Even if they never set up a network, smart small business owners know the role technology plays in growing their firms. So when Doug Carlson decided to expand Carlson Brothers Roofing south of Fairlawn into southern New Jersey and Florida, he turned to voice over IP to expand the capabilities of his company’s phone system.
 
Because Carlson was hiring salespeople to work out of home offices — and had also agreed to let several of his eight Fairlawn office employees telework part time — he needed to tie everyone into a central phone system that made it seem like they were all under one roof.   

Carlson purchased the AltiGen AlterServ IP phone system, which is geared toward small businesses with between eight and 50 employees. The base package includes a telephony box running AltiGen’s AltiWare operating system, and eight Alti-IP 600 handsets. The box includes 12 voice ports, four analog fax/modem/extension ports, support for eight analog phone lines and 2,000 voicemail boxes with 1,500 hours of storage. AltiGen installed Carlson’s system as part of the $7,500 price.

“The system has been phenomenal,” Carlson says, noting the new system was also instrumental in retaining long-time employees who’d started families. “Trying to get somebody to work in the office is not easy in today’s world,” he says. “By letting them work from home several days a week, I keep my key employees. This is all part of the small business quality of life.”

To access the system, employees plug their VoIP handsets into a broadband router. The handset communicates automatically with the main office system. To access internal colleagues, employees simply dial a four-digit extension. When a call comes into the main office, the AltiGen system recognizes the employees who are available to take the call and routes it to the next available person, regardless of location. The system software lets Carlson monitor who is on a call, who's available, and so forth.

Although Carlson is thrilled with VoIP’s capabilities, he remains cautious. The company uses the AltiGen system for incoming and internal calls only, relying on its old PBX system for outgoing calls and backup —though Carlson says he’s never needed it for the latter.

“It was scary making the switch to new technology. This is my livelihood and I didn’t want to see my business down for an even an hour.”