Picking out a new voice mail system for your company can be a little difficult so Telcom & Data Inc. has put together information that will enable you to easily configure a system based on your companies needs and budget.

There are 4 different types of systems on our web site. They are from Avaya/Lucent, Duvoice, and  Keyvoice.

The Avaya systems for Partner, Merlin Legend and Magix are integrated solutions that are manufactured specifically for those systems.

The systems reside inside the telephone system carrier cabinet and take up a slot in the system. These systems are typically less money and not as feature rich as the other systems available. They are straight forward systems with Auto Attendant, Spell By Name Directory, and off sight message notification. These systems are a good choice for companies that don’t require anything more.

The draw backs to these systems are they are integrated solutions and are proprietary to these telephone systems. If you want to purchase a new phone system in the future you will also need to purchase voice mail again as these systems are designed only to work with there intended system. Another draw back is there is now visual way to program and all programming is done through the telephone as opposed to a keyboard and monitor. Again if you are a small user these systems will work fine.

The second type of system is a PC based system that runs on a DOS program. PC based systems are the Duvoice Ensemble and the Key Voice Small Office systems. These systems are connected to open ports of the telephone system and do not require an open slot.

The DOS systems are more robust then the integrated types and offer more message storage space and are easily upgraded.These systems can also interface with most telephone system. Typical systems can range from 25 mailboxes to 10,000 mailboxes. These systems offer more features and are typically slightly more expensive.

The next type of voice mail system is PC based running Microsoft NT software. The NT based systems are feature rich and offers new ways of messaging. Because NT is a multi tasking software these systems can run more than service.

Duvoice (an AVAYA Business Partner) has an excellent system that works with a number of systems including AVAYA/Lucent, NEC, Nortel, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Mitel. Companies like these types of systems because the NT platform is familiar and easy to administer. The prices of these types of systems have really come down and it is possible to buy a 4 port NT system for as little as $ 5,000.00

Added benefit to NT based systems are that any new features and direction for voice mail manufactures all point to this open platform. New software developers are coming up with new applications for this type of platform.

The last type of system is the voice mail server. Voice mail servers are usually NT based systems that offer unified messaging and Fax capabilities. Voice mail servers connect to the company LAN and are to send voice mail messages and faxes to an e-mail address. This is excellent feature that helps improve communications for people that are out of the office. Voice mail messages can be played through a laptop or PC no phone is necessary. Faxes can also be sent directly to your e-mail box and be printed out or forwarded.

Voice mail servers from Duvoice and Keyvoice offer feature rich systems that can provide solutions for almost any application or business type.

How to configure a voice mail system to meet your needs. Voice mail systems are configured in 3 areas. The number of ports a system has determines the number of people that can be in voice mail simultaneously. A 4 port system would allow for 4 people to be in the system. i.e.: Auto Attendant is answering a call and 3 people are listening to messages. The number of voice mail ports should reflect the number of users and telephone lines a telephone system has. If the Auto Attendant is going to be the primary answering

Position then 1 voice mail port for every 3-4 phone lines is a good rule of thumb. Voice mail systems usually use 4 port voice boards. So an example is 20 line system would need 5 voice mail ports. A voice mail system configured to handle 5 ports would actually be configured as an 8 port system. Most systems are easily upgraded to allow for expansion.

The number of mailboxes is another factor in choosing your platform. Our systems can handle anything from 2 to 10,000 mailboxes. If you need 10 boxes an integrated solution would benefit you. If you are like one of our recent clients like Varco International that required 900 mailboxes with faxing capabilities a 24 port DV2000 from Duvoice could serve you well.

Telcom & Data has lots of experience installing and programming voice mail systems to compliment a company’s business model. If you require help or just have a question please call or e-mail us. We are happy to help. 800-335-0229 or helpme@telcom-data.com

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