CONFUSED ABOUT TELEPHONE SYSTEMS?

As a business owner in my 50’s I have always had a love hate relationship with the phone. Let’s face it, at my age (and I don’t consider myself that old) I remember using radio telephony to speak to my Father when he was out bush and receiving a telegram to let us know when he’d be home.

The first mobile phone I used was housed in a briefcase that weighed 5 kilos and the first one I owned was the size of a house brick. I had pagers that buzzed and then those that displayed text. As a journalist, communications have always been an integral part of my profession.

Nowadays, I don’t get very excited about my new I-phone, Laptop or other devices; after all, it’s just more to learn. On the other side of the coin, we can’t ignore the new technology because they usually bring with them greater efficiencies and cost reductions.

My company is built up much like a co-operative with numerous people who are experts in their varied fields, working from their home offices and coming together on different project. After a breakdown in communications that nearly cost us a very substantial client, I decided it was time to invest in a new phone system. So I started to research………… The more I researched, the more confused I became.

My advice is, don’t get bogged down in all the new phone terminology, systems and technologies. Leave that to those who are experts in this field. I discovered that the best way to approach the purchasing of a new phone system was not to look at what system to install but rather to work out what you want from a phone system.

The following is the list of criteria I wanted with my new system.

1. extensions in remote locations (not under the same roof). I wanted people calling to feel that we were all under the one roof.
2. I wanted to be able to video conference with up to 6 members of the team at once.
3. Voice messaging. Simple to set up with plenty of recording time and storage.
4. Software that would give me a full breakdown of incoming and outgoing calls
5. Be able to integrate IP phones and lap tops for remote calls
6. Be able to move data securely through the phone network.
7. Professional Installation and service. The system retailer needed to be well established and able to offer a full follow-up service.

So that was my list and from there I simply shopped around until I found the best system and service. The System that New Age Communications installed met all of my criteria with a lot of extra features thrown in. (Otherwise, I would not have written this article for their web site) I am very happy with it and yes… I did get a bit excited when I first got to play with it.