Skype is now a viable VoIP solution for a small office. Here's why:
- Very low cost flat rate plans for unlimited national calling (~$3/month). Also great international rates and calling plans.
- Voice messaging. Also email notification that a new voice message has arrived.
- Remote retrieval of voice messages
- Call forwarding to up to 4 other phones simultaneously (in other words you can use Skype as a "universal number" follow me type service when you are away from the office)
- Supports call transfer between office numbers
- Management portal for office accounts
- Get phone numbers assigned easily (local, or from other cities)
- Good range of supported devices -- like my wireless headset!
If you have a good broadband connection, then you should find Skype to be sufficiently reliable. It's been a long time since Skype has had a major service issue. And in the last year, we haven't had any issues. That said, I would recommend keeping at least one "plain old telephone service" (POTS) line up and running in the event that something wierd happens.
To set up Skype at your office, follow these steps:
- Download Skype on each PC. (It's a safe program... they're owned by Ebay.)
- Set up a free Skype seperate account on each PC.
- Using the business owner's account, sign into the Skype website at https://secure.skype.com/account/main-page and set up a "Business Control Panel"
- Sign into the "Business Control Panel" at http://www.skype.com/business/ and follow the steps;
a) add members,
b) purchased credits (I recommend; needed for forwarding...),
c) allocated subscriptions, and
d) assign phone numbers.
We've been using Skype for the last year with no issues. Key benefits for our office have been:
- Easy to set up and use
- Low cost solution
- Easy for virtual / remote office
- IM feature is useful in the office
Oh, by the way, some of my other favorite communications apps for the office are:
- MyFax: instead of a dedicated phone line for the fax machine, we subscribe to "MyFax" for $10 per month for inbound faxes, and put the fax machine on one of our standard phone lines - for out-going faxes. That's cheaper and more useful that having a dedicated line. Plus, I can get my faxes when I am working from a virtual office, or traveling...
- PBworks: dead simple Wiki that I use as an "intranet" in our office (basic version is free)
- TokBox: for video conferencing with candidates (free app)
- Mozy: free easy online backup (up to 2GB is free)
Side note: Worth mentioning is that there are a couple of "Skype Extras" that can be added on to offer more capabilities. For example On-State Call Center - for those with call center needs.
