. The job requires handling calls in large numbers and can become really chaotic. Moreover, just to stay competitive in the market, a call center requires to update its technologies and equipments at a regular basis. Most businesses of this type use all in one CRMs and dialers come bundled with these packages. The dialers that come integrated with the CRMs are often easy to configure as they have maximum compatibility with the other equipments of the CRM. Moreover these all-in-one CRMs are more cost effective. So purchasing a good CRM is probably one of the easiest and cost effective ways of having a good dialer for using in a call center.

However, there are certain problems in using these all-in-one CRMs. As already mentioned earlier, the call centers need to adapt to the latest technologies continuously to keep themselves in the competition. As a result the softwares and equipments need to be upgraded from time to time. Using a CRM would mean upgrading the whole system. This is quite a time consuming job and also very expensive. Most of the entrepreneurs might not have enough time for the upgrades, as they need to focus on other aspects of the business. As a result there’s a great threat to growth and future prospects.

In order to avoid these issues, plenty of web-based CRM systems have been launched in the market. These are easier to adopt and are also more cost effective. The three equipments required for a web based CRM are computers, Internet connection and telephones. With the help of these hardwares, a business can connect to the web-based interface of a CRM service provider. These service providers are the ones who have installed the entire CRM systems in some servers, allowing access to the call centers for a small fee. These providers undertake the trouble of keeping their system updated, providing the entrepreneurs their much-needed time to focus on the other aspects of the business.

However, there’s another option that most call centers are adopting nowadays. It’s the use of the popular web-based communicating system, Skype. It is a truly ‘next generation’ communication system that allows cheap and affordable PC-to-PC calling and also PC-to-Phone calls throughout the globe. But Skype alone, with all its features, could not have met the demands of a fully functional call center. So a new feature rich automatic Skype dialer has been launched into the market, which specifically handles calls through Skype. This dialer integrates itself to the system and has the ability to even record details from the CRMs. This dialer along with Skype, is probably the most suitable option for call centers. It does not require frequent, expensive and time-consuming upgradations and is flexible enough to enable the operators to customize it according to the requirements. It can surely be called the right choice for call centers in the present time.

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Skype is a software application that allows you to make free phone calls to more than 75 million people worldwide, and shockingly cheap calls to practically everywhere else on Earth! As a result of that, Skype has become the fastest growing service in the history of the Internet. Recently, the company was acquired by eBay, another step forward towards achieving the final goal of making Skype the world’s largest communication company.

Skype is easy to install and use. It allows its users to make crystal clear calls, regardless of their location, send instant messages, switch seamlessly between text and voice communication, make video calls, conference calls, transfer files, call landlines and cell phones for a fraction of the cost of a traditional call. Skype is truly making a revolution in the way we communicate.

But how does it actually work? This article focuses on describing the Skype network and the technology behind it.

Skype is a type of peer-to-peer Voice-Over-IP client, based on the Kazaa file sharing program. The developers of Skype claim that it provides better voice quality than similar applications like MSN and Yahoo Messenger. It also encrypts calls end-to-end.

There are two types of machines in the Skype network – ordinary host (Skype Client) and Super Node (SN). An ordinary host is the computer of a regular user who has the application installed and connects to the network in order to communicate with other users. The Super Nodes are the end-point of ordinary hosts in the network. In other words, ordinary hosts connect to the Super Nodes. Any computer with a public IP and proper hardware configuration can be a SN. An ordinary host must connect to a super node and must register itself with the Skype login server for a successful login. The Skype login server is the only central unit in the whole network. It stores the usernames and respective passwords of all Skype users. Nslookups have shown that this server is located in Denmark. All Super Nodes connect to the login server in attempt to verify the username password of the client. It stores your Skype Name, your e-mail address, and an encrypted representation of your password.

If you are a regular Skype user, then your computer is considered an ‘ordinary host’ that connects to a Super Node. The Super Nodes are servers, located in different parts of the world. But your Skype client, must know to which SN it has to connect. Therefore, every Skype client (SC) maintains a local table that contains the IPs and corresponding ports of Super Nodes. This is called a host cache and it stored in the Windows Registry of the given SC. So basically, every time you load up Skype, it reads the date from the host cache, takes the first IP and port from there and tries to connect to this SN. If the connection fails for some reason (the SN is offline; it is no longer part of the network, etc) then it reads the next line from the table. In case it fails to connect to any of the IPs listed, the Skype returns a login error upon start-up. Hence, the host cache must contain at least one valid entry in order for the application to connect to the network and work properly. Valid entry means an IP address and port number of an online Super Node. The path to the table in the Windows Registry is HKEY_CURRENT_USER / SOFTWARE / SKYPE / PHONE / LIB / CONNECTION / HOSTCACHE. You can verify that on your computer by opening the Start menu, then click Run and enter ‘regedit’, without the dashes. Of course, the exact path could be different in the next versions of the application.

As a concept, Super Nodes were introduced in the third-generation P2P networks. They allow improved search performance, reduced file-transfer latency, network scalability, and the ability to resume interrupted downloads and simultaneously download segments of one file from multiple peers. Basically, they help ordinary hosts connect to each other and guide efficiently the encrypted network traffic.

Super Nodes are also responsible for the ‘Global Indexing’. This technology enables you to search for other users in the network. The company guarantees that it will find a user if he has registered and has logged in during the last 72 hours.

A very interesting moment about the Skype network is that it ’self-modifiable’. If you have the application installed, your computer may turn into a Super Node, without you even knowing it, because those capabilities don’t have a noticeable impact on a computer’s performance. SNs basically store the addresses of up to several hundred Skype users, without carrying any voice, text or file-transfer data. In that manner, the more Skype users come online, the more supernodes become available to expand the capacity of the network.

Skype routes the traffic intelligently by choosing the optimum data transfer path. Since it uses either TCP or UDP protocol, it breaks the whole data stream into seperate packets, which can take different paths to the end destination. The final arrangement is done at the receiving end.

As far as safety and privacy are concerned, Skype uses Advanced Encryption Standard, known as Rijndel, used also by the U.S. Government organizations to protect sensitive data. Skype uses 256-bit encryption.

The programmers of Skype have implemented wideband codecs which allows it to maintain a good sound quality at a bandwidth of 32kb/s and allow frequencies between 5-8,000Hz to pass trough.

Your list of contacts, the application stores in the Windows Registry. This is called the Buddy list and once again, it is digitally encrypted. So, the list is local for every machine, or in other words, it’s not downloaded from the central server.

Let’s briefly describe the tasks of the Skype client. First it connects to the network. It then listens on particular ports for incoming calls, refreshes the host cache table, uses wideband codecs, maintains the buddy list, encrypts messages and determines if there is a firewall or not.

The login process:

The login process is the most important one and it consists of several phases. As mentioned, SC must connect to a valid SN in order to authenticate the username and password with the Central Server.

Skype gets the fist IP from the host cache, sends it a UDP packet and waits for response. If there is no response after 5 seconds, it sends a TCP packet to the same IP. It tries to establish a TCP connection to the HC IP address and port 80 (HTTP port). If still unsuccessful, it tried to connect to IP address and port 443 (HTTPS port). If this does not work either, it reads the next address in the HC. If Skype is unable to connect to a SN, it will report a login failure.

The application comes with several build-in addresses of different nodes, called bootstrap super nodes.

If the connection attempt is successful, the client must authenticate the user name and password with the Skype login server, which holds all user names and passwords and makes sure they are unique across the whole network. When the application connects to an SN, it receives an up-to-date list of other active SNs, so it has the most current information.

The Media Transfer process:

The video/voice communication through SKype is established through UDP. The trick here is that quite often, one of the users is behind a firewall or a router, hence it doesn’t have a real IP address. But if both Skype clients are on real IPs, then the media traffic flows directly between them over UDP. The size of the voice packet is 67 bytes, which is actually the size of UDP payload. One second conversation results in roughly 140 voice packets being exchanged both ways, or 3-16 kilobytes/s.

If one of the callee or both of them do not have a public IP, then they send voice traffic to another online Skype node over UDP or TCP. The developers of Skype have preferred to use UDP for voice transmission as much as possible.

An interesting fact is that even if both sides are not speaking, voice packets will still be flowing between them. The purpose of these so called ’silent packages’ is to keep the connection alive.

Conclusion:

There are several factors responsible for the success of Skype. First of all, the voice quality is better compared to other applications. It works without a problem on computers with firewall. It is very easy to install and use. Skype’s security is also a big advantage. Everything that is being transferred across the network is being encrypted to ensure privacy. As a result of that, even if hackers intercept the data being transferred, they won’t be able to decode it.

The Skype application does not include any adware or spyware. But, there are cases when third parties have managed to add such functionalities (not only for Skype), so it’s really important that you download it from the right place. Therefore, do it either from the official website, or from respected sites as http://www.freesecuredownloads.com/skype/index.html.

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Skype has over a short period of time gone from being a start-up with a quickly rising user base to a part of the EBay global empire for a reported price of 2.6 billion. Not only it has become the de facto leader of Internet communication helping to displace traditional phone lines it has also led intrepid entrepreneurs to use it as a means of making money. Vo-IP or better known as voice over Internet protocol is essentially a format for talking over the internet just as the switching board helped with the widespread adoption of the modern telephone.

Companies and individuals are finding a variety of ways to make money from this phenomenon. People are starting to teach a variety of topics from business consulting to language studies. You would be surprised to find that just about every language can be taught over it. Although a variety of languages can be learned over it the most popular by far to learn online is English. Large companies throughout the world are now trying out online language training over the Internet for their employees. Although this has proven successful in teaching a language online it is starting to show it’s immaturity as companies supplying online language training are now moving towards more sophisticated applications such as Adobe Connect, Webex and GoToMeeting which companies are demanding.

Online language programs are not for everybody or every organization as they do come with their own unique challenges and opportunities. Companies must have a fairly decent level of knowledge when it comes to computers and the Internet. All of the training will be done live and online so it’s necessary to have a solid Internet connection and a computer capable of handling live language lessons. Most large companies will have a dedicated IT staff with a firewall in place and security features that would put any small company to shame. In that regard, companies should be aware of this and its problem with connecting through your organizations firewall. Don’t be distressed if your company can’t use it or other similar service as most large organizations will have 3rd party programs setup for online meetings that you can integrate into any language training program you may develop with another company. A lot of obstacles can be overcome with a little persistence and patience so don’t discount online language training just yet.

About the Author

Marc Anderson is the General Manager of an online English language learning company called TalktoCanada.com that helps companies of all sizes and individuals around the world learn English online using voice chat and a webcam with experienced native English tutors. If you would like to learn how live online English lessons can help you or your company please visit TalktoCanada today and find out how you can improve your online spoken English.

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VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. It is the science behind transmitting audio over the Internet in the form of data Packets. During VoIP’S inception, people were concerned about the quality of Audio being transmitted over the Internet. Since its development, VoIP and audio Codecs have improved greatly. To get the most out of your VoIP connection you will need to take the time and effort to keep your computer up to date. If your computer is running on a slow processor or a very old operating system, your computer may not be equipped to handle VoIP or produce the highest audio quality.

By first comparing your system to your VoIP’S service provider requirements, you can save time and make sure that your computer is equipped and ready for Voice over Internet Protocol.

If you are having trouble with your VoIP’S audio quality, then you may need to check your soundboard. If your computer has an out of date soundboard, it will affect the overall quality of your audio.

Regularly make sure that all of your audio and video Codecs are up to date with your Windows Update program. Check and make sure that you have DivX installed and upgraded as well. This will help offset any complications you may be having with poor audio.

As long as you have updated your Audio Codecs, and checked for newer drivers, you should be all set for Voice over Internet Protocol. For VoIP to produce great quality audio, you will need to make sure that you have a High Speed Internet connection. This can be either DSL or Cable Modem, but VoIP may have problems with Dial Up- again check with your VoIP service provider. There are some providers who do have VoIP service that is compatible with Dial Up Internet connections.

Many people prefer VoIP over standard telephone systems due to the fact that they can experience great audio quality- many people will never know that you are calling from your VoIP service. And VoIP has other benefits beside great voice quality.

VoIP offers telephony features that are typically offered with PSTN networks for a fee. Yet, if you check with your service provider, many of these same features are included absolutely free with VoIP. These services and features include Voicemail, *69, Call Forwarding, Caller Id, and Call Transfer.

Not only residential users are becoming fast fans of VoIP but business owners are making the switch as well. In the early days, businesses were concerned about switching to VoIP, for they needed to have high quality audio to run their businesses.

Now, many businesses have come to learn that VoIP does offer great audio as well as applications that are specifically designed to handle all of their business needs. These programs and the ability to interact with customers in real time have made the switch to VoIP one of the best decisions a small business could make.

Some more benefits for using VoIP with businesses include flexibility and customer service. Call centers have learned that the high audio quality and ability to integrate web features, Email, and audio have made VoIP the perfect solution for their needs.

Many call centers are opting to outsource their work to other countries, and by utilizing VoIP, call centers can exist virtually worldwide.

Another benefit for small businesses incorporating VoIP service includes greater productivity for mobile employees. VoIP a great way for mobile employees to stay connected to their main offices. They can also take advantage of the great long distance and local calling plans. Since VoIP can be used anywhere there is a High Speed Internet connection, the employee who travels frequently, the sales man, and those who work from mobile offices can maintain a high level of interaction with their employers, fellow employees, and clients or customers.

VoIP has proved that it offers great audio quality and is a perfect choice for meeting both residential and business telephony needs. As technology continues to advance, we can know that as we conduct our transactions over VoIP, that the listener on the receiving end is hearing us with crystal clear audio clarity and that the future of VoIP will only have greater products readily available for its users.



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After all the research you have finally gotten around to doing on the topic of VOIP and VOIP services, you are just about ready to take the plunge. Making the decision to go with VOIP, however, is only half the battle. There are a truckload of VOIP providers out there, each one telling you that their service is the best one since sliced bread, so how do you make an intelligent and informed decision about which one to go with?

The first thing you need to realize is that not all VOIP services are created equally. One of the limiting factors is your high-speed Internet connection, since that will be used for your home VOIP to make and receive calls. VOIP will work reliably with DSL or cable (or better), but is not recommended if all you have is a satellite high-speed Internet connection, and VOIP is not recommended if you have access only to a wireless connection.

The vast majority of problems with VOIP from virtually any VOIP provider comes down to a lack of a reliable high-speed Internet connection. Your Internet provider may CLAIM you are getting reliable service and a fast connection, but if you are having trouble getting something as simple as VOIP to work on it, then they are blowing smoke at you and it may be time to look for another Internet provider. In terms of the Internet connection part of VOIP, that is just about as simple as things will ever get, and your Internet provider should be able to handle it. If they cannot, they may have purposely blocked it because they want to sell you VOIP services themselves … at twice the price!

Now you need to determine what VOIP features you need. Almost all the VOIP providers and VOIP plans provider caller ID, voicemail, and call waiting, so let’s see what else needs to be considered, and this is where things start to differ and get quite interesting.

Almost all of them offer unlimited long distance calling in the continental US. But do you call Canada a lot, or make frequent calls to Puerto Rico? If so, there are VOIP providers who include Canada and Puerto Rico in their unlimited calling plans.

Do you have friends, perhaps your parents or a sibling that you talk to a lot but they do not have VOIP? Is it the case where they call you frequently? You may wish to consider a plan that includes a virtual number or where you can get a virtual number cheaply. A virtual number is a phone number in that city. Say you live in Detroit so you of course have a Detroit phone number on your VOIP phone. Say you talk to your sister a lot in Houston who does not have a VOIP phone. You can get a Houston phone number in addition to your Detroit phone number, so now your sister can make a LOCAL call to your Houston number, and when she does, your VOIP phone at your home in Detroit will ring so it doesn’t cost her anything! Is that cool or what?

Determine your needs and then start comparing VOIP features to see which VOIP provider offers the most bang for the bucks, based on what you need. Don’t pay extra for VOIP services that you will only use once in a blue moon.



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There seems to be no limit to the things that one can do over the internet. Shopping and connecting with friends was truly just the beginning. One of the most astounding things that’s now possible over the internet is the idea of VOIP, or voice over internet protocol. VOIP allows for people to make phone calls from their computer, by using high speed internet connections. Skype is one of the leaders in internet phone technology, letting users make calls easily from almost anywhere.

With Skype, you no longer need a phone to make phone calls. All you need is a computer, the internet, and Skype. Skype is easy to use and affordable, which may explain why Skype and other internet telephony services are now more popular than ever before. One of the most convenient things about Skype is that it travels with you, in the way that a cell phone does. If you have a laptop, you can use Skype anywhere you can find an internet connection. Plus, you can use your Skype account on other computers, making it even easier to get in touch with people from your computer.

But Skype can’t help you learn more about the people behind mysterious phone numbers. For that service, you should turn to reverse phone lookups. Reverse phone lookups are a special website dedicated to helping users learn basic facts, such as the name and address, about mysterious calls of almost any variety. Cell phones, and unlisted numbers, land lines, and really almost any other phone number you’re likely to encounter can be researched by using a reverse phone lookup. Best of all, reverse phone lookups take a very short period of time to get results, so you won’t have to wait to learn who’s behind those mysterious phone numbers.

Learning who owns a phone number is important. So whether you’re using Skype, a cell phone, or a land line, you probably still want to know who’s behind most if not all of the calls that come into your phone. With a reverse phone lookup, you can find out just that, and not have to spend all day doing it.

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