Have you considered hosted telephony?
Upgrading your phone system might keep dropping down your priority list, but if you’re still running a traditional on-premise telephone system it could be time to really look into the benefits of IP telephony you’ll be missing out on. IP telephony is the alternative to a traditional phone system and is continuing to grow in popularity as the benefits are realised time and again. So what are the benefits?
Monthly Expenditure
Upfront cost is an obvious factor to look at first. The rise in subscription services for anything from disaster recovery to internet connectivity, means budgets are being managed on an operational expenditure basis, as opposed to a capital expenditure basis. An on-premise phone system can often come with a significant investment into hardware such as handsets, servers, switches, network cards, routers, and other technical accessories. The ongoing maintenance of the system may also require future costs. A hosted PBX however, requires a much lower initial investment of only IP phones, and in some cases an additional router and network switch if existing hardware can’t be repurposed. Your minimal equipment costs may even be rolled into the monthly system costs, further supporting the operational expenditure business model. Depending on the type of hosted phone system, charges may also be based on concurrent calls, rather than per extension/handset.
Adding New Users
If business expansion is relevant, you should definitely take an interest in a hosted telephone system. With an on-premise phone system, adding new users can result in underpowered hardware or there may not be enough ports – both requiring further capital input. With IP telephony, new phones are simply purchased and configured onto the service.
Reduced Call Costs
Businesses with remote or travelling employees can realise vast benefits by making calls on the go, free of charge, through a software-based phone system. The same principal applies to connect multi-office businesses. Both employee and customer communication can improve with the removal of hindering expenses, leading to an enhanced work culture and greater customer satisfaction.
Failover
An on-premise phone system is reliant on its hardware. A loss of power, failure of battery backup, or technical trouble can disable telephone systems and affect business operations. With a software-based unified communications system there are multiple failover options which can be added to a package. Failover could be using other SIP carriers, broadband providers and IT services.
Additional Features
Whereas both types of phone systems go beyond simply making calls, IP phone systems come packed full of features other systems would usually charge extra for. These tools are invaluable to a modern business and can include telecom apps for auto attendant, voicemail to email, click to call, video calls, the ability to listen in and record calls, instant messaging facilities, conference calling, employee status monitoring, advanced queue monitoring, fax to email and more.
Grow Your Business
As well as saving money and minimising the impact of capital expenditure for your business sector, hosted, software-based phone systems can help businesses on their way to achieving their growth plans. Having an auto-attendant can reduce staffing costs, call routing reduces both customer wait times and idle employee time, conference facilities reduce travel and training costs, reduced call costs increase collaboration and downtime can be minimised with failover techniques.
What is the best hosted telephony system?
iPECS Cloud from Teleconnect Service is a true evolution of the on-premise PBX. It suits all sizes of business whether you have a single home office or multiple locations around the globe. With on-demand features and same-day provisioning you can add or remove users quickly and easily. With our advanced feature packs you can tailor the user’s experience and provide a call centre solution, reception console and much more with a simple click. iPECS Cloud brings your teams together with simple tools for collaboration. On-demand access to features and the ability to add or remove users means you have the flexibility to adapt to your business needs. With fully featured handsets and simple web, PC or smartphone interfaces your users will understand the benefits of iPECS Cloud in record time.
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