VoIP Phone Technology

When I recently opened a new office in Phoenix it was suggested that I try VoIP service for our business lines. I was a bit skeptical because the technology hasn't really caught on and in fact, at the time, I don't think I understood how the technology worked.

VoIP is short for "Voice over Internet Protocol" and simply put, you plug your phone into an Internet connection and it works just like it's a phone line. Now I understand the technology and I like it. I like it a lot.

My company uses service from business VoIP provider Packet 8. (Packet 8 is like Vonage except for business.) Vonage has the bucks behind it to advertise like CRAZY and you see them all over TV and the Internet. Packet 8 doesn't advertise, but it does allow my firm to have a large company phone system at a fraction of the cost. Their product is called "Virtual PBX" and after having used the phones and the features of Packet 8 I'm extremely pleased.

Some of the features I like about the Virtual PBX product are:

1. Unlimited phone calls - once I purchase a phone system (about $100) there is a flat usage fee per month. Call all day and all night for $40 bucks.
2. The phone can be anywhere in the country and it functions like it's in the next office. I can transfer calls and intercom the phone just as if it were 10 feet away.
3. Each unit has a direct line and is part of my system. So I can let me clients bypass an automated attendant and get me direct.
4. When I miss a call and a voice mail message is left for me, the system sends me an email with a sound file so I can listen to the message instantly without calling into the system.
5. Finally, I can add lines as needed and the system just continues to grow. If I want to add employees to the system and they don't need a phone, they simply receive a "Virtual Extension" and are added to our voice mail. Incoming calls can be transferred to the virtual extension and the call will be forwarded to any phone anywhere in the country.

My company is still playing with the Packet 8 product and their are some downsides... your phone system is at the mercy of your Internet service. If Internet goes down - phone goes down. That's happened once in the last 90 days. Not a big deal... yet.

Overall - thumbs up to VoIP.

TK