Our new phone system uses all digital lines (Voice over IP) and the monthly bill is a fraction of the cost of traditional phone lines. The server runs the open source “trixbox CE” software and we use phones made by Aastra. We are using features such as:

• Automated attendant – answers all calls and directs the calls as needed
• Follow Me – forwards calls to our cell phone when we are out of office
• Extensions over the Internet – our “office” is actually three separate home offices. Our phones are part of one phone system, connected to the primary server over the internet. This is a great feature for branch offices and telecommuters.
• Call Queues – the options for the automated attended go to call queues, groups of phones that change depending on our daily schedule. In other words, on some days the “Option 1″ for tech support may ring all three of us or just one of us. We can add or remove our extension from a queue as needed by our personal or business schedule.
• Lowest cost call routing – our digital lines come from several different companies. Some are prepaid and others bill us monthly. When we make a call either out of state or out of country, the system automatically selects the line that has the lowest per minute rate. If that line is already in use, it will select the next lowest cost. All the caller has to do is dial the number without thinking about which carrier or line to select.
• DISA (“Direct Inward System Access”) – Because of the low international rates, if we need to make a call from our cell phone, we can call the office first, enter a password, and make the call using the phone system and its lower rates.
• Voicemail to email – we listen to our messages from Outlook and the Sharepoint “CompanyWeb” website, we don’t have to wait until we get back to the office to check messages.
• Individual voice mailboxes in addition to the general mailboxes.
• Fax to email. The automated attendant listens for fax tones and receives the fax if a machine is detected.
• DND (“Do Not Disturb”)
• Soft-phones – Software on our laptops that allow us to make and receive calls with a Bluetooth or USB headset
• Wake up calls
• Intercom and paging
• Inbound routing – different rules apply depending on the caller ID of the incoming call
• Conference calling
• Music on hold
• Automated off-site backups of the voicemails and phone configuration

Those are just the features we use. Trixbox has plenty of additional modules and features that are easily added such as Time of day routing to prevent home phones from ringing after hours or change the automated attendant greeting.

I’m sharing all this with you because we are more than happy to offer the same system for your office. The server (or “PBX” as it was known) will generally cost around $2000, including the labor for the first day of configuration. The desk phones run about $200 each, with an additional $100 if you’d like a cordless handset to go with it. In almost all cases, this startup cost to switch to all digital phones will cost less than half of the price you paid for your analog phone system a few years ago. Our regular customers can also receive a discount for “Promo Jenn” to record your automated attendant and voicemail prompts.

The monthly cost will vary depending on the number of simultaneous calls your office needs to be able to make, the number of phone numbers, and the type of outbound calls you make (local only, national, or international), and the type of Internet connection you have. In most cases, the digital service will cost less than the traditional analog service you are paying for now. If this sounds like something you would like for your office, please give us a call so we can go over the service providers and schedule the installation.

Now that there are new faces that will be visiting your company on a regular basis and answering phones, I hope this post clarifies our roles as it stands at this time.

I have been asked a couple of times about which of our cell numbers to call when you have a need in your office. The general rule is to always call our office number and press 1. Whoever answers the phone will know who is best suited to handle your type of request and delegate accordingly.

There may always be exceptions to these roles depending on vacations or availability. But as a general rule, I, Daniel Koster, will be handling the troubleshooting and server upgrades and issues. I will also be the primary contact for phone system changes and installations.

Bruce Caouette’s primary role is the database development. If you have a request for a new feature or bug fix, you may dial his extension directly. He and I will still meet regularly so that we can work together and coordinate the overall project. If Bruce is in your office, he will be happy to help out with general troubleshooting or answering questions about the software on your computer, but please be understanding as he may delegate your requests to either Ted or I.

Ted Antal’s primary role is for preventative maintenance and general workstation troubleshooting. He will be the face you see more often in your office because he will be making the on-site visits to log onto the server and test the backup systems, review server logs, and look for trouble signs on the network. He is more than qualified to handle the general issues that come up on a regular basis and can help you when your computers are running slower than normal or needs new software installed, etc.

All three of us have experience with the same software that you have installed in your office (Outlook, Word, Excel) as well as a familiarity with the configuration of the digital phone systems that we are installing. After all, we are using the same phone system, if you need to request a change to your phone system (call forwarding or voicemail options), either of us should be able to take care of that for you right away.