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Business phone systems can make or break the image a business presents to both its customers and its competitors. If someone calls and repeatedly receives a busy signal or is constantly transferred to the wrong party, they are likely to get frustrated and take their business elsewhere.
Avaya is a well-known name in the telecommunications industry. Formerly Lucent Technologies, Avaya has continued to develop leading-edge technology in an ongoing effort to streamline the way we communicate. This includes the advancement of IP technology where voice conversations are transmitted over the internet protocol. As this technology advances, public switched telephone networks will become less common and less used.
Avaya offers many phone systems to fit the size and needs of most businesses. Starting with the small IP Office system, which is suitable for small offices with 20 employees or less, to Aura Communication Manager, which is an enterprise-wide solution. Most Avaya systems offer features such as auto attendant, music on hold, conferencing capability, and IP technology. Its diverse product line offers the business owner many options for finding a communication solution that offers cost savings and ease of use.
The IP Office system is a system that provides three levels of sophistication depending on the needs of your business. The basic level or Essential Edition provides an affordable way to own a sophisticated phone system that offers key features used by many businesses. The Preferred Edition offers increased voice messaging capacity and higher volume of simultaneous calls. The advanced edition offers even more advances in technology and features available.
With the advanced or preferred edition, you can give your employees more flexibility in how they handle phone calls and where they work each day. The power user has the ability to control all communications using an IP phone, cell phone, or laptop. All your messages are received in one inbox, including voicemail, email, and faxes.
One of the advantages of an IP-based business phone system is the ability of the workforce to be mobile. With the Avaya IP Office solution, employees are no longer limited to working in the office. With new technology, your cell phone simply becomes an extension of the business phone system. Due to this, customers and clients can communicate with employees regardless of their location. To the caller, it appears that the person you are trying to reach is in the office and available to take your call. This provides the employee with a way to get out of the office and meet potential clients while remaining accessible to existing clients.
For those employees who must stay in the office, the Office Worker feature ensures that daily tasks such as transferring calls, conferencing and messaging are handled with ease. Although most employees now venture out of the office to conduct business, there are still those who must stay behind to perform administrative tasks. IP Office is also designed with these users in mind with an easy to understand interface and reliable desk phones.
A new reality for many companies today is having employees work for the company through a home office. The Teleworker feature allows employees to work from home virtually anywhere in the world. For someone calling from abroad, the experience is the same with the same number used to communicate with employees. Unknown to the caller, the employee answers their phone which is connected to the IP Office phone system via a virtual private network. This allows the company to have Associates in various markets and locations without the additional cost of maintaining a physical presence.
Another benefit of IP Office is that the receptionist software allows the receptionist to route calls from their PC. This gives them the ability to point and click to control calls, as well as provide the status of calls in progress. Additionally, the software has the ability to integrate with commonly used database software. From this interface, the receptionist can monitor all office extensions and provide coverage for multiple locations.
An exclusive benefit of the Advanced Edition, Customer Service Supervisor is a monitoring and reporting application that allows the business owner to track call volume. This is helpful in determining the efficiency of how calls are handled, as well as the level of productivity the phone system provides.
If you are looking for a business phone system that can give your business a professional image and provide a way to efficiently route calls, the IP Office system offered by Avaya has several levels to suit your needs and your budget. Designed with the small business owner in mind, the system can be deployed with a minimum number of users with future growth and scalability in mind. With this flexibility, the IP Office system is perfect for today’s small business and allows for future expansion.