If the thought of designing your own perfect phone system appeals to you, but you don't want to be overwhelmed by an endless "a la carte" menu of features and pricing, consider Digium's unified communications solution, Switchvox.
Switchvox - What is it?
Switchvox is a PBX VoIP appliance that is installed on-site or in a Cloud data center using SIP trunking. The Switchvox IP PBX is available in three sizes of appliances to accommodate different numbers of users (appliance sizes suit under 30 users, up to 400).
How Can Switchvox Make A Difference?
Find out how The Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth manages their call center with Switchvox. Remember, you don't have to have a large organization to enjoy the many benefits Switchvox offers. Here are a few good reasons why Switchvox might be a great fit for your small-medium size business:
1. Cost - The initial cost of the system is typically 30% to 40% lower than other popular systems such as Avaya, Shoretel, Cisco, etc. This is especially true when you start adding in optional features on other systems (such as call center, call recording, fax, mobility, etc.) that are included out of the box with Switchvox.
2. Telecom Costs – Using Internet SIP trunking, overall costs are kept low.
3. Call Center - The ability to have fairly advanced call center functionality for small call centers is a huge benefit. Surprisingly feature-rich, professional call center give supervisors rich, real-time information on call center stats and provide monitor/whisper/barge/record supervisory functions.
4. Conference Bridge – The Switchvox PBX includes a full-featured conference bridge. Each user can have their own conference room. You can save by using the built-in conference bridge instead of using a 3rd party conference service.
5. Mobile App – Digium provides Switchvox Mobile apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry at no extra cost! The Mobile apps give you the ability to see your office phone call logs, check voice mail, alter call rules, etc. from your smart phone. This is very handy for changing the call rules to ring your cell phone when you are late getting to the office. You can even make calls from your smart phone appear to be calling from the office when you are working offsite.
6. Switchboard Web Interface – The Switchboard is the sizzle of the Switchvox system. It provides each user with a visual view of your current calls, phone books, directory, call queues, Google Map of incoming calls, and can easily be customized to integrate with CRM databases and other 3rd party applications.
7. Personal Call Rules - Setup your own personal call rules to ring your cell phone after business hours or ring your extension and cell phone simultaneously or any other combination desired. Even setup different call rules based on your status (for example, route calls to your backup when you’re on vacation).
8. Presence and Real-Time Collaboration - Easily see the status of everyone in your phone book and utilize the built-in chat feature to collaborate. Drag and drop calls to other extensions or directly into their voice mail or other external numbers – mobile, home, etc.
9. Google Maps Panel - On the Switchboard the Google Maps Panel will show the location of the incoming call. Your receptionist can use this to make sure calls get routed to the correct person.
10. Phones – Digium rolled out their own brand of SIP-compliant IP phones earlier in 2012, and they have been a smashing success. These phones automatically provision themselves with the Switchvox PBX, drastically reducing the time to install and configure phones.
11. Web Administration – Digium specifically built the administration interface for the Switchvox IP PBX to be used by your IT staff. No arcane telecom terms; everything is written in English. Performing moves/adds/changes is a snap. Even making changes to your call flow and IVRs is easy enough to do without 3rd party assistance.
What kind of phone system is your business currently using? Does it meet your organization's needs well, or have you outgrown it? Are you getting the most from (and are able to access) all of the features it boasts? Check out these videos for a closer look at how Digium's unified communications solutions might work for you.