The diagram below outlines the way in which a traditional Business Telephone System works across 2 office locations, incorporates a “Home Worker”, and communicates with customers via the existing BT network, lets bullet point the key features of this telephone system layout for simple understanding.

The Phone System

Each location in the diagram has a PBX (phone system) sometimes they are by the same manufacturer sometimes they are not, more importantly they do not communicate with each other directly they use the BT network to do this, many manufacturers claim to be able to network systems together by using an IP PBX, however this does not give total freedom and is huge cost to implement, a simpler way via a Hosted PBX is set out below. As soon as the PBX goes on the wall it is of date, its functionality will be superceded by new technology or it will reach its operating capacity after a period of time, either way it is already on a journey to the rubbish tip.

The Maintenance Contract

If you have a traditional telephone system you will no doubt have a maintenance contract, each year the company who supplies your phone system will come round look at your system, tell you its okay and charge you a fee, anywhere from £800 upwards.

The Numbers

The number and ranges (DDI’s) for each location are dictated by the local BT exchange as you can see we have the Manchester office 0161, Liverpool Office 0151 and a Home Worker in Leeds 0113, should any of these locations wish to relocate they cannot take these numbers with them as they are serviced by the BT exchange, they can implement a forward on these numbers, however there is a charge to you for every inbound call. Each location operates on a separate numbering pattern, which means extension numbers (DDi’s) are not unified across the company.

Relocation

If you wish to relocate premises you will have to purchase a new PBX or take the one from your old premises and put it up on the wall of your new ones, easier said than done and it means “Down Time” for your business whilst this takes place, plus you will have to get some new numbers from the exchange!

New Office or Branch

When you open a new office or branch, first and foremost you will need a telephone system, your option is as above, buy something that will become obsolete over time and when it does, start the process again.

Home workers

More than ever before, companies are now able to capitalise on technology and employ people to work out of their own home, however one thing that your telephone system will fail to do is to bring the home worker under the same number pattern and more importantly not be part of the main office communications, this can appear unprofessional when a home worker presents their home phone number instead of your company number, calls are either answered or go to the BT callminder!

Disaster Recovery

If you study the diagram again you will see that the telephone system connects to the premises, it connects to you. If the link is lost to the local exchange i.e. someone digs up the road and takes out your ISDN lines then you cannot reach the exchange, you have NO phone calls coming in, and NO phones going out, your option is to contact your supplier and initiate a forward, however if an exchange falls over then the every company local to you will be trying to achieve the same thing, this becomes a nightmare for you and more importantly your customers.

Working from another location

With a traditional telephone system the phone stays on your desk, you cannot pick it up and take it home and work form there, if you are going from the Manchester Office to the Liverpool Office, you more than likely inform the receptionist that you they will have to put calls through to you at the Liverpool Office, if you want to work out of your Villa in France, you are back to the Home worker scenario above, no continuity with your offices and using French numbers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Flipside

Okay, lets take a look at the exact same bullet points using a Hosted PBX solution and identify the key points of how your company will benefit from a VOIP Telephone System.

The diagram below outlines the way in which a Hosted PBX works across 2 office locations, incorporates a “Home Worker”, and communicates with customers via a managed network and incorporates the BT network if required.

The Hosted PBX

Each location in the diagram connects to the Hosted PBX, you connect to it as opposed to before where it (The PBX) connects to you, all your functionality, Calls, Voice mail, Call Conferencing, Call recording, Call Centre applications are now contained in one single location which allows all users including Home workers to connect to it and share the same features and benefits as one irrespective of their location.

The Maintenance Contract

There is no system on your premises, so there is nothing to maintain, so there is no need for a maintenance contract.

The Numbers

All numbers are now issued at the Hosted PBX, as you can see we are not connected to the Local BT Exchange and do not rely on it to supply number ranges anymore. All your locations can have the same numbering pattern as outlined in the diagram, so as illustrated if we wanted to have London numbers in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds, then we can, even the Home worker is now part of the same dialing plan, you could have Manchester numbers in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds, you can have a range of Geographic numbers at each location with an underlying DDI range that will connect all locations, if a Manchester user wishes to dial a Leeds user they simply dial the extension number i.e. the last four digits, that goes for any location Globally, calls are made back to the Hosted PBX from wherever you are, at home, in France or at another office.

Relocation

If you wish to move premises, all you do is take your handsets to your new location, plug them back in and they are up and running in seconds, because there is nothing screwed onto the wall, all you are doing is connecting to the Hosted PBX from another location, all you personal settings and profile are held off site and accessed from whatever destination you choose.

New Office or Branch

You decide how many new users are required at the new office and we send out that amount of handsets, they arrive at the new site pre-configured, you plug them in, they connect with the Hosted PBX and they are now part of you telephone network under the same numbering plan, features and functionality, you can add new users at any location in minutes when ever you want to.

Home workers

You have probably figured this out by now, any Home Worker is connected to the Hosted PBX in the exact same way as office users, they share the same number outbound as the office users, calls can be made to a home worker the same way as making an internal office call, customers calling in are unable to distinguish home or office user, all the same functionality as any other company user including Company Directory, Voicemail, Conferencing etc

Disaster Recovery

If we study the diagram you will see that previously the telephone system connected to you, now you connect to it. If you lose your connection to the internet you have no calls coming in and no calls going out, however now that calls are routed to you via the Hosted PBX, we still have the call, you can choose where you would like them to go. I.e. if Manchester goes down then we can re-route all your calls to Leeds until your link is re-established or we can route them to 25 mobile phones and make them ring simultaneously, or users can take their handsets to another location and work from there or we can have users login there number to a soft phone and work from home, possibilities are endless, however it does mean that customers are still in contact with you whereas before you had no communication with outside world.

Working from another location

If you are on the move and want to work out of the Leeds office for the day, you arrive at you desk in Leeds, enter your number into the handset, it brings up your personal profile and you are now using your Manchester phone in Leeds, to anyone calling you there is no difference. Or you can set your self up a follow me list. If the desk phone is not answered in Manchester the Hosted PBX will automatically re-route it to your mobile or number of your choice at whatever location, same applies if you want to work out of your villa in France, you will arrive in France, put your number into the handset, you are now just another extension of the office, however when people call you they get a UK ring tone and when you call back you do not need to prefix 0044 as all calls are made from the Hosted PBX in the UK.

There is only so much information that can be put on a website, you must see this voip telephony solution in operation at your premises to appreciate the full benefits and functionality, see for yourself and make a business decision based on the facts, we guarantee not to waste you time.

Get in touch today - click here to contact us for a free onsite demonstration to see why this will be the last telephone system you ever need!