Internet… what an amazing thing…
Isn’t this amazing? We live in interesting times, like the old Chinese saying goes (I hear it’s a made up story this one but who cares?). We have this amazing thing called the Internet and we can use it to make our lives better, richer and easier. One perfect example is VoIP – Voice over Internet Protocol which is one heck of a technology if you think about it (and if you know how it works…). What most people know about it is that it enables us to make calls over the Internet, from our computer or even from a normal telephone.
Stay connected, when away
What many people don’t know is that – especially for a business – it allows us to operate as if we are in the office, even when we are on holiday, overseas, on top of a mountain or in a sea resort… provided we have an Internet connection, obviously. Not that I recommend doing work when on holidays but the sad reality is most of the time (especially if you are a small business operator or an executive, your office activity is pretty much… 24/7.
I, for instance, have a direct number for my close friends and partners so if someone wants to contact me as a matter of urgency, they can call it and reach me most of the time, unless I decide to divert all my phone calls to voicemail so I can have some time off… for real!
So, how does that work?
We use a darn smart solution called a cloud-based VoIP PBX (Private Branch Exchange) and all our desk phones are connected to it, through a device called Session Border Controller (SBC) – in the office. However, that wouldn’t help me if I was overseas, wouldn’t it? Well, here’s the thing: the VoIP PBX comes with its own apps that can be installed on a variety of devices, such as PCs, laptops, smartphones and tablets. The software looks and acts like a phone, making the device into your VoIP telephone device away from the office.
Which means, when I am away from the office, my smartphone is still connected to the phone system and it rings, when my desk phone (from the office) rings. It gives me full information who’s calling (all our contacts are loaded into the phone system with full details) and gives me full access to all the features the system has – make and receive calls, start an audio or video conference, check who in my team is available, etc. (the list is pretty long…)
There you go. Get yourself one of these smart systems and be more efficient in your work (and make everyone in your team more efficient…)