A few months ago I posted an article about PC based PBX/IVR systems. These set ups required you to run them locally on your own PC. http://nyphonejacks.blogspot.com/2010/06/pc-based-pbxivr-systems.html
Today I talk about a hosted PBX available for FREE - or for $20 per month, depending on how many users you have, or if you need VoIP calling as well...
http://www.phonebooth.com/ is offering a free local phone number and IVR system that will forward to whatever phone that you choose. I have just signed up, so I will be playing around with it in the next few days, or weeks, and will report back here as to how I found the service to be. It appears too good to be true, so I am weary about recommending this for business purposes. If you are going to use this for business I would recommend forwarding an existing number into this service, and then having the service answer the calls and route them however you need them to be routed, so that in the event that the service ends, or the cost outweighs the benefits you can just set up a local PBX or IVR system with out the need to be concerned that the number that your customers have to reach you no longer is in service. Again, this is just preliminary thinking, I am not saying that the company is going away any time soon, or that the price will skyrocket through the roof, I am just saying to be cautious with your business number, as the old saying goes "you get what you pay for". But it seems that there is many things that are becoming cheaper, or even free that is still a value. I believe that their business plan/model is to get you hooked on their service with the free edition, and then you will eventually want to upgrade to the paid version - which seems like an extremely good value, or is overly under priced. Either way, stay tuned for my hands on testing with this service, and I will let you know if it is worth trying out. In the mean time, feel free to try it for yourself, just do not go printing business cards with your phonebooth phone number on it until you are sure that the service will fit your needs.
