Phone Data eXchange
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who is Praxon and how do you approach the
convergence sector of the industry?
- What is the Praxon Phone Data eXchange, and how is
it different from the PBX with which we are familiar?
- How will it help to save money?
- What types of legacy equipment can be connected?
- How many users can I support?
- What do you mean by "virtual" voice mail and email
boxes?
- What changes do you make to support 64 seats as
opposed to five?
- Do I need a receptionist?
- What is the virtual console application?
- Do I need any special equipment?
- What type of phone lines do we need?
- Does the Praxon Phone Data eXchange require a
specific operating system?
- What about security?
- How many voice mail messages can I store?
- Where are email and voice mail messages stored?
- Whom do you view as the primary markets?
- What about the level of complexity?
- How much is this going to cost?
- How can I get my Praxon Phone Data eXchange?
Who is Praxon and how do you
approach the convergence sector of the industry?
Founded
in 1996, Praxon, Inc. develops and markets products that combine
voice, networking, messaging, and Internet access for the
Integrated Business Communications market worldwide. Our emphasis is on
combining communications capabilities needed by small and medium
businesses into an integrated and easy-to-use platform. Our
executive team includes President/CEO Tom Williams, who
previously founded Combinet Inc., an ISDN remote access company that was
acquired by Cisco Systems, Inc. in 1995.
What is the Praxon Phone Data eXchange, and how is
it different from the PBX with which we are familiar?
The Praxon Phone Data
eXchange (PDX™) is a modular chassis that combines voice, data
networking, messaging, and Internet access features onto an
integrated platform supporting both analog and digital communications.
The platform includes a full-featured voice mail and email system
supporting multimedia mailboxes for storing and retrieving messages of
both types. It also offers local area network connectivity for
peripheral and document sharing, as well as secure, high-speed Internet
access plus the ability to access the company network while away from
the office from virtually any telephone. PBX-type features include
automated attendants, caller ID, call forwarding, call conferencing,
distinctive ringing, and international cadences. The device is
compatible with standard office equipment as well as leading email
applications and operating systems. The platform is also scalable for
customer growth as well as for future technologies by adding or
substituting modules in the chassis.
How will
it help to save money?
The Praxon Phone Data
eXchange combines the functionality of traditional PBXs, computer
telephony integration products, and key systems with hubs,
routers, modems, voice mail, and email systems, establishing a unified
platform scaled and designed for small and medium companies. This
single-system solution reduces up-front equipment costs and offers
recurring savings through the ability to share phone lines among
voice, voice mail, email, faxing, and Internet related transmissions. No
additional hubs, routers, email servers, or voice mail servers are
needed, although legacy network infrastructure can be connected to the
system. The cost of the Praxon PDX is between $300 and $425 per
user with full investment payback in typically one year.
What
types of legacy equipment can be connected?
The Praxon Phone Data
eXchange can be installed with equal ease into either "startup"
situations where a new company is buying equipment for the first
time, or into established companies seeking to save money and/or
expand their communications capabilities. Therefore, the PDX can
co-exist with devices, such as network hubs and routers, as well as
legacy email servers.
How many
users can I support?
Praxon Phone Data
eXchange port densities permit as many as 64 on-premises users
in the 3-slot chassis. The Praxon PDX also supports an unlimited
number of "virtual" email boxes and "virtual" voice mail boxes,
accommodating personnel who are only using dial-up access from remote
locations and are not physically based on the premises. A new, larger
chassis with additional slots will soon support a higher volume of users.
What do
you mean by "virtual" voice mail and email boxes?
In a typical office
setting, telephones and computers are directly connected to the Praxon
Phone Data eXchange. However, many companies also have employees
who work solely from remote locations, such as their homes.
These individuals, who would not need a permanent physical connection to
the PDX, would be issued a phone extension with a multimedia mailbox
where voice mail and email messages could be stored. The Praxon
PDX can accommodate an unlimited number of virtual employees, who could
then pick up messages by dialing into the PDX. This configuration gives
them the same "presence" as on-premises staff members.
What
changes do you make to support 64 seats as opposed to five?
The scalability of the
Praxon Phone Data eXchange is built upon the product's modular
and chassis-based design. Modules for phone ports, LAN ports,
and wide area connections can be mixed in the combination that best
meets the needs of the customer. If fewer than 64 people will be
connected to the Praxon PDX, the 3-slot PDX is likely the best
value.
Do I need
a receptionist?
The Praxon Phone Data
eXchange includes an automated attendant feature, which assumes the role
of a receptionist by offering the caller a menu of options.
However, calls can be rolled to a human receptionist(s), if desired,
without requiring a dedicated operator's console. With our virtual
console application, any desktop computer can serve this purpose,
enabling such duties to be divided among a number of people, in
accordance with the customer's preference and time of day.
What is
the virtual console application?
The virtual console
application, developed for Windows environments, is a handy software
tool that combines important call management features with user
simplicity rarely found in business-oriented feature phones on the
market. From a point-and-click interface on the user's computer screen,
calls can be transferred, conferenced, placed on hold, released,
or sent to voice mail.
Do I need any special equipment?
The
Praxon Phone Data eXchange works with standard wiring and office
equipment, including computers (both Windows and/or Mac), printers, fax
machines, and analog telephones. Expensive, proprietary, digital phones
are not needed. One can use any standard CLASS-compatible and benefit
from the full range of Praxon PDX voice features, including
caller ID, message-waiting notification, call conferencing, call
transfer, call forwarding and more.
What
type of phone lines do we need?
The Praxon Phone Data
eXchange can work with T1, ISDN, or analog lines, meaning that
there is a strong possibility that the system can work with
whatever lines are already in place. Should higher bandwidth become
necessary in the future, the analog trunk module can be easily replaced
with an ISDN module which, in turn, can be easily replaced with
a T1 module. The rest of the PDX remains intact, which greatly
reduces the cost of upgrades. Only the related module needs to
be changed.
Does the
Phone Data eXchange require a specific operating system?
The Praxon PDX is an operating system-independent,
stand-alone solution, meaning that it is fully compatible with all major
operating systems. This includes Windows 95/98, Windows NT, Unix, and
MacOS.
What about security?
Access
to your network, whether local or remote, is password-protected
via the Praxon Phone Data eXchange. Dial-up connections are
secured through PAP (Password Authentication Protocol), CHAP (Challenge
Handshake Authentication Protocol), NAT (Network Address Translation),
and IP Filtering.
How many
voice mail messages can I store?
The 3-slot system has 50+ hours of storage capacity.
Where are email and voice mail
messages stored?
On the Praxon Phone Data eXchange hard drive.
Whom do you view as the primary
markets?
The Praxon Phone Data
eXchange solution appeals to small and medium businesses that use both
telephones, computers, and/or point-of-sale equipment. These
would include small manufacturers, research and development
organizations, professional offices, corporate branch offices,
governmental offices, and universities, to name only a few.
What about the level of complexity?
Given that the Praxon PDX is intended for small and
medium businesses, ease of use is the cornerstone of Praxon's design
process. Initial configuration can be completed in a timely fashion, and
subsequent adds, moves, and changes to the personnel roster can be input
within one minute, using a standard browser, by a staff member with
virtually no technical training.
How much is this going to cost?
The Praxon Phone Data eXchange is typically half of
the per-user cost of the typical PBX or key system and includes more
features. The Praxon PDX generally pays for itself within twelve months,
due to increased efficiencies of the integrated product plus the
ability to share lines among various modes of communication,
rather than pay for separate, dedicated connections.
How can I get my Praxon Phone Data
eXchange?
MMA your authorized reseller. Just send an email to us at info@macroinc.net or
phone us at 256-883-9630.