A reliable communications infrastructure is one of the defining factors of a successful business.
Modern companies need an innovative and affordable solution in place that’s also easy to manage and able to scale with growing demands. When you’re shopping around for a new business phone and internet system, there are a few important considerations you’ll need to think about first:
- Does your business require a complete phone system with office telephones, or do you need only a virtual phone service that uses a combination of mobile phones and other internet-enabled devices?
- Do you need a scalable system that you can easily expand with the growing demands of your business? If you’re planning to serve overseas customers, then scalability and flexibility will be crucial to success.
- What type of service does your business require? Key factors to consider include the mobility of your workforce, the number of phones you need, and the various communications channels you use (phone, VoIP, SMS, email, etc.)
Whether you’re expanding or replacing an existing phone system, or installing a new one from scratch, you’ll need to carefully determine your requirements before choosing between virtual phone systems, traditional landline connections, and cloud-based or on-premises VoIP.
For small- to medium-sized businesses, VoIP presents the obvious choice, but there’s also a lot to choose from.
What Are the Advantages of VoIP Phone Systems?
VoIP telephones use the same infrastructure as your internet. VoIP allows companies to take advantage of a wide range of features previously available only to large enterprises with complicated and expensive PBX systems. VoIP provides unprecedented scalability backed up by a rich set of features, such as call queuing, video conferencing, and automated attendants.
VoIP tends to be the best option for small businesses wanting the features and functionality of a sophisticated phone system without breaking their budgets. They’re also great for companies with a remote or mobile workforce, since they allow any authorized user to access and use the service remotely.
In other words, with VoIP, you’re not locked to a deskphone connected to a traditional landline.
VoIP phone systems come in two main flavors: on-premises and cloud-based. On-premises systems give you complete control over management and configuration, but they also require you to buy all the equipment upfront, which can get very expensive. By contrast, cloud-based VoIP systems are entirely taken care of by the service provider, and require no additional on-premises hardware or maintenance.
Other Phone Systems
Provided by local phone companies, landline connections are analog systems that haven’t really changed much in decades. As such, they present a reliable and time-tested solution that works independently of your internet connection. However, to enjoy the additional features that normally come only with VoIP, such as call transferring and queuing, you’ll need to invest in expensive on-site PBX hardware.
Another option is to install a virtual phone system, which connects a business phone line to a mobile device. This type of solution tends to work best for businesses with a large mobile workforce. However, as the name suggests, a virtual phone system isn’t a full-fledged solution, since it relies on a combination of mobile phones and traditional landlines or VoIP phones.
Today, businesses are rapidly moving toward VoIP telephony thanks to reduced costs, scalability, and better integration with your business’s other communications systems, such as email and voicemail. For smaller businesses, a hosted cloud-based VoIP system is invariably the optimal choice, while those with larger budgets and the on-premises expertise to maintain them may prefer an on-site VoIP system.
Being smart with your resources requires choosing the right set of communications tools, and VoIP presents a flexible solution that combines integrated coaching tools with practically limitless scalability and complete compatibility with mobile devices. If you’re ready to do more with less and bring your telephony infrastructure into the modern age of business communications, call Dyrand Systems today.