You’d be hard pressed to find a decision-maker that doesn’t already know the benefits of moving over to a VoIP system. For more than a decade, tech moguls have long sung the praises of VoIP. Let’s not forget that the technology has managed to evolve with the Internet, improving and helping businesses keep their bills down and communication efficient. Not many technologies have done the same. Knowing all the good that it brings, it’s still pretty important to make sure you have the right resources before making the switch.
A little VoIP 101: It doesn’t work without the right infrastructure. Before you make the decision to change, see to it that your place of business has the right cables and so on. Do your work stations have Cat 5 cable accessibility? How is your bandwidth? Can it support Ethernet over copper? If the answer is no, then VoIP will end up costing you more than it will save over time. Set up the proper playing field to see the big savings.
Perhaps one of the most important factors in a VoIP system is your network capacity. If your network is not strong enough to support the increase in data, if it isn’t sufficient enough to sustain a network flow, or it does not have the proper LAN setup for VoIP, then a VoIP solution may not be for you.
How many users will you have? It is important to decide on how many lines you will need, as well as any additional features, such as SIP Trunks, an Auto Attendant and so on, or any other enhancement you may be looking for in your VoIP service.
What kind of service do you want? There are a number of different VoIP services and each business will need to determine which one best meets their specific needs. Hosted PBX systems are managed by a provider that hosts the system in the cloud. PBX owned equipment is owned directly by the business and may be more costly in the end, since each business owns the technology equipment. There are pros and cons to each type of business phone service.
The growing adoption of VoIP makes it easier for companies to employ more features in their phone systems. The increasing recognition of a need for efficiency with lower costs within an organization is an influence that’s helping to drive the acceptance of VoIP in the business world.
Are you VoIP ready? Make a list, check it twice, and see where you can save on the bottom line.
