How Is a Telephone Management System Supposed to Operate?
A telephone management system (TMS) is a system that provides both business and home administrators with key tools that can enable them to properly track telecommunications activity and usage, reduce phone-related abuse, manage costs and improve productivity. TMS integrates key features, such as easy-to-operate user inter,faces to help administrators better manage the use of their telephone systems.
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Structure
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The operation of a TMS is dependent upon its structure. A TMS can be either phone-based and use a PBX (a private branch exchange---a telephone system serving just one organization) or can integrate a telephone system with a computer system. As the latter can be more sophisticated and complex to organize, it is most often used in enterprise or business solutions that require the management of many terminals---from landline to cellular to Voice over Internet (VoIP) or combinations thereof.
Call Control
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One key operation that a TMS allows is the control of calls made using any telephone terminal connected to the system. Administrators are able to create and allocate personal identification numbers (PINs), without which access can be limited to certain features or denied altogether. Call duration can also be set to limit the maximum amount of time a particular terminal can be used before it automatically disconnects. Calls to or from specific numbers can also be blocked. Automated call answering and forwarding can also be managed by most TMS systems.
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Call Monitoring
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The various kinds of TMS all permit their users to monitor calls according to different parameters. It may be in the interest of administrators to be able to perform surveillance on calls in order to check how their systems are being used. TMS solutions can also monitor calls according to such parameters as number calling or number called, location of the other party and call duration.
Data Collection
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TMS systems are able to record data generated by telephone system usage. Administrators may be able to manually record calls made for future reference, or they may be able to set automated recording parameters such that particular calls made to or from specific numbers be recorded automatically. Other parameters, such as usage of budget allocation and specific numbers called, can also be noted by the system. Many TMS systems can be programmed to automatically funnel data generated into central databases for data security, storage and report generation.
Metrics Generation
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Software solutions can enable TMS's that are connected to computer systems to generate metrics pertaining to telephone system usage. Many can also be preset to create reports based on this data. More comprehensive TMS's can offer a wide variety of reports, ranging from an overview of the system as a whole from a cost and budget perspective to the usage pattern of a specific user or users. Depending on the particular TMS, these reports can be generated at specific times on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Said reports can be used to pinpoint particular problem or high-cost areas and enable administrators to act accordingly.
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