TMCnews Featured Article

Phones need to work, and they need to work immediately. One telecommuting friend of mine dreaded going into the office because co-workers would regularly ask him for help with their office phones instead of calling unresponsive tech support. The difference was that the hapless friend was physically by the phone, whereas tech support was not.

Unified communications (UC) has advanced office phone technology, extending what office phones can do. But it hasn’t taken away the headaches office workers sometimes face when they try to use the phones on their desks. Troubleshooting office phones is still is a problem, and it still helps when tech support is there in the room.

Which is where Fidelus and its Remote Phone Control solution enter into the equation.

The Remote Phone Control software from Fidelus lets IT administrators remotely control any Cisco (News - Alert) IP phone within a company remotely, allowing tech support effectively to be on-site even when it is not.

The software connects to the phone via Cisco’s Unified Communications (News - Alert) Manager, and it is administered via a simple web-based user interface. Once connected, the IT administrator sees a virtual copy of the phone and can dial and press buttons on the phone as if he or she were actually in front of it, not unlike the virtual TV remote control on remote-control products such as Slingbox.

The access the software gives to the phone means that IT can more easily guide workers through setup and troubleshooting, no longer needing to rely on the worker to perform the tests.

The ability to remotely access a Cisco IP phone improves worker satisfaction, reduces operational cost from reduced IT time, and improves workflow and efficiency for key IT staff, according to the company.

“Over the past decade Fidelus has gained a unique insight into Unified Communications and Collaboration deployments and how clients can benefit from these solutions,” explained Fidelus CTO Tom Bamert, in a recent announcement about an award Fidelus won. “As a result of this, Fidelus decided to focus on UC applications that enhance the end-user experience within turn-key UC manufacturer environments.”

Fidelus was the recipient of the 2011 Unified Communications Excellence Award from TMC (News - Alert).

“The Unified Communications Excellence Award identifies Fidelus as a leader and a company who should be called first by anyone seeking the highest quality products and services,” TMC CEO Rich Tehrani (News - Alert) commented.

Other UC products offered by Fidelus include its Console Operator, which replaces the Cisco Attendant Console; Provisioning Manager, which simplifies the task of adding users and configuring UC; and Global Directory, a UC application designed to help end-users to easily search and locate colleagues.