Network-based telephone systems are rapidly replacing older analogue systems, and may offer compelling value for your business. Digital telephony supports many advanced features, such as centralised call management, email integration, and the ability to move handsets between physical locations without rewiring or complex reconfiguration.

What is VoIP?

Simply put, it is taking your voice communications and transforming them into data that can then be transmitted on your network or on the Internet.

How can this help your company?

This technology can be used to connect your offices across the country into one dial plan, using data circuits you may have for other purposes. It can provide a way for the company to have home office workers who are part of the phone system – so that calls can be transferred to and from them just like they were in the office. More advanced applications can be incorporated into your phone system at a lower cost than other technologies. Features such as call recording, voicemail to email, network faxing, and call center are easier to deploy when the system is already aware of your network. Any most typically, the administration of these systems is much easier than other systems due to the fact that many use a web browser or a Windows program to do the heavy lifting. The administrator needs to know less about how the system works to make it do what they need done. VoIP adds complication to the way that your calls are transmitted around your organization. Where the voice system was once a separate island with easy to identify issues – it is now integrated into your data network. That means that your network, computers, and phones are all using the same technologies.

Micro Division recommends the Grandstream or Yealink Communications Server(s), a telephony server based on the award-winning Asterisk platform. Because Asterisk is free, the only purchasing costs will be for hardware, such as the handsets. Important features such as voicemail and music on hold, which are often optional extras with competing systems, are also included with teh telephony server free of charge. Asterisk supports Internet-based Voice over IP (VOIP) if desired, or can use traditional Fiber / ISDN / ADSL / WiFi phone lines in a manner similar to competing digital solutions.

If your business chooses our Linux Server when deploying a server, Asterisk can be installed on your new server and will seamlessly integrate with the Micro-D Linux Server’s administration system. Alternatively, Asterisk can be installed on a standalone server which, depending on the configuration required, may cost very little to set up due to its low hardware requirements.

Micro Division can help you to evaluate your telephony requirements and then implement a solution based on Asterisk that will help your office to maximise features and flexibility while avoiding many of the costs of competing digital telephony systems. We can advise you regarding the hardware required and the benefits and risks of various configuration options. Once you have decided on a solution, we can configure Asterisk and your handsets, and integrate your existing email system if required.