Free App turns a smartphone into an extension
on the office phone system!

Your smartphone is a great tool, but IP Mobility makes it even better for business.

• You only need to give out your office phone number to receive business calls on your smartphone.
• Outbound calls from your smartphone can send the office Caller ID instead of your cell number.
• Calls from your smartphone can use the office least-cost-routing for long distance and international calls.
• Use visual voice mail on your smartphone to easily manage your office voice mailbox. View, play, reply and forward voice and fax messages. Manage greetings, name recordings and passwords.
• Access advanced features of the office phone system from your smartphone including extension dialing, call transfer and call record.

IP Mobility is just one of the capabilities included in the new software release for Toshiba IPedge – a pure VoIP communications solution. IPedge comes in three sizes for small and mid-size businesses with up to 40 users, up to 200 users or up to 1,000 users. Toshiba's IP Mobility client application works with most Apple and Android smartphone devices.

IPedge has received rave reviews from customers and analysts plus "Product of the Year" and "Excellence" awards from industry publications including Internet Telephony, TMC Labs, Customer Interaction Solutions and Communications Solutions.

Is your best telephony solution in the cloud?

Telecommunications solutions come in many flavors and COMMWORLD of KC does them all!

• Cloud-based or Hosted VoIP Service
• on-site VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
• Converged (Digital, VoIP, Analog or any combination)

For some businesses it makes good sense to use a cloud-based telephony solution, but all hosted systems are not created equal.

Here are 10 things to consider before moving your business telephony to the cloud:

Top 10 Things to Consider Before Moving to the Cloud

1. Reliability: What is the reliability track record of the manufacturer of the cloud-based service and telephones?
2. Service and support: Some providers offer little support and others come with a hefty monthly fee. What are the costs? Is there a monthly fee? Who will come to your location if required? Is there local support or just an 800 number or website?
3. Pre-install support: Who will design the programming for your specific needs? Who will install cabling, routers, etc. required to get started? Is there a local provider?
4. Meeting your needs: Does it have all the features and capabilities your business needs? Some hosted products are missing important features. Will it support devices like cordless phones, door boxes, phones at home, etc?
5. Level of personalization: With most hosted solutions, your company shares a big soft switch that may not have all the capabilities of an in-house phone system. Or will you be using a phone system in the cloud which has all the features you need and is personalized just for your business?
6. Future migration: Is there a migration path from the hosted solution to an in-house system if your needs change?
7. If your business changes: What happens if your business expands or contracts?
8. Operating or capital budget: Does a monthly fee on the operating budget or a purchase on the capital budget best fit your financial needs?
9. Is your network ready: A Network Assessment is a critical first step to determine if your network will support clear, reliable communication. If it isn't ready, what steps and costs are involved in getting it "up to speed"?
10. Disaster Planning: What happens if there is a problem? Who do you call? What is the redundancy and disaster recovery plan?

A supplier that only has a cloud-based / hosted offering will give you that part of the story. One that only has an in-office VoIP offering will just give that viewpoint and so on. Since COMMWORLD of KC does it all, we'll give you "the rest of the story" to make the best choice for your business now and into the future.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true…well, you know the rest.

Get a Free Network Assessment at www.VIPedgeassessor.com

A Network Assessment is a critical first step to determine if your network will support a cloud-based / hosted telephony solution. If it isn't ready, steps needed to get it "up to speed" must be determined.

Be sure to do the test from a PC on your network at a time of peak usage. Be patient and wait for all the results.

In addition to download speeds, etc., here is a sample of more in-depth information you may receive:

Packet discards detected.

VoIP is real-time data in that it represents two or more parties in conversation using a telephone or mobile handset. In order to have a fluid conversation the nature of voice communication requires precise timing of packets in both directions. Because packets can travel at different speeds across the network and no two packets have to take the same route to reach the destination then it is likely that packets will arrive at varying times.

Unfortunately this is counter to the way a voice communication normally works. To combat these delays both the sending end and the receiving end will introduce a timing delay buffer to overcome the network extended delays to better ensure the audio that reaches the human ear is uniform and continuous. This delay buffer cannot be too large a delay otherwise the ability to coordinate conversation listening to speaking will be compromised. To make this point, imagine an extended delay of 1 minute, that means the listener will only hear the voice of the remote party one minute after the words were spoken.

Such a large delay makes it hard to answer any questions asked as there would always be a minute of silence before the response was returned. Therefore the buffer delay is normally quite short so as not to impede the fluid conversation, short being about 50 milliseconds. With a short delay there will always be packets that arrive late, these packets are deemed to be "too late" for acceptable use and are therefore discarded.

Space for Lease…

We're looking for a tenant for this great building. If you know of a company that needs 8,000 sq. ft. or the whole 16,050 sq. ft. building, please share this flyer. Our building is way too big for COMMWORLD and we can move to a smaller location. Contact Bob Bennett at COMMWORLD for details. 816-763-1100.

SPACE FOR LEASE

6200 MAIN STREET, GRANDVIEW, MISSOURI 64030
8,000 Sq. Ft. or Lease the whole 16,050 Sq. Ft. Building

• Excellent location with fast access to I-49
• Minutes from I-435 loop & I-470
• 122 free parking spaces (7.6 per 1000 SQ FT)
• High speed fiber terminated in the building
• 2.2 acre corner lot with picnic area & wooded trail
• 4 mi. to new NNSA facility & center point intermodal center
• Excellent security lighting
• Security camera system
• All brick construction
• New .060 mil mechanically fastened TPR roof system
• Lighted commercial pole sign at the corner
• Fire sprinkler system
• Attractive offices, open areas, conference rooms, etc.
• 3 bay drive-thru garage with lease of entire building
• Optional - cubicles, conference room table & chairs, desks, bookcases, filing systems & more
• Constructed in 1991
• Greater Kansas City area, South Jackson County
• $10-@13.50 / Sq Ft.

Contact:

Bob Bennett at COMMWORLD of Kansas City 816-763-1100 reb@commworld-kc.com

Read to the end for the answer to a question you have asked since childhood.

What's the scoop on Ground Hog Day?

February 2nd, Ground Hog Day, falls halfway between the winter solstice (shortest day of the year) and the spring equinox. That day has been important throughout history. The Celts celebrated Imbolc, a pagan festival of lights marking the beginning of spring. Imbolc evolved into Candlemas as Christianity spread through Europe. Candlemas commemorates the ritual purification of Mary 40 days after the birth of her child and the presentation of Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem. Some Christians believed that a sunny Candlemas meant there would be 40 more days of cold and snow. Germans considered the day to be sunny only if badgers and other animals saw their own shadows.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania continued the tradition. They chose the woodchuck, also known as a groundhog, to be their weather forecaster. On February 2, 1887 (or 1886 depending on which source you read) the first official Groundhog Day celebration was held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania at a site called Gobbler's Knob.

In 1993, the annual festivities at Punxsutawney were immortalized in the movie, "Groundhog Day" which was actually filmed in Woodstock, Illinois. Tens of thousands of visitors attend the celebration at Gobbler's knob each year. Local dignitaries don top hats and speak Pennsylvania Dutch as the groundhog, "Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary" makes his prediction. If Phil sees his shadow, that means six more weeks of winter.

Another ground hog named Skippy holds a special place in my husband Bob's childhood memories. While plowing his field, a neighbor farmer had unearthed a groundhog burrow. The man saved one of the kits and took it to Bob's sister, Maggie, to nurture and raise. Skippy the groundhog flourished and became a loved family pet. She would build a "nest" of newspapers, socks and doilies behind the couch and when Bob's Mother swept it away, the groundhog fought the broom and then pouted over her loss. Skippy would tug on Bob's Father's pant leg to beg for a pill cup full of water. Then she would sit up, hold the miniature cup and happily drink the water like a human.

Skippy spent a little over two years with the family. She hibernated under the porch and was grumpy when she emerged in the spring, but soon became her sweet self again. She could open the screen door, so she came and went as she pleased. The family dogs accepted her, but when a neighbor stopped by with his dogs, they did what their instincts told them and that was the end of Skippy's short, but happy life.

Although the normal life span of a groundhog is six to eight years, Phil is said to be over 100 years old due to a magical punch he drinks at the Groundhog Picnic each summer. The National Climatic Data Center calculates the accuracy of Phil's predictions at 40%, but Punxsutawney residents claim it is 100%

And what about that age-old question we've all asked?

"How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

According to a wildlife biologist at Cornell University - about 700 pounds.

Happy Groundhog Day!

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright
Winter will have another fight.
If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,
Winter won't come again.
…Traditional

Sources: http://groundhog.org/groundhog-day/fun-facts/,
http://www.history.com/news/groundhog-day-history-and-facts,
http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/punxsutawney/a/groundhog_day.htm,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/candlemas.shtml

1st Quarter Promotions…

It's a Great Time to Upgrade your Telephone System
and Get Free Phones!

Migrate to the Cloud
Cloud-Based Telephone Solution Starting at $29.99

Fun Phone Facts…

Today's Internet is like 18th Century Technology

Alexander Graham Bell's work on the harmonic telegraph led to the first patent for the telephone on March 7, 1876. Samuel Morse's first telegraph line was completed in 1843. Much earlier in the 1790's, a visual telegraph system called a semaphore was used to convey messages over long distances.

The semaphore system was invented during the French Revolution when it was imperative for the government to quickly communicate orders to the military. Some sources claim it was begun as a method for Claude Chappe and one of his brothers to communicate between two seminaries each was attending. The first documented message was sent on March 2, 1791 over a distance of 10 miles. It read in French: "If you succeed, you will soon bask in glory."

A network of 556 towers with large, moveable wooden arms eventually covered much of France. The towers were spaced at distances as far as the eye could see. It is estimated that up to 9,999 different codes could be sent using various positions of the crossbars and pivoting arms. Other European countries including Sweden, England and Germany also adopted the semaphore system.

Napoleon used the system to effectively communicate with his army. Samuel Morse's first proposals for the electric telegraph were rejected by the French government because the wires could be cut by outlaws and enemies.

There were downsides to the semaphore system.

• Rain, fog and night made them invisible.
• In good daylight, the messages were visible to anyone within eyesight range and the lack of secrecy could be fatal during wartime.
• They had to be manned continuously by highly trained men and so became expensive to run.

Professor J.M. Dilhac with the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse wrote a paper comparing the semaphore system with the internet of today. In "The Telegraph of Claude Chappe – An Optical Telecommunication Network for the XVIIIth Century", Professor Dilhac compares the issues of source coding, error detection and signal restoration, control and data signals, routing, regulation and fraud and dissemination of new social behaviors of the semaphore and the internet. He ends his paper with the following, "However, it is worth saying that even if modern data telecommunication networks are faster, bigger, more flexible and reliable, they are not intrinsically very different. They still use basic methods developed by men born and educated in the XVIIIth century."

Sources: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/106172/Claude-Chappe,
http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/images/1/17/Dilhac.pdf,
http://artsonline2.tki.org.nz/resources/units/dancing_competencies/signal_it/semaphore_history.php,
http://flagexpressions.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/history-behind-semaphore-flags/