Although the smartphone seems to be the go-to device these days, there are still a number of companies with desktop phones and the people who use them. But it gets expensive using the older technology, so savvy business managers are looking at all the options available to them in the New Year. One of those is Voice over Internet Protocol, or ‘VoIP’ for short.
In a recent TechRadar piece by technology writer David Howell, various options for business phones were addressed. Those range of choices included self-hosted VoIP, cloud-based VoIP, landline, virtual phone service and the aforementioned mobile.
“Each one of these options has its strengths and weaknesses,” Howell says. “To help you choose the right phone system for your business, ask yourself these questions:”
What is your current call volume and how is this likely to change?
Do you have a fast and reliable connection to the Internet to allow VoIP systems to operate efficiently?
Does your new telecom hardware and software have to function with existing equipment?
What new features are you looking to add to your telecom systems?
Does your business work in more than one office?
Will you spend significant quantities of time working remotely?
Does your business already have an installed PBX (News - Alert) system?
How much time you and your employees spend away from the office and its landline will often be the deciding factor when choosing a phone system, Howell says. “Landlines do offer high reliability and call quality, but they lack the flexibility that modern businesses demand,” he says. “Switching to IP telephony that uses the Internet and an organization's LAN with a virtual PBX (Private Branch Exchange) instead of a landline to send and receive calls can be a more flexible option.”
Edited by Kyle Piscioniere