Business Communications Glossary

A regulated framework for business SMS that uses standard 10-digit phone numbers with carrier-approved messaging campaigns.

Application-to-Person messaging — automated or bulk SMS sent from a business platform to customers, as opposed to person-to-person texting.

A system that automatically routes incoming calls to the most appropriate available agent based on predefined rules.

Automatic call handling rules that activate outside business hours — sending calls to voicemail, an on-call number, or a custom after-hours message.

A call center metric measuring the average total time an agent spends on a call, including talk time and after-call work.

An automated conversational agent that handles customer inquiries via text or messaging channels without human intervention.

The use of artificial intelligence in business phone systems to transcribe calls, analyze sentiment, summarize conversations, and surface insights.

An automated system that answers calls and routes them to the right department or extension without a live operator.

A call transfer that connects a caller to another extension or number immediately, without the transferring agent speaking to the recipient first.

The ability of a phone system to keep calls flowing during outages, disasters, or infrastructure failures.

Text messaging services designed for commercial use — sending and receiving SMS from a business phone number at scale.

The percentage of inbound callers who hang up before reaching an agent, typically due to excessive hold times.

The measurement and reporting of call data — volume, duration, missed calls, peak times — to optimize business communication.

A feature that redirects incoming calls to another number, device, or voicemail based on rules you define.

Supervisor tools that allow real-time listening, whispering to agents, or joining live calls for training and quality assurance.

A virtual waiting line that holds callers when all agents are busy and routes them to the next available representative.

The automatic or on-demand capture of phone conversations for quality assurance, training, and compliance purposes.

Federal and state regulations governing when and how businesses are permitted to record phone calls — and when they must notify participants.

The set of rules that determine where an incoming call goes — which person, department, or voicemail receives it based on time, caller input, or availability.

A feature that identifies who is calling and why before the call is connected, allowing the recipient to decide how to handle it.

A system that assigns unique phone numbers to marketing campaigns to measure which sources are generating phone calls.

Moving an active call from one extension or agent to another, either directly or after a brief consultation.

A feature that alerts you to an incoming call while you are already on an active call, allowing you to switch between them.

A feature that displays the incoming caller's phone number — and sometimes name — before the call is answered.

Logs that capture metadata for every call: who called whom, when, how long, and what happened.

A feature that lets users initiate a phone call by clicking a button on a website, CRM, or app — no manual dialing required.

A virtual private branch exchange hosted in the cloud, replacing on-premises phone hardware with a software-based system.

Software that compresses and decompresses audio data for transmission over the internet — determines VoIP call quality and bandwidth usage.

A phone call that connects three or more participants simultaneously into a single conversation.

The connection between a business phone system and a CRM platform that syncs call data, contacts, and activity logs automatically.

A phone number that routes directly to a specific employee or department without going through a main reception line.

A service that sends and receives faxes over the internet without a physical fax machine or dedicated phone line.

An emergency services requirement for VoIP systems that ensures 911 dispatchers receive the caller's physical location.

Automatic switching to a backup system or connection when the primary one fails, ensuring continuous service availability.

A call forwarding feature that rings multiple devices in sequence or simultaneously, ensuring you can always be reached regardless of where you are.

A business phone system managed entirely in the cloud by a service provider — no on-site hardware or IT maintenance required.

A VoIP phone service where the provider manages all the infrastructure in the cloud — you simply connect and make calls.

A feature that lets any employee log into any shared phone in the office and have it behave as their personal extension.

A configuration that rings multiple phone lines or extensions in sequence or simultaneously until someone answers — ensuring callers always reach a person.

A phone menu system that lets callers interact using voice commands or touchtone input to reach the right destination.

A temporary memory buffer that smooths out variations in packet arrival times to prevent choppy or distorted audio in VoIP calls.

An automatic SMS sent to a caller the moment a call goes unanswered, so the customer stays engaged even when no one is available to pick up.

A messaging standard that allows businesses to send images, videos, audio clips, and documents alongside text.

Audio — music, messages, or promotions — played to callers while they are on hold or waiting in a queue.

A feature that hides the real phone numbers of both parties during a call, showing a proxy number instead.

A shared inventory of phone numbers that a business or carrier uses to assign numbers dynamically across campaigns, users, or locations.

The process of transferring your existing phone number from your current carrier to a new provider.

A strategy that unifies all customer communication channels — phone, SMS, email, chat, WhatsApp — into a single platform.

A short internal number assigned to a user or device within a business phone system for internal routing.

A real-time indicator showing whether a colleague is available, busy on a call, in a meeting, or away.

The global network of copper-wire and fiber circuits that carries traditional analog and digital telephone calls.

Network settings that prioritize voice traffic over other internet data to maintain clear, uninterrupted VoIP call quality.

The next-generation messaging standard that replaces SMS with richer features: read receipts, high-res images, group chats, and interactive buttons.

A feature that rings multiple extensions simultaneously or in sequence so the first available agent answers the call.

A call center target that defines the percentage of calls that should be answered within a specified number of seconds.

A setting that rings multiple phones or devices at the same time so the first one answered picks up the call.

The signaling protocol that establishes, manages, and terminates voice and video calls over IP networks.

A VoIP technology that connects an on-premises phone system to the public telephone network over the internet.

A software app that turns a computer, tablet, or smartphone into a fully functional business phone.

Technology that identifies and blocks suspected robocalls, scam calls, and spam before they reach your business line.

A call authentication framework that verifies caller ID to reduce spoofed and robocall traffic on telephone networks.

Adherence to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which governs how businesses can contact consumers by phone and text.

A phone number (800, 888, 877, 866, etc.) that is free for callers to dial — the business pays the per-minute cost.

The ability to send and receive SMS text messages from a business phone number, creating real back-and-forth conversations with customers.

A cloud-delivered model that bundles voice, video, messaging, and collaboration into a single subscription platform.

A phone number that isn't tied to a physical line, letting businesses establish a local or national presence anywhere.

An automated phone system that greets callers, answers common questions, and routes calls to the right person — without a live operator on duty.

A digital answering system that records a caller's spoken message when the recipient is unavailable to answer.

A feature that delivers voicemail recordings — and optionally a transcription — directly to your email inbox.

An AI-powered feature that converts voicemail audio into a readable text transcript sent to your email or app.

Technology that transmits voice calls as data packets over the internet instead of traditional copper phone lines.

A physical desk phone or software-based phone (softphone) that makes and receives calls over the internet instead of traditional phone lines.

The practices and technologies that protect business phone systems from eavesdropping, toll fraud, denial-of-service attacks, and unauthorized access.

A call transfer where the original agent speaks with the receiving party before handing the caller over — also called an attended transfer.

An open standard that enables voice and video calls directly from a web browser without installing any software.