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February 7, 2000

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One-Call Access To Voice, E-Mail, Fax
Flexion telephony system lets users retrieve messages using a variety of devices

By Aisha M. Williams

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    Flexion Systems Inc. this week will make a telephony system available for small businesses that lets users access voice messages, E-mail, and faxes from a variety of devices. The vendor is also offering services for remote administration of the system.

    The BusinessGuardian X300 system manages telecommunications and can integrate with communications data on Windows NT servers. It lets as many as 100 users manage different types of communications from their desktops; they can change voice-mail settings, schedule teleconferences, and retrieve fax content online, for example. The system also lets users check E-mail from cell phones and voice mail from PCs.

    A particular strength of Flexion's offering is that it integrates with standard telephones, says Eric Klein, a senior analyst at the Yankee Group. Klein says that when businesses install integrated telephony systems, they usually have to purchase proprietary phone sets that work with those systems. "Replacing desktop phones with proprietary sets can be expensive, especially for a small-business owner," Klein says.

    Korn, Waterman and Simon, a law firm in Tucson, Ariz., and an early user, installed BusinessGuardian 300X about a month ago. "Installation was a breeze," says partner Gary Korn. "We put in the box at about 5 p.m. one evening, and by 6 p.m. the entire system was up and running." He adds that BusinessGuardian X300 was less expensive than some of the standard PBX systems he considered.

    Korn says he also likes the fact that the X300 can operate as a standalone telecommunications system, so it's not affected by any problems that occur with the linked NT server. "Availability is very important to us, because it can make us more responsive than a very large law firm," he says.

    Small-business owners with limited IT resources can outsource management of the system to resellers and integrators who partner with Flexion. The vendor makes available to them a services technology package called BusinessGuardian Insight, which gathers information about the networked system and can be accessed remotely through a browser. Flexion also will make the package available to IT departments within businesses. BusinessGuardian Insight also produces a monthly report on network performance.

    Klein says outsourcing of the NT-integrated telecommunications network should be a cost-effective option for interested businesses. "Flexion's program will save companies money on IT consultation fees," he says.

    Pricing for BusinessGuardian X300 starts at about $6,000. BusinessGuardian Insight is sold to resellers and system integrators for $30 a month per user license.


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