Solution Overviews » Communication » Phone System

Phone System

Author: TechShortcut Staff | Article updated: June 21, 2008

1. Overview

It is important to keep in mind that the core functionality of a phone system is to direct inbound and outbound calls for your organization. If you have a single location where workers can share phone lines then you probably don't need a phone system. For businesses using traditional phone lines, the phone system will control sharing of outbound phone lines to reduce the cost of using one phone line per person. Phone systems can use either analog or digital signals to connect phones within an office.

Considerations

You will typically need some type of phone system if any of the following is true:

Office with Multiple Workers Using Regular Phone Service
If you have an office with several workers and each worker needs their own phone number or extension and the number you require exceeds traditional phone lines.
Multiple Offices or Worker Locations
You have multiple locations and you would like to allow calling and centralized routing between locations.
Rule-based Call Routing
You need to route calls to different people, departments or different phones based on rules like time of day or caller option selection.

Unified Messaging Instead of a Phone System

If you need to consolidate inbound phone calls and faxing but you don't need call routing or forwarding, unified messaging may be the option for you. Unified messaging provides a primary phone number that accepts all inbound phone calls and faxes. Inbound calls are routed to voicemail which is then accessible via a web account or forward to your email. Inbound faxes are routed to your web account or to your email. The potential drawback is that all phone calls may end up going to voicemail. For live call routing and forwarding you will want a phone system.

Features

Extensions
The number of extensions needed by your firm.
Voicemail
Receive and store voice messages.
Fax
Send and receive faxes.
Call Forwarding
Forward calls to any other phone number.
Automated Call Distributor (ACD)
Route calls to a specific group of terminals.
Internal Calls
Calls between employees within the office or between offices.
Conference Calls
Initiate calls between multiple people.
Web Access
Access voicemail and faxes through a website or email.
Call Logging
Track call statistics for reporting and analysis.

Implementation Options

1. In-House Phone System	2. Phone System Service
The routing equipment is installed within your office. If traditional phone lines are being used, the phone system may also manage the sharing of external phone lines. Some options you may encounter include: Private Branch Exchange(PBX), VoIP PBX or IP PBX. Can be a fit for more than 50 employees. Key System or Key Service Unit(KSU). Can be a fit for up to 50 employees. KSU-Less. Can be a fit for approximately 10 employees or less. No central server is needed because phones have the logic.	Call routing is performed or hosted by an external service. Configuration is usually done via the web. For office locations that need a lot of separate lines or extensions, a PBX-like device or IP phones may be needed. Some options you may encounter include: Virtual PBX Hosted PBX Hosted VoIP PBX Central Exchange Service (Centrex)

1. In-House Phone System

2. Phone System Service

The routing equipment is installed within your office. If traditional phone lines are being used, the phone system may also manage the sharing of external phone lines. Some options you may encounter include:

Private Branch Exchange(PBX), VoIP PBX or IP PBX. Can be a fit for more than 50 employees.
Key System or Key Service Unit(KSU). Can be a fit for up to 50 employees.
KSU-Less. Can be a fit for approximately 10 employees or less. No central server is needed because phones have the logic.

Call routing is performed or hosted by an external service. Configuration is usually done via the web. For office locations that need a lot of separate lines or extensions, a PBX-like device or IP phones may be needed. Some options you may encounter include: