If you ran a big company you’d have an expensive PBX (private branch exchange) system to manage extensions, conference calls, and voice mail. For small businesses such as a dental office, a better solution is a virtual PBX.
A hosting company provides a main number and then routes all calls through it to other lines, be it a cell phone or a home-office phone abroad. You can also avoid long-distance charges by routing calls via VoIP.
VirtualPBX doesn’t require new hardware and is managed via the Web. The service includes conference calling, caller ID, and more advanced features such as departmental queuing starting at $9.99 a month for three users. There’s also a $25 setup fee and per-minute charges.
For more information
Asterisk: www.asterisk.org
GotVMail: www.gotvmail.com
Onebox: www.onebox.com
VirtualPBX: www.virtualpbx.com