An Office Manager's Guide to Choosing a Business VoIP Phone System

June 27th, 2016 by admin

Most office managers are hearing a lot these days about Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), it’s a service that allows telephone users to make and receive calls using the Internet instead of conventional phone lines and analog phone systems. VoIP services provide a number of benefits for businesses, starting with the enhanced modern conveniences and cost savings. Additionally, business VoIP solutions provide attractive features like call management options, video conferencing, instant messaging, reporting, call monitoring as well as enhanced security abilities. After making the decision to move from analog to VoIP services, next comes the task of sifting through the options to figure out the type of hosted phone system will be the right fit for the business. Here are a few of the most common considerations many managers evaluate before making a phone system decision: Set-Up Costs Compared to Traditional Systems Typically, setup fees for registering new phone numbers are minimal. Local and toll-free numbers are purchased online from any area code with instant activation. Service providers can also port or transfer the existing phone numbers without any downtime. VoIP systems are easy to implement and come with very little investment risks. Monthly charges are typically subscription-based utilizing an operational budget. Hosted IP phone systems also remove the need for any expensive in-house servers. The system is either a cloud-based or off-premise solution, which virtually eliminates the need for any costly servers. Additional Cost Savings The savings go beyond just monthly charges and equipment. Since the systems are entirely internet-based, the process of adding more users, additional phone lines, and extra features can be handled through a web browser. Using the Internet removes the need for an on-site technician every time an issue comes up. Typically, the most expensive part of a business phone bill are the minutes used. With VoIP, it treats your phone calls simply as data passing through the IP network. Broadband today is relatively cheap and easy to obtain, so it’s appealing to businesses looking for ways to cut costs and use existing resources. Functionality Considerations Phone system benefits go well beyond simply the phone calls. Conferencing options enable employees to remain connected clients and coworkers for meetings, exchanging documents, evaluating agendas, and many other business-related matters from virtually anywhere. VOIP and Customer Satisfaction VoIP technologies are advanced enough that you should never notice a difference between a call from an analog service and a VoIP call, as they are equally responsive. However, considerations should be made to the business network to ensure there’s enough bandwidth to support the additional data load as well as the quality-of-service (QoS) capabilities for prioritizing call traffic.