Need Advice On Phone Systems

[leeym]

I own a small consulting company with 7 employees, most of which are out on the road. Right now we have 2 incpming copper lines: 1 for calls, another for faxing.

When calls come in, a 3rd party answering service picks up after 3 rings if nobody picks up. The service then either takes a message and emails it to the mailbox owner, or sends a notification via email that a message is in their mailbox. All users can call an 800 number to retrieve their messages. Currently we pay about $180/month for the static DSL line and both copper lines. The answering service costs another $75/month, but every additional voice mailbox is another charge which is why we keep them to a minimum. Ideally I'd like to have 7-10 mailboxes, with no more than 3 phones inside the office since most everyone is on service calls.

Overall, here are my issues:

- The answering service is money wasted away when I know I can purchase my own equipment
- The quality of the answering service is very poor.
- Additional voice mailboxes can get expensive
- There is no call forwarding service
- All voice mails are automatically deleted after 2 days

Moving forward, I'm considering investing in my own phone system with these features:

- Auto-attendant
- Unlimited voice mail boxes
- LAN-based (so we don't have to lay additional CAT-3 cabling)
- Call forwarding (e.g. to cell phones, for example)
- Rack-mountable (since we already have a 42U rack)
- WAV file capability (nice to have, but not mandatory)
- Scalability (e.g. analog to digital), ability to take multiple copper phone lines (if we stick with analog)

I know I can easily buy a analog system for under $1000, but I'm getting so many different answers about what to do.

Some say stick with analog because my current static DSL doesn't provide enough pipe for VOIP (others say differently), others are suggesting a hybrid system which starts as analog, but can convert to VOIP.

Also, if I stick to analog, I'll definitely need at least another business line because if both lines are being used, all other incoming calls will get a busy signal which is no good. Would VOIP overcome that? As you can see, I'm having a difficult time even calculating cost/benefits.

If anyone has any suggestions, that'd be great.

 

[VoIPGuyNSC]

An internal VoIP call-management system with analog PSTN connectivity seems ideal in this situation. A Cisco 2811 router with Call Manager Express and a Unity Express AIM module would fit your current needs beautifully while providing additional growth down the road. The whole system is rack-mountable 1U with (I believe) up to 8 POTS ports or you could swap out the analog ports for a digital T1 circuit giving you up to 23 voice-bearing channels. Licensing for CME and Unity Express is on a per-user basis with various bundles so you won't have *UNLIMITED* voice mailboxes, but certainly enough for your current level of service. The AIM module is Compact Flash based, providing around 16 hours of storage. There is a Network Module that is Hard Drive based which provides over 100 hours of voicemail storage, but it won't fit in a 2811. You have to go up to Cisco 2821 router for that.

The setup meets all of your requirements, but it won't come anywhere close to $1000 for this setup. And that doesn't even take into consideration your other infrastructure concerns, like switches and phones (at about $500 a pop). Cool, Expandable and rather easy to maintain, but time consuming for fresh installs for even experienced installers. Hope this gives you something to go on. There are tons of options, especially on the refurbished market.

John Lever
Telecommunications
Richland School District Two

 

[leeym]

Thanks for your reply John.

Is the cofiguration you're suggsting a 'hybrid' one? Meaning it manages incoming copper lines, but is otherwise VOIP-based within the network? I have been pointed towards the 3Com NBX V3000 system. Are you familiar with that? Do you know of any sites that offer good comparisons of what I'm looking for?

Thanks

 

[Sympology]

Take a look at this Zultis system. I've never used it, so I'm not going to endorse it, but it's from one of our suppliers and looks like it can do what you need:

http://www.siracom.com/zexchange.htm#mx250

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[VoIPGuyNSC]

leeym,

I've never heard of CCM or CME referred to as a hybrid system, but yes, it functions as you described. In reality, the only difference between it and a more traditional PBX or key system is the management and the voice encoding and transmission. Both interface with the Public Switched Telephone Network. Of course, there are VoIP providers out there for businesses, but I don't have any experience with a full-blown VoIP/VoIP solutions. Some claim it works, but like you said, your DSL really isn't ideal for this type of service.

I have absolutely no knowledge of the 3COM, sorry. But to let you know, 3Com is nowhere near the leader it once was.

John Lever
Telecommunications
Richland School District Two

 

[DanInRaleigh]

..have you looked into asterisk?
...probably ideal for your small setup...

....its free..only problem is support..
...hell i had an asterisk up and working in my house after 7 hours of work.. need fxo card (20 dollars).. nice mailbox options....

....and did i mention free? ..just have to pay linux guru couple hundered dollars for config help...or brave it your self..

..just throwing ideas around..

CCNP,CCSP,MCSE,Sec+,Net+,A+...

 

[leeym]

ok thanks guys

 

[telnettech]

you can look at an open source PBX like Digium Asterisk VOIP solution.....this allows to to have the AA, copper trunks, and unlimited mailboxes so that you can create and delete them as often as you want.....the mailbox space is only limited by the memory space that you partion for for the voicemail application on the server. This same server can run the PBX function allowing you to be VOIP inside your office and connect analog copper trunks to it to connect to your PSTN. Once you have grown larger and want to purchase a T-1 or ISDN for voice and data convergence, the Asterisk is fairly simple to convert. See the Digium threads on tek-tips to find out more info to any questions you may have about this....It is a more cost effective way of implementing VOIP in a small business as you wont have to pay Cisco licensing fees every year...if interested call us, we deal with the small business customers with the Asterisk PBX system

888-751-4277 and ask for a saleman

Brian

To error is human.....if the machine doesnt work, then KICK IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[segment]

http://www.voipsupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=1066

+ Snom softphone clients for your workers laptops...

$1,549.95 = 129.16 per month

Chuck the fax line and do your faxing with Asterisk as well so you eliminate that cost. At the rate of $75 per month answering, you introduce about $54.00. If you're paying more than 18.00 per voicemail box for your three employees, then it will pay for itself. If say you're paying 5.00 per additional voicemail, you say you need 6-10, that will also offset those costs.

I don't know the exact details but here is my guesstimate:

$75 per month answering
$21 per month ($7.00 per voicemail box (fair price) x 3 employees)
$58 ($29 basic PSTN service x 2 lines)
$154.00 minimum you're wasting in phone charges



perl -e 'print $i=pack(c5,(40*2),sqrt(7600),(unpack(c,Q)-3+1+3+3-7),oct(104),10,oct(101));'

 

[leeym]

ok thanks guys

 

[yurtek]

Fonality and Bandtel are your answers.

 

[Niko777]

Look at the 3Com V3000. Comes with 4 FXO ports, 1 FXS fax port, AA, voicemail, up to 150 users or more, offsite notification, ACD, Administration through a browser. I think I saw it on the web for $1,600. With a few phones will probably cost you a little over $2,000.

 

[rfpup]

Ericsson BP Compact can be another serious solution. Mobile extension is the feature you need meanwhile you are out of office. Your mobile phone is in the same time your extension as well. It is not a simple divert to your mobile phone but the system can manage your mobile phone as its native extension as well.
Auto attendant included, voice mail included, you may upgrade if needed in IP networking and/or ip extensions as well.
Its a real serious solution to be considered.
Good luck!