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Building
the right telephone system for your business
This
section is designed to help you understand the
various components and their uses. Be sure to
carefully examine how your staff currently handle
calls (especially your receptionist) and speculate
your future requirements before investing.
Telephone
Equipment
KSU-Business
telecommunications equipment consists of a switch
called a Key Service Unit (KSU) that is the main
"brains" of the system. Depending on the
provided features and your specific needs, cards can
be added to the KSU to offer features such as;
Automatic Call Distribution, Caller Identification,
Computer Telephony and much more.
Telephone
Sets-Telephone
sets for business use are generally proprietary,
meaning that you can't mix and match with other
manufacturers products. When buying a new system,
the functionality of the sets is the most important
factor to consider.
Voice
Mail-The
most important issue on voice mail is 2, 4, 6 and 8
port voice mail systems. The number of ports
is the number that people can interface with voice
mail at one time. For example on a 2 port
system if one of your clients dials in and goes to
voice mail and 1 of your office associates checks
there voice mail at the same time the next person
that wants to interface with voice mail will have to
wait for a port to open up. In the new
millennium voice mail has become the standard for
offices that pay close attention to customer
service. With the new features of today's systems,
Voice Mail has become necessary to compete in the
business world of the 21st century.
Feature
Cards
Depending on the size of the telephone system, some
features are included whereas others require cards
to be added into the KSU. Additional features
include;
We
all want a live person to answer our call but it is
quite frustrating when you have to explain the
nature of your call to several people before getting
to the right person.
CID-Caller
Identification Display, the callers name and
telephone number are shown on your telephone set's
display panel before you answer the call. This
allows you to search your database for the callers
account or customize your greeting to the caller and
create a more personable relationship.
Have
you ever been side-tracked by a customer's questions
when placing an order, only to find out that you
didn't get the phone number? (Maybe it's just me
then.)
CTA-Computer
Telephony Adapter, allows integration between your
telephone system and computer system. This can be
used for an almost infinate number of applications
including; dialing from within your database or a
screen-pop of customer information on an inbound
call.
Telephone
Vendor
Choosing
the right telephone vendor can mean the life or
death of your communications system.
If
you require a small but reliable system, be sure
that the telephone vendor can provide the necessary
expansion support and products or you may find
yourself with an obsolete system when your company
grows.
Technicians
should always be manufacturer trained, certified and
well versed in the latest cabling and installation
technologies, you would be surprised to find out how
many aren't really manufacturer trained even though
the company offers 'manufacturer support'.
Ensure
that you are going to receive the necessary product
support by using an authorized dealer. There
are many "grey market" resellers who do
not have the authority or resources to offer ongoing
system support.
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