When looking for a new telephone system the main issue you need to look at is a total solution.

Questions that need to be answered are

• Does this phone system do what you want it to do?
• If my business grows can this phone system grow with my business?
• Does the consultant installing the PBX have the experience to support the PBX if any further issues arise? What is the cost of support?
• What call rates are provided with the phone system?

Does this phone system do what you want it to do?

When looking at will the system do what you need, you should ask yourself what features am I looking for?

Asterisk has a great set of features that can keep your phone system as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Asterisk does the basic day to day operations of taking/making calls, transferring and voicemail very well. Other features which you may be interested in are

Mobile Fleets

Asterisk allows you to connect to a device called a GSM gateway. A GSM gateway is like a mobile phone but it connects directly to your telephone system. You can setup your phone system to have a mobile number so if you have employees out in the field they are able to call the office for free if you are on the same fleet plan. Anyone in the office is also able to call employees on their mobile for free with the fleet plans.

Remote Workers

Asterisk allows you to connect in IP telephones from anywhere in the world. This means if you have workers that like to work from home you can give them an IP telephone and they can connect into your telephone system from home. They will be able make calls to other workers in the office and to clients through your phone system. They will also be able to receive calls directly from clients.

Call Recording

Asterisk allows you to record the calls made and received through your phone system. Asterisk allows you to do this in two different ways. The first way you can record calls is to record your calls on demand. This means that when you are in a conversation you can dial *1 and the asterisk system will start to record the phone call. The other way to record calls is to record all calls. This means all calls made through the phone system will be recorded.

Voicemail to Email

Asterisk allows you to receive all your voicemails by email. All voicemails are sent to your email address as a wave file which is very easy to play on your windows computer.

Fax to Email

Asterisk is able to receive all your faxes and send them to an email address. Asterisk can support multiple fax machines. This means that if you have a large company and need multiple fax machines, you can receive many faxes at one time and send them to different email address.

Conferencing

Conference rooms are a great way to bring your conversations together. Asterisk supports conference rooms with multiple members. Conferences can also include Video to give the overall experience of actually being in the same room.

Computer Integration

Asterisk allows you to integrate programs like Outlook into your phone system. This means that all your telephone contacts in Outlook can now be integrated through your phone system. When you click on one of the telephone contacts it will call your telephone and call the client you wanted to contact. No dialing is needed.

If my business grows can this phone system grow with my business?

Many phone systems are very limited to how many telephone handsets you can connect and how many lines can be connected to the PBX. You may find that you install a phone system and 12 months later you are looking to pay another $10000 to have enough phones for all your employees.

MBIT supplies phone systems that grow as you grow. If you need extra handsets this can be as easy as ordering another handset and plugging it into your PBX. Phone lines can be added to the PBX by adding inexpensive telephony cards which support the number of lines you need.

Does the consultant installing the PBX have the experience to support the PBX if any further issues arise? What is the cost of support?

When installing a new phone system this can be the most dangerous part of your solution. Make sure that the person who is installing the system has the experience to install the system you need. MBIT has over 3 years installing the asterisk PBX systems and has helped many other consultants/resellers to build solutions that fit their client’s needs. Before signing off on a solution make sure you ask for references for that provider. Also make sure you have a full list of costs for support once the system is installed. Many providers may give you a cheap install cost for the system however anytime you want something changed you can pay up to $300 an hour.

What call rates are provided with the phone system?

Getting great call rates with your phone system is just as essential as getting a functioning phone system. Over the life of your phone system, good call rates can save your business thousands. Many providers will give you a cheap phone system then lock you into a 5 year contract with very high call rates. Over the life of the phone system you can pay much more than you had to pay. MBIT doesn’t force you into any contracts and has searched the industry for the best call rates available. In the end you get a great phone system and are not paying an arm and a leg to keep it running.