As previously stated, Asterisk has numerous features, some common to almost all PBXes, and some only
found in very high-end models. Let’s highlight a few.This is by no means a complete list, but just a sampling
of the many features Asterisk has to offer.
Conference Calls
Asterisk’s conference calling system, called “MeetMe,” is a full-featured conferencing system. All the
features you would expect in a conferencing system are included, such as protecting conferences with PINs
so only approved users can attend, moderating conferences to allow only certain people to speak to the
group, recording conferences so you can have a record of it, and playing music before a conference begins
so users don’t have to wait in silence.
MeetMe is a huge feature for Asterisk, as the price of commercial conferencing services isn’t cheap. Let’s
look at a simple example:We want to conduct an hour-long conference call with ten members of the press
concerning our new Asterisk book.A certain reputable conferencing service costs 18 cents per minute per
participant. So, doing the math, 13 users talking for 60 minutes at a cost of 18 cents/minute would cost us
$140.40. Let’s compare that with Asterisk. Using Asterisk, MeetMe, and an average VoIP toll-free
provider whose rates are 2.9 cents per minute per call, the same conference would cost us $22.62.That’s a
savings of $117.78!
Voice Mail
Voice mail has become critical to business in today’s market. Many people have developed a reflexive
tendency to check the “Message Waiting” indicator on their phone when first entering their
workspace.Technically, voice mail is quite simple. It is simply audio files stored on some kind of storage
medium, such as a hard drive or flash storage, on your PBX. Some vendors think a two-hour voice-mail
storage card, otherwise known as a 128MB Smart Media card, should cost over $200. Asterisk,
considering it’s run on a PC, affords you an amazing amount of storage space for your company’s voice
mail. Since it’s not locked into a specific storage media, you can add an extra hard drive, flash card, or
network share if you have the need to expand. Asterisk’s voice mail also incorporates almost every feature
one would expect from a voice-mail system: a complete voice-mail directory, forwarding, and the ability to
play different outgoing messages depending on whether the user doesn’t pick up their phone, is already on
the phone, or is out for a long period of time. Some of the more advanced features include the ability to send
the voice mail as an attachment to an e-mail address.This is useful if you are on the road and do not have a
phone available to you, but do have access to e-mail. It’s also very handy when you have a voice-mail
account you do not monitor regularly
Call Queues
While everyone might not know what a call queue is, almost everyone has experienced one. When dealing
with some kind of customer service department, it’s not uncommon to wait on hold while a disembodied
voice tells you that all the representatives are currently helping other people.That is a call queue.
It is used for handling large volumes of calls with a set amount of people answering the phones. When the
amount of calls (“callers”) exceeds the amount of people answering the phones (“answerers”), a queue
forms, lining up the callers till an answerer can attend to each. When one of the answerers becomes
available, the first caller in line gets routed to that answerer’s phone. Call queues are essential in any kind of
call center environment. Asterisk supports both queues in the traditional sense of a call center full of people,
and also a virtual call center in which the call agents call in from home and sit on the phone in their house. It
supports ringing all agents at once, a round-robin system, or a completely random ring pattern. Asterisk also
can assign priorities to callers when they enter a queue.
Asterisk as a VoIP Gateway
Asterisk’s biggest and most talked about feature is its VoIP capabilities.Thanks to the expansion of
Broadband into almost every company and an ever-increasing number of residences,VoIP has taken off in
the past few years. Asterisk has turned out to be a tool no one really knew they needed, but realized what
they were missing once they started using it.
People have started using Asterisk to augment, and sometimes even replace, their existing telephone
setup.Thanks to Asterisk
found in very high-end models. Let’s highlight a few.This is by no means a complete list, but just a sampling
of the many features Asterisk has to offer.
Conference Calls
Asterisk’s conference calling system, called “MeetMe,” is a full-featured conferencing system. All the
features you would expect in a conferencing system are included, such as protecting conferences with PINs
so only approved users can attend, moderating conferences to allow only certain people to speak to the
group, recording conferences so you can have a record of it, and playing music before a conference begins
so users don’t have to wait in silence.
MeetMe is a huge feature for Asterisk, as the price of commercial conferencing services isn’t cheap. Let’s
look at a simple example:We want to conduct an hour-long conference call with ten members of the press
concerning our new Asterisk book.A certain reputable conferencing service costs 18 cents per minute per
participant. So, doing the math, 13 users talking for 60 minutes at a cost of 18 cents/minute would cost us
$140.40. Let’s compare that with Asterisk. Using Asterisk, MeetMe, and an average VoIP toll-free
provider whose rates are 2.9 cents per minute per call, the same conference would cost us $22.62.That’s a
savings of $117.78!
Voice Mail
Voice mail has become critical to business in today’s market. Many people have developed a reflexive
tendency to check the “Message Waiting” indicator on their phone when first entering their
workspace.Technically, voice mail is quite simple. It is simply audio files stored on some kind of storage
medium, such as a hard drive or flash storage, on your PBX. Some vendors think a two-hour voice-mail
storage card, otherwise known as a 128MB Smart Media card, should cost over $200. Asterisk,
considering it’s run on a PC, affords you an amazing amount of storage space for your company’s voice
mail. Since it’s not locked into a specific storage media, you can add an extra hard drive, flash card, or
network share if you have the need to expand. Asterisk’s voice mail also incorporates almost every feature
one would expect from a voice-mail system: a complete voice-mail directory, forwarding, and the ability to
play different outgoing messages depending on whether the user doesn’t pick up their phone, is already on
the phone, or is out for a long period of time. Some of the more advanced features include the ability to send
the voice mail as an attachment to an e-mail address.This is useful if you are on the road and do not have a
phone available to you, but do have access to e-mail. It’s also very handy when you have a voice-mail
account you do not monitor regularly
Call Queues
While everyone might not know what a call queue is, almost everyone has experienced one. When dealing
with some kind of customer service department, it’s not uncommon to wait on hold while a disembodied
voice tells you that all the representatives are currently helping other people.That is a call queue.
It is used for handling large volumes of calls with a set amount of people answering the phones. When the
amount of calls (“callers”) exceeds the amount of people answering the phones (“answerers”), a queue
forms, lining up the callers till an answerer can attend to each. When one of the answerers becomes
available, the first caller in line gets routed to that answerer’s phone. Call queues are essential in any kind of
call center environment. Asterisk supports both queues in the traditional sense of a call center full of people,
and also a virtual call center in which the call agents call in from home and sit on the phone in their house. It
supports ringing all agents at once, a round-robin system, or a completely random ring pattern. Asterisk also
can assign priorities to callers when they enter a queue.
Asterisk as a VoIP Gateway
Asterisk’s biggest and most talked about feature is its VoIP capabilities.Thanks to the expansion of
Broadband into almost every company and an ever-increasing number of residences,VoIP has taken off in
the past few years. Asterisk has turned out to be a tool no one really knew they needed, but realized what
they were missing once they started using it.
People have started using Asterisk to augment, and sometimes even replace, their existing telephone
setup.Thanks to Asterisk
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