Archive for the ‘On-Hold Message equipment’ Category


Should You Network Your On-Hold player?

Hybrid 7100 Rack On-hold PlayerRecently I was in a meeting explaining the advantages of the network-connected On-Hold players that we use.

The client was asking if we could update their message in between normal updates…if something special came along, or they needed to make a change.

We need to update our On-Hold message TODAY!

Prosound can do that. Because we’ve standardized on network-connected On-Hold players. Initially, that may not mean much to a client. But call us up with an urgent request to remove a particular message, or to add a special announcement, and you’ll understand the difference.

Once we have the production completed, we load it to our clients within an hour. Done. No matter where in the world they are, and no matter how many sites they have. And the same is true for unexpected changes.

We’ve had clients call us up and ask us to remove one portion of their message, and “could you do it as soon as possible?” We’re able to update that message right away, without having send out a new CD or USB drive, and rely on someone at each site to load it properly. (Does your staff even know where the phone system is located?)

But what about security? We can’t afford a security breech.

Right. We can’t either. We have no inbound access to our network-connected On-Hold units. They simply connect out to us, the same way a browser on your computer does. Only instead of being able to browse to good and bad sites, our units only go to one specific place…our Audio Server.

In fact, we use these players in some of the most data-sensitive companies, like hospitals, banks, and insurance companies.

New companies…new names…

Recently we were involved in another successful client-merger for Landmark Aviation. We worked with both Landmark and Odyssey Aviation to prepare for the merger. Writing scripts, crafting productions, and scheduling installations. But the key to making it work smoothly for Landmark Aviation, was our ability to schedule the On-Hold messages to “go live” at each site at an exact time, on the exact day.

And their staff didn’t have to do a thing. No remembering to load a CD or USB thumbdrive. We simply made it happen automatically.

Which is why clients say things like

Thanks for ‘just handling this’ for us!

It’s what we’re here to do for you!

….and, thank you!

You’re welcome. We love being about to do this!


Updating your On-Hold message…around the globe!

For some companies, it’s fairly easy to update their On-Hold message. They simply walk over to the phone system, insert a USB stick, and they’re done.

But what happens when you need to coordinate updating 32 locations around the world, and they all have to be updated at the same time, on a specific day?

Well, you do what Piedmont Hawthorne did and trust Prosound to handle the message updating with Network-connected On-Hold players.

Piedmont Hawthorne was in the process of completing the aquisition of Garrett Aviation, and changing the new combined company name to Landmark Aviation. The On-Hold message was a key part of the marketing reach, especially to existing customer bases for both companies. But it had to be timed exactly right.

We worked with Piedmont Hawthorne for several weeks prior to the roll-out to develop messaging that would introduce the new company brand, while not alienating previous brand loyalists.

We also put in place the Net7000 On-Hold message player at each location, to prepare for the update. The Net7000 is a network-connected On-hold player. It plugs into the company network, and accesses our secure Audio Server to download updates and changes…automatically.

The units were installed at each location, which consisted of simply plugging in the network cable, the audio cable, and the power cable. These units are set to pick up their IP address by DHCP, so it was quite a smooth process to install them.
These units connect to our Audio Server over an outbound-only connection, via port 80. That makes them more secure then the computer at your front desk! They are also programmed to check back multiple times each day, so they’ll know right away when new content has been scheduled to download.
We have a great deal of control over scheduling and updating these units, which gives us a tremendous capability to coordinate with a new brand roll-out such as Landmark Aviation!

We produced the new On-Hold messages for Landmark, and loaded them into our Audio Server.

The productions and roll-out dates were assigned to the Net7000 players.

Everything was set for a seamless brand introduction.

On the day the new company was announced, the units downloaded the new productions right on schedule, and began playing right away. All automatically. The staff at each location had enough on their hands without having to worry about updating the On-Hold message!

We were able to handle this in an efficient, brand supporting way, because of the use of our Net7000 On-Hold message player.

These are the types of situations that have made us standardize on the Net7000. When a client asks if we can update their message for a holiday, unscheduled closing, or last minute sale, we have the capability to do so…quickly and easily.

Network-connected On-Hold players are one more way we help companies transform their caller experience!