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What Does a Systems Administrator Do?

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Think being a systems administrator is the job for you? Learn what systems administrators do and what is expected of them. This way, you can prepare appropriately for the job and your interview.

Systems Administrator: Job Description

A systems administrator takes care of a business’ network and computer systems. From installing new equipment to maintaining the network and software used. These professionals work for businesses of all types and sizes; from small businesses to large enterprises and they work for public, private, and governmental organizations.

The salary range for a systems administrator in the US ranges from $23,000 to $182,000 per year, with the average salary sitting at $83,620 per year.

What do Systems Administrators Do?

So, what is the day-to-day like for a systems administrator? As the backbone of a company’s IT team, the systems administrators are responsible for:

  • The installation, configuration, and maintenance of all computer systems
  • Identifying and correcting issues
  • Making the necessary updates to software and equipment
  • Providing technical support
  • The daily monitoring of all systems, processes, and equipment
  • Resolving and handling help desk requests
  • Reviewing application logs and keeping track of backups, and more

Additionally, a systems administrator is skilled in understanding what types of technologies can be implemented and utilized for a particular business’s benefit. For example, in regards to communications, they may consider using VoIP to develop a customized business phone system, which can be tailored to the company’s specific needs. They will also be knowledgeable of different automated systems, such as interactive voice response, as well as other tools like simultaneous ring to streamline that calls that come into the business.

How to Become a Systems Administrator?

To apply for a systems administrator position, you will need to have the necessary prerequisites and experience. Here we will look at what education, licenses, and certificates are needed for this position.

Education

Some employers only ask for a postsecondary certificate or associate’s degree. However, some employers will also require a bachelor’s degree in a computer or information science-related field. A degree in computer or electrical engineering may work as well since the job requires you to work closely with computer systems.

Additionally, you can obtain a degree from programs that focus specifically on computer network and systems administration. Furthermore, many administrators go on to take additional IT courses and attend computer network conferences to stay up to date on the latest technology. Keep in mind, some companies may require a master’s degree as well, so it may be a good idea to be prepared.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registration

Licenses and certifications indicate that a potential hire has the required knowledge and skills needed to do the job efficiently.

As a standard, businesses require their systems administrators to be certified in the products used by the company. You can get certifications through product vendors or vendor-neutral certification providers. You may even look at getting your certifications from Microsoft or Cisco.

You can also get certifications from the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), a worldwide provider of IT certifications. Popular certifications they offer include CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, and CompTIA Security+.

Field Experience

Obtaining experience is an important part of landing your dream systems administrator job. Typically, employers expect or prefer to see at least 2 or more years of experience. Start by seeking internships or part-time opportunities right after you complete your bachelor’s degree. You can start out as a help desk rep or an IT specialist and gradually advance into the systems administrator role.

Desirable Qualities

Along with network and computer skills, you will also need personality skills and traits to be a good systems administrator. Here are some desirable qualities employers look for in systems administrators:

  • Technical and Analytical skills — the ability to evaluate and analyze networks and processes and identify issues.
  • Multitasking skills — the ability to work on multiple tasks, issues, and concerns at the same time.
  • Problem-solving skills — the ability to quickly and efficiently resolve issues.
  • Communication skills — the ability to describe goals, standards, issues, and solutions to IT and non-IT employees.

Is Being a Systems Administrator Right for You?

If networks and computer systems dominate your life, then you should find a job that lets you apply your skills and love for technology. And being a systems administrator can help you achieve this. So what are you waiting for? Get the right education, the right certifications, and build your professional experience to position yourself as the ideal candidate for these types of positions.

6 Ways to Analyze Your Call Center Data

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Want to analyze your call center data to improve agent performance and customer service? There are a few different ways to analyze cloud call center data. In this post, we will outline 6 ways to gather valuable data about the functioning of your contact center so that you can determine ways to improve performance.

Analyze Your Cloud Call Center Data: 6 Methods

Tracking and call center analytics continues to be important as contact centers can use these insights to offer better service, find valuable leads, and increase sales. And once your company has this information, you can identify areas of strength and weakness and then improve your service and increase customer satisfaction. Here are some useful and practical ways to track and collect call center data:

call detail records

1. Watch Your Call Detail Records

Call detail records list down all incoming and outgoing business calls. This means that you can get insights into how many calls your business makes and receives per day. You can identify patterns such as what days in the week or times of the day your business receives the most calls. This information can help your call center prepare for high call traffic periods by having more agents on call during those times.

Additionally, you can use call tracking to identify where your calls are coming from. For example, you can assign different local numbers for different geographical regions or advertising channels. And as calls come into specific numbers, you will be able to determine which location or marketing channel this customer came through. This information will help improve marketing efforts in areas responding well to your services.

2. Track Call Center KPIs

Track call center KPIs to see how your cloud call center is performing. Tracking these KPIs should be the focus of your business as they can help you maintain desirable performance. Six of the most popular contact center KPIs include:

1. First Call Resolution: Measures how often a caller’s query is resolved on the first call itself. This means, no follow-up calls or emails were required.

2. Average Time in Queue: Measures the time callers wait in the queue before being helped. This KPI gives you a good idea of how efficiently your agents respond to customer calls. Track the response time for various channels like live chat, email, or social media.

3. Average Handle Time: Measures the average time spent on handling a call (talk and hold time). A delicate balance must be struck between keeping low handle times and effective customer service. If you cut down on the handling time, you may negatively affect customer service quality.

4. Average Abandonment Rate: Measures how often customers leave or abandon a call. Customers may abandon calls after waiting for too long. Short wait time and easy-to-navigate IVR systems can help reduce the average abandonment rate.

5. Customer Satisfaction or CSAT scores: Tracks how satisfied your customers are with your company. Use surveys, feedback portals, and forums to gather CSAT scores.

6. Response Time: Measures the percentage of calls answered. This helps your team understand the goals and standards set so they can work towards them.

7. Agent Absenteeism: Measures the amount of time agents are not at their desks. Productivity can be impacted by missing agents. Therefore, you must identify this issue and resolve it.

8. Agent Turnover Rate: Measures call center turnover rates so that you can identify reasons why agents leave and how to make them stay.

analyze call center data

3. Study Customer Preferences

It’s no secret: good customer service leads to good sales. In order to offer better customer service, you need to understand your customers and their preferences. This is where it is important to listen to what your customers need, pay attention to and understand their emotions, study their preferences, and so on.

Likewise, adopt and empathetic active listening, ask for their opinion, and offer service that complements their preferences and expectations. For instance, some customers may prefer email or live chat over phone conversations. Having email and live chat as alternative communication methods can help satisfy these customers.

4. Make Quality Assurance a Priority

Quality assurance (QA) is the process of offering good, effective, and high-quality customer service. Cloud call center QA is often achieved by:

  • Training agents to offer high-quality service
  • Listening in on calls — also called call monitoring — to offer agents feedback and help as needed
  • Reviewing recorded calls to train agents on appropriate and inappropriate behaviors
  • Studying customer preferences

By conducting call center QA, you are not only monitoring agent performance and employee-customer interactions but also improving your overall client relations.

5. Key into EX Metrics

EX refers to employee experience and this is one of the call center analytics that does not get talked about enough. While businesses focus on improving the experience for customers, not many focus efforts on creating a good and healthy work environment for employees. EX metrics are important to measure since low EX rates can lead to more attrition and agent turnover, which in turn will cost your company more.

Some ways to improve EX and reduce turnover rates include:

  • Training new agents and offering refresher training for current agents on a regular basis
  • Equipping employees and agents with the right cloud call center tools to do their jobs effectively
  • Making sure management is approachable
  • Offering incentives for good and successful results
  • Helping employees maintain a good work-life balance
  • Keeping remote working as an option
  • Asking for feedback from employees

6. Collect Customer Feedback through Surveys

Lastly, another piece of call center data is collecting customer feedback. Feedback can help you identify how customers view your service and what they need from you. And you can use this information to make your service better and improve customer satisfaction.

Use Call Center Analytics to Reach More Customers

Call analytics and virtual call center software can help your business attract new customers across the world as well as increase the retention of current customers. Set high standards and track metrics to ensure your teams maintain those standards, and watch your business grow locally and internationally.

5 Unified Communications Trends You Need to Know in 2024

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Every year, businesses need to check themselves and see how they stack up against not just competition, but market trends. This is where unified communications trends of 2024 come in. How can businesses continue to improve their communication system and, by extension, maintain productivity and manage remote teams?

Unified Communications Trends: 2024

The unified communications trends for 2024 seem to focus not only on increased productivity, advanced technology, and better customer service but also on ways to improve employees’ experience and team collaboration. Read on for the top UC trends for 2024 that businesses should keep in mind.

1. Adoption of UCaaS

One of the top UC trends is the growing adoption of UCaaS. Large companies and enterprises are investing in unified communications as a service as a business communication system. This is because UCaaS consolidates major communications channels and platforms such as voice, video, SMS, and email in the cloud. And by combining all of these applications and channels in one place, UCaaS boasts a cost-effective and organized business phone system.

2. Rising Presence of AI

As can be seen with most industries, artificial intelligence (AI) is slowly expanding and making its way in major processes. Telecom and business communication is no stranger to AI. However, a growing unified communications trend sees AI becoming a more common tool. Think: virtual chatbots, virtual assistants, integrated services, and more. The implementation of AI resonates with the goal of using technology to improve productivity and collaboration and achieve faster and more accurate results.

3. More Cloud Solutions

Cloud communication solutions continue to be on the list of UC trends. And this is simply because cloud computing and storage have been in great demand and used by almost every business. According to a 2019 study conducted by Nemertes, about 67% of companies are currently using some part of their UC cloud solution while a third of those companies are using their UC cloud solution to the fullest extent. Because of this, UC providers are looking at partnerships, affiliations, and integrations that enable users to take advantage of more comprehensive cloud solutions.

4. Rise of Global SIP

As businesses across the world are renewing and improving their global communication systems, it is important for your company to stay ahead of the game. Global SIP gives multinational businesses the ability to expand with ease and reduce communication-related costs. With SIP trunking from VoIP providers, your business can place focus on voice network infrastructure, offer multichannel and multimedia support, and have access to centralized cloud communications.

5. Focus on EX as well as CX

While most UC trends are focused on improving customer experience (CX), in 2024, focus has shifted to employee experience (EX). Improved EX directly leads to enhanced CX, which at the end of the day should be every business’ goal. Unified communications can help employees become more efficient; efficient employees reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction.

Switching to UC for Business

Unified communications can vastly improve your business’ productivity while ensuring it stays in the game with advanced telecom technology. Find out how United World Telecom can help your business; speak with one of our experts today!

6 Useful Ways to Reduce Abandoned Calls in Your Call Center

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Is your call center not performing well in terms of customer satisfaction? Then you may need to rethink how customers interact with your call center and how many customers give up and abandon their calls. Here we will look at 6 practical methods to reduce abandoned calls and increase customer satisfaction.

What are Abandoned Calls?

Call abandonment or abandoned calls refer to callers that hang up before receiving service or dropped calls. Calculating your call center’s abandoned call rate—an important call center KPI—can help you identify areas that need improvement. Callers that abandon their calls may do so because it is taking too long for them to receive support or to get a human being on the phone. A high call abandonment rate leads to low customer satisfaction. So, what can you do to provide better customer service?

Here are 6 useful ways to reduce abandoned calls in your call center.

1. Invest in a Cloud IVR System

An IVR is an automated phone system that assists a call center in managing incoming calls. The IVR interacts with callers, identifies the reason behind the call, and proceeds to help either via:

  • Pre-recorded messages
  • Transferring the caller to the right department
  • Or sending the call to voicemail

In some cases, the IVR may even assist the caller in performing predetermined actions such as:

  • Activating an account,
  • Processing payments,
  • Providing common troubleshooting help,
  • Submitting a trouble ticket, etc.

A well-designed IVR phone system will effectively determine the purpose of the caller and assist them. This way, it can cut down the number of calls that need an agent for support. And if the IVR can’t help the customer, it can quickly forward the call to an agent. This is a good way to reduce abandoned calls.

Related: Interactive Voice Response: Definition and Benefits

2. Try Different Call Forwarding and Routing Options

Next, try different call routing options so calls go to the right agent or department and less time is spent transferring or keeping callers on hold. Some common call forwarding and routing strategies include:

  • Time of day routing — route calls to specific numbers or lines during set times of the day.
  • Select country routing — route calls to specific lines based on where the caller is calling from.
  • Direct routing — callers select their preference of the menu provided by your cloud IVR.
  • Data-direct routing — route calls to the right agent based on the caller’s data and history.
  • Least-occupied routing — route calls to agents who have answered the least number of calls.
  • Simultaneous ringing — incoming calls ring multiple phones or lines so no call goes unanswered.
  • Failover forwarding — incoming calls are sent to the next agent in line if the first agent is unavailable.

Different routing strategies can help your call center balance incoming calls and distribute them evenly. You can even have calls made over the weekend or during off-hours forwarded to remote agents. This way, there’s always someone available to answer calls.

3. Prepare a Knowledge Base for Online Support

With everything being easily available over the internet, most customers will first try to solve an issue by themselves before they call a company. For this purpose, having an online Knowledge Base or Support section that provides assistance and troubleshooting for common issues can be a blessing.

Web visitors will first try to resolve their concerns via looking up your Support, FAQs, or Knowledge Base tools. If they are still unable to fix the problem, they can then choose to email or call your company. However, users that are able to fix the problem will not need to make the call, thereby reducing the number of calls in a queue and reducing abandoned calls.

4. Offer Multichannel Support

Another way to reduce abandoned calls is to offer other mediums of support. The Knowledge Base is one such tool. However, other communication channels include live chat, ticket tracking software, email, SMS, etc.

5. Train Your Agents for Common Issues and Large Call Volumes

Irrespective of how well you distribute your calls, if your representatives are not trained well and unable to perform under pressure, then your efforts are in vain. Take time out to ensure that call center agents get the training they need to succeed. Have refresher courses, webinars, and workshops on the regular to reinforce good habits. Furthermore, provide them insightful resources and incentives that can help them do their job well even during high volume periods such as holidays. You may even run a rewards program as well as provide quick and easy access to troubleshooting documents and so on.

6. Schedule Agents Based on Call Traffic

Lastly, study your call logs to see when and where most of your calls come in and schedule agents to tackle high-traffic periods. This way, your team is prepared to deal with the load of incoming calls while offering quick service. Plus, having more agents available during these times will help distribute calls better.

How Can United World Telecom Help?

We offer a variety of virtual communication tools specifically designed for call management. You can rely on our call forwarding options, cloud IVR systems, and rest assured that incoming calls reach the right agents on time. Improve your customer service today by signing up for our service. To learn more, call us or chat with one of our experts today!

Hosted Call Recording: Top 7 Benefits

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Hosted call recording can help you improve productivity and efficiency in the office. You can also use the system to conduct quality assurance and performance analysis. Here are the top 7 benefits of hosted call recording for businesses.

Benefits of Hosted Call Recording

Hosted call recording or cloud call recording is a recording system hosted in the cloud. Hosted call recording is offered by telephony providers like United World Telecom. Most small- to medium-sized businesses can use this service without worrying about any hardware or maintenance costs. All you pay for is your subscription with the provider.

More and more businesses are getting cloud call recording services to increase productivity within the office. So, why should your business invest in a hosted call recording software? Here we will look at the various advantages of using hosted call recording to aid productivity and performance.

1. Keep Records and Documentation

Having a hosted call recording software can help you and your team keep records of all important calls and interactions, transactions, receipts, and more between your business and its clients. Reviewing these recordings can help your team understand customer behavior and preferences and serve them better.

2. Improve Quality Assurance

Most small- to medium-sized businesses use call recording to improve quality assurance within the customer service team. In other words, you can review recordings to see which approaches are more successful than others. This way, your customer service team can be trained to provide good customer support.

3. Conduct Performance Analysis

Call recording can also be used when conducting your agents’ performance analysis. There are many ways to record VoIP calls for review during yearly evaluations and help agents do better or reward them for being efficient.

4. Protect from Liabilities

Furthermore, in case of any misunderstanding or fraudulent activity, call recordings can protect your business from liabilities. Recordings can present as proof or evidence to prevent liabilities or keep your company safe.

5. Collect Customer Feedback

Businesses need to focus on customer experience and customer happiness to remain successful. You can use hosted call recording to run surveys and collect valuable feedback from customers. Then, review the feedback to improve your service and increase customer satisfaction.

6. Comply with Regulations

Financial institutions and companies are required to comply with recording regulations such as the Dodd-Frank Act and MiFID II. These regulations call for transparency during business calls and avoiding fraudulent behavior. Recording business calls will ensure that your finance company remains in compliance with these regulations.

7. Increase Productivity in the Office

Ultimately, all of the above reasons ensure that your office and teams remain productive. You can keep track of your employees’ performance which gives them the incentive to do a good job. Furthermore, you can keep your business safe from fraudulent activity and liabilities. All in all, hosted call recording will help you create a better work atmosphere and improve quality assurance.

Get Hosted Call Recording

You can get call recording from United World Telecom by adding it to your virtual phone number plans. You can record up to 100% of all incoming and outgoing calls and store them for up to 6 years. Call us today at 1 (877) 898 8646 to learn more or to get hosted call recording for your business!

What is a PBX Phone System?

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Looking for an upgrade for your business phone system? One that reduces calling costs but enables better and reliable connection? A private branch exchange or PBX system works alongside your current telephone network. However, it has the potential to give you access to high-quality voice and video communication. In this post, we explain what a PBX phone system is and how it can benefit your business.

Private Branch Exchange (PBX): Definition & Guide

A private branch exchange is a telephony solution that enables communication between users of a private network. A PBX system works with your business’ telephone network and handles forwarding and routing features for calls. Companies use private branch exchange systems to reduce monthly phone bills as it operates internally and uses fewer phone lines.

Most PBX providers will offer you communication features along with the system. These features include voicemail, cloud IVR, custom messages, call transfer, and extensions.

Before these systems worked only through plain old telephone service lines. However, now, you can connect your PBX with VoIP technology, also called IP PBX. Voice over IP technology uses the internet instead of analog phone lines to make and answer calls. Both of these systems together will give you the ability to use SIP trunking as a feature that offers voice and video calling at inexpensive rates.

Setting up a private branch exchange system, however, needs expertise. To install PBX for your office, you will need specific hardware, physical space, and an IT team for maintenance. Costs for these can increase quickly. Thankfully, cloud PBX functions as a cost-effective solution.

4 Reasons for Businesses to Use a PBX System

So, why should your business consider getting a private branch exchange phone system? There are many benefits to using a PBX system, which include:

  1. Running a call center: PBX systems can hold inbound and outbound calls in a queue and transfer them to the right department when the time comes.
  2. Connecting multiple locations: a PBX system can route users to employees, agents, or departments in another office location, enabling team collaboration.
  3. Transferring calls through extensions: calls can be transferred quickly and with ease, without the worry of calls being dropped.
  4. Custom call management: Handle and route calls according to your needs and desires by setting rules within the system.

With advancements in telecommunications, there are a few different private branch exchange systems to choose from. The most common are hosted/cloud and on-premise/IP PBX. Let’s delve into these types first.

Understanding the Difference Between PBX, EPABX, and IP PBX

There are many terms for PBX going around: PBX, IP PBX, PMBX, PABX, EPABX, to name a few. And it is not always clear what each of these terms means or which type of phone system is right for your business. Let’s try to break this down so you can make a more informed decision when it comes to your business PBX system.

What is EPABX?

Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange — also known as PABX and EPABX — is a PBX system or private telephone network used for internal and external business communication. Employees share limited resources and use a single phone line for business-related communication. This helps reduce phone system expenses.

The main difference between PBX and EPABX systems lies in who operates the system. PBX systems used to be (and in some cases, still are) human-operated or manual systems and are also known as PBMX.

PABX systems, on the other hand, use computers to automate the switching process within the system, also known as Private Automatic Branch Exchange. EPABX systems don’t need an operator and instead use a computer to manage and transfer calls effectively.

pbx flow chart

IP PBX: What is it and How Does it Work?

IP PBX takes the private branch exchange system to the next level by using VoIP technology and cloud communications. IP PBX phone systems use VoIP technology to transfer or direct calls from one end to another by converting analog voice signals into digital signals. The VoIP provider manages the initiation (beginning) and termination (end) of each call.

IP PBX uses SIP technology, the standard for VoIP phone systems. Because of this, your business can make use of SIP trunking to utilize multiple voice channels or SIP channels without purchasing separate lines. And since SIP trunks are location-agnostic and highly scalable, you can set up or move offices or work remotely, as and when needed within minutes.

With IP PBX, you can expect:

  1. Low communication costs — This PBX system is inexpensive compared to analog alternatives. You can choose between different plans (metered and unmetered) of SIP trunking services to find one that works for your business needs.
  2. High scalability — Add/remove users and lines as needed without having to change your system or plan.
  3. Low equipment costs — Use your existing hardware and equipment. No need to teach or train employees in using new systems.
  4. Cloud reliability — By using a cloud-based system, when your PBX system fail, the cloud system’s settings will automatically route calls to predetermined locations or lines to ensure uninterrupted service.

On-Premise vs Cloud PBX

There are two different types of private branch exchange systems: Cloud PBX and On-Premise PBX. And choosing between these two phone systems depends on a few factors:

  • What do you need from your phone system?
  • Do you want to connect multiple office locations through the system?
  • What communication features do you need?
  • What is your budget?
  • Do you have or need to hire an IT team?

The answers to these questions can help you determine which PBX phone system is right for you.

On-Premise Private Branch Exchange System

An IP or on-premise PBX system refers to a system that is installed within the office, is IP-ready, and is handled and maintained by you. You will need an experienced IT team to handle such a system. If you want a system that you can control and manage and you have the budget for it, then an on-premise system may be your solution.

You can even choose to combine your PBX with VoIP tech and run an IP-PBX system instead. This way you can make and receive calls through the internet instead of using analog phone lines. Doing so results in better phone quality and access to VoIP features such as call forwarding, transfer, etc.

Cloud PBX System

A cloud PBX is what it sounds like: a PBX system that works over the cloud. This means that it does not need a physical space in your office. Other terms for cloud PBX include hosted or virtual PBX systems. A hosted or cloud PBX system works similarly to an on-premise system, except that it is operated by your provider.

Therefore, you do not need to worry about installation and maintenance costs or even hiring an IT team to manage the system. In fact, you simply sign up for the service, complete the minor set-up, and start using it.  They take care of the system and all you need to do is use it. One factor to note is that your business will be reliant on your provider and won’t have as much control as with an on-premise system.

With hosted private branch exchange, calls made are routed to the provider and then the destination. Cloud PBX systems are VoIP-based systems that help you take advantage of cloud communication features such as call forwarding, recording, IVR systems, outbound calling, advanced routing, and more.

Choosing Between Cloud PBX vs On-Premise PBX

So, what are the main differences between these 2 types of private branch exchange phone systems?

On-Premise Cloud
Customizable Customizable
Operated on-site by you Hosted by your provider
May use VoIP tech Uses VoIP tech; Needs a broadband connection
Low monthly costs; High upfront costs Low monthly costs; No upfront costs
Controlled and managed fully by you Little to no control over how it operates
Limited calling features Variety of calling features
Physical space required; closet or room No physical space required
Installation and regular maintenance required No installation or maintenance needed
Costly maintenance No maintenance costs
Experienced IT team needed No professional IT experience needed
Limited scalability On-demand scalability
Can handle SIP trunking for high-definition voice and video calling Can handle SIP trunking for high-definition voice and video calling

The bottom line is that if you want a system that is wholly controlled and managed by your in-house IT team then an IP-PBX is the choice for you. However, if you don’t want to worry about the hassle of running and maintaining your phone system, then go with the cloud.

Get a PBX System for Your Business

Here at United World Telecom, we can help get you set up with a private branch exchange system that makes call management simple and efficient. You can sign up on our website or speak with our experts to learn more! Call us at 1 (877) 898 8646 to see how we can assist your specific business.