Frequently
Asked Questions
At Equinox Corporation, we've done our best to
create a Web site that anticipates and satisfies our customers' needs. With that goal in mind,
we've compiled a list of frequently asked questions. If you do not find an answer to your question
here, contact us at 678-498-4020 or einfo@equinoxcorp.com.
General Information FAQs
Why should I be interested
in EMS (Equinox Managed Services)?
The principals that founded Equinox
nearly 20 years ago have 100+ years of experience working for Fortune 50 companies, consulting to companies from
startups to Fortune 50 companies, and building solutions for Small to Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs) as well as
Fortune 50 companies. It has become clear to us that most SMBs are operating at a competitive disadvantage in
today’s marketplace. Historically the big guys could afford to invest in the up to date telephony
systems (VoIP), collaboration environments (Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint), Customer Relationship Management
software (Microsoft CRM), or sophisticated Accounting and Time Accounting systems (SAP Business One and Journyx)
while the SMB was left trying to maintain outdated and costly systems that did not get the job done.
With the launch of EMS, Equinox is making
all of these critical competitive tools available with no capital investment and no requirement to hire technical
staff to maintain and manage a complicated environment. Use what makes sense; add components when you need
them; roll back when business requires it.
Why is Equinox rolling out EMS in
January 2009 during tough economic times?
Tough economic times are perhaps the
ideal time to roll out EMS. Your business may be seeing declining revenue and pressure on expenses but you
still need to ensure that you have the right tools to compete in an even more competitive marketplace. In
the short term, EMS components such as eVoice Hosted PBX may provide you monthly savings from the first
day. eVoice allows you to scale up and down your telephone services to match the number of employees
and other requirements – something that is very hard to do with an in-house key system or PBX. In
the long term, by deploying EMS components you are preparing your business to compete today and when the economy
turns around without investing capital or hiring personnel.
What is the difference between EMS
and Outsourcing?
Outsourcing is typically just taking your
current hardware and/or software and running it on a third party's equipment. You may get some benefits
in terms of cost savings from Outsourcing but in the final analysis you are still running the same old applications
you have been always running. With EMS you get all of the benefits of Outsourcing plus more. You get the
use of world-class applications – the same ones the Fortune 100 companies are using – that will make
your business more competitive.
Business Operations FAQs
How do I report a problem or request support?
Equinox has established a single Client Support
organization that is responsible for all of the Equinox Integrated Business services. You can reach the Client Support
organization via Email at eClientSupport@equinoxcorp.com or by
calling 678-498-4020 x2000. The Client Support organization will create a ticket for each incident in our Microsoft
CRM system (the same one that is part of our EMS offering) and you will be contacted by a support specialist. Please
download a copy of the Equinox Contact Sheet
which includes information on contacting all of the Equinox departments.
How does Equinox support clients with offices across
the United States and internationally?
Equinox’s normal hours for its Tier 1
Client Support Team is 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM EST/EDT. During off hours for the Client Support Team, a member of
management is on call and is notified electronically of calls logged either via email or Voicemail during the off
hours. Emergency calls (example: complete phone system outages) will be responded to as soon as possible with
non-emergencies referred to the Client Support Team the following day. Equinox currently successfully supports
clients with offices in all United States time zones and offices overseas including India and the Philippines.
How does Equinox support the broad array
of offerings that are included in Equinox Managed Services business?
Equinox is committed to providing first
class Tier 1 Support for all of the services in its portfolio. Its Client Support team is trained to either
resolve issues or manage the escalation process to ensure that the proper resource is deployed to resolve the
issue. The Equinox Client Support team is backed up by the support organizations of all of its partners that
provide Tier 2 (in depth technical support) and Tier 3 (fix real problems – known as bugs – that may
be discovered). These organizations are available to Equinox’s Client Support team 24 hours a day / 7 days
a week to resolve client issues.
If I have a billing question or need to
change my credit card information, who do I notify?
As indicated on the Equinox Client
Contact sheet, referenced above, you can contact Equinox’s Accounting Team at
eBilling@equinoxcorp.com or 678-498-4020 x2100
What are Equinox’s normal billing and
payment policies?
As with most providers of monthly services,
Equinox invoices for its standard monthly services a month in advance. Typically Equinox invoices on or about
the 25 th of the month for services to be delivered in the subsequent month. For example, on
or about January 25 th Equinox will process invoices for standard services to be delivered in February. For
a number of the services in the EMS portfolio, there are incremental usage charges that are not included in the standard
services – for example: international long distance, 800# usage, disk space storage when maximums are exceeded,
etc. These charges are billed in arrears – in mid-February, any usage charges from the month of January would
be invoiced.
All invoices are due when submitted.
Equinox’s prefers to process payments against client credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and American Express are
all currently accepted) for both standard monthly service invoices and usage invoices. If other arrangements
are necessary, please contact the Accounting Team or your Sales Executive.
eVoice FAQs
Do I need an Internet connection?
Yes, you need high speed Internet such as Business
grade DSL, cable or wireless Internet. VoIP relies on the Internet to work correctly, so the higher the speed, the better
quality of Internet and voice service you will receive. We recommend having at least 1M speeds or higher.
Can I keep my current phone number?
Yes, you can port your number to VoIP by
initiating a Line Number Port (LNP) from your current telephone provider. We can assist you with this process.
Can I use my existing phones?
If you are currently using standard analog phones
that are directly connected to 1FB’s or Home Phone Service, it is possible to use them with the eVoice service.
You will be required to get a device called an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) which will convert IP Voice traffic to analog
so you can use your standard phones. Not all eVoice features are available to users of ATAs connected to analog
phones. Typical ATAs support one or two analog phones.
If you currently have a Key System or standard PBX
with handsets, these handsets at typically proprietary and are not usable on any other system including eVoice.
In order to get the maximum utility from all of
the eVoice features, Equinox typically recommends to its clients that they deploy SIP phones. There are a wide
variety of phones from a number of manufacturers that have been certified on the Broadsoft system that eVoice uses.
Do I still need to have an analog phone line?
No, VoIP will replace it, but you can keep it
as backup service if you'd like. Many of our clients retain one or more analog lines to support existing
fax machines, alarm systems, etc.
Can I talk on the phone and use the
Internet at the same time?
Absolutely! As long as your connection
is fast enough, you should not see a lapse in either your phone service or your Internet service when you are
using both simultaneously.
Can I buy a VoIP phone at an electronics store?
Yes, as long as it is a Broadsoft
compatible phone. For a list of compatible phones, please contact us.
Do I need to make any changes
to my internal network to make VoIP work?
Depending on whether you go with IP
phones or an ATA device, your network will be set up differently. Either way, you will need to add at least
one more device to your network.
What happens when I have a power
outage or if I lose my Internet connection? Will my service still work?
VoIP services, and therefore 911 dialing,
DO NOT work during an electrical power outage or broadband provider outage. While you cannot control a power outage
or other problem that actually disrupts your broadband Internet service, there are a couple of things you can do
to protect yourself from a local power outage.
Install an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
with battery backup to support the Internet router, the DSL/cable/wireless modem, and other network equipment.
Your servers should also be connected to the UPS if possible. This is good standard operating procedure for
any business. If your business is small enough, you may be able to plug your phone adaptor and/or phones to
the UPS. A good UPS with battery backup can be purchased at an electronics store.
For larger organizations, we would recommend
a router that supports Power Over Ethernet (POE) plugged into the UPS. POE provides power to the phones over
standard Ethernet cabling. With a UPS with battery backup and a POE router, your company’s telephone and
Internet infrastructure will be protected against a power outage.
In the event of a natural disaster, calamitous event,
or a power outage that outlasts your battery backup, our Business Continuity solutions enables businesses to automatically
re-route calls to maintain telephone service to any location and any device, including landline phones, mobile devices,
and PC-based SoftPhones. These features work for both eVoice Hosted Enterprise Seats as well as for IPTrunking. In the
case of Enterprise Seats, the user feature “Call Forwarding Not Reachable” will direct calls to pre-designated
alternative fixed or mobile lines in the event of a service disruption to lines serving the Enterprise. Even if
call rerouting has not been set up before an event, each user, your system administrator, or Equinox Client Support
can access your eVoice Web Portal and make whatever changes are necessary to ensure that you lose no calls.
Can I have a monitored alarm system with VoIP?
There may be options for having a security
system with VoIP services. We recommend you talk to your security professional about using a basic service land
telephone line or wireless communications to support your alarm system. Equinox is not a security company and
cannot make specific recommendations about security systems.
Can I fax over VoIP lines?
Our testing has shown that long faxes have
difficulty running over VoIP however some customers have been able to make small faxes using a traditional fax machine
over VoIP lines. You can choose to have a basic service land telephone line for traditional fax machines. Another option
is to utilize a web-based faxing service. You will need a scanner to send faxes and a printer or email account to
receive faxes using a service like this.
Does 911/E911 work with VoIP?
Equinox Corporation delivers true E911 capabilities
to end users.
What Taxes and surcharges apply?
The only taxes applied to your invoice are
the Universal Service Fund (USF Charge).
