NUSO Glossary

Not sure about a particular term or concept while learning about VoIP or UCaaS? Let the experts at NUSO help with our alphabetical glossary explaining the major components of VoIP telephony.



NUSO GLOSSARY

  • Analog Phone Also known as POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) uses electric signals carried across copper wires.

 

  • API - Application Programming Interface A set of specifications and protocols that help developers build applications. APIs enable communication and data sharing between different operating systems and platforms.

 

  • Appointment Reminder Appointment reminders are sent to a customer through SMS or email to confirm, cancel, or reschedule their appointment.

 

  • Auto Attendant Also known as Interactive voice response (IVR). An automated phone feature that greets callers and routes them directly to employees or department depending on the caller’s dialpad or voice input. A common example is “Thank you for calling Bob Turner Insurance. For customer service, press #1. For a quote, press #2. To speak directly to your agent, press #3. Also known as virtual receptionist.

 

  • ATA - Analog Telephone Adaptor A piece of equipment that converts audio, video, and other data into Internet Protocol (IP) packets that can be transferred over the Internet. ATAs are used to connect a conventional telephone to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone.

 

  • Bandwidth Measured in 1000 bits per second (kbps), it is the amount of data that can be carried from one point to another in a given time period.

 

  • Busy Lamp Field A VoIP phone feature that shows which other lines in your office are available or busy. This features informs you which team members are available.

 

  • Cloud Forwarding This feature lets you move or “forward” a call from one telephone number to a different.

 

  • Call Parking This feature allows users to “park” a specific call at a temporary extension until another user can pick up the call. The parked caller hears the standard hold music or business announcements while on hold. Call parking is beneficial when an employee is not at their desk.

 

  • Call Transfer A call transfer happens as one person sends a call to a different line. There are two different types of call transfers: cold and warm. A cold transfer is when you send a call without an introduction (also known as a blind transfer). A warm transfer allows you to speak to the person you’re sending the call before transferring the call.

 

  • Call Recording Also known as phone recording, voice logging, or call monitoring. This VoIP phone feature records a telephone call and stores it for later playback as an audio file.

 

  • CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) A scalable solution giving businesses access to easily connect the separate components of a traditional call center including Voice, Chat/IM, SMS Texting, Email into one hub. This reduces the cost for on-premise technology and support.

 

  • Cloud Communications Internet-based communication including voice, conferencing, email, and chat. Services and maintenance are hosted by a third-party through the cloud and delivered through software or internet applications.

 

  • Cloud Telephony Also known as Hosted Telephony,Hosted VoIP, or Internet Phone Service. Phone communications delivered through the cloud by a third party host. Cloud telephony replaces conventional telephone systems such as PBX.

 

  • Codec Also known as a coder-decoder, this software program converts voice (audio) signals into a digital format for transmission, then back decompresses the audio signal for replay. Collaboration Allows teams to chat/IM, video call, conference and share screens to ensure they always are on the same page.

 

  • CPaaS (Communication Platform as a Service) This solution lets developers integrate Voice, SMS Texting, Chat, or other communication channels into applications for businesses.

 

  • DaaS (Device as a Service) Combines hardware leasing with equipment management services into a simple monthly contract.

 

  • Data In general terms, data is used interchangeably for information. But in network technology terms, data is all other traffic other than voice.

 

  • E911 Enhanced 911, E911 or E-911 is a North American telecommunications system that automatically associates a physical address with the caller's phone number in order to route the call to the appropriate Public Safety Answering Portal.

 

  • IPFax (Electronic Fax) With IPFax, your documents are digitally converted and sent via the Internet to your email address. Also known as internet fax. IPFax TM

 

  • Find Me / Follow Me This VoIP phone feature rings multiple phones, including your desk phone and cell phone, regardless of where you are traveling.

 

  • Geo-Redundant Platforms NUSO uses geo-redundant platforms to ensure business continuity. Our network is designed to maintain and store data backups in multiple geographical locations in case one system fails for any reason.

 

  • Hosted PBX A Hosted PBX (Private Branch Exchange) is a service where the call technology and PBX features are hosted by the service provider. This VoIP solution can save businesses money in terms of equipment and maintenance costs.

 

  • Hunt Group A hunt group directs an incoming call to a specific group of office extensions, allowing any available employee to take that call if another worker is busy.

 

  • Hybrid Cloud Best of both worlds for cloud computing. A hybrid cloud combines on-location systems (private cloud) with online public resources (public cloud) to blend the benefits of both. For example, an organization could use a public cloud software such as email while hosting private, sensitive information on-site servers.

 

  • IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) IaaS provides scalable network infrastructure by replacing physical resources with virtual solutions. Typically this includes outsourcing hardware, servers, and network components.

 

  • IP Address IP (Internet Protocol) are a series of numbers separated by dots such as 192.0.2.1. An IP Address establishes how data packets are moved between the source and destination. Similar to street address that let us find places, IP addresses let us recognize internet devices and send/receive data to them.

 

  • IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Also known as Auto Attendant. Automated telephone system built to interact directly with incoming callers allowing them to verbally answer prompts or use the touch-tone keypad to make selections.

 

  • Multi-Tenancy Separate, secure cloud environments allow multiple users to use services at the same time.

 

  • Number Porting This process is also known as phone number transferring. Phone carriers take an existing phone number and moves it to another provider.

 

  • Online Whiteboard This feature allows you to share screens and documents with other users in real-time. NUSO’s share-screen interface is designed for real-time collaboration and allows users to edit documents directly. Whiteboarding tools are available with our Team Collaboration solution.

 

  • PBX (Private Branch Exchange) An on-premise phone system allowing multiple phones to share a regular landline within a private telephone network.

 

  • Presence Status With this VoIP Feature, users can set their online status and view the status of other users “Available”, “On a phone call”, “Busy”, or “Offline” on their phone and instant messaging accounts.

 

  • Private Cloud A fully dedicated cloud system for a specific business or organization. Government agencies, financial groups, and healthcare organizations use private cloud for its greater control options.

 

  • Public Cloud A cloud system owned and managed by a 3rd party cloud provider and delivered over the internet. The 3rd party provider maintains servers at their location so the client doesn’t have to worry about housing equipment in their office. Public cloud platforms are a great option for small to medium sized businesses. Some examples include Amazon Elastic ComputeCloud, IBM's Blue Cloud, Sun Cloud, Google AppEngine and Windows Azure Services Platform.

 

  • Screen Sharing This Collaboration features allows a person from a different location to view another’s computer screen in real-time. This feature is useful for sharing presentations, videos, or files across different locations.

 

  • SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) Trunking SIP Trunking is a digital version of a traditional analog phone line. With SIP Trunking, you can connect multiple lines to your PBX and expand your UCaaS capabilities.

 

  • Soft Phone A softphone acts like your standard office desktop phone. With software installed on your computer or smartphone, your devices performs the functions of a normal office phone. Softphones allow you to place and receive calls from your computer using an Internet or data connection. Softphones can act as a replacement for office desk phones.

 

  • SMS Texting SMS stands for Short Message Service. SMS Texting is a messaging solution for mobile phones. Can be used by businesses to communicate directly to customers. NUSO’s Business SMS Texting solution is great for appointment reminders, mass announcements and safety alerts.

 

  • Time-Based Routing A VoIP Phone feature allowing you to create an intuitive flow for your call routing based on business hours, holidays, etc. For example, a banking business has two different call scripts depending if someone calls during business hours or after hours.

 

  • UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) Also known as Hosted PBX/VoIP and Cloud UC. UCaaS is an all-in-one solution that includes Voice, Mobility, Messaging, Presence, Conferencing, and Collaboration.

 

  • Virtual Queuing Virtual queuing holds the callers’ place in line virtually when all other call agents are busy. The callers are called back in the order their call was received. This helps reduce abandoned calls.

 

  • Video Conferencing An online program where users host live meetings through video to collaborate on projects. Users can also share screens and files during the conference. Participants call in with their phones and/or use video software to join the meeting. Also known as web or online meetings/conferencing.

 

  • Voicemail to Email Transcription Voicemail messages are recorded, then transcribed into an email. This is a convenient option to stay updated on calls even when you can’t take them.

 

  • VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) VoIP converts analog voice signals into digital for transmission through the Internet instead of traditional circuits through landlines.

 

  • Uptime A measure of service reliability expressed as a percentage. In other words, the amount of time a network is available. “The Five 9’s” are the optimum degree of uptime. NUSO’s service platform is designed for 99.999% service uptime and reliability.

 

  • 5G/Wireless radio signal : 5G is a set of standards that replace the LTE network 4G wireless communications standard. An important goal of 5G is to support the growth of wireless communication by enhancing electromagnetic radiation spectrum efficiency for mobile broadband. 


  •  Analog Phone : Also known as POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) uses electric signals carried across copper wires.


  • API – Application Programming Interface : A set of specifications and protocols that help developers build applications. APIs enable communication and data sharing between different operating systems and platforms.

 

  • Auto Attendant : Auto-attendants may also be referred to as Interactive voice response (IVR). An automated phone feature that greets callers and routes them directly to employees or departments. A common example is “Thank you for calling NUSO. For customer service, press #1. For a quote, press #2. To speak directly to your agent, press #3”. Also known as a virtual receptionist.


  •  A2P : A2P messaging (application-to-person messaging), also known as enterprise or business messaging, is a type of MMS and SMS messaging where a text is sent from a software application run by an enterprise to a consumer’s device.


  • ATA – Analog Telephone Adaptor : A piece of equipment that converts audio and other data into Internet Protocol (IP) packets that can be transferred over the Internet. ATAs are used to connect a conventional telephone to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone.

 

  • Busy Lamp Field (DSS/BLF, Enhanced Monitoring Extension) : A phone feature that shows which other lines in your office are available or busy. This feature informs you which team members are available.


  •  Blue : NUSO Sip trunking solution offering advanced security features in comparison to other, traditional sip trunk solutions. Blue was developed on NUSO’s own softswitch.


  •  BTN : BTN stands for Billing Telephone Number and is the number where the subscriber’s account is billed and set up. WTN stands for Working Telephone Number and is normally a subscriber’s secondary line.


  •  BYOC : BYOC (Bring Your Own Carrier) refers to programs that give you the ability to choose a carrier that best fits your business needs, and in turn, plug them into your unified communications or contact center platforms. BYOC allows you to pay for voice connectivity through one provider while utilizing a different UCaaS platform provider.


  • Call Parking : This feature allows users to “park” a specific call at a temporary extension until another user can pick up the call. The parked caller hears the standard hold music or business announcements while on hold. Call parking is beneficial when an employee is not at their desk.

 

  • Call Transfer : A call transfer happens as one person sends a call to a different line. There are two different types of call transfers: cold and warm. A cold transfer is when you send a call without an introduction (also known as a blind transfer). A warm transfer allows you to speak to the person you’re sending the call before transferring the call(also known as a supervised transfer).


  •  Call Queuing : Virtual queuing holds the callers’ place in line virtually when all other call agents are busy. The callers are answered in the order their call was received. This helps reduce abandoned calls.


  • Call Recording : This feature records a telephone call and stores it for later playback as an audio file.

 

  • CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) : A cloud-based contact center solution.

 

  • Cloud Telephony : Also known as Hosted Telephony, Hosted VoIP, or Internet Phone Service. Phone communications delivered through the cloud by a third party host. Cloud telephony replaces conventional telephone systems such as PBX.

 

  • Codec : Also known as a coder-decoder, codec converts voice (audio) signals into a digital format for transmission, then decompresses the audio signal back for replay.


  •  Collaboration Tools : Allows teams to chat/IM, video call, conference and share screens to ensure instant communication.


  • CPaaS (Communication Platform as a Service) : This solution lets developers integrate Voice, SMS Texting, Chat, or other communication channels into applications for businesses.  


  • Domain : Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more.

 

  • E911 : Enhanced 911, E911 or E-911 is a North American telecommunications system that automatically associates a physical address with the caller’s phone number in order to route the call to the appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP).

 

  • IPFax ™ : With IP Fax, your documents are digitally converted and sent via the Internet to your email address or by secure online portal. Also known as internet fax or e-fax.

 

  • Find Me / Follow Me : This feature rings multiple phones, including your desk phone and cell phone, regardless of where you are.


  • Firewall : A part of a computer system or network which is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting outward communication.


  •  FOC : An FOC (Firm Order Commitment) is a confirmation from a current service provider that a Service Order to port a telephone number will be fulfilled, stating the date that the current carrier will comply with the request stated in the Service Order. The date of FOC is when a telephone number should transfer (port) between one provider and another.


  • Geo-Redundant Platforms : Geo-Redundancy provides business resiliency against catastrophic events and natural disasters or other situations that might bring a data center down for a period of time. Even when disasters happen, critical applications and data remain available due to a geographically redundant infrastructure.


  •  Green : NUSO UCaaS and SIP Trunking solution running off the soft switch “netsapiens”


  • HIPAA : The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that requires the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge.


  • Hunt Group (Ring Group) : A hunt group directs an incoming call to a specific group of office extensions, allowing any available employee to take that call if another worker is busy.


  • Hybrid Cloud : Hybrid cloud is a mixed computing environment where applications are run using a combination of computing, storage, and services in different environments.

 

  • IP Address : A unique string of characters that identifies each computer using the internet protocol to communicate over a network.


  •  IPv4 : Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) is the fourth revision of the Internet Protocol and a widely used protocol in data communication over different kinds of networks. IPv4 is a connectionless protocol used in packet-switched layer networks, such as Ethernet.


  •  IPv6 : Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) address is a 128-bit alphanumeric value that identifies an endpoint device in an Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) network. IPv6 is the successor to a previous addressing infrastructure, IPv4, which had limitations IPv6 was designed to overcome. This is used by most devices that connect to the internet.


  • LOA : Letter of Authorization (LOA) is a legal document in which the executing party makes certain assertions to a service provider about their authorization to switch (port) services and telephone numbers from one provider to another. LOA’s are used to determine whether a gaining carrier or service provider has the authority to move a telephone number from its current provider.


  • Local Number Porting (LNP) : Also known as number portability and number porting, enables end users to keep their telephone number when switching from one telecommunications service provider to another


  • LSR : LSR (Local Service Request) is the industry name for the order gaining carriers submit to losing carriers to initiate a port order of a single or multiple telephone numbers.


  • MMS Texting : Multimedia Messaging Service is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from a mobile phone over a cellular network. Users and providers may refer to such a message as a picture message or audio file.


  • NUSOflex ™ : NUSOflex can route around voice service impairment in minutes. NUSOflex provides redundancy on inbound voice calls that traverse the PSTN and are destined for businesses of all sizes.


  • Orange : NUSO UCaaS and SIP Trunking solution running off the soft switch “metaswitch”


  •  P2P : Person-to-person (P2P) messaging is generally defined as a two-way (back and forth) messaging conversation between two humans. This could be messages between friends on mobile phones or messages connecting two people.


  •  Platform as a service : Platform as a service (PaaS) is a cloud computing model where a third-party provider delivers hardware and software tools to users over the internet. Usually, these tools are needed for application development. A PaaS provider hosts the hardware and software on its own infrastructure. As a result, PaaS frees developers from having to install in-house hardware and software to develop or run a new application


  • PBX (Private Branch Exchange) : An on-premise phone system allowing multiple phones to share landlines or SIP Trunks within a private telephone network.

 

  • Presence Status : Presence indicates the user’s current availability and status to other users.  

 

  • Private Cloud : A fully dedicated cloud system for a specific business or organization. Government agencies, financial groups, and healthcare organizations use private cloud for its greater control options and security.

 

  • Public Cloud : A cloud system owned and managed by a 3rd party cloud provider and delivered over the internet. The 3rd party provider maintains servers at their location so the client doesn’t have to worry about housing equipment in their office. Public cloud platforms are a great option for small to medium sized businesses. Some examples include Amazon Elastic ComputeCloud, IBM’s Blue Cloud, Sun Cloud, Google AppEngine and Windows Azure Services Platform.


  •  Ring Group : A ring group is a group of phone numbers, extensions or physical telephones that ring together, simultaneously, or in a sequence when a main number or extension is dialed. It’s a great way to improve call routing and distribution in different departments in a business.


  • Screen Sharing : This Collaboration feature allows a person from a different location to view another’s computer screen in real-time. This feature is useful for sharing presentations, videos, or files across different locations.


  • Scheduled Call Back : Scheduled callbacks are optional features for business phone systems that provide incoming callers an opportunity to schedule a return call during peak business times.

 

  • SIP Trunking : SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) Trunking is a digital version of a traditional phone line. With SIP Trunking, you can connect multiple lines to your traditional phone system via the internet.

 

  • Soft Phone : A softphone acts like your standard office desktop phone. With software running on your computer or smartphone, your device performs similar functions of a normal office phone. Softphones allow you to place and receive calls from your computer or smartphone using an Internet or data connection. Softphones can act as a replacement for office desk phones.

 

  • SMS Texting : SMS stands for Short Message Service. SMS Texting is a messaging solution for mobile phones. Can be used by businesses to communicate directly to customers.

 

  • Time-Based Routing : A VoIP Phone feature allowing you to create an intuitive flow for your call routing based on business hours, holidays, etc. For example, a banking business has two different call scripts depending if someone calls during business hours or after hours.

 

  • UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) : Also known as Hosted PBX/VoIP and Cloud UC. UCaaS is an all-in-one solution that includes Voice, Mobility, Messaging, Presence, Conferencing, and Collaboration. UCaaS does not require any physical equipment.


  •  URL : Uniform Resource Locator: a protocol for specifying addresses on the internet. Also known as a web address.


  • Virtual Queuing Virtual queuing holds the callers’ place in line virtually when all other call agents are busy. The callers are called back in the order their call was received. This helps reduce abandoned calls.

 

  • Video Conferencing : An online program where users host live meetings through video to collaborate on projects. Users can also share screens and files during the conference. Participants call in with their phones and/or use video software to join the meeting. Also known as web or online meetings/conferencing.

 

  • VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) : Voice Over Internet Protocol, also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol networks, such as the Internet.