The September 2010 Issue of TAS Trader

Pulsar360: full circle solutions

Who’s Who Guide to TAS Vendors

This is the first annual TAS Trader “Who’s Who Guide to TAS Vendors.”  The Who’s Who Guide to TAS Vendors focuses exclusively on the telephone answering service (TAS) industry’s leading vendors and support providers.  Consider using these vendors to meet the equipment, software, and service needs of your telephone answering service.  When you contact them to learn more, please let them know that you saw them in TAS Trader.

Alston Tascom Inc.


Alston Tascom, Inc. is a “single-point solution provider” of end-to-end telephone answering service and contact center solutions with the latest in digital telephony technology.  They utilize standard operating systems, a truly open database, and off-the-shelf hardware.  The Alston Tascom’s Evolution system is a complete TAS and contact center solution, powered by a unified ACD, IVR, SMS, voicemail, agent logging, and agent screen-pop, integrated with a robust SQL database.  The system is available as a premise-based system or in a hosted environment.

Amtelco


4800 Curtin Drive
McFarland, WI  53558, USA
callcenter.amtelco.com
800-356-9148 or 608-838-4194
Contact:

  • Gary Kerner, national sales manager, at 800-280-2116; he covers all non-listed markets
  • Bob Bennett at 866-460-4707; he covers AL, AZ, AR, CO, ½FL, KS, LA, MS, ½MO, NM, OK, ½TN, TX, UT, and Mexico
  • Pat Dye at 800-356-9148; he covers CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NC, ½PA, RI, SC, VT, and VA
  • Nora Farber at 866-874-0869; she covers AK, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, and WY
  • Tom Lindsay at 800-356-9250; he covers GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, MI, MN, ½MO, NE, ND, OH, ½PA, SD, ½TN, WV, and WI
  • Brad Swift at 800-215-7617; he covers Canada

Amtelco has over 1,000 Infinity systems in use in the United States, Canada, and six foreign countries.  Systems range in size from two to 350 operator positions.  The Infinity platform includes integrated ACD, agent call flow scripting, and voice processing for unique greetings, follow-me, and agent-perfect answers.  The Infinity soft agent is a software solution designed for use with Avaya, Cisco, and Asterisk.  Amtelco divisions include TAS, XDS CTI, and 1Call for hospitals and higher education.  Amtelco has been a trusted supplier of computer telephony integration systems, software, and hardware to telephone answering services, call centers, executive suites, contact centers, and system developers for over thirty-five years.  They take pride in listening to and meeting the needs of their customers.

Mastar Telemessaging


PO 50213
Eugene, OR  97405, USA
www.mastar.com
Contact: Rod Minarik, owner/developer, at 541-461-5235 or rodmastar@gmail.com
Since 1986, Mastar Telemessaging has been providing cost-effective TAS systems for start-ups to full-scale telephone answering services, executive office suites, receptionists, call centers, virtual assistants, and dispatchers using their specifically developed software.  They provide full support to new users, as well as installation, training, and other specialties, including Web development, graphics, and custom work.

Professional Teledata


Professional Teledata, the developers of the PInnacle TAS system and the PInnacle Freedom hosted TAS platform, consists of a group of talented, brilliant, and often quirky people.  In 1997, the company formerly known as Professional Inbound enhanced that talented group by merging with Tele-Data Systems out of New Jersey.  Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, Professional Teledata is a leader in the industry and continues to provide its customers with first-class software and hardware, along with respected technical support.  Today, Professional Teledata’s customers continue to sing the company’s praises and look forward to their next innovation.

Startel Corporation


16 Goodyear Bldg B-125
Irvine, CA  92618, USA
www.startel.com
Contact: Myrna Nunez, sales and marketing administrator, at 949-863-8738 or myrna.nunez@startel.com
Startel Corporation, headquartered in Irvine, California, is a leading creator and provider of integrated software products and professional services offering comprehensive communications and billing solutions for telephone answering services, healthcare, higher education, and inbound/outbound call center facilities.  Founded in 1980, Startel developed innovative solutions for its customers by launching one of the first paperless message systems with true Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) functionality.  Today, Startel provides open systems architecture solutions, integrated custom software development, multi-vendor applications, integration of “pure” soft switch technology, and a robust API server that enables RAD.  Startel continues to listen to and act on its customers’ needs.

Szeto Technologies Inc.


1881 St-Regis Boulevard
Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC, H9B 2M9, Canada
www.szeto.ca
Contact: Charlie Szeto at 877-697-9368 or charles@szeto.ca
Customization to fit business requirements is a tradition at Szeto Technologies.  This company manufactures its own digital telephone switch and designs its own Linux-based TAS software.  All Szeto products are modular.  Software modules are also integrated and user-friendly.  System capabilities subsequently multiply in flexibility.  This advantage is demonstrated in the scripting function of Szeto’s Call Linx TAS.  The integration allows script designs to base logic on variable data.  Complemented with user-friendly point-and-click information entry, agents can process calls accurately and efficiently.  Szeto Technologies aims to deliver solutions that surpass its clients’ expectations.  They keep their products “simple, smart, and cost-effective.”

TAS Marketing


233 Whitepine Creek Road
Trout Creek, MT  59874, USA
www.tasmarketing.com
Contact: Steve Michaels, president, at 800-369-6126 or tas@tasmarketing.com
TAS Marketing is a leading broker for the telephone answering service industry with more than 375 businesses sold, spanning over thirty years.  In addition to business evaluations, they provide hosting options and sell used answering service equipment.  They also provide an Asterisk-based software program called TASterix.  Contact Steve Michaels for additional information.

Telescan, a division of Amtelco


Telescan has been producing hardware and software for the telephone answering service industry for over thirty years with the same philosophy: “Keeping your Business in Business, 24/7.”  Telescan is the first vendor to be certified by ATSI.  Their Windows®-based Spectrum messaging system, powered by the patented Spectrum Prism®, offers telephone answering services a full range of telemessaging solutions.  In 2010, Telescan introduced three new products that can be used on any Windows®-based platform: Spectrum Appointment Scheduler, Spectrum Funeral Home Manager, and Phoenix Back-Up Server.  They also continue to make advancements in their Spectrum TAS system.

TeleSoft Systems


657 Montroyal Blvd
North Vancouver, BC, V7R 2G2, Canada
www.telesoftsystems.ca
Contact: David Filwood, principal consultant, at 604-986-4116 or info@telesoftsystems.ca
Top-performing telephone answering service operations drive TeleSoft System’s revenue and performance through superior hiring tactics.  TeleSoft Systems is the publisher of the SPAS call center agent pre-employment screening software, an easy-to-deploy, cost-effective, and highly predictive indicator of an individual’s suitability for a particular telephone answering service operator’s job.  TAS employers gain better insight and more accurate predictions as to which applicants from a pool of candidates would perform up to or beyond their established standards.  A free trial is available.

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[Posted by Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD for TAS Trader.]

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of TAS Trader. Check out his latest book, Sticky Customer Service.