Small Business Phone Systems

Business owners like me have a love-hate relationship with Internet faxing. We hate it because it’s still quite not “plug and play” (but it’s close), like a traditional fax machine is. But we love it because it is much more efficient and flexible than a traditional fax machine. To wit:

• No dedicated phone line or machine is required
• True paperless communications
• Ability to simultaneously send and receive faxes

Faxing on the Rise Read the rest of this entry »

Inc.com (the website for Inc. Magazine) features this Blog in its “Breaking Entrepreneurial News” section. Check it out here. The New York Times carried the same story on its site here.

By J.B. Malik, Editor-In-Chief

(If you haven’t yet, first read my full review of RingCentral here.)

Internet companies and online retailers are steadily adopting small business phone systems (Virtual PBXs in geek-speak) like RingCentral.  You can read these companies’ impression of RingCentral’s service (and of other Virtual PBX vendors) here.

Their fast adherence is no surprise, as Virtual PBXs’ cost/benefit ratio (from $9.95/mo for virtually everything you need in a phone system) mirrors that of other services those Internet companies likely also purchase. Think: Read the rest of this entry »

By J.B. Malik, Editor-In-Chief

Maybe you’re not ready for a small business phone system. Here’s something else for you, if you:

• Have a mobile phone; and
• Receive personal AND business calls directly to your mobile phone number.

It’s from CallWave and it’s called “VTXT”, or “Visual Voicemail”. Forget the fancy acronyms, I call it “awesome.” (It has a few quirks, but they don’t outweigh the usefulness of the service). Here’s how it works: Read the rest of this entry »

By J.B. Malik, Editor-in-Chief

How Does Virtual PBX Work for Your Business?
Long before there was Virtual PBX, a business employed a telephone operator to physically connect internal and external calls with cords. PBX came next, and it was a vast improvement. PBX meant that mechanical devices routed the huge telecommunications traffic flow of large businesses.

One problem with PBX was that businesses had to buy, maintain, and repair expensive telecommunications equipment. Not only that, but businesses had to allot precious office space for this equipment. NO MORE! Enter the Virtual PBX… Read the rest of this entry »

I have been a RingCentral customer for 1 year, and I have not experienced a single service problem (though my RingCentral number gets a few calls a day). Plus, I have connected instantly with a rep the few times I have chatted online w/ RingCentral. NOTE: I also use other similar services for other lines of business/personal use - GrandCentral (recently acquired by Google) and Callwave - and they’re free. I’ll get to reviews of them in the coming days.

To sign up for RingCentral’s FREE trial, click here.

By J.B. Malik, Editor-In-Chief

Thank you for visiting my site. As a small business owner, your choice of business phone systems, call forwarding, and other voice and data services are critical to your company’s growth. But too many vendors are bombarding you with too much technical jargon and a slew of features you’ll never use (and some are at prices none of us can afford). That’s why I created this blog to provide startup/small business owners with reviews of these services in “plain talk”. Enjoy my blog, and feel free to email me anytime with suggestions, ideas, etc.

By J.B. Malik, Editor-in-Chief

If you are just a basic user of voice solutions and phone systems, you don’t need this glossary. But if you’re interested in the workings of a Virtual PBX, and what the potential of Virtual PBXs is for larger organizations, our glossary will help you… Read the rest of this entry »

By J.B. Malik, Editor-In-Chief

We try to avoid using “Geek Speak” on our site, but if you must, you can look up commonly used Telecommunications terms here… Read the rest of this entry »