Armstrong C asked:


Virtual PBX systems are the advanced new-age telecommunication systems for business firms and offices. PBX systems are well known for their efficient management in routing calls in an automatic manner and are now an essential part of modern day business needs. By employing virtual PBX systems, business firms can save the money otherwise spent in buying and installing costly PBX equipments at their premises.

Feature-rich PBX System with Minimum Hassles

These virtual PBX systems work in the same manner as costlier PBX systems, but the entire system will be hosted by your remote PBX provider. Upon receiving calls, callers will be greeted with welcome messages. They are also provided with interactive menus for reaching the right employee in your office. The virtual PBX systems are also capable of diverting incoming calls to mobile phones and alternate telephone numbers of your office executives.

With options for supporting multiple extension numbers, the virtual PBX systems are ideal for both small and medium size business firms. These virtual PBX systems can be configured to automatically re-route unattended calls to other extensions within your office, thereby providing clients better customer care. The voicemail facilities in these PBX systems are helpful for users, particularly for those who are calling during off-business hours.

Virtual PBX System Enhances Your Business Image

Apart from managing regular telephonic conversations, virtual PBX systems provide facilities such as caller ID, fax, fax to email, voice to email, call screening, dial by name, dial by extension, and call transfer. Callers are also greeted with appropriate wishes depending on the time of their call; the system can also be used to play advertisements of your products and services to the callers.

Modern virtual PBX phone systems are also compatible with VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) protocols. For business firms, this means they can easily switch over to the medium of internet for receiving and sending calls. Thus with these state-of-the-art virtual PBX systems, your business firm can offer clients the  same facilities that are provided by Fortune 500 companies, with only minimal cost involved in the process.



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Angela Hayden asked:


In the converging telecom industry, VoIP PBX system is defined as an innovative new product and service that act as a key element for long distance and international calling at minimal rate. IP PBX is an acronym used for Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange. It facilitates telecommunication through IP data network. Communication through IP PBX system is through digital packet switching technique rather than a circuit switching technique of conventional telephone lines.

The system allows user to share and transfer the data, voice and video over a single IP network. While sending data through a single IP network increases an efficiency and productivity of communication. Well knowing more about basic architecture of an IP PBX, it includes IP PBX server, one or more SIP phones, VoIP phones and a gateway. Like any other proxy server, hosted PBX system works similar. First thing that a user of SIP or IP phones has to do is to get himself registered with the IP PBX server to make a call to another VoIP or SIP phone. The IP PBX server possesses the information about all SIP or IP addresses, so that they can establish a reliable connection. The process of routing call through PBX server is quite easy and simple as it will connect internal and external call through voice over ip service provider or a VoIP gateway.

The benefits that are attached to VoIP PBX over conventional PBX system are as follows;

1. Voice over IP is easier to install and configure

2. Low maintenance cost

3. Low operation cost

4. Easily handles number of additional phone lines

5. Cost efficiency

6. Facilitate hot desking, roaming, usability and manageability

To avail the benefit of cheaper Internet telephony, users have to avail VoIP PBX systems on their Linux operating. Moreover, modern virtual PBX offers a wider range of handsets and telephone service connection compared to traditional PBX system.



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John Kinskey asked:


A high-quality communication system is one of the contributing factors behind the success of any small business organization.  Maintaining a fully dedicated business telephone system has thus got a lot of significance today. A small office PBX system can bring tremendous improvement to your business as well as to the overall functionality of your office. Characterized by advanced features and technology, the PBX system or hosted PBX system is also known as a virtual phone PBX system.

An Affordable PBX Solution for Small Offices

With the implementation of a small office PBX system you can project your firm as a large organization among your clients. In the past, setting up PBX phone systems was very expensive and therefore beyond the reach of small business owners. But now due to the tremendous development in technology, it is possible for you to acquire all the sophisticated PBX functions without buying or installing any expensive PBX equipment in your office. The PBX equipments are maintained at the site of the service provider and the PBX phone services are offered through a hosted server. As the services are shared by a number of clients, the subscription charges are also affordable.

Communicate with Your Clients Irrespective of Your Location

For those small business organizations that aim to reduce operational costs, a small office PBX system is the right choice. It can bring a considerable reduction in the expenses involved in appointing additional personnel for managing the official calls. The salient features integrated in hosted PBX systems include find me follow me call forwarding, auto attendant, fax to email, voicemail, web administration, call transfer facility, music on hold and many more functions which will help manage your business calls with more proficiency.

Through the implementation of a small office PBX system for your small business establishment, chances of missing important business calls can be considerably reduced. It becomes possible for you to operate your business from any location. In addition, PBX systems can be customized accordingly to meet your special business requirements.



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By : David Strom at Digitallanding.com

Internet voice offers plenty of potential savings and productivity for small businesses. You can pay a fixed fee for monthly calling plans that include unlimited long distance coverage of North America and have the ability to program your phone to follow your movements without ever having to talk to a phone company representative ever again.

As an example, you have access to a wide range of business services that previously were only available to larger corporate users, including: call forwarding, multiple simultaneous rings (where an incoming call can be answered wherever it is more convenient), follow me (where incoming calls are routed to particular numbers at particular times of the day), and do-not-disturb. All are now part of most Internet voice service plans at no extra charge.

The downside is that your phone is more closely tied to your Internet service, which is less reliable than standard land-line phones. If your connection goes south, so does your phone service.

There are three basic different types of business Internet voice service. Most providers offer monthly plans that start at $50 per line including Verizon's VoiceWing for Business, AT&T's CallVantage, Packet8.com's Virtual Office and various business phone plans from other high-speed Internet providers that are basically a two-line version of their consumer service. All of those offer minimal features and are designed for a single office location. They also make use of standard or analog telephones that you buy in any office supply store.

The next step up from these plans are ones from what is called a "hosted service" that is provided by VirtualPBX.com, M5Net.com, Bandwidth.com and numerous others. Basically, those providers rent you space on their systems and connect up your offices via high-speed Internet lines. They typically start at several hundred dollars a month but also include a high-speed Internet connection that you can use for other applications such as Web and email.

The most expensive level is buying your own Internet voice PBX, or phone switch. That can cost more than $1,000 for the switch, and more than $500 a month for the various plans, and is designed for larger offices. Both Linksys and D-Link offer less expensive switches but require configuration and help from a consultant.

Here are some questions to ask before you decide on which business plan is the right one for you.

1. How many incoming phone numbers do you need?

If you have inbound fax lines and analog answering machines that you can't or won't get rid of, you need to figure out a plan for either keeping these lines or substituting work-arounds to continue using these phones. The various Internet voice services also vary in their support for inbound analog lines, something that is also worth investigating.

This is also a good time to calculate how many new digital phones you'll need to buy. Given that prices are rapidly dropping on phones, it doesn't make much sense to buy any more than what you need at first.

Also, you will want to investigate whether you can keep your existing inbound office number(s) when you move to the new Internet voice system. Some of the providers can move your numbers in some locations, and some can't. It is worth checking: There are many reasons why they can't be transferred - some political, some technical - but if you need to keep your existing numbers you may have to continue to pay your local phone company for minimal service for these lines.

2. How many different offices will you want to tie together under a single plan?

If you are just buying service for a single location, start with the simplest plans and see if they will meet your calling needs. Things get complicated quickly as you involve having multiple, geographically distant offices that can be connected via one central office number. Do you want everyone in these offices to have their own extension, to give the impression that they are all working out of the same "office?" That is what providers such as VirtualPBX.com are geared toward.

3. What kind of high-speed Internet service do you presently have to your office?

The type of connection is critically important to your experience with Internet voice business service. Voice quality is directly related to things such as network latency and packet delays that can cause drop-outs and degrade the overall audio of your calls. You will need to hire someone who specializes in Internet voice applications or spend some time understanding these issues and testing your existing connection. If you hire an Internet voice consultant, he or she should be able to do that for you.

Before you attempt anything, a good place to start is with TestYourVOIP.com, a free service that can indicate whether your connection is fast enough to support voice applications. Ideally, you want to purchase what is called a T-1 line for an office that has more than five people.

4. Do you need to upgrade your office wiring and network?

If you are working out of a home office or a place where you can wire up your phones, then you are in better shape for Internet voice, because you will probably need to do some wiring. Internet phones require more recent and higher quality network wiring than your average computer. Again, your voice consultant should be able to make the appropriate recommendations, but realize that this could be part of the cost of the overall job, and it could get pricey if you have to replace switches, routers and other network gear.

A second issue is whether you want to deploy Power over Ethernet switches to power your new digital phones. Sure, you can plug the new phone into a standard AC wall socket, but that might not be convenient or as reliable as having them get their power from a central wiring closet that has battery backup in case of power failures. Here again, you may be looking at buying new switches to handle that.

5. Do you want to make or receive calls from your laptop?

One of the big advantages of Internet voice is being able to take a phone and connect it anywhere on the Internet and have it work as if it is sitting in your office. But to get to this point, you need equipment that can support remote users. In some cases, you will need a phone that has a built-in Virtual Private Network client (Snom.com sells such IP phones, for example) to connect to your corporate network, just like a remote PC user uses. You'll also need a good quality USB headset to make the calls and have software that works with your Internet Service voice provider.

Armstrong C asked:


With no expensive equipment to buy, a hosted PBX system is an affordable option for small businesses and home professionals. An advanced hosted PBX enables small businesses to function and appear as large, established enterprises. Hosted PBX system provides standard phone features through advanced VoIP technology. Hosted system can unify geographically distanced employees and offices under one main phone service and that will enhance business efficiency by enabling easy communication between your employees as well as clients, regardless of their location.

Hosted PBX systems are ideal for small business organizations and solo businesses. As it is a hosted service, only few resources are required to implement it, and all the system maintenance and upgrades are taken care of by the service provider. Hosted PBX is an economical option because users need not install or purchase any additional equipment. Businesses can benefit from reduced call charges and less start-up cost.

Hosted PBX systems help small businesses to create a positive impact on their associates and customers. Major calling features include: call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding, call transfer, call conference, call logs and more. With call forwarding, your business will never miss any call. Calls can be forwarded to your cell phone or any other phone. Auto attendant eliminates the need of a receptionist to attend and transfer calls. It can be scheduled to play customized greeting messages for incoming calls. You can set custom professional greetings as per the time of the day. Other advanced features include voice mail, fax to mail, call queue and more.

With a hosted PBX system, small businesses can acquire all the communication features enjoyed by traditional phone systems via flexible VoIP. Service providers offer virtual local numbers and toll free numbers with sophisticated PBX features. Various service plans are available as per your business requirements.



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