Small Telephone Systems Verses Multi-line Business Phones

Choosing the right telephone system from start is always the best path, but not always the most economical. Before you head down to your local electronic store and pick up the cheapest multi-line business phone you can find, here are few pointers you should keep in mind.

Many multi-line business phones have a pretty decent feature set such as voicemail, caller ID, call waiting ID, 3 way calling and intercom (in multi phone setups). These phones integrate the Key System Unit (or KSU) into the phone itself, which means each individual telephone functions as its own “mini phone system.” The term KSU, (Key System Unit, Key Signaling Unit or Key Service Unit) dates back to the early day’s phone systems, it’s basically “the Brain” of the phone system. All call processing data and telephone line interfacing is carried out by the KSU. For many small offices with less than 4 phones (extensions) and 4 telephone lines, these multi-line phones are adequate and economical. However, as a business grows, the many disadvantages of these phones begin to show their merits.

By comparison, multi-line business phones are sold with the marketing term, “KSU-less design,” which translates (in buyers minds) to lower overall costs. Small telephone systems on the other hand include a separate KSU unit or “Brain” in addition to each telephone. A major disadvantage comes to play when you are interfacing your phones with the telephone company lines. The KSU acts as the “line interface,” for a phone system, all major system connections terminate at the KSU. Now with each multi-line phone acting as its own “mini phone system,” each phone now needs direct connections to each telephone line.

A single telephone line consists of 1 pair of wires. Almost all multi-line phones support up to 4 lines, meaning each multi-line phone needs up to 4 pairs of wires or the equivalent of a standard Cat5e cable. As you begin to add more KSU-less phones to your office you must factor in the cost to install another drop of cat5e (or cat5) cable. You must also account for the additional termination blocks in your telephone closet where all these phones must be “Bridged” (or shared) to the 4 phone lines. As you can imagine, for installations with more than say 4 or 5 phones the wiring aspect can get pretty complex. Anything over 6 or 7 phones will be a wiring mess, if done unprofessionally, which adds to the cost of these low budget systems. However, this bridged connection is how multi-line phones “intercom” one another. By sending a signal over each bridged line, each extension can communicate without actually tying up any of the 4 phone lines. As long as every multi-line phone is connected to all 4 lines (or matching number of lines if less than 4), each phone can intercom each other internally while keeping the phone lines free for external calls.

Small Telephones Systems on the other hand, which come equipped with a separate, dedicated KSU unit, are at a distinct advantage in both areas. Having a single KSU unit means a single interface point for the telephone line connections. Many small telephone systems need only a single pair of wire to connect each extension telephone. What this means is if you are deploying a number of phones in one particular area, you can save dramatically on cabling costs by having your contractor “split” the single Cat5e cable into, at most, 4 single telephone jacks! – This becomes very cost effective as you deploy additional phones. (However, many pros will only split single Cat5 cable once for 2 telephone jacks leaving the remaining wires as spare pairs). Cable management becomes much easier (and neater) as you need not worry about bridging 10 phones to 4 telephone lines. One single pair of wires (to connect to a telephone) of the 3 or 4 pairs in a standard telephone cable is enough for as many lines as the small telephone system can handle since the actual line connections are at the dedicated KSU unit and not at the individual telephone.

Another plus for the small telephone system is the ease of transitioning to a larger phone system. The wiring scheme for the most part will remain the same albeit installing more cable drops to new areas. Not so much the same for the multi-line business phones. Depending on how each phone was “bridged” to interface to those 4 telephone lines, this entire wiring scheme may need to be undone as most small (and large) telephone systems require individual (not bridged or shared) connections to the KSU.

Programming wise there is one disadvantage when comparing small business telephone systems to multi-line business phones, which can be viewed as multiple disadvantages. Since each individual telephone functions as its own KSU it also functions as its own Voicemail unit (if equipped). Which means if you want to enable an Auto Attendant feature (where your callers are greeted by a company recording instructing them to press 1 for Joe Boss, 2 for Sales Manager etc…) you will have to record this greeting for as many times as you have voicemail enabled phones (up to 4). Here’s why, with most multi-line business phones, the voicemail feature includes a personal voicemail box for the extension and an optional auto attendant feature. The auto attendant feature can only handle one call at a time; ergo if you want the system to answer up to 4 incoming calls simultaneously you need at least 4 auto attendant enabled phones. So technically speaking you must record the same auto attendant greeting 4 times, 1 on each phone. You must also enable the system mailbox for each of the 4 phones to accept general messages. You now have 4 different phones/voicemail boxes in your office where you must check for general messages. This is known as a general mailbox, which is a default destination for callers who do not press a menu option or dial an extension. This scenario is not efficient for larger setups but may work for smaller ones.

With a small business telephone system, there is just one central voicemail unit which can handle multiple calls at once. Storage times are much greater and there is just one mailbox for general messages. You can also take advantage of advanced features (if equipped) such as voicemail to email (where the system sends the voicemail in a standard wav format to your email address), which in this fast paced world can be a BIG time saver and added convenience.

One last point on this topic to cover quickly; with the advent of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) continually proving its cost effective existence, many businesses find themselves wanting to take advantage of these savings. Many small business telephone systems on the market today are equipped to handle VoIP telephone lines through either a simple hardware or software upgrade. An upgrade may include adding an Ethernet (or media) port to the system or if already equipped, simply enabling this port through software activation. Simply plugging this unit into your company LAN and perhaps minor firewall configuration you can now start saving on land line costs by calling out over less expensive VoIP lines.

Multi-line business telephone can benefit as well but through a 3rd party VoIP gateway. This gateway converts a VoIP line (sometimes called a “Trunk”) to a standard telephone port. You will need as many gateways as you want lines, (or opt for a multi-port unit). However you may have to plan on spending some time configuring and adjusting the settings of the unit to obtain the proper volume levels while minimizing echo and other artifacts that may be induced when converting the signal from a standard Analog telephone line to SIP or other VoIP protocol. Many high end units come with built in (hardware or software) echo cancellers and noise suppressors which minimize these adjustments (and work very well) but increase the cost of the gateway dramatically.

To conclude, although it may seem like great savings early in your start up phase, for needs of 4 or less external lines and extension phones, the multi-line business phone can actually prove to be a cost effective solution. In my humble opinion these multi-line phones are better suited for a home office (or SOHO) situation. If you have big plans to expand exponentially (and don’t we all!) I recommend you at least consider a small business telephone system. Although a bit more initial investment is required, the benefits far out way the cost disadvantage if not cancel it out completely.

Copyright © 2009 Damian Parkins for PBX Interactive, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

If you’re looking for a great small telephone system to start out with that’s not too advanced and bloated with “bells and whistles,” I recommend the XBlue Networks X16 small office telephone system. This system is priced right smack in the middle of a decent multi-line business phone setup and an advanced small business telephone system. XBlue Networks hit the nail on the head with this model by stripping off only the advanced telephone features most small business may not have a need for, or are rarely used; allowing the X16 small office phone system to fill a niche in the market left primarily untouched. This compact, stylish phone system offers some nice designer phones to choose from (for those wishing to be unique) and a great feature set.

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Should I Replace My Telephone Systems?

A telephone system is a major expense for any business but it is necessary for handling incoming and outgoing calls efficiently. There are a large number of telephone systems to choose from. They all have a set of features that are very similar. These features are upgraded and improved over time but the original features usually remain. I am referring to things like WATS lines or least cost routing. These features were required when telephone service was based on distance and time on a call. Features such as hold, Park, conference, transfer, intercom, and messaging are essential to any phone system. Most of us are familiar with these features and are used to using them on any system.

One holdover, of old phone systems, that I have found in my travels, are the large number of copper lines coming into the systems that have never been reviewed. Many times there are lines and numbers that nobody knew existed, but still appeared on the telephone bill. Usually these bills are so complex that it is difficult to find these extra lines. This brings me to a major difference in the new telephone systems. Most of the new systems are IP-based with the ability to plug copper lines into them. What this means is that the majority of the phone lines that come into the system are Internet-based and don’t require a pair of copper wires. It is possible to increase or decrease the number of line appearances that are available simply by logging into a website. It is only necessary to have one phone number for customers to call into. The only reason for additional numbers is to direct calls to a particular individual. This is accomplished with direct inward dial or DID numbers, which are simply program numbers and are not associated with any particular pair of wires.

When we evaluate the viability of the company replacing the telephone system, one major consideration is what they’re currently paying on the telephone bill. Many times the savings can more than pay for the new system. I usually recommend that they keep one or two copper lines and supply the rest of their phone service via the Internet. This makes it much easier for them to control their costs and adjust their lines depending on the business. Even though today’s business Internet service is almost as reliable as copper telephone lines, this will guarantee that they still have telephone service in the event that their Internet service is down. Adding VoIP telephone service simply involves going to a website, signing up, and entering a username and password into the phone system programming. It is possible to increase incoming capacity temporarily to handle an advertising campaign.

Some of these VoIP providers have a per line monthly charge of $8-$25. With this you get a certain number of minutes of call from 500 to unlimited. Other providers have no monthly charge and simply bill by the minute. Which service you use depends on the types of calls you make. One of the big advantages is that we are no longer tied to two or three providers. There are literally hundreds of telephone VoIP providers on the Internet. Considering that you can port any telephone number to any provider, it makes it very easy to switch providers when your needs change. If you are running a special or an advertising campaign, it is easy to add additional channels for incoming calls. It is just as easy to eliminate those channels once the campaign is over.

Another major advantage of the IP telephone systems over the traditional telephone systems is the way they are set up and connected. The traditional systems have a wire running from each telephone back to the central unit and closet. There are a number of punch down blocks and many wires in a rats nest. Moving an extension usually involves either reprogramming the telephone system or swapping the wires. Adding additional telephones usually involves adding new cards to the system and additional wires, as does any new incoming lines. An IP telephone system simply plugs into the router and the two backup copper lines. All of the telephones can plug in anywhere there is a network jack. If you move to another office, simply take your phone with you and plug it into the network jack in that office. In fact, if you take the telephone home, you can plug it into the network jack at home and it appears as if you are still in your office. This is a tremendous advantage in the event of a snowstorm or if you are not feeling well.

To carry this concept one step further, if you are a small business and you would like to have people in different locations working for you, it is possible to place telephones in each of these locations and have it appear, to customers, that everyone is in the same office. If you have more than one office with multiple people in each office is also very easy to put a system in each office location and simply program them to talk to each other. Unlike in the past, requiring you to have a pair of wires that you paid by the mile, you can be in any part of the world with an Internet connection and have the same access to all employees as if there were in one location, with no additional monthly charges. You can call an employee in another part of the world by dialing their extension as if they were in the next cubicle. I have even seen companies with important customers in another country simply ship them a telephone and tell them they can talk to their sales representative for free anytime they like.

I think it would be advantageous for anyone who has had their telephone system for more than a few years to take the time to investigate the cost of replacement and the many advantages of the new systems. Not only will the savings in telephone service end up paying for the telephone system, but the many additional advantages will make your business more

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