What Should I Know Before Buying a Business Phone System?
If you are in the market for a new business phone system, you may feel a little overwhelmed by all of your choices. You have to consider different prices and phone system capabilities, as well as decide what features are necessary to help your business thrive. To help you make the right decision, we’ve separated business phone systems into three main categories.
Premise Based (Digital)
This is the phone system you’re probably most familiar with. Premise based systems are the phone systems that you have used for years that have the controller, or server, on-site. This phone system operates with your phone company’s copper wiring, although you’ll probably need PBX hardware as well. Premise based digital phone systems now have many of the new features and have what are referred to as digital phones and are many time more than adequate for a single location business.
VoIP
VoIP stands for “Voice over Internet Protocol.” This phone system does what it sounds like: it transmits your voice over the internet protocol. This phone system runs over your internal data network and has many of the advanced features and is a good choice for multi-location businesses. VoIP is a great option for small businesses that need affordable and advanced phone features, like auto attendant, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), video conferencing, voicemail find me calling and much more. It even offers mobile integration for employees who do a lot of traveling!
Cloud or Hosted
You may decide to opt for a Cloud or Hosted phone system if most of your employees spend a lot of time traveling. This system is similar to VoIP in that it offers mobility for traveling employees and has advanced features like an automated receptionist, call forwarding, voicemail and faxing. However, virtual phone systems aren’t “real” phone systems in the way that Premise based or VoIP systems are. A virtual phone system has all of the central processing power and equipment in a data center, and is accessed through your internet connection. These Hosted solutions are very feature rich and excellent for remote users. Businesses with multiple locations like the ease in which new users and offices can be added without having to put additional servers in remote locations. Two areas that your vendor should address are first to test your internet circuit to confirm that it can handle your voice traffic. And, secondly, the vendor you choose should offer on-site training so that you are able to take advantage of all of the advanced features you have purchased.
No matter what type of business phone system you choose, today’s options help your business to provide a great customer service experience and present a professional voice to clients.
Contact McEnroe Voice & Data Today!
Are you ready to upgrade your phone system and improve your customer service experience? Call McEnroe Voice & Data in Maryland, D.C., Northern Virginia, or Central Pennsylvania at 1-800-727-1607 or in Maryland or D.C. at (703) 903-9881, or simply contact us on our website! We offer a free consultation, so be sure to get in touch and take advantage of this free service. Want to keep up with the latest in voice and data news? Follow us on Facebook,Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and Linkedin!