The History of Virtual Answering machines and their Contemporary relevance
Virtual answering service are one of the most used technologies of current times. The history of these automated answering machinesis obscure yet fascinating. Let us see a brief overview of it.
Origins: From Telegraphone
Although the first automatic answering machine was made in the 20th century, the origins of the same lie in 1898. Valdemar Poulsen, an engineer, and inventor of Danish origin created the telegraphone. It could record magnetic sound waves and facilitate call recording and replay.
Later, in 1914 and 1925, Edison and Truman Stevens invented Telescribe and Phonograph, respectively. Although they were failed inventions they continued to serve as inspirations for developing answering machines.
The First Answering Machine
It is widely accepted that the first automated answering machine was finally created in 1935. Thanks to W. Mueller, a Swiss inventor. However, many assert that William Schengen already produced one in 1931. Simultaneously, Ludwig Blattner claimed that his Blatterphone was an answering machine. Nonetheless, amid this chaos, the advancements continued.
Later Developments
The later developments in the origin of virtual answering machines were based on Poulsen’s telagraphone’s technology. Some of the highlights are: –
- 1960- Ansafone of D. K. Hashimoto became the first answering machine purchased in the USA.
- 1971- PhoneMate created the Model 400 that could screen calls and store up to 20 messages.
- The digital telephone answering device came in 1983. It was created by Dr. Hashimoto again.
Recent Developments
The answering machines developed into pre-programmed voice mails. Such developments eventually laid the foundation of the first virtual answering machine in the 21st century. Today, e-receptionists have become widespread among niches. They owe their popularity to their cost efficiency and time-saving qualities of SMB phone systems.
Contemporary Relevance
In the fast pacing contemporary world, virtual machines have proved to be a boon for all niches and offices in many ways. Some of these advantages are:-
- Efficiency in answering hundreds of calls.
- Helps to filter out irrelevant calls.
- Attends calls and messages beyond working hours.
With time, this technology will dominate the whole corporate world and the public sector, alike.
