It looks like one business telephone system manufacturer is cooking up the perfect recipe for today’s fast-paced SMB environment. The main ingredients? A new SIP gateway and upgraded software.

In a move to deliver more flexibility and convenience to SMBs, Advanced American Telephones – the manufacturer of AT&T (News - Alert)-branded telephones – has launched the AT&T Telephony Product Line, which includes a new SIP gateway and upgraded enhancements for the Synapse Business Telephone System.

An advanced business telephone system, the Synapse platform is designed to deliver the flexibility and support SMB employees require to communicate efficiently, whether they are in the office or working from a remote location.

The SIP gateway, called SB67070, supports access to an affordable VoIP service and enables businesses to utilized unused bandwidth in their data networks for voice calls. Moreover, businesses can also connect branch locations via inter-branch calling, rather than using PSTN lines.

Multiple auto attendants have been added as part of the Synapse software upgrade. This means a business can now handle varying operating hours for up to four departments as well as route calls automatically or through menu selection. Even more, SMBs can make better use of their mobile communications through a new voicemail to e-mail forwarding feature so users on-the-go can view voicemails on their laptops or smartphone devices.

Other features include inbound call routing, that can be paired with the system’s auto attendants for customized call handling depending on the day and time. Meanwhile, businesses can now set outbound call restrictions and take advantage of real-time updates on users’ statuses through a busy station signaling feature.

"Today's employees are more on-the-go than ever, and the resulting high communication demand means SMBs need phone systems that are sophisticated, scalable and cost-effective," said Graham Williams, vice president of the SMB group at Advanced American Telephones, in a press release. "The enhanced performance of the new Synapse software, coupled with the cost-saving features of Internet telephony service using the SIP Gateway (News - Alert), creates a perfect solution for the evolving, fast-paced SMB environment."

Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Rich Steeves