Have you ever wondered how huge businesses manage to deal with so many calls? From internal communications between employees, to collaboration with remote branches, to incoming calls from clients or customers, the backbone of a business phone system is their PBX, or "Private Branch Exchange." From the rudimentary days of the old switchboard systems, to the modern computer controlled business phone systems of today - it's more than just a means of communication - the PBX is how your business stays relevant in a fast paced business world. Let's have a look at what it takes to integrate the power of one of these into your everyday workflow.

How you go about buying an integrating a PBX into your business will depend largely on what sort of features and services it provides, as well as how you plan to host it. How much growth do you expect, and how long should the system continue to serve you? What kind of infrastructure do you have in place already, and can you use it in the new system?

Answering some of these questions can be vital to getting the most out of the system. Let's look at one example of a key feature choice that could add a lot to your business's phone system, and far too often overlooked.

Cabinet space and installation requirements are far too often overlooked. The central core of a business phone system can vary in size from tiny to huge. A dazzling array of features is no small comfort if you fail to account for the amount of space the unit will take up, especially if space is a consideration.

Not only that, but installation is a sobering topic. Many powerful PBX systems take special proprietary setups, extended networking, or wholly gutting your existing phone system to make way for the new. Some can use a standard phone system, or even your basic computer network - though you may also end up sacrificing features for flexibility and convenience. Many times, the proprietary setups use their special connectors and wiring to deliver more data and extra features.

Modern software has seen a flood of high quality open-source development, and the PBX market is no exception. The "Asterisk" project is a suite of high powered, feature rich software PBX tools, very popular with many businesses. The software runs on a standard PC, along with specialized interface cards to connect you to the outside phone system (including everything from standard phone lines, through ISDN or T1 lines.) Features are rich, including robo-dialing, auto-operator menu systems, voicemail, voice over IP, and much more.

Rather than run this yourself, you an also opt for devices powered by Asterisk, of which many can be found. This can give you many of the rapid development, security, and plugin benefits of Asterisk, without the chore and hassle of trying to install and manage the software on a computer, yourself.

Modernizing your current system, or installing your first, it doesn't matter. Upgrading your business phone system to harness the power of the current offerings is a no-brainer. Delving into the multitude of features provided by modern telephony systems a huge edge in today's competitive world.

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Popular Nortel Phones

Nortel Digital Doorphone

Enables office personnel to talk directly with visitors prior to their entering a business. When a visitor presses the Call Button, the Norstar system rings the designated phone(s) in an office and allows two-way conversation.

Key Features:

• Allows two-way conversation between Norstar phone and Doorphone
• Available in brass or stainless steel, waterproof faceplates
• Has optional Door Opening Controller (DOC), controlled by pressing softkey
• Installed and programmed like any Norstar phone
• Up to four Doorphones accommodated on a Norstar system