Small businesses today have more opportunities to grow, and to prosper than ever before, and Avaya's Partner ACS telephone system offers several exciting, new ways to make it happen.

Hotwire Telecom would like to show you how! Here are 20 of them to get you started.

1. Big-system capabilities, but not the price
Teleconnect and others have pointed out that the Partner ACS telephone system, because of its powerful features and applications, looks and feels in many ways like a much more expensive PBX-based system, but at a price affordable for small businesses.

2. Ready for business
Few small-business employees have the time or the technical skills to devote to the job of administering and managing their company's communication system. After installation, your Partner ACS telephone system is ready to go with minimal setup and easy, ongoing administration, leaving small-business owners free to concentrate on running their businesses.

3. Installs and upgrades easily
Each Partner ACS telephone system installs quickly and easily. Most of what happens during installation is plug-and-play. The system is highly modular: adding lines or stations means increasing system capacity with plug-in cards, and simply plugging in the new lines and stations. And, when it's time to upgrade to a future system software release, it's achieved through a PCMCIA card. So, upgrades are quickly and efficiently done.

4. Easily add adjuncts
One of the reasons the Partner ACS telephone system is so popular is that it supports enhanced tip-ring capability, so a wide range of adjunct devices can be easily attached to the system - such as fax machines or credit card readers - ensuring that the Partner system can meet a host of business needs.

5. Works simply, intuitively
Partner ACS has been developed to work simply and intuitively. Some applications (example: Partner Messaging) come on plug-in cards. Virtually no programming is required. Dual red and green LED indicator lights on Partner telephones make it easy to manage calls even during the busiest times

6. Can be administered remotely
The Partner ACS telephone system supports remote administration. The entire system can be configured or reconfigured with a PC, even from an off-site location, using the system's PC software interface. Station changes are accomplished in a straightforward way. Various call controls can likewise be accessed and managed remotely. This saves the customer from having to schedule and participate in an on-site visit for administering the system.

7. Built-in backup & restore capability
The Partner ACS Remote Administration PCMCIA card also provides system-wide backup & restore functionality, without the need for an optional PC. This functionality saves you and your customers from lengthy downtime if service issues arise, dramatically increasing customer satisfaction.

8. Gives customers mobility
Many small businesses can increase employee productivity through wireless communications within the business. Physicians on rounds, managers needed in warehouses or in adjacent outdoor locations, employees who need to perform tasks not located near a telephone can all be in touch using Partner ACS and TransTalk wireless handsets from Avaya. With TransTalk, your customers have access to the same features as a desk telephone.

9. Gives customers messaging choices
With a Partner ACS telephone system you can offer your customers a range of messaging options, based on their needs and budget: Partner Voice Messaging (PVM); Partner Messaging and Partner Messaging with the Avaya Web Communications Server. In addition to call coverage and information distribution, customers can decide whether to retrieve their calls from the telephone or their PC's, whichever is more productive at that moment.

10. Delivers 24-hour call coverage
With the messaging capabilities of Partner Messaging, your customer should never miss a call, getting the 24-hour coverage that is essential for being competitive today. And Partner Messaging provides many options; from an employee directory to multiple call answering arrangements (day, night, weekend, other), to delivering the flexibility and personalization businesses need.

11. A tireless assistant to route calls
Small businesses that have never had voice messaging will be amazed at how powerful and convenient it is. With Partner Messaging, they get a tireless assistant that quickly and efficiently routes calls day and night and accurately records important and complex messages. And employees can call in and get their messages any time of the day or night.

12. Messages viewed in one mailbox
With the optional Avaya Web Communications Server and the new Partner Messaging you can give your customers enhanced voice and e-mail access in a single mailbox via a phone or PC.

13. Caller ID is standard
With Caller ID, you can see both the name and number of who's calling. Why should a small business pay to add this feature? (Note: Subscription to Incoming Caller ID service from your local telephone company is still required.)

14. Helps build strong, personal customer relationships
Many consumers want to buy products and services from small businesses because the experience is more personal. Caller ID gives the employee answering the call the information to personalize the interaction. The advanced call handling capability of a Partner ACS telephone system routes customer calls to the right person the first time. Customer questions or concerns are resolved quickly and completely. Or customers can choose to reach you via your Web site, set up and hosted by the Avaya Web Communications Server.

15. An ideal 'small-of-large' solution
Branch offices of large corporations, and small-business tenants of a multi-tenant building with shared communication services, are excellent prospects for Partner ACS. The optional 1600 DSL Module offers a high degree of flexibility, simplifying connections to their corporate backbone or multi-tenant hub whether the system's built-in router is used or not.

16. Utilization of existing telephone sets
Owners of previous releases of the Partner System can use all their Partner telephone sets (wired and wireless) - they are fully compatible. And all Partner ACS telephone sets are compatible with Avaya's popular Merlin Magix Integrated System.

17. Cost-effective features
The Partner ACS telephone system delivers a host of cost-effective and easy-to-use features that save you time and money, while boosting your productivity and efficiency. Hands-free answer on Intercom, toll restriction, group call distribution, and hold reminder tones are a few of the many features designed to make communicating easy while keeping your costs down and your revenues up.

18. Powerful, third-party solutions
Through the Avaya solutions development program you can take advantage of additional powerful applications for your Partner ACS telephone system. For example, Voice-over-IP (VoIP) is available from MultiTechSystems, Inc., which enables businesses to save money by making voice and fax calls over the Internet.

19. The award-winning, #1 selling system
Partner ACS is the No. 1 selling key system worldwide. Businesses everywhere have been using it for the past 10 years. There are nearly 1 million Partner systems installed around the world -with over 700,000 installed in the United States alone. In fact, Teleconnect Magazine, a leading telecommunications opinion-maker, named the Partner system "Product of the Year" in 1997 and gave the PARTNER ACS telephone system a "Buying Guide Citation" in 2000, saying that the system performed well beyond the capabilities of other key systems, and cited its support for eBusiness solutions.

20. Backed by a company you can trust
Avaya has a reputation in the market for a high level of customer support. Your small-business customers may not be aware that the Avaya legacy of reliability can be traced back over 130 years to the very beginnings of telecommunications. Avaya labs design and development are what give the Partner ACS telephone its unmatched reputation for reliability. Technical help is available on a 24/7 basis. On-site service is available locally in the domestic United States. Avaya supports you and your customers with a commitment to excellence that is not equaled in the market.