IP communications – as a technology industry segment – has emerged as a critical avenue toward cost-savings for businesses seeking to navigate this down economy.

 

With some recent advancements in VoIP technology, the benefits of a converged voice-data network can now be realized by businesses of any size.

Phone system providers offering hosted services make it possible for even smaller businesses to realize the benefits of VoIP without the need for large upfront investments or waiting on returns.

Many businesses are seeing their capital investment budgets wane. Making the switch to a new phone system that will provide investment down the road is simply not a viable choice. For this reason,n VoIP phone systems that offer immediate ROI are succeeding.

A recent VendorGuru.com article, “Unlocking Instant Returns from Your VoIP System,” highlights the options businesses have when making a new phone system choice in order to minimize upfront costs and start saving with VoIP from day one.

The article details the ways in which businesses can navigate around the costs of a complete on-premise VoIP phone system including costs for network equipment, servers, IP phones, management and diagnostic tools, and costs associated with having to train users and IT personnel to use the new system.

The first choice for businesses to consider is a hosted phone system. This means the business only pays a monthly access fee for the VoIP service and doesn’t need to worry about any of the hardware costs, maintenance or training costs. This solution is best for small businesses that have tighter budgets but still want all of the capabilities their larger counterparts can afford.

 

If businesses can dedicate some costs to purchase IP handsets, but don’t want a large initial investment on network equipment, they also have the option to lease those costly components like servers and routers.

Or, if a business has made a hefty investment in their legacy phone system and isn’t ready to get rid of it just yet, may providers also offer custom solutions that help switch a PSTN to an IP environment. This can include installing VoIP over the WAN or switching a traditional PBX (News - Alert) into an IP-PBX.

Whether businesses save costs by choosing a hosted phone system, pay costs over time through a leased approach, or partner with a provider for a phased implementation, the power of VoIP communications will speak for themselves in the businesses phone bill.

 

VendorGuru.com saves decision makers and businesses valuable time and has done the necessary research to match businesses with the solution that best fits their needs.

 

For more, check out the Phone Systems channel on TMCnet.