Say what you will about West Virginia, but thanks to VoIP Supply, LLC of Buffalo, there’s no joking around when it comes to communication systems and campus security at Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, a sleepy little town known best for being the site of the first Civil War battle.
As today marks the anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre, many universities are still scrambling to design systems that would allow broad notification to students and staff in the event of an emergency. When Alderson-Broaddus (AB) College wanted a new way to expand measures to keep its university community safe, yet still adhere to a modest budget and allow flexibility of service, Art Miller of VoIP Supply answered their call. The 600+ student college now uses VoIP technology to link dorm rooms and faculty to a network. Among the many features VoIP offers, in the event of an emergency, a paging code can automatically and simultaneously dial hundreds of phones to convey critical information.
VoIP, usually pronounced “voyp”, is yet another four-letter-acronym in the internet technology world. Expanded, the techno-term offers some clarification: Voice over Internet Protocol. Without diving too deep, this is the new technology that will improve the way we communicate. Essentially, voice signals – traditionally carried over copper wires, are now converted into a form that can be transmitted over a computer network. VoIP is referred to as IP Telephony because it uses Internet Protocols to transmit voice-data packets over virtually any network. This new technology is gaining traction as more businesses, consumers, and universities realize the cost of VoIP service is substantially lower than that of traditional phone systems and service. The many value-added features that VoIP offers is quickly making it the obvious choice over “land lines” as the national fiber infrastructure grows and improves.
Founded in 2002 and located on Sonwil Drive near the airport, VoIP Supply, LLC announced yesterday that it won Business First’s coveted, “Best Place to Work in Western New York” in the Medium (50-100 employee) category – beating out 17 other nominated companies. In addition, this local gem has earned a spot on the 2007 Inc. 500 and was number 45 on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Hot 100 Fastest Growing Companies in the US.
To paraphrase Al Gore, Buffalo is changing its stripes. We’re slowly shedding our rusty-old-factory city image that many still incorrectly believe to be true. Dynamic entrepreneurial companies like VoIP Supply, LLC are already here, and more keep popping up all the time.
VoIP Supply, LLC
www.voipsupply.com