A VoIP phone system is the current trend among businesses and there’s a good reason why cloud communication is a trending buzzword. By getting rid of their premise-based phone systems, companies are discovering new, streamlined methods of communication, while reducing a number of risks.
Here are six ways moving to a VoIP phone system will save you money, time and resources.
1. End costly support
With PBX systems you need to factor in ongoing maintenance costs of on-premise hardware and storage, power and cooling requirements for all the server hardware that may fail due to spikes in power supply or overheating. With VoIP, all the system hardware is located in the telco data centre so you have no direct maintenance costs. What’s more, maintenance and support costs can quickly outstrip your initial capital outlay for an on-premise PBX (private branch exchange). And as your equipment ages, prices only soar higher. Walk away from on-premise hardware sooner – not later.
2. Less downtime
When communication infrastructure is down because of updates, repairs, or natural disasters, your bottom line suffers. With VoIP, vital communications capabilities work independently from local power, network, or systems availability. This means even if a fire, flood, or storm makes your office inaccessible, you can still work from any Internet connection or mobile device. Because VoIP is in the cloud, your business communications service is always available on multiple devices and in alternative locations.
3. Scale to meet demand
Buying hardware is a guessing game. If you size your PBX for current needs, you can quickly either outgrow the system or waste money on unnecessary handsets and lines. With cloud communication services, you pay for precisely what you need, when you need it. You have the flexibility to accommodate fluctuating demand as your business grows. PBX systems also don’t cope with peaks and troughs in demand. Instead, you have to buy capacity for peak times, which may only occur for a couple of weeks a year, upfront. However, it is so critical to your business that you have to carry the additional costs for the whole year. With VoIP you can just pay for the peaks as and when they occur.
4. Guaranteed performance
Big purchases represent a significant financial commitment. If your new PBX fails to deliver promised productivity benefits, your investment is sunk. With cloud communications, service-level agreements guarantee you get the performance you expect.
On-premise systems rely on servers for features like call recording that have a finite disk capacity. When you run out of space, you cannot record any more calls. Not great if you have a regulated requirement that necessitates calls are recorded. With VoIP, the recording capacity is delivered via cloud storage so you don’t need to worry about on-premise storage space or back up. Integration of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is already done on a VoIP system and can be switched on at a moment’s notice.
5. Stop technology headaches
It can be hard to make certain you’re making the right technology move at the right time. With VoIP, your service provider, not you, assumes that risk. They’re responsible for acquisitions, upgrades, and capabilities that keep pace with the market. System management can also be costly and is often overlooked and outsourced management to a third party will incur charges for a minimum number of service calls per year regardless of use. With VoIP, all your management is performed simply via web interfaces. All remote sites can be easily managed from a central location without a large number of field personnel.
6. Add new features at no extra cost
Adding a new customer contact centre or deploying new communication productivity features are two major ways to boost your business. But new features such as these may require a costly infrastructure upgrade. VoIP lets you easily add new features for some, or all, of your team for a predictable monthly fee. Let costly infrastructure investments be a thing of the past. VoIP is an evergreen platform that continually adds new features that regularly improve your employee productivity.
