Why Evaluate Business Phone Solutions: Top 8 Reasons
In today’s fast-paced business world, communications is the lifeline of every organization. Whether communicating through email, video conference, phone call, or text, these digital channels enable conversations that drive business outcomes.
For many organizations, phone calls rank in the top 2 channels to communicate with clients, prospective clients, partners, and across internal departments. Whether your phone system is the lifeline of your business or a necessary communications tool, it's essential to have reliable, secure, and feature rich solutions.
As we celebrate 25 years as a trusted business communications partner, here are the top 8 reasons why small and midsized businesses and nonprofit organizations evaluate their phone solutions:
1. Office Moves, Expansions, or Renovations
A move to a new office, expansion, or renovation presents the perfect opportunity to rethink your communications infrastructure, especially if still running on traditional phone systems and phone lines services.
If your business is running on a legacy phone system (Avaya, Mitel, NEC, Toshiba) relocating a traditional phone system often means costly rewiring, complex reinstallation's, and unnecessary downtime.
Aside from legacy phone systems, if keeping with traditional phone service connectivity (POTS lines, PRI, T1), moving services can lead to increased costs, renewed contracts, and downtime.
With a cloud phone system and VoIP service, the IP phones can be easily moved (make sure your VoIP provider updates your e911 address) and phone service can be up and running within minutes. Proactive planning and collaborating with any IT resources will ensure the cabling, internet, and connectivity is in place to support optimal VoIP calling.
PRO TIP: When moving offices, do not cancel your phone service until the new services are up and running and all of your telephone numbers have been successfully moved.
2. Multiple Locations and Remote Teams
If your business operates across multiple office locations, and offers hybrid or fully remote working, maintaining seamless communications can be a challenge without the right phone solutions.
Legacy phone systems can can be clunky to seamlessly connect multiple offices and remote workers. Many times, there are connectivity issues impacting remote staff and their ability to seamlessly utilize the phone system and calling features.
With a cloud-based system, staff can seamlessly connect with the phone system whether working at headquarters, a satellite office, or their home. When businesses live the 'work from anywhere' model, cloud phone systems are a critical communications tool.
3. Business Growth or Downsizing
Whether scaling up or downsizing, phone solutions need to support a business and their people.
Traditional phone systems require significant investment with software and hardware with growth and adding new staff, and can become an expensive burden when downsizing.
Cloud systems offer the agility businesses need, whether supporting growth or downsizing, without unnecessary costs. Because cloud solutions are 'as a service', software releases, patches, and feature expansions are included in monthly service pricing and many times, IP phones and hardware can be rented as part of the service.
4. Mergers and Acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions often bring operational challenges, with communications systems at the top of the list.
Integrating different phone systems can lead to incompatibility issues, disconnected workflows, and poor caller experiences. Rather than trying to force different technologies to work together, a strategic upgrade to a unified communications platform ensures a smooth transition and a consistent communication experience across the newly merged organization.
Not to mention, when consolidating systems and services, cost savings and service optimization can be uncovered.
5. Poor Customer Support from Your Provider
Unreliable customer support from your current provider is a major red flag. Long response times, support representatives lacking knowledge, or limited service hours can lead to frustrating delays when you need assistance the most.
If phone calls are the lifeline to an organization, the phone system is too critical to be left in the hands of an unresponsive provider and especially one that does not have the knowledge and experience.
If legacy phone systems provided a positive, it's the approach to custom solution design, on-site installation, tailored training programs, hyper responsive expert support, and lasting client partnerships. This was the model of the channel partners representing manufacturers like Avaya, Mitel, NEC, and Toshiba.
With so many business VoIP and cloud communications providers to choose from, it's all about finding the right fit partner to support your organization.
6. Rising Costs and Service Decommissioning
There’s an ongoing reduction in infrastructure, resources, and innovation with traditional phone line services including (POTS, PRI, T1) and a shift to building fiber and internet networks (VoIP) to fuel communications connectivity.
Traditional land line service providers include:
Verizon
Comcast
Windstream
AT&T
Service Electric
Many legacy telecom service providers are issuing exponential price increases, offering EOL service announcements, and terminating circuits (at times with limited notice).
7. Aging System with Limited Features
The telecommunications industry is experiencing an ongoing shift from traditional phone systems (also known as PBX or Premise-based phone systems) to cloud-based phone systems (also known as hosted PBX, cloud, and VoIP systems).
Traditional system manufacturers include:
Avaya
Mitel
ShoreTel
Toshiba
NEC
Panasonic
ESI
Nortel
Samsung
These manufacturers continue to shift focus, resources, and innovation for the SMB market to cloud-based phone systems (also known as hosted PBX, cloud, and VoIP systems) and many legacy systems have been deemed end of life (EOL) and are no longer supported.
As your phone system ages, the cost of maintenance increases, and finding replacement parts or technicians familiar with the technology becomes a challenge.
Frequent failures and service disruptions become the norm, impacting both internal operations and customer experience. Additionally, outdated systems lack essential modern features and are more susceptible to security breaches.
8. Lack of Internal IT Resources for System Management
Managing a legacy phone system requires technical expertise with a level of certifications. For most small and midsized businesses, maintaining dedicated IT resources to manage the phone system is not ideal or at times, feasible. Not to mention the fact that many legacy PBX phone system manufacturers and the business partners that support these systems continue to shift focus and the resources to provide expert and timely support are dwindling.
Even with more simplified cloud phone systems, it takes a level of understanding and interest to execute daily and strategic system management. Whether adding a new user, opening up a new office, or understanding how to leverage call reports and metrics, a lack of internal resources to support the phone system is a reason to understand other options.
With the right cloud communications provider, you can say 'goodbye' to long wait times and impersonal support ticket queues. Whether a simple question, setting up a new user, or technical issue, your business deserves immediate response with expert support from a true technology partner.
Is it time to evaluate your business phone solutions?
More than just a technology upgrade, identifying when it's time to evaluate your business phone solutions can help ensure seamless communications, improve customer experiences, and support enhanced operational efficiencies.
Recent Communications is celebrating 25 years as a trusted communications partner offering innovative, reliable, and future rich business phone solutions.
Can our team at Recent Communications help?
Contact:
Call: 484-998-4500
Chat: info@recentcom.com
Click: www.recentcom.com
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