Voicemail has made communicating easier for people and businesses across the globe. Also, each day brings new technology and types of voicemail to help people stay in touch and do business. There are many types of voicemail available which include standard, extended, on-demand, fax mail, fax on-demand, and unified messenger among others.



Standard voicemail is what the majority of people across the world use through their cellular and home phone providers. As a result, most people are familiar with its functions and user options. In general, with this type of voicemail the end user is able to leave a message for callers to listen to when they are unavailable or do not want to answer a call.

Then, if the caller leaves a message the end user is able to listen to the message via their phone or a remote phone and either save or delete the message. This option of receiving messages is so much better than an answering machine and more secure.

Extended voicemail is also available through a variety of voicemail providers and it includes all of the functions of standard voicemail as well as three mailboxes.

These additional mailboxes are great for families who have more than one person receiving messages on a daily basis at one phone number. This way each person is able to leave a message on their mailbox and check their messages through the main menu by submitting their password. Extended voicemail makes life easier because when the phone rings you simply check caller ID, and if it is not for you then let the call go to voicemail. At this point, the caller can leave a message for whomever they desire.

However, if for some reason you or your company wants to leave a message for callers to hear without the option for them to leave messages, then you need voice on-demand. This option allows for individuals or companies to leave personalized messages detailing a variety of things for callers to hear. This way, callers are able to receive important information without leaving messages for the company or person to deal with or respond to.

Another option that is great for anyone who needs to be in touch at all times is fax-mail. This voicemail system works two ways because it receives faxes automatically like your fax machine normally would and it also stores the faxes so you can check them via phone through voicemail and have them e-mailed to you if you so choose. Fax-mail allows you to travel to any location worldwide and still receive your faxes as you would if you were in the comfort of your own home.

Fax on-demand is another voicemail system set up to send faxes, however this system has a variety of options for callers to choose to have faxed to them. For instance, many companies have brochures and pamphlets they want to send to prospective clients. So, they set up the fax on-demand system so prospective clients can call and choose the information they want. The information is then faxed immediately to the caller.

This saves money and time for the company as well as the caller.

Also, unified messenger is a type of voicemail system that allows the end user to coordinate voicemail, e-mail, and faxes through one platform. This reduces time spent checking different mailboxes and the like and the end user simply needs to check one mailbox in order to see if there are new messages of any kind.

Although this is not an extensive list of all the types of voicemail available, these are some of the more well known and most frequently used. However, as each day goes by technology is improving and new programs and platforms are being introduced.