Voip systems

Hi, just new here... like many of the posts i have been reading my boss has decided the phone systems in our office would be better utilised if we tried a differnet system and specifically reduced costs. I don't know much about phone systems or voip but it seems to me that voip can do everything we need.

what we have currently is bt line rental with featureline. we have ability to transfer calls to 4 differnet phones in office - we possibly have more than one bt line?

what my boss wants is something that can save costs, particularly those from BT who have really cheesed him off.....

Can we set up voip through software/hardware that will give us the 4 phones we use, plus fax on voip? can we use pc software for answering and transferring calls, call holding, answerphone etc?

I am totally ignorant of the abilities and technical details of voip so could someone please give me a dummies guide to this and how to set it up, either through a voip telephony company or can we setup the software ourselves and configure the system ourselves. Also can my boss then tell BT to take a hike and use talk talk or some other provider at cheaper cost?

Hope some one can answer some or all of these questions.


regards john

Hi

First things first, has he given you a realistic budget ?
2nd Talk Talk is a domestic service not a Business service. If hes happy with using a domestic service great but when he gets a fault he will wish he was back with BT.

At the moment you are using BT as you ISP as well as calls so you will need to change ISP as well.

Featureline is a hosted PBX so you will either need to install a PBX (capital cost) or use another hosted solution voip or otherwise.

Basicly hes going to have to spend upfront for the savings, and to see if they are worthwile you have to see how much you spend at the moment.

Ian

I go along with Ian.

For all its faults, BT is much more reliable, respond faster and easier to contact than any carrier I've tried and unless you are in one of the small areas where carriers have their own cable in the ground then you will still be dealing with BT but with longer delays.

A new PBX will cost anything from £1000 up plus handsets (£100 plus each) so there will be little change from £3 or £4K and to justify that much financially you will need to find over a thousand in savings

Start by examine what you have to start with: Check how many lines you have, what they are used for, the numbers called and for how long etc. then get a good independent call broker in and see what he can offer.

thanks guys, it seems that it isnt going to be a money saving project then. it wouldnt be worth that outlay, particularly as most calls are incoming rather than outgoing anyway. Is there anything we can set up with current system so computers and voip can be integrated at all? dont think it would be worth the hassle but boss falls out with everyone and demands a change....this week its BT....could be me next week unless i give him something new...lol

Thanks & regards

Hi

Quote:

Is there anything we can set up with current system so computers and voip can be integrated at all?

Well its as before down to budget and what you /Boss want to achieve.

Ian

With VOIP PBX system, you really can cut cost in your monthly phone bill. There will be no long distance call charges since your voice and video messages are routed through the internet. This one is easy to install and configure, no additional phone lines are required and very easy to maintain. GOOD LUCK.

edit by admin to remove self promotion

Hey,

Contrary to popular belief, VoIP cuts cost ridiculously and they are also reliable and most of the established VoIP companies are very efficient and helpful.

You dont need to make any huge investments if you don't want by choosing a 'hosted servive' which means you wont have an 'on-site' hardware, more like a virtual office. You can have as many lines as you like and add new ones depending on your needs and it will all be hosted for you.

Features would typically include:
Unified messaging
Automatic call distribution
Interactive voice response (IVR)
Audio conferencing
Call Recording
CRM application integration
'Click-to-Dial' and screen popping features
Business continuity with unique disaster recovery capability

There are also other services like small business or enterprise solution which are designed for unified communication between workers, customers and routes incoming calls.

It's all down to what your needs are, how many people there are in the office etc


Hope that helps.

Hi Ashland

Thats a nice decision, yes you can use pc software for answering and transferring calls. You can search for VOIP users and download trial version so that you can be sure which to choose. The choosing part is the hard one. Try to pick Those provider that has trial version so that you can test if that satisfies your need.

addamnew :

Hi Ashland Thats a nice decision, yes you can use pc software for answering and transferring calls. You can search for VOIP users and download trial version so that you can be sure which to choose. The choosing part is the hard one. Try to pick Those provider that has trial version so that you can test if that satisfies your need.

I think you are right and using trial version will be the better thing to do as, you can first test it according to your need and then when you get that services, there will not be a problem to use that services for a long time.

Thanks

Hi Guys,

For the record, VoIP DOES NOT save you money. It's simply another way of plumbing phones in.

Yes, Ip-to-Ip device calls are free, however most business calls are to MOBILES and PSTN destinations, meaning that PSTN breakout costs are always incurred. Internet-to-PSTN calls are normally more expensive than PSTN-to-PSTN. Take a look at Skype's breakout rates; they make your eyes water.

As the internet does not support QoS (Quality of Service) yet, and it may be a few years away still, businesses aren't using the internet for telephony. Those that do only take it up on a short trial basis.

To soften the blow for firms than insist on using it, we have to install dedicated zero-contention broadband services, with rental costs around £50 per month. At less than 1p a minute, you've got to make a huge amount of free internet calls to counter the broadband rental. We just aren't ready yet.

I disagree. VOIP can save you money if you find the right company that won't screw with your bill by adding all sorts of charges and surprises. Just find a good rate online with a company that's reputable and wont stiff you in the end. Also make sure that they don't have any hidden charges, cancellation fees and try to stay away from contracts.

Jeff Jones
Edit: Promotional link deleted

southerncomms :

Hi Guys, For the record, VoIP DOES NOT save you money. It's simply another way of plumbing phones in. Yes, Ip-to-Ip device calls are free, however most business calls are to MOBILES and PSTN destinations, meaning that PSTN breakout costs are always incurred. Internet-to-PSTN calls are normally more expensive than PSTN-to-PSTN. Take a look at Skype's breakout rates; they make your eyes water. As the internet does not support QoS (Quality of Service) yet, and it may be a few years away still, businesses aren't using the internet for telephony. Those that do only take it up on a short trial basis. To soften the blow for firms than insist on using it, we have to install dedicated zero-contention broadband services, with rental costs around £50 per month. At less than 1p a minute, you've got to make a huge amount of free internet calls to counter the broadband rental. We just aren't ready yet.

I've been installing a lot of Hosted business solutions. In the right envoronment they absolutely do save the customer money plus add great features that help boost their business to the next level and put new phones on their desks. In many cases it really is a no brainer.

Many hosted providers will bundle minutes so it doesn't matter if your calling PSTN lines, cell numbers or VoIP. Most of the time the internet vehicle we're using is broadband cable and is more than sufficient even though there is no QoS. Most carriers have upgraded their equipment to comply with VoIP traffic.

There are so many reason to make the move to hosted providing you're dealing with a quality company and talking to someone who knows what they're talking about.

The technology is ready and only getting better. I have many customers that are using it every day and love it.

Well, the proper system providers will always disagree with the hosted providers - that's competition for you!

In summary,

1. If you use Voice-over-Internet you can't guarantee business quality calls 100% of the time.

2. Every customer we have spoken to who bought into hosting has regretted the decision.

3. The maths doesn't work.

4. When 1,2 and 3 are sorted out (and they will be eventually), WE will start selling hosted services.

Edit: Self promotional information removed.

southerncomms :

Well, the proper system providers will always disagree with the hosted providers - that's competition for you!

What's all this 'Proper system provider' stuff? Sounds like legacy system providers to me. Voip is here to stay and there is abosultely no question it's gaining more market share each day, just go an read the latest comms dealer mags, they're full of it. Just because your company appears to have problems getting a reliable service at a reasonable price, doesn't mean others can't.

If you're so ant-Voip, why on earth are you hanging out on this forum?