Big Company Business Phone System Features on a Small Company Budget
 

Business Phone System Installation Scenarios

Regional Business Installation Example

       

This scenario examines a business with a main office based in Naples, FL and two regional offices — one in Orlando and one in Fort Lauderdale. The main office has 45 employees and each regional office has 25 employees. There are also 10 remote users who work from home located throughout Florida. Management wants all phone calls to come through their main office based in Naples to give callers the impression that everything is run out of Naples Florida.

  • Asterisk servers are located in the main office and each of the regional offices. The Asterisk servers communicate with each other over a high speed Internet connection (typically a T1 connection at each location). The Asterisk server located in the main office also has a PRI circuit attached to it to process inbound and outbound calls from the PSTN.

  • Each remote user has a broadband connection in their home (e.g. DSL or cable modem) along with a VoIP enable phone (aka "SIP Phone") and PC.

  • Users based in the three offices (main office + 2 regional offices) are assigned an extension number. Each remote user is also assigned an extension number. Users in the main office have a "100 series" extension number (e.g. 100-145). Users in the Orlando office have a "200 series" extension number and users in the Ft. Lauderdale office have a "300 series" exention number. All remote users have a "400 series" extension number assigned.

  • Any user on the company's phone network can dial another use on the network by simply dialing their three digit extension number. For example, a user in the home office can dial a remote user by dialing their 400 series extension (e.g. 405). These calls are toll-free since the calls are placed between Asterisk servers which communicate via the internet.

  • Clients and vendors calling in to the company are routed to an IVR menu giving them a number of options including the option of dialing the 3 digit extension of the person they are trying to reach (which routes the call directly to that extension regardless of where that extension is physicaly located). In additions, callers can press 1 for the sales department, 2 for customer service or 3 for service. Also, they can press 0 at anytime to speak with a live person.

  • The receptionist's desk phone has additional capabilities including the ability for the operator to see the status of all extensions at any time. So when callers are routed to the receptionist desk (the press 0 option) the receptionist immediately knows how to handle the call (transfer to the person, transfer to voice mail or take a message.)

  • All outbound calls made by users on the company's phone network are routed either via the PSTN or via VoIP trunks. Even a remote user who may happen to live in Destin, FL is able to place his calls from the Naples facility using these trunks. Outbound long distance calls leverage the significant cost cost savings of VoIP.

  • Because the company does business throughout the United States, several 800 toll free VoIP lines are established. These are virtual 800 numbers which are significantly cheaper than traditional PSTN 800 service. In fact, today there are flat rate VoIP 800 service providers that charge a flat rate of approx $45 per month. You can receive as many calls as you want on this service for one monthly rate. Gone are the days of 800 service being metered by the minute used.

  • The company has a group of 10 customer service agents. There is an 800 number established for clients to reach these agents directly (which is handled by a separate customer service queue.) . The company is leveraging the SUGAR SUITE CRM application which is included with each Asterisk installation to track their customer information. They have also implemented the optional screen-pop and auto-dialing capabilities for SugarCRM which provide additional customer service functionality to save time as well as provide management with detailed reports of activity.


    CLICK HERE to view a diagram of a typical Regional or Satellite Office configuration.