We think of Microsoft as primarily a software company offering its Windows operating systems and Office suite of productivity applications.  But Microsoft is also a service provider and hardware company.  One example of its service and hardware business that is of particular interest to small law firms is its Response Point small business telephone system.  What VoIP services like Vonage have done for home telephone service Microsoft wants to do in the small business market segment.

I was an early adopter of Vonage’s VoIP service for my home-based solo appellate practice and have never regretted doing so (except for one week last year when Bright House cable’s digital phone service made a simply typographic error when signing up a new customer with a number one digit off from mine and inadvertently took my phone number, requiring many calls to Bright House and Vonage to get it back ten days later).  What I find indispensable with Vonage is its $4.99 virtual number service that gives me a phone number local to the region in another state where I practiced before moving to Florida.  My base of referring attorneys in SE Michigan and most of their clients can make a local call that reaches me at my Florida residence.  I’ve been solicited by other VoIP services, but none so far has been able to offer me a virtual number, so I remain with Vonage.

Vonage is great for a solo or home-based law firm, but if you have more than a couple of telephone lines and users, you may need something with more features and flexibility.  Now Microsoft wants to be your solution by offering its Response Point service and telephone system hardware that brings the savings and features of VoIP to small businesses, including law firms.  Watch the somewhat amusing video demos on the Response Point to get a basic idea of how the system works.  Its speech recognition system is an interesting feature if it works as advertised.

This is the infrastructure you need to have in place before buying a Response Point system:

1. A working local area network (LAN) with Internet access.
2. One or more regular phone line(s) that can make and receive external calls. Anything with a standard RJ-11 plug—just like your home phones—should work fine.
3. Response Point requires at least one PC run one of the following system programs:
   • Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Home Edition, with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
   • Windows Vista®
   • Windows Server® 2003 R2 SP2 or later
   • Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 or later

   NOTE: You can take advantage of additional phone system features if you have multiple Windows PCs at each office location.

4. A DHCP server to dynamically assign IP addresses to new devices on your network. If you’re like most small offices, this is built into your router. If you’re able to connect a new PC and access the Internet without trouble, you’re probably OK.
5. Ethernet cabling to each location where you intend to use the phones.
6. A monitor with screen resolution of at least 800×600.

Nearly all small law firms already meet these requirements.

There are other small business VoIP services to choose from.  Several are mentioned in an article on the ABA’s site.   One thing is certain, if you are a small law firm seeking a new phone system, look into VoIP before investing huge dollars in a traditional telephone system.  Doing so could save you much money initially and in the long-run while providing features traditional telephone systems are unable to offer.