Whether you call it a hosted phone system, virtual phone system, or cloud-based telephony, getting rid of that “thing on the wall” in the phone closet may be just what the doctor ordered if you are a small business.  Not only will you get all the benefits of a modern day phone system, but you will have removed another technology asset from the balance sheet and turned an essential business function into a true operating expense.

So how did we get here? Here’s a short history of the business telephone system that won’t make your eyes glaze over.  When Ma Bell first offered telephone service to businesses, every person in your office received a physical phone and a 7-digit number. All calls were routed through a central office in town that was connected to many other central offices all over the state and eventually the country.  This was called a Centrex system and offered many of the features of a PBX (Private Branch Exchange, or phone system) system that you would buy for your office. It was essentially renting a piece of a giant phone system located in the center of town.

In this episode, Dave tackles hosted phone systems, how they work, and how they are different from the telecom setup you most likely have today. He explains what a hosted phone system can do for your small business in terms even the uninitiated can understand and helps you make an informed judgment as to whether they are a good fit for you. In 10 minutes, learn enough to be dangerous about a technology that has been radically changing telecom and how it can be put to use for your small business. Enjoy. 

In this multi part article, we looked at several smartphones and mobile carriers, and tried to extract the best overall values for small businesses. We rated the phones according to several business criteria, including business productivity (email, calendar and contacts), applications, mobile network, cost, and fun factor.

Overall

We rated the Apple iPhone 3GS from AT&T, the Motorola DROID from Google and Verizon and the BlackBerry Storm2 from RIM and Verizon.

The iPhone 3GS is a winner in terms of business functionality, applications and fun factor, while lacking in mobile service and cost. Overall we scored it 21 out of a possible 25.

In this multi part article, we look at several smartphones and mobile carriers, and try to extract the best overall values for small businesses. We rate the phones according to several business criteria, including business productivity (email, calendar and contacts), applications, mobile network, cost, and fun factor.

Next up, the BlackBerry Storm2 from RIM and Verizon.

There are several BlackBerry models from several carriers we could have reviewed. In the end, we decided to review the Storm2 from Verizon, because it has a full screen like the other smartphones in this review.

In this multi part article, we look at several smartphones and mobile carriers, and try to extract the best overall values for small businesses. We rate the phones according to several business criteria, including business productivity (email, calendar and contacts), applications, mobile network, cost, and fun factor.

Next up, the DROID from Motorola, Google and Verizon.

The Motorola DROID runs Google’s Android OS – a relatively new OS designed for mobile computing. Because of this, it aims to be more flexible than the mobile platforms from Apple and Microsoft, and one of DROID’s main marketing strategies was to tell the end user all the things that DROID does that the iPhone 3GS presumably can not do. Lets dig in.

In this multi part article, we look at several smartphones and mobile carriers, and try to extract the best overall values for small business owners and users. We rate the phones according to several business criteria – including business productivity (email, calendar and contacts), applications, mobile network, cost, and fun factor.

First up, the popular iPhone 3GS from Apple and AT&T.

The iPhone 3GS quickly and seamlessly connects via push mail to your Microsoft Exchange server or Google Apps mail and calendar. This is one of the easiest set ups we have worked with, and your items will sync and you will be sending and receiving email literally within minutes of getting the phone out of the box. 5/5.