IP-PBX Software

The application, called the VocalocityPBX Dashboard, works through a Web browser rather than through separate PC software. It's available free to all users of the hosted service, allowing them to view onscreen information about the calls, conferences and queues operating in their companies at the moment. It also lets them see the status and availability of co-workers, and set their own status for co-workers to see. Permissions set by management determine exactly who can see what. CEOs, for example, typically can view more information about calls, such as whom each person is talking to, than can other employees.

The Dashboard also lets users click to call internal or external numbers. For internal calls they can access a directory of employees whose names they can click on; otherwise they need to copy and paste phone numbers from other sources. Clicking a name or number generates a call first to the phone they wish to call from, and then to the one they wish to reach. That makes it particularly useful on the road, since it can work with any phone, including their cell phone or someone else's landline. And since it only requires a Web browser, they can use it from any computer.

Separate downloaded software provides integration with Microsoft Outlook, allowing users to click to call contacts from within that application. Future releases will have even more capabilities, according to Vocalocity executive vice president and general manager David Politis. Users will be able to see the calls they've missed, for example, and click to call back. They'll also be able record calls. And they'll be able to listen to voice mail messages and make notes about them from within Dashboard, something they currently have to do through the general Web portal where they manage their settings.