Thursday, July 27, 2006

Voicemail Call Forwarding

Whether you are in the office or at home, you will never miss important business calls. Such is the kind of feature promised by hosted PBX service providers. This features is implemented through a system called find me follow me call forwarding.

In a hosted PBX system, the calls are routed by the service provider. Hence it is possible to divert the calls to any location. Service providers allot local phone numbers and toll free numbers to the client companies. These numbers are of virtual nature; meaning they are physically independent. Hence, a certain phone number can be associated with a list of numbers. An employee can define a list of phone numbers where he can possible be available. These numbers include may include his cell phone number or residence number. Calls to the official phone number are routed through these numbers before someone attends the calls. This kind of routing is popularly called follow me routing.

Although find me-follow me call forwarding ensures that one never misses important business calls, it may not succeed in all cases. Some calls cannot be delivered simply because the recipient is traveling at a far away location. In such cases, the calls are diverted to the voice mail system. Here, the callers can leave voice messages for the recipient.

Service providers of hosted PBX systems forward the voice mails to the client’s regular mailbox. Hence an executive who may be in the other side of the globe can still check his messages. He can keep track on the business calls meant for him, all thanks to combination of the voicemail call forwarding system.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, a leading service provider of PBX phone systems (hosted/virtual). Voicemail systems and Follow me Call forwarding are an integral part of our business phone services. Visit us at www.messagingservice.com.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Authentication in a Hosted PBX system

A hosted PBX system enables a company to operate independently of the geographic location. A company can employ workers who can work from home or during travel. The hosted PBX system connects these employees irrespective of their current position, giving a single location image to the company. Since a hosted PBX system enables an employee to access the company’s communication system from anywhere, a proper authentication system is required.

The users of hosted PBX system have to dial special access code when accessing voice mails or fax mails. These services are available either by dialing a special number or by using a web interface. Voice mails are basically recordings of calls that could not be personally attended. These voice recordings are stored in the central server maintained by the service provider. An employee can listen to the recordings by using the special access phone numbers. Alternately, the service provider can send the voice mails as regular emails to the employee’s mailbox.

Authentication is most important when configuring the system. Since, hosted pbx system does not require any equipments to be installed in the client side, special web interfaces are provided to customize the system. A client company can fine tune the PBX system using configuration tools provided by the service provider. These tools are simple to use, hence, can lead to misuse of the system. Access is therefore provided only for few authorized persons. This kind of high end authentication implies to configuration changes affecting the whole system. However, when it comes to individual voice mailboxes, the greeting message should be customized by individual users. Here the authentication level is set to the individual user level.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, a leading service provider of PBX phone systems (hosted/virtual). We also provide toll free numbers, local phone numbers, auto attendant, and the popular New York 212 Phone numbers. Visit us at www.messagingservice.com.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Faxing online from your desktop

This is a digital age. There is a gradual shift in adopting paperless technologies. Emails are fast replacing letter pads. In a similar manner, online faxing is set to make the fax machines obsolete.

Online faxing has many takers among the office goers. The major reason being the relative ease and less time involved in this kind of faxing. You no longer have to wait for your turn in the office fax machine. You can send faxes from the conveniences of your desktop. Moreover, it is faster and secure. Transmission is done over a dedicated connection using state-of-the-art encryption technology.

Fax mail service is generally provided by the service providers of hosted PBX systems. These PBX systems work in a virtual environment, requiring no equipments in the client site. This virtual setting is extended to the faxing service, eliminating the need for the fax machine. The absence of the fax machine removes the problem of busy signals. Here, the faxes are converted into a digital file format and forwarded as emails to the concerned recipient. Being received as emails means, the fax mails can also be forwarded to multiple recipients. Similarly unwanted or junk faxes can be deleted at click of a mouse.

Online faxes are efficient means of increasing employee productivity. Being able to send and receive faxes from the convenience of the desktop means one no longer have to queue for the fax machine.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, a leading service provider of Virtual phone systems. We also provide voice mail and fax mail service. Visit us at www.messagingservice.com.

212- The prestigious code for Manhattanites

The 212 area code is synonymous with prestige. It indicates a presence in Manhattan, the financial capital of the world. Although this region has been assigned a new area code (646), 212 still remains the favorite among the businesses.

New York City was allotted the 212 code way back in 1947. This area code was the easiest to dial considering the rotary dial used those days. In recent years, New York City has been assigned newer area codes such as 718 and 347 for landline numbers and 917 for cell phone users. Only, Manhattan the financial center retains the good old 212 numbers.

Although Manhattan has been assigned a newer 646 code, the 212 number series is still popular. This number series is one of the most recognized not only in the city but across the nation.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, a leading service provider of PBX phone systems (hosted/virtual). We provide the popular 212 New York virtual numbers for your businesses. Visit us at www.messagingservice.com.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Three Way Calling

Three way calling is feature which enables a conference to be setup between three parties. Such kind of features comes with advanced PBX system. The feature is utilized by many companies to instantly establish conferences between clients and other business entities.

To establish a conference, one needs to dial the other two persons. For simultaneous connection one need to switch hook on the phone. Once the conference is established, a single person can talk to the two other persons simultaneously. Even if one of them disconnects, the other two parties can carry on their conversation. However, if the person who has initiated the conference hangs up, all the three parties will be disconnected, thus ending the conference.

Three way calling is preferable for executives wanting to establish meetings in small notices. This kind of conferencing avoids the need for traveling to client sites. Three way calling is best sourced through the service provider of a hosted PBX system since the calls are cheap. This kind of PBX system is feature rich and affordable. Hence smaller companies desiring to setup the advanced conferencing system can do so using a hosted system.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, a leading service provider of Hosted PBX system. We also provide voicemail, fax mail, automated attendant, and find me follow me call forwarding.

New York Virtual Office

Virtual offices offer a lot of potential. They can be setup in almost all the major cities in the nation. You need not relocate yourself physically to establish a local presence in the metros. You can simply publish official numbers for these regions and work from your own location.

Majority of the sought after business addresses in the United States belongs to New York, the financial capital. New York is home to the New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street. Its no wonder that most of the businesses would like to own a New York address. However, a major hurdle is the high office rents. Companies could instead opt for a virtual office system.

A virtual office can be established using a hosted PBX system, which works in a virtual environment. A company can get local phone numbers of the chosen location through the service providers of a hosted PBX company. Calls to these numbers will be automatically located to company’s current location. Callers would be under the impression of calling a local company. Additionally, through a hosted PBX system a company can get sophisticated features such as voice mail, fax mail, auto attendant, and find me follow me call forwarding. These features even though sophisticated are affordable since a single service provider provides the service to numerous companies.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, a leading service provider of Business Phone systems (hosted/virtual). We provide local phone numbers, toll free numbers, follow me call forwarding, and the popular New York 212 Phone numbers as part of our service.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Screened Call Transfers

Business phones come with numerous options for call transfers. They include blind transfers, supervised transfers, and screened transfers. Out of these screened call transfers are usually preferred for office communications.

In a screened call transfer, the caller’s id is recorded and notified to the concerned recipient. The recipient can then decide to either accept the call or reject it. Rejected calls are usually diverted to the voice mail system, where the caller can leave a recorded message.

Call screening is an effective method to filter out important calls. A typical executive has to spend large part of the office timing attending to calls from clients and customers. Many of these turn out to be not so important one, wasting considerable part of the executive’s time.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, a leading service provider of business phone systems (hosted/virtual). We also provide voicemail, fax mail, and toll free numbers.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Automated order taking through voice mail system

Imagine an order taking system that works day and night without any human intervention! Such a system can be setup using a voice mail system. Sophisticated voicemail systems can be programmed to present the caller with a set of questions and record the responses for them.

Voice mails systems are conventionally utilized for recording missed calls. Calls that could not be personally attended by the recipient are diverted to the voice mail system, where a special voice recording requests the callers to leave a message for the recipient. This technology has been extended by some innovative service providers to implement an order taking system.

Automated order taking system can be setup using call scripts. Questionnaires are recorded, and programming done to present the questions one by one. This order taking system can then be set to work 24 hours a day. That means a one need not attend the calls. All the calls will be handled by the voice mail system. The responses can be checked through the voice mailbox. Sender tags attached to the voicemails can be utilized to filter out responses from less important calls.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, a leading service provider of PBX phone systems(Hosted PBX/Virtual Phone system). We also provide toll free phone numbers as part of our service.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Fax Messaging

Fax machines are being fast replaced by fax mails. Fax mails are faster and convenient. There is no hassle of waiting for your turn in the fax machine. You can check your faxes from any location in the world.

Fax mails are basically emails containing digital file attachments of fax documents. They can therefore be forwarded like any other emails. Important faxes can thus be delivered to multiple recipients. You no longer have to dial multiple numbers. Moreover, there is no condition of busy signals.

Fax mails come with a sender tags attached to them. This enables the recipient to check on the senders. Important fax mails can thus be given priority. Similarly, junk faxes can be deleted with equal ease without opening them. Such kind of quick management increases office productivity to a great extent.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, a leading provider of PBX phone system (Hosted PBX/Virtual Phone system).

Password Protected Voice mail mailbox

A major advantage while switching over to a hosted PBX system is the feature of getting any number of voice mailboxes. You can assign separate voice mailboxes for each of your employees. You need not pay huge fees. Service providers of hosted PBX systems charge a small monthly fee for such kind of facilities.

Individual voice mailboxes allow each employee to check on their missed calls. Calls that could not be personally attended are diverted to the voice mail system, wherein the callers can leave a recorded message for their intended recipients. Service providers of hosted PBX system maintain voice mailboxes in their own premise based systems. A client company need not purchase or install any expensive hardware. These voicemail boxes are usually tied to the toll free numbers or local phone numbers provided by the service provider.

Service providers of hosted PBX systems ensure the privacy of individual employee by password protecting the voice mailboxes. Official calls are usually confidential in nature. Clients calling to a particular executive hesitate to leave message with the receptionist or any other person. Leaving a message in a private password protected voice mailbox is therefore the safest option.

The voice mails can be accessed through a special phone number provided by the service provider. Sophisticated PBX systems even have an inbuilt feature of sending the voice mail to the user's regular email mailbox. Special cell phone alerts are given for new voice mail arrivals.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, a leading provider of PBX phone system(Hosted PBX/Virtual Phone system).

Monday, July 17, 2006

Customized call scripts

Auto attendants are implemented by companies to provide a sophisticated interface to their callers. One is greeted with a professional sounding message which guides the caller through a host of options. A good interface contributes a lot in building the image of a company.

Service providers of hosted PBX systems provide their clients with auto attendants containing a host of options such as Dial by Name, Dial by Extension, Music on Hold, Call screening, and Caller ID. These auto attendants usually come with a predefined greeting message. However, one can customize the message according to one’s own preference.

Call scripts aid in customizing the voice greetings. One can record a number of call greetings for different timings. For instance, an auto attendant can give different welcome message during the office hours, and a different one in the after-hours. Similarly there would be a special greeting message for weekends.

Call scripts would similarly be designed for the voice mail system, wherein the calls are diverted if the intended recepient is not available. This greeting message would request the callers in a pleasant manner to leave their message for the recepient. The Voice mails are would latter be checked for important messages.

This article has beeb published by AccessDirect, a leading provider of PBX phone systems (virtual phone system).

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Affordable PBX systems for small businesses

Since the emergence of Hosted technology, small companies are finding it affordable to acquire a PBX system with the latest features. Hosted PBX systems boast the same kind of advanced features found in the expensive communication systems maintained by large companies. Small businesses can sound big by providing a sophisticated interface to the callers.

Hosted PBX systems are shared among numerous clients. The equipments are installed in the premises of the service provider and not in the client side, as is conventionally done. Call routing and management tasks are performed by the service provider. The calls and faxes delivered to clients in real time. Since a service provider caters to numerous clients, the cost that comes down to individual clients is far lower than that involved in premise based PBX systems.

One of the major plus points while adopting a hosted PBX system is the loads of advanced features a business can get. This includes auto attendants, voice mail, fax mail, virtual receptionist, dial-by-name, and find me follow me. Incidentally, the find me follow me call routing system was introduced in hosted PBX systems, and later on adopted in premise based PBX systems. Small businesses can promote themselves in huge way by acquiring the toll free phone numbers and local numbers provided by service provider.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, a leading provider of PBX phone systems (hosted/virtual). Our services include voicemail, fax mail, and automated attendants.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Employing Business phone systems effectively for a Big company image

Small companies have a long journey to make before they attain a big company image. They can attain a Fortune 500 image by acquiring a quality business phone system. One of the most affordable PBX phone systems available in the market right now are the hosted PBX systems.

Hosted PBX systems boasts all the advanced features found in the sophisticated PBX systems maintained by large companies. However, hosted systems cost very less compared to the sophisticated ones. The major reason for the low cost is shared nature of the system. Hosted PBX systems operate in a virtual environment, wherein the functionalities of a standard PBX system are provided as a service. A service provider caters to the needs of multiple clients; hence the lower cost that comes down to individual clients.

Business phone systems employed in a virtual or hosted environment contain features such as voice mail, fax mail, auto attendant, virtual receptionist, and find me follow me call routing. This kind of features is usually associated with expensive PBX systems. Additionally, service providers of hosted pbx systems provide their clients with toll free numbers and local phone numbers. Toll free numbers help in giving a big company image, while local telephone numbers helps in building a local presence in important market regions.

Hosted PBX systems are less expensive and hence affordable for small businesses. Additionally they are scalable to large extent. A company need only pay monthly fee. There is no need for purchasing expensive PBX equipments, which get outdated within 2 to 3 years.

This article is written for AccessDirect, providers of PBX phone system (Hosted PBX/Virtual Phone System) with local numbers and toll free numbers. Visit us at www.messagingservice.com.

Friday, July 14, 2006

Backup phone system for Disaster Recovery

The recent years have seen a spate of disaster events such as 9/11 and Katrina. In the face of such events disaster recovery is the key agenda for companies. They are now investing heavily on backup phone systems for restoring their communication systems in the wake of any disaster. A company has a whole lot of options while selecting the best telecommunication provider. However, a major problem with conventional telecommunication systems is that they are expensive. A cost effective option is available through a PBX system that is hosted.

Hosted PBX systems have an inherent backup system built into them. This kind of PBX phone system is setup in a virtual environment. A company gets the functionalities of a PBX system as a service through a dedicated line. There is no requirement for any additional equipment or hardware in the company premises. The call routings are performed by the service provider. Hence, even if a company has to shift to a new location, calls to its official phone numbers will be routed to the new location. Thus during a disaster, a company can operate from a new location while still maintaining its old phone numbers.

Service providers of hosted PBX system provide their clients with local phone numbers and toll free numbers. Additional services such as voice mail and fax mail are provided. The voicemail and fax mail systems store the messages and faxes. In case, a company site is destroyed, the calls and faxes will be stored in the service provider’s server systems. A company can restore its telecommunication system from a new location. All the previous phone calls and faxes can be checked at the Hosted PBX’s backup voicemail and fax mail systems.

This article has been published by AccessDirect-USA, a leading provider of PBX phone system (Hosted PBX/Virtual Phone System) with local phone numbers and toll free 800 numbers, Automated Attendant, Voice Mail, Fax Mail, New York numbers, virtual phone number, virtual receptionist, and business voicemail. Visit us at www.messagingservice.com

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Setting up a virtual company without any premises

There are many people out there who would like to setup a company. To begin with, office space has to be rented, requiring a sizeable investment. Then there is the expensive office communication system to be installed. You can however reduce this huge initial investments and costs by opting for a hosted PBX system.

A hosted PBX does not require any equipment to be installed in the premises. The PBX functionalities are provided by a service provider through a dedicated connection. You need not spend huge sums in purchasing and installing PBX equipments. Routing of calls will be done by the service provider.

Service providers of hosted PBX systems provide their clients with local phone numbers and toll free numbers. These numbers are virtual in nature since they are not associated with telephone equipment but with the person. That means; calls to these numbers are delivered to the person irrespective of his current location. Hosted PBX systems employ a call routing procedure called find me follow me. An employee can define a list of phone numbers where he can be available. This can be his cell phone number or residence number. Calls to his official number will be routed to each of the listed numbers until someone picks up the phone. This system thus assures that calls meant for an employee always reaches him whether he is at home or in travel. Even if he could not personally attend the calls, the caller can leave a message behind for him in the voice mail system. Voicemails can be accessed using a computer with Internet connection.

The find me follow me routing enables a virtual company to be setup with employees spread over a wide region. You can publish local numbers for specific regions and toll free phone numbers for nationwide presence. Calls to these numbers will be routed by the hosted PBX system to your employees, even though they might be working at home. Callers will be under the impression that they are calling your company. You can thus maintain a company without any physical location, with a workforce distributed over a wide region.

This article is written for AccessDirect, providers of PBX phone systems (Hosted PBX/Virtual Phone System) with local numbers and toll free 800 numbers, Auto Attendant, Voice Mail, Fax Mail, New York 212 numbers, virtual phone number, virtual receptionist, and business voicemail. Visit us at www.messagingservice.com

Friday, July 07, 2006

Call forwarding

One of the major features in a hosted PBX system is call forwarding. This feature is incorporated to route the calls to the rightful recipient irrespective of his current location. Call forwarding is referred by various other terminologies such as find me follow me and call hunting.

In a hosted PBX system, the calls are routed by the service provider. There is no role of the on-premise PBX system. Hence, a phone number is not associated with any particular telephone equipment. A list of numbers is defined for each phone number. Calls to these numbers are routed to each number one by one. If a particular phone is not attended, the call is routed to the next number in the list. This approach ensures that the callers are directed to the rightful recipient.

Call forwarding are provided by most telecom providers. However this feature can be expensive. Telecom providers usually charge extra for such kind of facility. On the contrary, in a hosted PBX system call forwarding comes as part of the regular service. Hence, no extra charge. Moreover, a voice mail system is tied to the system. Calls that aren’t attended at any of the numbers defined in the system are automatically diverted to the voicemail system. Here, the callers are greeted with a recorded message asking them to leave a message for the recipient. The voice mails can be checked by the recipient from any location of the globe using an Internet connection. This combined facility of call forwarding and voicemail prevents important calls from being missed.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, service provider of PBX phone systems (hosted/virtual). We also provide voice mail, fax mail, local phone numbers, toll free numbers, and auto attendant service. Visit us at www.messagingservice.com.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Receiving faxes according to priority

Imagine getting your faxes delivered according to priority. This kind of facility is not possible through the old fax machine. In the conventional system, faxes are received according to the order of sending. Hence one has to go through all the faxes before finalizing on the important ones.

One can avoid such kind of unordered checking using a fax mail. In a fax mail system, the faxes are converted into a digital file format and sent as email. Hence there is no need for the fax machine. Special tags attached to the fax mails allow one to check the sender before opening the mail. Sophisticated fax mail systems even have the option of setting priorities of the sender. Hence, the fax mails are arranged in the mailbox according to priority of the senders. This facility saves time. One need not go through all the faxes. Only the important ones can be checked. The unwanted faxes can be deleted just like any other email.

Fax mail service comes as part of hosted PBX systems. Hosted PBX systems do not require any equipment to be installed in the client site. Instead, the routing of faxes and calls are done by the service provider. Hence this kind of PBX system can be setup in any location using a dedicated connection. This kind of geographic independence even applies to the fax system, since fax mails can be checked from any part of the globe using an Internet connection.

This article has been published by AccessDirect, providers of PBX phone systems (Hosted PBX/Virtual phone system). We also provide voice mail and fax mail service.

Receiving calls and faxes through virtual numbers

One of the great features of a PBX phone system that is hosted is the ability to gain access to a variety of local markets through virtual numbers. A company need not be physically present in various markets. It can acquire local phone numbers of the chosen area code from the service provider.

Service providers of hosted pbx system allot toll free numbers and local numbers to their clients. These numbers are used for both voice and fax communications. Calls to these numbers are routed in real time to the client location. A client can thus makes its presence felt in a variety of market without being physically present over there.

A major reason why companies prefer local virtual numbers is to capture the local markets. There are clients in these markets who prefer to do business with the local companies. Hence they shy away from contacting a company through the toll free numbers, which seem too big for some clients. They instead go for companies having a local presence. Local phone numbers come in handy here, since a company need not establish a regional office in the community. All it has to do is publish a contact number with the local area code.