VoIP Telephone Systems

Cheaper phone calls. Even with a normal phone system, there are many third party companies and calling plans that can significantly reduce your phone bills already. So how can VoIP improve upon this?

International calls. Because the main part of the "journey" that your call makes to a foreign country is via the free internet (like an e-mail) then you only pay for the "last mile" ie the final portion of the journey to the recipients telephone. This is typically the cost of a local phone call within that country. Some examples:

Inter-company calls. If your company has more than one office, a VoIP system in each can link together to act as one big system. By using the internet to link them, calls between your offices are now free!

Another possible advantage of this arrangement is that you might designate a receptionist to answer calls for more than one branch. Callers won't know the difference, but you can save money on salaries. Even if you don't go that far, you can still benefit from easier lunchtime or sickness cover, perhaps saving from you hiring a temp.

Home workers. Because of the easy remote connectivity, someone working from home can have the same extension number and facilities as they enjoy in the office. To co-workers, and customers, they can answer the phone and deal with calls in exactly the same way as if they were at their office desk. And of course there’s no extra cost to this.

Lower maintenance costs. The Voispeed system uses standard computer hardware rather than expensive proprietary equipment . So it's not only cheap to repair, but parts are available on the high street.

For operational modifications, many users can perform most tasks themselves, saving on expensive engineer call-outs.

Unlimited expansion capability.Normal phone systems (and many VoIP systems) have built-in limitations on the number of extensions or incoming call lines. This means that when you reach those limits the system may have to be replaced. Not with Voispeed. The only limitation is on the size of the licence that you purchased, so when you get to the extent of it then it's a simple addition to the licence to add more extensions. The system simply grows along with your business. You can't out-grow it!

No hidden extra costs.Many phone system providers charge extra for "options" such as voice mail, music on hold, automated reception etc. With Voispeed, it's all built in.

With Voispeed, the extras that other suppliers charge for are included in the system. Eg:

• Conference calls - join 3, 4 or as many callers as you require
• Voicemail - and you can have messages sent to your e-mail
• Music on hold - you can choose the music too!
• "Meeting Rooms" - callers can pop in or out of the meeting
• Interactive Voice Responder (IVR) - set up an automated receptionist when he/she's away or for out of hours.
• Dialling from the screen – highlight any number on the screen, in an e-mail perhaps, then press one key to dial it
• Call recording – press one key to record that call for future reference
• Call log – all calls in and out are logged for reference or easy billing, say
• Speed dialling – create your own and company lists of regular numbers
• On-screen extension status – see who's on a call or available in your office or in another branch

With a Voispeed system in your branches, they can link together to make one big system. So all calls between extensions can be free, staff in one branch can answer the phone for other branches. You can see at a glance if another extension is engaged before trying to call or put a call through, even when they're many miles away.

Rather than hire a receptionist for each branch, one receptionist might do the job for several smaller offices. Callers phone the number that they're used to, and don't know the difference.

More and more companies today are discovering the benefits of having staff sometimes working from home or from some other remote location.

Some examples:

• Save on commuting time and costs
• When office space is limited
• When they need to stay at home for a sick child, or the plumber
• Happier, less stressed staff

Obviously, home working isn't suitable for everybody, or all jobs. But it can often be a useful option in the above and other cases perhaps for some of the time.

How it works: Firstly, the user must have a good internet connection, ordinary home broadband is normally ideal. Using a voip phone (not their home phone) it can log in to the office system using the same name and password that they use from their desk. The system recognises the user and directs their extension number and their calls.

That's it! To other office users and outside callers everything works as if they were in the office normally.

Some companies have found it beneficial to use a "hot desking" policy, where staff may not have a dedicated desk and office, but use whichever one is free. This can be especially useful for sales people, site workers etc who may only be in the office for occasional visits.

The Voispeed system allows this to work perfectly.

As the user logs into whichever PC is available, it automatically recognises them and opens their mailbox, their data folders, and their phone extension.

A common frustration for business owners is when moving offices. As long as the new address is on the same BT exchange as the old one, your number can transfer with you, no problem.

BUT, when it's not, BT will not allow the number to move to a different exchange. You can set up call redirection, but then you pay for each incoming call, for as long as you want to keep the number going. Or you can set up a message that tells callers to redial a new number. How many callers will not bother?

Changing your number can be very expensive. Letterheads, business cards, invoices, etc, etc. Yellow Pages ads last for a year or more. Not to mention potential lost business from clients who still have the old number in their contacts.

There is an answer.

BT can 'port' your existing number to an internet SIP provider. Once transferred, it can then be used wherever your new office is, for this and any subsequent moves. A VoIP telephone system will receive the calls to this and any other numbers you may have. Problem solved!

With VoIP, you can be allocated phone numbers in other areas of the UK, or even in other countries. If for example you want to do more business in Glasgow say, then you could get an (0141) number so that you appear to have a local presence.

Or you might get a Houston, Texas number so that potential customers there could make a local rate call and not be put off by having to dial an international number. As we said before, calls over the internet are free, so the only cost to you would be the rental of the additional number.

All 'legacy' phone systems as well as many VoIP units have built-in limitations on growth. This means that if you have say a 16 or even 64 extension system, then adding one more additional extension is not usually an option. Basically you have to throw the old system out and buy a new, bigger unit.

Not with Voispeed. You purchase a licence for the size of system that you need now. If you reach the limit, an additional licence can be purchased to expand the system up to the new requirement. You still have to buy additional phones though!

There are physical limitations to the quantity of extensions or calls that can be handled by one single unit. However, when you reach that an additional unit can be added to the existing one which works in conjunction with it as a single, larger system.