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When voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service works, it works wonderfully, delivering voice content over the extremely cost-effective Internet channel and providing an easy way to connect users, whether within a business or from customers and colleagues. Losing VoIP access hampers all these operations, and a new report from Channel Partners Online details how Telarus (News - Alert) is looking to solve the problem of down VoIP with its new VXSupportLine system.

The VXSupportLine system is a complete self-help service geared toward troubleshooting issues with VoIP, which in turn means that the real problem with a service can be better found. That means a better user experience, and a faster time to get the solution resolved since there's less waiting for someone else to step in. Better yet, the self-help option also helps ensure that fewer calls have to go through a call center or the like, which reduces the load on said call center and better assures chances at first-call resolution.

Built on a Web-based platform, VXSupportLine allows Telarus partners the ability to run hosted unified communications (UC) customers through a series of tests and diagnostics designed to find issues in network performance. Hosted VoIP suppliers install testing beacons in data centers as a means to provide the service, and allow these issues to better be spotted. 

Essentially, as explained by Telarus executive vice president and VXSuite president Roger Blohm, one link clicked turns an end-user's machine into a VoIP testing device which sends calls to those aforementioned beacons. The test packets involved in the call travel the same pathway, and that allows for a simple means to test and measure how an “actual” VoIP call would go, and if there are faults, it helps pin down just where those faults are, whether it's in the internal network, in the Internet service provider (ISP), or in the hosted VoIP service.

First-call resolution is the gold standard of success in an increasing number of call centers. With VoIP, however, this often couldn't be reached because there were too many potential failure points in the system. A service like VXSupportLine, meanwhile, has a greater chance of reaching success thanks to its ability to spot where the problem is directly, meaning that the only calls that really hit a call center are those where it's known the failure point is at that end. This means a better overall experience, and when upgrade times come around again, the company with the great customer experience will be near the top of the list.

Improved sales, better customer experience, and better call center performance; these points all add up to all the reason in the world to put VXSupportLine to work in a hosted provider operation, and give customers the experience they want. That's likely a bottom line help to the provider as well, so considering VXSupportLine should be front of mind.