Guides & Articles on Phone Systems
VoIP for Small Business
Why VoIP? Inside info on VoIP, finding a VoIP provider, VoIP phones and VoIP services
By Daniel Kehrer
"Voice over Internet Protocol" or VoIP is technology that lets you make and receive phone calls via the Internet. VoIP began as a curiosity not so long ago but has moved mainstream in a big way with small business. Some businesses are dumping conventional phones in favor of VoIP, and startups are selecting VoIP from the get-go. VoIP is gaining popularity among small busin...
Choosing the Right Phone System
Connect to your clients and vendors without breaking the bank
By Greg Brown
Hooking up a home phone is a piece of cake: Plug in the handset and start dialing. But for business — even one with just a handful of employees — business phone systems can be much more complex. And, if your business grows, you could quickly outgrow a basic small business phone system. The good news is that there are plenty of competitors hungry for your business. The t...
Private Branch Exchange (PBX) Phone Systems
Improve customer satisfaction and productivity with a powerful communication tool
By Jenni Simcoe
First impressions count, and they're often formed when customers place a call to your business. Do they get a busy signal? Does the phone ring and ring without being picked up? If so, you could be losing their business before you even have a chance to pitch your products or services. To avoid such phone faux pas, consider investing in a critical business communications tool &...
Virtual PBX
Get cutting-edge business phone features with no hardware with virtual private branch exchange
By Greg Brown
The basics of private branch exchange (PBX) are clear to anyone who has ever called a doctor's office: You get a receptionist, a recording, or a chance to search for your contact by name, and perhaps leave a voicemail.While not complex nor tremendously expensive, a virtual PBX system is hardware and virtual PBX software that must be bought, installed, serviced and, eventually,...
Business Phones
Connect your business to more sales with the right business phones
By Greg Brown
The back end of business telephone systems -- the hardware and software that runs office telephones -- really matters. But it's the handset and base, the actual physical apparatus of office phones, that can either help or hurt your actual business. Buying business phones can be complex, so knowing the key points helps when buying business telephones.Covered in this guide to off...
Buying and Using a Business Phone System for 2 to 10 Phones
Choosing a phone system for your small business or satellite office
By Greg Brown
Small businesses are, by far, the driving force and main employer in even the most developed economies. Think about it: realtors, restaurants, law offices, car repair shops -- never mind the 20 million or so sole proprietors in the United States, self-employed individuals who nevertheless lease office space and have perhaps an assistant or two, the largest category of small busines...
Buying and Using a Business Phone System for 10+ Phones
Choosing a business phone system for your growing small business or satellite office
By Greg Brown
Cutting costs is a great business practice -- until it actually costs you money in the end. That's the principal risk with a small business phone system: Buy too little, and expansion is pricey or just plain impossible.Spend too much on a small business phone system, and you waste money if your employees don't really use all the cutting-edge features. (They won't.) A s...
CTI Services
CTI call center software gives your agents full access to a customer's history as soon as they pick up the phone
By Marianne Cotter
Computer telephony integration (CTI) is a technology that marries the computer with the telephone in a call center. Thanks to CTI call center software solutions, a customer history pop-up screen appears on an employee’s computer as soon as a customer call comes in, giving the employee complete insight into the customer’s history and data. CTI solutions allow customer s...
VoIP Solutions
Use the power of the Internet to take advantage of VoIP business solutions
By Michael Berman
The perfect telecommunications solution for your company is sitting right on your desk. A computer with a broadband Internet connection can be used to set up IP telephony business solutions, enabling you to make telephone calls anywhere in the world at a fraction of the cost of using a conventional telephone carrier.More and more companies have adapted Voice over Internet Prot...
Conferencing Equipment and Supplies
Find the right conferencing equipment for your small business
By Nikki Wheeler
Technology facilitates easier ways to work together and communicate much more effectively. Have regular meetings easily through conference calls. Stay in contact with traveling employees or those that work from home using audio conferencing equipment. Get conferencing equipment to allow multiple people to take part in a phone conversation at once on a single phone. Havi...
Wireless Headsets
Stay connected without being connected with a wireless headset
By Rebecca Turley
In today’s frantic, multitasking world, we want to do it all -- without being tethered to a wire. Luckily, technology has answered our call with a vast selection of wireless headsets.Whether working at the computer, answering calls in the office or talking on a cell phone, wireless headsets provide you with a hands-free, wire-free alternative to standard telephones, earphones...
Phone Recorders
Phone recorders capture all your business calls
By Lori Carver
Phone call recording equipment is useful in many businesses. Check a customer’s phone order firsthand by playing back the original call. Save all your phone calls inbound and out, to provide fail-safe records. Telephone recorders provide firsthand feedback about your employees calls. Do your customers hear cheerful, helpful workers anxious to give them the best customer servi...
Conference Phones
Find business conference phones with the features you need at a price you can afford
By Angela King
Reliable phone conference equipment is vital to provide clear communication effectively in business, and is essential to build good working relationships, maintain current clients and to gain new customers. Sellers of conference phones can provide conferencing phones with the features you need for your business. Suppliers of conference phones should offer conference telephones in a...
Computer Telephony Software
Transform your computer with computer telephony integration (CTI) software concepts
By Jeffrey Lindblom
Computer telephony software transforms most modern computers into powerful telecommunications tools by integrating functions like memorized phone lists, voicemail and even video to your computer. Computer telephony software is diverse and sophisticated. Computer telephony interfaces can be as simple as onscreen dialers or CTI computers, which fully interface with a business' te...
Computer Telephony Hardware
Computer telephony integration products transform your computers into sophisticated telecommunications equipment
By Jeffrey Lindblom
Computer telephony integration equipment, or CTI equipment, adds real value to your computer network. By leveraging your existing hardware, your network becomes a sophisticated PBX telecommunications system. Hardware for CTI needn't be expensive and is easy to find. In fact, if you replace your entire phone system with telephony hardware, you often reduce your infrastructure co...
Wireless Intercoms
Improve workplace communication and security with commercial wireless intercoms
By Rebecca Turley
Regardless of your workplace environment, commercial wireless intercoms can prove to be an important method of communication between you and your employees at any given time. Home offices, small office environments, large offices, manufacturing settings or construction sites can all benefit from the convenience and versatility offered by wireless intercoms. No wires mean a quick, i...
Telephone Networking
Business telephone networking made easy
By Michael Dunne
Telephone networking services should never be left out of your business plan. You've got to communicate with your customers. They have to be able to reach you to buy your products and services.Whether you're selling flowers, tires or investment advice your business needs some kind of voice network communications. If you've got more than one employee you need to understa...
Telephone Networking Hardware
Demystify phone networking equipment to fill business needs
By Michael Dunne
Telephone hardware is no longer just handsets purchased from your local exchange provider. Options abound for telephone networking hardware, accessories and providers of phone networking equipment.Information about phone networking equipment can be confusing. As a business owner, you need key details on telephone hardware and phone networking accessories in order to make cost-effec...
Telephone Adapters
Stay in touch with right the telephone adapter
By Lesley Graybeal
Phone adapters are necessary for a number of business and home purposes. Many small businesses with few telephone operating personnel find that on-hold adapter solutions are vital for transforming a regular phone into a customer-retention tool when multiple customers are on the line.Telephone adapters also are useful for travel, or if you want to make calls through your computer, u...
IP Telephony Software
IP telephony software programs provide cost effective business communication solutions
By Kristen McClung
IP telephony software programs enable businesses to make telephone calls through the Internet, saving money and creating convenient communication solutions. IP telephony is an emerging trend that can change the way businesses communicate in the future. However, in order to have telephone conversations through the Internet, businesses must install IP telephony software programs. Aft...
Telephone Systems Software
Find the right software for phone systems -- you'll rely on it heavily
By Octavia McFerrin
Installing business phone systems software can be a nightmare, even for a small or home-based business. You'll have to rely on strong in-house tech support or easily-accessible customer service no matter where you purchase business phone systems software and hardware. Your best bet may even be to purchase hardware specifically made to go along with your software, making it even...
Telephone Networking Equipment and Supplies
Telephone networking equipment and supplies can help improve company communication
By Kimberly Ben
The equipment for telephone networking is literally the backbone of a successful customer service-centered business. Whether your business is staffed with hundreds of agents or only 10 agents, the equipment used for telephone networking is what can make your company stand out as a big player.The telephone networking equipment and supplies businesses you choose depends on technology...
Softswitch Technology
Switch to the new generation of networks with softswitch systems
By Tara McClendon
Softswitch systems replace the traditional circuit switch with a softswitch, which combines generic hardware with open-standard hardware. The networks that use softswitch technology belong to a group known as next generation networks (NGNs). Softswitch technologies separate the call processing from the physical switching handled by media gateways (MGs), which allows a common softwa...
Telecommunications Speech Recognition
Take your customer service to a new level by adding telephone voice recognition
By Kimberly Webb
The days of pressing 0 to speak to an operator are over. Speech recognition telephone services are the hottest thing around, no matter what industry you're in, so it's imperative that you know about the software and what it can mean for your business. Whether you want to streamline customer service procedures or just give callers a new way to interact with your systems,...
Enterprise Cabling Installation
Provide advantages and opportunities for your business with enterprise cable installation
By Kelley Keith
Effective enterprise cabling installation assists a business in planning not only for its present but for its future communication needs. Enterprise cabling solutions provide excellent opportunities for a business that plans for the advances in communication before they happen. While no person or company is clairvoyant, enterprise cabling installation, done correctly, allows fo...
