Hosted IP PBX features
Many business phone features come standard with any hosted IP PBX. You can expect all of these features and more:
- Call waiting
- Call forwarding
- Call transfers
- Caller ID
- Redial
- User directories
- Activity reporting
- Three-way calling
- Hunt groups
- Voice mail
- Extension dialing
- Call accept/reject
- Follow-me ringing
- Music/messages on hold
Beyond these standards, there are many other features commonly included in hosted PBX services. Some providers include them in a standard package, while others may charge additional monthly fees:
- Auto-attendants that greet incoming calls and help route callers to their destination.
- Simultaneous ringing, sometimes called "call blast," is a popular feature that rings multiple phones at the same time: an employee's desk and cell phone, for example. This contrasts with follow-me ringing, which tries several numbers one after another.
- Real time reporting is typically a call center-style feature that lets managers check on call queues and activity as it happens. Not all hosted PBX providers offer this feature- you may have to turn to call center solution providers instead.
- Outlook integration allows users to dial directly from their address books or change basic phone settings without logging in to the control panel.
- Unified messaging brings e-mail, voice, and fax communications into the same system: voice mail messages and faxes can be delivered to users' e-mail inboxes; e-mails can be sent to cell phones.
- Conference calling features are often included, but may be limited to small groups unless you pay an additional fee
- Automatic call distribution (ACD) is another call center feature. Where hunt groups simply go through a static list of extensions to find one that's not busy, ACD factors in the volume of calls your agents have handled and how long they've been off the phone to more evenly distribute the workload.
- Browser-based administration lets users change their own availability and number preferences, as well as simplifying MACs, hunt groups, or ACD management, and other administration work.
If support for mobile users is important to you, make sure to ask about features like transferring calls from cell phones back to other extensions, including cell phones in hunt groups and call queues, and using laptops as soft phones.
Telephones
If you need to buy new phones, make sure you get a demo so you can compare the layout and interface on each set. For many employees who do little more than check their voicemail and occasionally forward a call, complicated phones can be overkill. Instead, keep an eye on a few key phone features when choosing a hosted IP PBX service:
- Phones with LCD screens allow you to better take advantage of features like caller ID and can make setup and operation easier.
- Check basic features like speakerphone, mute button, and speed dials. Make sure to test each feature with callers on the other end for 2-way features, to make sure the design works for you.
- You may not have to buy new phones at all: depending on the provider you choose, you may have the option to buy adapters that allow you to continue to use existing analog phones.
- If buying VoIP phones, make sure they have a pair of Cat 5 outlets, instead of just one. That lets you daisy-chain the Internet connection from the network to the phone to the computer, eliminating the need for two network connections in each office.
- For the most flexibility, choose a provider that uses the industry-standard SIP protocol for their phones. This open standard lets you continue to use your phones even if you switch providers, where proprietary protocols lock you into a single vendor until you replace all your phones.
