TMCnet asked Joe Woodbury, Director of Marketing at Nuvio (
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Alert), to answer some questions about the type of business phone systems that are available to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) today, and how the advent of IP
communication has changed the telephony landscape.
How would you define “business phone system”?
A business phone system, traditionally known as a PBX
(Private Branch Exchange,) provides businesses with station-to-station communications for a defined set of users, and allows businesses to have features like auto-attendant, voicemail, and conference calling. Traditionally, these systems were managed in-house, requiring specialty staff.
With a “hosted PBX (
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Alert)”, or Internet based phone system, the “PBX” is located at an external data center. This hosting allows an SMBs to afford a full-featured PBX. A hosted PBX is a no-hassle choice, and it eliminates the need to hire costly IT staff or contractors to manage the business phone system.
How has the introduction of Internet Protocol (IP)-based technologies changed how business phone systems function, how they’re deployed, and how companies are using them?
First and foremost, the introduction of Internet telephony cut the initial setup costs of a PBX system dramatically. This new technology also results in decreased need for IT staff associated with setup, maintenance and support of a PBX. Because of its inherent simplicity, IP telephony eliminates the need to hire a service technician for installing a business phone system. SMBs can buy a solution like Nuvio’s nPBX and install it themselves. Technical support for setting up phones and routers, and performing administrative tasks, is built into the hosted PBX solution.
IP telephony also changes the landscape by providing considerably decreased long distance and international rates, thanks to VoIP
.
Today, an IP-PBX can be deployed in days, with very little advance planning. IP-based technologies allow branch offices to connect to the “hosted PBX”—making call transfers, extension dialing, and hunt groups form branch-to-branch a seamless process.
What types of features and capabilities are today’s small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) looking for in a business phone system?
A few of the key features to look for include those listed below.
Auto-attendant, hunts groups, and extension dialing
Auto-attendant allows customers to call in and have their inquiry pre-qualified. (For example, by choosing which department the want to be transferred to). This feature decreases overhead by eliminating the need for a secretary to field calls.
Hunt groups allows users to set up “conditions”—such as, ‘If my office phone rings 5 times, and I don’t answer, forward to my cell phone.’ The possibilities for hunt groups are endless.
Extension dialing is pretty self-explanatory, but the advantage of extension dialing on a hosted PBX business phone system is that phones can be located in the same building, or any other location around the world, without losing the 4-digit dialing functionality. This feature is very helpful for SMBs running branch offices that don’t have the money to invest in multiple phone systems.
What types of features and capabilities should SMBs be looking for in a business phone system that they may not be aware are available?
Having the ability to set up local phone numbers for very important clients
For example, if your office is in Los Angeles, and you have a important client in Chicago, that you don’t want to have to incur long distance charges. You can set up a Chicago number to call your LA office.
911 and 411 functionality
There’s a common misconception that VoIP or hosted PBX solutions don’t have the ability to dial 911 or 411; this is simply untrue. Both features are available for a hosted business phone system.
Web-based administration
This provides a self-service interface for adding lines and extensions, checking voicemail, setting up e-mail notifications of voicemails, and performing other PBX management tasks—all using a standard Web browser.
What are some of the advantages of a business phone system that utilizes a hosted PBX solution?
A few advantages of hosted business phone systems are listed below.
- Dial internal extensions from office location to office location. This feature means you can take your phone with you on the road, plug it in, and still have the same number.
- Easy scalability. A hosted PBX can scale with the size of your company—whether up or down. Adding lines and extensions can be performed with the with the click of a mouse.
- Easy disaster recovery. In a worst-case scenario where an office location is destroyed or rendered unusable, a hosted system allows phones to be set up in a temporary location, without the hassle of changing phone numbers, or setting up traditional PBX equipment. With a hosted PBX, your phone system will be back online within minutes.
What is nPBX and what advantages does the solution offer for SMBs?
nPBX is a flexible and scalable business phone system designed to meet the needs of SMBs today, and to grow with them over time. This hosted PBX delivers the features of a Fortune 500 phone system at a price SMBs can afford.
Some of the key advantages of nPBX include:
- Low initial cost
- Easy scalability
- Toll-free support for both administrators and end users
- Continual access to new features and hardware
What else should SMBs know about modern business phone systems?
Thanks to the advent of IP communications generally, and hosted PBXs/VoIP specifically, SMBs now can afford the business phone system features traditionally reserved for Fortune 500 enterprises.
Modern, hosted PBXs deliver not only advanced features, but also lower long distance charges. Plus, a hosted solution eliminates the need for in-house maintenance. Most SMBs realize ROI on their hosted business phone system within a few months.
To learn more about hosted PBXs and business phone systems generally, and the nPBX solution specifically, please visit Nuvio’s
TMCnet.com channel,
Business Phone System.
Private Branch Exchange (PBX) | X |
| Originally, telephone features were provided by telephone central office switching systems, often called CENTREX.�PBX systems emerged as customers wanted to have more calling features and control over...more |
Voice over IP (VoIP) | X |
| A real-time communications system that converts voice into digital packets containing media and signaling data that travel over networks using Internet Protocol....more |
Internet Protocol (IP) | X |
| IP stands for Internet Protocol, a data-networking protocol developed throughout the 1980s. It is the established standard protocol for transmitting and receiving data
in packets over the Internet. I...more |
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