The Indispensable Features Your Business Phone Must Possess Blackberry may no longer monopolise the businessman's preference, but the world of technology still requires you to be equipped with essentials

Remember those days when the person in a suit unsheathing a Blackberry was taken with utmost sincerity? The reason was simple. Blackberries meant business. And business, as you know, operates on a different level. Naturally, it is only fair that the tools of the trade be exclusive or, at least, different from the routine user's equipment. Blackberries may no longer monopolise the businessman's preference, but the world of technology still requires you to be equipped with essentials. So whether you consider landlines or cellular phones make sure it offers more than what the average consumer needs.

1) An Automated Phone Attendant

How are you supposed to make money if you're on the phone all day, right? But communication isn't something that you, in your right mind, should dismiss. Instead, you want the phone calls to be taken without compromising your duties. Here's where the automated phone attendant comes into play. Even if it's the off-hours, phone attendants can be customised for your varying needs. With touch-tone options, you can redirect callers to other people or extensions, or play different messages. Touch-tone options make directions and information easy as well -- this little feature is your own stand-in receptionist.

2) "Find Me, Follow Me"

Simply put, the "The Find Me, Follow Me" version is an automated phone attendant on steroids. Multiple phones and app synchronisation let you access data from all your devices, right? Think of this in terms of phone calls. You can have it ring all your devices at the same time for better accessibility, or you can choose specific patterns. For example, you can have your personal phone take a call only when your office line, co-worker, and your receptionist don't answer. If investments are your trade, with "Find Me, Follow Me", you'll never miss a call.

3) Migrating to the Cloud

By now, we know that the phone system is a big deal. The more you rely on something, the more precarious an element it becomes. After all, you have IT security specialists working on your phone system infrastructure and constantly keeping the in-house system secure. But what if your business is still in its budding years? The answer's simple: migrate to cloud. Contrary to popular belief, your in-house system is only better than cloud-based systems if you have the resources to manage it. Otherwise, it'll only be economical to rely on the security experts of the Cloud-based services. Is your phone up to it?

4) Read to Save Time

Let's face it. According to a Marketing company, voicemails are unavoidable. As unlikely as it may be for people of business to find themselves available for every phone call, the inevitable pile of voicemails has to be addressed. Here's the thing - as absurd as it may sound, listening to people is more time-consuming than reading their messages. And while this may make a minor difference for one single phone call, it makes a substantial difference when you take into account the infinite array of voice mails. The solution? Voicemail transcription - a feature that brings transcribed messages along with the originals to the inboxes of users.

5) Integration with Computers

Digitalization of voice calls has played a pivotal role in making things convenient. If your phone allows you to establish integration with computers, managing calls will be a lot easier. The heads up display, as employed by Fonality phone systems, helps you access numerous phone lines in real time. While the 'Monitor' feature lets you listen to a conversation without being detected by any of the parties, 'Whisper' lets you talk to the internal party while protecting your identity from other people. 'Barge' can be used to intervene when it is needed and 'Record' gets you audio files for future reference.

6) Managing Systems

While operation is your top priority, it is closely followed by management. But first, let's debunk a myth: it is not as complicated as it used to be. A user-friendly web browser interface allows you to configure your phone systems as you find fit. Whether you want to view past call statistics or manage active calls, management through web browsers has never been this easy. This accomplishes multiple purposes in that it bridges the gap between technology and the technologically handicapped - not to forget that it has made management an everyday thing. Rearranging extensions and reorganising call-flow processes are executable without much effort.

Whether it's a small business or a substantial one, a sales trade or an investment firm, a business can be quite the problem without the technological necessities. Without the ideal phone system, your business would be little more than an isolation room with no money to come in or go out. So before you go out for that phone, make sure it saves your time and helps you with your money.