answering service

Voicemail (or voice mail, vmail or VMS) is a centralized system of managing telephone messages for a large group of people. In its simplest form it mimics the functions of an answering machine, uses a standard telephone handset for the user interface, and uses a centralized, computerized system rather than equipment at the individual telephone. Voice mail systems are much more sophisticated than answering machines in that they can:

Voicemail messages are stored on hard disk drives, media generally used by computers to store other forms of data. Messages are recorded in digitized natural human voice similar to how music is stored on a CD. To retrieve messages, a user calls the system from any phone, logs on using Touch-tones (clearing security), and his/her messages can be retrieved immediately. Many users can retrieve or store messages at the same time on the same voice mail system. Telephone and Answering Service information in USA.