Choosing the right phone system for your business is vital, as making the right choice improves the efficiency of your organisation by enhancing communication. In basic terms, you can choose three types of systems: landline, VoIP, or virtual. To make the right choice, you need to consider certain aspects from the outset, such as your current telephone system, if you have one, the price you want to pay, and the flexibility you need to accommodate the working practices within your business.
Different Systems
As mentioned earlier, you can choose three business telephone systems for your organisation. It’s time to consider each one in more detail.
A traditional on-premises PBX system
This system involves the use of traditional phone lines and phones. Choose this system, and you need a PBX communication exchange on your premises. This requirement and the system’s fixed features mean it lacks flexibility. However, some experts suggest it can be more stable than an Internet-based system.
IP-PBX system
This system uses the Internet instead of traditional phone lines. It’s known as a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) system. You can have the necessary communications server on your premises or choose to host your system on a remote server. Whichever option you choose, you need to have a stable Internet connection for the system to work effectively.
Virtual VoIP System
The most significant advantage of this type of system is that you don’t need any hardware. This solution involves using softphone technology to handle phone calls using the provider app or a web browser. Choosing this system gives you a high level of flexibility which is ideal if you have remote employees who use mobile devices to communicate.
Comparing services
The first step is choosing the type of business phone system you want. You then need to find a provider. Each provider varies in the functionality and services they offer. Once you’ve chosen the best type of phone system for your business, you need to find a provider that offers it. Other factors that you should consider before you commit to a contract with a provider are:
- Is the offering compatible with your current phone system (if applicable)?
- Can the services be scaled up if necessary?
- What are the associated fees, such as installation, hosting, and maintenance?
- What are the employee training commitments involved?
- Is there a free trial period or any other promotional offer?
Pricing can make the difference
When maximising your business’s finances, understanding and optimising the pricing of your phone system is essential. So, you must understand the cost of the solution you choose, including maintenance and hosting costs. You may also want to look out for flexible billing cycles. Flexible billing allows you to process payments immediately and from any location. This availability makes it easier for you to manage your business finances more efficiently.
Wireless devices
Wi-Fi calling is all around us with the growing popularity of consumer apps such as Skype or Facetime. There are many systems available that allow Wi-Fi calling in business. This type of calling is low-cost and allows seamless communication to happen. It permits calls to be made and received using Wi-Fi networks instead of traditional phone lines. This type of access to calling overcomes traditional network issues, such as poor signal capacity in some areas. The user experience is no different than when traditional phones are used, and call features like loudspeakers and three-way calling are generally available.
Mobile Devices
Using mobile devices as part of your business phone system makes sense if you require communication flexibility. The need for this type of flexibility is likely to be exceptionally high if you have employees who work remotely. In addition to more flexible communication, other advantages of using mobile devices include making time-sensitive decisions more easily, more effective collaboration at a distance, and the ability to network on the move.
In addition, people are used to using their smartphones to network and organise as they use these devices in their personal lives. For example, many people use their smartphone for entertainment by playing games such as Book of Oz slot or watching movies using apps such as Netflix. Having this awareness of mobile devices makes it easier for employees to adapt to using them in the workplace.
If you’re concerned about protecting mobile devices from security issues, you can protect them using a mobile security solution. You can also update your acceptable use policy to clarify that the use of each device is for business purposes only.
Other important factors
In addition to the considerations we’ve discussed in this article, the other factors you need to consider when choosing a phone system for your business are flexibility and ease of use. You must carefully think about how your business operates and how the phone system can flexibly adapt to fit that. You also need to pay attention to how easily your employees can understand and operate the system. Having the appropriate levels of flexibility and ease of use allows your business to work more efficiently with seamless and timely communications.
Conclusion
Your choice of phone system depends on the operation of your business. In most cases, modern businesses find that using a wireless system allows them to operate more flexibly and effectively. This system enables your business to utilise mobile technology that allows your employees to communicate in real-time from various locations and across different time zones.
