What is Mobile Twinning?
What is Mobile Twinning? Mobile Twinning is a feature on many business phone systems, or PBXs, that allow a user to link an external number to their desk extension. The external number is typically a cell phone, hence the term “mobile twinning” or “cell twinning”. This means that whenever your desk phone rings, so too will your “twinned” phone. You can choose to answer the call on either phone at that point. If you don’t answer the call at all, your office phone system will pull the call back and put the caller in your work voice mail.
What Are the Advantages of Mobile Twinning?
There are three big advantages your business can leverage with mobile twinning. The first is fairly straightforward; as you go mobile, so does your extension. We’re not always tethered to our desks. So when you go out to lunch, or are driving to a meeting, mobile twinning helps you stay connected to your business. Travelling for work? Now your office can transfer calls straight to your cell phone, if it’s twinned.
The second advantage of twinning is the fact that your PBX will pull the call back to your office voice mail. Customers and coworkers aren’t getting your personal voice mail message, which may be something like “Hey it’s Bryan, leave a message”. Instead they hear, “Thank you for calling McEnroe Voice & Data, if this is a service request please press ‘0’ to speak with one of our customer service representatives, otherwise leave your name, number, and a message and I will call you back at my earliest convenience.” Not only is my work message more professional, but it also has important service access directions in case the caller has an immediate request that I’m unavailable to handle. The other advantage of every caller being pulled back to my work voice mail is that now all my messages are in one place.
The third advantage of twinning is probably my favorite… you don’t have to give anybody your cell phone number. This is good for you AND your customer. A customer doesn’t have to play eeni-meanie-mini-mo anymore to guess which number to call, and they don’t have to worry about calling you on your cell phone and disrupting a vacation. This isn’t denying access to your callers, it’s creating consistency and allows your office to professionally answer the call and then transfer them if you are available.
Here is a great video about twinning, or dynamic extension.
Different Types of Twinning
The nuances of this feature vary by manufacturer. Keep in mind that manufacturers typically have different names for mobile twinning. Avaya, for instance, uses the term “mobile twinning” but Mitel calls it “dynamic extension” or “personal call routing”. Other common nomenclature also includes “find me, follow me”.
The Avaya IP Office platform, which currently can scale to 1200 users, can link one external number to your office extension. People typically choose their cell phone number, but a home office number can also be used. Mitel, on the other hand, allows up to eight devices to be linked to your extension. Popular choices include your cell phone, home phone, vacation home, and hotel phone. And also keep in mind that you, the user, can turn this feature on or off with the push of button, or click of a mouse.
For such a simple feature, the advantages you gain as a business can be enormous. Most phone systems have a form of twinning available, but it’s also important to make sure you have an experienced voice company taking care or your system and infrastructure. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out and call McEnroe Voice & Data. You can ask for me, and if I’m not in the office, don’t worry, I’ll be twinned.
Written by Bryan Del Monte
888-McEnroe
Offices in Baltimore and DC