A Buyer’s Guide to Choosing a Business Phone System
- For a business phone system, you must first choose between landline, VoIP, and virtual (on-premises or in the cloud).
- Today’s phone systems provide a wide range of useful calling, collaboration, and mobile tools to businesses of all sizes.
- When employees are away from the office, business phone systems provide them with a variety of options for accessing their business phone lines.
- This article is intended for business owners who want to know what to look for and think about when selecting a phone system.
If you’re looking for a business phone system in 2020, there are a few questions you should ask yourself first to ensure you get the best solution for your needs.
- Is a full phone system with physical desk telephones required, or can your company get by with a virtual phone service that uses mobile devices?
- What kind of service do you want if you do need desk telephones? Are you comfortable with a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system, which works over the internet and is offered by a variety of companies? Or would you prefer to use a traditional landline phone service from a local or regional phone company?
- Do you want to host the VoIP system at your business (on-premises) or have it hosted by your service provider (cloud-based)?
If you already know what you need and just want to see our top picks for business phone systems, go to our best picks page.
Continue reading if you’re still undecided. We’ll go over the benefits and drawbacks of these phone systems:
- Virtual phone systems
- Landlines
- VoIP
- Cloud and on-premises systems
FAQs About Business Phone Systems
Still unsure whether you need a business phone system or whether VoIP is right for you? It’s no problem. Here are some questions and answers to assist you in making your decision.
Q: Do I require a phone system for my company?
A: Yes, to put it simply. Because so much of a company’s success is determined by how it presents itself, every company can benefit from a phone system.
It is critical for businesses to maintain a professional image at all times. Allowing customers and clients to contact you on a business line that is frequently answered by an automated attendant is a great way to do so. Businesses that do not want to invest in a full-fledged phone system can still project the desired image by using a virtual phone system.
Q: Why can’t my employees and I just use our cell phones for work?
A: Yes, you can do it if you invest in a virtual phone system. This type of system allows you to use your smartphone while maintaining a professional appearance.
Using your mobile phone without a virtual system has a few drawbacks. For starters, it does not give your customers a professional impression. Second, mobile lines lack features and tools that small businesses value, such as voicemail to email, call forwarding, call screening, music on hold, and online faxing, to name a few.
Q: I’ve always used a landline phone system. Will using this type of system in the future put me at a disadvantage?
A: The issue with landline systems isn’t that they’re ineffective; they still perform admirably. The most significant disadvantage of traditional landline phone systems is that new options are no longer being developed. This means that no new technology for landline systems is being developed.
There are no new software upgrades for landlines either. This means you won’t be able to use many new features or functions.
How do I figure out which phone system and service provider are best for my company?
It all boils down to your financial situation. You should think about your budget, whether your company is expanding, whether you have an IT team capable of running and maintaining an in-house phone system, and whether you have access to a high-speed internet connection.
It’s critical to find a phone provider for your small business that not only has the features and tools you want in a phone system, but also provides the level of customer service you expect from a vendor partner. Check out our review of 8×8, our top pick for the best small business phone system.
If you’re considering a cloud-hosted system, one consideration you should make is uptime. This is the number of times the system is up and running. You won’t be able to use your phone services if the system is down. The best providers have multiple data centres around the world to reduce service downtime. Inquire about providers’ uptime statistics and whether they guarantee service availability for longer than the guaranteed time each month.
En outre, finding qualified technicians and parts for legacy landlines is becoming increasingly difficult.
New features for VoIP systems will eventually become incompatible with landline systems, most likely in the near future. This could put your company behind the eight ball, depending on the feature.
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