Category: Blog

Telephone Systems are a vital link between companies and their customers. As a result, it can be a daunting task to choose a telephone system, especially for those not familiar with the latest technological advances. The following is an effort to make that task a little easier.

• Buy from an established supplier of telephone systems. Typically he will be an authorised dealer of an established manufacturer.

• Check that the system proposed is suitable for the number of exchange lines and telephones required. Also ensure that adequate provision has been made for future growth.

• Check that the proposed solution can accommodate the latest technology including VoIP, Unified communications, ISDN and Voicemail.

• Consider the use of VoIP technology. This can reduce your ongoing telephone costs considerably but you should first confirm that it is suitable for the quality of your DSL connection. Hosted or VoIP trunk solutions can both be suitable solutions.

• Check that the supplier can perform all aspects of the proposed work. This includes not only product installation but also exchange line purchase, VoIP solutions, cabling, user training and ongoing support.

• Buy a recognised brand of telephone system. Generally bigger manufacturers spend more on research and development resulting in more advanced and user friendly products.

• Ensure that time has been allocated, after installation, for demonstration of the telephone system to staff.

• Having selected a suitable provider, ask the salesperson to analyse your requirements and to propose a suitable solution. A quick consultation can save hours spent trawling through brochures and there is usually no charge for this consultation.

Spectrum Communications are an established and reputable telephone systems provider based in Dublin for over 20 years. We supply Ericsson LG equipment and offer a range of solutions tailored to our customer’s requirement. If you wish to arrange an appointment please Contact Us or email us on info@spectrumcommunications.ie or you can Call our Dublin office on 01-4291246.

Reducing your telephone costs using VoIP

What is VoIP?

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allows you to make calls over an internet connection rather than standard telephone lines. These calls are typically cheaper in both line rental and call costs. Companies will reduce their telephone bill, in almost all cases, using VoIP.

VoIP service come in two forms Hosted services and VoIP trunks. With hosted services you do not have an onsite telephone system but rather each phone is connected through the internet to a remote server. Using VoIP trunks offers a more stable solution as the control of the hardware is in your own premises. VoIP trunks will also allow you to migrate to a VoIP solution maintaining both traditional lines and lower cost VoIP lines.

What do you need?

A DSL / broadband connection is of course essential to the operation of VoIP services. The quality of the broadband is also very significant. Voice services are often more demanding on internet quality than data services. Data downloads can retrain without great significance, but unfortunately this is not true for real time, voice traffic.

You will also need telephones or a telephone system compatible with VoIP. Your existing equipment may be capable of supporting VoIP lines. In some cases it will be more economical to upgrade your equipment. For a hosted solution you will be normally required to change your existing phones but for a VoIP solution it is often possible to reuse existing phones.

Finally an account with a IP service provider is required. There seems to be no shortage of IP service providers but the service that they offer can vary greatly. Traditional telephone lines offer a high degree of reliability and you should not have to comprise this when moving to VoIP. You should use a provider which has a large traffic capacity and a proven track record in customer response to service requests.

First steps to VoIP Implementation

So you’ve decided to save money and improve performance by implementing VoIP:

Spectrum Communications can advise on the route your company can take to enjoy the benefits of VoIP technology.

• Every company situation can be different and moving to VoIP does present risks in some circumstances.
• We can assess your existing situation and recommend a low risk route to VoIP implementation.
• We can propose an upgrade path considering all the elements that are involved and propose the right solution for your business.

 

If you are interested in  finding out more about VoIP telephone systems then Contact Us through the website, email us at info@spectrumcommunications.ie or Call Us on 01 4291246. We will get back to you straight away to advise on your best route forward.

Voice over the Internet commonly known as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) represents the latest in phone system technology. VoIP is simply the transmission of voice traffic over IP based networks,
such as the Internet. With it, regular voice calls are sent over a computer network instead of traditional phone lines. VoIP has been touted as “coming soon” since the first PC-to PC telephony applications were introduced in 1995. In recent years the audio quality has improved dramatically,technology has gotten cheaper, and business adoption has started to spike.

The technology to compress audio and to reconstruct it has been improved to the point where VoIP sound quality over a high-bandwidth connection is as good as or better than that of regular phones.
However some networks that are fine for data are not up to the demands of VoIP. Computer networks are designed to handle data that is not time sensitive like voice.

Uses of VoIP systems.

External Calls VoIP can be used to make external calls to location outside the company. Typicall there will be significant saving on calls made and especially if these calls are to internationa destinations. Also, because there typically no rental costs associated with VoIP lines your telephonebill can be reduced considerably.

Office to office linking. Companies with branch offices that are linked by a VPN or data network  can connect their phone systems together using VoIP. This will ensure that all internal calls are free of charge and that calls can be transferred from one location to another. Therefore call can be answered in just one location and transferred to the second location. Similarly, features such as call back and extension visibility can be used for users of the remote branch. And because multiple offices are seamlessly connected, they can share a single receptionist, auto-attendant, and voicemail system.For further information please contact us or call us today on 01 8903040.

Remote Extensions  Many employees and now working off site or homw a home office. Using VoIP technology these can be connected to the office system and enjoy all the features of being an extension off the system. This would include; making calls from the office location, call transfer to and from the main office, voicemail and many more. These feature make these employees more contactable and better integrated into the company as a whole.

Unified Communications Softphones, mobile apps and unified communications further link employees on the road saving both time and money.

Tips on how to buy your VoIP phone system.

Buying any telephone system is a long term investment and the equipment cost will often be lower over time than the running or rental costs.

Computer network suppliers are often not as familiar with telephony issues in comparison to as Telephone System suppliers. Consider carefully the background of the company and their performance in areas such as user training, response to service requests and dealing with exchange line providers.

If you intend to make outgoing calls over the internet, evaluate the costs involved if the voice quality is not satisfactory and you have to revert to legacy lines.

Buy from a telephone supply company. Take advice on whether a pure IP or converged solution is right for your business. By buying a Hybrid system you can often avail of all of the advantages of pure IP systems without the costs involved. Consider if there is a possibility of using existing phones or cabling. Many Hybrid IP systems allow the use of existing phones resulting in considerable savings to the purchaser.

Fax machines, security devices, Cordless phones require a standard telephone ports. If you have these in use in your company ensure that they can be accommodated easily on your new system.