New Phone System Technology Deciphered: A Quick Primer

There are plenty of options and features for phone system technology in today’s marketplace. Before making a purchasing decision, it is important to understand the following definitions and features.

• Cloud PBX: Cloud PBX is a phone system located in the Internet. The heart of this model is located in the Cloud while onsite phones are connected to the PBX via the Internet. This is a great solution for companies who have employees in multiple offices. Staff will appear to be all connected to one phone system. Callers can reach who they need at any location and site to site internal calling is easy for employees.

• UCaaS – Unified Communications as a Service: Similar to Cloud PBX, this option delivers communication and collaboration systems via the Internet. It combines phones, desktop sharing, instant messaging, video and more.   Firms that use UCaaS want more than just voice calls out of their PBX.They see value in video conferencing, instant messaging, desktop sharing and other methods of connecting to help their teams work better together.

• Multimedia Call Center: Multimedia Call Center is a group of staff doing the same type of work typically over the phone. Order entry, customer support and tracking are examples of standard call center practices. Call Center software firms can include email and social media as part of the measurements available as well. Many firms use this technology to help clients get the information they want faster via multiple delivery channels. A call center supervisor can see time how many calls, texts and even tweets are in process, helping their customers feel more connected and happy in real time. If you need to monitor multiple types of customer interactions, this may be the right fit.

• Presence: Presence simply tells you quickly who is currently available to assist you and what their status is, such as “at lunch”, “with a client” or “available”. This seemingly simple idea can produce great value as others can tell when and how often staff is available. Presence will quickly tell if a colleague is in the office and available to speak or prefers an email instead of a call. Staff can quickly change their presence as work dictates. For example, if they are on a tight deadline, they may change their presence to “do not disturb” so the goals can be met. Presence is used to help teams work efficiently by determining who is available and how to communicate.

• Mobility: This feature allows employees to work when and where required. It goes beyond simply forwarding calls to a cell phone. Mobility allows staff to leave the office while still be connected to calls, instant messaging, video and other channels. Teams can work together even though they might be traveling in different parts of the world. Mobility allows you to take the features of your communication system with you when you leave the office.

A careful analysis of your company’s needs should be completed before deciding on a phone system that’s right for you. For more information, give us a call at 949-462-7001 ext 460 or sales@kmesystems.com