Choosing a phone system

Things to consider When buying a New System:

Choosing your phone system is likely to be one of the most critical decisions you make for your organisation. First impressions count, and how you handle callers will often determine their attitude to you. If your phone system won't let you manage the incoming calls correctly, you'll start losing business

Your first step is to invest some time and effort in understanding your present needs, and anticipating your future requirements.

Our free consultancy will guide you through the rest and help create the right system solution for your business.

About Phone systems

Simple extensions

You can have more than one phone on a single-number line. All extensions ring when an incoming call arrives; any extension can make an outgoing call, but that prevents anyone else from doing so.

Essentially we're talking about the same kind of setup you have at home. For a very small company this can be a decent, and economical, starting point– particularly with everyone working in a single office, so that you can see or hear whether anyone is using the line.

Key systems

These typically have multiple buttons on each phone, originally they where clickable keys, for selecting one of several outside lines or for calling an internal extension. Installation is often very simple; most systems plug directly into regular phone jacks, without any need for separate wiring. Growth tends to be quite limited, though.

PBX

Key systems are generally aimed at 8-20 users, while PBXs - private branch exchanges - handle larger workloads. Essentially the PBX is a smaller version of the switching equipment used by the phone company to direct calls at its telephone exchanges. And while all the control electronics for a modern key system may well be embedded in the phones themselves a PBX will almost certainly need a separate controller cabinet. Typically the user has to dial 9 to get an outside line.

Inside that is what amounts to a whole computer, programmed to provide advanced phone functions. PBXs usually have an operator or switchboard to monitor and route incoming calls to the extension requested. That provides a human face for the system, and the importance of this should not be understated.

In technical terms, though, modern PBXs don't need much human intervention - with facilities like:

• Auto attendant - this directs the incoming call to the appropriate destination by asking the caller to select particular options
• Voicemail - records messages for people who are away from their desk
• DDI - which allows a caller to dial a specific number that gets them directly to a particular extension.

In fact the distinctions between the key and PBX systems are becoming blurred. Many key systems include features that were once available only on PBXs and some systems operate internally as either a key or a PBX depending on the software that is installed. The term hybrid is often used to describe systems that resemble both key and PBX systems.

The right mix

Even a simple key system these days comes with a raft of features and facilities. They won't all be useful to all users. So instead of comparing features on a one-to-one basis, you should think about how you will actually use a phone system; check out only those features that will improve workflow in the office.

And although it's important to have the right features, ease of use is even more critical. People shouldn't have to devote too much time to learning the phone system: the key functions, and especially those used most frequently, must be extremely simple and intuitive.

That said, you may find particular value for your business in some or all of these:

• Call barring - prohibits specified types of call (overseas calls, for instance, or to 0898 numbers)
• Automatic Route Selection - can automatically select the cheapest network for each call.
• Multi-site communications - all incoming calls go through a single central number but are redirected to the relevant site, or perhaps to a mobile phone if you're out of the office.
• Auto attendant - automatically answers the call with a customised message that prompts customers to route their calls to the appropriate destination.
• Voice mail - allows the caller to leave a recorded message.
• Message notification - alerts the user that their voicemail box contains unread messages (with an indicator light on the phone, or perhaps by automatically calling a pre-programmed contact number

For further information on any of the LEXIS telecom products or services, please complete our online enquiry form