Do you really need to take time away from creating a business plan, a marketing scheme, a personnel hiring strategy, and other really fun stuff in order to evaluate your options for the purchase of a phone system for your small business? The simple answer to this question is yes if your business will need an efficient and effective way to initiate and maintain contact customers, vendors, employees, or any other members of the business population who may impact your bottom line. Sources including Gartner and the VOIP Resource Center suggest particular guidelines that will support your efforts to ensure the effective communication by your business with the world at large.The following guidelines will assist you in the conduct of a careful and objective decision process, the identification of selection criteria that are of significance to your business, the achievement of stakeholder consensus in this process and ultimately, a more efficient implementation of the selected PBX product.
1) Identify both your current and long term requirements. Experts suggest that a 3 year planning horizon is appropriate for most businesses. This time frame will ensure that you avoid the mistake of planning only for your immediate requirements rather than for the long-term growth of your business. This longer time frame will also allow you to benefit from a better service rate in that the duration of the service contract is a major factor used by the service provider to calculate your bill. However, you should take care to stay within the 3 year planning horizon to ensure you have the flexibility to upgrade your system as required to gain access to any recent technological advances that may help you expand your business.
2) Gain an understanding of the functionality used by the various phone systems to add additional ports, lines, and phones to an existing system. Unlike a phone system, the number of lines and telephones that can be accommodated by a PBX system is determined by the system's number of ports. For example, if the system is configured with 45 ports, the system can accommodate any combination of lines and extensions that in total equal 45. However, the actual number of lines for the phone system is determined by the manufacturer during the construction of the particular circuit board.
3) Determine the specific phone system features that your business requires. Most phone systems incorporate a particular set of features. Therefore, be sure to compare the features that are required by your business with those features a particular vendor offers in their the PBX system. The features worthy of consideration include:
a) Voice mail. The Voice Mail function records messages from business partners in the event you or your employees are unavailable to accept the call personally. Each employee or department is assigned a mail box which serves as a receptacle for incoming messages. The phone system you select should be configured with a sufficient number of ports to accommodate the maximum number of incoming callers who may select to record a message simultaneously. The system should also accommodate the maximum number simultaneous attempts made by employees to access messages stored on the system.
b) Call Hold. The call hold feature enables an employee to place an incoming call on hold in order to perform a related task and then return to the caller.
c) Call Forward. This feature enables one employee to transfer a call to another employee, a voice mail box, an auto attendant, or to what is known as a 'hunt group' which is a logical collection of employees with the responsibility to respond to incoming calls on a first come first serve basis.
d) Conference Calls. The Conference Call feature enables the simultaneous communication of a group of individuals at different locations. This one system function incorporates a number of separate features such as the number of users that can participate in the call as well as the particular manner in which the conference call is performed.
e) Speed Dial. This function enables the user to select a code consisting of one number or a combination of numbers on their phone set to represent a phone number that is frequently dialed. They can then use this code rther than an entire 10 digit number to dial their business partners..
f) Redial. The Redial function is used to dial the last phone number entered by the user on the system.
g) Auto Attendant. The auto attendant accepts an incoming call and then plays a recorded message to the caller. This function also provides the caller with particular service options in the event an employee is unavailable to accept a call personally. The ability to route the call to a specific employee or a specific mail box are examples of such options.
h) Paging. The paging feature is used to broadcast a message to an employee using a speaker contained in the employee's hand set.
i) Location features. This feature connects the local phone system with a remotelsystem.
J) Computer Telephony Integration. The CTI feature enables the integration of software applications and your phone system. This feature is commonly used in customer service departments as well as in other departments of an organization to increase the efficiency of operations.
K) Find Me/Follow Me. This feature enables the re-routing of incoming calls from a local phone system to a different phone number system specified by the user.
4) Identify the trade offs in product features and services. Core functionality will be offered in each PBX system. However, the actual function of these features will vary in some ways from one vendor's product to another. In addition, each vendor will offer a different package of products and services.
5) Review vendor references. Contact your business peers in order to obtain feedback regarding their experience with a particular vendor and PBX product. In addition, review data presented in trade publications and by industry analysts. This process will assist you in the identification of key features of products that will be most likely to meet your business needs.
6) Calculate the price of the proposed phone system. The actual cost of your system will depend on the features you select, the vendor who provides the service, your business location, and a number of other factors. The number of system users and the size of the system purchased will also impact your cost. Whether your equipment is purchased independently or incorporated into the monthly cost of operating your system are also determinants of the system's cost. However, whatever the system configuration you select, be sure to identify what specific elements are considered to be included in the core phone system package and what elements are considered to be in addition to the package, i.e., add-ons for which an additional fee will be charged. Also consider implementation costs, consulting fees, training costs, maintenance requirements, any yearly increases in costs, payment schedules, and any additional fees.
6) Analyze the ability of the individual vendor to provide any needed support services. The availability of trained service personnel is crucial to the successful implementation of the PBX system. In addition, the methodologies used by the vendor to respond to a service call as well as the the customer service policies should be evaluated. The firm's ability to address software bugs, perform system upgrades, and operate a help desk are critical considerations for the selection process.This factor is critical in the selection process in that services represent the most risky element of the PBX selection process as well as the most expensive element of the process.
7) Vendor Selection. Create a short list of vendors that offer the PBX products that best meet your business requirements. Submit a request for a quotation to the vendors and compare their responses in terms of both product offering and costs. Both vendors with a large presence in the market and smaller companies should be considered in this process to ensure you identify the vendor that is best qualified to meet your functional needs and accommodate the limitations of your budget. You should also consider the cash position of the vendor, the track record of the firm's management, the stability of the work force, the product's release schedule history and the the company's market position.
The data that you uncover during the selection process will enable you to answer the key question,"How do I match the requirements of my business to one particular PBX system and vendor?" A thorough review of product functionality, the required financial investment, system interoperability, and the related service offering will best ensure you select the best product for your organization.