by Peter Spackman
In the late 19th century Alexander Graham Bell first transmitted speech electrically with an order to his assistant Thomas Watson. Since then, the telephone (or the telephone system) has revolutionised the way we live, interact socially and do business, but its ultimate potential was less than apparent back in the 19th century society.
This technology developed over time into the Telephone system. In the early days of the old-fashioned switchboard operator, a phone system was a ground-breaking business tool, with the physical patching of phone extensions in order to handle calls, providing very basic telephone system functionality. These early office phone systems were referred to as PBX (Private Branch Exchange) systems and were in the form of one operator with analogue Single Line Telephone’s (SLT’s).
Electronic Key Telephone Systems were subsequently developed which provided more features for users to handle incoming call traffic by the ability to select lines via LED keys on the telephone. Hybrid Telephone systems were developed shortly after, which offer the facility to connect both analogue and electronic phones.
As technology improved and user demands increased, phone system extensions became more functional. With the advent to digital lines (ISDN technology) in the early 1990’s DDI (direct dialing in) changed the way systems operate because incoming calls could be efficiently handled by other departments / individuals as opposed to purely via reception, which had considerable benefits in terms of operational efficiency. This led to the advent of the Digital Business Telephone System, which gave more functionality to the extension users and combined with voicemail to allow staff to become their own phone managers.
Now in today’s converged communications environment, a telephone system per se will involve new terminology revolving around Internet Protocol (IP), Voice over IP (VoIP) and IP Telephony Systems. The first variant which became available is the IP-enabled office phone system, which is effectively a digital telephone system, with an IP connection attached.
Voice Over Internet Protocol is a means for handling your phone calls over internet network connections instead of a traditional phone line. Business operations of all sizes are moving to the new technology because it saves money, is easier to operate, support and upgrade.
IP Telephony is part of a complete Unified Communications network which uses the same infrastructure for voice, video and data. Effectively, one cable can facilitate versatile connections for your phones and your network. Additions, moves and changes can be done with simplicity and usually in a matter of minutes.
Whereas traditional phone calls work by allocating an entire phone line to each call, with VoIP voice data is compressed and transmitted over a computer network. This means VoIP uses substantially less bandwidth than a traditional telephone call and is consequently more cost effective. There are several other benefits to using VoIP technology:
Simplified infrastructure. Because VoIP systems work on your Network there is no need for separate cabling.
Scalability. Traditional analogue phone systems may need to be scrapped periodically as a company increases in size or restructures internally. This is not the case with VoIP systems.
Reduce operating costs. Because a VoIP exchange is based on software rather than hardware, it is easier to alter and maintain. Improve productivity. VoIP treats voice as if it were any other kind of data, so users can attach documents to voice messages or participate in virtual meetings using shared data and videoconferencing.Flexibility. If your company has its own VPN and combines it with VoIP, you can set up a fully functioning office anywhere there is a broadband connection.
About the Author
Peter Spackman has worked in the Business Telecommunications industry for over 20 years. His expertise has enabled him to become an independent Telecoms Consultant, advising companies of all sizes how to boost productivity and save money using the latest Business Communications Systems.
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