Telephone Handling Systems

[DariusCool]

Hello

Small business looking into telephone systems. Mention these words and prices can get silly.

Is there any hardware that acts as a telephone system independent of the phone companies? I envisage a freestanding box where the lines feed in which then handle the call as programmed by myself in some way...

i know there isn't such thing as a stupid question but this might be it...

 

[DavidWH]

A client of ours (ok they're experienced in IT & Networking) set up a VOIP system in their office around 10% of what they were quoted from suppliers.

Yes it probably took them weeks, if not months of messing and testing to get it working, and I am not sure about its reliability.

It can be done, but depends how much time and resources you want to throw at it.

 

[Page]

Dont try and be an expert in everything

But if you have a number of lines coming in then you can buy boxes that will do this - I even have one that i bought second hand and then have never got around to installing. PM if interested.

You dont really say enough about what you are trying to achieve - how many people etc

 

[cjd]

Have a look at asterisk and its variants - freepbx, 3Cx - they're free and are installed on spare PCs.

But be careful, these things look easy but if you get them wrong or don't maintain them, you'll be hacked in minutes. It a good way to lose a lot of money quickly.

We can provide the 'lines' - SIP trunks. But almost always you're better taking our virtual PBX, it does away with the box and the liability - and it costs very little.

Call us if you want to talk it through with someone - 020 7043 5555

 

[DariusCool]

I don't know enough about telephone systems to explain what I want so I do apologise.

I forgot to mention, where I am located in the UK we only have one telephone provider which means its very expensive and I am looking for alternatives!

I am a field service and repair business taking upwards of 20 calls a day.

I currently have 2 incoming lines with the same telephone number. This can be increased to 3 without much extra cost. There are between 2 and 3 administration staff

the system would be used to direct queries to the right phone and also handle voicemail. I may also use it to divert calls to mobiles etc

 

[cjd]

That's all very simple stuff these days and really very low cost to do - £2 per month for a number and £1 for each extension. You can add other bells and whistles as and when you like. You don't need any kit except telephones. 020 7043 5555

 

[Page]

Take up CJD's offer and chat to him

They do VOIP but you need decent enough internet

His posts are always fair and honest

We use them - but not the virtual switchboard

I cannot say how they compare to other VOIP providers

But you probably want a firm that is right for you and bigger is not always better
I like to match my business size to a matching supplier but one that is a bit bigger than I need so that they can take us through the next stage

 

[DariusCool]

I wanted to avoid VOIP as it takes away an element of control and means I have to rely on other people. Am introducing potential issues, that I currently don't have, for little benefit imo.
Nothing personal!

I like the idea of using companies slightly bigger than the one I run.

I take it there is no such thing as a stand alone call handling system?

 

[cjd]

I wanted to avoid VOIP as it takes away an element of control

Um, no it doesn't it, gives you far more control - traditional telephony can do a fraction of what VoIP can do and it's far cheaper. But perhaps I'm not understanding something you want to do.

and means I have to rely on other people. Am introducing potential issues, that I currently don't have, for little benefit imo.

Again, it seems that I'm not understanding something...

Nothing personal!

None taken

I take it there is no such thing as a stand alone call handling system?

Yes, they're called PBXs! But almost no-one makes traditional PBXs these days - they're pretty much all VoIP because it costs far more to use the old technologies than the new - and in any case BT are phasing them out. You can still find them if you look hard enough, I can't recommend any though.

 

[DariusCool]

Thanks for the advice. I think I need to look into VOIP and not be so anti technology! Il get an idea of what the requirements are and give you a ring

 

[Matthew Stibbe]

We use RingCentral and it's very straightforward. We had some challenges with an on-premise and then with a hosted VOIP system. Also, our client Pensar .co .uk can advise on small business VOIP systems if you need some help.

 

[bluethunder]

+1 for VOIP, you can do everything imaginable. Multiple lines, IVR menus, call queues, hunt groups, voicemail etc. Calls can be routed to anywhere, mobiles, landlines. If you cannot handle the calls, then you can have a virtual receptionist service as well.
This will be cheaper and more flexible than getting your own exchange system in your office.

We use gradwell.com and have always been happy with the service, Zen Internet are probably very good as well as they have a very good reputation for their broadband, and it might be good to get both broadband and voip from same place.

 

[Matthew Stibbe]

I haven't looked at Gradwell but I heard of them. We use Zen for our internet connection and they're very good indeed. Highly recommended.

 

[MrComputerSaint]

I used to have a SIP trunk with Gradwell, in one of the last places I worked, as well as voip.co.uk but installed SBC's (Session Border Controllers - which is not needed for a small office) with different PBX's and UC systems.
Personally I called voipfone once and asked them for a SIP Trunk, but they offered me a SIP Registration service, the person on the other end of the phone didn't understand I was setting up an SBC. So I've not used Voipfone.

I was an IT Engineer, I worked specifically with VoIP and some older PBX systems.

The comments are correct on the above, older PBX's are more expensive to maintain compared to a VoIP system and the control is greater with VoIP.

I know your deliberation, a PBX is a nice solid unit that you know does something in your business. But when it breaks you do have to employ, probably, an expensive guy or girl as PBX's are becoming less and less, so less engineers are keeping their training up to date.

With some VoIP systems you can have simply a telephone on a desk, you don't need a machine in your office to control the phones. (Less maintenance for you)

Although VoIP does depend greatly on your broadband. I'd always say dedicated broadband for the VoIP if in budget, but if not it might be do-able through QoS on the router you have for the current internet.

The other thing I'd be asking with VoIP is does the service have a business continuity service. So, If your broadband goes down, no calls simply. Business continuity service, or back-up number, will divert the calls to say a mobile number in the event of the broadband going down.

 

[Scott Millar]

Darius - if you don;t have a solution yet check out Gamma Horizon - I have just done a video on it which gives somewhat of an overview for businesses: