Need some info for setting up a multi-station phone system for office.

[gamefreakgcb]

Hey all. Long time no see here. I'm looking around for some info on multi-station phone systems for an office. I just want some pointers on where I should look for the info. I need about 5 phones right now, and I have Time Warner Business class internet and phone service. They can add additional lines for $28 a month and the business call group service for $4 per month. I was wondering if it would work out cheaper by just getting 2 or 3 lines and getting a multi-line/station phone. The main thing I want to do is to advertise only one number and have an auto-attendant transfer them to their intended recipients. Also need the ability to play hold music/announcements and to have a separate voicemail for each person. Outgoing is not really a big deal as they'll probably use their phones, but it would be nice if they could call out and have only one number show up (to keep the one number for public). That's about all I can think of right now. Thanks.

 

[gamefreakgcb]

Nada?

 

[Red Squirrel]

Here's a few to check out:

Asterisk - Free/open source - voip
Cisco Call manager - not free - voip
Meridian - traditional PBX system
Centrex - not really a PBX, but from a user perspective it would be similar, phone company needs to be running a DMS phone switch I think.

personally I'd go with Asterisk because it's voip and it's free but businesses tend to always go for what's the most expensive because it's better. (management thinking).

 

[gamefreakgcb]

If I've never dabbled in Linux? Not afraid to start but I want to save money.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I never played with Asterisk myself so I really don't know how involved it is, but it's a fairly big standard in open source voip phone systems. There should be plenty of online documentation available.

I have been wanting to play around with it though.

 

[The Stigenator]

We use nextiva for our VoIP connection. 4 lines with everything's is about 125/mo
Look into them. It is pretty good. Support sucks a bit though.

 

[alkemyst]

Instead of call manager, look at call manager express instead.

Really with only 5 stations, a conventional setup would be just as good. You'd need something to handle MOH, but getting voice mail and the like is easy (although it would not be centrally managed).

What's the budget?

 

[gamefreakgcb]

I'll probably look at Asterisk in the near future. Because this year we (2 of us) are taking on the project of creating a database/information management/record keeping system for our financial department and students records.

We're a small faith based school and there are only 2 of us who are computer savvy. Until now everything was manual/by hand and we've been trying slowly over the past two years to bring in computers to do a lot of the tedious record keeping and repetitive work.

We have offices in 2 locations and another feature that came to mind (after checking out Digium SwithcVox) was the ability to transfer calls to an off-site number or cell phones.

I want to keep the budget under $250 a month.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Seems like the quickest way to get something would be Centrex, it's managed by the phone company. Not sure how much it cost though. It's like having a PBX, except you don't actually have one, it's controlled by the phone switch at your phone company's CO. They may not have that specific service, if they're not using a DMS phone switch, but if you ask if they have a similar service they should be able to help.

Then on the side you can always mess around with Asterisk then go with a couple DID lines instead if it's cheaper.

 

[BoberFett]

How about a hosted VOIP system?

http://www.virtualpbx.com/plans-and-prices/

A small company doesn't want to deal with the hassle of managing a phone system. Focus on the business, not the administration. Let someone else do the work.

 

[alkemyst]

How about a hosted VOIP system?

http://www.virtualpbx.com/plans-and-prices/

A small company doesn't want to deal with the hassle of managing a phone system. Focus on the business, not the administration. Let someone else do the work.

QFT...at 5 users it's a no-brainer if full feature sets are needed.

 

[gamefreakgcb]

Wow, virtualpbx prices are very good. Looks like the one I'm signing up for. Thanks BoberFett.