As the owner or manager of a small business, you likely have struggled trying to find a telephone system just right for your office needs.

A large corporation may be able to absorb the costs of an PBX system and the staff to maintain it. But you as a small business owner probably have a need for a much more efficient, and cost-effective option.

With a single receiver or multiple lines, new technologies exist which can be both affordable and easily administered by your existing office staff.

Traditional Small Business Phone System
To understand how far phone systems have come, it is important to understand where they have been.

Small business phone system options of the past were usually a collection of many individual lines, each dedicated to the use of one or two handsets.

This drove costs up, and it made simple features like internally transferring calls almost impossible.
Computers could all be connected to one in-house router, and all the office needed was one Internet connection. This was not the case with phone systems without some serious PBX equipment.

Today’s Small Business Phone System Options
With the explosion of the Internet, programmers started addressing the limitations of existing phone systems and developed a much more efficient technology with "Voice over Internet Protocol" or VoIP.

VoIP makes it possible for you to make and receive calls through your existing computer network rather than through traditional means.

Essentially, your calls arrive at your desk the same way that your e-mail messages do. And they do so through your existing Internet connection, rather than a bunch of expensive lines.

VoIP Cost Savings
One of the biggest advantages for small businesses using VoIP is the cost savings.

Rather than a multitude of lines coming into your building, and then physically running the cable inside your building to each extension, you simply use the existing Ethernet cable, which is already installed for your computers.

You also see savings in long-distance charges because you make all of your calls over the Internet rather than through the utility company.

Upgrades and Expansion
When it is time to upgrade or expand to fit more users, the task is as simple as plugging in a new phone.

Gone are the days of having to run new wire to the handset and manually programming the central PBX to handle the calls to and from.

This new "plug-n-play" technology allows your telephone set-up to be easily upgraded and completely scalable for your growing business needs.

A state-of-the-art small business phone system is an easy and inexpensive tool for your office. At Mark L Gray & Associates, http://www.marklgray.com/, they offer exceptional service and support for a full range of office telephone systems and wireless solutions that are simple to use yet powerful tools.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

All across the internet, there are many people who are writing away their opinions about VoIP products. The bias is enormous, ranging from spiteful ranting to the overly excited and optimistic. There are those who say worship Vonage, and those who curse it. The same can be said for almost all VoIP companies. VoIP is an emerging industry, and this has always been the case with new products. There are those who adapt quickly, and love the transition… and then those who dislike change. Once a VoIP reviewer can get past these two initial extremes, VoIP has a varying amount of factors to consider: Price, is of course the main advantage VoIP has over traditional landlines, so the emphasis often lands on that factor. There are bargain VoIP that can be reliable, but generally speaking, the old slogan, "you get what you pay for" still rings true. That said, most VoIP are much cheaper than landline, which should be emphasized as a reason to stick with VoIP through tough times.

Other important weight must be given to reliability. The price of a product is not important if the product itself does not perform as advertised. However, in the emerging VoIP market, it is to be expected to have a few bumps in the road. Don’t let one problem result in a negative review that the company perhaps didn’t truly deserve. Or if you manage to not have any problems, balance your lucky experience and emphasize that some customers have an occasional problem or two. This will help avoid disappointing or falsely raising expectations for your readers.

In VoIP this can be especially disconcerting, as my main point of emphasis for VoIP reviews is for the writer consider his own bias or situation. For instance, if you run into a relatively infrequent problem, say you have a rare outage from the company, as someone writing a VoIP review you would instantly be compelled to slander the VoIP service as unreliable. Consider first, other experiences as well, upon your own. If you plan on writing an authoritative VoIP review, it is your duties to not only give your own opinion but to research the common scenario that someone might face.

Yet, with all these reminders to be objective, you must also certainly give your own perspective. Include your own experiences, like any outages or problems, your experiences with customer service, and the end figure on your monthly bill. However, keep other opinions weighed in your mind as you make them to avoid making any grandiose or excessively disparaging statements. There is no worse deed as a reviewer than to steer customers away from a good VoIP service, or to lure them to a bad one.

Jonathan Baldwin is the owner of a VoIP Reviews site, where members can e-mail reviews to the staff for possible inclusion. For a copy of this article visit here: VoIP Service Reviews

Article Source: ArticleSpan

VoIP stands for ‘Voice Over Internet Protocol’, this technology allows users to make phone calls using your internet connection instead of your phone service. It is also known as Voice over IP, broadband phone service and Digital Voice, although it is given different names all of the technology is the same.
Here in this article we shall look briefly at the advantages of using this technology, some of the disadvantages and what equipment you need to use voice over internet protocol.

There are many benefits of using a VoIP phones over regular ones, with most providers of the service one low monthly fee covers all of your phone calls. Online you can easily compare the offers being presented by VoIP service providers and find what will suit you best. There are no unexplained taxes or regulatory fees, with your phone bill you will not come across any hidden charges. This is why the service is cheap as there are no tax charges with internet phone calls. Long distance and international calls are the biggest benefit of voice over internet protocol phones as using the internet to call means calling your friend in Australia or a friend from down the road makes no difference.

However there are a few disadvantages of using VoIP phones and that is there are a few service providers that do not offer emergency services calls. When choosing your provider then find out whether or not they offer this. This is not the biggest disadvantage of using this technology; the main issue with this service is that if you lose your broadband connection then you are unable to make calls. Yet in a day and age where most people use mobile phones this solves this problem immediately. It is also a good idea to have back up ways of communication should the internet go down.

To use voice over internet protocol phones the only additional piece of equipment that you need to purchase is an Analogue Telephone Adaptor (ATA) which is usually provided by the service supplier once you have signed up to the service. This then allows you to make phone calls as usual, using your own standard phone. The ATA technology adapts the analogue voice to a digital signal that the internet can understand; it then sends the signal to your broadband modem, which passes it over the internet. You can still browse on the internet whilst using voice over internet protocol phones. This technology is both an economical and efficient way of making phone calls, especially long distance.

Dominic Donaldson is an expert in phone technology. Find out more about VoIP Phones and how the services available can help with purchasing and finding out about VoIP technology.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Telecommuting is no longer the amusing little curiosity it once was. It is becoming an integral part of modern business particularly for small companies. Organizations with few employees may find that operating a traditional office is too expensive and a staff of telecommuters is more cost effective than leasing office space.

Integrating Many Phone Systems

Early telecommuting efforts often involved employees who came into the office on some days and worked at home others. Even today most telecommuters work in the same city as their office. However integrating home employees meant they were not part of the PBX phone system. It was no longer a matter of dialing an extension to reach them and clients had to dial the employee’s home number rather than reaching them through the company receptionist.

This problem has compounded as telecommuting has gone global. It is no longer unusual even for companies with fewer than 20 employees to employ people in other states or even other countries. Long distance charges can become a significant business expense and the vagaries of foreign telephone systems can complicate even simple phone calls.

VoIP Service Providers Offer An Alternative

Small business VoIP offers business telephone service that uses a computer network like traditional phone systems use phone lines. This can be over a small LAN, a nationwide company WAN, or the internet. This means that employees can link into the office phone system anywhere they have internet access.

This product offered by the next generation digital phone system, or IP PBX system, means that it makes no difference where an employee is. A worker could be in the office next door, sitting at their kitchen table, or in an internet cafe in Beijing and it would make and receive phone calls the same way. There is no difference in call quality or availability based on location.

Full Integration Into The Office Phone System

Using this next generation business VoIP phone system means that all employees regardless of location are part of the office phone system. Combining its advanced capability with the latest service from today’s VoIP service provider, a phone number can be chosen to be based on any area code, not on the phone’s location. A company based in Chicago could have a number with Chicago area codes that rings a phone anywhere in the world. Clients won’t even realize the person they have called is hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Home employees have full access to business telephone services such as receptionist screening, sophisticated voice mail and conference calling. They have a phone system that is distinct from their residential service, making it easier for them to separate their personal and professional activities.

IP PBX and the new VoIP service providers have revolutionized telecommuting and removed one of the major obstacles to widespread use of home workers. VoIP offers all the features of traditional phone systems plus more flexibility and lower cost of implementation. It is only a matter of time until VoIP is the only phone technology around.

Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on VoIP Service Providers, visit http://www.telesynergy.com/.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Making calls through broadband, using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology, tends to work out much cheaper than using conventional phone companies. Here are the main ways in which VoIP providers can keep their own costs low – and thus pass on savings to broadband phone customers.

There are several ways that you can save money by using VoIP to make phone calls. It depends mostly on the type of broadband connection you already have, and how a broadband phone might best fit into your life.

No line rental (cable broadband customers)

The biggest savings will be for people who have the newer, fibre optic based cable broadband technology. In the UK, Virgin is the main supplier of cable broadband. With this, your cable broadband is totally separate and independent from your phone line (which may or may not be with the same company). So you can cancel your phone line at any time without affecting your broadband connection.

This means that you can easily switch to making all your calls using VoIP technology (over your cable broadband), and cancel your old phone line completely. You’ll make savings instantly, because you will no longer have to pay for line rental, which can be upwards of £10 a month. And that’s before you’ve even picked up the phone to make your first call!

A second line for cheap calls (ADSL customers)

Alternatively, your broadband may be the older ‘ADSL’ copper-based technology. BT, for example, uses this. If this is the case, your broadband connection comes through your provider’s telephone line. If you cancel your landline, you’ll lose your broadband connection, too.

If you have ADSL broadband, you can however still enjoy substantial savings by using your broadband to make phone calls. You could, for example, use VoIP to call PC to PC. In this case, most of your calls will be completely free. If you call from your PC to another landline, you will probably pay for the calls. The tariffs, though, tend to be significantly cheaper than those levied by traditional phone companies.

But you’ll probably make the greatest savings by using VoIP as your second phone line – and use that to make your main landline or mobile calls. You could either use it as a second family line, for example, or keep it for business, or start using it to make all your calls. You’ll still have to pay for your line rental with your existing provider and your ongoing broadband costs , but, once you’ve set up your second phone line, you can use that line to make much cheaper calls.

Unlimited anytime calls

VoIP providers offer various packages of different country bundles. Each, though, for a low, set monthly fee, allows you to make unlimited anytime calls to landlines in the countries listed in your bundle. This means no more clock-watching, no waiting until a certain time to pick up the phone, no nasty phone bill surprises.

Traditional phone companies, by contrast, have a range of tariffs (often rather confusing). They may charge different rates for day, evening and weekend calls, for example. And they typically charge by the minute. That is, the longer the call, the higher the charge. Broadband phone providers don’t do this. You just pay your set monthly fee, and that’s it.

Free call features

Traditional telephone companies usually offer 3-5 call features. If you want to set up any other features (such as call divert, caller id or caller waiting), you will be charged. VoIP providers typically offer all the same features, and more, for free.

So whatever your existing broadband set-up, you can make significant savings by using voice over IP to make most, if not all, of your phone calls.

Costas Kariolis – Online Marketing Manager of Vonage UK. Vonage are leading low rate VoIP providers for home & small business users. Offering cheap phone calls and free international calls to landlines via an internet phone service for a set monthly fee. For interviews, quotes, images or comments contact: Costas Kariolis Online Marketing Manager E-mail: theteam@vonage.com

Article Source: ArticleSpan