FROM WOOD TO WINDOWS

By Suzanne Loomis-Studinski

 

Business people today have a sundry of communications options: office phones, cell phones, pagers, PCs, laptops and PDAs. Along with those choices, however, come a multitude of incoming messages in the form of email, voicemail and faxes.

Providing users with a single, unified source for all of their messages at one access point with availability through a variety of devices, offers real value to users while increasing individual efficiency. For many people working out of small offices/home offices who are constantly on the go, however, the concept of unified messaging has presented cost constraints.

Until now.

With Onelook unified messaging service, Digital Communications now offers users the option of receiving voicemail and email at one convenient location: their email inboxes. Available in the area only through the Fort Wayne-based company, Onelook stores and manages all messages in standard email-application databases, providing unified messaging via available interfaces such as Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. Without tying up office phone lines or incurring long distance fees or out-of-area cell-phone charges while leaving or retrieving message, businesses can get by with fewer phone lines and less cost. Users can access the attached voicemail messages from anywhere in the world, within five minutes of the caller leaving a message. Eliminating the aggravation of missed calls, Onelook also notifies users of messages with a flashing icon right on their computer screen, while preserving the accuracy and tone of voice on private, detailed voice messages.

Developed by Vodavi Technology, Onelook is a module of PathFinder™, a powerful Windows-based messaging platform that allows workgroups to share messages using desktop or laptop computers and high speed internet access. PathFinder uses POP3 and IMAP4, which are open standards that allow integration with several email applications. With PathFinder, the phone, computer, and the person converse, allowing its users to become productive in new and ever-changing ways. All systems have modems built into them so technicians can update systems remotely, if needed. With hardware and software developed by Vodavi, the system also has the manufacturer’s on-going support.

Although Onelook is available for purchase, a client-server-based unified messaging system is geared toward large businesses and may be cost prohibitive for smaller offices. To serve the needs of mobile professionals and small businesses,  Digital Communications’ server-based mailbox rental/leasing program also provides users with a cost-effective means of customizing the Onelook service.

“For the small business or mobile professional—the salesperson, attorney, doctor, nurse, realtor or technician—one or two mailboxes may be all that are needed,” explains Doug Oberlin, president/CEO of the company. “Our mailbox rental/leasing program is geared to that market segment. Customers are charged only $25  for up to three mailbox, with discounts for each additional, so they can add mailboxes at their own rate of growth without being penalized for it.”

 

With the server-based approach, the user’s email database is backed up every night in the Digital Communications office. “It won’t be down due to power outages or local harddrive crashes,” says Oberlin.

“As technology changes, the business doesn’t have to worry about updating its system, either.”

“What I really like about Digital Communications is they work to customize the available technology to the vendor’s needs,” says Marcia Bunker,  WBCL Radio. We’ve been with the company since 1992 when they were still called Executone. They’ve not only kept us up-to-date with what we have, but whenever they’ve been aware of technology that would benefit our particular needs, they’ve put us on a testing mode with it. Because we’re in broadcasting, that’s really important because we have so many specialty needs; in fact, that was how we started using Onelook. We were calling up on cell phones to retrieve voicemail and checking emails separately. Now we each have the ability to have voicemail show up in the email box.”

As a member of the Ideacom Network, Digital Communications has behind it the expertise and buying power of more than 50 companies, nationwide. This allows the 50-year-old firm to offer the best values and service on telecommunication equipment and software systems available, including IP and computer telephony, voicemail, call accounting, automatic call distribution, external paging and integrated wiring capabilities.

            “We build a relationship with a customer by providing and servicing equipment we’re experienced with,” says Oberlin. “We have factory-trained technicians who undergo continuing education and technical certification by the manufacturer. We don’t work on anything except what we sell, and we stock parts for what we sell for at least 10 years.”

            Because Oberlin doesn’t believe in pushing people into long-term contracts, service is billed on a quarterly basis. “In the last twenty years I’ve been involved in this business, I’ve always felt strongly that if my service isn’t good enough to keep you as a customer, forcing you into a long-term contract isn’t going to make either one of us happy,” he says. “I want to keep you because of good service, not just because we have a contract.”

“We’ve worked with Doug and his team since the summer of 1977,” says Dave Fleming, CEO/ president, Philips Electronics Federal Credit Union. “Over that period of time, we’ve purchased three phone systems from them, so obviously, those systems have lasted a long time. They’ve been flexible enough to handle our growth and have always done a good job of scaling to what we thought we might grow to. Beyond that, they’ve done in-house wiring for our phone systems and all of our computer and data needs— and all of the panels and connections and connectors that go along with that.

“Being a small firm,” continues Fleming, “we can always count on Digital Communications for seeing what’s coming and keeping ahead of the curve for us. They’ve brought value to the table because they’ve taken the time to learn who we are, what we are, what we need and they’re prepared to work on it. The relationship between our companies has obviously lasted the test of time and that’s why we’re still with him today. We’ve never felt the need to go anywhere else.”

“The biggest thing we always try to strive for is excellent customer service and quality installations,” says Oberlin. “Now, with Onelook, we’re trying to fit the niche for small businesses and mobile workers to make voicemail more easily accessible and more cost effective.”

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