One of the challenges in running a growing business is dealing with the need to keep your customers and staff communicating effectively. If a time comes when one or two phone lines aren't enough then you're probably going to look at investing in some sort of PABX solution. That's the sort of gear that lets you take multiple inbound phone lines and manage them centrally. You may also arrange with your phone provider that inbound calls are automatically routed to your various lines.

The problem with such arrangements is that they are typically very expensive and require experts to set up and maintain. A straw poll of small business folks suggested that a figure of around $8000 wasn't unusual for a small set up. And, on top of that, there's need to call someone and pay more when there's configuration to change as well the Telco so that you can buy a bunch of inbound phone numbers. By the way, PABX stands for Private Automatic Branch Exchange. PBX is the same thing nowadays as the "Automatic" is a given.

The advent of Voice over IP (VoIP) has changed the way small businesses can access PABX services. Established VoIP player, MyNetFone, has created its own Virtual PABX service that takes advantage of the widespread availability of broadband, VoIP and some intuitive software that makes the job of setting up a PABX and then maintaining it far easier than the old way. By using standard Ethernet cabling for handsets it's possible to even complete the installation without having to call in a Telco to lay any cables. Most reasonably savvy users can have the whole thing set up within an hour although you can pay MyNetFone to do the set-up for you.
Before looking at what can and can't be done, it's worth starting with what a virtual PABX through MyNetFone would cost. Like most VoIP services, there's a monthly fee. The entry point is $60 per month. For that you get a 1300 number so customers can call you for the cost of a local call, 250 local and national calls with extras charged at a flat 10c each, mobile calls at 15c per minute with no flagfall, international calls from 19c per minute with no flagfall, SMS messaging at 15c per message, five inbound phone numbers and two phone lines.

The dearest package costs $450 per month and boosts that to 2500 free local and national calls, 50 inbound numbers and 30 phone lines. All billing is done electronically and can be viewed online at any time, even during the billing cycle, so you can track your usage between bills.

To use the service there are few things you'll need. For starters, a decent broadband connection is essential. Secondly, there are a few hardware items you'll need to purchase including VoIP handsets and an adaptor that will support faxing over IP. All up, the initial hardware cost starts at about $1100 but can rise depending on which
telephone handsets you purchase. There are many different handsets to choose from with different screens and call handling features. There's even a desktop conference phone.

From an operational point of view, MyNetFone's Virtual PABX delivers all the functions you'd expect from any commercial PABX solution. You can create call groups
and have numbers redirect within your network or to external numbers. This is handy if you're on the go and want to have an internal call redirect to a mobile number so that clients can keep in touch with you from a single phone number.

One of the best things about using a virtual rather than physical PBX is that having a business that operates more than one office doesn't require multiple PABXes. As the backend system resides on a server somewhere on the Internet, all that's needed for each office is an Internet connection. With that, you can have a single phone number and set of call groups that makes you multiple offices seem like one. Best of all, no matter where the second or subsequent offices are, all calls within the one virtual PABX are completely free of charge.

Another benefit of using a virtual PABX is that setting up new offices or moving to new premises is significantly simplified. As you're using VoIP when you move you won't need to change your phone numbers. If you've got a special project in progress that requires you to set up a second, temporary office, you can add users and lines without anything more than the new office having an Internet connection.

If you miss a call you can have voicemail messages redirected to your email where you'll receive a WAV file. The big plus of this approach is that with more business people having mobile access to their email, there's reduced lag time between when messages are left and when you get them. It also makes it easy to retain a record of all calls and messages.

Should all the inbound numbers be busy, calls can also be placed in a hold queue. You can record a message to play to those folks while they're on hold or you can use some music. There are also interactive menus so that callers can, by using the keypad on their phone, be directed to the right person within your business. Often, these are add-on features that add to the cost of a physical PABX.

Interestingly, we can see a place for virtual PABXes in the home as well as office. In a busy household, the ability to make and receive more than one call at a time seems particularly attractive. If you've got family and friends interstate and overseas then the call rates are certainly very attractive. Having 250 free calls within Australia each month for $60 would cover the needs of many families nicely and potentially save them a few dollars along the way.

One area where there may be arguments between the real versus virtual PABX crowds is call quality. In reality, there are several points at which call quality can be compromised. However, by using QoS (Quality of Service — look it up) and having a fast ADSL or cable connection it's hard to tell the difference between a VoIP call and one made through an old fashioned PBX and exchange.

When the time comes for a growing business to need a PABX, it's usually at the point when it realises that current arrangements are no longer suitable. At that moment, the business will need to come up with a few thousand dollars if it's to go with a traditional PBX service. However, the MyNetFone Virtual PBX gives a different option with a low cost of entry and plenty of room to grow.

Belts and Braces

Since most users of this sort of service will be getting their ADSL via a phone line it's probably a good idea to have a fixed phone on that line too. That way if the ADSL is down at least you have one phone that works. This can be essential for making emergency calls. However, nowadays most people have a mobile phone so you may consider this unnecessary.