Bring in a phone, hook it up to a wire. That was the telecommunications business when San Diego’s INET Inc. was founded in 1984. It was a cozy world where monopolies stayed dominant by sheer size and financial clout. Computers, the Internet and other digital advances have since punched giant holes in this comfy boat and customers are leaking out. They're moving their telephone systems from expensive, proprietary PBX systems onto much cheaper computers. And INET is helping them do it — winning contracts against big-name competitors such as Lucent in the process — by integrating telephones and computer networks into one system that can route calls, store voice and text messages and do all the other fancy PBX tricks.     INET's magic is understanding its customers. INET's Brian Dean and Dale Stein urge businesses to be creative in the selection of a telecommunications system.     "We’re able to talk their language and understand their needs," says Dale Stein, INET's chief executive. Equally important is the magic of Moore's Law, which postulates that computer processing power doubles every 18 months. Combined with advances in data transmission, this growth in affordable computing power has made possible what the business calls "computer telephony." Since computer networks are ubiquitous in corporate America, it’s simply good business sense to leverage that investment.     "It’s no longer economical to install separate systems for voice and data," Stein says matter-of-factly. INET serves as a one-stop guide into this new world. Its engineers and representatives assess a company’s needs, recommend the appropriate system, get the hardware and software in place, and maintain and troubleshoot the installed system.     In the last four years, INET has grown from 15 employees to 105 employees while its revenue has gone from $1 million to $12 million. The company has 2,000 customers.     Among its fans is the McMillin Companies. The venerable South Bay home builder, with its thriving network of loan and real estate brokerages, needed to connect its main office in National City and branch offices throughout the county. And it needed to do so in such a way that information could be easily shared among its far-flung sales force. With INET's assistance, McMillin settled on a system from Mitel, a Canadian vendor of voice communications and computer telephony equipment. Mitel is a pioneer in bringing computer telephony to the corporate market, Stein says.     The system, called the SX-Light 2000, runs on Microsoft's Windows NT operating platform. It not only allows calls to be switched between locations to the appropriate McMillin representative, but also provides access to customer information in McMillin's database. In other words, the customer's information follows the call, so everyone on the network has access to the information when it’s needed.     "The new system gives us high-speed digital communications via phones, voice mail, paging, faxing and desktop computers," says Scott McMillin, president of McMillin Realty, a division of McMillin Companies and a son of Corky McMillin, the company’s founder. "We have leveraged the size of our company such that every phone call is routed in the least expensive way," says Mark McMillin, president of the McMillin Companies, and another son of Corky's.     Besides saving money, Stein says computer telephony helps companies better serve their customers. Because database information can follow the customer's call, company representatives can answer questions on the spot without having to look up notes in a different system. Firms using this technology can have a competitive advantage over others whose representatives can’t instantly answer such customer inquiries.     On a larger scale, Stein says data is rapidly overtaking voice traffic in telecommunications networks nationwide. Already, as much data as voice moves each day across the country. In a few years data will dominate, leaving voice as an add-on that piggybacks onto networks optimized for data delivery.     "You can’t find a telecom manager any more," Stein says. "It’s all been turned over to the IT (information technology) department. The days of saying 'how many lines and how many phones?' are gone." Many of INET's employees have extensive backgrounds in information technology, Stein adds, and this helps them win sales. In March, Mitel named INET its top sales producer by a regional dealer in North America.     Don Thorsen, a Mitel regional sales manager based in Orange County, praises INET's "exceptional technical staff."     If options seem a little overwhelming for companies not schooled in the latest technologies, Stein offers a few pointers in choosing a telecommunications systems company: Make sure the people who handle your telecommunications system understand voice and data, and the money-saving potential by handling both on one network. Evaluate potential local and long distance carriers, not only for price, but for quality of service and calls. The cost of local and long distance service over time is the highest expense of a telecommunications system. Evaluate how efficiently your "trunkage" (lines in and out) is configured. Stein says 90 percent of companies can reconfigure their trunkage to save money. A good systems integrator won’t just add lines when you ask, but will ask why you need a new line, and see if you can get the same result without the expense of adding a line. Know your long distance alternatives. Your systems integrator may be allied with one long distance carrier. This benefits the integrator and the carrier, but not you. The integrator is being paid by you, and should be your advocate. Don't pick someone with a conflict of interest. Be creative in considering alternatives to traditional telephony. For example, if you already have a Wide Area Network in place between office locations, run voice through it along with data. This will eliminate the cost of separate telephone lines. And your employees will be able to transfer people throughout the organization, no matter where the office is located. This helps the customer, and enhances your reputation for efficiency.     A business phone system is a lot more than just a hook and wire these days. But it’s up to each business to take advantage of what’s available.

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