With so many of today’s businesses operating online, the prospect of an international customer base seems increasingly within reach. But while it may be increasingly easy to reach customers abroad, the fact that traditional telephone services haven’t always moved with the times means that supporting them can be more costly than many businesses can cope with.
For Immersive 3D Solutions, a virtual reality company offering a 3D solution that enables users to visually walk through any establishment, an important part of its international expansion strategy was to partner with other brands that could support its growth. One of the most important elements was finding a communications partner that would allow them to interact seamlessly with clients around the world. And for that, Immersive 3D Solutions CEO Gary Snyder chose Vonage. He says: “I was looking for an inexpensive provider to help me control my costs. Vonage met that absolutely. Their system is just terrific, as it’s a flat rate that I can depend on. So if you do call internationally you can call and speak as much as you want. At the present time there are nearly 70 countries that are included in that plan at an incredibly low rate.”
Locality is not a barrier with Vonage, which allows customers to access their call plan from multiple locations. Gary explains: “An important service I use for Vonage is (Vonage) Extensions… as long as I have Wi-Fi activity my Vonage numbers travel with me so that when anyone calls me my mobile rings.”
Gary is particularly impressed by the richness of the features Vonage offers. “An additional service that I could not live without, that Vonage offers, that some of the other companies charge for is Caller Display. I use that all the time - so I can see who is calling and prepare. The other is visual voicemail – if someone leaves a voicemail for me I immediately get a text message saying what the voicemail was, and I can playback the audio as well. A lot of other companies charge for these features, so it’s great to have them included in the package.”
Another feature Gary has benefited from is the ability to set up local numbers for international customers, friends and family. “I have virtual numbers that are used for my family that live in the States as well as anyone else that I’m dealing with. It’s very simple: you go to your dashboard where you can control your access to your Vonage account… buy a virtual number in whichever country you want.”
An expert in emerging technologies, Gary has been truly impressed with what Vonage has to offer, and has recommended it to a number of people. He concludes that it is really is a no-brainer plug-and-play solution: you just plug the Vonage box into your broadband connection and your phone to make calls. “Vonage is a great partner for any company that wants to really move their organisation and operation to the next level.”
This advertisement feature is provided by Vonage, sponsors of the Guardian Media Network’s Business Connections hub
