Ringio.com-Make Your Phone Calls Count With “Rich Calling”

Jul 22, 2010 | 1 Comment |

By: Co-Editor, RB:

The Software & Information Industry Association, the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry is belived to be the first to coin the phrase Software as a Service (SaaS). In a paper dated Febraury 2001, it described Saas thusly, Software as a Service (SaaS), commonly referred to as the Application Service Provider (ASP) model, is heralded by many as the new wave in application software distribution. Following the maxim that “the Internet changes everything,” many believe that traditional packaged desktop and enterprise applications will soon be swept away by the tide of Web-based, outsourced products and services that remove the responsibility for installation, maintenance and upgrades from over-burdened MIS staff.

Some analysts and industry members believe that packaged software, as a separate entity will cease to exist. While such drastic predictions have not yet happened, due to technical and business issues, the spirit of this change – the delivery, management and payment of software as a service rather than a product – is affecting all participants in the software industry.

In the decade since this paper was published the success of SaaS has been mixed. Many cite the high service cost, integration difficulty, and technical requirements of Saas. However, others cite long term savings in using SaaS.

A new company is banking on the idea of SaaS to launch what they describe as “Rich Calling”.

Ringio.com of has taken two SaaS ideas that, thanks to the Internet, have won acceptance among small businesses – CRM and hosted phone service. It has married the two and additionally made their offspring mobile.

So whether you are at your desktop, or out and about with your smart phone, when that call comes from that prospect you’ve been courting, you get a screen of all the notes you or your coworkers took on that prospect as the phone rings. And their name, and the estimate you gave them. And – when it’s time to forward them to your scheduler/order taker/any coworker – you know – from the presence information on your Ringio interface — that your caller will not land in voice mail, but will find that person available to take the call.

Ringio calls this service “Rich Calling. It can make the difference between a quickly resolved issue and more rounds of phone tag, between a sale and a pass, or between a well-informed, coordinated response or an uninformed, out-on-a-limb decision.

It is a great managed service, because the customer data piece is already in place, just waiting to be tapped through pre-built connectors. The telecom infrastructure is there as well, and the service ready to be self-provisioned.

Most employees may know who’s attempting to reach them, but not necessarily why. They don’t know which of their calls is most critical or what information they need to answer callers’ questions.

For the first time, Ringio’s service allows small business users to make well-informed decisions and resolve issues quickly, saving both users and callers valuable time. Users are able to improve customer care and follow-up, and ultimately, to show callers they are a priority.

You can start a free trial or take a tour on the site. Business owners and interested employees should check out Ringio.com