The Herald Business Journal


YOUR COUNTY.	YOUR BUSINESS JOURNAL.

Published December 2001

Keep system selection easy: stick to needs

By Kimberly Hilden
Herald Business Journal Assistant Editor

Automated attendants, digital service, wireless solutions — telecommunications jargon may leave your head aching and your eyes glazed, but the technology behind the terminology can benefit small businesses, industry experts say.

Take wireless phones, for instance, said Stephanie Broome, Systems Consultant with Stargate Technologies Inc., an Everett-based company that sells and leases Avaya products and also services a number of telecommunications systems.

“Wireless is great for saving time and increasing productivity,” Broome said, noting that in a small-business environment, where the receptionist might be called on to run errands or leave the desk to file documents, the wireless phone keeps that person accessible to clients and co-workers.

Then there’s voice mail, which “every small-business owner should consider,” she said, “simply because it is cost and time efficient.”

But what about setting up interoffice calling? And do you need DSL for Internet use, or should you choose a T1 line?

That depends, Broome said. Each telecommunications system is an individual system that depends on the needs and desires of the business owner.

“You have to get to know (the customer) in order to offer solutions and suggestions,” she said.

Lanny Gray, Regional Sales Manager for Advanced TelCom Group Inc., agrees. “What we’ll do is conduct a discovery interview, basically finding out what they need and what they have now,” said Gray, whose company provides local and long-distance telephone service and high-speed Internet options. “Are they looking to upgrade? Consolidate?”

Once the questions have been answered, then come the solutions.

For small businesses that use the Internet mainly for e-mail or small file transfers, DSL may be the way to go, Gray said. For businesses hosting their own Web, e-mail or FTP servers, or those that often make large file transfers, a T1 service, such as ATG’s TFire Internet service is ideal.

As for phone service, many telecom providers offer a range of business solutions, from a basic business-line package to consolidation of voice and data solutions through T1 lines.

ATG, for instance, can customize a package using a T1 line that enables a customer to choose anywhere from six to 18 lines of telephone service, with the rest of that T1 facility used for the Internet, Gray said, adding that the package costs roughly the same as it would to purchase phone service and DSL.

Plus, “we can serve customers with this product that are unable to get DSL because of geographic limitations,” he said.

Afraid of making a major financial commitment on a telecommunications network? A number of providers offer a service, such as Centrex, in which they house the system for you, so that you don’t have to buy the network equipment, Gray said.

Or, there’s always leasing.

“Leasing is an excellent option for phone equipment and network equipment. Then you aren’t locked into something,” said Broome, adding that “90 percent” of the work she does involves leased equipment.

Related: Signing up for DSL is worth it

Related: Telecom briefs

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