Swyx SwyxWare 5.10 review

Setting up a telephone system for a small business can be a real pain.

With SwyxWare, you can turn an ordinary PC into a private branch exchange (PBX), giving employees voicemail facilities, call diverting, extension transfers and all the other benefits of a PBX system.

According to Swyx the software requires a Windows 2000 or 2003 server, but you can actually install it on a Windows XP PC, which could be the preferred method for small installations. The program uses a SQL database, which sounds as if it could be a pain to configure, but the automated installer takes care of the hard work. You just need to click Next until the installer has finished the job.

Once the software is installed, you use a single management application called Swyx Administration to configure your server. This is surprisingly easy to use, and the default settings will suit most companies. It integrates with your existing Windows domain, so you can configure it to give your users new Swyx telephone extensions. Most settings are based on the defaults, so each user starts off with a default voicemail message, which they can change later. The software can also allocate their extension number automatically by giving them the next free one. You can use the default extension numbers or change them to match an external system.

You need to choose the method by which users log in. The default selection is SwyxIt!. This application uses the PC to communicate. It has advanced call routing options and online indicators for other telephone users, and it integrates with Outlook. However, you can use standard VoIP telephones or SIP clients if you prefer. At this point you may need some help configuring the system.

SwyxWare comes with a licence for SwyxGate, which lets you interface your system with an existing telephone network, such as BT. Swyx sells analogue and ISDN interface adaptors, which must be installed in the server to make the interchange. This lets your users dial external numbers from their internal phone.

One advantage of using a digital PBX such as this is the ability to use the internet to make phone calls. SwyxWare 5.10 supports SIP trunks, which handle this connection. These route internet calls across the internet for free, or very cheaply. Calls to standard phones are routed to the nearest exchange where they join the local telephone network. This cuts call costs down to a fraction.

Unfortunately, the documentation that explains how to do this is appalling. If you search for SIP using the online documentation or the downloadable PDF, you don't get a single hit. We eventually found help in the Swyx Knowledge Base, and discovered that you have to create a SwyxLink. It's not that hard to do and it comes with some built-in service providers, but you must make sure you get the correct details from your provider. You can also use SwyxLink to connect two servers in different offices for free phone calls.

This is a cheap way of adding a professional telephony system to any small business, although the documentation needs to be improved to make it easier to configure. Once you get it working, however, it's easy to use and should keep the cost of your calls down.