Divert Calls Outside VoIP - a benefit of hosted VoIP

One of the benefits of hosted VoIP is the ability to add telephone numbers that aren't VoIP telephone numbers to the VoIP system.

For example, one of my clients just rang me from his mobile, saying that all his staff were out of the office at key meetings and that there was no one to answer the phones. Could I divert their incoming calls to a relative's landline for a few hours?

As it is hosted VoIP the control panel for managing the phone system is available through our website, therefore I was able to login and make the necessary changes myself. No need for me to visit the client's office.

What did I change? Well, I set up an Alias for the relative's phone number. An Alias is a pointer from our system to an external number such as someone's mobile or landline number. This Alias was then added to the internal hunt group (so that out-of-hours messages and personalised voice messages still worked). Now, when an incoming call is received, the office phones will ring and the relative's phone will ring and the call is going to be answered.

Additionally, now that the Alias has been created it can stay in the system and just be turned on or off easily in the future by myself or the client through their control panel.