3 Factors To Consider Before Buying A Business Phone System

There are some factors that you must keep in mind while looking for a business telephone system.

Business telephone systems usually need changes to meet specific requirements for the industry. For example, caller groups, greetings, and phone routing. With many VoIP options, you can change the greeting delivered by the virtual receptionist. It’s a feature that is more difficult to add hardware to on a landline. Also, you must consider the setup and maintenance time required due to your desired adjustments when comparing telephone system solutions.

In general, your IT staff will need to put in more work depending on how complicated your telephone system’s usability is. So to ensure that your IT staff can focus on mission-critical duties, you must have a phone system that is very simple to use and to train employees on. Additionally, online users have been using VPNs to improve their online security as well as for other reasons. For example, using VPNs for China to get a China IP address.

Finding an easy-to-use system, like sip trunk is essential for fostering user adoption. It enables users to find and contact their peers. For users to feel confident that they are calling the right person, your directory should contain accurate and comprehensive information. Moreover, people must be able to easily use standard telephone system features like placing, receiving, and transferring calls.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Choosing a Telephone System

Ask these questions to figure out if the phone system you’ve picked caters to your needs.

1. How many employees will use your phone system?
2. Currently, do you have a company phone system?
3. Do you have a scattered workforce or will your employees be working from home?
4. Do you require a local or toll-free number for your business?
5. Would you like to keep your current company number?
6. Do you intend to grow your company during the next few months or years?
7. Does your company have a sales and support staff?
8. How many minutes a day do you spend communicating for work?
9. Do you expect a lot of calls from your clients?
10. Which features of a company phone system will you need the most?

You can choose the ideal phone system for your business based on the answers to these questions. In fact, doing this will help you better understand your needs.

Types of Business Phone Systems 

#1. Traditional or Landline-based Phone Systems

Calls can be placed and received via conventional landline systems. These are PSTN-based networks that send analog signals over copper cables.

Pros

• Traditional and dependable telephony options include landline phone systems.
• Besides, your internet connection is not necessary for your telephony solution.

Cons

• Massive up-front expenses for businesses to buy hardware.
• Staffing has to upgrade and maintain the telephony solution on a regular basis.
• Is not scalable enough to meet commercial needs.

#2. On-Premise VoIP Phone Systems

These business phone systems handle incoming and outgoing calls using Voice Over Internet Protocol. The company maintains and hosts all the necessary telephony hardware on-site. For example, PBX servers, VoIP phones, cables, etc.

Pros 

• You are in charge of making sure that your company always maintains regular phone communications.
• Moreover, it’s a little less expensive than standard landline systems.

Cons

• Large upfront expense.
• Infrastructure needs to maintain PBX servers, along with facilities for a reliable power supply and cooling system.

#3. Cloud-Based VoIP Systems

It’s a modern-day’s solution for optimizing and integrating business communications. Cloud-Based VoIP Systems corporate phone system is probably already familiar to you even if you’ve never heard the terms hosted PBX, cloud PBX, or hosted VoIP solutions. However, if the terms are unfamiliar to you, here is a brief explanation.

VoIP systems that are cloud-based use the internet for calling. The only difference is that outside companies host and manage all communication tools and software. You can sign up for their price plans as a business. Then, you can use a web-based portal or mobile application to access the business phone systems.

Pros

• There is no up-front expense for purchasing more hardware.
• It is not necessary to have technical knowledge to set up a company phone system.
• With flexible and reasonable price options, premium capabilities like voicemail to email, call recording, cloud-based call conferencing, voice broadcasting, etc. are available.
• It uses legal requirements like the GDPR and HIPAA to ensure data security and privacy.

Cons

A cloud-based VoIP system’s only drawback is that it can only communicate using your internet connection. However, having many internet sources will allow you to get around this restriction. In the case that one fails, your telephone solution will continue to function with little to no downtime thanks to the other internet connection. 

Factors to Look for When Buying a Telephone System for Your Business

When choosing a company communication system, one must take these three factors into account.

#1. Mobility

Being accessible will increase the likelihood of your staff taking effective care of your consumers. So, use a workforce mobility system that makes it possible for your employees to be mobile. According to Statista, 6.92 billion across the globe, meaning 86.29% of the world’s population own a smartphone.

So, your staff must have easy access to the web for email, instant chatting, and video messages to increase your business’s reach. Since the phone is still one of the most popular methods of business communication, using UC systems to compete with the competition is becoming increasingly important.

#2. Scalability

In order to be effective, your business telephone system must be scalable. Your small firm expands along with the number of employees and phone lines. You can scale a UC system up and down more easily. And this is because additions and changes can be done online and are more targeted. As a result, you won’t be bound by geography when employing new employees because they can work from home. With this mobility, you can go beyond your neighborhood and tap into a larger talent pool.

#3. Disaster Recovery

If a natural disaster caused a power outage in your area, what would happen to your telephone process? It’s likely that you won’t be able to reach your clients. This is especially important when you realize that 62% of customers have stopped buying a certain brand as a result of poor customer service. A communications system that is entirely on-site has almost little possibility of recovering, even with the help of maintenance personnel. However, a cloud-based solution can direct calls to employees’ alternative phone numbers online. So, even if disaster strikes, your clients can always count on you.