Choosing VoIP while Upgrading your Business

Enterprise phone systems haven’t changed much over the last few decades. The basics have remained the same in spite of a few changes here and there. While automated switchboards have replaced manual operation, the underlying technology and mechanics have resisted innovation. Another stumbling block for conventional phone systems was that they simply couldn’t integrate with other, more modern communication systems.

Until VoIP arrived on the scene, people probably thought the PSTN would be around for decades more. Few expected VoIP to oust the older network so soon. But the march of digital voice communication has been relentless. Businesses might have been late to adopt VoIP at first but they have embraced it completely. Today you don’t see many companies still using analog PBX boxes. Even phone companies are replacing their existing networks with VoIP.

Choosing VoIP

Quite a few companies have thought that upgrading to VoIP would be a long and expensive process. Only to be surprised by lower phone bills and how quick and easy it is to get started. Organizations commonly switch to VoIP under a few circumstances:

• The old systems break down and it’s cost prohibitive to repair them
• Financial cost cutting to increase competitiveness or reduce losses
• Lack of features constraining business processes
• Upgrading or changing the business

One of the benefits of switching to VoIP is lower monthly bills. You also don’t need to invest thousands of dollars in new hardware or software. While organizations can deploy their own premise based solution, most end up using hosted VoIP services from external vendors. The price – free or inexpensive rates – is one of the reasons why businesses like VoIP so much.

Another major reason to choose VoIP is when you are upgrading the business. This could be anything from entering different markets, expanding your workforce or opening new offices. There are times when a business goes through many changes at once or in a short period of time. Older PSTN based systems find it difficult to adjust to the new reality. Hosted VoIP on the other hand is made for such eventualities.

Entering a Different Market

Imagine your company is looking to expand into new markets, in a different state or even country. Such a move requires a lot of planning, preparation and market research. A VoIP system can help with all of that. You can get a local number in any zip code you like. All calls made from that number will count as local calls even though you don’t have offices in that area. People calling in will also be billed at local rates instead of paying international or long distance charges.

Opening New Offices

During periods of growth your organization may want to open new offices. Maybe you want an office that is local to the state since your headquarters is too far away. Or you need a physical location at which to offer additional services. Whatever the reason, a new location means you need phones and lines there.

With hosted VoIP, you can add new numbers and additional lines whenever you need them. There is no waiting until the company wires up the new place or moves your existing wires there. You don’t even need expensive new hardware. As long as the office has internet connectivity, you’re good to go. Your employees can even use mobile devices with a data plan to handle office calls. Clients never have to know that your sales rep is calling from their home, while on the road or from a coffee shop. All they know is that someone is getting the work done.

Changes in Workforce

Some businesses start out really small but hit a growth spurt quickly. You may have started a business with just 1 employee working out of a garage. But 2 years later, the company now employs 30 people and has 2 offices in the city. Or consider another common scenario when companies face economic downturn or are downsizing to improve operational efficiency.

In such situations you need the ability to quickly expand or reduce expenses. Hosted VoIP gives you that ability to scale and be flexible. Add lines, numbers or extensions when you need them. Remove them when they become unnecessary. What’s more, you only pay for what you use. You don’t have to commit to X number of lines per month or year. Use 5 numbers this month, add 4 for the next few weeks and then cut back 6. There are very few enterprise systems that are so adaptable and VoIP is one of them.

VoIP hasn’t been around for as long as the much older PSTN. But it has quickly gained traction among households and businesses. Apart from the low price and plethora of advanced features, it is a truly modern technology. It brings voice communication into the digital age, putting it on an equal footing with email, messaging and other modern methods.