An Internet Business Phone
"Helping your business make better
connections."
One exceptional communications solution, which for
the longest time has been a large needed expense for the medium sized business and
possible unaffordable for the very small business, is to have their own IP-PBX business
phone system. Now, not only can a small business have that option, it can
save money and gain numerous features by choosing one of two great system
choices, an Asterisk® based IP-PBX or a hosted VoIP solution. Both will
save costs over traditional PBXs and come with numerous features. Either
way you will get a VoIP system, with remote extension dialing, auto-attendants,
and voicemail to email. A hosted PBX solution, or an
Internet Based Business Phone System is
an exceptional value as the hardware costs are reduced. It has robust
features that many businesses desire and is very affordable because it limits
the need for some of the equipment
purchases and reduces the overhead of personnel and maintenance. It can be
a great choice for the very small business (1-10 phones), but as the number of
users increases, an alternative choice should be considered, an Asterisk® based
IP-PBX system. Calling
plans on a hosted PBX solution can include unlimited long distance for one low rate, technical
support and a plan that allows a business to add additional phone extensions as
they grow. Both these technologies have recently come into the mainstream as
stability and technology have improved dramatically . They have been
gaining in popularity as the choices have increased and pricing has come down.
What is an Internet Business phone system?
An Internet Business Phone System (also known as a
hosted PBX system) is a phone system where the provider houses most of the
equipment
and handles the technological needs and resources which the phone system
requires to operate. The provider usually handles the support
for the service eliminating the need for an in house phone person, further
reducing overhead. Users contract for PBX services and forgo the expense
of purchasing and maintaining expensive equipment. Phones, (IP phones),
are usually the only direct necessary equipment purchase for the customer and
they connect through an Internet connection (router) using VoIP technology
to the hosting company's servers, which then handle the phone calls, extension
dialing and other advanced calling features that a business requires. The
system would include features like an auto attendant, extension dialing,
voicemail to email, queues, and advanced call forwarding features. With
VoIP technology and an Internet business phone system, the feature set can
be even more robust that some traditional PBXs, giving the customer control like
they have not imagined. The first hosted PBX systems actually were more
feature rich than their traditional counterparts and since that time have added
even more features, making the hosted PBX a first class choice as a phone
system. Some of the features should include:
- Extension Dialing
- An Auto Attendant
- Voicemail to Email
- A Web based control panel for Administration
- A Call Queue
- Advanced Call Forwarding features
- Music on hold
- SMS notification
- The ability to add additional phones/extensions at a later date
- A way to receive faxes
Small to medium (SOHO) businesses are finding more often that their business presence can be from home or the office and keeping in touch with clients can become easier and more convenient with an Internet based Business Phone System. Having an IP phone at home, as a business extension, makes your home office an extension of the business office. A customer does not know where you are and by them dialing an extension from an attendant, listening to music while on hold, will be convinced that they have reached you in your business location's office. Having all those features of your office phone and being able to access those features is one of the the benefits of a hosted PBX phone system. Deciding to forward your phone at a moments notice, access your Voicemail and make unlimited long distance calls can go a long way to strengthening your business. A hosted VoIP PBX solution can be a solution to many of today's complex communication needs at an amazingly affordable price.
Some of the benefits of an Internet Business Phone System (hosted PBX) solution are:
- A large cost savings. Most of the equipment resides at the provider's location. There is no need to make a large expenditure for equipment. Having most of the equipment with the provider also allows for easy servicing and upgrading and at the provider's expense, not yours.
- Buy or lease IP phones only as needed. There is no need to commit to a "phone system with x number of phones", just get how ever many you need now and add others later. This allows for you to adjust over time, saving upfront costs now.
- Updates, new features and enhancements are all done by the service provider.
- Support is provided by the service provider.
- Better worker productivity. Having all the features that a hosted PBX offers will allow workers, salespeople and staff to work more effectively. Remote workers can also reduce costs by lowering office space needs.
"We may be spread out about the country, but we all work from the same virtual office. We can pick up our phone and dial an extension and speak to one another just like we were in an office."
Today's business requirements have changed drastically in the last decade. Call centers are now located over a vast geographic area, connected by VoIP connections. Salespeople work from home when not out on the road attending sales events or visiting clients. Tech support people do their jobs remotely, something that wasn't envisioned just 10 years ago. Small to medium sized businesses look to add an additional two or three locations, all with easy communication between them. And when they estimate their capitol outlay they look to large savings on a phone system by choosing an Internet business phone system (a hosted PBX).
The features included with many hosted PBX systems are numerous. They probably include such features as:
- Call Waiting
- Call Attendant (Auto Attendant)
- Call Queues
- Call transfers
- Extension dialing
- Music on hold
- Voicemail with multiple greetings
- Voicemail to email
- Advanced call forwarding features
- Web based control panel
- Remote access
- Etc.
What are the requirements?
To have a functional Internet Business Phone System (hosted PBX) you will need to have a broadband Internet connection, such as DSL, Cable or a T1. You will need to have enough bandwidth to carry your calls (voice), as well as your other computer needs (data). This usually falls into the range of about 38 to 40 kbps per simultaneous call (for providers who use a compressed codec such as G729), plus an additional amount for the computer and data traffic. Most broadband Internet connections are priced reasonably and have greater bandwidth than ever before making the choice to get a hosted PBX that much easier..
In addition to your Internet connection you will need a router and IP phones. The phones can typically cost anywhere from $100.00 to $275.00 each. Each phone will need to have an Ethernet connection which it can connect to the network. Some phones have a built in Ethernet port where the PC can then be plugged in, thus sharing the existing Ethernet port which was used buy the PC. This can suffice, but by actually having each device connected to its own switch or router port the connection will have more throughput and better consistency.
What are the drawbacks?
As with all new technology, there are some caveats which should be addressed at the beginning of the decision making process. The stability, although good, is not the same as a dedicated copper line connection such as a traditional telco line. The VoIP connection is going to be going through the Internet, and as with all such connections is going to be affected by unknowns or events out in the cyber cloud. These can be issues that affect call quality, like latency, or worse outages. Although generally short lived in duration, they can occur.
