Phone System Buying Guide

A phone system is an integral part of small businesses, offices and large corporate facilities. It allows the members of staff to interact with clients and customers, as well as giving internal access for communication within a given firm.

If you are looking for a phone system for your business, you will quickly realise that the variety in equipment and cost in the current market is broad and there are some key choices you will need to make before you can enhance your firm with a phone system that is future-proof and fit for purpose.

PBX Telephone Systems

A big part of choosing a phone system will be based not only on how many users you currently have, but also how many you expect to have in the future and for some businesses scalability will be a requirement as expansion looms on the horizon. The technology that makes phone systems work comes in multiple types and different choices will require different investments for the basic devices, the installation and the upkeep or management of the system. For the larger businesses a PBX (Private Branch Exchange) system is usually the phone system of choice. This is because PBX systems typically give businesses access to all of the advanced features, such as call routing and extension management, that help to grease the wheels of commerce. They are intentionally created to offer a great level of user control and customisation, which makes them adaptable.

PBX systems can come in the form of hulking cabinets which require a relatively large area for operation. However, desktop PBX cabinets have been developed in recent times and because of this there is no longer the same commitment required. In general, it is suggested that PBX systems are suitable for businesses with more than 40 users requiring their own telephone at their workstation, as this is the point at which the installation and running costs become sustainable and practical.

If you are hovering close to this figure, it is worth calculating carefully in order to assess the suitability of a PBX system before you commit. There are modern variants on basic PBX technology, although we will focus on these a little later.

Key System Unit

For businesses with less extensive phone system requirements, a KSU (Key System Unit) is an ideal smaller-scale alternative to PBX systems. This is essentially a device that offers slight advancements over basic telephone functionality, without requiring the investment and space of a full PBX system. Calls are still managed centrally by the KSU and as well as making outbound calls, users should be able to call other workers internally using their extension numbers.

The main difference between contemporary KSU and PBX phone systems will be the level of control which a business has over the functionality on offer. KSU units are typically more rigid in their capabilities, which is offset by the lower price. It is advised that businesses with between five and 40 employees will benefit the most from a KSU phone system. It is possible for smaller businesses to completely bypass the need for a centralised controlling unit, instead relying on the technology contained within the individual phones which make up the access points to provide similar functionality.

By choosing to opt for a decentralised system, you will be able to move and rearrange the phones themselves and can easily sell them on or take them with you if you move premises. Because the system is temporary, the initial outlay and ongoing costs will be much lower. You will not have all of the same features are you would expect from a KSU or PBX phone system, but you will have cost-cutting benefits as a compromise.

The biggest downside relating to decentralised phone systems is that the business must usually perform the installation and maintenance itself. Shopping for the necessary equipment will also need to be performed by the business, although this will give you a greater amount of flexibility over the kinds of products that you choose.

VoIP Telephone Systems

Ever since internet connectivity became a standard feature of businesses across the board, there has been a push towards convergent voice communications in a virtualised environment. With high speed internet access, businesses are now able to access all of the features offered by in-house PBX systems, without the associated equipment or upkeep costs. This is because telecoms providers and independent phone system firms are offering remote access to PBX-like systems over the internet, tapping into the increasing reliance on VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calling.

PBX systems that are remotely operated have become much more attainable by small and medium sized enterprises who might previously have been put off by the high installation and upkeep costs of an in-house PBX. This does require that the internet connection servicing the business is of a high enough standard to maintain the data and voice requirements, although phone systems supported in this way are increasingly common.

Whilst all of the phone systems mentioned above have different positive and negative aspects, there may be a few shared capabilities that you would look for as a minimum requirement for your own business. For example, many businesses wish to use a unified greeting to welcome callers before they are answered by a live attendant and so you might want to seek out a phone system that allows you to record your own auto-attendant that is heard by each inbound call.

You may also want to consider integrating conferencing features into a phone system. There are many conference phones which are created to upgrade an existing phone connection to make it easy to share meetings over the phone with multiple parties, so this may not be an immediate consideration. However, your choice of phone system may limit the kind of conferencing technology that you are able to install at a later date. Most businesses will want to be able to put customers on hold and the traditional way to engage them during this period is with a little music. In many centralised phone systems, this is possible simply by having a music source plugged into your phone system, with the caller being transferred over to that line when the hold button is pressed.

Phone systems have many benefits and it is possible to find one that is right for every business if the present and future requirements are taken into account.

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