Out of all the trending buzzwords in phone system technology, these are some of the most discussed among businesses. The buzz surrounding professional phone systems is, admittedly, not the most exciting buzz, but if you are a business, the following features and terms are good to be aware of.
Virtual Phone Number
Phone numbers are prevalent in all of our daily lives, and we have a good understanding of how they work. Virtual phone numbers, though basically no different from normal phone numbers, have only recently become commonly recognized.
A virtual phone number is simply a phone number that is not assigned to a specific phone or device but that you can register and own in the same way as a conventional one, as well as dial it to reach someone.
Further explanation of virtual phone numbers can be found in this post:
https://talkroute.com/is-a-virtual-phone-number-the-same-as-a-standard-number/
On-Premises Phone System
This is something that has been around for a long time but is now just called something different. A business phone system that utilizes an on-site network of hardware, in an office or other space, is considered an on-premises system. It normally refers to traditional office systems; however, it now describes a variety of on-site phone networks, including VoIP systems.
Cloud-Hosted PBX
OK, so we all know what the Cloud is; most of everything we use in our daily lives would not be possible without it. So what is a cloud-based phone system, then? As the term suggests, a “cloud-hosted PBX (Private Branch Exchange)” is a call management system that is run by a virtual phone service provider, instead of running on a traditional on-premises wired network.
Voicemail Transcription
What would have sounded like science fiction not too long ago is now a reality, albeit still somewhat unreliable, considering the level of accuracy which transcription needs to have.
Many phone service providers now offer this feature with their systems, and businesses are expecting it more and more. The only problem is that the technology still needs a significant leap before it can be completely relied upon to transcribe messages.
More on voicemail transcription:
https://talkroute.com/why-voicemail-transcription-may-not-be-reliable/
Digital Receptionist
A digital receptionist, commonly known as an auto-receptionist, auto attendant, or phone tree, does just what it sounds like—it receives your calls and routes them to the right person or department.
Like a robot sitting at the reception desk at your business, a digital receptionist can greet customers, provide information, and connect them with the person they need to reach.
Failovers & Redundancy
More well-known among call centers, a failover is a safeguard that protects a phone system from a total outage. Basically, it is the actual mechanism that activates one or more redundant networks that are always at the ready, in case an outage occurs in the primary phone network.
You don’t have to be a large-scale call center, however, to utilize a failover to protect your call management system. To see how any business can set up a reliable backup phone system, check out this bonus post:
https://talkroute.com/how-to-keep-your-office-phones-on-during-an-outage/
Stephanie
Stephanie is the Marketing Director at Talkroute and has been featured in Forbes, Inc, and Entrepreneur as a leading authority on business and telecommunications.
Stephanie is also the chief editor and contributing author for the Talkroute blog helping more than 100k entrepreneurs to start, run, and grow their businesses.