Telephone Systems

Telephony helps business do more with fewer resources. Modern telephony - which features the convergence of computers with telephones - is an excellent example of the proverbial "better mouse trap." Voicemail, faxes and in-house switching (PBX) systems are no longer adequate for business needs. Companies want their telephony systems to increase productivity, reduce network management cost and improve communications capabilities.

Typically lower operational cost from computer telephony can be realized on several fronts. Internet protocol telephony which uses the Internet for voice and fax transmissions can greatly reduce, if not nearly eliminate long-distance charges. Integrated and standardized infrastructure reduces the amount of equipment needed. Additional cost-savings may be realized simply because equipment and operational costs can be shared by both data and voice users. And because converged telephony allows for extensive automation in handling telecommunications, less staff is needed to maintain the system. Automated systems also reduce opportunities for human error and allow companies to respond to their customers from anywhere at anytime.

Productivity can easily be improved through advances in telephony as well. Converged telephony systems are able to expand and incorporate new applications (whereas earlier business communication networks could not) that will feature many efficiency-enhancing uses in the future. Possibilities seem boundless. Speech processing is an area of intense development and includes speech and voice recognition and applications that convert spoken words directly into text.

One final bit of information for you, the word, "telephony" - meaning the use or operation of an apparatus to transmit sounds between widely removed points with or without connecting wires - dates back to 1835. More than a century and a-half later with telephony high on the list of cutting-edge technological advancement, it's doubtful Alexander Graham Bell could have imagined what would one day be expected of his invention.