Customers are scrambling since the well distributed Norstar phone system for small businesses was discontinued in October.  Samsung offficeServ 7030 is a great fit.   Tom. TMSI

TMSI helps Nortel business phone users get out of telecom jail.

Did you get caught?

DID YOU GET CAUGHT?

Most businesses expect to be around for several years if not decades. So signing up with Telus for a long term auto- renewable business voice services contract is a good move- right?

To find out how the signature on that contract instantly sealed your fate to losing a two thousand dollars click my video here. Www.tmsi.ca

Here is a good white paper on IP Telephony. The galaxy I come from. I can get that two thousand dollars back for you.

http://ping.fm/vjvXy

Nortel business phone users can be helped.

Enjoy the snow!
Tom

Location:8 Ave,New Westminster,Canada

Watch out Canada! Days of open internet access may be OVER unless you do SOMETHING!

Data providers want to bill according to how much and what kind of data you want to access.

The metering is just the beginning, they will then apply metering profiles to the TYPE of internet traffic and have tiered rates. And then they will force you to take basic levels to get to the service you really want.

My example could be like this:

So you want to download.....

General Surfing, Mandatory Basic Service $19.99 per month

Movies Tier 1 Add $12.99 per month

Music Tier2, Add $2.99 per month

GAMING Tier3, Add $9.99 per month

VoIP-Tier4, Add $4.99 per month

Porn-Tier 5, Add $19.99 per month

Gambling-Tier 6, Add $19.99 per month

Universities, Education, Tier 7, Add $2.99 per month

Corporate sites, Tier 9. Add $2.99 per month

Total per month......$ 83.92 per month plus taxes and Government Fees. so... $100



hmmm, sort of like subscription cable TV!

If you want this, then DO NOT post your concern on http://act.ly/2kw otherwise let'em know what you think.

The CRTC, Canada’s media conscience, has decided to allow Bell Canada, Rogers, Shaw more access to your pocketbook!

Watch out Canada!  Days of open internet access may be over unless you do SOMETHING!
Data providers want to bill according to how much and what kind of data you want to access.

The metering is just the beginning, they will then apply metering profiles to the TYPE of internet traffic and have tiered rates.  And then they will force you to take basic levels to get to the service you really want.
My example would be like this:
So you want to download.....
General Surfing, Mandatory Basic Service $19.99 per month
Movies Tier 1  Add $12.99 per month
Music Tier2,                             Add $2.99 per month
GAMING Tier3,                      Add $9.99 per month
VoIP-Tier4,                             Add $4.99 per month
Porn-Tier 5,                             Add $19.99 per month
Gambling-Tier 6,                      Add $19.99 per month
Universities, Education, Tier 7, Add $2.99 per month
Corporate sites, Tier 9.            Add $2.99 per month
Total per month......$ 83.92 per month plus taxes and Government Fees. so... $100

hmmm, sort of like subscription cable TV! 

If you want this, then DO NOT post your concern on http://act.ly/2kw  otherwise let'em know what you think.

AVAYA / Nortel and Samsung Telecom players are hyping the heck out of it. Presence!

What the hell is Presence and what does it mean to me or my competition?
I think its the classic "built it and they will come" scenario.  Users don't know what they don't know, and having been in the telecom business for 25 years this year, I have seen AVAYA push technology to us the Dealers and we then have to push it to the clients.  Its a continual education process to the end user.
I mean look at it from a manufacturer's point of view.... you have 50 engineers on the payroll,  they have to continually design and perfect new technological innovations to maintain or increase market share.  So they have a users group that come up with wish lists - I've been on those groups - and the executive decides if  it should dedicate resources to it.   Once they do, marketing has to sell the damn stuff. 
Some of it dies, some carries on....  for instance remember the breakthrough technology back in 1990's called Bluetooth.  The manufacturers hyped the hell out of it and we tried to sell it but it languished for ten or more years.  Now everyone has blue tooth technology on their bodies somewhere. 
Same with ISDN.  ( we nicknamed it I Still Don't Know)  Well, only years later did it have its heyday.   Now SIP technology (my current passion) is supplanting that.  Same with Fax technology as well.  I remember saying "What the hell are we going to do with a $5,000 "facsimile" device?" 
To sum up, presence is still new and manufacturers are hyping the hell out of it. We as Dealers, for like AVAYA and Samsung, have to educate ourselves, and then the End User. 
What will kick this into hi gear is
-IP Telephony (sip connectivity) which has finally arrived to the SMB marketplace.
- The high cost of office space in major metro areas (this is already a pent up issue)
- Environmental concerns revolving around commuting, gas, gridlock, cost of downtown parking, bike lanes, Carbon Tax, Emissions standards, quality of life.
 
-remote workers (which will make presence management a must) "you can't manage what you can't measure (business 101)    ...Which has not arrived yet.
That to me is the biggie.  As an employer, I still cannot let go of the concept of paying someone thousands of dollars to lallygag at home.  Until I can definitively measure their productivity through PRESENCE MANAGEMENT, it will not take flight.  I can tell you most small business employers think just like me. 
So the underlying business value is massive!  Bigger than we even can imagine.  It along with all the other technologies I mentioned have to cross the line of implementability at roughly the same time for this to fly...and it will.
Its the new gold mine discovery for business owners and manufacturers... but we have not been able to put it into mass production. 
...Yet.
Warmly; Tom Mac Donald, c. 604.720.8102 | d. 604.571.6405 | f. 604.571.6455
e.  tmacdonald@tmsi.ca | w.  www.tmsi.ca

AVAYA / Nortel and Samsung Telecom players are hyping the hell out of it. Presence!

TMSI Vancouver Presence is just around the corner for business phone systems like SAMSUNG and AVAYA / Nortel

The AVAYA Aura is a product that seems to get it, when it comes to presence. As a Telephony provider for both Samsung and AVAYA business telephone systems, as well as an ITSP in Vancouver, I can say that most of my clients don't know what they don't know yet.... Current Presence management is still not REAL TIME. It's historical. It's still like checking your stocks on the stock market. Actually it is controlled by the user when they change their status either automatically or by a push. Real time presence is just around the corner. For example I really like the MOBEX feature of Samsung where the phone server "finds" you on your mobile connection automatically. A find me feature that is so powerful. Clients calling your desk phone direct line get answered on your mobile phone without them knowing where you are. And they don't have your mobile number to get to you. It's pretty cool and very powerful when you add FlexLines which is what I branded for our ITSP internet telephony sip trunks. AVAYA calls it twinning. AVAYA by the way has taken over the Nortel / Norstar products for businesses. So I think that Presence is "just around the corner" Tom. TMSI www.tmsi.ca

The AVAYA Aura is a product that seems to get it, when it comes to presence. As a Telephony provider for both Samsung and AVAYA business telephone systems, as well as an ITSP in Vancouver, I can say that most of my clients don't know what they don't know yet.... Current Presence management is still not REAL TIME. It's historical.

It's still like checking your stocks on the stock market. Actually it is controlled by the user when they change their status either automatically or by a push. Real time presence is just around the corner.

For example I really like the MOBEX feature of Samsung where the phone server "finds" you on your mobile connection automatically. A find me feature that is so powerful. Clients calling your desk phone direct line get answered on your mobile phone without them knowing where you are. And they don't have your mobile number to get to you.

It's pretty cool and very powerful when you add FlexLines which is what I branded for our ITSP internet telephony sip trunks. AVAYA calls it twinning. AVAYA by the way has taken over the Nortel / Norstar products for businesses. So I think that Presence is "just around the corner"
Tom. TMSI www.tmsi.ca

"Coquitlam TMSI Office Training....Social Media Mix is a Recipe for Success!"

"Coquitlam TMSI Office Training....Social Media Mix is a Recipe for Success!"
10 things you should avoid when using Social Media

Millions of people are using Social Media and no matter what your intentions are (promote yourself, your brand or your business...) you cannot afford to not evaluate this trend!

This blog is designed to help you to avoid a few of the top mistakes people make when engaging in Social Media. Take some ideas, pass them on, and leave a comment. Whatever you decide to do with it I hope reading this will be well worth your time!
1. Not having a clue

If you do not have a clue (also known as a Social Media strategy or roadmap) you will get lost. You will become frustrated and you will likely have a hard time to define success. If nothing else sit down with your team before diving into the world of Social Media and figure out a) what tools do you want to focus on and why and b) what your measurables are going to be and how you can monitor them.

2. Spamming people through facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other Social Networking tools
Whatever you do, do NOT spam people. People that constantly post about themselves are lame and will be asked to ‘move on'. It is nice to be able to introduce something special once in a while just don't overdo it!
3. Over automating your Social Media accounts or not automating them at all

Automation to a degree is fine and it can save you plenty of time and make your Social Media presence more consistent. If you know you are going to be away for the afternoon but you would like an update to appear on your profile go for it! Totally fine! However, drip feeding tweets and lining up quotes or jokes that end up being out of context is not really going to give you any credit.

4. Using Social Media because everybody else is
Embrace Social Media to a degree don't jump on every trend! Get involved with a few tools and exploit them to their full extend over time as your experience and presence in the world of Social Media grows. Do not just create a facebook group and a LinkedIn group as a nice to have or me too thing. It would be a way more favourable approach to actually focus on one of these tools that aligns with your target audience. Also take advantage of add-on tools like Tweetdeck for Twitter for example. You will be surprised how useful Twitter can actually be!
5. Commenting on your own blog articles with different identities
This is common practice especially at the beginning of a blogs life. It is also very tempting but it is better to be truthful and do your best to generate traffic to your blog. Or if that doesn't work: Think about if what you are posting is relevant enough to justify a blog...
6. Not managing your time commitment
Jumping into Social Media head over heel is not going to cost you an arm and a leg but what it will cost you is time. Lots of it! There is so much noise (distractions) and the Social Media landscape is constantly changing. Find someone with a good understanding of Social Media to help make your first steps more successful and less frustrating. Tip: Use a tool like egg timer (http://e.ggtimer.com/)
to manage the time you spend on Social Media tools.
7. Stealing content and/ or not passing on credit
Stealing sucks! Stealing means taking something without permission... To be straight here: sharing his highly encouraged and one of the basic principles of Social Media. But: give people some credit! Mention the author and source pass on that inbound link!
8. Getting spiders or robots to create inbound links for you
Yes, they are out there programs (so called spiders or robots) that promise to create inbound links for you which are a very important component of SEO! Don't use them. Google has gotten smarter and can actually distinguish between a quality and a spam inbound link! 10 good inbound links from pages with a good page rank are going to do you more good then 100 low graded inbound links. In fact the latter might actually harm your rankings!
9. Not letting go...
If you are a control freak Social Media is not for you. If you are constantly scared that someone may say something negative about your services or your company don't use Social Media! Social Media is all about dynamic content creation from multiple and often independent sources.
10. Being inconsistent across different profiles
Let's say you have gotten to a point where you have Twitter, LinkedIn and even facebook... Try to convey an at least similar message across the different media! Be consistent and do not risk your credibility by being all over the map. It is OK to promote different aspects of your business on different platforms according to your target market definition and where they hang out but it should be a company umbrella approach so that your social Media presence does not confuse prospective customers!
I could go on and on but this should do for now. Don't do these 10 things and you'll be better off. I guarantee it!

Tips from Business Phone Systems by TMSI 604 668 3200 Vancouver BC Serving commercial and residential real estate communications.     888-860-6431      www.tmsi.ca

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Business Phone Systems SERVING ALL LOWER MAINLAND CITIES ABBOTSFORD, ANMORE, BURNABY, CLOVERDALE, COQUITLAM, DELTA,, GIBSONS, LANGLEY, LIONS BAY, MAPLE RIDGE, MISSION, NORTH VANCOUVER, PITT MEADOWS, PORT COQUITLAM, PORT MOODY, RICHMOND, SQUAMISH, STEVESTON, SURREY, TSAWWASSEN, VANCOUVER, WEST VANCOUVER,

This is my blogging tool I just love this because I can blog for my iPhone very quickly check out our latest video on Telus phone bills.

I should comment that the current phone system was working fine but they were moving in a week and had not gotten quotes sooner

Flexblog post by Thomas MacDonald dateline in Vancouver, BC October 19, 2010

Earlier this week I had a sales emergency to attend to! I know that sounds unusual but I had a poor harried receptionist e-mail me urgently asking for a quote because the boss needed a new phone system right away. It took a couple of days to get the 143 page phone bill over to me and by the time I got the quotation back to them two business days later the poor receptionist said the boss couldn't wait anymore and had to buy a phone system from someone else . It's too bad because after I did my flex analysis on their phone bill. I found out that even getting a brand-new phone system and paying for it - They still could put over $200 every month back on to their bank account! Have you ever noticed that a lack of planning often cost you a lot of extra time and unfortunately, as in this case alot of extra money. In this case well over $2500 in the first year alone.

If you're in a business that has four or more business telephone lines - my business can help lower your business costs every month.

But the catch is - are you going to Care enough to look into it?

Most businesses want to lower costs, are looking for ways to lower their costs, but they're also trying to increase sales and revenue.

It's a never-ending battle that goes on in millions of small businesses across North America. I'm not saying that I can turn your business around.
However, if you are looking to lower your costs easily and effectively and put positive cash flow back into your business from one of your major office products which I can assure you no one else can do then you need to look at this suggestion.

The easiest way to do this is to just read my blogs. Simply Google TMSi blogs.
Or YouTube TMSI phonebill. The fastest way to do this is to pick up the phone and call me at 1-800-667-2818. Ask for me- Tom

Flex blog post by Thomas Mac Donald's dateline September 25. Vancouver, British Columbia

I just developed a service that allows you to send faxes from your iPhone! not only that, but you can receive faxes to your iPhone on your fax phone number. Isn't that amazing What is more amazing is it's a free trial offer for 90 days and then it's only $14.99 per month afterwards. www.TMSI.ca

September 21-2010
Flexpost by Thomas MacDonald, Vancouver BC

Another great feature on our Samsung telephone system is when you listen to voice mail message on your telephone you can just press the call button and it will dial back the person that left you the message automatically because it grabs it from the caller ID information that came into the switch. fantastic feature!

FlexBlog Post by Tom MacDonald, Vancouver, B.C.

Sometimes the blog space does not allow me to go on too far on my comments. So here you go. All the newest business phone systems from smaller newer players are by default VoIP, packet based switches entirely. That's because they are less expensive to make some of the parts now and are the coming thing. However, the environment that they go into has to often be overhauled with new cabling, IP subnet reservations, integration with the IT department or contractors, new POE (power over ethernet ) switches, special adpaters for paging and door phones and analog devices, when really, all this is accomplished by installing a dual mode system like the SAMSUNG OfficeServ7000 series. I install hundreds of these and almost always I install digital phones to the desktop. That means phones that don't need to be moved out side the office environment, Then I install IP phones for mobile and remote workers and of course IP based SIP TRUNKS to greatly lower the cost of trunking. PRESTO! The BEST of both Worlds. The Cisco and Shoretel technology model are disruptive and un-necessary, not to mention expensive. The VoIP System Manufacturers need all kinds of adapters to use inplace CAT3 cabling and on and on. Sure in a Lab they work as well as Samsung and need no more or less retrograding or environmental refitting than Samsung OffServ7000. Who works in a Lab? Most business owners and managers are being spoon fed dis-information to allow these newer players to sell boxes. Auto Dealers coming back from Conferences are all told by the Cisco Keynote Speakers that ya gotta go with IP technology. So they go back and get quotes on IP ONLY technology not knowing any better. I get the push to sell the newest latest greatest, but what about the customer who doesn't know better? That's why I usually listen - then lead with a dual mode solution at a lower price. Find me on Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Buzz and www.tmsi.ca!

Flex blog post by Tom Mac Donald dateline September 14-2010 Vancouver, British Columbia
I just returned from a technology road show in Richmond, British Columbia today. I can honestly say that our Samsung product line still is miles ahead of what most of these smaller vendors and even larger vendors are bringing to the table.

Flexblog post by Thomas macDonald September 11, 2010 dateline Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Now that my business is fully into providing business dial tone via flex line for businesses in Canada, we are noticing a lot of interesting and suspicious ads on the radio from Shaw and Rogers See my YouTube videos on our website for more detail about how the business deal from Shaw is not such a great deal at all, even though it does put Telus to shame. More on deals that are no deal later

Flex blog post dateline Vancouver, British Columbia September 8, 2010 by Tom MacDonald
Some exciting news to share this week, we were able to successfully deploy a Samsung business telephone system with flex lines. We connected the phone system up to a Rogers mobile Internet stick called a rocket stick. What that means is we were able to get a complete business phone system working with not much more than a power outlets in less than 20 min.

Successfully located our own business lines onto our own servers today.

Flex blog post by Tom McDonald's, August 1, 2010

One of the best
ways just wanted the best ways to save money in your business is to find out where you spend it.
There are so many places that we spend our money as employees and employers, that it's impossible to keep track. How however I can give
you one great way to save a lot of money and save the environment at the same time. It often has been said that the cost of owning an
automobile. It is close to $10,000 a year. Interest fuel, maintenance depreciation parking and insurance
Check my Netflix blog out and I'll show you how you can save a lot of those costs and improve the environment at the same time

Flex blog post by Tom MacDonald
August 4, 2010

~My company has just completed another FlexAudit on a well-established
towing company in Vancouver. They have been my customer now for
probably 10 years and have been in business for over 30 years when I
was called in to review their telephone bill and update their current
phone system equipment, I was astonished to find that I could save
them well over $1000 every month right to the bottom line.
It appears that the phone company had been taking them for a ride to
the tune of approximately $60,000 over the last five years


Tom Mac Donald,
Owner TMSI
c. 604.720.8102
d. 604.571.6405
f. 604.571.6455
e. tmacdonald@tmsi.ca
w. www.tmsi.ca

FlexPost Dateline: Vancouver- July2nd, 2010

Today I had to call Telus on behalf of one of my new customers. They were adding call forwarding on their single business line.

I know what they're going through. Now I'm an easy going guy, but isn't it amazing how fast you can get SO exasperated when you feel powerless? Like when you have to do or follow a process or procedure that you just know is most likely destined to end In failure through no fault of your own ? No matter what you may do or say? Fridays just can't come soon enough.

I had to call in to Telus's sales department. We often do this at TMSi because it's so painful for the customer to do it. Honestly, I have to say I should do a YouTube on this so you can hear it yourself.

Since The Phone Company has outsourced much of its business activity to subcontractors both in North America and in the Philippines and elsewhere, the customer service there has sank lower then British Petroleum stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

Once I pushed two for sales and had to enter the customer's phone number couple of times I was finally told that all agents are busy due to high call volume, and that my estimated wait time was 53 minutes. That's right, 53 minutes!

Then they hinted that perhaps it would be faster if I just went to their website, and take care of business myself on their easy-to-use website. About a half an hour later, I was still searching endlessly on their website for a link that would never take me to where I really wanted to go - which was to order something from them and pay them money.

When I did finally get a call back from an agent after an hour of time- I finally selected a feature that would allow them to call me back in an hour or so- I had a pleasant person sounding like she was from perhaps the Philippines that took my order. SUCCESS! Yes!
IT WAS WORTH IT!

Now, I'll admit, I got no e-mail confirmation that she had got my order correct ( she said they don't do that) and the next day when the order was installed it was wait for it...incorrect. Two more days of becoming a virtual Telus slave. I managed to get the order corrected although it was wrong two more times before finally getting corrected.

I'm not sure how the company manages to stay in business. I'm presuming it's because they're not as interested in business lines for local small and medium-sized businesses but they are much more interested in mobility solutions because I guess that's where the money is.

Needless to say - companies like mine are doing well mopping up the frustration and anger that is spilling over onto the Telus table of lost opportunities.

Warmly;

Tom Mac Donald,
Owner TMSI
c. 604.720.8102
d. 604.571.6405
f. 604.571.6455
e. tmacdonald@tmsi.ca
w. www.tmsi.ca

Flex to post by Tom MacDonald from TMSI. dateline June 28, 2010 Vancouver, British Columbia.
I was reading a recent post about the cost of manufacturing for the new Apple iPhone G4. The company reverse engineered the product and determined that to make an iPhone G4 cost Apple $187.40. Which seems in line with the cost of manufacture for their previous iPhones.
What is interesting to note for me was that the processor was an A4 processor, was manufactured by Samsung electronics. Now, Samsung, is what I sell that as a business telephone system So I found that using Samsung seems to be a pretty reliable product that we've installed dozens of business phone systems manufactured by Samsung, and I have to say that seems to hold true. Our Samsung systems are going in with minimal technical time on site and work very reliably once installed. I like Samsung so much that I bought my new fridge and dishwasher manufactured by Samsung. It was at least 30% cheaper than GE or Frigidaire, and did way more. And that's the same for the business phone systems as well. I talk more on Samsung electronics in my coming blog Tom

Vancouver, BC

Yesterday, our company TMSI reached a new milestone. After installing thousands of business phone lines for Telus on our phone systems, today we have fired up our own voice servers and delivered FlexLines to our first customer. CATS ONLY!

...They purchased a Samsung business telephone system from our company TMSI telephony managed solutions Inc., and installed flex-lines on t