Making Remote Employees Look"Local"

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Whether by design or circumstance (disaster, weather, illness), most companies need the ability to have mobile workers, also known as telecommuters. The trick is to make sure mobile employees look "local."

A simple call forward is not appropriate because remote employees should function exactly as if they're sitting in the office, including having the ability to:

Take incoming calls through corporate by extension or direct dial.
Dial out transmitting the corporate main phone number as Caller ID.
Dial extension to extension.
Put a caller on hold and have caller hear music on hold from corporate.
Transfer callers to another extension or directly into someone's voicemail.
Be part of a call group.

Ideally, your phone system should allow a mobile worker to use a "soft phone" on their computer, a Voice Over IP handset, or their cell phone or home phone. With such a phone system, here are two ways to seamlessly connect a mobile employee:

1) Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) - A Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates a "tunnel" through the Internet that's encrypted for security and links two or more different locations so they operate as if on the same network. A VPN can be either a hardware device or software-based program. Consult an IT prpfessional to help determine which type of VPN is right for your application and to help assign associated IP addresses.

Once your computer is "on" the VPN, your soft phone or connected IP handset is connected as well. When you call out, you're picking up dial tone and all associated phone system features from corporate.

2) Enable a cell phone or home phone as a Mobile PBX Extension - Call your voicemail at corporate using your cell phone or home phone and log in your cell phone or home phone as a Mobile Extension. Then from those devices you can conference, transfer, making outgoing calls as if from the office, etc. - all using the * key on the phone.