Which Phone System should you use? 3 Best Options

In Singapore, according to 2016 statiscs, 99% of businesses are small to medium businesses (SMEs), where spending hundreds of thousands on any kind of system is not likely an option. When it comes to choosing a phone system, many companies do not know exactly which is the most suitable system they need, there are just too many factors to consider. Which brand? Hosted or on-premise? Open-source? Customization? Integration? Expandability? Stability? Standard hardware or proprietory hardware? The list goes on much longer.

We will look at 3 most popular phone systems available here in Singapore, by going through the pros and cons of each, to help you choose the right system.

Asterisk

First let's look at the open-source system, Asterisk. So, what is Asterisk?

Asterisk is an open source framework for building communications applications. Asterisk turns an ordinary computer into a communications server. Asterisk powers IP PBX systems, VoIP gateways, conference servers and other custom solutions. It is used by small businesses, large businesses, call centers, carriers and government agencies, worldwide. Asterisk is free and open source. Asterisk is sponsored by Digium.

Today, there are more than one million Asterisk-based communications systems in use, in more than 170 countries. Asterisk is used by almost the entire Fortune 1000 list of customers. Most often deployed by system integrators and developers, Asterisk can become the basis for a complete business phone system, or used to enhance or extend an existing system, or to bridge a gap between systems.

Pros: Highly customizable, able to integrate with all kinds of applications and systems. Support multiple languages such as PHP, Java and Python, makes Asterisk a highly agile and powerful system. And it is open-source, which means no license fee for system or end-points, many community developed application available, including easy to use GUIs like FreePBX.

Cons: Requires basic Linux skills and programming skills to setup and manage.

Cisco

Well, for those with a budget constrain, you can stop reading here, Asterisk is definitely the right one for you. For those with more budgets, let's continue to have a look at Cisco. Cisco Unified Communication Manager, the Center of Cisco Collaboration Services. As the core of Cisco Collaboration services, Cisco Unified Communications Manager facilitates session and callcontrol for video, voice, messaging, mobility, and presence. This platform is an industry leader in enterprise call and session management.

Pros: Highly stable enterprise grade hardware and software. Unified communication with built-in presence, voice and vidoe capabilities. International brand.

Cons: Expensive, difficult to configure, vendor locking.

Avaya

Avaya is famous for Contact Center phone systems, however last year Avaya almost went bankrupt, and many businesses felt uncertain about whether their existing system will have long term support. Now it has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and may be even stronger than before.

Pros: Robust and reliable platform. One of the worlds best call centre applications. Administrator software and self programming is fairly easy. Basic CTI comes free.

Cons: $$$$$, vendor locking.

Why OCO InfoComm

OCO is a professional Asterisk IP PBX Phone system and Call Center solution provider in Singapore, we are also authorised distributor of NiceUC and SinoVoIP. OCO has extensive experience in building Call Center solutions for large MNCs, social enterprises, and government agencies. We have customers not only in Singapore, but also in China, Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. We provide fully customized programming services as well, so our customers can integrate their phone system with internal applications or databases such as CRM, BI, Website, etc..

Contact us now for a non-obligated quotation, email to info@oco.com.sg or call us at 68049700 to find out more.