What VoIP Suggestions Do You Have for a Small Business?

August 10th, 2018 by Pulsar360

VoIP Options

If you are looking at upgrading your traditional phone service and or you are not satisfied with the quality of service you are currently receiving, VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) may be a good fit for you and your business. Nowadays VoIP phone systems provide a wealth of advantages above and beyond the current traditional landline phone service. Some of the high-level advantages of VoIP services are: faster communication service and a more robust and versatile network.

  • Auto-Attendant/IVR
  • Call Forwarding
  • Caller ID
  • Call Parking
  • Call Queues
  • Call Recording
  • Call Recording Storage Offloads
  • Call Screening
  • Call Transfer
  • Do Not Disturb
  • Follow Me
  • Music On Hold
  • Office Hours – Time
  • Conditions/Specify Holidays
  • Voicemail to Email
  • Busy Lamp Field (BLF)
  • Conference Rooms
  • Direct Inward System Access (DISA)
  • Dictation
  • Hot Desking
  • Instant Call Control – Call Flow Control/Manual Toggle, Squared Key System Day/Night Mode
  • Intercom & Paging
  • Multiple Offices
  • Phone Directory
  • Remote Users
  • Ring Groups

To see a complete list of VoIP Features please see the Feature Matrix.

Getting a VoIP system is an easy and simple task. There are some fundamental options, that you must first consider. Here are some features that should keep in mind, whilst making this decision.

Features

It is imperative that the customer outline what exactly are their phone system needs and what do they expect and or want from a future phone service. Every business is different and as such their needs will vary. The customer needs to do a demo with the VoIP provider to assess whether the VoIP provider can meet all their desires and wishes.

Call routing

Call routing is one of the most important features required for a running business. You are always required to route the calls from one department to another. The type of routing system that you require highly depends on the business you are running. If the line is busy you should be able to hold the lines in a queue. A call queue is a feature which places callers into a regulated on-hold system of priority such that the caller with the highest priority (usually the caller on hold the longest) is answered before a caller with a lower one. While a caller is waiting in a queue, special music on hold and/or messages can be played to them. Users are also able to log in and out of certain queues.

Security and confidentiality

One the things required for any business is security and privacy. Confidential information should be taken with the utmost caution and data secure. There are many ways VoIP providers provide security via redundancy and the network infrastructure. Reviewing SLAs from a VoIP provider can also add a level of trust.

Price

If you are running a small business, the initial investment varies, however, it goes without saying that price does play a factor albeit should not be the only factor, as you pay for what you get and all VoIP services are not the same. Thankfully, VoIP services are reasonably priced. In addition to cost, you must verify that the features are in alignment with what the business is hoping to achieve and get from a VoIP system.

Support system

VoIP system should be typically a 24 X 7 service, unless the VoIP service is being used as a business continuity and/or disaster recovery option to the existing phone system. Customer service should have a ticketing system whereby customers have access in case of emergencies.

Posted in: VoIP Phone Systems, Blog


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