Asterisk: The Future of Your Phone Service

Overview

What is an Asterisk PBX? Asterisk is an open source / open standards hybrid phone system that uses standard computer hardware and software to unite all of your communications needs. “Open Source” means that the makers of the system have not hidden the secrets of its development and they actually encourage outside development. This open standard dramatically shortens the development cycle allowing the product to grow and enhance itself much faster than any proprietary system manufacturer, because the conventional PBX makers are restricted to their own resources; while this system uses the whole world as its resources. What does this mean to you? Asterisk is a system that is highly versatile, and is growing in features everyday. Besides that, since the manufacture didn’t pay for all their resources, but instead allowed free and open development, the product is offered to us at a much more affordable cost. So we can have things like Call Queuing, Call Monitoring, remote offices, voicemail to email forwarding… all the features of a $50,000 Enterprise PBX, for less than a fifth of the cost. Also since it is open, you can easily connect it to legacy technologies, such as analog, as well as all the new cutting edge emerging technologies. Since its open source, this also means you have no limit to customizations, like integration to your existing accounting or CRM system, custom automated phone billing systems, etc. If you don't have the resources to build these, there are developers world wide that use Asterisk. How can this help you? You can use VoIP to open the doors to your communications network. Connect to low cost VoIP phone service providers to get low cost calling world wide. Use VoIP to connect remote users over the internet back to your office as if they were a local extension without recurring toll charges. Put your communications closer to your finger tips by integrating it with your computer. Allow yourself to be more productive from anywhere by putting it on the web. Or use VoIP as a backup to your old fashioned analog technology, or vise-versa. Because VoIP has no boundaries, you can have local phone numbers in virtually any city on this planet. This PBX can even tell you the local weather, the possibilities are limitless. The best part is that you are in control of how connected or disconnected you are, ie restrict call forwarding to your cell to only daytime hours, or require a pin to forward to your cell. Some additional features not normally found in your typical PBX

• This PBX has its own complete CRM system, if you don’t already have one it’s a great tool for companies that deal with customers, large or small.

• Weather reports on your phone, local or nation wide, as complicated as you like.

• Wake up calls.

• Live call control on your PC, see and interact with calls within your office right on your computer screen. Initiate calls, join , record, transfer calls, see other agents status- all without even touching your phone.

• Nationwide 411 directory service.

• Unlimited extensions, mailboxes, phone numbers, ACD Queues - all without additional cost.

• Use your existing analog phones – most PBX systems require proprietary expensive phones.

• Change your call status over the internet from anywhere. ie call forwarding, out of office message etc.

Complete Overview of Technology and Capabilities Basic Component Features

• Call Detail Reporting (Filterable Reports exportable to Excel or Adobe PDF)

• Customer Relation Management (CRM) with Click to Dial and incoming call screen pops.

• Live Web Based Call Status and Call Control

• Windows Client suite for call control

• Open Standards Based (applications and hardware are not proprietary)

• Runs on a large variety of hardware platforms offered by several companies.

• Remote User support

• Web Based Call Management

• Web Based Conference Bridging

• Web Based Management and Configuration

• Web Based Voicemail

Technology/Interconnect Capabilities

• Analog Telephones (available anywhere)

• Analog Trunks (from phone company)

• Voice T1 Trunks

• Data T1 Trunks

• VoIP Trunks (Voice over internet providers have the best rates)

• VoIP Telephones (standards based Voice over IP telephones from several manufactur-ers)

Scalability

• Expansion Cards inside the phone system

ο 1, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 Port Station or Trunk Cards

ο 1, 2, 4, 8 Port Digital T1 Cards or Single DS3 (672 trunks on 1 circuit!) Cards.

• Analog Terminal Adaptors (plugs a standard analog device into any data network ie fax machine)

• Channel Banks (use built in T1 technology to offer 24 analog lines at a time to your office)

• Direct USB connected expansion in 8,16, or 32 ports.

• Network Connected Expansion (Use T1 technology over your network - up to 4T1) VoIP Expansion only limited by your network bandwidth (high quality call uses ~90kb)

Extensive Call Features

• ADSI On-Screen Menu System

• Alarm Receiver

• Append Message

• Authentication - touch tone and web base password authentication

• Automated Attendant (IVR)

• Blacklists - keep unwanted callers from calling you

• Blind Transfer

• Supervised Transfers

• Call Detail Records

• Call Forward on Busy

• Call Forward on No Answer

• Call Forward Variable

• Call Monitoring

• Call Parking

• Call Queuing (ACD)

• Call Recording

• Call Retrieval

• Call Routing (DID & ANI)

• Call Snooping

• Call Transfer

• Call Waiting

• Caller ID

• Caller ID Blocking

• Caller ID on Call Waiting

• Calling Cards (built in calling card management system)

• Conference Bridging + Web based Conference manager

• Database Store / Retrieve

• Database Integration

• Dial by Name

• Direct Inward System Access (dial into your system to make outbound calls)

• Distinctive Ring

• Do Not Disturb

• E911

• ENUM

• Fax Transmit and Receive (3rd Party OSS Package)

• Find Me/Follow Me Call Forwarding with confirmation (forward calls to 3-4 different on or offsite numbers, and be prompted to accept or decline call)

• Flexible Extension Logic

• Interactive Directory Listing

• Interactive Voice Response (IVR or Voice Menus)

• Inter-Office connectivity for reduced toll fees

• Local and Remote Call Agents

• Macros

• Microsoft Outlook integration - Click to dial

• Music On Hold

• Music On Transfer

ο Flexible Mp3-based System

ο Random or Linear Play

ο Volume Control

ο Different music/sales message for different lines if desired

• Predictive Dialer (basic functionality free, advanced capabilities may cost extra)

• Auto Dialing (free)

• Privacy

• Overhead Paging

• Protocol Conversion

• Remote Call Pickup

• Remote Office Support

• Roaming Extensions

• Route by Caller ID

• SMS Messaging

• Spell / Say

• Streaming Media Access

• Supervised Transfer

• Talk Detection

• Text-to-Speech

Build Complex IVR Menus:

• Three-way Calling

• Time and Date tracking, and time condition triggers

• Trunking

• VoIP Gateways

• Voicemail

• Web Based Call Control and Computer Based Call Control • The feature list grows daily, and many more are available that aren’t even listed above.

ο Visual Indicator for Message Waiting

ο Stutter Dialtone for Message Waiting

ο Voicemail to email

ο Voicemail Groups

ο Web based Voicemail Interface

Web Based Call Control Panel:

The following are some examples of the systems capabilities:

“Unified Messaging” Windows Based Call Manager with chat and email features:

Web Based Conference Manager:

Web Based Voicemail:

From here users also have access to a small number of their personal features, they can review their personal call log, play any calls that they recorded, and change settings for call forwarding or voicemail to email forwarding.

Call Detail Reports:

Web-based Configuration Manager:

ACD Queue with average wait time and position announcements to callers:

The ACD (Advanced Call Distribution aka Queue) options also offer many advanced features, like call recording, and custom message playback like you might hear in large call center environments. It can also play a custom message to your agent so they know how to properly answer the call if you have multiple ACDs for different types of services. And of course it offers failover - send the caller to an operator or mailbox, another group of agents, or even forward them offsite to another call center. ACDs can have preset static or dynamic agents who sign in and out of the Queue.

Fully customizable Customer Relation Manager:

Asterisk features are many and growing, if there is a feature you are looking for, chances are it can

be easily built into the system as it is completely customizable.

Like many other phone systems Asterisk comes out with new stuff that is considered a major up-

grade, but that is where the buck stops. A contemporary PBX would need a complete processor or

“brain” transplant/replacement to enable dramatic new features sets, and users will pay thousands

for these new enhancements, besides the installation of this new equipment.

However with Asterisk new version upgrades are free. The users’ only cost may be the labor in-

volved in installing the new software and validating the new upgrade on their equipment if they do

not have such technical resources available on staff. No expensive “brain surgery” needed!

These features look nice - but what if they get outdated like my current PBX?

What about support?

Asterisk is fully supported world-wide on every inhabited continent of this earth. trixbox is a com-

plete package that ties together several other packages including Asterisk (core PBX software that

does all call handling), a nice web based management interface, CRM package, Windows desktop

package, phone specific and provider specific wizards, and many other useful tools. Its greatest

advantage is its speed and ease of deployment. Kind of like buying your PC from Dell with all the

tools specific for your business preloaded, you can plug it in and get right to work.

Trixbox is an enterprise supported Open Source product, hourly per incident and annual support

contracts are available at very reasonable fees direct from the manufacturer.

Trixbox, based in Los Angeles, CA is owned by Fonality Inc, a maker of commercially sold pro-

prietary Asterisk based systems who is funded be Intel.

Fonality and trixbox are registered trademarks of Fonality Inc. Asterisk is a registered trademark of Digium®, Inc. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.

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