Norstar system setup
How to know which system is best for your business.
Norstar systems are sophisticated, and there are several different platforms to choose from. Do you need a larger, more scalable telephone system, or will a smaller one with limited expandability work fine for you? And what about the voice mail? How many ports (or channels) would you need, and why should you care?
Take some time to answer each of these questions to help you decide, and to help you learn what is important in a telephone system. Or feel free to contact us and we will be glad to help advise you properly.
1. What is the nature of your business as it relates to communications?
Knowing the nature of your business will help you to determine the answers to the following questions. If you require specialized functionality or features, then it could influence your decisions about which Norstar system would be the most appropriate choice, and which voice mail would best serve you.
2. How many CO (telephone company) lines will you need?
Do you have a lot of inbound/outbound calls, like a call-center? If so, you will need more phone lines per staff member than the average company. Phone lines are commonly called trunks or CO (central Office) lines that come from the telephone company. Most business have about a 50% ratio of lines to staff members. So an average business with 15 employees would probably be best suited with 7-8 incoming lines. If you were a stockbroker, you might need 12-15 lines to serve the same number of employees. On the other hand, an engineering firm may need but just a few lines.
- Norstar Mini 3x8 Plug 'N Talk™ systems support a maximum of 3 CO lines.
- Norstar Compact ICS Plug 'N Talk™ telephone systems support a maximum of 8 CO lines.
- Norstar Modular ICS Plug 'N Talk™ telephone systems support 8 lines initially, and can grow to support many lines (80 analog trunks and up to 3 digital circuits).
If you need more than 12 lines, you may be better off getting a PRI circuit from your telephone company. A PRI is a digital circuit (like a T-1) that allows multiple channels (lines) for inbound and outbound calls. A full PRI can support up to 23 channels, but in most areas you can get a fractional PRI circuit. PRI circuits can also accommodate special features such as Caller-ID and DID (direct inward dial) phone numbers.
3. How many telephone sets will be on the system?
Not only will your employees need phones (most of them), but you might elect to place phones in other areas as well. Areas such as warehouses, break rooms, lobbies, or hallway walls might be good places for additional phones. You'll always want to give yourself plenty of opportunity to get to a phone quickly if need be.
4. Do you want to have voice mail?
Most companies want voice mail on their phone systems. It is an obvious productivity enhancer, and many callers do indeed wish to leave people a voice mail if they are unavailable, as opposed to asking someone to take down a message. Beyond that, the voice mail can serve as an Automated Attendant, and field the calls for you if you cannot get to the phone, or if you wish for it to answer all of your inbound calls. What size voice mail is appropriate? A good rule of thumb is that you will need 2-channels of voice mail for every 10-12 staff members. If you plan on using the AA to answer all of your calls for you, then you should double that number of channels.
What is a voice mail channel? The number of channels determines the maximum number of people that can be in the voice mail simultaneously. They can be any combination of callers leaving messages or internal staff checking their messages.
5. What are your growth plans?
Naturally you would not want to invest in a system that is much too large for your needs, but you have to be careful not to buy a system that is too small to meet your realistic growth potential either. The following guide should help determine which system is best:
If you never will need more than 3 voice lines and 6 phones, choose a Mini 3x8 Plug 'N Talk™ system package.
If you will never need more than 8 voice lines, and currently have a need for no more than 12-14 phones, but might possibly need more phones in the future, choose a CICS system package. The CICS systems are scalable, starting with a capacity of 4x16, and having a maximum capacity of 8x24 when fully expanded. However, if you need more than 14 phones initially, it would be more cost-effective to go with the next option:
If you need more than 8 voice lines, or more than 14-16 phones, choose an MICS system package. MICS systems are modular, and capable of growing with you and your business. They have a maximum capacity of 272 ports (a combination of lines and phones), but the best way of thinking of them is 150 phones maximum on the system.
6. What about support?
Service and support is critical for your phone system. It is quite natural to have need of programming changes to be made to any phone system. And if the system defaults for any reason, you need assistance fast! SoTel Systems will support all systems free for 90-days after installation through a Remote Access Device sold on each Plug 'N Talk™ package. All programming changes can be accomplished almost immediately when you contact our support staff. Support can also be purchased in 1-5 year increments after the free 90-days expires. See out TeleCare information page for details.
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